Chapter 30 Chapter Twenty Nine

Curfews and white shirts don't seem to have affected Mr. Anderson, who remains as reckless and fearless as ever.Emiko felt as if he had a plan.When Emiko brought up her concerns about Raleigh again, Mr. Anderson just smiled mysteriously and told her not to worry.Everything is going smooth. "My men are coming soon," he said. "It won't be long before everything will be different. There won't be any more white shirts." "Sounds wonderful." "It will happen," he said. "I'm going away for a few days to make some arrangements. When I get back, it will be different."

And then he just disappeared.He told her not to change the scheduled event or reveal anything to Rowley.He also gave her the spare key to the apartment. So Emiko could sleep in a cool room with a clean sheet under her body and a ceiling fan turning slowly above her head.She could barely remember the last time she slept without pain or fear, and the feeling made her dizzy.The room was dark, the only light coming from the street lamps flickering like fireflies. She was hungry, so hungry that she panicked.She went into Mr. Anderson's kitchen and rummaged through the airtight storage bins for snacks, cookies, cakes, whatever.Mr. Anderson doesn't have fresh vegetables here, but he has rice, soy sauce and fish sauce.As she boiled water on the stove, she was surprised to see that his methane tank was unlocked.She had taken it for granted in the past, too, and it was hard to recall that life now.Mr. Iwato's apartment was twice as luxurious, on the top floor of an apartment building in Kyoto overlooking Toji Temple and the old men in black robes slowly scrubbing shrines.

The distant past is like a dream.Autumn sky, clear, windless, blue.She remembered happily watching the nursery, where the young new humans devoted themselves to feeding the ducks and learning the tea ceremony, not seeking redemption. She recalled her training... She shuddered.Realizing that she had been trained to serve a master perfectly and forever, she remembered how Mr. Iwato had taken her, loved her, and finally dropped her like a husk.It was her fate, always, it was no accident. She looked at the pan, and the water and rice boiling in it.Her eyes narrowed.She can perfectly measure the right amount of rice without relying on any tools, and at the same time know exactly how much she needs to eat, and then spread the rice in the pot, as seriously as digging the soil in the garden, as if she is going to use these rice to learn Zen enlightenment , looking for the meaning of her life in this small bowl of rice.

She slammed it out with a slap.The rice bowl flew out, shattered, and the pieces flew in all directions.The pot of water also flew out, and the scorching water glistened. Standing in this whirlwind, Emiko watched the water droplets flying around and the rice grains gradually falling. The movement of all these things seemed to stop, as if they were also clockwork, entering the state of stopping and moving, and her Like yourself, act in the pose of a clockwork man.To the natural eye, to those whom she tried so hard to serve, she seemed so grotesque and unnatural. Take a look, what service has brought you.

The rice cooker hit the wall.Grains of rice were scattered on the marble floor.The water soaked everything.Tonight she will learn the exact location of the village where the new human lives, where there are her kind, no master, and they only serve themselves.Mr. Anderson said his men were coming, but after all, he was a natural man, and she was always a new man, always at his service. Instinct urged her to clean up the rice grains and tidy up everything, waiting for Mr. Anderson to come back.But she suppressed this instinct and looked at the chaos coldly.She realized that she was no longer a slave.To keep the floor free from scattered rice grains, he had to find someone else to clean it.She will never do this kind of work again.She is different from normal humans, she is modified.If she was a falcon with a rope tied to her foot in the past, Mr. Iwato did at least one thing she is grateful for: he cut the rope tied to her foot and let her fly free .

Navigating through the dark is simply too easy.Emiko made her way through the crowd, wearing bright lip gloss, black eyeshadow and sparkly silver earrings. She is a new human being, but she can walk through the crowd freely, and they don't realize her existence at all.She laughs at them.Laughing, shuttling between them.There was a certain suicidal impulse in her clockwork nature, but she did not panic, Fate was protecting her with both hands. She moves through the crowd.This clockwork man around people, this man-made object that blatantly defiles the pavement—as if their land was more sacred than the archipelago that abandoned her.She wrinkled her nose. Even Japanese cesspools were better than this filthy, fetid place.These people couldn't understand her real point of view.Thinking of this, Emiko started to laugh, and everyone around her looked at her in surprise.

There is a white shirt in the front.Their silhouettes loomed in the gap between the elephant's thick legs and the barrow.Emiko stopped by the bridge of the canal, looked down at the river below, and waited quietly for the threat to pass.She saw her own image reflected in the water, with the green sheen of a street lamp.She felt that she might be able to become an aquatic human, and if she stared at the shadow long enough, she could also become an aquatic lady.She has long been out of this world floating on the water, longing to jump into the water and sink down.The thought made her stiff.That's what Emiko used to think, the Emiko who could never fly.

A man came and leaned against the bridge railing next to her.She didn't look up, she just cast her eyes on the reflection in the water. “I like to watch it when the kids are punting in the canal,” he said. She nodded slightly, but didn't answer. "You have been watching for so long, is there anything in the water?" She shook her head.His white uniform was reflected green.He was so close to her that he could touch her just by reaching out.She wondered what would happen to those kind eyes if his hand touched her burning skin. "You don't need to be afraid of me," he said, "it's just a uniform, and you've done nothing wrong."

"No," she whispered, "I'm not afraid." "That's fine. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be afraid." He paused, "Your accent is a little weird. When I first saw you, I thought you might be Chaozhou..." She shook her head slightly, with a slight spasm, "Sorry, I'm Japanese." "Work in those factories?" She shrugged.His eyes were fixed on her.She turned her head—very slowly, without a pause or a jerk—to meet his gaze, looking at him with the same calm gaze.He was older than she thought, maybe middle-aged, maybe not, maybe just aging faster because of the sinister nature of the job.In her genes, there is a desire to serve him, even if she is dismembered, without complaint or regret.But she resisted the urge, and slowly, slowly, she turned her head back and stared at the water.

"What's your name?" She hesitated, "Emiko." "That's a nice name, what's the point?" She shook her head, "Nothing special." "Too modest, you look so beautiful..." She shook her head, "No, that's not the case, I'm ugly..." She stopped suddenly and met his gaze.Suddenly, she realized that she had forgotten to hide, that her actions had betrayed her.She jumped back away from him, the thought of being human out of her mind. His eyes grew hard. "A clockwork monster," he said hoarsely. She smiled and pursed her lips tightly, "It's just a misunderstanding."

"Show your import license." She smiled, "Of course, it's right here." She took a step back, her movements paused, revealing the Clockwork Man's posture.He stretched out his hand to grab her, but she pushed him away, turned around quickly, and ran away, submerged in the flow of people and traffic, only to hear the man shouting loudly behind her: "Stop her! Stop her! Stop that clockwork man!" Her genes seemed to order her to give up running and obey the man's orders.But she worked hard to overcome all these, and in her heart, she seemed to bear the whip from Misumi teacher when she didn't obey the order, and the cynicism from Misumi teacher when she refused other people's requests. White Shirt's order echoed behind her.Emiko was hot all over, and she was extremely ashamed.But the crowd soon engulfed her, and she was surrounded by carts drawn by giant elephants.His speed was too slow to spot which alley she was hiding in. It took her a while to dodge the white shirt, but on the other hand, it was a game.Emiko can play the game now.As long as you are quick and careful enough, you can easily avoid them.The high-speed movement ability of the body made her unexpected, and she finally began to understand that she was gifted, and Mr. Misumi's repeated whipping was just to make her never know this. Finally, she reached Phnom Chit and climbed up the building.Raleigh was waiting at the bar, impatient as usual.He glanced at her, "If you are late, I will deduct your salary." Emiko forced herself not to feel guilty, even though she kept apologizing, "I'm sorry, Raleigh-san." "Hurry up and change clothes, there are very important guests tonight. They are big people, and they will come soon." "I want to ask about that village." "What village?" Emiko began to feel uneasy, did he tell a lie?Was it a lie from start to finish?"The place where new humans live," she said. "Are you still thinking about that?" He shook his head, "I've already said, as long as you earn enough money, I promise you can go there." He waved to the locker room, "Quick, go change clothing." Emiko was about to ask, but held back and nodded.Let's talk about it later, when he is drunk.When he was in a daze, she would try to figure out the information. In the dressing room, Kannika had already changed into her costume.She glared at Emiko, but said nothing.Emiko changed and went outside to get her first glass of ice water of the night.She drank it slowly, savoring the coolness of the ice water, as well as the sense of peace—even in this stuffy building.Outside the open windows are the city lights shining.From a certain height, the city is quite beautiful.She felt that if there were no natural humans here, she would probably like the place.Thinking of this, she took another sip of water. There was a loud noise mixed with warnings and screams.The woman knelt down on her knees and began to kowtow.Emiko did the same.The man was back again, the grim man who had been with Mr. Anderson once.She searched the crowd for Mr. Anderson, hoping to see him, but he didn't come.Somdej Chao Phraya and his friends came in through the door. They seemed to have drunk a lot and their faces were flushed. Raleigh hurried over and led them to the VIP room. Kanika leaned in from behind her. "Finish your water, clockwork monster, you have work to do." A thought crossed Emiko's mind: She wanted to beat this woman up.But she understands that this is extremely irrational.She looked at Kannika and prayed silently in her heart: once she knew the exact location of the village, she hoped that she would have the opportunity to return the humiliation this woman had given her. The VIP room was packed with people.The room had windows that opened to the outside, but were closed, so the air didn't circulate much.The performance here is worse than on stage, Kanika will torture her with various tricks, lead her around the room, encourage the men to touch her, feel the heat on her skin, and speak lewd words at the same time Dirty language, making the powerful man, the bodyguard, and his friends laugh out loud. All night long, Kanika teaches the virtue of obedience, and Emiko begs to follow orders to stop the pain and violence.Gradually, tears filled her eyes.The falcon in the body - if there was one - was dead.It cannot fly, it cannot flee, it cannot do anything but submit.Emiko once again understood her position. It was late when Kannika finished.Emiko was sitting against a wall, exhausted and hurt.In her heart, she is dead.Better even to be dead than to be a clockwork man, she thought.She stared blankly at a man mopping the floor.On the other side of the bar, Rowley was drinking whiskey and laughing. The man with the mop came towards her.Emiko wondered if he was going to mop her, the way he wiped off other dirty things.Would he dump her in some dump for the manure giants to collect.She could lie there, waiting to be thrown into the digester...like when Mr. Iwato dumped her.Emiko already understood that she was just a piece of trash.The man mopped around her with a cloth mop. "Why didn't you throw me out?" she hissed.The man looked at her suspiciously, then turned his gaze to the work in his hand, and continued to wipe the ground. "Answer me!" she roared, "Why didn't you throw me out" echoed in the empty room. Raleigh looked up, frowning.Only then did Emiko realize that what she had just said was Japanese.She repeated it in Thai: "Throw me away, why not? I'm trash too. Throw me out!" The mopping man shuddered, took a step back, and smiled bewilderedly. Raleigh came over and knelt down beside her. "Emiko, get up. You're scaring my cleaner." Emiko pouted, "I don't care." "You'll care." He nodded toward the door—the room behind it where the men were still lingering, drinking and talking about their insults to her. "I have a bonus for you. Those people are generous." Emiko looked up at him, "They tipped Kanika too, didn't they?" Raleigh looked at her, "It's none of your business." "They tripled her price? 50 baht for me?" He narrowed his eyes, "Don't do that." "What else? Are you going to throw me in a digester, with White Shirt?" "Don't push me, it won't do you any good to piss me off." He stood up, "If you're done complaining, come and get your bonus." Rollie strode to the bar stool, poured himself a glass of wine, glanced back at her, and said something to Ardian, who smiled respectfully and poured a glass of ice water.Raleigh waved the glass at her, then set it down on a bundle of purple baht notes.He started drinking again, completely ignoring her gaze. What happened to those broken clockwork girls?She never knew a Clockwork Girl had died.Sometimes, the old master will die, but the clockwork girls are still alive, and they can last longer.She never mentioned these things to Teacher Misumi.Emiko limped to the bar, leaned against the bar, and began to drink the glass of ice water.Raleigh pushed the bundle of bills over. After finishing the glass of ice water, she swallowed all the ice cubes.She felt the coldness slowly dissipating inside her body, "Have you asked?" "Ask what?" He was playing a game of solitaire on the bar. "It's about going north." He glanced up at her and dealt another hand.He paused for about a second, "That kind of thing is difficult, it can't be prepared in a day or two." "Have you asked?" He glanced at her again, "Yes, I asked. But now, Jaidi's killing has caused White Shirt's anger, and no one dares to act rashly in this situation. I will let you know when the situation changes. " "I'm going north." "You've already said it. Keep making money, and you can definitely go." "I've made enough money. I'm going now." Raleigh slapped him, but she could see his every move.The slap was fast enough for him, but it seemed to her extremely slow.She watched his hands gradually approaching her face, and her face was still respectful, the same as when Mr. Iwato took her to a fancy restaurant in the past.There was a tingling in the face, then numbness.She touched the place where she was beaten and felt the wound. Raleigh looked at her coldly, "You can go when everything is convenient." Emiko lowered her head slightly, letting the well-earned lesson slowly sink into her heart, "You didn't intend to help me, did you?" Raleigh shrugged and continued playing cards. "Does that village really exist?" she asked. Raleigh turned to look at her, "Of course. If it makes you happy, it's there. But if you keep harassing me about it, it's gone. Get the hell out of here!" The falcon in her heart was dead.She was supposed to rot in a digester, providing meat for the city and fuel for the lamps.Emiko stared at Raleigh closely.The falcon died. It suddenly occurred to her that some things were more terrifying than death.Those things are absolutely intolerable. Her fists are fast.Luo Lisang's throat was so soft again. The old fellow fell down, waving his hands and clutching his throat, his eyes wide with horror.Everything was in slow motion: Arden heard the sound of a stool falling and turned around; Raleigh stretched out his limbs and opened his mouth wide to inhale air; the cleaner dropped the mop from his hand; A Lian, A Xing and others who were leading the way for the guests turned around.Every one of them moves so slowly. At the same time that Raleigh fell to the ground, Emiko had already rushed to the VIP room, to the man who had hurt her the most.The man who sat with his friends, talking and laughing loudly, never imagined that he would cause her such pain. She knocked open the door.The people inside raised their heads in surprise, opened their mouths in astonishment, and the bodyguard reached out to pull out a spring pistol; but everyone's movements were too slow, too slow. None of them are new humans.