Ellowyn could see that Alice and Sophie’s robotic bodies were of the same model as her own. As much as she was fascinated by the close-up view of the robotic parts, the perspective from her sitting allowed her to view the entirety of the model as a whole.

The whole contraption reflected a silver metallic glint. Because it was designed for users to not feel like they’re controlling a stiff metallic body, the model focused on mobility and flexibility. It’s frame was both lightweight and tough but still provided some defense against most types of damage. Thin plates of kevlar covered the numerous vulnerable joints throughout the body.

Overall, while the suit wouldn’t withstand much combat, it was superb for an evening out when her real body got healed. To her disappointment, all senses but smell and touch wasn’t present in the body’s virtual feedback, that meant she couldn’t smell the air or taste anything.

“Have fun, I have some errands to take care of.” Alex waved to them and left.

“So, where do we go first?” Asked an excited Sophie.

“I’m thinking of taking the shuttle from here to the Port City twenty miles out. The paperwork for our departure is taking longer than I thought because of the political tension.”

“Damn it.” Sophie plopped down on the sofa and turned on the TV.

The cooking channel featured an exotic dish made from steamed red fang snakes with some diced raw scorpions, to which she immediately turned the TV off again.

“The paperwork is done,” Alice announced.

“Yes, finally.” Sophie sprung from the sofa with her arms in the air while Alice followed behind, dragging Ellowyn’s hand.

Warm ocean breeze played with Ellowyn’s artificial hair the moment she entered the huge airship’s bridge. The boundless crystal blue ocean slowly revealed itself before her eyes as they adjusted to the warm light of dusk filling the copper sky.

They proceeded down a long sky escalator connecting the airship to the docking gate, then walked for a short while to the shuttle station.

“Why can’t we just get our own ride? Shuttles are slow and stuffy.” Sophie complained.

“A personal vehicle departing our flagship would gather too much attention. We’d be followed by the Empire’s agents.” Alice said.

“It’s not like three top of the line remote controlled robot models from the United League would tickle someone’s fancy.” Sophie grumbled. “If we’re gonna get noticed anyway, why not do it in style?”

“Stop trying to get us in trouble. ” Alice chided her, “I really don’t want to start a major conflict. More lives would be lost.”

“But I do.” Sophie said defiantly, earning a glare from Alice.

The dilapidated port saw much more activity than what Ellowyn deemed as safe. She could hear the screeching of the strained and rusted metallic cranes as they struggle to unload numerous containers from absolutely massive container ships, each rivalling the flagship in size.

“Is that the shuttle?” Ellowyn pointed at the approaching flying metal box that looked like a double decker bus with a bunch of thursters strapped to it.

People poured out of its doors like a dam, shortly before it received another stream of bodies with the three girls following suit.

Ellowyn realized that Sophie was right, the inside of the shuttle was crowded and badly ventilated. But thank to the lack of a biological nose, she didn’t have to experience the surrounding bodily odor. She was glad to not receive much attention from the surroundings, as the place was a popular tourist attraction with many opting to visit the place remotely using their remote control bodies. Though she could see the stark contrast in quality between their bodies and the other lower-ended remote tourist robots.

“Be careful guys and don’t wander around any alleys.” Sophie warned, “Bot hunters are probably everywhere. It’s best if we stick close to each other.”

“Bot hunters?” Ellowyn’s curiosity flared up.

“They’re illegal traders that attack and capture tourists bots to resell them. It’s like human trafficking, but for bots.” Alice explained.

“Yup, Alice got to experience it herself a year ago. She was depressed for an entire week after losing her favorite remote bot.” Sophie chuckled, shortly before earning a quick knuckle on her head. “Ow, hey!”

The shuttle finally arrived at the Port City. The ember sky slowly darkened in tandem with the brightening city lights. Countless stalls lined the side of the road leading out of the station, each selling a different kind of mouth-watering treats, from grilled or fried fishes to even raw insects and boiled snakes.

“The local cuisine here is very… interesting.” Ellowyn furrowed her brow.

“They’re a lot more delicious than they look, especially the insect dishes,” Alice commented.

“Only you would say that.” That earned Sophie another head knuckle.

“Pff.” Ellowyn chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Sophie groaned.

“You guys are really close.”

“We are, we have known each other since kindergarten.” Alice smiled.

Then a pang of disappointment permeated Ellowyn’s heart like a dark cloud. If Alice is already accompanied by Sophie, then what am I here for? Questions swirled in her mind, did Tom lie, or did he simply not know that Alice already is happy with Sophie around, did Tom really have a need for me to join the family?

Most importantly, will I be discarded?

“It’s all thanks to you though Ellowyn, that Alice is much more cheerful and alive.” Sophie beamed. “She used to be so reserved, quiet, and sad. Despite being best friends, we never got to meet each other much. Even with Alexis as my bodyguard, my over protective dad wouldn’t let me visit her more than two times a week. When I get strong enough, I’m going to knock some sense into him.

“In the meantime though, Ellowyn, please take care of Alice. You are after all a part of her family, and that automatically qualifies you as my best friend. Whatever you do, don’t make her sad, okay?”

Ellowyn could only nod dazedly as the darkness rising within her dissipated. But then a stunning realization hit her harder than a ten-ton truck.

If aside from me, Alice also has Sophie as a crucial emotional support pillar, that means even if I were to lose my life in the future, Alice won’t be sad forever. That revelation opened countless other options she had that will ensure Alice’s safety.

They had to momentarily stop walking as massive crowds blocked the road. The crowds were divided into different groups. Large floating holograms floated above the center of each crowd, each showing different exotic performances from snake charming (but with very large genetically modified snakes) to force blade swallowing.

It was then that Ellowyn realized most of the performers, regardless of gender, wore extremely revealing clothing, their dresses, shirts and pants were made from soft see-through fabric, despite living in the middle of a scorching desert. This strange sense of fashion applied through every local she saw. Their skin were also palish-white, a fact that went completely opposite to what she expected to see in a desert. At first she thought it was advancements in fabric technology that gave them resistance against the sunlight’s radiation, but she was wrong because most non-local visitors still had to wear fully covered cotton clothing.

A brief research revealed something astounding. The people here were called the Yamas, meaning Desert Dwellers. Two hundred years ago, all of their offsprings had a sudden drastic change. Not only did their skins become immune to the harmful effects of sunlight, but also they could convert some of the absorbed light into metabolic energy. This allowed the Yamas to save dramatically on food expenditures as they didn’t need to eat as much. Instead of feeling scorched by the scolding sunlight, they felt a pleasant sensation that gave more energy to their bodies. Hence what little clothing they wore were made from special see-through waterproof fabric that breathed, allowing sweat to evaporate rather than getting trapped between the folds of clothing and skin while absorbing as much sunlight as they could.

This beneficial trait was dependent on the pure percentage of Yamas heredity within the person. Someone with one Yamas parent would have a 50% reduced trait and so on.

Ellowyn was completely befuddled to find that the scientific explanation for the amazing trait was nowhere to be found. The Empire was very strict in regulating the Yamas, not allowing them to move out of their region. The few researches done and published online showed no explanation whatsoever, there was no distinct skin mutations, no metabolic or DNA changes. The Yamas, at least biologically, were the same as any other human beings.

Great, another mysterious medical condition that can’t be explained. She gave up after scouring whatever she could. Ironically, there was another condition that shared the same scientifically unexplainable, mysterious characteristics, her heart-sickness.

“So, where to next?” Alice asked.

“The shopping district, of course. Did you live under a rock all this time, silly.” Sophie laughed, “The Yamas are known for their excellent soft, comfortable clothes that allows your skin to breathe. The trade Empire’s trade restriction prevented us from getting any of that cool stuff. So this is our perfect chance to do clothes shopping for Ellowyn.”

“Me?” Ellowyn tilted her head.

“Of course, all you’ve been wearing so far are a plain pair of shirt and jeans, you need to be more stylish.” Sophie childed.

“But how are we going know if the clothes really fit?”

“Have you ever gone shopping before?” Sophie widened her eyes.

“Yes, but not in a robot body.” Ellowyn shivered, recalling the terrifying memory of being pinned down by giant dogs as they loudly sneered at her face.

“Your robotic body’s three sizes have been adjusted to your own. There is also an overlay feature that projects the holograph of your body into the robot as it try on the clothes.”

“I see.” Ellowyn nodded. Is this bot designed solely for exotic shopping trips?