When Wan Tong was woken up by her biological clock, M01 was about to leave the basement. Without thinking, she grabbed his arm.
“Eldest Brother, I want to go out too.”
A scorching gaze shot over from the side. Wan Tong swallowed nervously and, under 017’s glare, withdrew her hand.
M01 frowned slightly but, upon reaching the door, turned back and said, “Come along.”
Only then did 017 pull Wan Tong up.
In the New World, there was no circulating currency—everything was paid for with credit points. But among the three of them, aside from Wan Tong, neither of the others had a citizenship card, let alone any credit points.
She weren’t even sure how they had ended up staying in this basement, so leaving sooner rather than later was for the best.
M01 had a goal. When he went out yesterday, he seemed to have drawn the Shen family’s attention by using her citizen ID. So today, he took her directly to yesterday’s plaza.
Outside a convenience store packed with people, M01 suddenly disappeared. Wan Tong, held firmly by 017, wasn’t allowed to take a single step away.
[Tongtong, Shen Ting is in danger!]
The voice of Shishi rang out. Wan Tong immediately struggled free from 017’s grasp, slipping into the crowd with her small frame.
No matter how agile 017 was, it was difficult to catch her in the sea of people. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.
Wan Tong dashed toward the convenience store. People were fleeing in terror. She waited for the crowd to scatter before stepping inside.
Two figures were locked in a fierce fight. Shen Ting was clearly at a disadvantage—his entire arm was covered in blood, forcing him to fight one-handed.
A robot nearby repeatedly issued warnings, but before it could sound an alarm, Wan Tong used the method Ling Wu had taught her to put it into sleep mode.
“Stop fighting! Eldest Brother, Second Brother!”
As soon as Wan Tong’s voice fell, the two figures abruptly separated.
Shen Ting, pale-faced and clutching his shoulder, looked at Wan Tong before shifting his gaze in shock to M01, whose expression was just as cold and severe.
But his concern for Wan Tong outweighed his surprise. He walked toward her.
“Tongtong, are you okay?”
During yesterday’s Paradise livestream, he had seen Ling Wu and Tongtong, but the broadcast had suddenly been cut off. The situation inside remained unclear. He had a feeling the higher-ups were deliberately suppressing information. While searching for answers, he noticed Tongtong’s citizen ID and credit points had been used. After tracing them to this location, he came to wait.
He hadn’t expected to run into this ferocious young man.
And even more shocking—Tongtong had called him ‘Eldest Brother’?
Before Wan Tong could hug Shen Ting, M01 had already yanked her back to his side, casting a disdainful glance at Shen Ting.
Shen Ting : “……”
“Second Brother is hurt!” Wan Tong was anxious, staring at the blood seeping from Shen Ting’s wound. She struggled several times to break free from M01’s grip.
M01 was visibly displeased with her reaction. He tightened his hold on her.
“If you don’t want him to die, don’t move.”
At that moment, 017 entered. Before Shen Ting could react, 017 twisted his arms behind his back.
Shen Ting grimaced in pain. “Damn it, that hurts! Be gentle!”
“Eldest Brother, let go of Second Brother—he’s injured!” Wan Tong pleaded with M01.
M01 ignored her, his face blank as he scrutinized Shen Ting.
This boy had delicate features. Since leaving the Paradise, M01 had rarely encountered people of this age. Even when he did, they were like adults—eyes dull, expressions numb.
But this boy had been loud and unyielding from the moment they started fighting. His eyes flickered with something, something that reminded M01 of 001.
Something he himself lacked.
What kind of family was the Shen family to raise such naive and foolish children? When they grew up and had to fend for themselves, they’d be devoured instantly.
“It hurts, hurts, hurts! Sister, let go!”
017 was recognized as female but remained unfazed, merely glancing up at M01.
M01 crouched slightly, staring at Shen Ting as he spoke slowly, “Take me to the Shen family.”
Shen Ting nodded repeatedly. “Tongtong said you’re our Eldest Brother. Is that true?”
Despite being in excruciating pain, his curiosity remained strong.
M01 spat out a word, “Idiot.”
Shen Ting : “…”
He turned his gaze to Wan Tong, who simply shrugged at him, looking a bit helpless.
This ‘Eldest Brother’ was not easy to deal with—no one could predict what was on his mind.
They, the weaklings, could only obey his orders.
Wan Tong found a medical syringe in the convenience store, capable of treating minor ailments and aiding wound healing.
Holding the syringe, she hesitated, unsure where to inject it into Shen Ting’s arm.
Since Shen Ting had no strength, he could only guide her verbally. Seeing her tiny face tense with nervousness, he couldn’t help but chuckle. He reached out and gently pinched her cheek. “Tongtong, let me do it instead.”
It had been so long since he had seen his sister, but she was still so adorable.
He had received two messages from Ling Wu, confirming that she was safe. Otherwise, he would have had Ling Wu knock her out and take her away by force. Who cared about laws? His well-raised little sister had been abducted just like that, and as soon as she became an adult, she would be assigned to a ‘quality young man.’
That was not the kind of life she deserved.
But Wan Tong wouldn’t let Shen Ting do it himself. She had double-checked with Shishi and was mentally prepared. Taking a deep breath, she lifted the syringe high—
Shen Ting swallowed nervously but ultimately didn’t stop her. His body was already a wreck—if his little sister wanted to stab him, so be it. At least he wouldn’t die from it…
But before the needle could pierce his skin, a hand snatched it away.
Wan Tong looked up and met M01’s stormy expression. She whispered, “I used Second Brother’s credit points, and if he doesn’t get treated soon, he’ll pass out…”
She thought M01 was stopping her from treating Shen Ting.
But M01 didn’t even bother responding to her. Instead, he grabbed Shen Ting’s arm and swiftly injected the medicine.
Wan Tong : “…”
Shen Ting was also momentarily stunned. As M01 pulled out the syringe, Shen Ting threw him a playful wink. “Thanks, handsome~”
M01 confiscated Shen Ting’s communicator and kept him under 017’s control, reducing him to nothing more than a walking GPS.
The Shen parents were considered quite accomplished. Shen Guo held a middle-rank military position as a lieutenant colonel, though it was mostly a desk job. His mother, Mu Rong, worked at the statistics bureau.
In this overcrowded world, most people lived in cramped spaces, but the Shen family owned an entire floor—on the top level, no less.
Since it was daytime, no one was home. The familiar environment instantly put Wan Tong at ease.
Due to blood loss, Shen Ting passed out the moment 017 tossed him onto the sofa. Wan Tong checked his wound—it had begun healing, but the gash was deep. The earlier injection likely wasn’t enough.
She glanced at M01, who was scanning the surroundings with 017, so she didn’t call for him. Instead, she softly said, “Xiaoxiao.”
Suddenly, an elegant female voice echoed through the space. “Tongtong, I’m here.”
M01 and 017 immediately tensed up at the unfamiliar voice. M01 even yanked Wan Tong up from the sofa as if preparing to flee.
Wan Tong quickly explained, “Eldest Brother, it’s just the household system. It has medical diagnostic functions. I asked it to check on Second Brother’s condition.”
M01 frowned, then loosened his grip as he suddenly recalled that his studies had indeed covered this type of system.
But since the equipment in the Paradise was outdated, he had never personally experienced it before.
“Eldest Brother, can you help me move Second Brother to the medical pod?”
M01 scowled but still picked up Shen Ting and placed him inside the pod.
“Xiaoxiao, check Second Brother’s condition,” Wan Tong requested cautiously.
Seeing him so wary of technology and out of place in a modern setting, she couldn’t help but find the powerful man a little pitiful, like a country bumpkin seeing the city for the first time.
Wan Tong went to her room and pulled out a stash of snacks she had hidden away. Shen Ting used to love sneaking some from her, but after all this time, instead of being depleted, her snack box had only grown fuller.
“Eldest Brother, 007, let’s eat something first. Mom and Dad won’t be back until 5:30 in the afternoon.”
Wan Tong hugged a small mountain of snacks, her fair, soft face peeking out from behind them. Faced with such a sight, no one could bring themselves to refuse.
“You’re not afraid that I’ll kill you all and then kill your parents?” M01 stood in front of her, the oppressive air around him pressing down once more.
“…Would you kill your own family?” Wan Tong tilted her head and asked in return.
“I have no family.”
“You do.”
Their similar eyes met in a silent standoff, neither willing to back down.
Crunch, crunch…
The sound from beside them made the siblings turn their heads.
017 had, at some point, opened a bag of snacks and was chewing mechanically, her face expressionless.
She was simply too hungry.
Noticing their gazes, she made no attempt to share. Clutching the bag, she turned and walked to the side, mumbling through her food, “M01, if you can’t do it, I’ll do it for you. Kill them, and we can go back to the Paradise. I don’t like it out here.”
“You’d better stay out of my business,” M01 replied coldly.
017 glanced back at him. “So that means you don’t want to kill them. Either you stay, or you come back to the Paradise with me. Is making a choice really that hard?”
For once, M01 was at a loss for words. It hadn’t been hard before.
But now, he didn’t want to choose at all.
His expression darkened as he reached into Wan Tong’s arms, pulled out a bag of snacks, and walked off to the side, silently munching.
Wan Tong looked left and right, then went to pour two glasses of water.
Since Ling Wu had left, there were no more robots in the house.
M01 took Shen Ting’s communicator and locked himself in a room. He didn’t come out for a long time. He must have contacted Paradise.
Wan Tong asked Xiaoxiao to turn on the news. Finally, the live broadcast reported on the situation at the Paradise.
The children inside had revolted, taken control of the area, and were holding natural females as hostages. The government forces didn’t dare act rashly.
The Paradise had never established a proper database on its children, only keeping minimal records. After all, they died so frequently that recording them seemed unnecessary.
The incident was making waves, and since it was a delayed broadcast, public anger toward the government was even more intense.
This was exactly what the Supreme Leader wanted.
He wanted to destroy the human world and build a true mechanical civilization.
He called it a ‘highly advanced world.’