She Is Not Human

Chapter 11

After Little Eric left, Maya sat there quietly by herself. If someone paid close attention, they'd see that she had her eyes half-closed and looked like she was dozing off.

Once upon a time as "Controller Five," she didn't need sleep at all—but now that her body could actually rest? That feeling was amazing!

So nowadays, whenever she found herself bored or waiting around doing nothing, she'd just go "ah-huh" and slowly drift into standby mode.

"It's so boring. The real fun is still to come. Once those bottles are popped open, who knows what could happen?" Barbara's voice suddenly chimed in from behind Maya. Maya opened her eyes, a hint of blue light flashing in them, showing she was on high alert.

She turned her head to see the woman behind her wearing a half-smile, while Maya quietly gathered some tiny but strong metal threads between her fingers.

"Want a drink?" Barbara reached out and grabbed a glass of wine from the waiter, offering the clear highball glass to Maya.

The deep red liquid swayed slightly in the crystal-clear glass as Barbara felt her breath quicken under Maya's intense gaze.

Honestly, Barbara wasn't sure if Maya would actually drink it. After all, last time those guys tried to charm her with drugged wine. But if Maya said no, Barbara had already thought up an excuse. She knew how easily provoked Maya was—if she mocked or teased her for not drinking, there was no doubt that out of spite she'd take it as a challenge and down it anyway.

But much to Barbara's surprise, Maya took the glass and drank without asking any questions.

"You..." Barbara suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

Maya looked around. Was she doing something wrong? Didn't everyone else elegantly hold their glasses and sip their drinks slowly?

She had been watching others closely and figured out what they were doing. If little Eric hadn't told her to stay put, she would've gone over to grab some wine herself—not because she was thirsty; she just wanted to fit in like everyone else.

"Cough... It's nothing," Barbara forced a cheerful smile. "I really caused you some trouble the other day. I didn't expect you'd be so forgiving—I guess I misjudged you! Mind if I sit next to you?" Her tone sounded polite enough, but inside, she felt pretty guilty about everything.

"Hmm." That's all Maya said before falling silent again."

Where Barbara was sitting wasn't really Maya's concern.

Michael and his crew were clearly doing well. The first spot went for two hundred thirty thousand, and the next two sold for twenty million each—what a jump in price!

Right now, Barbara was checking the time. The d**g should kick in soon.

But Maya, next to her, was way too quiet, wasn't she?

What Barbara didn't know was that Maya's body had already started reacting. A wave of restless energy surged from deep inside her like fire, with her heart racing and blood pumping faster.

In that moment, the metal threads in Maya's body kicked into gear. Within seconds, they figured out it was all because of the wine. The heat from the d**g gets absorbed directly by those metal threads.

It felt like a wild ocean suddenly calming down; all that intense energy just drained away.

Maya thought to herself, no wonder everyone loves this stuff. After drinking it, their bodies unleash such weirdly powerful energy. If you know how to channel it right, it could be stored as an energy source.

Maya felt calm about it all while Barbara grew more anxious.

Why wasn't there any reaction? It had been five minutes! She'd heard at the last party that after drinking this stuff, Maya became so eager for a guy's touch that she looked half-asleep within three minutes! Twirling her glass nervously, irritation filled Barbara's eyes. What on earth was going on?

Finally unable to hold back anymore, she asked Maya outright: "How are you feeling?"

Maya had just soaked up some of that energy and replied happily: "Excellent."

"Excellent?" Barbara's voice shot up unexpectedly loud enough to grab everyone else's attention around them.

"Miss Bao, is there anything I can help you with?" one attendant asked professionally while bowing slightly.

Barbara turned pale, then red again in embarrassment as she noticed everyone staring at them because of what she'd said about the Soul Bottle. She chuckled awkwardly: "I was just showing her something."

The attendant didn't say anything else, just smiled politely and turned to leave.

Barbara let out a sigh of relief, but then she heard Maya ask her, "Is there more of that liquid?"

Maya looked like someone who had been starving for ages and finally got a tiny piece of bread. It felt good to eat again, but the portion was way too small—she still wanted more.

"Hang on. I'll go grab some for you."

Barbara gritted her teeth as she said this, cursing herself for being too soft-hearted and not giving Maya enough of the d**g in the first place.

When she came back with a plate full of wine glasses, she had tripled the dosage in each one.

This aphrodisiac was called "Dream Death." Once you'd taken enough of it, you'd keep craving s*x until every desire was satisfied—and in extreme cases, people might even die right there with their lover.

Barbara only meant to teach Maya a lesson; she never intended to kill her.

But when Maya downed a glass and showed no reaction at all, Barbara started wondering if maybe the earlier dose had made her resistant to it. So she cranked up the dosage to something that could knock out even a strong guy in bed.

To Barbara's surprise, though, Maya kept drinking glass after glass like it was plain water—no effect whatsoever!

How could this be? Did she mix up drugs? Or did it expire?

Barbara's mind raced, trying to figure it out. She watched helplessly as Maya polished off eight glasses of "Dream Death," while Barbara stood by with more wine like some kind of servant.

When Maya reached for the last glass, Barbara felt so frustrated that she almost wanted to walk away. Suddenly, though, she noticed Maya's hand freezing midair.

Was it finally kicking in? Barbara's eyes lit up with hope.

Maya touched her stomach; all that drinking made her feel like she'd better hit the bathroom soon.

Little Eric told her not to leave until he got back before going potty. Thinking about that made Maya pull back her hand without taking the last glass.

"Why aren't you drinking anymore?" Barbara's voice had a hint of urgency.

"What are you talking about? What aren't I drinking?" A teasing male voice chimed in next to Barbara. She turned and saw Little Eric casually reaching for her glass of "Dream Death." Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly grabbed his hand.

Little Eric smirked: "What's the big deal? If Maya can drink it, why can't I?"

Barbara raised an eyebrow: "This is mine. If you want something to drink, go ask the servants."

"I thought Miss Bao was here to serve us. Look at how eagerly she's bringing all that stuff for Maya."

Little Eric's sharp eyes flicked over the empty glasses on Barbara's tray. He'd seen Maya down two glasses, but now it looked like she'd polished off at least eight.

Barbara ignored his sarcasm and huffed as she turned to walk away.

But Little Eric was quick; he snatched up the glass of wine in his hand. The red liquid sloshed slightly with his movement. He narrowed his eyes and sneered: "Today, I definitely have this glass. What do you think about that?"

"For my sister's sake, I don't want any trouble with you. Just give it back."

Barbara's gaze hardened as her voice dropped low.

"So, did Benjamin send you? That doesn't sound like her style at all."

If it were Benjamin behind this, why would she stick around Maya so long in public and leave such a suspicious situation hanging? That woman always played things perfectly—so gentle and virtuous, just like some ideal model lady. If not for family issues making Little Eric keep his distance from her, he might have actually fallen for it.

What Little Eric didn't see coming was that Barbara had planned to d**g Maya, but instead, Maya drank it like water! Talk about an unexpected twist!

"Give it back!" Barbara fixed him with a fierce stare aimed right at the glass of wine. No matter what happened today, she couldn't let Little Eric catch her slipping up.

Just then, Michael, the host, spoke up with excitement: "Alright, folks, for our last spot, we're going to draw it randomly instead of auctioning it off."

Here we go! Little Eric remembered what his dad had told him earlier and felt a knot in his stomach. "And the lucky guest is - " Michael cleared his throat and flashed a quick smile, "the person sitting in the fifth seat of the second row."

The fifth seat in the second row? That was Maya's spot!

Little Eric wanted to grab Maya and take her place himself, but was stopped by a hand.

Out of nowhere, a bodyguard dressed in white appeared next to him, politely yet firmly nudging him aside. Behind that silver mask, he had an elegant smile.

"Miss, that last spot is yours," he said softly, like a gentle breeze or light rain.

Maya looked at him. It was this guy again. His energy felt weird—like he blended right into his surroundings. No wonder she hadn't noticed him from far away. She recalled seeing people like this back in mechanical space; they were called "killers."

They hid out waiting to catch their target off guard.

"How about it? Don't you want your soul bottle?" he asked.

"I do," she replied.

He slipped the number plate into Maya's hand without making any noise and smiled again, "Aren't you going to say thanks?"

"Thanks." After figuring out who he really was, Maya lost interest pretty quickly.

Only Max—the one who puzzled her—was still on her mind.

"And what about your thank-you gift?" The man asked gently with just a hint of amusement.

Maya frowned slightly and looked around before Little Eric could yell anything out; she snatched the wine glass from his hand and handed it over to the man, saying, "Here you go; drink this."

Little Eric slapped his forehead and thought, "Oh man, I really hope Barbara didn't mess with this wine!"

The guy held the glass like a pro, looking a bit taken aback. He was just joking around, trying to get a kiss or something from this cute girl, but she actually gave him a gift. A glass of wine?

No way he'd turn that down.

The deep red liquid slid down his lips as he finished it off and said with a nod, "If you want to wait for it, let's see what happens."

Barbara's fists were clenched tightly. How could this guy drink that? There were three times the dose of "Dream Death" there!