Impenetrable Wall

Fuyuki arrived ten minutes early to the address provided by Feng Liwei. Their house seemed like an ordinary villa with a spacious drive-way that was still empty. The lights were on signalling that the owners are at home.

He was walking carefully to avoid making a noise, though he knew he has nothing to be afraid of. Feng Liwei assured him that any defence system around the house will be temporarily turned off to enable him free entrance to the property. The system of his wristband is already modified to have the same attributes as the Majors, thus giving him free entrance at any door equipped with the standard SAI system.

It was actually quite easy while still being outside. The hard part will be to avoid the residents detect his presence. He knew from experience that walking around in a building you’ve never been to makes you be at a disadvantage as you can bump into anyone randomly and you don’t even know where to go to avoid those you don’t want to come across. At least this time he has the layout memorized thanks to him, so he only needs to get in, hide in his room, and wait for his return. It’s not that hard, only requires a few minutes because he can run fast.

He looked at his wristband and confirmed the time. He was just about to scan it and go in, when he heard a car arriving, so he hid behind a pillar to avoid being seen. As the car came closer he saw three people sitting in it, neither of whom were driving and were relying on the vehicle’s built-in SAI system instead. Probably, so that neither of them has to refuse to at least drink a toast tonight.

Fuyuki waited in the shadows patiently, trying not to breathe loudly. But as often happens in such situations, his nose started to itch badly. He waited until he could no longer bear it to scratch it carefully. Meanwhile, the three people, a man and a woman and possibly their daughter got out of the car and went straight to the door.

The door opened wide and an android came to take their coats while coming inside. Fuyuki waited, giving them a chance to go in the living room or any other room, so he can enter as well but luck wasn’t on his side. Just as he was about to make a move he saw two other cars arriving. One flying, the other arriving in the usual way.

Forget it. This won’t work, he thought and went around the building to find a window. If he was a regular burglar, he wouldn’t have an easy job since even the windows are equipped with the SAI system, so unless one has the authority, no one can open or close them freely. But tonight his wristband gives him special privileges, so he might as well use it.

He chose a window that wasn’t so high and made use of his parkour knowledge to reach the windowsill without a ladder in sight. He felt the hair on his temple getting damp from sweat as he was hanging on the windowsill with one hand, while scanning his wristband with the other. When he finally heard the metallic clicking of the window opening, he couldn’t help feeling relieved. He pulled himself up and jumped over the windowsill. After landing inside, he quickly turned around and closed the door behind him as if nothing happened.

“How can I help you, master?”

Hearing the young woman’s voice, Fuyuki froze and turned around in fright after being exposed this easily. The person before him was wearing a uniform of a housemaid and was patiently waiting for an answer.

“What did you say, who am I?” he asked after feeling something off. The woman before him looked at his wristband for a few seconds, then raised her head to look at him again.

“You are Major Feng Liwei, master,” she said. “I would like to inform you that the guests are arriving, so I suggest greeting them first. Is there anything I can help you with, master?”

The way the woman spoke and her smile soon made Fuyuki realize that the woman before him was actually an extremely realistic android that could almost be mistaken as human.

So, you not only gave me access to this place but actually made every system think I’m also you, even her.

A smile spread over his face thinking that and his nervousness was replaced by confidence.

“Just make sure that no one bothers me tonight,” he said and was just about to go around the lavish dining room table to leave the room but he couldn’t even have the time to congratulate himself on his bad luck that he just so happened to choose the window of the dining room when he heard voices getting nearer and nearer to the door.

He felt his pulse quickening and looked around in fright but he had no time to run back to the window, open it and jump out. So he was only left with one choice.

As the door opened, he ducked under the table and positioned himself under the cover of the table cloth. He waited and waited but the chattering didn’t seem to come closer. In fact, it seemed more like they changed their mind and no longer want to come in.

Fuyuki waited a few minutes more just to make sure and after confirming that they really won’t come in yet, he crawled closer to the edge of the table and stretched out his hand to grab and hold onto the chair opposite him, so he can crawl out. However, the moment his hand landed on the chair, something felt off but he still put his weight on his palm to push himself up.

When realization dawned on him, his eyes turned wide in shock and pulled back his hand under the table as if being afraid that it will be cut off. He was afraid to look but he had to just to confirm the catastrophic situation he is in. And sure enough, someone was already sitting on the chair he just touched. And judging by the clothes and the shoes, and well, something else, it’s a man.

Fuyuki remained kneeling under the table, lamenting his chances. It’s probably not a guest, otherwise that person would have shouted, unless he is a pervert. So that leaves only Feng Liwei and his father.

Oh, God, please, let it be Feng Liwei! At least we have a history together, so it’s not that awkward anymore. Well, it is awkward but at least I can explain it. But his father would totally kill me for this. Wait a minute... If it was his father, he would have been outraged.

He tried to ignore his legs getting numb from all the kneeling and listened to the sounds around him. The chatting became louder, which meant that everyone came inside one after the other. Soon, he could smell the freshly cooked food being served which almost made him salivate even though he didn’t feel hungry.

“Yes, it has been a while since we last met,” Fuyuki heard the man sitting before him speak, confirming that it was indeed Feng Liwei, whom he unintentionally touched.

He already knew it’s the most likely possibility but when it was confirmed he felt his heart skip a beat and had to lay down on his back because he felt it is hard to breathe. He looked up at the bottom of the tabletop, trying to concentrate on the pattern of its material to calm himself down. But it had the opposite effect. His heart started to race and he had to gulp silently. He looked around but only saw legs around him dressed in different attires, wearing different shoes. Men and women talking causally unaware of his presence under the table.

He slowly sit back up deciding to wait patiently until they finish eating and leave the room, so he can leave as well. He propped his chin up on his knee, thinking of ways to apologize to Feng Liwei once he meets him face to face, when he saw a slender, stockinged leg slowly streching out towards him. His first reaction was getting frightened and trying to scram out of the way. In his struggle to avoid the leg poking his eyes out, he unintentionally got closer to the pair of legs belonging to Feng Liwei. When his back hit those legs, he felt a sense of safety and it helped him calm down. After he was no longer afraid of being hit, he realized that he wasn’t even the target of that long leg. How could he? The person didn’t even know he was there. He was just in the way. Because that slowly approaching leg was trying to cozy up to the legs of the person behind him.

The thought of her leg sliding up along the Major’s leg made Fuyuki slightly uneasy, especially now that he was sitting right before those legs like an impenetrable wall. He thought hard what would Feng Liwei do if someone would suddenly make a move on him but he didn’t expect the unknown woman to be this bold, so he waited until her leg was close enough and stepped on it. He made sure not to do it too hard, so she won’t scream but also not too lightly, so she won’t attempt to do it again.

He tought of the look on her face after this making him grin so much that even his teeth were showing.