Ren suddenly seemed to have directly received an internal command from the system and went over to open the door.
The mechanical spider slipped in through the crack of the door.
It was weak, pitiful, and helpless, unable even to turn the doorknob by itself.
Ren was puzzled. “Eh? Master, how did your little spider end up outside?”
Ren picked up the spider by its leg, carefully sprayed it up and down with disinfectant, and then handed it to Pei Ran.
Xingkong brought dinner over.
“This is the prefabricated meal pack Ren and I just collected today from the supply distribution center—sour cream beef corn tortillas, freshly made. Pei Ran, give it a try.”
The golden-yellow corn tortilla was stuffed with a complex filling.
Pei Ran took a bite. The tortilla shell was surprisingly crispy. The sour cream balanced out the greasiness of the beef filling, and there were also pieces of some slippery, glutinous special fruit that Pei Ran had never eaten before.
Pei Ran asked curiously, “What’s this yellow-green glutinous soft thing?”
Before Xingkong could answer, W jumped in with the info: “It’s avocado, a fruit produced by a plant of the genus Persea in the Lauraceae family, Laurales order. It’s high in fat content, with sixty percent being monounsaturated fat.”
Pei Ran tilted her head and glanced at the spider on her shoulder. “Did you forget to turn off the camera?”
W muttered an “mm,” “Forgot.”
It slid down along Pei Ran’s shoulder and arm, turned off the camera this time, and moved like a little blind thing, exaggeratedly exploring its way with its clawed feet. It finally reached Pei Ran’s hand with much effort.
Pei Ran flipped over her empty left hand.
The spider carefully crawled into her palm, pulled in its legs, and nestled in the center of her hand.
Pei Ran suddenly felt a little envious of him. His patrol robot was still scuttling around the sewers, while his mechanical spider could find a cozy spot here for itself. He hadn’t missed out on anything at all.
Pei Ran asked him, “Why do you always like lying in my hand?”
W answered, “The spider’s claw pads can sense touch and temperature. Your hand is warm.”
Pei Ran: ?
Pei Ran: Just because you can detect temperature doesn’t mean you can actually feel cold, right?
W spoke next to her ear: “Eat and go to sleep. You’re not an AI. You haven’t slept in thirty-nine hours.”
Pei Ran was indeed sleepy.
She suddenly remembered and asked Ren, “There’s a small white device in the pocket of my combat uniform. It looks like an alarm clock—where did you put it?”
It was the signal jammer she had swiped from Xing Wuxian back at the manor on the outlying island.
“That thing that got smashed to pieces?” Ren zipped into the laundry room and came out in no time, pinching a paper bag between his fingers. “Here it is.”
Pei Ran said, “Just leave it by the door.”
In her mind, she told W, “I’ll hand it over to Qiao Sai tomorrow morning when I go to the central building.”
“No need for you to make a special trip,” W said. “When my patrol robot comes back, it’ll head upstairs and take it directly. I’ll tell Ren to open the door. You don’t have to worry about it—just go to sleep.”
Since there was nothing left for her to worry about, Pei Ran quickly washed up, got everything in order, and climbed into bed.
As soon as she fell asleep, Ren and Xingkong quieted down too. Even if they continued working, they moved gently, and the main lights in the room were turned off.
The mechanical spider was placed on the nightstand.
It was small, lying pitifully on the empty, hard tabletop.
Pei Ran asked him in her mind, “Do you want to come onto the pillow?”
W replied, “Really? I can? Okay.”
It stood up and turned in place half a circle, as if trying to pinpoint the direction of Pei Ran’s bed.
Pei Ran reached over, scooped it up, and placed it on her pillow.
The mechanical spider’s legs touched the soft surface of the pillowcase. It didn’t lie down right away but moved forward a few more steps.
One step. Two steps. Three steps. It finally reached its destination and nestled down, pressing up against Pei Ran’s cheek.
Pei Ran: “…”
Well, it had warmed up—its metal body resting against Pei Ran’s face was icy cold.
But the heat transferred quickly, and after a moment, it didn’t feel cold anymore.
Pei Ran reached out from under the covers and touched the mechanical spider’s claw with her fingertip.
The mechanical spider suddenly unfolded the joints of its claws and gently wrapped them around Pei Ran’s finger, hugging it lightly.
Pei Ran let it hold her finger. Drowsiness began to settle in, and in the haze of sleep, she faintly heard Ren whispering to Xingkong.
“Why does Master sleep with that mechanical spider?”
Xingkong quietly guessed, “Because it’s cute, maybe?”
Ren protested, “But I’m cute too—why doesn’t Master sleep with me?”
Xingkong thought for a moment and said, “I’ve never heard of any human sleeping with a housekeeping robot.”
It added, “Also never heard of any human sleeping with a miner robot.”
Ren said, “Mm. Maybe because it’s a pet robot. Pet robots are different.”
Both her cheek and finger were pressed against the cold metal of the mechanical spider. The virtual curtains were closed, revealing a sliver of brilliant starry sky.
Their voices gradually faded into silence.
- ••
Black Well.
The twentieth day since entering the silent zone.
Pei Ran slept well through the night—very peacefully—and had no idea when W’s patrol robot came, or how it took the jammer away.
After taking her medicine and eating breakfast, she headed to the central building for work as usual.
W reported on the way: “I couldn’t find CT122 last night. Don’t know where it went. I don’t believe it’ll stay missing forever—as long as it’s still in Black Well, sooner or later it’ll appear on surveillance again.”
The shuttle bus rocked gently. Not long after leaving the Red Zone, her wristband received a message from Team Leader Li.
【You’re back? You’ll be coming to the central building today, right?】
No vacation, of course she’d be at work on time. Pei Ran replied:【I’m on the shuttle bus, almost there.】
Team Leader Li:【No need to go to the central office today. We’re heading to the vertical plantation. There’s a situation over there—someone reported that a madness-type fusion entity might’ve been found.】
Pei Ran was surprised:【A madness-type fusion entity discovered inside Black Well?】
W said in her ear, “Generally speaking, it’s unlikely for madness-type fusion entities to be in Black Well. All entrances to Black Well are strictly scanned and checked by soldiers.”
Pei Ran asked, “The light vortex we encountered last time could pass through walls, and even individual green light dots could phase through solid objects. Could they have drifted in and fused with someone?”
But even just thinking about it, it was obvious Black Well would have countermeasures for such things.
Sure enough, W replied, “Black Well has a special isolation barrier that completely envelops the entire city. Green light shouldn’t be able to get in.”
Team Leader Li sent another message:【It’s not necessarily a madness-type fusion entity. Might just be a false alarm. The Public Security Bureau went to check last night but didn’t find anything. We’ll go take a look and see for ourselves.】
As she sent that message, the spider also saw it.
It said, “There were some abnormal circuits around the vertical plantation last night, and strange marks on the ground. The person who reported it was a little anxious, thought it might be a fusion entity. The Public Security Bureau already went, couldn’t figure anything out. They think your FBSMD has more experience with madness-type fusion entities. I saw their joint investigation request sent to you.”
Team Leader Li messaged again:【When you arrive, head to Zone E3. We’ll meet near the E3 zone conveyor belt arrival point.】
Pei Ran asked W, “So how do we get to the vertical plantation?”
W replied, “The vertical plantation is underground in Black Well. There are several entrances. Get off at the fourth stop ahead, keep walking forward, and you’ll see one of the entrances.”
Pei Ran got off the bus as instructed. From a distance, she could already see the sign for the vertical plantation.
The entrance was an elevator that required an iris scan.
Pei Ran had already accepted the investigation task in the system, so as soon as she scanned, the elevator door opened. After entering the elevator, before she could press anything, the screen automatically displayed the destination—Underground Level 19.
So the underground here went that deep. Even deeper than the eighteen levels of hell.
W said, “Team Leader Li hasn’t arrived yet.”
He could see the access logs for entering and exiting the plantation.
Level 19 underground arrived quickly. In front of her was a sealed door. Pei Ran stepped forward and scanned her iris.
The door silently and slowly opened. Pei Ran was stunned by the spectacular sight in front of her.
Countless towering racks that stretched so high they seemed endless, layer upon layer, each shelf planted with various crops.
Lush green leaves were packed densely, filling every inch of the planting racks. The crops looked like they had suddenly moved into high-rise apartments. Between the racks, there were roads extending into the distance—no end in sight.
Bright lights were densely arranged and shone evenly on the leaves from various angles. The racks were covered with transparent shielding panels, so the lights weren’t overly dazzling.
So this was Black Well’s vertical plantation.
Back in the bunker, there was also an underground farm for growing crops. Pei Ran had once sneaked in, but compared to this place, that one was like a child’s toy—much smaller, far more primitive.
W, being a natural at info-dumping, explained, “This place is basically fully automated. Human staff are few. The crops grown here are all genetically modified varieties. As long as lighting and nutrients are maintained, yields are extremely high. This entire area is already operational, and other sections are still under construction. Soon, the whole system will be fully functional.”
Near the elevator was a tightly packed array of conveyor belts. They looked like they weren’t fully completed, but were already running, each labeled with the number of its corresponding area.
Pei Ran found the sign for Area E3 that Team Leader Li mentioned and stepped onto the conveyor belt.
The moment she got on, the belt immediately began accelerating. Pei Ran grabbed the side rail.
The conveyor belt sped rapidly through the plantation.
Just as W said, this was a fully automated farm. In such a vast space, there wasn’t a single human in sight—only mechanical devices quietly moving up and down the racks, automatically fertilizing, watering, and pruning.
The belt moved forward for a while, then began to enter an area that looked noticeably different.
It seemed to be under construction.
Some of the planting racks were still empty, and the lighting was much dimmer. The overhead lights on the plantation’s dome ceiling became sparse and scattered.
W said, “E3 zone is close. This whole section is still unfinished. Last night, there was damage to the wiring—lighting and surveillance systems both malfunctioned. Once you finish investigating the site, they’ll send a team over for repairs.”
There was no surveillance, so W wasn’t worried. His mechanical spider quietly peeked its eye out from Pei Ran’s pocket.
The conveyor belt reached the end and finally came to a stop.
Pei Ran sent a message to Team Leader Li via her wristband:【I’ve arrived.】
Team Leader Li replied quickly:【There was a bit of a traffic jam. I’ll be there soon.】
Pei Ran didn’t move forward. She glanced at the dim planting racks ahead and stayed by the conveyor belt’s arrival point. She drew her gun and gripped it in her hand.
- ••
Yellow Zone.
1012 Third Avenue, Room 2016.
Ren and Xingkong had just finished tidying up the kitchen and were doing their routine cleaning of the apartment.
Ren was swiftly mopping the floor back and forth, giving orders to Xingkong: “Open all the windows for ventilation.”
Xingkong opened the windows in the kitchen and bathroom, then ran over and swished open the curtains on the virtual floor-to-ceiling window.
Ren was speechless. “That one’s not necessary, is it?”
Xingkong tilted his head up. “Look, the sunlight outside is so nice.”
Outside the dormitory’s two real windows were rows of identical dorm buildings and the pale artificial lighting of Black Well’s dome. But beyond that virtual floor-to-ceiling window, golden morning sunlight spilled across the entire music plaza, landing on the spray of the fountains.
Knock knock knock.
Someone was knocking on the door.
Ren slid over to the entrance and asked, “Who is it?”
“Apartment Management,” said the person outside. “Routine inspection of water and power pipelines in the dormitory.”
Ren didn’t open the door. He tapped the small screen next to it and responded in an official tone, “Please present your ID cards, both of you.”
Outside were two people in management office uniforms. They pulled up their wristband screens and enlarged them, turning them toward the camera.
Ren scanned them seriously and verified them in the system before finally opening the door.
The two walked in. One of them casually closed the door, looked around the dorm, and said, “No one else. Just these two little robots.”
Ren froze for a second. “What do you mean?”
- ••
Black Well. Underground.
Vertical Plantation, Zone E3.
Team Leader Li still hadn’t arrived.
W checked Li Yin’s wristband location. “According to the tracker, she’s still on her way from the dorm. There was a traffic accident over there—everything’s jammed.”
Pei Ran didn’t want to go in alone. She waited quietly at the agreed meeting point, holding her gun and glancing around.
Suddenly, she caught sight of a large puddle of liquid beneath the planting racks. It was deep red, looked viscous—very much like blood plasma.
Pei Ran walked over, crouched down, dipped her fingertip into it, and brought it to her nose. After just a sniff, she told W in her mind: “This isn’t blood—the smell is more like paint.”
W didn’t respond.
Pei Ran froze for a moment, then immediately looked down at the mechanical spider in her pocket.
It didn’t show any obvious changes. Half of its black eye was still peeking out, focused on scanning the puddle on the ground.
As if realizing Pei Ran had stopped moving, the spider tilted its head up and looked up at her from inside the pocket.
Pei Ran understood—he couldn’t hear her again.