Chapter 4

　　"Big sale! Huge price cut! The Female Slave Exchange will launch a welcome discount promotion on the third of this month!"

　　Yael was confused for a moment, then he understood and felt a little amused.

　　This overly sensitive smart home must have picked up the sound at the door and thought that this was what he was "interested in."

The content in the projection was still playing. Unlike the advertisement which only had photos, it was a full-scale shot of the exchange, with a dynamic display of the female insects that were about to be auctioned, making it easier for buyers to check for fraud or disease.

　　Since there was nothing else to watch, Yael just kept watching.

　　"Look everyone, this is the largest slave-training room in the auction exchange, equipped with special equipment..."

　　Yer never expected this kind of content and was stunned for a moment.

　　The camera was still moving, capturing the entire messy scene in the frame, even constantly adjusting the focus to magnify the details, without any hesitation.

　　He frowned instantly, turned his head and said in a rare cold voice, "Turn it off, I won't watch it anymore."

　　The smart home changes with the sound, but the camera shown in the projection screen suddenly switched, and a familiar golden color flashed in the corner of the camera lens.

　　The screen shook, as if something had kicked the camera hard, knocking it crooked. The sound of a body hitting the ground was mixed with a hoarse groan.

　　The next second, the projection switched back.

　　Wait, what was that just now...?

　　When Yer recalled the glimpse he had just had, a strange sense of familiarity came over him. He couldn't help but frown. He hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether to continue watching.

　　The red dot of the smart home flashed, and then beeped again in a robotic way.

　　"Smart AI has detected your hormones rising and your heartbeat quickening. Smart AI has determined that you still want to watch the video, so Smart AI will turn on the live broadcast for you again."

　　Yael: "…" So why is it so smart?

　　As the projection turned on, a sharp sound of wind whistling suddenly rang in Yael's ears, and a steel rod was swung down forcefully.

　　"I told you to stop that! I told you to stop that... This bitch is really asking for a beating!"

　　Yael's pupils suddenly contracted.

　　His gaze unconsciously followed the angle at which the stick fell, and met a pair of eyes that were suppressing pain.

　　The golden, beast-like eyes were stained with a few tears because of the pain, but there was no fear or retreat in them.

　　It was the female insect he had just seen in the ad.

　　Unlike the half-body shot, the female insect in the projection is forced to be completely exposed, and every detail is visible under the high-definition lens.

　　He had soft white hair, but it was a little messy because he was lying on the ground.

　　The contrasting colors of red, white and molten gold are beautiful and eye-catching, evenly spread out with large areas of light honey color, full, vigorous and integrated, like a mature, agile and ferocious snow leopard.

　　Yael stared at the scene on the screen intently, his fingertips tightened unconsciously, leaving a crescent-shaped nail mark on his palm.

　　"…Wow, you dare to fight back?! You won't be getting anything to eat or drink for the next month!"

　　His Adam's apple rolled for a moment, and he finally couldn't help but bend over and retched violently.

　　"Beep! Obvious discomfort detected, the screen has been mosaiced."

　　The next second, his eyes blurred and a screen full of mosaics filled Yael's vision. Even the sound was eliminated, covered up by the sound of wind whistling in the window.

　　"Ahhh what happened? I suddenly heard an alarm!"

　　015 came out from the kitchen in a hurry, his expression flickering on the small screen with nervousness.

　　After retching and choking, Yael coughed for a long time before calming down, and said in a hoarse voice, "It's okay."

　　After three years of traveling here, he has basically learned the Zerg language, social norms, and common sense.

　　But before today, those were just words to him, without any sense of reality.

　　Such a strange new world would make anyone's minds erect high mental barriers and develop resistance, automatically filtering out things that are too absurd and unacceptable.

　　The scene just now was like a needle that punctured the balloon of comfort.

　　No matter how similar they may be on the surface, this is an non-human race and society, filled with unnatural distortion and cruelty, where fanaticism and coldness are but two aspects of society.

　　He is stuck in the middle and is a complete outsider.

　　Yael couldn't explain how he felt.

　　There was anger and disgust, but more of it is the powerlessness of being submerged in the vast sea of despair​​.

　　It was like the first time he opened his eyes and saw the female military officer's fully spread ferocious bone wings in mid-air, blocking out the sky.

　　After all, he can't grasp anything and can't change anything.

　　"Gurgle gurgle—"

　　Suddenly there was a boiling sound in the kitchen. 015 screamed and hurried back to the kitchen, where there was a lot of commotion.

　　Yael was stunned for a moment, then after he calmed down, he followed to help.

　　By the time the mess in the kitchen was cleaned up, the live projection outside had detected that there were no viewers and had automatically shut itself off.

　　It was completely dark and the living room was silent, like a gloomy and cold snow house.

　　＊

　　A month has passed quickly and it is almost the end of the year.

　　It snowed heavily all day.

　　After dinner, 015, who was worried about the new chip, began to remind Yael secretly, sometimes taking his coat to the sofa to iron it, sometimes folding and squashing up his white fluffy scarf...

　　After doing all this, it started to sweep the floor around its feet, making a clanging sound, as if afraid that Yael couldn't hear it.

　　Yael, who originally wanted to be lazy for a while, sighed and closed the book in his hand. "Okay, okay, I'll go now."

　　He picked up the down jacket beside the sofa, tidied himself up in a few seconds, and walked out the door with 015's earnest gaze on his back.

　　The sky was completely dark. The snow outside gentle, but the temperature was much lower than yesterday. The cold wind was whistling and blowing straight into his scarf.

　　The store was quite far away, and after hesitating for a moment, Yael decided to take a shortcut.