Villainous

"I can"t leave the estate. Someone killed 44 and is not expecting to see her alive again. The entire staff is in on keeping her suppressed, abused, and away from her Owner for some reason. With that in mind more than one person may have been in on the murder and would be very displeased to see her returning to work."

44"s body was weak, frail. And Li Mei wasn"t eager to experience the life of a slave. To be beaten, abused, ordered around, treated like garbage, and murdered in her sleep.

Li Mei swore. "Forget that."

She stashed the b.l.o.o.d.y knife in storage for later. Then she climbed to her feet, wincing at lingering pains in her stomach, and edged toward the closet door. Memories flashed through her mind - the location of the closet, the nearest secret pa.s.sageways, the layout of the estate and its many buildings. Working schedules, who"d be where and when.

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[Archive]

Data downloaded: Agilo Estate Work Schedule Rotation

Data downloaded: Agilo Estate Layout

Map updated!

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Li Mei nearly jumped out of her skin when a holoscreen popped up with new information. "I"ll have to get used to that," she muttered, shaking her head. She brought up the map to see there was more than just the closet filled out, in great intricate detail. Everything was exactly as 44 memorized.

The Interface was just as much of a cheat as Li Mei hoped it would be. She grinned and leaned against the closet door. Already winded from exertion, she breathed slowly and listened for noise in the hallway.

Only silence.

Li Mei waited until she regulated her breathing before edging the door open.

Outside the closet all was dark. Silver moonlight filtered through cracks in heavy curtains covering rows of ma.s.sive windows that during the daylight hours overlooked a courtyard filled with flowers. Between each set of windows was a different statue, exquisitely carved faces eerily sinister in the dark.

At night the manor house was wreathed in oppressive silence. Guards patrolled the walled perimeter but never set foot inside the manor itself unless there was an emergency. All five slaves other than 44 lived in a small dorm occupying part of the bas.e.m.e.nt, where they could quickly respond should their Owner request a midnight snack. Hired help and their families lived in various cottages on the property.

The Agilo Estate encompa.s.sed a lush valley of roughly 1000 square kilometers. There were fifty people on staff payroll at any given time on the estate including slaves and guards, on work schedules that rotated every ten days - aside from 44 who was sent wherever nasty jobs needed doing.

Everyone living on the estate was cl.u.s.tered into the eastern edge of the valley. The western side had a long narrow lake while a large forest occupied most of the rest, which Adalrich Agilo kept preserved as fishing and hunting grounds for the rare times he visited. A couple small farms and orchards situated between the manor and the forest provided fresh produce and livestock throughout the year.

Not that 44 got to taste any of it. Poor girl never got to eat anything good in her insignificant life before she was murdered. Li Mei traced the number branded into her left arm with her fingertips. "I"ll make sure to live a life worthy of us both, kiddo. I promise."

Her stomach growled so loud Li Mei thought she saw the nearest curtains ripple in response. "Alright, 44"s ghost lives in my stomach? Food"s a good idea anyway."

The manor had three storeys, not including the bas.e.m.e.nt and attic. 44 chose a supply closet on the third floor to hide in that night, which meant Li Mei had to inch her way down several staircases and through way too many hallways to reach the kitchen on the bottom floor - a slave couldn"t activate magitech elevators. Her bare feet were cushioned by plush carpet and ornate rugs m.u.f.fling the sound of her pa.s.sing.

What should have been a ten minute walk through a big mansion turned into a two hour hike. Li Mei kept stopping for breath. "I need to get some food and start a training regiment," she thought as she leaned against an antique grandfather clock, gasping for air like a fish out of water. "This is getting silly!"

Glancing up at the clock face unlocked a new function. The Interface added a digital clock display with the current time just above the minimap.

"This much unused s.p.a.ce is wasteful," Li Mei thought with a frown, staring at a long banquet table in the cavernous dining hall. Flowers in ornate vases were only just starting to wilt, their refreshing scent lingering in the warm night air. "What is the point of having things you don"t put to use? Opulence without significance..."

She shook her head, pa.s.sing through the carved double doors into the kitchen.

Spices, lacquered cabinets and polished metal with a hint of soapy water from cleaned dishes. Li Mei inhaled deeply, enjoying the fragrance. Then she leaned over the sink, turning the tap just enough to get a stream of cold, clear water flowing quietly down the drain. She drank until her stomach stopped complaining about being empty. Indoor plumbing was powered by magitech devices, but the faucet itself wasn"t a device. Like the fridge, or toilets, they could be safely operated by slaves.

Elysium had a lot of strange and foreign produce, but many eaten by commoners looked eerily similar to ones on Earth. Li Mei rooted through the cabinets and pantry, sniffing some exotic-looking vegetables and fruits. She tried examining a fuzzy blue vegetable in greater detail, and a cyan circle popped up around it with a small holoscreen like a tooltip off to the side.

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[Potato]

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"Is that an approximate comparison or...?" Li Mei wrinkled her nose, putting the suspicious vegetable back in its bag.

There were several burlap sacks filled with fuzzy blue potatoes, pastel rainbow rice, and narrow yellow-striped pink onions.

She resisted the impulse to stash everything edible in her storage. One cubic meter was available, which was a much larger s.p.a.ce than it sounded. It could hold 1000 liters of liquid! It wasn"t enough to store a car, but it could store a motorcycle or two. More than enough s.p.a.ce for her needs!

All she needed was enough food to last until she could get food again the next night. If she stole too much at once it"d be noticed.

Stealing wasn"t the right way to think about it though. A certain amount of food should have been 44"s to begin with, it was others who prevented her from receiving proper daily rations. Li Mei was just taking it back.

She found some empty thermos canisters in the cupboards which she filled with water. A few fruits were cautiously nibbled, and when she found the flavors pleasing Li Mei grabbed more.

Using Scan she found gla.s.s jars of preserved fruits and vegetables in the pantry that wouldn"t be missed judging by the layer of dust on their lids. There were also some small boxes of green crackers that went into her ravenous storage box.

Leftovers from lunch or snacks were stored in the fridge, cooked remnants from the servants. They ate breakfast and dinner in their cottages so the stuff in the little square containers wasn"t exactly fresh. Li Mei took one whose contents smelled delicious and didn"t look too dubious.

A couple dishes and silverware went into storage too just in case. "Might as well start collecting stuff that I"ll need in the future," Li Mei thought with a satisfied nod. "Just a bit at a time for now."

Satisfied with her haul, Li Mei slipped out of the kitchen and creeped slowly back through the dining room into the maze of hallways. She sifted through 44"s memories and located a linen closet to grab some sheets, blankets, and a pillow. Then she chose a storage room near the kitchen with lots of dusty boxes and crates, squeezing her way between a pair of precariously balanced stacks.

It took all her strength to move some of the boxes around, creating a corner for herself that would be hidden even if someone opened the door and looked inside. Satisfied with her temporary hiding place, Li Mei ate some of the fruits and planned out a training regimen.

After all, if she wanted to avenge 44"s murder she had to get her new body in shape to do so.