Because of this explosion, tens of thousands of people were displaced. But the news only flashed by briefly, and soon, no one paid attention anymore.
After all, in this era, people only care about their own survival and reproduction. As for the lives or deaths of others, they remain indifferent.
It was during this time that the news of the General’s death spread. He had been assassinated, with Jones and the Zhou family undoubtedly involved.
Wan Tong thought the Supreme Leader would die in that body, but unexpectedly, he was rescued and returned to his floating exclusive territory.
However, this also meant that he no longer had a physical body, he was now nothing more than a sinister system.
After the General’s death, the internet was filled with people putting on a show of mourning while secretly feeling relieved that Wan Tong was freed.
Even though most people knew they had no chance with her, at least they no longer had to watch an old man prey on a young woman. That alone was something to celebrate.
The news of Zhong Lele being captured by Paradise also made headlines, thanks to the Zhong family’s publicity. The public pushed for an operation to take down the little demons of Paradise, though what they cared about more was how to rescue the natural females inside.
Just as everyone was focused on the issue of natural females, the news reported two consecutive cases of natural females being harmed, shocking the entire nation. Eventually, the investigation pointed the finger at the rebel citizens.
First, the rebels had destroyed all research achievements related to cloning. Now, they were harming natural women. Were they trying to cut off the possibility of reproduction and drive this new world to extinction?
The government army launched several suppression campaigns, but they still couldn’t completely eradicate the rebels. To make matters worse, Paradise suddenly sided with the rebels, putting even more pressure on the government forces and stirring up public outrage.
It was at this moment that the Supreme Leader finally made a public appearance. For the first time, Wan Tong saw his true face.
Though he was already over seventy, he still looked like he was in his forties or fifties. Yet, the public showed no curiosity about how he maintained his youth, nor did they question whether he was really their Supreme Leader.
To them, the Supreme Leader had become a symbol, their spiritual pillar.
Of course, the people were completely in the dark. The Supreme Leader they saw was nothing more than a synthetic projection created with advanced technology.
This time, he delivered a highly provocative speech, declaring that all forces would be mobilized to eliminate the rebels and all reactionary organizations, ensuring the absolute safety of natural females.
For the moment, his speech successfully pacified the public.
But not long after, another piece of news reignited anxiety.
Qin Hao, a shareholder of Ladbrokes Technology and the creator of combat robots, was found murdered. The culprit was the same one responsible for the brutal killing of two natural females, a male companion robot that had gained self-awareness.
And the one who had once been so highly praised, Shen Wantong, turned out to be the owner of this dangerous robot.
As soon as this news broke, public attention shifted back to the Shen family. Only then did they realize that the Shen family had actually been victims of that skyscraper explosion. Now, they were all missing.
Robots gaining self-awareness and killing humans, this had happened before. But this time, the victim was none other than the ‘father of robots,’ which caused an even greater panic.
If robots could kill, then wasn’t the Shen family in grave danger? Moreover, Wan Tong was its owner. What if the explosion had been its way of exacting revenge on the Shen family and humanity?
And so, Ling Wu was placed on the wanted list. His photos and video footage spread widely across the internet.
Since Ling Wu was often seen by Wan Tong’s side, she was frequently blurred out in the footage.
Some people restored the videos and saw their interactions. Ling Wu’s unwavering loyalty and protectiveness toward her. Instead of feeling fear, they actually found themselves less wary of him.
A robot like this, it didn’t seem capable of doing evil at all…
But others argued back: a robot was just a machine. You couldn’t judge it by appearances. The act of killing could happen in an instant, so it should never be underestimated. Besides, the news had already reported that it had committed murder, there was no mistake. It was undoubtedly dangerous and had to be found and destroyed.
And so, the two factions continued their debate.
Meanwhile, the Shen family had already settled in Paradise, where they discovered that the resource shortages reported in the news were not nearly as severe as claimed.
It turned out that although the Supreme Leader had sent people to surround the Paradise, many children inside had begun to have their identities clarified one by one. As a result, when many families discovered that their children were still alive and well, they softened and wanted to rescue their own kids. Some of these families were highly influential, so while Paradise seemed to be in crisis on the surface, it was actually being secretly protected.
This was also why the Shen family was still able to enter Paradise at such a critical moment.
During the day, Wan Tong pretended to be an obedient child, but at night, she would sneak out with Ling Wu.
However, since Ling Wu had become a wanted fugitive, bringing him along became increasingly inconvenient. So instead, she started clinging to her Eldest Brother Shen Yu.
On a dark and windy night, after Ling Wu had dropped Wan Tong off at Shen Yu’s underground contact point, she immediately ran up to Shen Yu. “Eldest Brother, is there any movement from the cloning research base? Should we go check it out first?”
Shen Yu didn’t refuse. Instead, he glanced at Ling Wu. “Why did you bring her out again?”
“Because Tongtong wanted to come,” Ling Wu replied in his usual manner.
“Eldest Brother, Ling Wu won’t be coming with us this time. He’s wanted, and there are surveillance detectors everywhere over there,” Wan Tong explained, then turned to Ling Wu. “Ling Wu, stay here and wait for me, okay?”
The newly released detectors from Ladbrokes Technology could instantly identify robots, even determining their specific types. It was fine here in this remote area, but if they went somewhere with more detectors, Ling Wu would undoubtedly be exposed.
Ling Wu silently stared at Wan Tong, nodded twice, and then stood still without moving.
Before leaving, Wan Tong glanced at his lonely figure and suddenly felt a pang of sadness. She ran back to hug him, comforting him, “This will all pass soon, Ling Wu. Wait for me to come back~”
“Mm.” Ling Wu gave a small nod. Feeling the strength of her arms around his waist, he hesitated for a moment before mimicking her actions, gently placing his hands on her waist and resting his chin lightly on the crown of her head.
At the doorway, Shen Yu frowned as he watched them, choosing to remain silent.
Wan Tong’s reminder had prompted him to investigate, and he confirmed that the damn Supreme Leader was up to no good, constantly stirring up public resentment against the rebels and Paradise.
This time, the Supreme Leader even planned to assassinate the scientists at the research base and pin the blame on them.
Shen Yu didn’t care about how outsiders viewed him, nor did he mind being falsely accused. However, his troublesome little sister nagged him about it every day, which became unbearably annoying. That was the real reason he decided to take action.
He hadn’t originally intended to bring along this troublemaker, but after her relentless pleading yesterday, he had softened and agreed.
And so, today, he had no choice but to take her along to the cloning research base.
As their figures disappeared into the night, Ling Wu lowered his gaze, pressing a hand against his chest.
It was the first time she had ever left him behind like this.
Wan Tong felt like she had been tricked by Shen Yu.
She had known that the leader was secretly sending people to assassinate the scientists at the research base and frame the outcasts and Paradise for it. So, she had subtly reminded Shen Yu, hoping he would intervene and stop this plan from succeeding.
But after following Shen Yu out, she realized she was only allowed to observe the base from a distance. Beside her, 034 was chewing on a piece of candy while keeping a close watch on her.
“Hey, I heard you gave this candy to 017. Thanks, I really like it,” 034 said cheerfully, giving Wan Tong a friendly pat on the shoulder.
Wan Tong smiled, but her mind was entirely on Shen Yu, hoping nothing would go wrong.
In reality, Shen Yu’s operation was going quite smoothly. After rescuing the scientists and preparing to leave, he glanced down at the bloodstains on his team and immediately ordered, “Wash up before we go!”
Everyone : ???
Within two seconds, all the boys had vanished. A minute later, they returned one by one, hair still damp but at least no longer reeking of blood.
Only then did Shen Yu, satisfied, lead them away.
When Wan Tong saw them return safely, each carefully carrying an unconscious scientist clad in white, and noticed that they don’t smell of blood, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“I tried to restore the surveillance footage, but unfortunately, I failed,” Shen Yu said.
Beside him, 017 glanced at him but remained silent.
But she could guarantee that he hadn’t even attempted to repair the surveillance system. In fact, he seemed to have deliberately damaged it.
After all, the scene back then had been far too gruesome.
“I’ll let Ling Wu give it a try,” Wan Tong replied seriously. “Otherwise, even if you manage to rescue the experts, they’ll still pin the blame on you.”
Shen Yu glared at her. “…”
017 blinked. “…” For the first time, she understood what people meant by ‘interesting.’
When Wan Tong returned to the communication hub, she found Ling Wu standing in the exact same position as before. It wasn’t until he saw her approaching that he finally took a step forward to meet her.
“I’m fine, Ling Wu. Let’s go home.” Wan Tong wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped into his embrace.
“Mm.” Ling Wu held her securely.
What she didn’t know was that he had been tracking her location the entire time. He knew she had been waiting outside and hadn’t encountered any danger.
Wan Tong’s departure from the Paradise didn’t go unnoticed. Mu Rong pulled her into a room and scolded her for a long time. Shen Ting also got reprimanded, but midway through, he shamelessly abandoned his little sister and slipped away.
The atmosphere in the Paradise had changed a lot, it was no longer lifeless and dreary.
On one of the hall’s screens, a wanted list was displayed, reminding the youths to disguise themselves when going out so they wouldn’t be recognized.
The latest wanted list now featured a dangerous S-class individual, Ling Wu, the companion robot.
Most people in the Paradise already knew Ling Wu was a robot, but they hadn’t expected him to be a companion robot.
And his owner was still an underage girl…
No wonder outsiders spoke of them with such suggestive undertones. Even the people in the Paradise found it unbelievable.
How had Ling Wu modified himself to the point that a mere companion robot became so powerful?
The young residents were all eager to learn, and soon, they began seeing Ling Wu as a role model to study and emulate.
After leaving her parents’ room, Wan Tong went to find Lingwu, only to discover a crowd gathered outside a tool room. There were boys her age, as well as little kids as young as five or six, all peering inside with serious expressions, as if they were witnessing something sacred.
Curious, she also took a look inside and saw Ling Wu.
From her angle, she could only see his side profile. He was sitting at a workbench, surrounded by scattered surgical tools, with a mirror in front of him.
She watched as he methodically traced lines on his own face, and then she noticed something strange.
How had he changed in just half an hour?
“Ling Wu?”
She called out, and instantly, all eyes turned to her, including Ling Wu’s.
When she finally got a clear look at his face, she was so shocked that she walked straight in, lifting his chin to examine him closely. “Lingwu, what did you do to yourself?”
Ling Wu’s face had changed. In his sharp features, Wan Tong saw a hint of familiarity.
His appearance was beginning to resemble the boss from the previous worlds.
“Convenience,” Ling Wu replied with just one word.
Wan Tong cupped his cheek, her expression turning serious. “Ling Wu, you don’t need to change. Really.”
She had a feeling that he wasn’t modifying his face just to make going out easier, there was another reason.
Ling Wu placed his palm over the back of her hand without saying a word, simply staring at her intently.
The circle of onlooking youths, who had been focused on learning, suddenly had an odd shift in their expressions. Recently, they had been exposed to knowledge they never had access to before, including things about relationships between men and women.
Now, seeing a boy and a girl this close, one of them suddenly spoke up, “The TV said that at this point, they should start kissing.”
“No, that’s too fast. They should touch each other first.”
“No, I don’t think their relationship has reached that level yet…”
One after another, different opinions and debates filled the air, making Wan Tong’s face darken.
These kids had definitely been corrupted. Just what were they discussing with such seriousness?!
With a stern expression, Wan Tong grabbed Ling Wu’s hand and pulled him out of the tool room, warning him repeatedly along the way: “You are not allowed to mess with your own face.”
Whether he actually listened or not, she had no idea.
After returning to the room, Wan Tong looked at him with a stiff expression and, in frustration, drank a large glass of water.
It was only then that Ling Wu walked up behind her and softly asked, “Tongtong, would you leave me?”
Ling Wu had never considered this question before, because he thought changing masters was a common thing. Many of companion robots didn’t even know how many times they had been reformatted, and their masters were countless.
But for him, from the beginning to now, there had only been her.
Once he began thinking for himself, he started to wonder—he belonged only to her, but could she be only his?
This thought was like a virus, slowly eroding the artificial nerves within him.
He knew he should eliminate that virus, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“No.” The two words softly spoken by the girl clearly rang in his ears, and then his dull nerves began to tingle.
He had always tried to make himself more like a human, just so he could stay by her side and have her accept his presence without any barriers.
“Ling Wu, what’s wrong?” Wan Tong asked with some concern. His cautious tone made her feel a little uneasy.
Ling Wu shook his head and learned to change the subject. “Tongtong, the surveillance you wanted is fixed.”
Wan Tong’s attention was immediately diverted. “That’s great!”
Ling Wu paused for a moment, then awkwardly waited for her next words.
“Ling Wu, you’re amazing.” Wan Tong smiled and said the words he had been hoping to hear.
Ling Wu’s lips curled up slightly, and he lowered his head.