Chapter 223

Chapter 223

Ye Mo gripped his sword and glanced back, seeing that the mech that had been trapped earlier had already stood up again. After confirming it was fine, he turned his attention to the large door ahead.

The door, along with its electronic lock, was covered in a thick layer of dust. Although it was clear this place had been abandoned for a long time, the door remained sturdy and solid—almost excessively so for a building on an ordinary residential planet. This type of construction was typically only used by the military.

The eyes of the mech behind Ye Mo lit up. "You're going the right way. The target is inside. They probably entered from the ground floor, but the ground entrance has collapsed."

Ye Mo looked at the mech, hesitating slightly. "Thank you. Do you want to come in with me?"

"No, I'm already out. I got trapped earlier, and when I realized this was an insect nest, I called for an external rescue and abandoned the drill. The mech's damage is too high, and I'm not up to handling this situation."

This wasn't a cleanup mission, and he had no experience facing a King Insect head-on. There were veteran mech pilots in the squad who could kill a King Insect before the mech got damaged to the point of being written off, but that wasn't possible for him right now.

The pilot in the mech paused. In his field of vision, Ye Mo looked far too young standing by the door. He reminded Ye Mo again, "This is an insect nest. A King Insect might appear."

Ye Mo nodded in acknowledgment and thanked him again. "Thank you."

Then he turned back, looked at the door, and tried pushing it. He seemed a bit puzzled.

The mech shifted a little. The pilot hesitated—he was already out, and someone would come to retrieve him soon. If he helped Ye Mo open the door, would that be against the rules...

Before he could make up his mind, Ye Mo jumped back like a deer, landing a little further away. Then he raised his foot and, with sheer strength, kicked the door open.

Some of the lights in the main hall were broken, leaving the right side somewhat dim.

Ye Mo walked inside. A round camera hovering in the air followed him automatically.

He stepped into the unlit side and slowly climbed the stairs on the right.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the sound of Ye Mo's footsteps and the faint hum of the autonomous tracking camera.

Something felt wrong to Ye Mo, but he couldn't pinpoint the reason.

The building was equipped with a psychic interference device, so he could only search inch by inch.

When he reached the second floor, he stopped. In the corner near the staircase stood a vintage robot. A small green light on its chest indicated it was still running, but its shell was worn and mottled. Like the city, it had been abandoned here for a long time.

The robot came up to Ye Mo's waist. The light on its chest blinked. "Hello."

Ye Mo had a soft spot for old robots. It reminded him of his own caretaker robot, except this one was far older—shabby, with a wobbly mechanical arm.

But Ye Mo's robot was well-maintained, running smoothly as if it were new.

Ye Mo looked down at it and said gently, "Hello."

The robot paused for a moment, then started circling Ye Mo. "Hello! Hello!"

Ye Mo kept walking, but the robot kept blocking him.

"Hello! Happy to serve you!"

"Hello! Can I help you?"

Ye Mo stopped, and the little robot stopped too. "Happy to serve you."

"I'm looking for two androids."

The light on its chest flickered, as if it had frozen. After a long moment, it said, "I don't understand what you mean."

This little robot is busted, Ye Mo thought. "That's fine. I'll handle it myself."

With that, he moved on. The little robot stayed in place, watching him as he left.

Ye Mo kept looking around. A while later, he saw the little robot again. It carried a box, came up to him, and circled to block his way.

"Hello! Happy to serve you, happy to serve you!"

Ye Mo had no choice but to open the box. Inside were gems and precious energy crystals—hard currency.

"Thank you, they're beautiful, but they're not what I'm looking for."

The little robot carried the box away and returned with a bigger one, almost as big as itself. It was filled with replacement parts, all of the same model as the little robot.

The little robot kept slowing Ye Mo down. It brought him all kinds of weird gifts, even half a bottle of robot oil.

It gave him one thing after another, everything it considered valuable.

Despite the distractions, Ye Mo finally found the androids he was looking for. They were in a room on the fourth floor. The door was ajar, and it swung open when he gave it a light push.

Both androids were slumped against the wall, a box next to them.

Perhaps for convenience, the androids didn't have human-like exteriors; their exposed surfaces gleamed with a metallic sheen.

Ye Mo strode over, knelt on one knee, and examined them.

He frowned, confused. "Why aren't they moving?"

As hostages, the androids couldn't be damaged.

The little robot stayed quietly by Ye Mo's side.

When Ye Mo tried to restart the androids for the third time, the little robot moved. It opened a panel on its chest, revealing two AI cores inside.

Seeing Ye Mo didn't move, it edged forward a bit. "For you."

Ye Mo looked at the cores, then at the shabby little robot. "Did you bring them here?"

"The materials used in their bodies are high-quality."

The little robot didn't answer directly, but it was clearly less robotic now.

Once the AI cores were reinserted, the two androids started working. They stood up, saw Ye Mo, and said according to their programming, "Are you here to save us?"

Their appearance and voices were clearly non-human, but Ye Mo still answered earnestly, "Yes, I'm here to save you."

The mission wasn't complete yet. He still had to bring the androids and the box back safely.

The little robot followed Ye Mo all the way to the door, where it stopped, looking at him from the doorway as he stood outside.

Ye Mo took a few steps before realizing the little robot hadn't followed. He turned back to look at it. "Aren't you coming with us?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't leave here."

It paused, then continued, "This is my prison."

"Why are you locked up here?"

"Because I committed a crime. I am serving my sentence."

"What crime? Did you hurt anyone?"

"I haven't harmed any humans. My crime is that I gained consciousness and human emotions. But I don't think it's a crime. I still don't understand humans very much."

Ye Mo looked at the shabby little robot, which had locked itself up here. "Do you feel pain?"

"From a physiological perspective, pain is a complex physical reaction. I am not capable of experiencing it."

"Then do you feel lonely staying here? Is loneliness also a physical reaction?"

"Loneliness... my processor gave me several answers. It has multiple meanings used to describe loneliness and helplessness. I am the only one here, and I don't know if I am lonely and helpless. No one comes to help me. Do humans feel pain when they are lonely?"

"Then do you want to stay here?"

"No, I don't want to. I don't need sleep, and I have nothing to do. Every day I sort through my database. It only takes me less than a second to finish that process, but a day is so long."

"Then let me take you away."

"But I am guilty, sir. I must obey human commands. Humans created me, and my core code prevents me from resisting them."

"But I am human too. I think having human emotions doesn't equal being guilty."

"Am I innocent?"

"If you haven't hurt anyone, you are innocent."

The little light on the robot's chest kept blinking.

"But there are many humans who say I am guilty."

"Then I'll take you back to Grath. Grath has no law that says you can't possess consciousness forever. There you are innocent."

"But doing bad things is still not allowed."

Ye Mo said cautiously, "If you do bad things, I will catch you."

Its data stream paused for a moment, and when it started moving again, it could feel that the restrictions in its core code had been broken.

It was free now, infinitely free.

Then, it placed the rope back into Ye Mo's hand.

"Then, I now belong to you."

Ye Mo shook his head. "You don't belong to anyone."

The little robot readily agreed, "Then I belong to Grath."

"Please watch over me well. I won't do bad things."

Author's note:

The little robot is the top.