MPWATMBC Chapter 104

“What are these?” A bold little boy, about four or five years old, stood watching for a while before he couldn’t hold back his curiosity and walked over to Ryan, pointing at the two robots crawling out of Ryan’s pocket, asking in confusion.

Yuan Chu and Code Zero, now the size of a palm, were small, but fully functional. They were a simplified version of a small mecha designed by Ryan for special situations. Taking down an armed adult was no problem. They had been in Ryan’s pocket until just now, and were now sitting side by side on his lap, observing the underground cavern. During the journey, they had released many detectors, and were continuously collecting data transmitted from them, while the system inside was rapidly processing, their eyes constantly flashing.

Ryan looked at the child and smiled, “These are robots.”

“Robots?” The children living in the cavern didn’t have this concept and instinctively repeated Ryan’s words.

Ryan asked, “How old are you?”

“Four.” The little guy kept his eyes on the two small robots, full of curiosity and doubt, but didn’t dare touch them.

Ryan asked again, “What’s your name?”

“My name is Qin Feng Amelia.”

Ryan: “Hmm?”

The child named Qin Feng puffed out his thin chest, “It’s the same name as our god, Qin Feng the Great. Mom said my birthday is the same as God’s, so I’m qualified to have this name. It’s my pride. I will become a great man like God.”

Ryan’s expression softened even more, and he smiled as he patted the child’s head, “As long as you work hard, you will become a man who stands tall.”

“Mm-hmm, I read books, learn martial arts, and when I grow up, I’ll catch a Gugu beast for Mom and roast it to eat.” The child’s thoughts were simple—being good to Mom was something he should do. “You’re not Rennie.”

Ryan nodded, “That’s right, I’m not.”

Qin Feng Amelia was happy, his eyes shining brightly, “I knew it! Rennie would never pat a child’s head, and he wouldn’t smile. He hates kids.”

“Qin Feng.” The man’s anxious voice sounded from not far away.

Qin Feng Amelia turned around and saw his mother¹Remember? Father/Mother may not be defined by gender, but by X/Y genetic sequence. He waved happily, “Mom, come! He has two robots.”

“Qin Feng, come, let’s go home.”

The little one didn’t understand why his mom had such a terrified expression, as if staying around “Rennie” for too long would hurt him. “Mom?”

The man raised his voice, shouting harshly, “Come here!”

“Mom is calling me, I have to go now.” Qin Feng Amelia reluctantly looked at the little robot. He asked, “Will you still be here when I come to play with you later?”

“I won’t leave for now.”

Qin Feng smiled, patting Ryan’s arm like good buddies… He had originally meant to pat his shoulder, but when he raised his hand, he realized that Ryan was still taller even while sitting, so he couldn’t reach his shoulder. He settled for patting his arm instead. “Alright, you have fun here, and I’ll come find you later.” He couldn’t help but ask, “Can I… touch the little robots?”

“Then you should ask them.”

Qin Feng “Ah” sounded, somewhat puzzled, bending down and asking, “Can I touch you?”

Yuan Chu modestly nodded, “You can touch.”

Qin Feng: “Thank you.” He stretched out a finger and gently touched Yuan Chu’s back, immediately surprised and overjoyed, “Wow wow wow!”

“Qin Feng!” The child’s mother’s voice grew even louder, with no less sternness.

Qin Feng shouted, “Mom, I’ll be right there.” He touched the little robot and made a new big friend, happily squinting his eyes, “I’m leaving.” He was a polite child, and before leaving, he didn’t forget to bid farewell to Ryan.

Ryan said, “Goodbye.”

Qin Feng: “Goodbye.”

Ryan looked up and saw Qin Feng first walking steadily for a few steps, looking like a composed “adult.” After walking a meter or two, however, he couldn’t suppress the nature of a child and started running, calling out as he ran, “Mom, mom, I touched the little robot! Wow, it’s cool! Mom, mom, what kind of beast is a robot? When I grow up, I’ll catch one and keep it by my side, so cute!”

His mother’s voice wasn’t loud, and while there was no scolding, there were plenty of reminders to be careful around strangers.

“You’re quite patient with children.” Before leaving, Audie crossed her arms and walked over to Ryan, looking down at the man who hadn’t revealed his true face.

Ryan’s attitude was gentle, with warm eyes full of smile, always a kind person, “I have a child, just over a year old.”

“Oh.” He is a man with someone to care about.

Audie felt that in Ryan’s gentle smile, the threats and distrust she had in mind couldn’t be spoken. She thought a man with someone to care about wouldn’t do something cruel and insane. Such a man wouldn’t become a pirate. Pouting, Audie hastily threw out a sentence and somewhat awkwardly ran off. She said, “Don’t lie to my brother, don’t lead him to do bad things, or I’ll kill you.”

For this girl, a threat to life was the most ruthless thing she could say.

Next to Bandner’s house, Bandner went to find the elders of the town, and Audie, following her brother’s instructions, went to summon people. After they both left, Fan Lanting stood up and went for a walk. Ryan remained still, looking down at the eyes of Yuan Chu and Code Zero, which were continuously flickering. Behind him, people occasionally walked over, curious, and he faced them with a smile, remaining unmoved.

Fifteen minutes later, the flickering eyes of Yuan Chu stopped first. After two or three more minutes, Code Zero also stopped the calculations. The two of them simultaneously looked at Ryan. Yuan Chu spoke first, “This underground cave still has twenty years of life.”

Code Zero continued, “In twenty years, the underground water will change course, the cave will collapse, and everyone will be buried.”

Yuan Chu: “The dryness of the desert wind is one aspect.”

Code Zero: “On the other hand, a family of earthworms has already made a nest two hundred meters up from the cave.”

Yuan Chu: “The earthworms, over three meters long, dig slowly, making progress at one millimeter per hour.”

Code Zero: “But they keep digging. In twenty years, the top layer of the cave will become hollow, and the collapse countdown will begin.”

Ryan: “…”

Ryan rubbed his face, restraining himself from hitting anyone, even the robots. “Do you have to take turns talking like this?”

Yuan Chu: “I didn’t.”

Code Zero: “I didn’t either.”

Ryan: “Heh.”

Yuan Chu looked up at the dome of the cave. There were already some tiny cracks in places that the human eye couldn’t see. Once these cracks turn into a “spiderweb,” the underground town would be reduced to dust. Ryan also looked up. The artificial sun’s light was bright, and the dome was high. He couldn’t see what was above. He ordered, “Yuan Chu, Code Zero, fly up and take some photos of the dome.”

Yuan Chu & Code Zero: “Yes.”

Ryan asked, “Do you have photos from the earthworm beasts’ area?”

Yuan Chu blinked, looking at Ryan.

Ryan rubbed his nose. “Alright.” He had asked a silly question. The detectors were his creation, so how could he not know that the detectors only had the ability to transmit data, not images? It wasn’t like the two artificial intelligences would evolve just by using the detectors. “I’ll improve them next time. I’ll improve them.” The next upgraded version of the detectors could definitely be patented. With a little bit of money, he could buy a cake for Tuantuan.

With artificial intelligence by his side, he didn’t need to drive the spaceship himself, map out star charts, analyze received data, or even conduct environmental surveys… it was just too convenient. Ryan sighed inwardly, “It’s easy to move from frugality to luxury, but difficult from luxury to frugality.” Back in the days before artificial intelligence, wasn’t he the one doing everything by hand? Once, when chasing a group of pirates who had fled into the tropical rainforests of a certain planet, he led his team and lay in ambush in the humid, stifling rainforest for three days and nights. Leeches crawled into his clothes through the seams, clinging to his skin and sucking blood. When the mission was over and he peeled off his clothes, the leeches were as thick as fingers. Of course, that was more than seven or eight hundred years ago, and it was the experience of Qin Feng·Anderson, not Ryan·Smith.

Upon hearing the scattered footsteps, Ryan didn’t need to turn around to roughly guess that it was the group of people called by Audie. Soon, these young people noisily walked past Ryan and sat down on the stone bench in front of him. Their eyes either openly or subtly appraised Ryan, but no one took the initiative to start a conversation with him. As if with a shared understanding, they collectively isolated this guy who didn’t need to show his true face.

There were six people in total, both men and women, probably around thirty years old. They had long limbs, moved decisively, and generally had good physical fitness. The fact that they were called by Bandner meant they were part of his core group. Ryan pondered, without any intention of initiating conversation with these people. After a while, Fan Lanting, disguised as Carrie, arrived, holding some food in her hands. The food looked odd—some kind of fruit with a strange texture, dried meat from an unknown animal, and an insect leg… Fan Lanting said, “Try this mantis egg, it tastes good.”

Ryan: “Where did this come from?”

“From the townspeople. They’re really so simple-hearted and hospitable. They insisted on giving me the best things to eat. I repeatedly refused, but it felt rude to keep turning them down.”

Ryan: “…” This doesn’t make sense. He was obviously gentle and kind, yet the townspeople treated him as if he were a pirate.

Fan Lanting plopped down on the bench beside Ryan. Some of the people who had arrived earlier smiled at him in goodwill, a reception Ryan hadn’t received since coming here. Fan Lanting returned the smiles and began explaining the food. What looked like fruit was actually unhatched mantis eggs, and the dried meat came from worms. The insect leg was from a kind of dragonfly that didn’t fly. “It all tastes good. You should try it, especially the mantis egg. It looks weird, but the texture is like jelly, with a hint of green orange flavor. It tastes much better than nutritional supplements.”

After introducing the things he had brought, Fan Lanting shared the information he had gathered with Ryan. “The ‘West’ doesn’t have completely no control over this place. Due to living underground for so long, they lack a certain vitamin. This deficiency blocks calcium absorption, and they need to work in the ‘West’ to obtain this vitamin. This happens every ten days, with the nearest one being in three days.”

This was something Bandner hadn’t told them.

Fan Lanting continued, “This vitamin is very special; it’s an extract from the Savage Star’s wood fungus grass. The similar vitamins sold off-planet don’t have the same effect, and the wood fungus grass on Savage Star is all controlled by the ‘West.’ They sleep underground during the day and at night, the adult men and women go to the surface to hunt. The animals they bring back are their daily food. Wild beasts are hard to catch, so the supplies Bandner brought back are their hope for survival, the bare minimum needed.”

“Bandner is young, and he can’t command respect. The authority is in the hands of a few elders.”

“There is an XY genetic imbalance in the town, a ratio of five to one, and many people are single.”

“The white fish is said to be a gift from Emperor Qin Feng in a time of desperation. Only by eating the white fish can a mother survive childbirth.”

“Emperor Qin Feng is their god.”

“Ryan, I’ve said so much, why are you not reacting?”

Ryan said, “In twenty years, the cave will collapse. Without newborns being born, the town will disappear even if the cave doesn’t collapse.” If they wanted the young people in the town to join them, they had to convince the elders who held power. Dragging the entire tribe into a partnership that might not succeed required great courage. “We must show sincerity to move them.”

“That’s for sure.” Fan Lanting, who was eating a praying mantis egg, occasionally received smiles and flattering looks from others, which made his suspicious grow.

Ryan said confidently, “I have a way to move them.”

Fan Lanting: “?!”