CH 4

6 o’clock in the morning, the small alarm clock on the bookshelf rang on time.

Su Zheyan opened his eyes and turned to look at the strange lines on the left side of the capsule wall.

Every morning and evening, he would stare at those lines and contemplate for a few minutes.

He still hadn’t figured out what the irregular lines represented, but he always felt that they were important.

After pondering for a while, Su Zheyan reached out and gently felt the patterns on the surface with his fingertips.

There were a few extremely faint scratches in the middle, invisible to the naked eye but detectable by the skin.

He took a marker pen from the bookshelf and filled in those faint marks, darkening the original traces as well.

Finally, the lines could connect together and were no longer chaotic and disordered.

However, Su Zheyan couldn’t make out what this irregular shape represented or understand why it appeared in his capsule.

While he was lost in thought, he suddenly felt something crawling on him.

Su Zheyan lowered his head and saw a small platinum-colored robot gripping his button and slowly climbing up like rock climbing.

In the instant their gazes met, the robot’s square-shaped mouth turned into a semi-circle, as if it was smiling at him.

Waving its metallic shiny short arms, the robot energetically greeted him, “Zheyan, good morning! What are you looking at? Take me along, I want to see too.”

Su Zheyan raised an eyebrow slightly. “What did you just call me?”

Nonchalantly, Chu Shici continued climbing up and said, “I called you Zheyan. Your father told me to take good care of you when he bought me. From now on, you’re my little brother, and I’ve got your back.”

Su Zheyan flicked his finger lightly, and the robot was flicked down.

Chu Shici fell into the soft sheets, and a notification sound from the system rang in his mind.

“Vitality +1, current Vitality level: 9/100.”

He looked up and saw Su Zheyan, who had lowered his head and was coldly looking at him with emotionless eyes.

In a moment of inspiration, Chu Shici pretended to be angry and jumped up to kick the small leg in front of him.

He had just struck twice when a finger pressed against his head, and no matter how he struggled, he couldn’t overpower that finger.

Su Zheyan’s cool and handsome face remained emotionless, but the prompt sound rang out again.

【Vitality +1, current vitality 10/100.】

The system was astonished, 【Oh my god, how amazing.】

Chu Shici was feeling a bit tired. He held onto the slender finger in front of him and rested on Su Zheyan’s slightly cool palm.

Upon hearing the system’s words, he nodded in agreement, ‘He looks noble and cold, but in reality, he’s poker-faced and boring. I never expected him to have two faces.’

The system shook its head, 【I’m not talking about him, I’m talking about you. How amazing you are. Weren’t you a person before? Why are you having so much fun with the male lead’s finger?】

Chu Shici: …

【You have really strong acceptance ability. Some hosts would cry and mourn their lost “little friend” when they changed from being a man to a woman. You, on the other hand, transformed from a human into an object and you’re still lively. Seeing your positive mindset, I feel relieved.】

The hidden sadness in Chu Shici’s heart was pierced, and he felt sad.

He lowered his head and looked at himself. Let alone little friends, the robot was completely bare, with nothing at all.

The system realized it had said the wrong thing and sent him a compensation package before slipping away, feeling guilty.

Su Zheyan finished studying the lines on the cabin wall and was preparing to write a diary before going out to search for supplies.

He was about to put the small robot back into the iron box when he caught sight of the little thing lying listlessly in his palm.

His mouth, previously in a rectangular shape, turned into a downward-curved half-bracket. He truly expressed sorrow on his face.

Chu Shici was feeling sad when he suddenly heard a cold voice from above.

“You’re sad, and even robots have worries?”

Chu Shici raised his head gently, “Although I don’t look the part, I’m actually a person.”

Su Zheyan didn’t say anything, but a mocking smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

He took out a mirror from the drawer and placed it in front of Chu Shici, as if he wanted him to see reality.

This was Chu Shici’s first time looking in the mirror. He swayed back and forth, carefully examining his reflection.

At first, the more he looked, the sadder he felt, but after a while, his mood gradually improved.

In the mirror, the robot stood at a height of about 10 to 15 centimeters. Its platinum-colored matte metal casing and smooth body were particularly suitable for spinning and had sleek curves that made it appear aesthetically pleasing and harmonious.

It had two modes of movement: walking and sliding. With four-wheel drive, it was suitable for various terrains. It had a hidden jet acceleration system on its back, allowing it to slide at speeds faster than riding a bicycle. By pulling open the antenna on top of its head, it could even receive radio broadcasts.

Chu Shici took a deep breath and regained his composure.

Looking at it positively, at least he now appeared expensive. Unlike those fragile plastic toys, he was a high-end robot.

He turned around and suddenly noticed a pattern imprinted on his right shoulder blade at the back, resembling a worm-infested apple.

Chu Shici grabbed the fingertip beside him and asked, “What’s imprinted on my back?”

Su Zheyan glanced at it and said, “It’s a serpent entwined with forbidden fruit. It’s the logo of the Eden brand series under Eternal Life Technology.”

“What is Eternal Life Technology?”

“It’s a company in the Empire, the birthplace of AI.”

After he finished speaking, Su Zheyan noticed that the robot was staring at him in a daze.

He raised an eyebrow suspiciously, “Is there something wrong?”

Chu Shici held onto his fingertip and said, “Nothing, I just feel like our relationship has become closer.”

Su Zheyan snorted lightly, retracted his finger, and ignored him.

Although he still appeared indifferent, Chu Shici’s mood improved quite a bit.

Yesterday, the male lead had been indifferent towards him, not even bothering to talk, let alone reaching out to play with him.

It seemed that the increase in vitality indeed had an impact on the male lead’s attitude towards him.

According to the system, once his vitality reached 80, he would undergo a significant transformation.

After completing a few more mainline tasks, he could freely choose to be reborn in a new world, with the ability to customize his appearance, background, and other basic information through DIY.

Compared to happiness in the next life, what is a little grievance?

Chu Shici adjusted his mindset and prepared to interact with the target again.

He ran to the edge of the table, aimed for the soft pillow, and jumped down, but his landing wasn’t well chosen, and he fell directly to the ground.

The sound was loud, catching the attention of Su Zheyan, who was writing in his diary. He glanced at Chu Shici and then averted his gaze again.

Chu Shici was stunned by the fall, staying on the ground for a while before unsteadily getting up.

…

Su Zheyan quickly finished writing in his diary and had a box of nutrient paste before preparing to search for supplies.

He took out the robot that had snuck into his bag and placed it on the bed for it to play by itself.

Chu Shici refused, saying, “Bring me along, I want to go too.”

Su Zheyan used his eyes to signal him to behave.

Before leaving, he asked in a soft voice, “What do you eat?”

Chu Shici didn’t react at first.

Su Zheyan asked again, “You couldn’t eat any of the things I brought back yesterday. Is there anything you can eat? Machine oil?”

After confirming with the system, Chu Shici nodded, “Batteries are fine too. I also need lubrication; otherwise, my joints won’t be flexible.”

Su Zheyan opened the lid and left.

As an abandoned toy, Chu Shici couldn’t go anywhere and could only roam around inside the cabin.

It seemed that Su Zheyan didn’t consider him as a person; he didn’t even write in his diary behind his back.

Chu Shici pulled out the diary and flipped it open. Besides basic information like the weather and dates, there was only one line.

“[The robot likes to play with my fingers, cute.]”

Chu Shici pointed to that line and said, “See, the male lead praised me as cute.”

The system sipped its tea and chuckled, “You are even more amazing than the male lead. I like your optimism.”

In truth, Chu Shici felt that compared to his past life, his current life was not bad.

He no longer had to live in constant fear, worrying about being chased down by debt collectors and losing his livelihood.

Upon second thought, being a temporary robot doesn’t seem so bad.

Su Zheyan had been gone for a long time without returning, and the waiting time was tedious and boring.

Chu Shici explored the capsule compartment but didn’t find anything new.

He opened the compensation package given by the system, which contained a signal amplifier.

Chu Shici unplugged his antenna from the top of his head and replaced it with the system’s amplifier.

An electric current spread throughout his body, and countless voices instantly filled his mind.

The system explained to him, “The barren planet blocks signals, so the robot’s original antenna is useless. With this replacement, you can receive broadcasts from any country in this world.”

Chu Shici tried to tune the frequency, and the elegant voice of a female announcer echoed in the capsule compartment.

“[Welcome to listen to the Imperial Capital Daily. Recently, an omega has given birth to twins. Since reaching sexual maturity, he has fathered a total of 73 children, using only his own body throughout the reproductive process. In today’s society, he still adheres to ancient customs, upholding tradition and making procreation great again.]”

Chu Shici stared in shock with wide eyes.

The system urged him, “Keep tuning the frequency! I can’t handle it!”

Chu Shici switched to several other channels.

“[Eternal Life Technology has released a statement, denying any theft of citizens’ information and vowing to hold rumor spreaders legally accountable.]”

“[Since the proposal of the ‘Beta Labor Protection Law’ in July last year, protest marches against Beta discrimination have taken place in the capital, demanding the restoration of Beta citizens’ legal rights. Currently, Beta individuals lack the robust physique and intelligent mind of alphas, as well as the natural beauty and artistic talent of omegas. As a minority disadvantaged group, Beta’s social status has become increasingly awkward.]”

…

Just like yesterday, Su Zheyan didn’t return until evening.

He organized the supplies and placed them in the capsule compartment, casually tending to the wounds on his arm.

Chu Shici approached and asked, “Are you seriously injured?”

Su Zheyan remained silent, reaching into his backpack and taking out a can of machine oil and a few small spray bottles.

The oil can was too large for a robot, so he divided it into smaller bottles and attached a rubber tube before handing it to Chu Shici.

Eating machine oil for the first time felt quite exhilarating.

Chu Shici took a few sips and found it surprisingly good.

While he was eating, Su Zheyan took out a pink box from his backpack again.

He opened the box and stood in front of Chu Shici, speaking in a calm voice, “You said you wanted to wear clothes, but I couldn’t find a robot clothing store. This is a princess dress-up set I bought from a toy store. Take out whichever one you want and try it on.”

Chu Shici held the bottle of machine oil and was dazzled by the princess dresses inside the box.

He turned his head stiffly and asked, “Zheyan, does my voice sound like that of a man?”

A hint of confusion flashed in Su Zheyan’s eyes, and his tone showed rare fluctuations.

“Do robots even have genders? Isn’t that your voice pack?”

Chu Shici:…

Suddenly feeling sad, even the machine oil didn’t taste good anymore.