Chapter 484: The Hawks and the Doves
*Schwing!*
The Dragonscale Hectoslasher was in its dual blade form, one held in Xia Fei’s left and the other in his right. With his speed surpa.s.sing ten thousand meters per second, he charged out of the darkness and thrust his blades into each of the two combat robots!
*Zzzzt! Hiss!*
Blue sparks flashed as electronic components short-circuited, and then the two combat robots suddenly went slack and toppled over.
“Follow me!”
With one arm, Xia Fei grabbed the large Hami. While this robot engineer appeared very imposing, he was not actually that heavy. This was because robots were made of light alloy, making them tough and nimble. Thus, Xia Fei found it very easy to carry him.
*Whoosh~*
His body disappeared in a flash, and a few moments later, Xia Fei and Hami appeared in a hidden corner on the left side of the street.
“You studied robot technology? How else would you be able to strike directly at their control units! You’re not even one centimeter off!” Hami said in shock.
Xia Fei was a human who lived in a world without robots, yet he was familiar with ancient robot technology. Hami was amazed by this. Was there still robot technology in the Panhuman Alliance?
“I’ve examined the robot code database,” answered Xia Fei as he looked around for a second and third hiding spots.
“But by destroying their control units, you basically killed them. Their AI system and the databank were all destroyed,” Hami criticized.
Xia Fei glanced at him and unhappily said, “Destroying their control units was the most effective method. If I didn’t kill them, they would kill you! Don’t think that I care about your life, but until I find the Sentinel G.o.ddess, you can’t die. Do you understand?”
Perhaps because Xia Fei’s tone was too fierce, Hami felt very disappointed. This human was clearly the murderous and decisive kind.
“I’ll take you to the G.o.ddess, but i’m not doing this for you. It’s because the G.o.ddess entrusted me with the task,” Hami stubbornly replied.
Xia Fei smiled, lifting his hand and lightly punching the other’s chest. “I’m starting to like you. At least when you speak, you sound more like a human than most humans.”
Hami would have broken into a sweat if he was capable of that. More human than a human? This evaluation seemed quite too high.
“We can’t stay here. We have to find a place to hide ourselves. The defense system of this place has already detected your intrusion, and innumerable combat robots will soon be packing the streets,” said Hami sternly.
Xia Fei shrugged. “This Metal City is an unfamiliar place to me. You decide where we go.”
Hami firmly nodded. “I know of a place that is outside the defense system’s reach, but it’s rather far from here.”
Xia Fei once more picked up Hami and smiled. “Trust me. Distance has never been a problem.”
…
Beneath the Metal City was a giant trash pit. Abandoned metal trash of all shapes and sizes was piled up into small mountains here. Machines rumbled as they organized these useless metal sc.r.a.ps and prepared them to be melted down.
Xia Fei could not help but think about the Wars.h.i.+p Graveyard, though it appeared that the metal debris here was more numerous and varied.
Above his head were numerous crisscrossing metal tube pathways. Xia Fei estimated that he was already deep in the bowels of this metal planet.
“Who was that Xana they were speaking of? Why did she want to shut you off?” Xia Fei asked.
“Lady Xana is the leader of the Hawks. Ever since the G.o.ddess stopped concerning herself with the internal affairs of the robots, she has become our spiritual leader, but actual authority is now wielded by Xana, a high-level robot with an AI second only to the G.o.ddess,” Hami said as he led Xia Fei through the piles of metal.
“The Hawks have a leader. What about the Doves?”
“Us?” Hami bitterly laughed. “The Doves are a minority in this world of robots. If we talk about a leader, it should be the one I am taking you to see right now. You’ll see them soon.”
Xia Fei was taken aback. The leader of the Doves lived in the bowels of the planet? In the middle of these cold and desolate mountains of trash? It was not hard to see that the Dove faction had a very lowly status.
He saw several robots working on a pile of metal in the distance. They were sorting the metal and then loading it on mechanical transports so that they could be brought to the smelters to be melted down.
“Hami!”
“Look! Hami’s back!”
One of the work robots called out. His body was covered in rust spots, and there were even a few exposed wires, indicating that he had not been maintained for some time. It all made him seem very down and out.
A group of robots gathered around, and when they saw Xia Fei next to Hami, they stopped, surprised in their eyes.
“Human!”
“It’s a human!”
“A human has come to the Metal City!”
The robots became shy. Perhaps because they had partic.i.p.ated in the ma.s.sacre of mankind, shame appeared in their eyes, and they dropped their heads and fell silent.
“This is Xia Fei. He’s from the Panhuman Alliance. The robot soldiers are currently hunting us down. We need to see Uncle c.o.c.kroach at once,” Hami urgently said.
Those robots appeared very confused. Hami grew frantic, saying, “I’m on the G.o.ddess’s orders to bring Mr. Xia to her, but Lady Xana wants to capture him. Where is Uncle c.o.c.kroach? I need to see him at once.”
“The G.o.ddess!”
“The G.o.ddess has contacted you?!”
Hami firmly nodded. “You think that this can be faked? Mr. Xia has been summoned by the G.o.ddess, so I must safely escort him to the fortress where the G.o.ddess is imprisoned.”
All the robots were stunned. The largest of them threw aside the metal debris he was handling and muttered to himself, “Protect humans?”
“Protect humans!”
“Protect humans!”
It had been far too long, but Hami’s words had awakened their long-ago memories. Once, protecting humans had been these robots’ highest mission. This sudden recollection made all of them extremely agitated.
“Hurry and follow me!”
“This way!”
“No, wait; this is a screened pa.s.sage. You can hide from the surveillance system here.”
Escorted by several dozen robots, Xia Fei traveled the trash-littered pa.s.sageways. More and more robots gathered around them. All were in varying states of disrepair, their damaged parts replaced with abandoned metal debris. A lack of maintenance had caused rust to build up on these robots, and many of them could no longer move as nimbly.
“These are all robots of the Dove faction. Lady Xana’s iron-fisted rule has led more and more of the Dove faction robots to be punished. They’re thrown into trash regions like this or sent to the mines. At present, the Doves have been greatly reduced in number,” Hami painfully said. “We often send these punished robots lubricating oil and energy modules, so we’re very familiar with one another. Believe me when I say that they’re all trustworthy.”
Xia Fei nodded and said nothing, but deep down, he cursed Xana’s Hawk faction. These were all methods and tricks used by humans, cracking down on dissidents and usurping dictatorial authority. If Pod had not been with him, he probably would have faced the same fate. Xia Fei was also disappointed that the Sentinel G.o.ddess had done nothing about this.
“Protect humans!”
“Protect humans!”
More and more robots recalled their old duty and joined this ad-hoc army to escort Xia Fei.
When Xia Fei first met Pod, he was astonished to see the lengths Pod went to save him. Now that he was seeing something similar, he could not help but be moved.
Putting aside the Hawks, these robots, who still remained loyal to humanity despite their dire straits, were truly worth trusting. There was no doubt about this.
“Not good! It’s a patrol team!” A cry of alarm came from the front. A team of over a dozen combat robots was rapidly approaching them!
*Whoosh~*
A dark red laser flashed! Several Dove faction robots at the front were instantly obliterated!
“The human’s life is being threatened!”
“Protect humans!”
A large number of shabby robots heedlessly charged into the fray or used their bodies to s.h.i.+eld Xia Fei. There was no fear in their eyes, only responsibility.
Phantom sighed. “Haaa… These fellows can barely protect themselves, so why do they care about protecting humans? They’re truly foolish robots.”
“Stand aside!”
Xia Fei bellowed. His toes lightly pressed against the ground, and with a whoosh, he charged ahead!
“Thunderfury!”
*Pa!*
The Dragonscale Hectoslasher suddenly fell apart into 108 bright flying daggers!
*Rumble!*
It was as if a bolt of lightning had fallen from the heavens! Twelve bolts of lightning struck the twelve combat robots!
*Bang bang bang!*
The ma.s.sive alloy bodies were struck so hard that their backs popped open, and they were slammed onto the thick alloy walls, leaving behind deep dents as their bodies split apart!
“I’m not at the level where I need your protection,” Xia Fei said as he put away the Dragonscale Hectoslasher.
For some reason, Xia Fei felt inexplicably heroic. He loudly said to the broken-down robots, “All of you, withdraw for now! Only leave behind someone to guide me!”
The robots hesitated. Xia Fei once more yelled, “This is an order!”
“Order?”
“Order!”
A look of delight appeared on the faces of these robots. They had forgotten the last time they had received an order from a human. Xia Fei’s words had made them recall that beautiful era where they had coexisted with humans.
Grabbing Hami in one hand and the little robot leading the way with the other, Xia Fei flew forward and left behind the delighted robots.
…
In front of them was an alloy tunnel with walls which were half a meter thick. The robot leading the way had to go through great efforts to activate the switch.
“Uncle c.o.c.kroach is waiting for you inside. He knows the path leading to the place where the Sentinel G.o.ddess is imprisoned. It is very safe and will avoid the surveillance system.”
Xia Fei frowned as he entered the tunnel with Hami.
Before leaving, he turned around and patted the little guide robot on the shoulder. “You did very well. Tell your comrades to take care of themselves.”
They were very simple words, but they left that robot extremely moved.
*Pa!*
The tunnel closed again. Xia Fei turned on his flashlight and aimed it at the microcomputer on his wrist. The environmental scanner revealed that the walls of the tunnel contained traces of heavy metal, which would jam the vast majority of signals.
“Let’s go,” Xia Fei sternly said.
Dim lights cast shadows all across the walls of the tunnel. As Xia Fei and Hami moved through the filthy tunnel, Furball pursed his lips, apparently very unhappy with the environment in this tunnel.
About one thousand meters later, the tunnel split. An elderly synthesized voice suddenly sounded.