BOOK 10. There are two tales at the beginning. Zhao Yunlan is searching for a lost artefact while Black Robe is searching for the same thing in a different world. One story is partly an illusion, while the other is very real and when they merge...
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The bed re-appeared in the cave in their own world where the guards had brought it a few days ago and immediately Yunlan's phone ran hot with messages, while Wei stood in silence at the entrance to the cave and calmed himself, searching to find out what was going on in the mansion.
Ava was in her kitchen cooking but seemed unaware of food burning as she carried on with mundane activities. The guards were behaving like assorted servants, bed making, gardening and polishing a car that was rarely used but Wei couldn't sense Guo Ying or Lin Jing until he changed his search parameters. He discovered them in the basement at the Weilan Complex and studied them carefully before he spoke to Yunlan, whose phone had been silenced from the annoying notification alert while he watched Wei's expression of concern become worse.
"How bad is it Xiao Wei?" he asked as he looked into Wei's troubled eyes and saw him compose himself before he spoke.
"Our friends are split into two groups, several are in the mansion trying to give the illusion of normal servants, while Lin Jing and Ying are in the basement of the Complex. The Controller is in command at home, but by the way Ava and the guards are behaving, they are hiding their skills."
Yunlan led Wei back inside the cave and guided him to sit on the side of the bed as he joined him
"We have to think this through without walking into some kind of a trap. Where is Kunlun? Do you know if Lin Jing took the programme with him?" Yunlan asked as he watched Wei close his eyes to concentrate before he answered.
"Yes he did, he's working on him just now. Ying is beside him, he knows where we are but he was worried when we disappeared for two days." Wei replied while he sat with his eyes closed, communicating with Ying.
"They were afraid that the Controller would be able to open the security room and find us, before the guards moved us to the cave for safety. They teleported Lin Jing and the Kunlun programme to the basement in the Complex and strengthened their security, but there was a replica android of me which they reverse engineered and used it to give Kunlun mobility. The Controller won't be able to recognise it as one of his original models because Jing has changed the identity chip and its appearance."
Shen Wei opened his eyes and sighed, looking disheartened as he stared into space.
"How can I fight these things when I don't understand how they work?"
Yunlan spoke quietly to him when he saw how worried Wei was about the situation in the manor.
"Think basics Wei.Ah. They are machines and there are very few left in working order. The viruscannot be stopped, it will kill all of them, we only have one target. The Controller, who is a machine with circuits and fluid to keep his synthetic body in good condition. If he is stabbed, he will bleed and lose some of that viscous fluid, water would damage him only if there was a wound, an opening to his interior circuitry. He will be too strong to attack head on, but he can suffer injuries. he's not invincible," Yunlan said as he studied the tiredness in Wei's eyes.
