Chapter 481: A robot enclave!
The other tower was in shambles. Opening the door and going, they saw a hall identical to the one in the first tower. There were ninety-nine, egg-shaped receptacles here as well, but they were all covered in dust.
Xia Fei carefully looked around the hall and discovered that there really were no stairs to the second floor. The only possibility was through these egg-shaped receptacles. Placing his palm on one and shaking, he discovered that there was a swivel control module installed. A little exertion of strength would make these receptacles sway a little.
By the time they emerged from the tower, the soldiers responsible for guarding the tower had already set up a tent, inside of which were tables and chairs, fruit and tea.
As he sat down with Constantine, Xia Fei carefully examined the structure of the two towers, looking for a place that he could infiltrate. The manager of this location quietly conversed with Constantine about something, seemingly something related to Magnared Alloy. This person was also seeking Constantine to sell off his stockpiled Magnared Alloy quickly.
Xia Fei had long told Constantine that the latter needed not be anxious with regard to the matter of the alloy and should allow people to come to him themselves; this way, there would be room for negotiations. Constantine made indifferent replies; after a little while, he shooed the person away, saying that he would do his best and that this matter should be mentioned to no one else.
“This tower’s walls are very thick, and there are no windows. You may have to use the Dragonscale Hectoslasher to cut yourself an entrance,” Phantom said.
The Dragonscale Hectoslasher was an Immortal rank weapon, and cutting a wall made of Keller Alloy was not too difficult, but this would undoubtedly leave an obvious hole, so Xia Fei did not want to do this unless it was absolutely necessary. After all, he only wanted to look inside the tower purely out of curiosity and wanted to avoid damaging it as much as possible.
“Let’s talk about it tonight. There’s always a way,” Xia Fei said.
Constantine urged Xia Fei to depart, but Xia Fei was unmoved. He sipped tea while observing the two towers, and Constantine had no other choice but to sit with him and sunbathe in the courtyard.
As dusk approached, dark clouds suddenly appeared, and it appeared that it was about to rain. Xia Fei was elated. A rainy night was ideal for stealth, so he immediately decided to sneak in tonight.
When they returned to the royal city, the originally calm princely residence had a row of officials of various ranks in front, all of them seeking an audience with Constantine to discuss the matter of the alloy. Constantine sent them away by saying that he needed to keep company the honored guest from Terminus.
As expected, after nightfall, a trickle of rain began to fall from the sky, but it quickly evolved from a drizzle into a downpour.
After eating something, Xia Fei said that he was tired and returned to the guest room. He took a bath, then rested. Constantine was summoned into the palace by his father, presumably to discuss the alloy deal. Although Lester said that he had given Constantine full authority over the negotiations, he could not completely relax. After all, this matter was just too important for the Blood Candle Kingdom.
It was also possible that the queen had made some sort of counterattack, but there was no changing the situation. Xia Fei would not accept another negotiator, and there was no preventing Constantine from becoming the most sought-after person in the kingdom. Moreover, there was no telling if Xia Fei had another move, which he was waiting to launch at a crucial moment.
In the drought-stricken Blood Candle Kingdom, rain was a major event. The streets came alive, and some people even let out fireworks to celebrate this out-of-season rain.
Xia Fei went to bed, and in a little while, he drifted into sleep.
…
*Zing!*
Like a most accurate alarm clock, Xia Fei got up from the bed at exactly midnight. After checking his equipment, he silently left through the window.
Six hundred kilometers were covered in an instant!
Though it was late at night and raining, none of this dampened the enthusiasm of the citizens to have their children trade away parts of their bodies for abilities. There were still many people waiting in line outside the outer walls of the two towers. The ability tower also worked twenty-four seven. Only when the guards changed would there be a small break of twenty minutes.
Breath Control, Crafty Approach, the rain, and his unfathomable speed allowed Xia Fei to easily get over the wall. The ability tower was brightly lit, so after pausing in a corner for a few moments, Xia Fei decided to make his way to the dark technology tower.
The front door was not locked, so Xia Fei stealthily pushed it open and entered. Rain swiftly slid off his combat uniform. A combat uniform of this rank was free from the problems brought by rain and dust. Water would cascade off it as if it were gla.s.s, and for the occasional one or two stubborn droplets, they would be swiftly cleared away by the drying system, ensuring that the uniform remained dry at all times.
“Why not scale the tower from outside? This height is nothing to you,” Phantom asked in confusion.
Xia Fei removed his mask and replied, “I want to inspect these round receptacles. I still don’t get how children can only stay in there for a few minutes and get an ability.”
Phantom shrugged. “Maybe it’s some sort of machine. Your seventh brain region is already open, so this machine won’t do you any good.”
Xia Fei did not answer. He jumped into one of the round receptacles. These appeared like eggs, which were open one-fourth of a way, with each a chair inside. The lid could automatically close.
*Pa!*
Turning on his infrared vision, Xia Fei carefully examined the interior of one of the receptacles.
Suddenly!
The machine’s lid closed, locking Xia Fei inside!
The round chair made a one-hundred-eight-degree turn, moved to the side a little, and then began rapidly rising. In the blink of an eye, Xia Fei was brought to the second floor!
Xia Fei’s finger paused on his spatial ring. With his reaction time, he was totally capable of jumping out of the chair before it closed, but he did not do this. He wanted to know the mystery behind this exchange of body parts for abilities or technology.
*Whoosh~*
Around two to three seconds later, the lid opened again. The chair had reached the second floor, and all was quiet here. The room was brightly lit by a few lights; Xia Fei could see various strange equipment which all shone brightly from how spotlessly clean each was, and the floor was also very clean. There were no windows, so the light could not be seen by those outside the tower.
It was clear that someone usually kept this place tidy. Moreover, the strange machinery seemed like the equipment in a surgery room. Xia Fei frowned. He jumped out from the chair and stood by the wall, observing the situation around him.
There was a red light in the room which started flas.h.i.+ng the moment Xia Fei entered the second floor, seemingly calling someone.
From a distance came excited cheers.
“Brothers, there’s finally someone willing to study technology! Everyone, hurry up to the operations room!”
This voice was rather similar to Pod’s synthesized voice, and the tone sounded somewhat excited.
Soon after, there was a flurry of footsteps, and it seemed that more than one person was coming.
“The energy fluctuations have increased. This equipment is starting up. The energy signature of those people is very strange. It doesn’t seem human…” Phantom confusedly said.
*Whoosh~*
Xia Fei suddenly floated in the air, his body deftly turning. Spike emerged from his combat uniform, and he attached himself to the ceiling like a spider, concealing himself in the darkest corner.
A short while later, a frantic little robot rushed into the room. He was less than a meter tall, not much bigger than Pod, and his large electronic eyes made it seem like he was wearing gla.s.ses. He was also wearing a white medical gown.
More robots arrived, all of them different sizes. Some were wearing white gowns, while others were wearing light blue surgical gowns. There were twenty-some of them.
“Eh? The transport chair automatically activated, but there’s no one inside?” The first robot to arrive spoke in confusion.
His comrades rushed over to look, and when they saw that there was no human inside, they all showed disappointment, some of them even sighing in sorrow.
“So it’s just a problem with the chair. We got excited for nothing, and here I thought that
someone is finally willing to learn technology.”
“I know, right? The last time a child was sent here was seven years ago. Alas, he’s not talented enough, so we couldn’t transfer the latest technology into his brain.”
“We’re going to lose if this keeps up.”
“Our loss is certain, and it’s going to be a very bad loss.”
As these robots talked, Xia Fei was stunned. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that the ones responsible for the trading of body parts for abilities in the Blood Candle Kingdom would be a group of robots!
It was easy to tell from their outer appearance and serial codes that these robots belonged to the robots who had destroyed the ancient human civilization and disappeared among the stars!
As for the compet.i.tion they spoke of, the two towers were probably under the control of two different groups of robots. One helped the Blood Candle people obtain abilities, while another provided technology.
“Don’t they hate humans? Why would they give abilities and technology to the Blood Candle people, helping them survive in this barren land?
“Are they doing it out of kindness? If so, why do they need to take body parts?”
Too many questions were on Xia Fei’s mind, and even with his a.n.a.lysis abilities, he felt like his brain was swelling.
Suddenly, Xia Fei recalled the kind and loyal Pod. That little robot was extremely important to Xia Fei! Regardless of the true story, by finding this enclave of ancient robots, he had a chance of repairing Pod. Xia Fei quickly perked up his ears and began listening.
*Thump thump thump!*
A large robot was the last to arrive, and the little robots quickly made a path. This large fellow was seemingly the leader.
The large robot sighed. “Another futile hope. It seems that the people of Blood Candle truly have no love for technology.”
The other robots dropped their heads in silence. It was clear that they were very heartbroken over this.
A small robot squatted and held his head with his hands. “I’m done suffering! Hiding in the darkness, unable to see the light of day! I miss my master! I miss the days when I used to go on walks with him by the beach!”
This voice full of pain and struggle left Xia Fei startled. It appeared that this robot was similar to Pod and had no hostility toward humanity.
“I also miss my master, but it’s useless. Our masters are all dead.”
“That’s right! We’re sinners in the eyes of humans. What can we do except hide in the darkness?”
“It wasn’t us!” the grief-stricken little robot shouted. “It’s the Hawk faction! The robots of the Hawk faction ma.s.sacred the humans! What does that have to do with us?!”
The large robot sighed and patted the little robot.
“Humans won’t listen to our arguments. We and the Hawks are robots and are all the same to them. This is the fate of us, robots. We couldn’t go back to that bygone era.”
The dejected mood in the room grew even heavier. Xia Fei’s shock was indescribable!
“The robots are split into factions?”
Gritting his teeth, Xia Fei made a bold decision!
He silently floated down from the ceiling. The robots saw Xia Fei and opened their mechanical mouths in shock, the lights in their eyes flas.h.i.+ng.
“As a human, I would like to know what happened and am willing to listen to your explanation,” Xia Fei said solemnly.