043, the emperor is really watching!

Zaire, his head spinning, hurriedly fled the basement.

He returned home and stood still for a long while, taking deep breaths over and over again until he finally calmed down. The temptation from the Iron Man had been overwhelming—limitless wealth, right within reach. But Zaire couldn't dare accept it all. Even though the simulator had marked the Iron Man as having no malicious intent toward humans, Zaire still couldn't bring himself to fully trust it.

After all, an outsider was always an outsider! And nothing in this world ever came for free. The Iron Man must want something from him to be so generous. But what did Zaire have that the Iron Man could possibly want?

"I'm starting to regret letting it out…" Zaire muttered, frowning as he sank into the couch. He rubbed his chin, troubled by the situation. It was impossible to feel safe when dealing with something so out of his control.

As time passed, Zaire suddenly remembered the salvage task in the simulator. Pushing his worries aside, he opened the simulator's interface and saw that the countdown was nearing its end.

[Salvage Completion Countdown: One.]

[Salvage Completion Countdown: Zero.]

Once again, a jumble of random items appeared before Zaire. Apart from some familiar-looking space debris, there was only one thing that caught his attention.

[Salvage Result: Lost Lockheart Scarab (Unactivated)]

Note: Crafted by a Necron Overlord. Even a mortal can activate it using their mind. The Lockheart Scarab can control the minds of living creatures, making them sleeper agents or active assassins… "Where did my carefully crafted scarab go? That was supposed to be a gift for an old friend..." —Galactic Master Thief, Collector, Figurine Enthusiast, Trazyn the Infinite, lamenting the loss of his gift.

Zaire blinked as he stared at the Lockheart Scarab. A toy from the Necron Overlord? Capable of controlling the minds of living beings? Why did the things he salvaged always seem to involve forbidden tech or supplies? What was next, Chaos artifacts?

Where was his powered armor? Where was his bolter?

With a sigh, Zaire closed the simulator. He didn't feel like salvaging any more for the time being. The randomness of it all was too unpredictable; better to wait until resources were more abundant. "Maybe I should have the Iron Man order me some legal firearms... it wouldn't cost me anything anyway..."

After considering it for a moment, Zaire decided against asking the Iron Man for help. He couldn't completely trust it yet, especially when it came to matters related to the simulator.

Unable to stay at home any longer, Zaire stood up and headed out, leaving his apartment to visit the restaurant.

However, shortly after Zaire left, something strange happened. The plasma pistol he had left on the bed suddenly trembled. A wisp of dark smoke, faint as a shadow, drifted from the weapon's frame and swiftly disappeared into the floor below.

Meanwhile, in the underground cavern beneath the basement, the Iron Man, UR-025, was cheerfully humming a popular song in its mechanical voice as it busily carried building materials. It seemed to genuinely enjoy the work.

Suddenly, after finishing another trip, the Iron Man froze in its tracks.

"Hmm?" It slowly turned its metal head, blue lights flashing in its eyes as it scanned the area. Just as it was about to take another step, UR-025 realized in terror that its reliable metal body was completely paralyzed! It couldn't even move a single finger!

"Omnissiah above..."

Before the Iron Man could finish its prayer, Boom!—a massive, shadowy power claw, seemingly made of swirling black mist, materialized right before it! The enormous claw closed around the two-meter-tall Iron Man as easily as if it were a toy, gripping it tightly within its ethereal grasp.

Crack!

In an instant, the Iron Man's metal body, capable of withstanding searing plasma and explosive rounds, began to crack. Thin, terrifying fractures appeared all over its metallic form!

The blue light in its eyes flickered wildly, and the Iron Man's anguished cry echoed throughout the cavern. This time, its scream sounded shockingly real, as though there were no mechanical filters at all.

"By the Machine God! By the Omnissiah! I'm a good Iron Man! I'm not a heretic!"

"Ah... by the Emperor! I'm a loyal Iron Man! I didn't participate in the Iron Man Rebellion!"

Crack!

The shadowy power claw seemed relentless, tightening its grip even further.

"I know where I went wrong! I know! I shouldn't have acted on my own! I shouldn't have offered temptations... I only wanted to provide him with a shortcut!"

"I understand now! I understand! He mustn't make mistakes! He mustn't be tempted by Chaos… He's the only savior of the Human Empire!"

"By the Emperor! I was wrong!"

The Iron Man's cries grew weaker, its powerful metal skeleton on the verge of collapse.

Crack!

The phantom claw gave one final, crushing squeeze, as if issuing a final warning to the Iron Man. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the black mist dissipated, leaving no trace behind.

Thud!

UR-025's heavy metal body crashed to the ground with a resounding thud. Miraculously, the cracks that covered its metal frame began to slowly heal.

"Why is she here too... I was wrong... I was wrong..." UR-025 muttered fearfully. The once-proud Iron Man now knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, stripped of any dignity a machine intelligence might have had...

---

When Zaire arrived at the restaurant, he was surprised to find his aunt and Carl already busy in the kitchen. His aunt was working the wok with rapid movements, while the "planetary engine" of the kitchen roared to life. Carl, dressed in a white chef's coat, was chopping vegetables and washing them.

Puzzled, Zaire glanced around at the empty restaurant and called out to his aunt, "Auntie, we haven't opened yet. Where are the customers?"

"Zaire, what brings you here!" His aunt wiped the sweat from her forehead with the towel around her neck, her flushed face lighting up with surprise. "Our old clients, the Gao Chamber of Commerce, are having a big meeting today. They ordered a set meal for fifty people. I didn't want to open early, but Madam Gao insisted she missed my cooking, so I accepted the order..."

She pointed to two large takeout boxes filled to the brim. "Since you're here, Zaire, take this delivery. When you get back, I'll make us a nice meal to celebrate."

........

Childr-- I mean stone's pls ?

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