When Hua Lian returned to the living room, Eggy was floating in his charging port, and Doctor Xiao was sitting straight on the sofa.
He looks like a serious student.
Doctor Xiao noticed Hua Lian's presence in an instant. With a glance, he also caught sight of the flowering spiritual plant.
Under the rays of the sunlight, the flowers were blooming in a deep shade of purple, clustered together, and laid layer after layer. The leaves were delicate, and the flower spikes were like a beautiful purple nebula in the dark galaxy, swaying gently.
Doctor Xiao wanted to express himself, but he just felt numb.
This kid is so rich; why are you abducting people?
Eggy glanced at the juvenile mimic butterfly on the lavender. "That mimic is heavily injured."
"Yeah. So we must buy a lot of supplements and give him a lot of good food to heal faster. Oh, medicines as well. There's a lot to prepare, and we must be ready to cough out the money."
Eggy,"....."
No, I'm not telling you to plan his stay. What I'm saying is that the guy's on the verge of death and screams 'liability'.
"...What did you even bring him for?"
Hua Lian was proud. "He will be responsible for pollinating my flower."
General Liele, who had been awakened just a moment ago, "..."
Use proper language. Thank you.
"What about him?" Eggy pointed at Doctor Xiao.
"Buy 1, Take 1... No, it's Take 1, Buy 1."
The little butterfly came on his own, while the doctor had to follow his patient, so she took him along as a contract worker.
"Force buying and selling?! He forced you?!"
The abducted Doctor Xiao, "..."
Are you still forced?
"No, no." Probably finding her conscience, Hua Lian defended her new employee. "Both parties consented as adults."
Eggy, "....?!"
Doctor Xiao, "...!!"
Please don't make it sound like an affair.
Remembering the guardian robot's firepower, Doctor Xiao sweated.
As if to prove herself, Hua Lian pulled out a sound recording of their previous conversation, starting with introductions and ending with a strange sound.
General Liele expressed a moment of silence after being an accessory to a crime.
"You did something wrong."
The two grown men exhaled. It's good to have a guardian at home, even if it's an illegal robot.
Eggy felt his child was smart and vigilant enough to record evidence but still lacked worldly intelligence. "A patient can disappear, and if they can't find him after a while, they'll think he's dead."
Pulling out a holographic pen, he twisted it until the workers' law and sanitorium's common regulations were projected on the virtual screen.
"But this guy is different, and there's a high chance that the army will investigate his disappearance. This doctor here works at a sanatorium, which is either owned by the emperor directly or managed by the government. Leaving requires a resignation approved after strict inspection by relevant personnels and transferring stations must pass a review…"
After explaining the regulations, Eggy also explained about employment and workers' laws. "Even if he agrees with you verbally, it still needs proper procedure and signed documentation. At least we must make sure that no one will persistently look for him and he will not be able to run away, or even if he runs away, the law will be on our side and we can sue him to death. Remember, if you want to deceive people, you must at least confront the basic legalities at face value to eliminate immediate risks. Also, it's best to find a willing and ignorant victim. Anyway, the work here doesn't require much brain."
The two background characters reacted, 'You sounded so wrong, but I have no evidence.'
Hua Lian wrinkled her brows. "That's too troublesome."
Seeing that work would increase in the future, she wanted to find helpers. Additional robots are ideal but their energy cores are not practical expenses in her opinion. In comparison, contract workers can be paid directly with money, don't need repair or maintenance, and are more flexible in ability and thinking.
More importantly, there's a high chance that they would be willing to trade their labour with what she have at home.
But she knew people's greed can't be fought off by her two tiny fists and that her house was easily coveted.
She had to find other ways and it's just right that doctor Xiao was alone, had something he wanted from her, looked gentle enough and was distracted. He was easily baited but as expected, people are still troublesome.
I guess as long as they're alive socially, trouble would come if she reaches out her paws.
"Don't just hide from the law or try being smart by finding loopholes. A true expert also knows how to use the law as their shield and sword."
Hua Lian thought for a while, then shook her head. "Unless necessary, I'll just look for black households."
It would be good to find people who can come but not come out.
"That's fine too. There are also illegal immigrants, refugees and native exiles. I think the exiles on garbage planets are the best choice. They have no means to connect to the stellar network, and it's common for them to disappear, either dead or trafficked, so the government won't bother. Even if we are discovered, we can say we are keeping them as charity."
Doctor Xiao was horrified by their educational talk. He swears something is wrong with this illegal robot!
General Liele, on the other hand, thought that this robot was good at what it does. Teaching the laws was no problem, but it cannot be left to teach morality and speech.
As an AI, lacking some tact and being direct was normal, but if the girl learned its speech pattern, getting beaten outside was guaranteed.
After the lecture, Eggy demanded, "If he's staying, he has to sign an employment contract and write a resignation."
"Isn't it too late?"
He's already a missing person.
"It's better to have one than none." Pausing, the illegal robot finally said something that sounded more civilized. "Also, housing and food are just basic incentives; you must still give him a salary. Negotiate with him; I'll check on it later."
"..." Hua Lian gripped her light brain, which contained all of her living expenses.
"Free things are the most expensive, understand?"
Hua Lian wilted in defeat. Raising a family business alone was so hard. She really misses her father.
Eggy went to work somewhere, and Hua Lian took the holographic pen, saying, "Rest first. I'll write the contract later." Then she left as well.
"...."
"...."
That girl definitely has no intention of negotiating.
What that robot should prioritize teaching is people's rights!
And morals! No, justice and righteousness are the most essentials!
"Don't do anything first." A calm, masculine voice sounded directly in Doctor Xiao's head.
"General, are you clear-headed now?"
"Mmmm."
In fact, he was not in a daze but had been sleeping. It was only after entering that vast field of green that his consciousness slowly awakened.
Smelling the fresh scent of green leaves mixed with the fragrance of flowers and opening his eyes to a vibrant, blooming spiritual flower, Liele thought the ancestors had felt compassion and gave him a beautiful dream.
Only after a moment of clarity did he realise it wasn't a dream.
"General, while you are still clear-headed, we must immediately contact the army to rescue us. That child—"
"It's just a girl and a robot."
Doctor Xiao choked.
Please don't selectively forget that the robot has an illegal configuration and the violent wild mutant vine outside.
Doctor Xiao tried to persist. "In my opinion, General, this place is very unusual. Just look at the spiritual plants outside; they're planted into the soil which are no doubt fertile and are growing in abundance. General—"
An oppressive aura pressed on his head, making him breathless. He swallowed the remaining words in his throat, and a layer of sweat formed on his back.
"Don't care about what you shouldn't."
Even if she had a different intention, the girl indirectly helped him. Liele felt that he was not an ungrateful person.
But saying that she was her benefactor was to make it sound nice as a person.
Truthfully, there was an attraction that he does not plan to resist. In fact, it was very, very tempting.
Liele has no aspiration to be a holier than thou saint. Since a treasure was handed to him, it would be a sin not to occupy it.
There are repayments for his benefactor but the only transaction he accepts is paying with himself.