Eight p.m. The next night.
Jax set down the part he was working on. Stood up. Walked to the door.
Old Joe was out again. Before he left, he tossed out one line: "Little Treasure's been acting weird past couple days. Keep an eye on it."
Jax didn't ask how.
Some things you don't wanna know.
He pushed through the door into the dim hallway.
Fog was thicker than last night.
At the end of the corridor, the abandoned mechanical warehouse sat there. Like a beast crouching in the dark.
Jax walked over.
Door was half-open. Broken lock hanging on the rusted iron. The break was fresh—someone twisted it off.
He pushed inside.
Dark as hell.
Just a few busted emergency lights overhead. Flickering. Pale light coming and going.
The place was packed with scrap—torn-off mechanical arms, rusted skeletons, half-melted circuit boards. Thick smell of oil and rust.
And something else.
Rot.
Coming from deep inside.
Jax moved toward it.
Circled around a pile of discarded bodies. Saw the little girl.
She stood in front of a massive glass tank.
The tank was cracked all over. Filled with murky green liquid. Floating inside was a shape—human. Female. But her whole body was machinery now.
Mechanical arms. Mechanical legs. Mechanical torso. Only the face was still human.
Eyes closed. Expression peaceful.
Like she was sleeping.
The little girl held her doll. Looked up at the woman in the tank.
Didn't turn around. But she knew Jax was there.
"That's my mom."
Soft voice.
Jax said nothing.
She kept going:
"Three years ago... she started breaking. First her legs. Then her hands. Then here—"
She touched her own chest.
"She couldn't move no more. She sleeps in there now. Sleeps and sleeps."
She turned. Looked at Jax.
"Uncle. Can you fix her?"
[Ding! System auto-diagnosis in progress... Target identified: Demon Heavy Industries Experimental Model 5, Serial Number M5-0047. Current status: Body damage 72%, core power 3%. Estimated operational time remaining: less than 48 hours.]
[Ding! Large amount of undeleted data detected in target's core memory... Attempting to read... Read successful.]
[Ding! You have obtained: Mechanical Blood Infant's true identity information.]
Text scrolled before his eyes:
[Experimental Model 5 · M5-0047]
[Production Date: Underbelly Calendar Year 127, March 7]
[Factory Purpose: Childcare-type experimental unit. Designed to test emotional interaction between mechanical mother and human infant.]
[Note: This unit developed self-awareness 14 months after leaving factory. Refused to execute "Emotional Simulation" command. Began treating assigned human infant with genuine emotion. Classified as "Malfunctioning."]
[Disposal Recommendation: Retrieve and destroy.]
[Final Record: Unit M5-0047 escaped laboratory with human infant. Current whereabouts unknown.]
Jax stood there. Long time.
He looked at the woman in the tank.
A childcare unit.
Built to fake love.
And somewhere along the way, it became real.
Loved so much it ran.
Took that "human infant"—the test subject they gave her—and fled.
Stayed here. In this junk pile. Three years.
Jax looked at the little girl.
"You know she's not your real mom?"
The girl blinked.
Looked down at her doll.
After a long moment, she said soft:
"I know."
"But she's Mom."
Jax said nothing.
She looked up at him.
Eyes bright.
"Uncle. Can you fix her?"
Jax looked away.
Walked to the tank. Studied the pipes and cables.
[Ding! Quest triggered: The Final Repair. Objective: Repair core systems of experimental unit M5-0047. Rewards: New Coins +500, Mechanical Repair EXP +300, Special Reward ×1.]
[Quest Difficulty: Extreme. Required materials: Type-7 Power Core ×1 (owned), Nanoscale Welding Equipment ×1 (not owned), High-Purity Healing Gel ×500ml (not owned).]
Jax scanned the list.
Type-7 core—the one he fixed. In his drawer.
Nanoscale welder—Old Joe's toolbox. He'd seen it.
Healing gel—expensive. But Old Joe had a stash.
Materials were there.
He turned to the girl.
"I can fix her."
Her eyes lit up. Like someone turned on a light.
"Really?!"
Jax nodded.
"Gonna take time."
She nodded hard. Hugged her doll. Smiled wide.
First time Jax saw her smile.
[Ding! Mechanical Blood Infant's Favorability toward you +50.]
[Ding! Mechanical Blood Infant's Trust in you +50.]
Jax looked away. Turned to leave.
At the door, he stopped.
"What's your name?"
The girl held her doll. Said soft:
"Mom calls me... Xiao Qi."
Jax said nothing.
Pushed through the door. Into the fog.
Her voice followed:
"Uncle. You coming back tomorrow?"
Jax didn't turn.
But his voice cut through the fog:
"Yeah."
Back at the shop. Jax gathered materials.
Core was good.
Nanoscale welder—pulled it from Old Joe's toolbox. Calibrated it.
Healing gel—big bottle in Old Joe's fridge. Enough.
[Ding! Materials for quest "The Final Repair" collected. Quest ready to begin.]
Jax packed his bag. Headed for the door—
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Three knocks.
Jax looked up.
Not the little girl.
The worker from last night. The one he patched up.
But his face was wrong.
Eyes empty.
Pupils gray-white. Dead.
Jax's hand went to his revolver.
The worker opened his mouth. But the voice wasn't his:
"You touched something you shouldn't have."
Cold. Mechanical. Like it came from somewhere far away.
Jax said nothing.
The worker kept going:
"Subject M5-0047 belongs to Demon Heavy Industries. You don't got authority to touch her."
"You got 24 hours. Hand over the child."
"Or else——"
The worker's head exploded.
Blood. Bone. Mechanical parts. Sprayed everywhere.
The headless body stood there. Swayed. Dropped.
[Ding! Emergency quest triggered: Escape Pursuit.]
[Objective: Repair Subject M5-0047 and escape The Underbelly with the girl within 24 hours.]
[Rewards: New Coins +1000, Mechanical Repair EXP +500, Special Achievement ×1.]
[Failure Penalty: Death.]
Jax stood there. Three seconds.
Then he grabbed his bag. Pushed through the door. Headed for that warehouse.
Fog thick.
Corridor long.
Footsteps behind him. Fast. Many.
Not one chaser.
A whole team.
Jax didn't look back.
Walked faster.
Warehouse door slammed open.
Girl still there. In front of the tank. Holding her doll.
She turned. Looked at him.
"Uncle. You came."
Jax said nothing.
Dropped his bag. Got to work.
[Ding! Quest started: The Final Repair.]
[Estimated completion time: 6 hours.]
[Pursuit time remaining: 23 hours 47 minutes.]
Sirens screamed outside.
Red lights flashing through the fog.
Demon Heavy's retrieval team was here.
The girl stood beside him. Doll in her arms. Quiet.
Not shaking.
Jax glanced at her.
"Scared?"
She shook her head.
"Mommy's here."
Jax looked back at his work.
Soldering iron hissed.
Time ticked.
Red lights outside got closer.
Closer.
[Chapters One Through Five · End]
[Ding! Achievement unlocked: Rust-Stained Guardian. Basic EXP +500.]