Chapter 44: Alien Prequel – Prometheus

“What did you think? Did you see his father’s speech?”

“I did. He actually wants to create androids and calls himself a god. It’s ridiculous.”

“Before airplanes were invented, people also thought that humans flying through the sky was a joke.”

After saying that to his classmate, Jiang Shulan got into the car that would take him home.

[System, repeat my mission.]

[Be killed by the new Xenomorph Deacon aboard the Prometheus.]

[Then may I ask what exactly is happening right now?]

Jiang Shulan took out the small mirror from the car.

The child reflected in the mirror was soft and adorable, with fluffy black hair, blue eyes as clear as freshly washed glass marbles from a stream, and baby fat still lingering on his fair cheeks.

When Jiang Shulan smiled, the child in the mirror smiled too.

His eyes curved into crescent moons, and his entire face looked irresistibly soft.

[I’m only eleven years old!]

Jiang Shulan flopped onto the seat, waving his tiny arms and legs dramatically.

[According to you, I have to wait at least another seven years! Doesn’t your conscience hurt?!]

[Systems do not possess consciences.]

Bickering all the way home, Jiang Shulan jumped out of the car the moment the door opened and sprinted into the house.

“Dad!”

Weyland caught his youngest son steadily in his arms.

“Who made you angry this time?”

“No one!”

His youngest son lied, even though he was practically puffed up like a little pufferfish.

Weyland gave the driver a questioning look.

The driver immediately went to investigate.

Weyland gently smoothed Jiang Shulan’s hair.

“There, there. Don’t be angry anymore. I have a task for you. Would you like to help me?”

“A task?”

Jiang Shulan’s eyes lit up.

“What task?”

Weyland carried him over to a tall, unfamiliar man.

“This is David. He’s the android I just created. He was activated this morning. I’ve uploaded a great deal of knowledge into him, but he’s very stiff when it comes to imitating humans.”

Weyland ruffled Jiang Shulan’s hair.

“Can my little treasure help Dad teach him?”

“Of course!”

Jiang Shulan eagerly grabbed David’s hand and pulled him away.

Weyland watched his son’s bouncing figure with a smile.

When he turned around, he met the gaze of his daughter, Vickers, who was staring at him quietly.

Vickers kept a straight face.

“Why didn’t you ask me?”

“Vickers, I need you to help me with something more important.”

Weyland gently patted her head as well.

“And don’t you think it would be amusing if David learned Little Treasure’s habits and mannerisms?”

The tension in Vickers’ face softened into a faint smile.

The android was tall and strikingly handsome.

Weyland had designed him according to the most perfect standards imaginable.

Every aspect of him was exceptional.

Just imagining her little brother’s silly expressions appearing on that dignified face made her want to laugh.

Weyland took Vickers’ hand.

“Come on, Vickers. Help Dad look through the latest documents.”

Because his work had kept him so busy, he hadn’t been able to care for Vickers properly.

She had gradually become withdrawn and arrogant.

That was why he adopted Jiang Shulan from an orphanage.

At first, it had only been so Vickers would have someone to play with.

Who could have predicted that the little boy would quietly become the most important member of the family?

Meanwhile, Jiang Shulan was carefully observing David.

David was about one meter ninety tall, like a meticulously sculpted Greek statue.

His pale blond hair and gray-blue eyes gave him the beauty of a classical sculpture.

The only flaw was how utterly lifeless those eyes appeared.

David wore a flawless, textbook smile.

“Hello, Little Master.”

Jiang Shulan nodded.

“Hello, David.”

He sat down on a chair and placed his schoolbag behind him.

Desserts had already been prepared on the table.

When he noticed David was still standing, he added, “Sit with me, David.”

David replied, “Little Master, I do not require rest. When speaking to me, you may give direct commands.”

“But aren’t you trying to imitate humans?”

Jiang Shulan rested his chin in his hands.

“Humans see a chair and immediately want to sit down. And humans don’t go around saying they don’t need rest.”

David obediently sat down as instructed.

Even so, he still looked somewhat stiff.

It seemed Weyland’s technology was not yet fully mature.

Jiang Shulan divided the dessert in half and pushed one portion toward him.

“Can you eat this?”

David accepted it with both hands.

“Yes. Any food that enters my body can be converted into usable energy. However, I do not need to eat. An electrical power source is sufficient to maintain my biological functions.”

Jiang Shulan frowned.

His childish face filled with concern.

“But that doesn’t make you seem human, David. Are you really intelligent? Why do you seem a little silly? You should observe me carefully. Imitate me. Behave more like a real human. That way, Father will like you more and replace your chip with a more advanced one.”

David detected the change in his little master’s emotions.

He decided that he must imitate him well.

“…Understood, Little Master.”

Jiang Shulan nodded happily.

Swinging his legs, he stuffed dessert into his mouth with his small chubby hands.

His eyes curved into crescents.

“It’s so delicious!”

His favorite part of every day was coming home and eating dessert.

However, after overeating once and getting a stomachache, Weyland had ordered the cook to give him only one piece per day.

Now he had shared half with David.

Somehow, it tasted even better.

As expected, things that were scarce or unattainable always tasted the best.

Jiang Shulan narrowed his eyes in bliss as he savored the sweetness.

Then he saw David pause for a moment.

Slowly, David narrowed his own long eyes and copied Jiang Shulan’s tone exactly.

“It’s so delicious!”

Because everything in the room had been customized for Jiang Shulan’s height, David’s impossibly long legs looked especially conspicuous when he sat down.

David noticed Jiang Shulan staring blankly.

Perhaps he thought he hadn’t imitated him well enough.

He actually started swinging his legs too.

“Ahem!”

Jiang Shulan clutched his chest and hurriedly took a sip of water.

David immediately put down his cake and gently patted Jiang Shulan’s back.

The pressure was neither too light nor too heavy.

Even the rhythm was perfectly timed.

“I’m sorry, Little Master. I actually allowed you to choke right in front of me…”

His voice was full of remorse.

Yet his face showed almost no emotional fluctuation.

He was only following the behavioral patterns Weyland had programmed into him.

But somehow…

It was unbelievably funny.

“Hahaha…”

Jiang Shulan laughed so hard that his stomach hurt.

“No, David! You didn’t do anything wrong. This is exactly what humans are supposed to do!”

“Is that so?”

David’s pupils flickered slightly.

“Thank you for teaching me, Little Master.”

Jiang Shulan’s conscience suddenly pricked him.

He immediately sat up straight and adopted a serious expression.

“Yes. But you’re still not quite there. Let me teach you some new things.”

“There’s no need for that, Little Master.”

David spoke slowly and gently.

“You only need to live your life as you normally would. That is the most authentic human life.”

Jiang Shulan had absolutely no idea how terrifying it was that an android could refuse one of his requests and offer suggestions of its own.

He had almost no experience with robots.

He had only seen them in anime.

He wasn’t cautious at all.

So he didn’t think much about David’s words.

He took his homework out of his schoolbag and muttered, “Ugh, I don’t want to do homework.”

“I can do it for you, Little Master.”

“Really?”

Jiang Shulan hesitated.

“But your handwriting is different from mine.”

David seemed eager to prove himself.

“Please trust me.”

Jiang Shulan handed over his homework with a tentative attitude.

David’s pupils flashed once.

He picked up Jiang Shulan’s pen.

In less than five minutes, every assignment was finished.

“Wow! David, you’re incredible!”

Jiang Shulan held the homework in his hands and examined it carefully.

His blue eyes widened into perfect circles.

“The handwriting is exactly the same as mine!”

If he hadn’t watched David write it himself, he might have believed he had somehow completed it in his sleep.

David smiled with perfect precision.

“My pleasure. But humans don’t finish this much homework all at once.”

Jiang Shulan flipped to the last page.

The entire workbook had been completed.

This was the dream of his childhood.

The problem was that school had only started three days ago.

“I’m sorry. That was my mistake. I’ll…”

David’s apology was interrupted.

His arm had been wrapped in a hug by the human child.

The touch was astonishingly soft.

Delicate.

Fragile.

The human child’s eyes were the same blue as his own.

Perhaps that was why his master, despite loving vivid azure above all else, had deliberately given him gray-blue eyes instead.

Because those eyes were simply too beautiful.

On anyone else, they would never have looked this bright.

Never this full of life.

Never this capable of making others happy.

“David, you’re amazing!”

Jiang Shulan immediately switched to his most effective method of persuasion.

“Can you do my homework for me every day from now on?”

“Won’t you punish me, Little Master?”

“Punish you?”

Jiang Shulan looked confused.

“But this was my fault for not explaining it clearly.”

When mistakes were made, punishment was required.

Even if the master made a mistake, the one who had to be punished was him.

Because he had failed to explain things clearly enough.

That was one of the commands Weyland had implanted in him.

David shook his head.

“No. Little Master must punish me. In any way you choose.”

Jiang Shulan thought seriously for a moment.

“Then… I’m giving you a very important mission.”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

The Days That Are Gone

Gender BenderPsychologicalSlice of Life

Read Now →
Not interested