Seeing that title, Aiden only raised a brow, unconcerned.
Nowadays, short-video titles were all overblown. Even back before short videos, foreign clips often had titles claiming zombies appeared here or there, fooling gullible people in droves.
Not to mention some video bloggers now liked to clip high-quality games or first-person scenes from zombie shows to fake clicks.
"Probably just another one of those bored bloggers making stuff up!" Aiden said with some disbelief.
But as Ada replayed the video, Aiden, noticing it didn't look like some homemade skit or AI-generated footage, also furrowed his brows slightly.
"No edits. Looks real." Ada pointed at the men in military gear on the screen.
"From their movements, they're professional soldiers. The weapons are standard issue. In broad daylight, no muzzle flash, recoil looks authentic."
"And the soldiers don't move like those flimsy game or movie characters. If it's fake, then whoever filmed it has to be professional military. But in my opinion, there aren't any directors that bored or that obsessed with realism…"
As she spoke, Ada fast-forwarded a little. Soon, alongside the soldiers, the screen showed the unmistakable Bradley heavy infantry fighting vehicle.
The 25mm autocannon on its turret was mowing down swarming zombies like grass, nothing like the usual zombie movies that never show modern equipment.
"We made it out of Raccoon City. You should know how powerful modern weapons are. If it hadn't been for Irons back then, the Raccoon City police could've held out much longer."
When the video finished, Ada continued, "Honestly, even without much prep, if that country hit by bioterrorism had reacted quickly, deployed their rapid-response units, the virus never could've spread."
Of course Aiden understood. Biohazard games and CG movies had also shown scenes of the military sweeping through zombies and B.O.W.s.
Even a standard special forces team could take down multiple Tyrants. With real-world military hardware, it wouldn't be that hard.
Only… Aiden sighed. "Just don't know which company developed this. It might not be world-ending, but it would definitely cause public panic."
Then he thought a bit more. 'Maybe it wasn't research at all, maybe a dimensional incursion?'
But that thought flashed by and he tossed it aside.
"As long as the local authorities can cover it up and hold the line, there won't be much impact. Think about my world." Ada shook her head, then glanced down at her phone, only to see the video was already gone. Even with Yakor's VPN software, it couldn't be found again.
She shrugged it off and stood. "Anyway, as long as it doesn't affect us here, it doesn't matter. Something at that scale, the local government can easily handle, as long as they're not stupid enough to try using it as a weapon."
"That's impossible." Aiden shook his head too. "But whatever. If it really gets out of control, we'll deal with it ourselves."
Not to mention his own strength now, or the strength of the women around him. Just his hundreds of millions of android soldiers could conquer the whole world. If things really went beyond national control, he wouldn't mind showing the world a bit of his power.
Truth be told, the thought had crossed his mind many times. Power not flaunted, like walking at night in fine brocade, unseen.
"We'll see about that later. For now… let's eat." Ada shrugged, put her phone away, then linked arms with Aiden.
———
[Basement Level One of the Villa]
Six long dining tables took up almost half the cafeteria.
Yes, cafeteria. With this many people eating, "cafeteria" was more fitting.
Jeanne prodded the beef and chickpea stew on her tray with a spoon, the sticky look killing her appetite. She frowned and instead speared a fried banana, taking a bite.
"Never thought I'd be eating fried bananas…" Even though the outside was crispy, Jeanne still complained to Bayonetta across from her. "Why did darling let her cook? If it were me, I'd make something actually tasty."
Bayonetta didn't answer, she was busy battling with a donut. Before she could swallow, a cool voice came from nearby.
"Didn't Ada say, Roberta was the first woman to cook for Aiden?"
At that, both Bayonetta and Jeanne looked over. The speaker was an oriental beauty dressed completely differently from the rest, classic, elegant, with scarlet eyes that clearly marked her as no ordinary person.
"Yinggou, hello."
Seeing the witches looking her way, Yinggou greeted them with ease.
"Hello, hello." Bayonetta and Jeanne gave their names in return. Jeanne then asked, "You never raised objections with darling?"
"Of course we did. But Aiden said breakfast is only Roberta's job. Lunch and dinner rotate between us."
Yinggou lowered her voice. "Best cook among us is Aerith. Jessie's pizza isn't bad either. Then the twin sisters, they're androids, the two of them can cook enough for a whole family, and it tastes great."
Then Yinggou glanced carefully at Xuanshuang, lowering her voice even more. "Roberta's dishes don't look great, but the flavor's okay now, much better than before. Fabiola told me they used to be awful."
"And Roberta is still better than Xuanshuang. A few days ago Xuanshuang even wanted to make fried scorpions and fried spiders."
"Scorpions… spiders…"
Jeanne and Bayonetta exchanged looks, then shook their heads vigorously. "Not in a million years."
"Don't worry, most people disagreed. But Aiden actually said yes." Yinggou smiled. "He's very interested in those foods."
"If he dares eat that, I won't kiss him for a week," Jeanne muttered.
"Just make him brush his teeth a few extra times." Yinggou didn't care. She'd eaten plenty of strange things before. To change herself back, she had tried all kinds of bizarre herbs and remedies.
"Brushing isn't enough! He just cannot eat that nasty stuff." Jeanne shook her head fiercely.
"By the way, does the house do afternoon tea?"
While Jeanne and Yinggou were talking, Bayonetta had finished most of her tray. She idly scraped sauce with her spoon, chin resting on her hand, and asked.
"Afternoon tea? No." Yinggou shook her head.
"Then how are we supposed to get through such long afternoons?" Bayonetta pressed.
"Watch TV, play on your phone, play games, lots of ways to kill time." Yinggou brightened up.
Coming from the ancient past into modern times, entertainment was endless, never boring. Then she added, "If you like drinking, you can go to Tifa. She mixes all sorts of cocktails."
"Tifa… that big one, right?" Jeanne glanced at Tifa, who was eating with Aerith, the two were on good terms again.
"That's her." Yinggou nodded, her gaze also pausing on Tifa's chest before whispering, "If we ever have kids, I bet she could feed them all herself."
"That's perfect, no need to hire wet nurses." Bayonetta laughed. In old Europe, wet nurses had been common.
At that, not only Yinggou and Jeanne, but Roberta, Fabiola, and Trish nearby all bit their lips.
'Hold it in. Don't laugh.'
After breakfast came free time. Aiden never restricted their freedom, as long as they didn't cause trouble outside, they could do whatever they wanted.
Most of the time, the women liked staying in, watching TV, gaming, scrolling their phones. If not, they could head to the private bar, where Tifa would mix the perfect cocktail for them.
If they didn't feel like drinking or staying in, they could go shopping, as long as they wore masks and hats. A bunch of anime and game characters walking around in reality, even in just a third-tier city, would still draw attention.
Especially Bayonetta and Jeanne. Maybe not as famous as Tifa, but their looks were far too distinctive. Recognition was a risk.
But witches were never homebodies. So after resting a bit post-breakfast, the two decided to head out and explore the shopping district, experience the local culture.
Aiden had no plans to go with them. He just told them to be careful, and to take Trish and Yinggou along.
Clearly, Yinggou got along with the witches, so having her play tour guide worked. She'd already been out a few times in this world.
After seeing the four women off, Aiden headed to Tifa's bar, on the villa's third floor corner. Despite being in a corner, it was spacious, with two large floor-to-ceiling windows letting in lots of light.
Ordering a "Starfall Canyon," Aiden sat at the bar chatting with Tifa and Aerith. Ada was there too, though she wasn't interested, just quietly sipping her drink.
Before long, Scarlet walked in.
Seeing her, Aiden glanced at his phone, just after 9 a.m. He chuckled. "Surprising, you're up early today."
As Aerith once said, Scarlet usually slept till ten. Nine was early for her.
"I heard new sisters arrived, so I wanted to meet them… Where are they?" Scarlet leaned on the bar, golden hair cascading down, then looked at Tifa. "Darling, a glass of red wine."
"Drinking on an empty stomach this early isn't good for you, Scarlet."
Still, Tifa poured her the wine. Their relationship was closer than Aerith's with Scarlet. Back during the destruction of Reactor No.1, Scarlet had been the one to pass along the internal maps, through Tifa.
Scarlet sipped the wine, savoring it. "It's fine. My body's young and strong now, I can handle it."
Indeed, Scarlet had changed a lot, her skin was now smooth and youthful, Jenova's effects were impressive.
Of course, Aiden likely had a hand in it too. As his power grew, the women with him grew stronger as well, and like him, stayed forever young.
"Anyway, no one's told me where the new sisters are!" Scarlet said, touching her face.
"They went shopping. Yinggou's with them." Aiden told her.
"So I was still late…" A trace of regret on Scarlet's face. "I haven't been out in days, and shopping is the best way for women to bond."
"Next time's fine. We all live together anyway." Aiden smiled, picking up his phone. He hadn't forgotten his plan to buy a manor.
Scrolling through his saved listings, he was still undecided.
"Aiden, I think an island would be better. I remember you can privately buy islands here." Ada reminded him.
"I know. But the paperwork's complicated, and you can't just modify it however you want. To change anything, you need reports and approvals." Aiden frowned.
"And living there is inconvenient, you need a boat or helicopter every time. Plus, those uninhabited islands don't have infrastructure. Even if I bought one, no telling when we could live there. A manor's better. We can remodel it later."
With that, his scrolling finger paused. Finally, he opened one of the bookmarked listings with resolve.
[T/N: Another new character from the skipped arc 'bu liang ren', Yinggou.]
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