Wen Bai sat on the sofa, unusually lacking appetite. He didn't even touch the food and drinks.
"Master," 575 said after some thought, placing a glass of milk in front of Wen Bai.
Wen Bai took it, then casually set the milk on the table.
At that moment, there was a commotion in the lounge area, and many people walked in.
Wen Bai turned his head to look.
It was Gou Zhe, now being carried on a stretcher and placed in an inconspicuous corner of the lounge. Someone was using a medical kit to administer emergency treatment.
575 noticed this and immediately walked towards the dessert area. The dessert area was noticeably closer to Gou Zhe.
575 stood in front of the dessert area, filling a small pastry with his hand. His sapphire-blue eyes, however, were fixed directly on the man lying on the stretcher.
That man was a target of his master's instructions.
However, he had failed to complete his master's instructions.
Now, 575 glanced at the humans around him. There were too many humans; it was not possible.
But, when no humans were looking...
Suddenly, 575 felt his left hand being grasped. His hand warmed, and a familiar aura drew near.
It was his master's aura.
575 withdrew his gaze. "Master."
Then, 575 heard his master issue an order in an extremely serious tone: "From now on, stay away from him. You are not allowed to kill him."
575's sapphire-blue eyes flickered. He then replied obediently, "Yes, Master."
-
Despite such a major incident, the organizers only sent a representative to apologize and then escorted the guests out of the mountains and back to their respective locations. Although the organizers promised to provide an explanation to the guests, it was uncertain how many of those who survived today would be willing to accept such invitations and participate in such games again.
-
Even though it was late at night, Wen Bai did not go home directly. Instead, he took 575 to the robot research center for repairs.
Wen Bai, expressionless, knocked on Lin Qi's laboratory door. Fortunately, ever since Lin Qi obtained the out-of-control robot, he had been living in the laboratory. He was always someone who seized opportunities. He cherished such hard-won chances. If eating and sleeping were not essential for maintaining his physical functions, he wouldn't even want to eat or sleep.
When Wen Bai arrived at the laboratory late at night, Lin Qi had not yet rested and immediately opened the door. Lin Qi looked at the robot, who had just been repaired and was now before him again, severely damaged. His expression was complex. Hearing that the robot was struck by lightning while walking on the road, Lin Qi could only think that Mr. Wen's robot had truly terrible luck.
"The entire arm is damaged," Lin Qi said, picking up scissors to cut open 575's clothes and observe the extent of the damage to the covered parts. "More than 60% of the simulated skin on the body surface is damaged, and the torso also... This material can be damaged to such an extent. This is the best material that has passed all kinds of damage tests."
Because he was too shocked, Lin Qi, who was usually not talkative, became garrulous and started to mutter to himself. "I don't recall it being stormy or rainy today."
Wen Bai simply stood by, listening expressionlessly, saying nothing. Lin Qi was not good at socializing; he was a pure tech enthusiast. He didn't deliberately try to make conversation, and Wen Bai was not the type to initiate one. Lin Qi then fell silent and began to conduct a comprehensive scan of 575. A full examination was necessary, as visible damage might indicate internal injuries.
Seeing that Wen Bai had no intention of leaving, Lin Qi tactfully reminded him, "Mr. Wen, because your robot is severely damaged, it cannot be fully repaired tonight. We also don't have enough raw materials here that match your robot's composition. They need to be brought in tomorrow. Full repair will take at least 2-3 days."
Wen Bai grunted, "Mhm."
Seeing Wen Bai still standing there without moving, Lin Qi spoke directly, "I mean... you can go home and rest. I will send your robot back to your home as soon as it is repaired."
Wen Bai listened, then looked up at his robot, meeting the sapphire-blue eyes that had been watching him all along. 575's clothes had been carefully removed by Lin Qi using instruments and processed in a machine. He had just emerged from a full-body scanner. Wen Bai could now clearly see that 575's arm was indeed extremely damaged. On a human, it would be considered a disability. Only a small portion of the metal remained on 575's right arm. Because it was struck by lightning directly in the middle, leaving only a tiny bit of metal at the edges, and it was wrapped in clothing, the arm hadn't completely detached. Therefore, Wen Bai hadn't noticed it before. System 001 could only detect human emotions and injuries, not robots. The repairs that System 001 could provide were for living beings and were useless for robots. At this moment, even a sixth of 575's torso, adjacent to its right arm, had been scorched away by the lightning. The exposed parts had almost completely lost their simulated skin...
Wen Bai walked closer and said to his robot 575 with a blank expression, "I'll pick you up in 3 days."
575's sapphire-blue eyes looked at his master earnestly. This time, 575 did not use the standard robotic reply to a master. 575 simply smiled as he always did and said in his deep voice, "I'll be waiting for you here, Master."
Wen Bai turned and walked towards the door. Lin Qi escorted Wen Bai to the laboratory entrance and then returned. He glanced at the robot, who was standing in a large instrument, undergoing a comprehensive examination with his eyes closed. He sighed from the bottom of his heart, "Fortunately, this isn't an out-of-control robot." Based on the experimental data he had recently gathered from studying out-of-control robots, their hearing and vision far surpassed humans, and their sense of touch was extremely acute. Their pain receptors, however, were far more sensitive than humans. Correspondingly, the higher the level of intellectual development of an out-of-control robot, the more intense its pain would be. If a human were to be scorched by lightning, they would wish for death. An intelligent out-of-control robot damaged to this extent – the pain it must be experiencing... it would drive them insane.
-
On his way back alone, Wen Bai was debriefing with System 001. "Host, why did you want to kill the male protagonist and then send 575 to do it?"
Wen Bai said coldly, "Non-essential characters can harm the male and female protagonists." At the time, there were no wild animals in the forest, no trees nearby, no other out-of-control robots, only the half-crippled male protagonist. Wen Bai had considered all factors. He had thought 575 might suffer minor injuries, like a fall.