Chapter 15

Chapter 15

An Zhe and Lu Fen locked eyes.

Lu Fen's expression was his usual subtle aloofness, his gaze tranquil. He was sincere.

An Zhe's words stumbled, "N-No need."

If the box contained anything else, and the Lord Arbiter had a sudden urge to help, An Zhe, although not keen on excessive interaction with this person, wouldn't outright refuse.

But this particular box held something sinister within.

An Zhe placed his hand on the suitcase handle as well, attempting to retrieve it from Lu Fen, "I can manage on my own."

"Manage?" Lu Fen looked at him, his slender brows furrowing slightly, "You live on the first floor?"

"I live on the fifth floor, but I can still do it," An Zhe replied.

Lu Fen nodded, "Oh, I see."

His hand covered An Zhe's fingers, and with an unseen force, he effortlessly pulled An Zhe's hand away from the handle.

With a click, the handle was swiftly pushed back into the suitcase. Lu Fen grabbed the side handle and lifted the entire case with ease.

An Zhe: "…!"

He said, "No, really, it's okay."

Lu Fen: "Fifth floor?"

Alright.

An Zhe realized that he had inadvertently revealed the floor number.

However, before he could react further, Lu Fen had already started walking towards the apartment entrance. An Zhe had no choice but to follow – casting a glance back at Joshua just before entering, who was watching them with uncertainty, not daring to move. Boss Xiao had mentioned that if he were to get involved with a formidable mercenary, Joshua would surely avoid him. Now, it seemed that this prediction might indeed be true, even though An Zhe wasn't with a mercenary, but rather the Judge, and despite the fact that he and Lu Fen had no actual relationship.

But in this brief moment of distraction, An Zhe found himself several steps behind Lu Fen. The colonel's legs were longer, forcing An Zhe to quicken his pace to keep up, entering the stairwell alongside him.

To conserve electricity, only dim emergency lights illuminated the narrow and dark corridor. In the silence, the sound of the colonel's military boots hitting the ground was particularly pronounced, each step echoing like a knock on An Zhe's heart. Based on his understanding of Lu Fen, the man would soon inquire, "What's inside the suitcase?"

But, until they reached the fifth floor, Lu Fen remained silent.

An Zhe stood in front of door number 14 and swiped his ID card to unlock it. The curtains weren't drawn, and as the door opened, the aurora borealis rushed through the window, illuminating most of the dark sky with its vibrant glow. Primarily green, its edges refracted shades of orange and purple. An Zhe stepped inside and switched on the room's small lamp. Out of politeness expected among humans, he looked at the colonel by the door, "Please come in."

Lu Fen entered with a pleased expression, placing his suitcase against the wall. Observing him, An Zhe found the man in a surprisingly good mood and didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave.

He cautiously asked, "Are you going to continue your patrol?"

With his arms crossed, Lu Fen leaned against the wall and casually replied, "No need."

Those cold green eyes watched him, and An Zhe couldn't shake off the feeling that even now, Lord Adjudicator didn't fully trust that he was human, still meticulously searching for any possible signs of deception.

An Zhe whispered, "Then, what will you do later?"

"I'll return to the City Defense Bureau to rest," he heard Lu Fen say.

An Zhe tried his best to converse with him in a human-like manner, "Aren't you going back to the Adjudication Court?"

Lu Fen replied, "Too far."

An Zhe: "Oh... right."

He felt that under the current circumstances, he should invite the colonel to sit at home, but he was too eager for him to leave because it seemed as though there was only one colonel in the room, when in reality, there were two.

He asked, "Then when will you go?"

Lu Fen gave him a glance.

An Zhe lowered his gaze and pressed his lips together.

Lu Fen: "Go get me a glass of water."

It wasn't a suggestion or a request; the tone of his voice made it sound like an order no matter what he said.

An Zhe: "Sure."

He picked up the glass on the table, opened the door, and walked to the nearby communal water dispenser. It wasn't far from their floor, and as he stood before the red and blue buttons, he pondered whether Lu Fen preferred hot or cold water.

After a moment's thought, he pressed the blue button for cold water. There was no ice available, otherwise he would have definitely fetched ice for Lu Fen.

Carrying the cup, he walked back to his room with a heavy heart, knowing he would have to face Lu Fen again.

The Judge had helped carry his belongings upstairs in the middle of the night, only to come for a glass of water. Was he thirsty after patrolling all night?

When he told Boss Xiao about this tomorrow, with that single-mindedness of his, he'd probably say, "He wants to sleep with you."

No, that couldn't be right.

An Zhe suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He suddenly remembered why Boss Xiao had left the box with him.

—Because Jin Sen had been honestly selling phones in the black market, yet suddenly became unreachable. Boss Xiao found it suspicious and decided not to bring the Judge's puppet back to the store.

Frowning, he began to recall Lu Fen's actions.

Judges usually patrolled in groups. For instance, at the entrance of the black market, Lu Fen had been accompanied by three others. So why was he alone now? And why did he show up right outside An Zhe's place?

Moreover, Lu Fen seemed to possess a kind of mind-reading ability. Any anomaly in An Zhe's behavior would be noticed by him in the past. Yet this time, he didn't even inquire about what was in the box.

An Zhe's hand on the doorknob froze.

He felt that the Judicator might have come for him.

He quickly withdrew his hand and retrieved his communicator, AE77243, with Boss Xiao's number programmed in.

Four characters appeared on the black-and-white electronic screen: "Unable to Answer."

Alarms went off in An Zhe's mind.

Yet, at that moment, a cold, deathly voice came from behind the slightly ajar door, "Come in."

An Zhe's heart pounded fiercely. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Lu Fen was still standing in the same spot, his head slightly lowered as he seemed lost in thought. Beside him stood an upright suitcase.

Taking two steps forward, An Zhe offered the cup, "Colonel, your water."

Lu Fen remained motionless.

An Zhe suddenly became aware of something.

He turned his head ever so slowly, gazing across the room.

Then, their eyes met - An Zhe's with the real Lu Fen's.

Lu Fen was seated at his desk, legs crossed in an imposing posture, holding a piece of paper in hand. He looked up, directly at An Zhe.

And in that moment, An Zhe understood true despair.

At this very moment, he could only inch forward slowly and place the cup on the desk. "Your water."

Lu Fen picked up the cup and sipped gently at its rim. Then, he slightly furrowed his brow. "Cold?"

An Zhe didn't want to speak. It seemed like he had made another mistake.

He watched as Lu Fen returned the cup to the desk, followed by the paper. The man then looked at him.

An Zhe promptly admitted his fault. "I was wrong."

Lu Fen didn't respond immediately. Only after ten seconds did he say, "What crime did you commit?"

An Zhe replied, "I didn't provide hot water for the colonel."

Lu Fen said casually, "Cold water is fine too."

Looking at the bloody flyer in Lu Fen's hand that read "Oppose the Tyranny of the Judges," An Zhe felt another chill run down his spine. He said, "Participating in an illegal protest."

Lu Fen responded, "That wouldn't be severe enough."

Then it was over. There was only one crime left that he might have committed.

What would be the charge for creating a doll of a Judge?

Hating himself for not studying the base's laws carefully back then, An Zhe tried to search for the right term. Doll, a doll used for some improper purpose—

The words that Lu Fen had spoken to Joshua downstairs flashed through his mind. An Zhe said hopelessly, "...Indecency?"

In Lu Fen's eyes, there was a hint of a smile that wasn't quite a smile. "Have you read the base's laws?"

"No," Lu Fen replied. "Come here."

An Zhe took a step forward.

"Stretch out your hand."

An Zhe obediently held out his hand.

Lu Fen's words remained succinct, carrying an authoritative tone. "Place it here."

An Zhe asked, "Where?"

"On me."

An Zhe hesitated for a moment before slowly placing his hand on the left side of Lu Fen's chest, where the silver buttons of the uniform and the badge attached to it were cold. The surface had some engravings, and he was unsure why Lu Fen wanted him to do this.

Click.

The cold silver handcuffs were once again secured around An Zhe's wrists.

Lu Fen's expression remained stoic. "Charge: Sexual misconduct."

An Zhe responded, "…?"

In the next moment, Lu Fen picked up his communicator.

"Capture complete," he reported. "One contraband item seized. Come for extraction."

*

The corridors of the city defense compound were darker and colder than those of residential buildings.

An Zhe was led to the basement, where dim lighting revealed rows of iron doors. He realized that this might be humanity's version of a prison.

He was locked inside one of the cells.

"Interrogation tomorrow," Lu Fen said as he locked the door. "You have ten hours to prepare your defense."

An Zhe replied, "I have no defense."

Lu Fen replied, "I suppose so."

With that, he turned and left without looking back, leaving only the words, "Get some rest."

An Zhe clung to the iron gate, watching Lu Fen's figure vanish down the corridor.

Whispers came from across from him.

"I told you, none of them would be spared."

"How did Hubbard end up on an expedition? Otherwise, he'd still be in jail. He was the one who wanted the photos, you two almost got me killed. You owe me compensation when we get out."

"Go ask Du Sai, she's the one who placed the order. She hasn't even paid the final installment yet."

"Then take me to her."

It was the voices of Boss Xiao and Jin Sen.

An Zhe followed the sound, straining to identify the two figures in the dim light on the other side. "You're also here?"

"Indeed," Jin Sen replied. "I was just selling phones when the Tribunal took me away."

Shop Owner Xiao sighed. "After we parted ways, I was arrested before I even reached the station."

Jin Sen asked, "What about you? How were you caught?"

An Zhe didn't respond.

"Master," he said.

"What's up?" Xiao Boss asked.

"Do I really seem like someone people would want to bully?" An Zhe inquired.

"You're figuring this out now?" Xiao Boss said lazily. "Why do you ask?"

An Zhe didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "What crime did you commit?"

"There's no need to spell it out," Xiao Boss said. "It's the crime of illegally obtaining information on Judges."

An Zhe: "Is that so."

"Ah," Boss Xiao said, "aren't you one?"

An Zhe: "Yes."

Boss Xiao chuckled deeply, "Your tone has changed. Someone's been picking on you?"

An Zhe replied coldly, "No."