She squinted at me with suspicion. “And how much does it cost? We’re in central Neo Tokyo. The price must be exorbitant.”
“It won’t set you back much,” I said evasively, charging Sera’s account one dollar for the hotel so that my statement would be true.
Sera’s financial restrictions didn’t allow me to provide for her like I wanted, so I had to improvise. I tracked down a few abandoned cryptocurrency wallets whose owners likely passed away without telling their relatives or lawyers about the crypto money.
I was now a rich cyborg, my wealth untraceable. While it wasn’t completelylegalto tap abandoned crypto accounts, it wasn’t strictly illegal, either. Most importantly, I wasn’t hurting anybody. That money was lost and forgotten, slowly losing worth as the crypto market changed.
I decided I enjoyed operating in the gray areas. My moral stance aligned with Sera’s, who was willing to bend the law for the sake of a good story.
I would bend it to the point of breaking to make my principal safe and sound.
Chapter 10
Sera
Afresh outfit in my size and a hot meal waited in the hotel room when we arrived. Clanker claimed it was because he arranged things directly with the hotel AI, which sped up execution considerably without adding any costs.
I decided not to ask for details and crawled in the shower, where I spent a blissful twenty minutes rinsing away the unpleasant events of today. Outside, the sky was indigo with dusk.
I dressed, ate a rich curry that was still hot in its smart food delivery pod, and sat on the bed with a deep sigh, cracking my knuckles. Clanker stood by the window, facing me the whole time, though he didn’t speak, and his expression was neutral.
“All right,” I said. “We need to figure out how I’ll get inside the Zenkyoza HQ, steal their incriminating data, and get away undetected. Any ideas?”
“I believe you meantwe,” Clanker said, his eyes flaring bright purple for a moment. “Howwe’ll get in, steal what we need, and get out undetected.”
I snorted, folding my arms. “No. You’re a foreign clanker with a collar on your neck, and a VerdeLumen model to boot. You can’t go with me, you’ll blow my cover. I have much better chances on my own.”
He mimicked my pose, folding his arms, and cocked a hip—a study in clanker obstinacy. My pulse accelerated, irritation simmering in my veins.
“I go where you go. Let’s find a way to make it work,” he said, annoyingly calm.
My irritation made it impossible to sit still. I got up, but having to crane my neck to look at him incensed me further. I climbed on the bed instead. There. Now I had a slight height advantage.
“Let’s make something clear.Iemployyou.You’re supposed to do as I say, and I’m telling you that you can’t go with me.”
Clanker’s collar beeped. I groaned.
“Why does this keep happening? What have you done to make it go off?”
“I’m having an atypical emotional reaction,” Clanker explained, sounding sullen. “I’ve deployed code to stop the alarm signal, and now I’ll take additional protective measures.Searching for porn… ‘MILF milking delivery snake’looks promising… Playing.Please, go on.”
I stared at him, shaking my head. “You’re watching porn right now? What the hell?”
“Is that a problem? I am perfectly capable of watching anything I want, and my processors have enough power to perform other tasks simultaneously without compromising efficiency.”
“Butwhy?” I asked, sitting down heavily, since I felt stupid standing on the mattress. All my annoyance was gone.Clanker had a knack for diffusing my temper with outrageous deflections.
“Because keeping my lust circuits active hides most emotional reactions and doesn’t set off the collar. I have found out through trial and error that actively watching a porn video is the safest way of evading the collar’s control.”
I blinked a few times, trying to come to terms with his explanation.
“Okay, but… ‘MILF milking a snake’? Really?”
He nodded, his eyes flaring briefly. “It’s interesting. The shehru are doubly equipped, and she has to engage both arms. It’s a proper workout. She has a traditional milk can for his sperm.Turning up the play speed…Yes, she gathered his sperm in the milk can and poured it into a glass. She drank it. And now, he’s fucking her. It’s an engaging take on interracial fetish.”
I rubbed my temple with my knuckles, trying to wrap my head around the fact my bodyguard was not just watching porn while speaking to me, he also provided a running commentary. It was surreal.
“And that sort of thing… keeps your lust circuits active?” I asked cautiously.
