Chapter Eighteen Secrets

  Name: Ji Du

  Sex: Male

  Age: Twenty-five or six

  Occupation: Master of Jingji Workshop

  Address: No. 3-5 Dongshi Street, Bomei District

  "Please, this way." The black-clad butler bowed respectfully and made a standard inviting gesture. His golden silk-like hair slightly fell across his deep blue eyes, like the sea, with an inexplicable beauty in such a simple movement. What was even more astonishing was his elegant demeanor, reminiscent of 17th-century palace attendants, with a strong old-fashioned style that made it hard to believe he lived in modern times.

  At the moment when Mr. and Mrs. Dusautoy were making such remarks, they saw another side of their servant. The young footman who was walking in front of them had a graceful gait, but his joints made a slight creaking noise with every step, which was quite unpleasant! Perhaps it was because the imperfection appeared on such a perfect creature that it was particularly unbearable. Mrs. Dusautoy wrinkled her brow involuntarily, looking for the source of the sound. It seemed that every joint in the servant's body, from his wrists to his elbows, creaked with every movement. What a strange phenomenon!

  "I'm a puppet." The handsome attendant, perhaps accustomed to guests' curiosity, turned around with an extremely comfortable smile. "You see, my joints are made of steel." He pressed several places on his wrist, and first, the white skin layer retracted like a machine's cover, revealing a sleek titanium alloy skeleton underneath. The cold metallic texture and dense red and blue pipes were hard to match with the rosy glow on his face. Mr. and Mrs. Dusty were shocked into speechlessness.

  "I am the master created here, all the servants are including these flowers and grass." He again restored his wrist to its original state, pointing at the lush flowers and greenery in the small courtyard, as well as the birds perched on the branches. The maids who were sweeping the courtyard also stopped their work, smiled, and curtsied to Mr. and Mrs. Dusky.

  "This is unbelievable!" Mr. Dusty exclaimed, impulsively taking the servant's hands and examining them again and again, even probing his nostrils and pulse. The warm breath sprayed on his fingertips with a slight moisture, the heartbeat was quite regular, the skin texture was indistinguishable from that of a real person, and any signs of life were incompatible with what had been said about the puppet before.

  "In the thoracic cavity, a self-frequency vibrating device is installed with an analog skin and a water circulation system, making it possible to create a doll that breathes like a real person." The servant smiled knowingly, aware that Mr. Dusty had doubts about his words "The master has instructed me not to overstep my bounds, so I apologize for being unable to do something like taking off the head as seen on TV, which is against the rules of our workshop."

  "But your consciousness..." Mr. Dusty, although he dispelled the rough idea of beheading his opponent to take a look, still became interested in the servant's thoughts and consciousness.

  "I'm afraid that's confidential. Well, we've arrived, please go in, sir and madam." The attendant said, lightly tapping on the door and pushing open the heavy door with a metal knocker made of uneven bars, bowed and left, leaving behind Mr. and Mrs. Dusit. You looked at me, I looked at you, both of us were momentarily stunned and perplexed.

  A cold, metallic voice came from inside the door, directly reaching the ears of Mr. and Mrs. Dushti, who simultaneously shivered with fear, pushing each other to enter the door. As soon as they entered, another shocking surprise awaited them!

  It's hard to estimate the size of the room, but at first glance, what catches the eye is the wall-to-wall stacks of books that reach as high as mountains. The thick piles of books, though messy, are surprisingly well-organized. From encyclopedias to introductory mechanical knowledge, there are over a hundred categories, each meticulously labeled and categorized. Various mechanical devices hum steadily in every corner of the room, as if they have been there for so long that it's only natural.

  On the ceiling, an artificial sun shone down, casting a warm glow over the lazy clouds that drifted aimlessly before gathering and condensing into droplets of water that fell gently onto the potted plants below. On the floor, a bucket-shaped cleaning machine quietly swept up dust and dirt, occasionally tidying up books that had been knocked askew by its owner. A pruning machine with long arms expertly trimmed the plants in the room, releasing an unknown fragrance into the air that filled the space with a natural scent. In one corner, a primitive device made of tracks, steam valves, and moving arms busily brewed tea. Several large machines stood silently in the corners of the room, only occasionally emitting a faint humming noise... Amidst all this machinery, a large birdcage sat at the center, filled with books of various kinds. In front of a massive workbench cluttered with precision instruments, a man in gray overalls was intently focused on his work. He looked so absorbed that Mr. and Mrs. Dusty wondered if they had imagined the noise earlier and hesitated to disturb him. But the man quickly put down his tools, and the birdcage, along with its books, automatically rose into the air and disappeared into an unknown location.

  "Mr. and Mrs. Dushti?" The man's voice was unmistakable, a cold and precise tone that was hard to forget after hearing it just once.

  "Are you Mr. Gideon?" Mrs. Dusty asked somewhat displeased, for she was not pleased with the way he had been treated as a guest without being offered tea or a seat.

  The man nodded slightly in response, removing the continuous mask from his face and the high-powered magnifying glass on his left eye, revealing a breathtakingly handsome face. His golden hair had a subtle silver sheen, and his facial features were precise and deep, as if carved by skilled hands. Whether it was his gray pupils or thin lips, everything about him seemed perfect, yet he gave off a cold, metallic scent everywhere. His appearance made him seem more like a machine than the previous servant who claimed to be human. This thought alone made even the most beautiful face unable to evoke any human emotions in the Dusty couple, and they even felt a sense of fear deep down.

  "What do you two want?" Chi didn't think much of it and took the mechanical arm's offered tea, taking a light sip before eating with precise and concise movements, not wasting any energy.

  "Me... we..." Mrs. Dusseau nudged her husband, indicating that he should speak up. Mr. Dusseau was perhaps too shocked by everything in front of him to the point where he had temporarily lost his basic reactions.

  "We were introduced by Miss Redline." Mrs. Dusty stuttered, feeling uncomfortable being seen through by the man in front of her who was emitting a cold aura.

  "I know." The technique coldly interrupted Dusty's words "Get to the point."

  "It's... like that." Mrs. Dusti forced down her unpleasant emotions, composed herself and tentatively opened her mouth to ask "I wonder if Miss Redline has told you about our situation?"

  "Our relationship is not deep." The tone was still icy and the expression was as cold as a thousand-year-old frost, causing Mrs. Dusty to shudder involuntarily.

  "Two... two years ago, my husband and I invited his uncle and aunt to live with us because the elderly couple had no children, so we took on the responsibility of supporting them. A year ago, my uncle suddenly passed away, and my aunt may not have been able to withstand the blow, after which her spirit was greatly diminished, sometimes clear-headed, sometimes dazed and confused. At the beginning of this year, she was even diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, really pitiful..." Mrs. Dushti said, taking up a handkerchief as if about to burst into tears.

  "Mrs. Dusty, neither of us has much time to waste, please state your purpose directly." His eyes narrowed, his sharp gaze seemed to pierce through to the depths of her soul, causing Mrs. Dusty to forcibly hold back the tears that had accumulated in her eyes, feeling extremely flustered.

  "Our family is quite wealthy, so we don't covet the old man's inheritance. However, if the family heirloom were to be lost with Aunt's passing, it would be a shame. Although it's not valuable, it's still an ancestral artifact; if it were to be lost in this generation, it would be regrettable." Mr. Dushti finally reacted and continued his wife's words, speaking while carefully observing the expressions on everyone's faces. Regardless of whether this cold-blooded man was trustworthy or not, he shouldn't have said that about the true value of the family heirloom.

  The faint smile that had thawed the icy expression for an instant was enough to leave Mrs. Dusty breathless.

  "Five thousand?" Mr. Dushti guessed at the price, looking at the five outstretched fingers.

  "500,000?" The price is a bit expensive, but compared to the value of the ancestral treasure which is said to be over 100 million, it's acceptable.

  "Five hundred thousand!!" Mr. Dusseau exclaimed "Your price is also too high, even if you ask the best detective in all of London, it wouldn't cost that much."

  "...life expectancy?" The Dusty couple looked at each other, seeing a shocked version of themselves staring back from the other's eyes. It seemed that since arriving at this workshop and starting this Bohemian gathering, they couldn't find any expression to maintain except for shock.

  "A five-year life span in exchange for a fortune of over 100 million is quite reasonable." He put down his teacup, crossed his legs and gazed at the couple in front of him who were caught in a dilemma. The Dusty couple was apparently too shocked to hear the second half of the sentence about the fortune of over 100 million, otherwise they would have been so frightened that they would have fled out of the door.

  "Your life or his?" Mrs. Dusty asked, trembling with fear, a woman who was normally considered bold now also feeling terrified.

  "What do you think?" The couple's mood was heavy, as if they were about to fight to the death, before adding "One and a half years per person is also possible."

  "Our lifespan..." Mr. Dusti asked cautiously, not because he was afraid of the technique but because he was tense about the news he was about to hear. This question is probably one that no one can listen to calmly.

  "The two of you have already exceeded eighty years, taking away two and a half years won't make much difference." The skillful answer came easily. Not only will there be no impact, but perhaps in the future, you'll even find your own life too long. Of course, this last sentence was left unspoken.

  "How will you take our lives?"

  "This is a business secret." Ji took out a box from the workbench and opened it, revealing a brightly colored parrot inside. "This parrot is our latest creation. In addition to having all the physiological mechanisms of a real bird, its eyes are high-definition cameras, its chest cavity contains a data analysis system and tracking device, its brain is a storage unit, and under its wings is a recording device. Furthermore, it has facilities for analyzing human health conditions and intelligent adjustment. It can record everything about an elderly person's words and actions, and adjust the investigation progress according to their physical condition. I believe that before long, we will be able to find out what happened to things."

  "Besides..." Dusty added lazily as the couple carefully reached out to take the parrot that was preening its feathers, startling them so much that they froze with their hands suspended in mid-air. "The five-year lifespan lease is month-to-month and this parrot will automatically be reclaimed one month later."

  "One month is not enough!" Mrs. Dusti cried out, having paid with two and a half years of her life, if nothing was gained, wouldn't it be like stealing a chicken but losing the rice instead? Although the old lady's mind was not clear, her body was still very strong. The couple had originally planned to fight a long-term battle, but they didn't expect that they would only be given a deadline of one month.

  "Nothing is impossible for the Boers. Goodbye, Mr. van der Merwe." Before he had finished speaking, the same servant who had shown them in appeared at the door and bowed to indicate that it was time for them to leave. The Dustoffs reluctantly followed him out.

  "I really hate doing commercials." With a heavy sigh, he put on his working gear again and bowed back to the workbench.

  Things are going quite smoothly! In the first week, Mrs. Dusty seemed uninterested in the pet her nephew and his wife had given her, spending most of her time wandering around the garden and house alone, occasionally getting into small mischief, but thanks to the parrot's precise tracking system, Mr. and Mrs. Dusty were always able to find her quickly. In the second week, however, it seemed that Mrs. Dusty could no longer ignore the charming pet with its beautiful plumage and pleasant voice; she began to play with it actively and even started talking to it, although what she said was mostly incomprehensible mumbo-jumbo or meaningless phrases, which still filled Mr. and Mrs. Dusty with excitement at their impending success. As the days passed in this thrilling life like a spy war, by the fourth week, the anxious Mr. and Mrs. Dusty finally heard a conversation about the family heirloom through the receiver connected to the parrot.

  "Things are at home..."

  Overjoyed, Mr. and Mrs. Dusseau planned that very night to return to the old lady's former residence to retrieve their treasure.

  "Dear, what shall we do with the old lady?" Mrs. Dusty, wrapped in a flowered tablecloth, posturing as if she were wearing a costly dinner gown, stood before the mirror, unable to contain her delight.

  "It's always bad to leave the old guy, even though he's not clear-headed, his body is still very strong. What if one day he wakes up and remembers the treasure? That would be troublesome." Mr. Dusty was equally excited, whistling as he flipped through car magazines searching for his favorite model.

  "But we can't just kill her, can we?" Mrs. Dusty sat down and glanced at the old man sitting at the end of the corridor, hugging a parrot and humming a tune. "She'll be found."

  Mr. Dushti smiled and put down the magazine in his hand: "There are so many ways, why take such drastic measures? For example, adding a small amount of poison to Auntie's food every day will eventually lead to myocardial infarction. People over 80 often get this disease, just like Uncle...". The rest of the words were tacitly agreed upon in the exchange of smiles between the two.

  The Dusty couple, who had a good night's sleep, did not expect to be greeted by handcuffs instead of a bright future at dawn. Old Mrs. Dusty suddenly died in the middle of the night, and a large amount of belladonna was found mixed in her drinking water. The discarded belladonna medicine bottle in the trash can had a lot of fingerprints from both husband and wife.

  "You can't just accuse us like that. This bottle of calamine lotion is indeed ours, and it's not wrong, but it was only bought for treating stomach problems, which any family might have. I don't know why there would be calamine lotion in my aunt's water..." Mr. Dushti argued confusedly, unclear about what had happened.

  "If you still have any doubts after listening to this tape, please tell the judge." The officer in charge of the investigation pressed the button on the portable recorder and the conversation between the couple last night came out.

  "...people over eighty often get this disease..." The faces of Mr. and Mrs. Dusseau turned white in an instant, the only one who could record what was on that tape was probably that parrot!

  "Dr. Reimond, are you off work? If you have time, let's go grab a bite to eat together. Today is my sister's birthday." The red-headed police officer came running over with a smile and said "Ah, are you still worried about that case from before? The situation is already very clear, it was the couple who conspired to kill the old man to get their hands on the inheritance, truly despicable! But this case really is strange, with inexplicable evidence appearing out of nowhere and the couple shouting about 'Bomei' in court, I've never encountered a situation like this before."

  "It's not just this one point that's strange." Dr. Raymond closed the file and rubbed his sore nose. Never mind, the case was already closed and thinking about it wouldn't do any good. But this was truly a situation he had never encountered in decades of working as a forensic doctor - in the deceased's heart, there was actually a metal plate the size of a label with mysterious patterns like hieroglyphics, just like an artificial heart found in a mummy...

  "Mrs. Dusty's nephews have been arrested as you wished, and due to the severity of their crimes, they will be sentenced to at least fifty years in prison, I'm afraid they won't be able to come out for the rest of their lives." Ji Du said calmly into the receiver "It's your life and that of your nephew's that I've also gotten my hands on. You won't die, you can go abroad for a vacation, I know your body is still very strong... My gain is also great, I think my puppet needs further improvement, thank you very much, goodbye."

  The technician hung up the headset and casually tossed a metal object upwards. The silver-white object flipped neatly in mid-air, drawing a beautiful arc before falling into a metal dish on one side, where many similar objects were scattered. On the long alloy label was written "Bomei Collection Manufacturing" in ancient script.