The Mechanic [BL]

[89]

Chapter 89 - Boundaries (3)

James reached out to knock on the door of the wooden cabin where Zhang Xun was staying, but before he could knock, the door suddenly opened itself. Enoch stood in the doorway, a serious look on his face as he raised a finger to his lips and shushed.

"Zhang Xun just fell asleep an hour ago. He worked all night last night. "

James was a little annoyed by the way the robot was treating him, but since Ah-Xun was sleeping, he didn't want to make too much unnecessary noise. Ah-Xun hadn't been able to rest for the past few days and must have been exhausted.

"How's he doing?" James asked.

"He is overworked and malnourished, but after my initial scans no life-threatening physical symptoms are presenting themselves at the moment." Enoch reported in a dutiful voice, "Adequate sleep and a breakfast or lunch high in protein and low in sugar should improve his health considerably."

James nodded, slightly relieved, but then suddenly he heard the robot ask, "How long are we staying here?"

James hadn't had as much contact with this robot as Zhang Xun had, and when he did, it had been mostly hostile and he wasn't quite sure what kind of attitude to adopt in communicating with the robot, how much information to give and how much to withhold. He hesitated for a moment, but told Enoch, "The Nameless Ones are willing to escort us but we'll have to wait for the return of the men they sent to check on Feathered Serpent City."

"Do you trust these Nameless Ones?" The robot asked in a flat tone.

James was slightly surprised. The robot didn't talk much, especially in front of him and Diego, almost purely carrying out orders, rarely initiating conversation. Why had it suddenly become so forthcoming?

It had always seemed to him that this robot had some special preference for Ah-Xun, but he wasn't sure if that was normal among AIs.

Ah-Xun had mentioned that AIs would treat their own administrators with special treatment, but Ah-Xun wasn't this robot's administrator.

"Why do you ask?" James narrowed his eyes.

"One of my duties is to keep you safe." Enoch continued to reply in a soothing voice, "From what I've seen of you over the past few days, you are opponents of Eden and seem to be terrified of being found by Eden. There aren't many individual humans who can be noticed by Eden, which gives you some exchange value."

"...... Are you saying that Eden 'bribed' these Nameless people?"

"Their main sources of income in the past have included robbing transport craft, using hacking techniques to steal electronic money, smuggling and selling contraband items, and so on. Based on this information, they don't have a lot of credibility."

James was silent for a moment, finally frowning, "Just do your own job, the rest isn't your concern."

But Enoch's words did have some truth to them. Not long ago they had been prisoners of the Nameless Ones and if it hadn't been for the sudden appearance of Eden's people, they would still be under house arrest, or perhaps even have been disembowelled for having killed their men.

But he somehow suddenly remembered that red hair burning in the sunlight and the dark blue arrogant eyes.

.......................................................

Zhang Xun slowly awoke from his deep slumber, smelling the aroma of coffee and milk in the air. A faint feeling of happiness came over him and he called out in a daze, "Adam ......"