Chapter 6: I Found A Battleground
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Using the method of fast charging, it took only two hours for Wawa’s power to be fully charged. Tossing aside the cable head in its hands, Wawa appeared to be br.i.m.m.i.n.g with energy. Rotating its propulsion belts endlessly, it turned in circles around Chen Jin.
“Is this really a robot? Not a dog, or some other kind of pet? I think you’re sillier than a dog.” Chen Jin used to have a pet dog. It was a male miniature teddy bear breed and he named it “Yiyi.” It was a good chap, except for its calculating and l.u.s.ty nature. Whenever he felt like beating it up, it would circle the table in rounds with him. When he wanted to call it over, he would hold a sausage in his hand. It was a surefire way to get it to race to him.
When it met a female dog in heat, it would instantly forget his owner and not return home. Chen Jin was sad and hurt for a long time when the dog pa.s.sed away from illness last year. Looking at Wawa, Chen Jin thought that it was the epitome of silliness; it was simply too silly.
…
Donning a pair of latex gloves, he took out a toolbox filled with a complete set of repair tools. Taking out the junk radio from the snakeskin bag, he put it on the chair. He planned to try and fix it. Chen Jin actually had pretty good hands-on skills. His Dad, Cheng Gang, worked at a state enterprise that manufactured airplane landing gears and was a core technical staff in the company. He was also the team leader for the key nuclear research team and had been awarded a stipend as a “top-ranking mechanical craftsman.” Having inherited part of his excellent genes, Chen Jin had a certain talent for mechanical design. When he was young, Chen Gang would frequently take him to tour his company in the hopes of directing his development such that he could succeed in his position in the company.
It was just that under his Mom’s excessive indulgence, the direction of Chen Jin’s interests quickly s.h.i.+fted to other areas. But his basic talent still existed. In the background, Chen Jin still played with LEGO blocks, DIY computers, anime figurines and also modified toy racing cars, hence acc.u.mulating a rich, hands-on experience.
For example, about half of the 100-plus anime figurines residing in his bedside drawer in the bedroom was a.s.sembled by him using materials that he bought. If he bought all of them ready-made, he would have bankrupted his family a long time ago. The six houses that they had would not have been enough for him to spend it all.
Of course, his craftsmans.h.i.+p was average. The figurines that he a.s.sembled himself bore only a slight resemblance; it was just barely enough to satisfy his hobby of collecting them. His skills could not be compared to the experts specializing in making figurines.
He very quickly took apart the radio, exposing the circuit board inside. The circuit board was very roughly made, and the wiring was in a mess. A thick layer of dust had acc.u.mulated on the surface of the board. Using a brush, he cleared away the dust, exposing the internal parts and circuit route.
Suddenly, his movements stopped. Shaking his head, he said, “The diode is spoiled. It is essentially very difficult to repair. Or should I say, it is highly challenging for me to repair it.”
It was good that he had something prepared! From an old bookstore on Earth, he got a voice recorder that was very popular 10 years ago. It was from Sony and still functional. Not only did it have a small make, but it also produced high-quality audio.
Chen Jin only had to take the tape inside the large ca.s.sette and transfer it into a smaller sized, empty ca.s.sette. Using the Sony voice recorder that he brought here, he could play the tape. The tape was quickly transferred.
The moment of antic.i.p.ation had arrived. Could the Sony voice recorder play the tape? Chen Jin pressed the “play” b.u.t.ton on the radio.
“Crackle ~ Buzz ~ ”
He heard a noise that was reminiscent of background static on an old TV that had lost its reception. After some time, a beautiful and touching voice could be heard. It sounded as if there was a group of people singing and dancing.
Out there
There’s a world outside of Yonkers
Way out there beyond this hick town, Barnaby
There’s a slick town, Barnaby
Out there
Full of s.h.i.+ne and full of sparkle
Close your eyes and see it glisten, Barnaby
Listen, Barnaby!
Put on your Sunday clothes, there’s lots of world out there
Get out the brilliantine and dime cigars
We’re gonna find adventure in the evening air
Girls in white in a perfumed night
Where the lights are bright as the stars
…
The accompanying musical instruments were bland, but the song was especially pleasing. It was joyous and light – a party song. He could hear how delighted and happy the people were. Especially in this desolate, quiet environment filled with a dim yellow haze, this song expressed a highly positive energy and hope. One could not help but to gently shut their eyes and sink into its melody. The robot beside him was also slightly shaking its camera eyes and humming along.
At the end of the song, Chen Jin opened his eyes and switched off the voice recorder in his hands. “A vibrant entertainment culture existed in this world; it had excellent musical arts. But very obviously, most of these were destroyed by war and now exist as treasures in the rubbish.”
Furthermore, after exploring this world for a few days, Chen Jin realised that other than Wawa, there was no trace of life or movement in the surrounding areas. In this desolate, dim and yellow world, its only intelligent life form seemed to be him, an outsider.
Chen Jin quietly guessed: The civilization in this world had been unfortunately annihilated after a war broke out. However this conclusion could be somewhat subjective for now, after all, he had only explored a range of a few kilometers in the surrounding areas. He had to keep exploring in order to have a better understanding of the truth of this world.
Thinking about this, he once again donned the hazmat suit and the filter mask. Carrying his backpack and riding Windrunner, he started his exploration journey again. He made a plan: The huge crater would be his center, and using the compa.s.s to ascertain his north, south, east, and west, he would then divide the area into eight equal sectors. He would spend each exploration trip in one sector, and for each trip he would expand it outwards by about 20 kilometers.
In order to increase the efficiency of his exploration, he even bought a Da Jiang Phantom 4Pro camera drone. It had a remote control range of up to 7 kilometers, a travel time of 30 minutes, could shoot 4K videos at a rate of 60 frames per second, had a camera with 20,000,000 pixels, and the function of automatic return.
As for the price, it cost $9,999! He had already spent half of the $20,000 that Mother transferred him on this drone! However, this money was well-spent. It could greatly increase the efficiency and expand the range of his exploration.
Another concern was how to avoid getting lost. Visibility was difficult beyond a distance of 3 kilometers in this dust-covered world. There was no water or food sources in the wilderness. Once lost, one was sure to die!
Chen Jin had no good ideas for that concern. He could only manage to come up with a simple and crude plan, which was to take a can of red spray paint with him. Every 500 meters, he would spray a red arrow on the ground, or arrange some rocks into the shape of an arrow and then spray it red. Obviously, this kind of plan would affect his exploration efficiency. But Chen Jin was afraid of getting lost. He did not dare to risk his own life, preferring to prioritize safety.
Even so, after setting out, Chen Jin realized that his worries were unnecessary. At least within an area of 100 kilometers, he did not have to worry about the problem of getting lost. Within Wawa’s body was stored the geographical information of the surrounding area. It was very familiar with the surrounding area and was an outstanding “guide.”
Wawa even knew what he was searching for. It signaled to him by waving its mechanical arms, leading him in the north-west direction. They traveled for about 30 kilometers. Traversing over a big mountain, he found a battleground.