It had already begun over there.
"Ah, isn't this Vesti?"
The flamboyant girl acted surprised as if she'd just seen her, walking over and grabbing Vesti's hand with forced enthusiasm, pulling her up from the sofa. "Long time no see! I didn't expect to run into you here, what luck."
Vesti felt a bit uncomfortable under the girl's overwhelming energy.
"L-Long time no see…"
She tried to pull her hand free, but the other girl gave her no chance.
The flamboyant girl clearly had no intention of letting Vesti go, clinging to her arm like they were long-lost best friends who hadn't seen each other in years.
"Really now, you graduated and never reached out to us, that's your fault, Vesti. We really missed you. Remember back in school, when we used to study together?"
"I-I had things to do, so I didn't really have time…"
Although Vesti still felt uneasy, the girl's enthusiasm made her relax just a little, no longer as tense as before.
"Ah, such a busybody, huh." The flamboyant girl smiled warmly and kept chatting with Vesti, then casually asked with feigned curiosity, "By the way, after graduation, what did you end up doing? We haven't heard anything from you."
Vesti looked troubled and couldn't give a straight answer.
The girl winked at Vesti with a smile and said, "I heard from some classmates that you joined the Nikke forces after graduation."
Vesti hesitated.
"I…"
Before she could say anything, the flamboyant girl cut in again.
"That can't be, right? I mean, how could Vesti go to a place like that? Isn't that where all the outcasts and discarded trash of society end up? Vesti was a top student, polite and brilliant—no way she'd go somewhere like that. Ah, wait, what were you about to say just now…?"
With that, the words on Vesti's lips were swallowed back down.
"N-Nothing, I… I'm just working."
"Oh, so you got a job, huh," the flamboyant girl nodded as if she suddenly understood, then asked curiously again, "So, where have you been working these past few years? With your grades, you must've joined some big company, right? You've got loads of experience now, I bet. Unlike me—I just graduated and still don't know anything."
Vesti didn't know how to answer.
"Whoa, am I seeing things? Is that really Vesti?"
Just then, the other three men and one woman from earlier walked over. The one with slicked-back hair made a show of fake surprise.
"Hey, careful now. She's a Nikke, right? And with that new human rights law, if she gets annoyed, she might just whip out a gun and blast you."
The girl with the oversized earrings curled her lip into a mocking smile, speaking with sarcasm.
Slick-hair pretended to be shocked. "No way, Vesti's so meek—she'd never shoot me."
At this point, the flamboyant girl looked at Vesti in shock and said, "Vesti, you're in the Nikke forces? But you just said you had a normal job?"
Vesti stammered, unable to explain.
"You got fooled!"
Slick-hair burst into laughter.
The girl with the large earrings sneered mockingly, "Tsk tsk, Vesti, look at you now, even lying? Are all Nikkes like you—saying one thing and doing another?"
Her words struck a nerve in Vesti. She lifted her head, lips pressed into a tight line, breathing quickly as she said, "N-No, it's not like that. You can't badmouth them!"
She could tolerate them mocking her, but not slandering her teammates.
"Tch, switching sides real fast, huh!" sneered the slick-haired guy, folding his arms with disdain. "What, am I wrong? What's the difference between you and them?"
"Oh yeah, what's a robot like you doing here?" said the girl with the earrings, glancing around before narrowing her eyes at Vesti again. "Aren't you supposed to hate socializing? Shouldn't you be hiding at home enjoying yourself?"
"Speaking of which, don't these robots have anything better to do?" Another guy, who looked sunny and carefree in casual clothes, spoke with faux innocence.
"Aren't you supposed to be out fighting? You're Nikkes, after all—supposed to protect the Ark. All those taxes poured into modifying you weren't so you could come out and party. Go do your job."
"Do your job?" The girl with the earrings giggled like she'd just heard a hilarious joke. "If these Nikkes were really that useful, those terrorists wouldn't have made it into the Ark in the first place."
"Right? Hahahahaha."
They all burst into laughter, including the flamboyant girl from earlier, who doubled over with giggles.
Mo Chen furrowed his brow.
He had clearly heard their entire conversation—so brazen and unfiltered. It was obvious this wasn't the first time they'd done this.
This went beyond bullying: it was outright abuse.
Mo Chen had a good impression of this shy girl. Plus, she was a teammate of Silver Lily's. He couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
So he walked over.
Leaving behind a helpless Andersen—clearly, his words had fallen on deaf ears.
Vesti clenched her lips, her face flushed red, eyes welling up with tears. She sniffled, holding back sobs and tightening her fists.
"Vesti."
Just then, she heard a familiar voice.
Was she hallucinating? It sounded exactly like the Commander's voice.
She turned her head.
Through her blurry, tear-filled eyes, the silhouette stood under the lights, a little hazy. Looking closer, she saw that familiar face.
It was Mo Chen.
"Commander!"
Vesti gasped, shocked to see Mo Chen here. She quickly turned away and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, forcing the tears back.
She couldn't lose face here.
"C-Commander."
Mo Chen walked up to Vesti and saw the slight redness around her eyes. His brow furrowed.
He'd known Vesti was being bullied, but he hadn't realized it was this bad.
And this was only because she was a Nikke now—back then, she probably would've been beaten outright.
The three men and two women standing nearby stared in shock at the sudden appearance of Mo Chen.
"Commander? I-Is that the Commander?"
"It can't be, right? He's real?"
"How does Vesti even know him?"
Mo Chen was clearly angry. He turned toward the group and walked over.
The slick-haired guy immediately stepped forward with a beaming smile, holding out his hand to shake.
His family was one of the major households in the Ark, so of course he knew all about Mo Chen. His relatives had long been trying to build connections with him, but Mo Chen had always refused visitors, never giving them a chance.
Now, here was the opportunity.
"Hello, I'm—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Mo Chen raised his hand and slapped him.
Smack—!
A loud, crisp slap rang out.
The slick-haired man flew backward like a cannonball!
His head burst like a watermelon—boom!