"How come you've moved the Colonel aside again?" Mr. Xiao bellowed as soon as he entered the shop.
At that moment, An Zhe was just sitting up from his bed, rubbing his eyes, and whispered, "I can't sleep well with him beside me."
"You sure are picky," Mr. Xiao approached and knocked on his head sharply. "Weren't you fine sleeping with a human head just a few days ago?"
An Zhe didn't respond, instead burying his head back into the blanket.
A human head is one thing, Lu Feng is another. As an anomaly who's been on the adjudicator's radar multiple times, fearing him needed no justification.
Mr. Xiao remarked, "Looks like I'll have to cut your wages."
Left with no choice, An Zhe crawled out of the blanket again, and slowly donned his coat.
Mr. Xiao's tone lightened, "I suppose you shouldn't bother with mercenaries anymore. Just stick with me."
An Zhe asked, "Why?"
Mr. Xiao's stance was different from yesterday.
"You, my boy, nah," Mr. Xiao said, "Those mercenaries, they're too savage for you!"
An Zhe questioned, "Why pick on me?"
Mr. Xiao answered wryly, "For fun."
After that, he knocked on An Zhe's head again.
An Zhe frowned. To him, Mr. Xiao's recent behavior bordered on bullying.
But there was nothing he could do. He was like a parasite, depending on Mr. Xiao's salary—so he quietly got out of bed, washed up, and started another day's work.
Today marked the 30th day of making the doll, meaning they had to finish and deliver it by tonight.
Mr. Xiao had completed the torso and limbs ten days ago—mostly An Zhe's work under his guidance. After assembling them with a synthetic prop from the shop, they obtained a lifelike black uniform from the black market to dress the doll. Now, with a perfect body, the adjudicator's doll only lacked a head.
Currently, An Zhe was inspecting the hair grafted by hand, ensuring its aesthetic appeal, while Mr. Xiao fired up the heating furnace, stirring a pot of transparent gelatin and gradually adding green dye. Initially a dark green cluster, countless fine tendrils spread with stirring, integrating throughout the gelatin, which turned light green before darkening. An Zhe, having nothing to do, watched the color change, reminiscing about the color of Lu Feng's eyes.
Under light, they were a chilly green, like leaves trapped in clear, white ice during winter—just a glance from those eyes, and An Zhe would feel a cold shiver.
In dim light, Lu Feng's eyes turned a deep, inky green, like a deep, mysterious lake at night.
Contemplating this, An Zhe watched until the color matched his memory, then said, "That's good enough."
Mr. Xiao, with a smile, turned off the furnace, saying, "You've got a good eye."
An Zhe remained silent as he handed over the mold. The semi-transparent gelatin, poured into the spherical mold to cool and solidify, was then fitted into the eyeballs. Once set into the doll's sockets, An Zhe painstakingly grafted black eyelashes, covering the green pupils with a cold indifference so lifelike that An Zhe felt anxious, eventually fitting a black military cap to complete the look.
What followed was adjusting the joints and refining facial contours, finalizing the doll by 7 PM. An Zhe quietly regarded the doll, and it seemed to gaze back, appearing utterly like the Colonel himself.
The doll, precisely resembling the Colonel, was folded at the joints and placed into a rolling suitcase. Mr. Xiao clapped his hands, ready for delivery. "We'll have Jinsen deliver it. He's cheaper."
—Jinsen was the young man in black who had sold the phone and passed on Lu Feng's data to Mr. Xiao.
However, after repeatedly dialing, no one answered Mr. Xiao's call.
Mr. Xiao frowned, "What's going on?"
"Discovered?" he switched to dial Hubbard but was greeted by the message, "The person you're trying to reach has left the base, please leave a message."
Mr. Xiao faced the tablet on the workbench, swiftly deleting photos, advising An Zhe, "Something's off. Let's offload this quick. Nothing else tonight; you're coming with me for the delivery."
Thus, An Zhe found himself back in District 6, a place he hadn't stepped foot in for a month.
Building 13, Unit 312 in District 6, was their client's address. Switching turns to carry the heavy box upstairs to the third floor, unlike An Zhe's previous residences, Building 13 was inhabited solely by women. Along the way, An Zhe encountered several. Most had short hair, tall statures, and distinctly bold facial features, reminding him inevitably of Dusei.
Dusei was unique. Tall yet more slender than any woman An Zhe had ever seen, her body displayed an unusual softness despite her slim figure, a rarity even in the third layer below.
Meanwhile, Mr. Xiao blatantly scrutinized passing women, concluding, "There's no second Dusei."
An Zhe remained quiet, lightly knocking on door 12, "Hello, we're here to deliver."
No response.
An Zhe knocked louder, "Hello, we're delivering your order."
Still no one answered.
Mr. Xiao took a step forward, pounding on the door, "Anyone home? Delivery from the third layer."
Silence.
Then, footsteps approached from behind. An Zhe turned to see a middle-aged woman in gray. He asked, "Hello, do you live in unit 12?"
She shook her head, eyeing the door, "You're looking for her?"
"Yes," An Zhe replied. "She ordered something. We're here to deliver."
The woman's expression was flat, her gaze shifting towards the box Mr. Xiao held, "What is it?"
"Premium goods. That's all we can say," said Mr. Xiao. "Isn't she here? When will she be back?"
The woman's lips tightened, silent at first.
Growing impatient, Mr. Xiao started, "She—"
"She's dead. Didn't you know?" interrupted the woman.
The mood suddenly froze.
"Dead?" After a brief silence, Mr. Xiao's voice rose, "Then who's paying my balance?"
With a smirk that was both mocking and not, she replied, "The adjudicator killed her. Go ask him for payment."
Mr. Xiao fell silent, choked like a squeezed duck.
An Zhe was stunned.
He stared at the woman, inquiring, "What was her name?"
She didn't respond, instead turned and used her ID to swipe into the opposite door, vanishing inside. Just before the door closed, a couple of syllables slipped out.
"Dusei."
An Zhe's mind flashed back to Dusei's final glimpse towards Lu Feng, at a loss for words. Silence enveloped Mr. Xiao too. After a while, he scoffed, "Do you have any idea how much this order cost?"
An Zhe shook his head.
"More than Hubbard's order," Mr. Xiao lamented as he eyed the suitcase on the floor, eyes half-lidded. "After all the men she played, to think she actually fell for someone genuinely."
An Zhe relayed, "Dusei said, the adjudicator once saved her."
"Fool," Mr. Xiao sighed, shaking his head, "Adjudicators like him save people just to kill mutants. She's been relying on men since she was little; not a girl anymore, how could she not see that? Not worth it."
An Zhe remained silent.
Why Dusei fell for Lu Feng, he couldn't fathom. Yet, Lu Feng indeed differed from others; what precisely set him apart, An Zhe couldn't say.
After a pause, Mr. Xiao mused, "Now that she's gone, what do we do with this? Can't just leave it; if discovered, the tribunal will come after me."
An Zhe suggested, "Take it back to the shop?"
"Absolutely not," Mr. Xiao shook his head. "Jinsen's sudden disappearance worries me."
Then, remembering something, he looked at An Zhe. "Isn't your family in District 6?"
He weighed the box, "You don't live there anymore, won't be spotted. Tonight, take this home, keep it there for a while. If no one investigates, we'll find someone else to take it."
An Zhe asked, "What about you?"
Mr. Xiao glanced at his watch, frowning, "I need to catch the last bus."
After some thought, An Zhe agreed. He didn't live at home anyway; temporarily storing the doll there seemed feasible.
Mr. Xiao patted his shoulder, "You can do it."
Then, he hurried off to catch his bus.
It turned out An Zhe couldn't.
District 6 was circular, Buildings 13 and 117 not far apart—which reassured Mr. Xiao. However, the solid doll wasn't exactly light. An Zhe nearly dragged the massive box across the streets at a snail's pace, reaching building 117's base as darkness enveloped everything, shadowy figures barely visible under the aurora's light.
Standing at the entrance, dread washed over him at the thought of dragging the box up five flights of stairs—it was dreadfully heavy.
Right then, hot breath suddenly gusted behind him, and he was forcefully embraced.
"An Zhe!"
It was Joshi's voice.
"I saw you from the window and came right down," Joshi clutched him tightly. "Where have you been? Why are you only back now? Why didn't you tell me? I've been looking for you."
Catching his breath, Joshi continued, "Don't you dare leave again. Where have you been?"
Mr. Xiao was right. Joshi treated An Zhe like a personal belonging.
So An Zhe calmly said, "Please let go."
Joshi not only didn't release him but gripped tighter.
"Are you mad at me?" said Joshi.
Before An Zhe could respond, Joshi added, "I'm sorry, I'll apologize however you want, An Zhe, I love you."
An Zhe: "..."
Mr. Xiao might have been right again; Joshi did indeed want to sleep with An Zhe.
"Thank you," An Zhe said, "But, I'm taken."
"Really mad, huh?" Joshi chuckled. "You like to tease me when you're mad."
An Zhe was truly annoyed with this human, struggling free, only to be forcibly turned around by Joshi, "Look at me, An Zhe."
"Bang!"
A gunshot.
Joshi startled, reflexively releasing An Zhe and scanning the surroundings.
An Zhe, following the sound, saw a figure beneath the shadowy buildings, someone who had just fired a shot into the air, now holstering their gun and approaching. A tall, familiar silhouette.
Only military personnel could legally carry guns within the city.
And among the military's various branches, only a particular type of person would fire at will.
An Zhe thought, running into the adjudicator's internal patrol again was far too coincidental.
Before he could ponder further, Lu Feng's recognizable voice reached him, "Whose are you?"
An Zhe replied, "Neighbor."
Lu Feng approached closer.
At such proximity, anyone could recognize this was the adjudicator.
An Zhe felt Joshi stiffen beside him.
"AD4117," Lu Feng casually stated his comm. "Next time something like this happens, if you wish to contact me, he will be arrested for lewd behavior."
An Zhe lifted his gaze to Lu Feng, momentarily lost. But since the man was a military colonel, he seemingly had a duty to maintain internal security.
"Alright," he agreed.
—Joshi behind him tensed even more.
But An Zhe had no more concern for Joshi.
Because Lu Feng's hand was gently resting on the suitcase handle.
He calmly said, "Let me help you carry it up."