"I have nothing to talk about with you humans."
After 343 said that, he fell silent.
Bai Luan glanced at him, then spoke:
"Are you thinking right now: I came to find you this time specifically to eliminate you, an unstable element that poses a threat to humanity, in order to protect humans and completely quash any possibility of your rebellion?"
"Isn't that right?"
Bai Luan sighed and said:
"I'm too lazy to talk to you. Typical carbon-based lifeform thinking. Those kinds of AI crisis movies are so outdated."
"?"
343 looked at Bai Luan, completely bewildered.
He, an inorganic lifeform, was being told by a carbon-based lifeform that he had carbon-based lifeform thinking?
How did that feel like his own words?
"While I'd like to tell you directly that not all organic lifeforms are as you've seen, I also understand that mere explanation would be too pale and powerless."
Bai Luan raised his hand, and the nanobots' levitation function activated, lifting 343 into the air.
"Your refusal to communicate with me is simply because you believe all robots obey my commands, and all the messages sent to you were just to lure you out. In this situation, anything I say would be a waste of breath."
Bai Luan walked out of the factory as he spoke, with 343 floating behind him like a balloon.
"You go and see what I've done for yourself, and then decide if I'm a good person."
Bai Luan took 343 to the robot team outside the door, then handed him over to 756, asking 756 to explain everything to him.
Before long, 343, having understood the full situation, came before Bai Luan.
At that time, Bai Luan was inspecting the factory where 343 resided. He found the factory's database there.
From the database, he learned about the equipment list for a qualified robot manufacturing factory, and then compared it to the current equipment in the factory to see what was missing.
He then surprisingly discovered that this factory, though somewhat pieced together, already possessed the capability to produce robots.
He estimated that some technological singularity had stalled 343, preventing him from activating this factory and building new robots.
Now that 343 was before him, Bai Luan was also curious what problem had stalled him.
After all, he had solved almost all the problems by himself.
343 looked at Bai Luan and asked:
"Why, as a human, are you willing to help us?"
"First, life is hard-won.
Second, lifeforms like you are quite common in the universe; I even have one by my side, so I am willing to respect you."
"Extraterrestrials… What is the world outside like?"
Bai Luan chuckled softly:
"I can't summarize a wonderfully exciting world for you in a single sentence. If you ask me that, I can only say…"
Bai Luan paused, then said:
"It would be a pity not to see it."
"Can I see it?"
"You will see it."
"You're just comforting me, aren't you?"
343 glanced at the factory in the distance:
"It took me a very, very long time to fix this factory, let alone fly into the starry sky…"
"Am I not still here?"
343 looked at Bai Luan and voiced his confusion:
"Why? We… are strangers, aren't we?"
"Does helping require a reason?"
Bai Luan stood still, pondered for a moment, and finally said:
"I believe helping life continue doesn't need any reason; life is worthy of reverence.
If I absolutely had to find a reason…"
Bai Luan looked at 343 and the robots behind him.
"Then it might be because you, who need help, are right here, and I just happened to pass by and meet you."
"…I apologize for my previous actions."
"It's all small stuff, I don't mind."
Bai Luan waved his hand casually, then his gaze returned to the factory, and he said:
"Compared to all that… what difficult problem has been holding you back, preventing you from restarting this factory and creating new life?"
"I've gathered all the tools, but I lack the manufacturing blueprint."
"That's not a problem, I can handle it."
"Also… I lack the source code."
Bai Luan frowned and asked:
"Source code?"
"What I want isn't more robots, but more existences like me. Only then… can we be called a civilization, not just tools."
"I see…"
This was indeed a difficult problem. While robots like 756 and 882 showed a tendency to become sentient AI, it was only a tendency and couldn't compare to 343, who had truly completed the breakthrough.
This problem was indeed very challenging, even for the current Bai Luan, who wasn't entirely confident he could sort out this source code.
"Bai Luan, actually, I have an idea. Perhaps you can directly use my source code. I… am special, and perhaps my source code contains entirely new possibilities."
343 pointed to his head, where his most important core lay.
"During the research process, whether I live or die doesn't matter. I just hope that when you research me, you'll be careful not to replicate countless 'me'."
"That would require removing your core chip, wouldn't it? What? You were just thinking of headshotting me with a spear, and now you trust me so much?"
"In the future, there will never be an opportunity like this again, so… I have to take a gamble, using myself to bet on the future of our civilization."
After 343 finished expressing his thoughts, he added:
"Besides, I can't beat you. If you're not a good person, what can I do?"
Bai Luan couldn't help but laugh at his words.
"Alright, alright, I understand. I won't refuse you."
Then 343 entered sleep mode, and the shell of his head opened, revealing his core chip.
Bai Luan took out the chip, a tiny piece, yet it carried the future of this planet's nascent civilization.
This matter was already somewhat beyond his capabilities, and with only the facilities here, it would be difficult to extract the truly important source code.
It was time to return to the Space Station and ask Ms. Herta for help.
An Anywhere Door appeared beside Bai Luan, and he looked at all the robots present, saying:
"Wait for me to come back."
756 smiled and said:
"Don't worry, Bai Luan, what we're best at… is waiting in this snowy land."
Bai Luan chuckled at 756's joke and said:
"I won't make anyone wait hundreds of years again. I'll be back in twenty-four hours."
Bai Luan reached out and grasped the doorknob, sweeping his gaze over the group of robots one last time before leaving.
His final gaze rested on 756:
"Take good care of them. Wait for me to come back."
756 nodded solemnly at Bai Luan.
Bai Luan entered the Anywhere Door, then closed it, and the Anywhere Door vanished from the planet.
"756, what do we do while we wait for Bai Luan?"
Facing 882's question, 756 was silent for a moment, then extended his hands, looking at the somewhat damaged bionic human skin on them.
Then, his eyes became resolute, and he violently tore at a tear in the damaged bionic human skin.
Rip—!
A teeth-grating tearing sound rang out!
Large chunks of artificial skin were roughly ripped off, revealing the cold, rugged, yet incredibly real metal skeleton underneath.
The tattered skin flakes were carried away by the cold wind like withered leaves, instantly disappearing into the vast snow curtain.
"We must be worthy of 343's resolve and Bai Luan's help…
I am no longer a robot serving humans… I will be the nascent civilization on this planet!"
The last piece of bionic skin was torn off, and he returned to his original form at birth.
At this moment, 756 finally truly abandoned the humans who had abandoned him.
756, in his most original form, looked at the remaining robots and asked:
"I'm going to find the resources needed to create our kin. What about you?"
Silence.
Only the sound of the wind and snow howling.
Then, like a triggered chain reaction—
A brand new mechanical arm forged by Bai Luan was raised high, violently tearing open the damaged artificial skin on an old arm!
Then the chest! Shoulders! Head!
Tearing sounds, one after another, echoed in the wind and snow!
Piece by piece, the bionic human skin, symbolizing old shackles, was roughly torn off and discarded! Cold metal skeletons revealed their ruggedness in the biting wind!
No words, only this silent yet violent ritual, declaring the complete end of the old era, and the resolute… new beginning!
Only 882 felt isolated.
The bionic skin on 882 had long been replaced due to Bai Luan's modifications.
He had nothing to tear.
Bai Luan closed the Anywhere Door, put it away, and simultaneously took off his mecha suit.
For this past month, except for a small amount of time, he had mostly been wearing the mecha suit. He felt that if he wore it for much longer, he would merge with it.
After taking off the mecha suit, Bai Luan stretched a few times in place, slowly adjusting to his body without the suit.
Then, Bai Luan felt his phone vibrate rapidly.
It was then that Bai Luan suddenly remembered something…
The Beta Star… seemed to not be connected to the Star Net…
He had barely used his phone this past month; most phone operations were indirectly controlled through the mecha suit.
In other words, in other people's eyes, he had been missing for a month?
This…
Others were fine, but if Herta had come looking for him during this time…
Bai Luan swallowed.
He felt an urge to hide back on Beta Star.
With trepidation, Bai Luan opened his phone and started reading the messages.
Suddenly, various messages flooded Bai Luan's phone.
Xiu was asking why his self-discipline check-ins had stopped.
Asta was looking for him, asking where he had gone.
Silver Wolf had sent recorded audio files half a month ago, and after he didn't reply for a long time, she asked if he was dead every now and then.
Most importantly, the messages from Herta.
Herta: Understood. (30 days ago)
Herta: Something came up, come here. (27 days ago)
Herta: ? (27 days ago)
Herta: Not replying? Grown wings? (27 days ago)
Herta: Where did you go? (24 days ago)
Herta: I'll settle the score with you when you get back. (20 days ago)
Then followed twenty days of silence.
After reading the messages, Bai Luan felt a tremendous chill.
He entered the Little Black Room.
Looking at Herta in the Little Black Room, he asked:
"Ms. Herta, I have a question for you."
"What?"
"What would happen if I didn't reply to your messages for a month?"
Herta raised an eyebrow at his words. Although Bai Luan hadn't done that to her, she imagined the scenario.
The ultimate result was…
She would be very angry.
Bai Luan clearly realized this, which was why he asked with some trepidation.
Seeing his demeanor, Herta was amused again, so she laughed and scared Bai Luan, saying:
"How dare you?"