That afternoon, the news reported that there would be a meteor shower over the city, and if the weather cleared up, we might be able to see it.
However, the residents of this apartment building generally lack artistic talent. Hugo occasionally reads a few books with a pretentious air of pretentiousness, critiquing them as he goes, using his own vast database to discredit the author's ideas. Igor and Yuri are both predominantly rational, while Azathoth, tone-deaf and lacking in empathy, possesses an enduring passion for entertainment activities like listening to music, watching movies, and reading novels, often finding inspiration in these virtual experiences that he can't experience in real life.
Hugo: "Why don't humans play music for flowers and plants?" This is an allusion to Azathoth's behavior, which seems incredible to others.
"I like it," Azathoth said nonchalantly. "Even if you don't understand, so what? Being misinterpreted is the fate of the expresser, and the creator may not care what others get from his work."
"It's actually quite normal," the android said later. "I used to read science fiction."
They reached a consensus on their ordinary yet strange little hobbies.
But then again, these days everyone flies through the universe and isn't very interested in the natural phenomenon of sparks created by the collision of a few meteorites with the atmosphere.
So around two or three in the afternoon, the TV anchorman was reporting today's noon news in standard Federal language. The adults and non-human creatures in the apartment were not paying attention to the TV, but were sitting around a table rolling dice to decide who would pick up Erica from school that night.
Erica used to go to and from school by herself.
However, security in the capital has been poor recently, and schools have started dismissing children early and requiring guardians to personally escort them home. Usually, Erica's nominal guardian, Ford Hill, is still at work, so a new afternoon tea group activity has emerged.
"Didn't Yuri take Erica to school this morning?" Azathoth said, "Why don't you go again in the afternoon?"
Yuri didn't really mind... He opened his mouth to agree, but Williams disapproved before he could. "I think it's better to find someone else. Yuri got caught up in a bar shootout this morning. Igor, you should know about that." He turned and smiled at Igor. "I used your name as a guarantee. Although the grassroots don't know about us yet, after reporting it, someone gave Yuri the green light to go through."
Igor nodded: "We have appeared openly in front of the Red Line Legion before."
Both the Federation and the Church now know that Yuri is a human being picked up by Azathoth and Igor. Unless the situation becomes a life-and-death struggle, no one will deliberately make things difficult for him.
"So I think Yuri should rest at home," Williams continued, "to calm down."
What do I have to calm down?
Yuri was filled with confusion.
At this time, Hugo had already placed a six-sided dice on the table with great interest.
Igor glanced at the seemingly standard dice: "Six sides?"
"But," Williams changed the subject, "in order for my students to better integrate into the group, participating in small games is an essential activity."
Although it appears to have nothing in common with Hugo, it would be a mistake to regard them as different entities with contradictory positions.
What Williams meant was always what Hugo meant.
"I'll sacrifice myself," Hugo said with a smile. "William and I count as two people, and with Wendy, we'll have enough people."
Wendy: “……?”
Her expression suddenly became as confused as Yuri's.
"I have to pick up Erica too?" It's too much for him to bear at such a young age!
"Wendy, hasn't you always wanted to go out? So, I'm one, Azathoth is two, Yuri is three, Igor is four, William is five, and Wendy is six. Whoever gets voted goes out. How about that?"
Yuri: "Otherwise I still..."
"Okay." Azathoth said.
He maintains a high degree of tacit understanding with the androids on such matters, and they are indeed brothers in distress who have been bored on the desolate planet for hundreds of years.
Yuri was speechless, feeling like he had been cheated.
Igor stared thoughtfully at the dice on the table, unsure whether Azathoth had discussed this with Hugo, and what their plan was. But since the great god had already agreed, his followers couldn't back down... From that perspective, Azathoth and Igor were in cahoots. And Wendy was Igor's younger sister, an underage Omega, so she needed her brother's company whenever she went out.
Williams initially said that his student Yuri should not go out.
He glanced at Yuri, who looked a little nervous, and guessed that no one was targeting the humans present, but rather a game and confrontation between two non-humans.
"By the way," Hugo said casually before shaking the dice. "We don't restrict cheating, and it doesn't matter what offensive or defensive methods you use, as long as they don't go too far. You can use whatever methods you want. The result will be revealed the moment the dice lands. How about that?"
Wendy's eyes widened. "What does this mean? Can I grab the dice?"
Hugo nodded approvingly: "If you can do it."
Uh, although... Wendy subconsciously looked in the direction of her brother.
Igor did not disappoint her - he tapped the edge of the table twice with his fingertips and opened his mouth to say something. At this moment, the gray-haired young man slammed his knee against the coffee table, and as the table top flipped over, he stretched out his hand and swung at the long tube of dice in Hugo's hand. The steady force brought about a sharp wind sound.
A smile flashed in Azathoth's eyes, and he fell backwards with the inertia of his body, avoiding the tilted table.
Wendy let out an unconscious "Ah!" before she could react. Williams, sitting diagonally across from Igor, grabbed a paper pad from the coffee table and threw it at Igor's face. Hugo's red eyes flashed with data, and he tossed the long tube into the air a second before Igor's palm made contact.
"Wendy!"
Igor leaned forward, holding Azathoth, and turned back to call out briefly.
Wendy's face still wore a bewildered expression, but her actions were even quicker than her thoughts. Out of trust in her brother, she leaped up almost the same second Igor shouted. Her modified body burst forth with incredible explosive power, and she leaped into the air like a young leopard. After a skillful front flip that could have been performed in a sports competition, she gathered the dice and the long tube in her arms.
She showed an excited look and was eager to hand the dice to Igor, but Williams flicked his wrist at this time, and his wrist and arm separated, and his palm was thrown in front of Wendy.
Wendy was startled by the flying limbs. She shuddered and paused, then felt a chill in her palm - Williams took the dice away and even had time to wave politely at the girl.
The mature-looking android bent down and tried to place the dice on the ground, but a tentacle stretched out from behind it, wrapped around one of its legs, and gently pulled... Yuri, who was beside Williams, had his pupils constricted as he watched helplessly as the android, who was also dressed in formal attire and behaved elegantly at home, staggered and fell towards him.
The human subconsciously raised his hands in a protective gesture.
Williams fell hard on him.
The two men rolled into a ball on the carpet. Williams stood up and apologized to him. Yuri coughed under the pressure and muttered, "It's okay, I'm not hurt."
The dice rolled under the table and had not yet stopped.
Wendy felt a shiver run down her spine. This time, without Igor's help, she stomped her foot, confident that no one would complain in her apartment building. The ground shook, sending the dice flying into the air. Igor's mechanical leg spun around, catching it with the instep of his foot and lifting it high.
However, when it comes to using mechanical limbs, Hugo is an expert. The bionic man made a billiards gesture and said, "Boom~ The angle is qualified, the height is qualified, force analysis and calculation are in progress—"
With a snap, it threw the dice out. The small hexahedron hit the opposite wall and bounced back at high speed.
Hugo immediately became proud and jumped up lightly, trying to grab the dice, but this time Azathoth's tentacles wrapped around Igor's waist and threw him up.
Hugo: “——!” It pounced on nothing, “Azathoth, you’re breaking the rules!”
"I didn't," the god said cunningly. "We agreed that when we play dice, we can't touch the dice directly or indirectly with our tentacles, nor can we tie you up and prevent you from moving... This time, I didn't touch you at all, nor did I touch the dice. What does Igor's victory have to do with me?"
Hugo: “…”
It watched in annoyance as Igor placed the dice on the ground and Number Five rushed forward.
"Why me?" Williams asked.
"I thought," Igor smiled, "that you, Hugo, and Yuri were the same?"
Yuri was stunned for a moment: "What... Oh, this is a team battle...!"
No wonder Igor kept asking Wendy for help just now!
Williams sighed. "It's nothing. Everyone has different strengths. Hugo deliberately left a very short reaction time just now. It's normal for him not to realize it."
Then again, Igor's decisive action at the start was what made him so incredibly sharp. Sure enough, this man possessed both exceptional talent and experience in human-to-human combat. Wendy didn't seem to understand, but she trusted Igor's judgment. Children, after all, were more relaxed when playing games than adults.
Hugo muttered, "...the gods are as scheming as their followers."
Azathoth: "What did you say?"
"No." It stood up and checked the time. "William, get ready to go out."
"Okay." Another machine stood up and walked to the floor-length mirror to adjust his clothes.
Igor put the overturned table back in place.
Five minutes later, Williams walked to the door and changed his shoes. Suddenly, there was a rapid knock on the door. He turned the doorknob and stuck his head out. "Hello? What can I do for you?"
"I live in the building next door. I'm your neighbor." The person knocking on the door said to William nervously, "Did you feel the ground shaking just now? Was it plate movement or a meteor shower meteorite falling on the capital planet?"
Bionic man: “…”
It turned and looked at Wendy.
Wendy: “…Not me!”
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