She Is Not Human

Chapter 10

Outside, our human world is the Mechanical space. In human territory, we have robot police keeping things in check—that's just common knowledge.

However, one reason people think those robots in mechanical space are terrifyingly powerful is because of the Soul Bottle.

Even though robot police keep order here and usually don't mess with stuff happening in mechanical space directly—more and more strong humans are heading into that realm lately—and now many eyes there are starting to pay attention here.

Sometimes robots send their communicators filled with power into our world for different reasons. If humans are strong enough to open these bottles, they can connect directly with them.

Some robots might ask whoever they contact for help and offer certain perks in return. At times like that, having that bottle means life itself.

The way to do it was pretty straightforward, definitely not as complicated as Little Eric had thought. But when he saw what Michael pulled out, his expression changed right away.

The method wasn't hard, but this thing... No wonder these guys were willing to take a gamble on it.

What Michael, the host, showed off was a clear bottle surrounded by some crazy energy. Normally, currents can't hang out in a closed space like that, but this bottle totally broke the rules of physics. The flashes of blue light inside lit up the whole room. The currents twisted and turned silently around a small chip floating in the middle of the bottle.

When Maya spotted this item, she shot up from her seat with her eyes glued to it. If Little Eric hadn't held her back, she would've dashed over there without thinking.

"Be careful! Don't go near it," Little Eric warned. "You've never seen anything like this before, right? This is called the Soul Bottle."

"Soul Bottle?" Maya looked confused. To her eyes, it clearly seemed like a communicator linked to mechanical space.

Outside our human world is mechanical space. In human territory, we have robot police keeping things in check—that's just common knowledge. But one reason people think those robots in mechanical space are terrifying powerful is because of this Soul Bottle.

Even though robot police keep order here and usually don't mess with stuff happening in mechanical space directly—more and more strong humans are heading into that realm lately—and now many eyes from there are starting to pay attention here.

Sometimes robots send their communicators filled with power into our world for different reasons. If humans are strong enough to open these bottles up, they can connect directly with them.

Some robots might ask whoever they contact for help and offer certain perks in return. At times like that, having that bottle means life itself.

Even if they couldn't score that much, it was super easy for the robots in Mechanical Space to take someone out from afar. Everyone here had some serious power and influence. Who didn't have one or two annoying people they wanted to get rid of?

Michael tapped on the table in front of him with a grin, "Here's how it works: If you can open it, you get the energy crystal. If you can't open it or end up dead, your family has to cough up an equivalent amount as a bet. Got it? If there are no questions, let's kick off the bidding and see who gets a shot at this."

Those folks from the Treasure Auction House really know their stuff. They even turned this whole thing into an auction process where even those wanting to try to have to pay for their shot at it. Little Eric thought, "Are these guys from City 5 out of their minds?"

But hey, this did make the item seem way more valuable, even if it felt like paying for a chance at death.

Just when Michael was about to announce that things were starting and everyone was lost in their own thoughts, someone spoke up and broke the tension.

"Hold on! I've got a message!"

Dad?

Mayor Smith?

Everyone quickly turned their heads toward Mayor Smith, stepping out of the VIP room. Honestly, most people here were pretty young; leaders like Mayor Smith usually wouldn't show up at events like this. But when he actually showed up, all eyes shifted back to Little Eric.

Little Eric couldn't help but smirk slightly. He hadn't asked that old man to come—why were they all looking at him like that?

"Sorry for interrupting," said Mayor Smith in an apologetic tone. "I'm just here passing along a message."

Michael greeted him politely: "Not at all! It's our pleasure to have you here! What's your message?"

"He mentioned that it's kinda unfair if we're opening this thing and taking home both the energy crystal while you keep the Soul Bottle," replied Mayor Smith casually. "He suggested whoever opens it should get both items."

When Mayor Smith said that, the young folks from City 5 weren't too thrilled. They had traveled a long way, and they didn't come just to hand out gifts. But then, one of the guys with a classy look waved his hand to calm everyone down.

Michael kept smiling and said, "Mayor Smith, it's okay for whoever opens it to take both prizes. But if it can't be opened, then the bet isn't worth the same as the energy crystal anymore."

It's like when you bet someone ten bucks and lose—you have to pay them ten bucks.

But if you up your bet to twenty bucks and lose, you can't just pay them ten; you've got to cough up twenty.

Mayor Smith nodded and replied, "He's right—since everyone wants in on this game, that energy crystal isn't really worth it after all. You mentioned there are ten chances before we start the auction, right?"

“Yeah.”

"Bring those bottles up here." Mayor Smith ordered firmly.

Before long, ten bottles were lined up neatly around Michael's group's staff—only these weren't buzzing with electricity.

"There are ten soul bottles here that have been made safe. This is what he's offering as a bet."

What?！

Almost everyone jumped by surprise.

The ten bottles still glowed faintly but looked untouched without any electric shocks on their surfaces.

Compared to risking getting zapped trying to handle that one bottle over there, wouldn't it be smarter just to grab these?

Were they seriously giving these away for people to use as bets?

What a waste!

That was definitely what most people were thinking: trading ten for one? Who do these guys think they are!

Mayor Smith totally got where these folks were coming from. When he held those bottles, his hands were shaking. Ten chances!

If someone could find a live bottle in the mix, that would be amazing.

But Max just started handing them out like candy.

No one knew where he got so many from, but just his intention made Mayor Smith keep quiet.

The word on the street was that the last spot among those ten was definitely going to Maya. To everyone else, it looked like Max was just playing around, but really, he was giving a huge advantage to whoever might end up dying here. If someone popped open a bottle before Maya did, then she'd be safe.

As an old pro at this game, Mayor Smith didn't bother asking Max why he wasn't directly stopping Maya or even showing up himself.

What Mayor Smith needed to do was make sure that if the other nine couldn't figure out their bottles, they had to send someone from their group to protect Maya for that last spot. If they wanted out of this situation, they had to win over Max.

Ever since finding out about Maya and Max's connection, Mayor Smith felt like he'd found a way to climb higher in this game.

Sure, Max was unpredictable—but that little girl? She seemed pretty straightforward! As long as she was in danger, people from their organization would rush in first to protect her. That would surely change how Max viewed them!

To show where he stood on things, Mayor Smith even stepped up himself and tossed out some bait from Max's playbook.

Naturally, this caught the eye of other groups watching closely—everyone wondered if it was the Radiant Organization stirring things up or if it really was something else like Mayor Smith said.

But no matter what anyone thought about it all—Max's strategy quickly hit its mark! At first glance, it might have seemed like just a test with only one chance per person for grabbing a bottle; many of these young family members probably would've taken a wait-and-see approach initially. But now? If they succeed?

They could snag two bottles instead! That changed everything! It wouldn't be surprising at all if they went completely wild over it.

Mayor Smith quietly felt for those folks with the wolfish eyes and didn't say anything else. He just shot his son a fierce look, as if to say, "You little rascal, why did you have to get involved with her? You're making things tough for your old man!"

Little Eric suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Wait—was Dad really coming to drag him back?

Maya stared at the bunch of bottles in front of her. She only had one goal in mind, but the other ten were weird. They seemed drained of energy but still gave off faint vibes connected to some mechanical space. It was all pretty confusing.

"Alright then, since Mayor Smith has put such a generous bet on the table, it'd be a shame to stop now. Let's keep going," Michael kept smiling, but whenever he glanced at Maya, there was always this dark glint lurking in his eyes.

The bidding kicked back up again. The price for the first spot had already hit 200 grand when a waiter came over and whispered something into Little Eric's ear.

"Maya, I'll be gone for a bit. Just hang tight here and don't wander off, okay?" Little Eric looked over at the VIP room where his dad was sitting; his expression was kind of mixed.

"Sure."

"And don't bid on anything until I'm back with the cash," he warned again. His dad called him over—did that mean he really took away his money? What's even the point then?