Chapter 44 Out of Control

Ever since she was old enough to understand the world, Xirui had been surrounded by adults who fawned over and flattered her in order to curry favor with her grandfather, father, and mother. When had the young lady ever been pointed at and cursed at like this?

Furious, Xirui sprang up like a coiled spring, snatched the Ansley coffee cup from the coffee table, and hurled it straight at the male salesperson.

Having completely lost control of his emotions, the male salesperson dodged the cup and lunged recklessly toward Xirui.

The world had been so cruel to a lowly ant like him; today, he was determined to vent this stifling rage, even if it meant being dragged away by the police.

The Xi family’s bodyguards reacted instantly, their movements agile as they pinned his shoulders. At the same time, an embodied robot stationed by the side door of the hall suddenly activated, moving toward them at high speed.

Hera had been using her phone to contact Xi Zhijie’s private accountant to inquire about the payment status for the necklace. When she looked up and recognized the facial features of the embodied robot, she was startled and quickly opened the specialized device's program at top speed, clicking the emergency brake option.

The embodied robot stopped three meters away.

By this time, more estate security guards had arrived. Hera stepped in front of Xirui and said in a low, stern voice, "Xirui, go back to the main building. Stop making a scene! This is Singapore. If this situation escalates, the impact on Mr. Xi won't be as simple as a public apology. Besides, if we don't appease this person properly and he really takes this viral online, Jin Xiao won't come."

Jin Xiao was a male group member whom Xirui was utterly infatuated with. His manager was currently negotiating a product endorsement with one of Xi’s subsidiaries. Once he arrived in Singapore, the wealthy benefactor's daughter getting close to him, sharing meals, and chatting would certainly be included among the unwritten clauses.

The potential public backlash causing that plan to fall through carried far more weight with the emotionally hollow young lady—whose life revolved entirely around male idols—than the authority of Hera, her father’s right-hand woman. It was enough to make her listen to reason.

With a vicious glare of lingering resentment at the struggling male salesperson, Xirui turned and swept away, accompanied by the housekeeper and bodyguards.

Hera turned around, her tone shifting to polite and gentle as she addressed the fuming male salesperson. "Mr. Gu, would you mind stepping into the tea room? I'd like to discuss how we're going to handle this order with you."

The male salesperson recognized Hera’s face. Back at the banquet that evening, it had been abundantly clear that Hera was someone at the level of a trusted personal assistant to Xi Zhijie.

Hearing her immediately call out the surname of a humble wage-earning drone like himself, the male salesperson finally found a shred of regained dignity. Lowering his gaze and biting his lip, he forced himself to steady his breathing after a few tries, then followed Hera away from the spacious, luxurious, yet utterly soulless living room.

Once in the tea room, Hera personally went to make a cup of coffee for the poor young man.

This process was not only to pacify him, but also to calm herself down.

Just moments ago, the accountant had informed Hera that upon learning his precious daughter considered the necklace to be bad luck earlier in the day, Xi Zhijie had once again refused to authorize the payment for it.

While filled with indignation, Hera did not find this entirely unexpected.

Would someone psychologically warped enough to betray the broader human society ever honor a promise made to an individual ant?

Hera handed the pour-over coffee to the male salesperson and sat down on the sofa close to him.

"Mr. Gu, if I may be so bold, what illness does your mother have?"

After the male salesperson bluntly stated the condition, Hera pulled out her phone. "I have a good friend in the pharmaceutical field, and I can help you inquire about treatment options. Add me on WhatsApp, and we can stay in touch."

Just as the instinctive glimmer of gratitude surfaced on the male salesperson's face, a sudden realization hit him.

"Miss Hera, is it that your superiors are still refusing to pay after all?"

Hera nodded. "Mr. Gu, I empathize with the anger you felt just now. Therefore, within the bounds of my authority and capabilities, I offer you this: First, I will personally purchase a piece of jewelry from your brand, worth around ten thousand Singapore dollars, to give to a good friend as a birthday gift; second, I will introduce you to some medical resources, hoping it can help with your mother's illness."

The male salesperson slumped into the soft cushions of the sofa like a withered leaf.

How could gentle, soothing, and genuinely sincere comfort yield the exact same result as the biting, mocking insults of a freezing winter wind?

He had indeed calmed down. He realized that venting on social media or smashing up the Xi estate was, to this ultra-wealthy class, as laughable as an ant thinking it could trip an elephant with its leg.

Not to mention that destroying the Xi family's mansion would land him in prison, even merely posting insults about the Xi father and daughter online would cost him his job and land him on the recruitment blacklist of every luxury brand. If his salary was cut off, how would his parents afford their medical treatments?

The male salesperson stood up, bowed to Hera, and added her on WhatsApp.

Hera stood up as well and patted the young man's shoulder. "I'll come to your store at Marina Bay tomorrow to place the order for the gift. Come, I'll see you out."

Returning to the living room, Hera paced over to the embodied robot she had halted earlier.

"Why did it leave the laboratory?" she asked the housekeeper with a dark expression.

The housekeeper was baffled. There were around twenty embodied robots working across the entire estate; could there be something different about this one, which had been sent to the West Building laboratory for maintenance last week?

"Miss Hera, its battery was running low. The charging equipment on the West Building side broke down, so the guard over there sent it over here to recharge."

"Call someone to transport it back to the West Building laboratory," Hera said flatly.

"It—its charging is finished now. Shouldn't we let it walk back by itself?"

"It has a malfunction and is too dangerous. Didn't you realize just now that it was about to attack that young man without receiving any command?"

"Oh, right. Yes, Miss Hera, I'll call someone immediately."

Ten minutes later, Hera boarded an electric cart and returned to the West Building laboratory alongside the embodied robot.

Sturdy, flesh-and-blood security guards escorted the robot up to the third-floor room.

Hera went to the second floor and saw Ada still lying quietly on the testing table.

Hera reached out and touched Ada’s exposed skin; it felt cool to the touch.

She sat down beside her.

When Fan Zhiheng arrived, she opened the backend control program of the embodied robot on the third floor.

Suddenly, she caught sight of a sentence: Humans can be killed, and they can also be loved.