Chapter 77: Matilda's Idea
"You actually...went out and bring new girls!" Matilda's face was scrunched up with adorable fury as she glared at Jake.
The words sounded ridiculous, and Jake reached out to pinch Matilda's cheek, but she shook her head unhappily and pulled away.
"You're using the wrong terminology."
"Hmph! Then how should I say it?"
Jake chuckled. "You should say, I'm keeping them as staff."
Looking at the girl's face, flushed with anger, Jake laughed heartily. Every time he traveled to a new world, after experiencing either a depressing or exhilarating storyline, only Mia had ever helped him decompress. Now, Matilda was another source of comfort.
"You already have a girlfriend, why do you need them?" Matilda retorted indignantly. "And you even rejected me!"
Perhaps that was the real issue.
Suddenly, Matilda pointed to maid android number one, who was mowing the estate's enormous lawn. "Her function isn't just lawn care, is it?" She looked down self-consciously and touched her chest—flat and undeveloped.
The first maid android was designed by Jake to have the most striking figure and appearance—a blonde, blue-eyed bombshell. Just one glance from those lifeless eyes could make you feel incredibly attracted!
Matilda instantly deflated.
"Relax," Jake said, picking her up amid the girl's surprised squeals. Simms, meanwhile, obediently returned to his quarters, turned on his computer, and continued his research.
"They're androids."
"Androids?"
Seeing Matilda's disbelief, Jake walked to the second one, gently grasped its head, pressed a button, and then pulled—the entire head detached from its shoulders!
The second maid android was still standing there, but without its head, its internal circuitry was exposed.
After realizing these three were just machines, Matilda fell silent, perhaps feeling embarrassed about her earlier outburst. However, she was quickly fascinated by the androids.
Robots, especially ones that looked exactly like humans.
This was something you only saw in science fiction movies.
"So, you went to a new world?"
Jake nodded in acknowledgment. "The artificial intelligence in that world was very advanced, so I commissioned a few androids. After all, the estate is so large, it needs regular maintenance."
"If you commissioned androids, why not male ones?" Matilda stared at Jake, while pulling maid android number three—the one Jake had designed with the most normal proportions but a face as beautiful as a supermodel—closer to her side. She poked its chest like a curious teenager. "Besides, these don't feel fake at all." As she spoke, she prodded again.
Jake looked at Matilda with mock jealousy... and said, "You can't expect me to order unattractive androids, can you? Besides, I need maids to serve me, not burly men."
Their bickering ended with laughter.
Matilda, who rarely showed her schoolwork to Jake, suddenly pulled out a notebook.
"It's not good for us to keep operating like this," she said, pointing to a diagram she'd drawn in her notebook. It was filled with boxes and connecting lines. "If we're going to travel through dimensions, we need our own organization. Assassins have their guilds, right?"
Nodding, Jake gestured for her to continue. He understood what Matilda meant, but he wouldn't interrupt.
"We enter different worlds, spreading our influence, making the people of those worlds respect us." Clutching her notebook, she seemed lost in fantasy.
Jake frowned. "You want to become a deity?"
Had he made some wrong decisions? Had he led this girl down a dark path?
In Jake's view, there were no gods in reality. Even if there were, like in Thor, those gods were just technologically advanced aliens.
Rather than dominating others, Jake preferred to remain outside all power structures, peacefully being a traveler.
"No, that's not it," Matilda stuck out her tongue. "I just think an organization sounds really cool, and we can't keep operating without a name, can we?"
It turned out to be just her youthful enthusiasm again. Jake breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, tell me what you're thinking."
Seeing that Jake had given her a chance to present her ideas, Matilda sat up straight, coughed twice to clear her throat, and said, "First, we need a name. How about 'The Council'?"
Looking at the girl lost in her daydream, Jake didn't interrupt but continued to listen to her vision.
In short, Matilda's goal was clear, even resonating with the fantasies of many people who'd just gained the ability to travel through dimensions.
Find some trustworthy allies in various worlds, and then unite them all under an impressive name.
"The Shadow Council" was Matilda's suggestion. As for why she had this idea, Jake glanced at Matilda's history textbook—it seemed they had just studied the parliamentary system in class.
Thanks, teacher. Clearly, Matilda had been paying attention during that lesson.
This group of people would travel to various worlds to stop villains, save innocents, or acquire rare artifacts, roaming freely through endless universes.
This was also Jake's vision, but rather than traveling between worlds, Jake imagined himself sitting at a cosmic table filled with countless small boxes, each box representing a world. As an outsider, he could take something from each box.
His phone was this table, and the movies inside were the small boxes.
Entering the movie worlds, in Jake's view, was like playing a video game and running dungeons.
Jake didn't object to Matilda's suggestion, immediately raising his hand in agreement—he wasn't particularly invested in such formalities.
Thus, the trans dimensional organization named "Shadow Council" was established. Currently, it had only two members: Jake and Matilda, one logistics and research staff member, Simms, and Cobb as an unofficial consultant, though Cobb's role was limited to dream extraction and offered no combat support.
In short, this so-called organization was quite underwhelming.
The next two days were the weekend, and Jake drove Matilda to Mia's university in his black sedan.
Sitting in the car, watching Mia wave at them from across the street, Matilda suddenly said, "Don't you think we're like Batman and Robin? We have our normal lives during the day, and at night we transform into vigilantes."
"This world is just one stop on my journey," Jake replied. "I think going out to dinner with my girlfriend like today is rarer than being a vigilante—moments like this don't come often."
Mia quickly approached the car, her jaw dropping as she looked at the vintage muscle car. Jake knew this girl was a genuine gearhead!
Jake firmly refused to let Mia drive. If she carelessly pressed one of the Black Beauty's buttons—like the flamethrower or missile launcher—things would get catastrophic. Jake didn't want to needlessly harm innocent people. He had Matilda guard the passenger seat and prevent Mia from commandeering it. The three then headed out for dinner.
Candlelight, dinner, wine, girlfriend, plus... a third wheel.
Fortunately, Jake and Mia were used to it by now.
However, to completely win this girl over, he'd probably have to get past Matilda first, and Jake currently had no strategy to deal with this troublesome preteen.
The three enjoyed a pleasant weekend. That evening, Jake drove Mia directly to his estate. Seeing Jake's San Francisco property for the first time, Mia was speechless with amazement, as the estate was larger than her entire country.
When she saw the mansion, decorated like a fairy tale palace by the android maids, her eyes filled with emotion. She mistakenly believed that Jake had done all of this specifically for her.
So, that night, Jake finally got his opportunity to make a move. However, just as things were heating up and heading toward home base, Matilda appeared.
Her sudden appearance didn't even surprise either of them anymore.
After enjoying the weekend, Jake was also considering which world he would travel to next. The live-action adaptation of Parasyte was a strong candidate.
The parasitic creatures in it were similar to the "Souls" in The Host universe, but the methods were much bloodier and more violent. If he gave both types of parasites to Simms, he believed the scientist could research and engineer obedient versions.
Maybe Jake could even bring back some parasitized predators to keep as exotic pets.
However, before entering this somewhat graphic movie world, Jake planned to solve a problem that had been bothering him for a long time:
the issue of lifespan. No one would refuse to live longer. As human civilization has progressed, in addition to pursuing greater comfort and convenience, extended longevity has always been an elusive goal. But for Jake, who had access to infinite movie worlds, immortality was possible.
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