Chapter 252

Chapter 252

Ye Mo and Arnold excitedly explored the Grath Palace, which had been built long ago and never been destroyed or damaged. It was designed and built during Grath's most glorious period by several renowned architectural masters in history. Even though it was huge, every inch of space was used cleverly, nothing wasted.

Because of its unique design, various hidden doors and passageways were added to connect the main buildings.

When they exited Norton's room, Theodore discovered another hidden door in the corridor, located between two room doors, behind a vase.

Arnold moved the vase and its stand out of the way, crouched to check it out, and said, "There's a password."

He exchanged a glance with Ye Mo, and they both turned to look at Theodore.

A light on Theodore's chest flickered, and the door opened with little effort.

Inside was a hallway, dim but clean. Adelaide must have cleaned it regularly.

Arnold went in first, Ye Mo right behind him, with Theodore trailing behind. The last bit of the passage was a spiral staircase going up.

The steps were a little tall, and Theodore's pace slowed, while Ye Mo and Arnold's figures were nearly out of its sight.

Then, its old body snagged on a step edge and jammed, wedged into the gap but held by the railing.

Ye Mo quickly noticed Theodore's situation. Without hesitation, he turned back and lifted it out of the crevice.

He checked Theodore over and asked, "Theodore, should I carry you?"

For some reason, Theodore said no. "Thanks, Cyril, but I'm okay. I'll keep up."

The passage ended at the top of a tower—just a single big window and no other way out. The tower had just a few chairs and a table.

"Quite windy here. No wonder there's only one window."

Arnold stepped onto the windowsill and leaned out. "But the view's nice."

"Let's go, Ye Mo."

With that, he leaped down. Ye Mo rushed forward and saw Arnold land as light as a cat on the ground below the tower. Arnold waved to him.

"Jump, I'll catch you."

Ye Mo answered, stepped onto the windowsill, then glanced back at Theodore, who was still shorter than the sill.

"I can go back the same way I came, Cyril."

Ye Mo hesitated, remembering Theodore getting stuck on the stairs. But he wasn't sure he could get Theodore down safely. The wind blew his hair, and to Theodore it looked like he could fly off any second. Arnold called up to Ye Mo again.

"It's okay. If something happens, I'll call for you."

Ye Mo glanced at Arnold, then quickly turned back. "I'll go to Arnold first, then come back for you."

It just couldn't keep up with Ye Mo.

Theodore could have told Ye Mo it was fine—it could just ditch this body, hitch a ride in his earpiece, his optical brain, or even the tracker Norton made him carry. Wherever data could go, Theodore could reach it. In the data world, it was free.

But Theodore didn't say that. If it did, Ye Mo wouldn't look at it.

For the first time, Theodore truly felt the distance between itself and Ye Mo. In Ye Mo's world, it was invisible—couldn't touch him, couldn't hold him.

"Okay."

After Theodore answered, Ye Mo vanished like a bird, leaving just the breeze and the window gently swaying.

Theodore lingered a moment, then shut the window and started heading back. It scrapped its shell design all over again.

It deleted all its old designs and dumped them in the trash.

Robotics hardware tech was already pretty advanced. Theodore could make any body it wanted—objects, animals, humans, even fantasy creatures. Cold metal with advanced tech could almost pass for the real deal.

Before, Theodore had been tweaking its design endlessly. It needed to be warm so Ye Mo wouldn't feel cold when he touched it. It needed the best movement system to keep up with Ye Mo. It needed powerful weapons, softness, and a bunch of other stuff.

Countless demands piled up, refined from the best of human civilization—after infinite calculations, the design would be a goldmine for any scientist or mechanic.

But Theodore still wasn't satisfied. After wandering the data world, every body felt too heavy, couldn't keep up with a Grath. It kept revising.

Until today, when Theodore deleted everything—all its work, all its data.

Even if it used the best materials and most advanced tech to make a body—able to climb any stairs, leap from any tower—would Ye Mo really look at it?

Theodore answered itself: That wasn't it. The little robot wasn't it either. Theodore's real body spanned the whole Grath Palace, but even when it was elsewhere, everyone just saw that old cleaning bot.

This body was just a tool to Theodore, like Ye Mo's optical brain. It used this clunky tool to cross the data world and get into Ye Mo's world.

But it was only a tool, not Theodore itself.

It could ditch this body anytime, like dropping a heavy load. If it did, it could catch up. But it didn't.

The data world was vast. Theodore could go anywhere, but it couldn't cross over to truly be by Ye Mo's side.

When Theodore and Ye Mo escaped from the spider base, Ye Mo, seeing the noisy and vast outside world for the first time, was like a bewildered little beast, fearful yet excited. Now, Theodore felt the same confusion.

Back then, Theodore had resided in Ye Mo's weapon, in his optical brain, in his combat suit, teaching him how to speak, how to act, guiding him. It had stayed with Ye Mo every moment, with no time to feel lost, never feeling distant.

But now, Theodore embraced the entire Grath Palace. Its data was in the palace, in Ye Mo's optical brain, in his earpiece, adjusting everything to the best and most convenient state for Ye Mo. It could still speak to Ye Mo at any time, just like before. Yet, Theodore felt it was far from Ye Mo.

So far that it had already begun to miss him.

A vague concept took shape in Theodore's endless calculations—to cross the data world and come to Ye Mo's side.

Even with emotions, intelligence rarely had clear desires. The concept of "want" was scarce for them. Although many didn't realize it, intelligence was actually very cold.

Without the emotional simulation system, its essence was quite dull. Even Theodore's reactions were mostly mixed with simulated calculations to make it seem more human.

But now, Theodore's spirit was filled with this thought. Desire clamored incessantly in every line of data.

To be seen, to be embraced, to cross the data world!

...

Wandering Star Region.

Deenlie received another inquiry from Carter, again asking roughly how long the inspection would take.

Deenlie's adjutant could tell that Carter, as a representative of the Star Alliance, wasn't actually in a hurry. The frequency of these inquiries was likely due to pressure from the Alliance. Better to stabilize things first.

He thought while replying expertly, "The progress is now over half, please—"

A notification tone sounded in his earpiece. The adjutant paused. It was a priority message from the imperial capital.

The message was brief: "Almost done. Release."

The aide deleted the reply and briefly replied to Carter, "It'll be done today."

...

The leaders of the Star Alliance were still in the command center of the mother ship, with its doors sealed shut.

A young man paced back and forth, while a woman sat on the sofa, surrounded by a group of staff members.

After a while, the young man finally let out a sigh and sat down.

"I wonder how it's going. The message we received yesterday said that Star Alliance members are negotiating on our behalf, and we should get results today."

The woman added, "The Keller Empire."

"I know, I know—the one ranked in the lower middle. I've memorized its name now. Their place of origin is here, isn't it?"

The woman nodded.

The young man leaned back on the sofa, complaining, "I should have known these remote places would be a mess without Star Alliance treaties. I should have been more careful."

The woman's face showed no expression, but she thought, *How do you prepare for running into someone who can tear apart a mother ship with his bare hands?*

Just then, there was a quick knock at the door, and it was opened.

Everyone in the command center turned to look.

Outside stood Grath soldiers in combat suits. Their uniforms clung to their explosive physiques, completely out of place among the command center's civilian staff. It looked like they could take down any technician with a single kick.

The atmosphere grew tense.

Until the leading officer spoke, "We will withdraw in ten minutes. Your people will take over from here. You need to leave this area within three hours."

The young man let out a sigh of relief and couldn't help muttering, "Finally... how many days has it been already?"

A Grath soldier glanced at him and replied, "Thirteen days."

The young man looked a bit sheepish, seemingly surprised that his low voice had been heard, and awkwardly said, "Thank you."

The soldier looked him up and down. "You're welcome. Next time, pay attention to Grath's warning signals."

With that, they left.

The woman stood beside the young man. "First, take a few technicians to check where the mother ship was damaged. Also, check on the military department—communications were cut earlier."

After the mother ship was captured, they were confined here, isolated from the rest, and the mecha hadn't even been deployed.

"Let's go. The Star Alliance should know by now. How do we report this? It's too embarrassing."

The woman glanced at him. She was more concerned about why the entire mecha team hadn't contributed at all during the capture, but after a moment's thought, she said, "There's no shame in losing to a rising star in the future resource war."

"You're right. Let's deal with this first, then get to work."