None? Long Yuehong almost doubted his ears.
The "Mechanical Paradise" headquarters didn't have a single human?
Was it a city purely ruled by the "Source Brain" and intelligent robots?
What was even more absurd was that within such a city, intelligent robots still had a standard for measuring their degree of humanization, allowing them to be more like humans, better serve humans, not harm humans, and not see themselves as humans.
--A large proportion of them, from the time they were manufactured until the foreseeable future, would not be able to come into contact with humans. Humans, to them, might just be a line of text, a piece of code, a picture, or a symbol.
Jiang Baimian remained silent for a long while before sighing:
"No wonder the 'Source Brain' doesn't want us to go to your headquarters and is only willing to communicate by phone."
She had vaguely sensed it before, suspecting whether there were any humans left in "Mechanical Paradise."
"There are other reasons as well." Gernaeva spoke of his understanding, "For example, some important experimental facilities and attempts to construct an intelligent robot society, specifically involving confidentiality clauses, which I cannot talk about."
You still see yourself as a member of the "Mechanical Paradise"... Jiang Baimian didn't remind him that he had already defected and didn't need to follow any confidentiality clauses.
Of course, she wasn't sure if intelligent robots had self-destruct programs to prevent leaks.
Gernaeva didn't continue the topic. While Long Yuehong and Bai Chen were immersed in the shock brought about by the current state of "Mechanical Paradise," he turned to ask:
"Where exactly do you come from?
"Not only do you have excellent minds, but you also have military exoskeletons."
And even winning against an AI in a one-on-one close-quarters fight was ridiculous!
Jiang Baimian looked back and exchanged glances with Shang Jianyao and the others before saying frankly:
"We're from 'Pangu Biology.'
"How about it, are you interested in joining our company?"
Although she hadn't reported it to the company yet, and "Pangu Biology" might not agree, she still had to extend the courtesy.
"'Pangu Biology'..." The silver-black intelligent robot Gernaeva repeated the term, and after a few seconds of silence, he said, "I only want to find the descendants of the creator and see if he left anything for us intelligent robots."
"Understood."
"Got it."
Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian each responded, not forcing the issue.
Frankly speaking, Jiang Baimian didn't really want to report Gernaeva's matter to the company now, as that would mean she wouldn't be able to interfere with or help with Gernaeva's future arrangements.
Maintaining the status quo would give the "Old Task Force" a powerful external member, making many things easier in the future.
More importantly, for an intelligent robot like Gernaeva, joining "Pangu Biology" would hardly have any significant benefits.
He wasn't afraid of "Heartless Disease," wouldn't be affected by plagues, wouldn't be infected, wouldn't worry about hunger, and wouldn't be attacked by mutated creatures or various beasts. He only had needs for energy, parts, lubricating oil, module updates, and weapon maintenance.
Jiang Baimian imagined the scene of the silver-black robot holding a lunchbox, walking to the cafeteria window, and saying to the female staff inside, "Auntie, give me a 'Future Intelligence' u-32 high-performance battery and a bit of coffee-flavored lubricating oil." She found the visual explosive.
If the intelligent robot had a bit of a local accent, it would be even more perfect.
Of course, she also knew that if Gernaeva really joined "Pangu Biology," the floor he lived on and the department he was connected to would definitely be different from ordinary employees, but she couldn't help but think in that direction.
Regaining her thoughts, Jiang Baimian said thoughtfully:
"We have to go back to the company this time to report on our duties and rest for a while before we can go to 'First City.'
"Are you going to find a place to wait for us to come out, or are you going to act alone?"
Hearing this question, Shang Jianyao sincerely added:
"Many hands make light work."
Whether he was moved by the word "people" or felt that acting alone was too dangerous, Gernaeva thought for a few seconds and said:
"I'll find a place to wait with you, um, I need a place to charge."
As a true man of steel, no power meant paralysis.
"Then you can go to Weed City and wait." Jiang Baimian had actually thought of a plan. "But you have to do some disguise, for example, install a red filter and modify your appearance to make yourself look like an ordinary robot. You also know that Weed City has a cooperative relationship with your 'Mechanical Paradise.' If they find an intelligent robot, they will definitely report it to the 'Source Brain.'"
Seeing Gernaeva remain silent, Shang Jianyao said with a smile:
"We often do different disguises when we go out. Look..."
Because he was driving, Gernaeva gave up the idea of having to react the same way as humans and directly opened the auxiliary bionic eye behind his head to look at Shang Jianyao.
Shang Jianyao had already put on the mask with the hairy face and pointed mouth.
"Okay." Gernaeva accepted his explanation.
Shang Jianyao then took off the mask and told Gernaeva with a worried expression:
"When you get to Weed City and walk on the road, be careful of people chatting you up. Single robots are very popular. Many wasteland scavengers want to abduct you home..."
At that moment, Jiang Baimian's expression was slightly dazed, and she had only one thought in her mind:
I shouldn't have let this guy watch old-world dramas!
Long Yuehong's mouth twitched.
And out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bai Chen nod slightly.
Nodded!
What kind of person is this!
Jiang Baimian came back to her senses and forcibly interrupted Shang Jianyao's words of concern:
"In short, there are a lot of people with bad character in humanity. You must be careful and not blindly trust them."
Shang Jianyao nodded contentedly.
"I have rich experience in dealing with humans." Gernaeva said that he knew.
Really? Long Yuehong's eyes moved back and forth between Gernaeva, Jiang Baimian, and Shang Jianyao several times.
Jiang Baimian didn't continue the topic and asked thoughtfully:
"In your 'Mechanical Paradise,' how is 'Pangu Biology' recorded?"
She was a little curious how such a stereotypical intelligent robot force would evaluate her own company.
Long Yuehong felt the same way.
When he went to get water earlier, he was responsible for security. Now he was a little thirsty. While waiting for Gernaeva to answer, he picked up the water bag, unscrewed the lid, and drank it in gulps.
Gernaeva's blue-glowing eyes stared ahead and thought for a moment:
"A suspected secret organization left over from the old world, suspected to be related to the source of 'Heartless Disease.'"
Pfft!
All the water in Long Yuehong's mouth sprayed out, spraying on the armrest box and the center console.
"Cough, cough, choke, choke." After catching his breath, he quickly explained.
Gernaeva didn't care and continued:
"'Heartless Disease' is a biological regression. You are the force most skilled in biotechnology, and you are also very mysterious. No one knows where your headquarters are."
So it was based on these inferences. I thought you had some evidence... Long Yuehong breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Baimian was concerned about another issue: The "Source Brain" also seemed to think that "Pangu Biology" came from a research institute.
"Actually, 'Heartless Disease' often breaks out within our company, and we haven't been able to cure it." Jiang Baimian simply explained and then exhaled, "Once we get out of the Qila'er Mountains, we'll head to Redstone Town."
She hadn't originally thought of returning to Redstone Town so soon. After all, the bloody conflict between the subhumans and the townspeople had only happened a short time ago. Shang Jianyao's goal was unlikely to be achieved and needed time to settle down, and the Vigilant Church had a new bishop.
But now, the "Old Task Force" was facing an energy crisis!
They only had one solar panel to supplement their electricity, and the jeep, military exoskeleton, and Gernaeva all needed to use high-performance batteries.
--The jeep had two that rotated for use, the military exoskeleton also had two, and Gernaeva had a full ten.
In other words, they definitely couldn't charge enough with just that one solar panel.
Therefore, Jiang Baimian planned to get more high-performance batteries, charge them all in places where they could be charged, and strive to last a long time.
Redstone Town was the most important smuggling node in this area, connected to "Future Intelligence" to the west, and was the easiest place to get high-performance batteries, and the distance was suitable.
This wasn't something cheap.
…………
Although they said they were going to Redstone Town, the route was completely different from when the "Old Task Force" went to Tarnan.
To prevent the Robot Guard from chasing them, Gernaeva chose to leave the Qila'er Mountains from the northwest and make a big detour to Redstone Town. This would delay a lot of time, but it was safer.
On the way, to save Gernaeva's energy, the four members of the "Old Task Force" took turns driving and resting with him.
One day at noon, the sun was shining brightly, and the jeep was parked by a small stream.
The "Old Task Force" divided the work and cooperated to get water and prepare meals. Gernaeva, who couldn't help, stood at the front of the car, staring blankly at the solar panel, wondering what he was thinking.
"Are you confused?" Shang Jianyao's voice entered his "ears."
Gernaeva remained silent and did not answer.
Shang Jianyao, wearing blue twill pants, walked toward the jeep, smiling and saying:
"I feel like you're not that firm."
Gernaeva was silent for a moment and said:
"Really? Can you tell?"
"I guessed." Shang Jianyao put his hands in his pockets and replied with a smile, "What questions do you have? Maybe I can help you answer them? Even if I can't, there's still them."
This was referring to Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen, who had refilled the water and returned after eating lunch.
Gernaeva still stared at the solar panel, hesitating and saying:
"Actually, I'm no longer so sure that intelligent robots are equal to humans.
"You should have seen it at the time. The people in the Legal Affairs Department only slightly changed the program and blocked the data, and Susanna and Redes no longer recognized me at all. They treated me as a stranger.
"At that moment, they seemed to be just a set of data that could be modified at will, not humans..."
Shang Jianyao laughed:
"Humans are also like that, look..."
As he spoke, his eyes turned to Long Yuehong.
Long Yuehong subconsciously took two steps back:
"What do you want to do?"
Shang Jianyao withdrew his gaze and shook his head:
"Never mind, never mind, it's too insulting."
He then looked at Gernaeva and explained in detail:
"I'm an Awakened and have the ability to make humans experience similar situations.
"Alas, if only I could meet a robber, I could make him see me as a friend in the morning, recognize me as his father in the afternoon, and not recognize me the next day, like a stranger."