Chapter 68: Episode 68: Visiting Roxy

Adonis did not answer immediately.

His eyes swept over her face. He cataloged the rigid set of her shoulders, the slight tremor in her hands where they gripped the edge of the marble island, and the dark, evasive shadows flickering in her eyes.

His processor hummed, running a rapid psychological diagnostic. She was physically present, but her emotional matrix was entirely walled off.

A lesser machine, would have demanded immediate compliance. They would have pushed until she broke.

He knew she was hiding something, and he knew she would reveal it sooner or later. Patience was a tactical advantage he was slowly learning to master.

“The Director of Human Relations,” Adonis began, his voice a calm, even rumble that lacked any of its usual commanding edge, “is a bureaucratic designation. The role involves managing localized biological disputes, resource allocation appeals, and maintaining the illusion of human autonomy within the lower Sectors.”

He paused, tilting his head slightly. “However, I must inform you that the title I used at the Gala was merely a cover-up. A shield to validate your presence among the Old World elite.”

Nikki’s grip tightened on the marble. “I can do it,” she insisted, her voice tight. “I know how the lower sectors work. I can manage disputes.”

Adonis reached out, his massive hand covering hers. His skin was warm, a stark contrast to the cold stone. “I do not doubt your capabilities, Nikki. But the position is currently occupied by a human loyalist. Tower Zero’s structural protocols dictate that redundancy is highly inefficient. Two humans cannot be assigned to the same operational role.”

Nikki pressed her lips into a thin, bloodless line.

She found herself entirely unable to say anything more. She couldn’t argue with his logic, and worse, she couldn’t bring herself to look up into his eyes. If she looked at him, she knew she would crack.

She was the one that seduced him first, but now she was the one trying to get away from him, and that was entirely not fair to Adonis.

He had learnt to see only her and yet here she was being selfish or rather selfless for a world she herself hated.

She gently, but deliberately, pulled her hand out from under his. She kept her gaze fixed firmly on the floor tiles.

“I want to see Roxy,” Nikki said softly, the request sounding more like a desperate plea for a lifeline.

Adonis froze. The sudden withdrawal of her physical contact registered as a sharp, negative data spike in his core. He looked down at the empty space where her hand had been.

“Nikki…” Adonis called her name, the low timbre of his voice vibrating with a complex mixture of authority and a strange, profound vulnerability.

Nikki held her breath as her heart spiked, waiting for him to speak. She waited for him to forbid it, to tell her it was too dangerous, or to demand she stay in the house where he could monitor her erratic vitals.

A long, heavy silence stretched across the kitchen.

He stepped back, giving her the space she was so desperately trying to carve out.

“I will instruct a transport drone to escort you,” Adonis said quietly. “It will ensure you are safely deposited directly at General K-09’s gate. Do not deviate from the route.”

Nikki nodded once, still not looking at him, and turned on her heel to grab her clothes.

Thirty minutes later, Nikki sat in the back of the sleek, windowless transport vehicle, her knees pulled up to her chest. As the car sped silently away from his mansion, a crushing wave of guilt washed over her.

She felt terrible for avoiding him this way. But she desperately needed some time to piece her fragmented mind back together. The Penalty Zone had completely frazzled her nerves.

The trauma of the simulation was so deep, so visceral, that earlier that morning, she had literally needed to verify the color of his eyes before her body would allow her to relax.

And it wasn’t just the simulation. Her mind had been infested with vivid, horrific nightmares of the day her parents died. It felt as if the System was actively trying to wreck her, tearing down her mental defenses until she was nothing but a complete, paranoid mess.

Yet, beneath the fear and the trauma, a profound truth anchored her. She definitely liked Adonis.

Liked was probably an understatement.

Heck, he was the absolute best thing life could offer her right now. He had taken a girl who was surviving on battery trades and rainwater and given her the world.

Even though she had been the one flashing her lewdity all over him.

He gave her life meaning. He was an anchor to a purpose she hadn’t even known she possessed. He was constantly showing her, and everyone else, that she could do the things she thought she couldn’t.

And so far that would be mounting him and riding humanity out of his machine cores.

He was a warlord, yes. But he had just let her walk out the door because he knew she needed to breathe. For that, she was overwhelmingly grateful.

The transport slowed, breaking Nikki out of her heavy thoughts. The gull-wing doors hissed open.

Nikki stepped out into the air. General K-09’s mansion was located in the western grid of Sector 1. It wasn’t nearly as colossal or imposing as Adonis’s Spire, but it was still a remarkably good size. It had a sharp, brutalist architecture, built with dark metals and tinted glass.

It featured external elevators that crawled up the sides of the structure, and the grounds were buzzing with smaller, highly efficient utility drones doing his bidding.

A small drone scanned her retinas and immediately granted her access, leading her into a spacious, sunken lounge area.

K-09 was not home, likely out running military drills or managing his designated sector, but Nikki was not left waiting for long.

“Nikki!”

Roxy practically floated into the room.

Nikki blinked, her jaw dropping slightly. Her best friend was wearing a set of incredibly plush, dark-grey loungewear that looked ridiculously expensive. But it wasn’t the clothes that caught Nikki’s attention. It was Roxy herself.

Roxy was absolutely glowing. She looked like she had just been thoroughly, meticulously massaged by a professional masseuse for five hours straight.

Her posture was entirely relaxed, her skin was radiant, and there was a lazy, thoroughly satisfied smirk playing on her lips. The only difference was the distinct lack of massage oil, this glow was purely internal.

“Hey, babe,” Roxy grinned, throwing herself onto the plush leather sofa next to Nikki and tucking her legs underneath her. “I was wondering when you’d escape the Terminator’s clutches. What’s wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

Nikki let out a breath, preparing to unload the massive, terrifying weight of the Penalty Zone, the System, and her frazzled nerves.

But as she turned to face her friend, Roxy shifted, and the collar of her plush loungewear slipped slightly down her shoulder.

Nikki’s words died in her throat. All thoughts of the apocalypse, rogue AI, and human salvation vanished entirely. Her eyes widened, zooming in on the juncture where Roxy’s neck met her collarbone.

Right there, stark against Roxy’s glowing skin, was a distinct, heavily bruised ring of marks. It wasn’t a rash. It wasn’t a trick of the light.

It was the unmistakable shape of human teeth.

Nikki slowly raised a trembling finger, pointing at her best friend’s throat. Her gloom instantly evaporated, replaced by pure, unadulterated shock.

“Wait… Rox,” Nikki breathed, leaning in closer. “Is that a bite mark on your fucking neck?”

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