Chapter 48: Alien Prequel – The Little Master Has Grown Up

The moment Vickers finished speaking, Dr. Shaw immediately reacted.

She swiftly sealed the quarantine chamber and watched with her own eyes as the Engineer, after letting out a series of agonized roars, suddenly exploded into fragments.

“No.”

Dr. Shaw’s faith seemed to crumble.

“This shouldn’t be happening.”

Influenced by her parents, her lifelong faith had been to find humanity’s creators.

And now, she had truly found the Engineers.

Yet she could only watch helplessly as the path leading to her faith was severed before her eyes.

Holloway stood frozen in place for a long time, unable to recover.

He murmured in frustration, “Why?”

If even humanity’s creators could die so easily, then why create us in the first place?

Both of them, who had devoted countless years of their youth and energy to the same belief, were overcome with grief.

But Dr. Shaw quickly composed herself.

“Ford, we need to collect samples for analysis.”

Ford immediately complied, and the procedure was carried out with perfect professionalism.

Vickers crossed her arms and nodded approvingly.

Ford’s performance was exactly what she expected from someone they were paying a high salary to hire.

As for Dr. Shaw…

Recovering this quickly wasn’t bad either.

Except for one thing.

Her gaze shifted to Holloway, who was leaving with a bottle of alcohol in his hand, his shoulders slumped in dejection.

“Sister.”

Jiang Shulan tugged at Vickers’ sleeve.

He looked pale and pitiful.

“I want to go back and take a shower first.”

The sight of the Engineer exploding had made him feel nauseous.

Although the Engineer had been rather tragic.

He had died once because of a door dropped by his own people, his head severed from his body.

And then he had died a second time during scientific research, leaving not even a complete corpse behind.

Jiang Shulan shivered.

He was covered in goosebumps.

Vickers nodded.

Jiang Shulan returned to his room.

After taking a shower, he had barely put on his bathrobe when he smelled the fragrant aroma of freshly cooked food.

David had prepared an authentic Chinese meal for him.

Dry pot chicken.

Stir-fried cabbage.

Stir-fried beef.

And perfectly simmered chicken soup.

The lighting in his room had two settings.

One was bright white light for work.

The other was warm golden light for rest.

David was sitting quietly at the table.

He wore a dark gray high-collared uniform with clean, elegant tailoring.

The sleeves were neatly fitted, ending just above his wrists and revealing a pale, slender pair of hands.

The light fell from directly above him.

Although it was the kind of harsh overhead lighting people on the internet always called the worst possible angle, it only made his features appear even more handsome and refined.

His posture was perfectly upright.

When Jiang Shulan met David’s pale blue eyes, a strange sense of unease rose in his heart.

“Little Master.”

David stood up and reached for the towel in Jiang Shulan’s hand.

When Jiang Shulan instinctively avoided him, David didn’t seem bothered.

He only said softly, “I noticed that you didn’t enjoy the bread and sandwiches today. So I made Chinese food for you. I hope it makes you happy.”

Jiang Shulan sat down at the table.

His stomach growled loudly.

His eyes were fixed on the steaming dry pot chicken.

It looked unbelievably delicious.

But David seemed so suspicious that he was a little afraid to eat it.

Jiang Shulan struggled with himself.

Before he realized it, he was already leaning over the edge of the table, practically drooling.

“These ingredients were preserved in advance. The chicken soup has been simmering since last night. The other three dishes were cooked five minutes before I calculated that you would finish your shower. The flavor may not be perfect. But it can provide you with sufficient nutrition.”

Jiang Shulan didn’t hear a single word of David’s explanation.

His stomach was screaming at him.

Eat.

Eat.

So hungry.

So hungry.

Forget it.

Jiang Shulan finally decided that if he was going to die, he would at least die full.

He picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of slightly charred chicken into his mouth.

“It’s so delicious!”

His words came out muffled because he was already chewing.

Chinese food really was the best food in the world.

Jiang Shulan ate enthusiastically.

Without him noticing, David quietly took the towel from his hand and gently began drying his hair.

“David?”

Jiang Shulan called after taking a few bites.

“Yes, Little Master.”

“Thank you, David.”

Jiang Shulan took a sip of chicken soup.

“But I’ve grown up now.”

Whether this David was the original model or not no longer mattered to him.

He had already decided that he would never again place his emotions in an android.

Jiang Shulan coldly put a piece of perfectly cooked beef into his mouth.

He was determined to finish every dish on the table as a memorial to the feelings he had wasted.

David paused briefly as he dried his hair.

“Of course. Little Master has grown up.”

More rational.

More composed.

And even more beautiful.

David quietly inhaled.

Gardenia.

The scent of gardenias surrounded him completely.

He finished drying Jiang Shulan’s hair, massaged his scalp, tucked him into bed, turned off the lights, and only left the room after Jiang Shulan’s breathing had become slow and steady.

At nine o’clock that night, David found Weyland and gave a concise report on the day’s events.

Weyland did not become suspicious of him.

However, on the way back, he encountered Vickers.

She had clearly been waiting for him.

Vickers narrowed her eyes.

They were the same eyes as Weyland’s.

Dangerous and cold.

The expression inevitably reminded David of the day he had been destroyed.

Vickers seemed to notice something.

“I remember that you’re not a companion-model android.”

David wore his perfectly measured smile.

“That is correct, Miss Vickers.”

Vickers stepped closer and questioned him sharply.

“Then why have I repeatedly seen you coming out of Little Treasure’s room?”

David remained completely calm.

“This was Master’s instruction. You know how much he dotes on Little Master.”

Based on Weyland’s usual behavior, Vickers didn’t find that explanation particularly strange.

Although she didn’t fully understand it, she accepted it.

Jiang Shulan was the youngest child in the family.

He had suffered greatly in the orphanage when he was young.

Both she and Weyland were more than willing to treat him especially well.

And seeing Jiang Shulan smile because of it only made them spoil him even more.

It could be said that Jiang Shulan had become this pampered, fearless little troublemaker entirely because she and Weyland had indulged him.

“Is that so?”

Vickers still asked coldly, out of habit.

“Did Father mention me?”

“Of course.”

David replied.

“What did he say?”

“Well done. My daughter.”

Vickers left.

David could tell that she was very happy.

Without Jiang Shulan, given the personalities of both father and daughter, their relationship would never have become this harmonious.

All of those changes had happened because of his little master.

Including his own.

David returned to his room and took the cylindrical stone container out of the refrigerator.

He easily opened it and removed a small vial resembling a medical ampoule.

Inside was the mysterious black liquid.

David extracted a single drop and placed it on his fingertip, observing it carefully.

“What a remarkably resilient life.”

He smiled faintly.

“But it still needs a catalyst.”

David found Holloway standing by the pool table, drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

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