This was Wan Tong’s second time escaping death.
The Paradise inspected all the suspicious girls, and in the end, took away 017.
Later, news spread that all the poisoning incidents were committed by 017, and she was about to face death.
Then 034 went missing, and everyone became uneasy.
What happened in the Paradise wasn’t publicized, but the news from the outside world was also blocked. The Supreme Leader issued a new order to enforce closed management on the Natural Women Growth Department, forbidding them from leaving their rooms, and all outdoor classes were naturally canceled.
Wan Tong and the others were like birds in a cage, their every move monitored.
Ling Wu had tried more than once to take her out of Paradise, but she had refused. Luckily, Ling Wu was there, and she could access some useful information.
For example, the internal information of the Paradise was blocked, and the deaths, disappearances, and injuries of the girls were unknown to outsiders.
For example, 017 wasn’t dead, she had also gone missing.
For example, there was a chaotic fight among the boys in the Western District, and everyone was confined for two days without any medical assistance or food, left to fend for themselves.
For example, the base of the now-glorified cloning research group was attacked by rebels, with countless casualties, and the cloning project was once again halted.
For example, the Supreme Leader was mobilizing government forces to suppress the rebels…
Wan Tong tried to make herself sick, and Teacher Bai immediately sent her to the medical department.
The entire Western District was unusually quiet, with no one near the training base or the medical department. During the time, Teacher Bai suddenly received an urgent communication, and just as Ling Wu appeared, Teacher Bai handed Wan Tong over to him.
Wan Tong had a fever, her body burning with heat and weakness, but her mind was unusually clear.
When she realized it was Ling Wu holding her, she finally felt at ease, curling up in his arms, “Ling Wu…”
Ling Wu caught her weak and soft voice perfectly. He looked down at her with emerald green eyes that were as flawless as gems, “Hold on for half an hour more, Tongtong will feel better.”
Wan Tong nodded in a daze and hurriedly asked, “Did you go to the Western District? What happened to my Eldest Brother?”
She had asked Ling Wu to inquire about M01 in the West District. The confinement in the Paradise was too cruel, and over the past few days, she had heard one death after another, making her extremely worried.
“Yes,” Ling Wu nodded. He should have told her that M01’s injuries couldn’t be treated, and the wound had become infected, but inexplicably, his voice was stuck.
It wasn’t until Wan Tong asked again that he spoke, “I can’t get close.”
Wan Tong slowly opened her eyes, the blood vessels around her pupils especially clear. She sensed that Ling Wu was hiding something, so she said, “Ling Wu, I want to see your visual log.”
Ling Wu always obeyed her orders without question, but this time he hesitated. His eyelashes trembled, and the next moment, a flash of light flickered in his green eyes, then a virtual light screen appeared in front of Wan Tong.
Ling Wu habitually filtered out useless information and only recorded the important data.
Wan Tong chose the information recorded in Ling Wu’s vision over the last two days. However, on the light screen, almost all she saw was her own face.
It turned out that when she wasn’t aware, in corners she couldn’t see, Ling Wu had always been there, watching her from near or far.
Wan Tong turned her head in a daze and looked at Ling Wu, who was working. His expression was stiffer and more dazed than usual, making her feel inexplicably heartbroken.
Robots have always been lonely because no one will spend even a minute trying to understand their inner thoughts, nor will they allow them to have their own ideas.
Ling Wu seemed to notice the fluctuations in Wan Tong’s emotions. He turned off the screen and looked at her, “Did I do something wrong?”
Wan Tong shook her head lightly, but her eyes were veiled with a layer of misty water. “No, Ling Wu is great.”
At the beginning, Ling Wu would call himself 051 and would only respond mechanically, never asking questions, and even when he did respond, there would be a two-second pause. It was only after she talked to him that he started to gradually become more like a person.
“But Ling Wu, you must not hide anything from me, understand?” Wan Tong gently patted his shoulder. She was physically weak, and the disappearance of 017 and 034 left her confused. Right now, the only person she could rely on was Ling Wu.
Ling Wu placed his palm on her hand silently. However, the images on the screen began to play at a fast speed, only slowing down when they reached a dim scene filling the screen.
All the children had been gathered in a confinement room. Some were already lifeless, but their bodies hadn’t been cleared in time, making the conditions in the confinement room even worse.
Among them was M01’s figure. He was curled up in a corner, seemingly slashed on his arm, yet despite this, no one dared approach near him.
His solitary figure made Wan Tong’s eyes sting even more.
The boys in the Paradise truly had no human rights. Their deaths, in fact, lightened the burden on this world.
Even someone as excellent as the boss still suffered such treatment.
Ling Wu’s ears twitched, and he suddenly turned off the screen.
Not long after, a cheerful voice entered the room.
“001~” 003 walked in, followed by Teacher Bai.
“Teacher Ling Wu~” As soon as 003 saw Lingwu, her eyes brightened, and she quickly ran toward him.
However, her foot seemed to have twisted, and after only a few steps, she wobbled to one side. Luckily, Teacher Bai caught her.
“003, you need to lie in the medical pod.”
003 reluctantly glanced at the direction of Ling Wu and Wan Tong, then pointed to the closest medical pod. “I want to lie here…”
Teacher Bai obeyed and pulled her inside.
Wan Tong even saw 003 wave at her.
“…” She felt that everyone around her, except for Lingwu, was strange.
Wan Tong pretended to be sick and stayed in the medical department for a day. During this short time, the outside world was stirred up by anonymous revelations on a website.
Two natural females had died in the Paradise! And they had concealed it!
Then came the news that the cloning project had been obstructed. Everyone became radical, demanding an explanation from the Paradise every day.
The paradise naturally blamed the deaths on 017 and 034.
The killers were also natural females, and they had gone missing—how absurd.
Were natural females really safe in the Paradise?
Soon, under immense pressure, the paradise released all the information about the natural females and even stated that they would provide some surveillance footage to prove their safety.
In the medical department, Wan Tong’s fever had subsided, but she still lay weakly on the bed, needing Ling Wu to stay with her in the hospital.
Meanwhile, 003 was acting coquettish with Teacher Bai, insisting on staying with Wan Tong.
Teacher Bai had no choice, but unfortunately, both he and Ling Wu received a message instructing them to take all natural females back to the Growth Department.
“Things are getting chaotic outside,” Ling Wu whispered in Wan Tong’s ear.
Wan Tong nodded, her face expressionless. Previously, she had been worried about affecting the story of the boss, so she had refrained from acting hastily. However, seeing the boss in pain, she could no longer hold back and decided to destroy the Paradise first.
When Wan Tong and 003 were sent back, the inspectors had already arrived, bringing with them the most authoritative doctors and advanced diagnostic equipment, claiming they needed to conduct examinations on them.
At the same time, the entire event was being live-streamed.
Viewership quickly surged, as the Paradise had always been an intriguing place, and the appearance of so many cute natural females all at once certainly attracted attention.
Because Wan Tong had been harmed twice, the doctors decided to examine her first.
When Wan Tong appeared on-screen, the chatroom exploded with messages.
[Ahhhh, she’s even cuter than my little Anna!]
[Is she a natural female? There’s definitely a difference from companion robots! Her eyes are beautiful!]
[Long hair, fair and delicate—she must be from the batch that just entered the Paradise!]
[The Paradise looks so outdated, but the recovery chambers in the rooms are quite rare…]
[Why do they give them code names? Feels a bit…]
[001? Why not use her name? Is this how the Paradise treats natural females? Seems like they’re not valued at all!]
…
The bullet comments quickly filled with questions and hostility, all directed at the Paradise.
Some people came out to clarify, explaining that most of the girls in the Paradise only had numbers, so the newly arrived girls also adopted a number as part of local customs.
However, some anonymous users refuted this, stating that the girls were re-numbered according to various indices, with 001 ranking first.
Regardless of the reason, giving precious natural females numbers and having them live in a medical environment that was both inadequate and dangerous in the Paradise was unjustifiable.
In the live broadcast, just a few minutes later, as Wan Tong had not yet finished her examination, the blue light around the equipment suddenly flickered and turned red, emitting warning beeps.
The three doctors nearby looked shocked and serious. After reviewing the report from the equipment, they said, “001 doesn’t just have a regular fever. She’s been injected with a new type of virus that damages the immune system. Fortunately, this virus is not contagious.”
The doctor’s words unsettled everyone.
Soon after, two other girls were also found to be carrying the virus.
“We need to take them out for treatment,” the doctor said, frowning as he looked at the inspectors. “And I believe the Paradise is incapable of providing proper protection for these girls. I recommend taking all of them out.”
The other two doctors angrily agreed, saying that the Paradise rarely introduced new equipment. Apart from the accommodation, other aspects were far inferior to the outside world, especially in terms of healthcare. It was rumored that the medical pods were already five years old.
“No,” said Chen Mo, the CEO of the Paradise, who was already in his fifties. His voice was deep and firm. “The purpose of Paradise’s existence is to handle these children. Even though they are natural females, even though they are precious, they must grow up in Paradise. We will do our best to protect them.”
The inspectors from the Bureau were also in a difficult position. Indeed, Paradise was an organization personally established by the Supreme Leader, independent of all departments, and it had never been under the supervision of the Bureau before.
As the atmosphere grew tense, suddenly, an unstoppable roar echoed from outside, a hoarse yet heavy voice belonging to a young man.
Wan Tong had already come out of the inspection device, and Ling Wu quickly pushed her aside. Then, they saw the hall doors crash open, and a large group of figures stormed in.
Leading them was M01, along with dozens of boys, who, like wolves in a hunting ground, fiercely stared at everyone in the hall.
Wan Tong’s gaze swept past M01 and caught a glimpse of Lin Qi, who tried to hide in the crowd. He muttered something under his breath.
Just as she was about to ask Ling Wu, he, with an uncanny understanding, whispered in her ear, “Lin Qi has received the order, he’s retreating now.”
Lin Qi belonged to the previous generation of spy robots. He was almost omnipotent, but since his parts and chips hadn’t been upgraded, Ling Wu recognized him immediately upon seeing him, but Lin Qi hadn’t noticed that Ling Wu was also a robot.
“He can’t retreat,” Wan Tong added in a whisper to Ling Wu.
During this time, she had witnessed Ling Wu’s power. Not only could he connect to networks, but he could also control robots that were connected to the same local area network.
So, in the next moment, Wan Tong saw Lin Qi, who had intended to leave, stop and turn around, then begin attacking the group of girls.
“Ah!!” Standing at the side was exactly 003.
She screamed, then crouched down, covering her head.
Of course, before Lin Qi’s attack took effect, Ling Wu had already stopped him.
M01, focusing on 003’s long hair, reacted before Lin Qi could think, grabbing her and pulling her in front of him.
There were about twenty girls in the hall, all around sixteen or seventeen years old. Among them, only three had long, delicate hair.
On the other side, Ling Wu had caught Lin Qi by the neck. With a tight squeeze, he pulled out a spark-filled wire from Lin Qi’s body.
Lin Qi’s whole body twitched a few times before Ling Wu threw him to the floor.
Wan Tong, concerned for Ling Wu, quickly ran over and pulled him aside.
“Robot!”
“Teacher Lin is a robot!”
The people around them were in a panic. A dozen or so short-haired girls exchanged glances and suddenly moved over to M01’s side.
“You… do you want to rebel?” Chen Mo’s voice suddenly stopped. His eyes bulged as he clutched his throat and collapsed, blood spurting from his fingers, which startled another round of screams.
These screams came from 003 and 010.
A warm hand appeared in front of Wan Tong’s eyes, blocking her view. She didn’t see anything, but she could vaguely smell the faint scent of blood in the air.
M01’s methods were cruel and decisive. In the blink of an eye, he had killed several of Paradise’s teachers. However, he didn’t kill Teacher Bai, or rather, the teachers who only taught the girls were all spared.
The Bureau’s staff and the doctors were all non-combatants and had long been surrounded, trembling and huddling together.
“M01, we need to leave quickly,” a hoarse voice came from behind him.
Wan Tong looked over and saw only half of 017’s face.
In the morning, Lingwu finally learned about the news of 017 and 034. The two of them had already noticed Lin Qi’s odd behavior and, after several attempts, concluded that the Paradise was ultimately dangerous. Originally, they intended to team up with M01 to escape, but M01 never agreed.
The two had actually gone into hiding in the Western District. The chaos two days ago was also because M01 had to cover for them. During their confinement, 017 and 034 were among them.
When the Inspection Bureau arrived, Ling Wu took the opportunity to heal M01’s injuries and made another deal with him. Just now, Ling Wu remotely controlled the door to the confinement room and let the wolf cubs out.
Due to years of resentment, the wolf cubs erupted collectively, easily leveling the Western District.
When Lin Qi made contact with the outside world, Lingwu intercepted the message. Lin Qi’s master had ordered part of the Paradise’s defenses to be withdrawn, seemingly to allow the wolf cubs to leave.
What Wan Tong found concerning was that Lin Qi’s master could control the Paradise’s personnel.
Although the Paradise appeared to be unregulated for many years, in reality, it often directly followed the orders of the Supreme Leader…
The Supreme Leader of the New World was mysterious, but everyone almost absolutely obeyed his commands.
The boys rebelled, but Lin Qi’s master ordered the personnel to withdraw, deliberately letting them go. It’s unclear what his intentions were, but now, there was no choice but to move forward.
Wan Tong pulled her wandering thoughts back, pushing away Ling Wu’s hand that was blocking her view. The people from the Inspection Bureau had all fallen, three doctors were knocked unconscious, and three boys carried one doctor each with ease.
Due to the harsh medical conditions in the Paradise, the boys always had a kind of expectation toward doctors. Now, having obtained three doctors felt like finding treasure. The normally indifferent atmosphere in the application room was suddenly filled with a rare sense of joy.
M01 approached Wan Tong, with 003 innocently blinking and following him.
Perhaps because M01 had saved her earlier, she seemed very interested in him.
However, her gaze shifted to Ling Wu, and she hurriedly moved closer to Wan Tong. “001, I was scared to death just now! But you’re so calm~ I wish I could have Teacher Ling Wu’s protection too.”
She tried to move toward Ling Wu, but Wan Tong held her back. 010 also trembled, hiding behind Wan Tong, too afraid to make a sound.
M01 looked expressionlessly at the three girls in front of him, then suddenly turned to gaze at the almost paralyzed White teacher.
“What are their names?” His voice was flat, even more robotic than a robot.
White teacher was taken aback. “…001…”
“I said their names.” M01 emphasized.
“They’re only in the database…”
“Where?”
Teacher Bai was about to speak when a soft and pleasant female voice interrupted, “No need to check the database. The person you’re looking for is me.”
- Ling Wu’s name is 灵武 (Líng wǔ). It is homophonic to 零五 (Líng wǔ) which literally means zero-five. ↩︎