Vivienne's phone buzzed insistently, matching the urgency of Aaron's voice on the other end.

"Vivienne, Elite University's gone haywire. A bunch of thugs outta nowhere setting fires, wounding folks. It's chaos!"

"Everyone, stay frosty," Vivienne commanded, her voice steady as she addressed the trio on the line. "Keep an eye out if they're androids. If you spot them, don't hesitate to smash them to bits!" "Understood!"

Unison agreement crackled through the phone, quickly followed by the sounds of a scuffle.

The situation was swiftly brought under control.

The media was ablaze, both TV and online, with reports of rampaging robots. The incident was huge, engulfing the city as nearly every one got dragged into the fray.

Even Percival's and Vivienne's attempts to scrub the feeds were futile.

The concept of androids, which many had relegated to the stuff of movies, now confronted them in reality. To the average Joe, a robot was nothing more than a novelty to chuckle at. But now, lifelike androids roamed the streets, mistaken for flesh and blood, until Vivienne peeled back their synthetic skin to reveal the mechanics beneath.

Panic seized the Brooks Group, the Churchill Group, and the Pendleton Group. Even their employees were clueless about how the robots broke loose. Androids required pre-programmed instructions to function, yet these were fresh from the warehouse, never programmed for chaos.

Vivienne's exclusive chat group about bionics was in an uproar-Zachary Churchill: [Madam, what's the play? Folks are freaking out, saying robots will rule the world soon and we're headed for a machine age. We can't contain the online wildfire!]

William Pendleton: [Yeah, and Vanguard Agency wants a sit-down tomorrow. This meltdown smells fishy like it was all premeditated.]

Ronald Brooks: [I'm with you, Vivienne. This stinks of a setup!]

mask of ice as she commanded, [I need you

android project had always been under wraps, even from

replied, [Got it,

Carl. You're the head honcho of

Ronald: [Understood. Thanks.]

instructing him to head straight to the sanatorium in M State and bring Carl and Huxley back. He was the closest, the logical choice for a swift

out as he entered, "we've traced the androids. They

they're the first

this be a setup to expose the androids? Feels like

"It's not you

project her brainchild.

fists. "Madam, this is too

site to clear things up.

We'll stick to the story-it's got nothing to

not idiots. Sure, we're tight here in Rivenwood, but HQ will send someone. We owe them that courtesy." "But if all four of us are

replied, tapping her fingers languidly on the chair's edge. Her voice was

Vance was

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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