Now it was set in stone; he confirmed that he couldn’t do it himself and could only ask her to take him along.
W seemed to ponder for a moment before saying, “Pei Ran, could I ask you to do me another favor? Could you help me reconnect the wires that were torn apart during the split as much as possible?”
Pei Ran replied calmly, “How do you expect me to reconnect them? I can’t make sense of the mess inside you.”
W said, “Theoretically, the internal structure diagrams of inspection robots like those from the Ministry of Defense are classified information.” He then shifted his tone, “But given the special circumstances, I’ll send you the structural diagram.”
The bracelet vibrated, and a beautiful three-dimensional graphic was sent over.
Pei Ran pulled the three-dimensional graphic he sent onto the virtual screen and zoomed in.
The cross-sectional diagram of the sphere rotated on the screen.
The core processor, suspension system, and attack system were all clearly visible.
However, Pei Ran immediately realized that he had slightly tampered with the diagram—the storage section, including the small storage unit he had just asked about, had all its text labels erased.
The erasure was flawless, completely undetectable.
Pei Ran first issued a disclaimer: “I can only try to reconnect things roughly based on the structural diagram. If it gets damaged, don’t blame me.”
“Of course,” W said.
He asked, “Did you see the folding arms in the lower part? They seem to be stuck.”
Pei Ran had already noticed them.
Above the suspension system, there were two folding metal arms, similar in structure to those of the patrol sphere, usually hidden inside the sphere and not visible.
Last time, that CT106 had used such metal arms to clamp her wrist, nearly blowing her head off.
W’s folding metal arms themselves weren’t torn and appeared normal, but the connecting wires to the main body were scattered, and the metal arms were stuck tightly by the split shell.
Pei Ran began helping him sort out the wires. “Some of the wires are broken. I can’t fix them without disassembling the main body, but some can be reconnected for a try.”
Pei Ran carefully fiddled with them for a long time, referencing the structural diagram he had sent, and finally said, “I’ve done my best to repair them. See if they can move now.”
On the metal sphere, the hidden folding arms moved, gradually extending, though the motion still seemed weak and unresponsive.
At least one component could move now, and W was quite satisfied.
He said, “Pei Ran, thank you.”
But then it automatically switched to a deep, bubbly voice and repeated, “Pei Ran, thank you.”
Calling her name so close to her ear was somewhat touching.
“You’re welcome,” Pei Ran said.
Pei Ran had reconnected the wires with restraint.
This ball spoke evasively, hiding some unknown intentions. Repairing him to this extent—where the folding arms could move but not very freely—was just right.
Pei Ran used the mechanical hand to snap the split shell back into place.
Ignoring the large crack on the shell, he now mostly resembled a ball again.
W thanked Pei Ran and added, “Last night, I sent a signal trying to contact Black Well Base.”
Pei Ran immediately glanced at him: during such poor communication conditions, he actually had a way to reach Black Well.
W explained, “Military encrypted signals are currently unaffected. They will send someone to pick us up, but only old-fashioned antique cars are available now, so it will take some time.”
If someone was coming to pick him up, wouldn’t that mean he didn’t need her to take him to Black Well anymore?
Pei Ran began to worry about her medicine.
W, however, continued, “But my thought is that the situation could worsen at any moment. Regardless of whether someone is coming or not, it’s better for us to set out for Black Well on our own. I’ll maintain contact with Black Well the whole time. If things go smoothly, we can meet up with the people coming to get us along the way. Don’t worry, no matter what, once we reach Black Well, I will definitely give you your medicine.”
He paused, “According to the updates Black Well has received, military units are still under continuous attack. We need to prepare for the worst-case scenario of having to make it to Black Well on our own.”
Pei Ran mentally acknowledged with an “Mmm,” wrapped the ball in a scarf, and picked up her backpack.
In a state of silence, the best plan would be to find a safe and sturdy place to hunker down, like Ai Xia had done, rather than trekking over two thousand kilometers.
But there was no other choice.
While she still had medicine to sustain herself for the time being, heading to Black Well immediately was the wise—and only—option.
Her goals in this world, aside from eating and surviving, now included one more: getting the medicine.
Pei Ran said, “I need to find a car first. Black Well is two thousand three hundred kilometers away. You don’t expect me to walk there on foot, do you?”
W calmly replied, “Twenty years ago, the Federal Department of Transportation conducted a small-scale pilot and found that embedding an artificial intelligence control system in hover vehicles could reduce traffic accidents to nearly zero. So, they passed a law requiring all hover vehicles to be controlled by AI systems, and the AI driving system’s authority is higher than that of human drivers.”
Pei Ran: “So?”
W: “So, this control system is deeply integrated with the vehicle’s structure by design. Removing it isn’t a small task; the entire vehicle would need major modifications. That’s why the remaining old-fashioned antique cars have become highly sought after.”
He asked, “Where do you plan to find such a treasure as an antique car?”
At a time like this, antique cars are being watched by everyone, and they’re extremely hard to come by.
Pei Ran: “Don’t worry, I’ve already scoped one out.”
She walked out of the building with her backpack on.
It was not yet six o’clock, and the sky was still gray. The air was chilly, and the towering gray skyscrapers were swallowed by the morning mist, their tops blending into the sky.
The bloodstains on the road had already dried. The supermarket she passed by yesterday had its doors wide open, pitch-black inside, with empty shelves.
There was no sound at all.
The silent city was like a pool of leaden, stagnant water. It seemed as if everyone in the city had vanished.
Pei Ran avoided the main roads, skillfully navigating through the alleys like a cat.
W assessed the direction and realized, “Heading back to Hank Street?”
In this deathly silence, his voice was the only sound in her ear.
Pei Ran: “Mmm.”
This time, she knew the way well and quickly reached Hank Street. Pei Ran zigzagged through the alleys until she arrived at the narrow lane next to Wolin Pharmacy.
The alley was just as she had left it yesterday, littered with torn cardboard scraps.
Pei Ran stepped over the pile of cardboard and walked to the small forklift parked by the wall.
W was silent for a moment, then asked, “You plan to drive a forklift to Black Well?”
Pei Ran: “Bubble voice.”
W: “…”
The forklift was parked far away, with only the front lifting frame cracked. The rest of the vehicle was intact.
Pei Ran circled it once.
The forklift was painted a bright orange-red, with a blunt, rounded shape, looking like a giant toy. It had only one seat, and its body was extremely narrow, less than half the width of a regular vehicle, making it perfect for weaving through narrow alleys.
Most importantly, its main structure consisted of only a steering wheel, two control levers for the forks, and a brake and accelerator.
It was likely electric-powered, without even a clutch, and had a simple dashboard. Clearly, it was designed for short-distance ground transportation, very old-fashioned, incapable of flying, and completely devoid of any automation.
Next to the dashboard was the forklift’s model number.
“Model HB-8403,” Pei Ran asked, “Does your all-knowing database say whether this forklift has any built-in talking features, like an AI voice interaction system?”
W paused for only a moment before replying in a deep baritone, “The HB-8403 electric forklift, a product of the Youli Group from twenty years ago, is electrically powered, fully manual, and has no voice system. It’s safe.”
It sounded like he was using a voice worth twenty thousand dollars to advertise a small forklift.
He continued in his melodious voice, “The problem is, stealing it might be a bit difficult. I’m not entirely sure how to start it when it’s locked.”
He pondered, “You might need to violently dismantle the dashboard and figure out how to hotwire it. Pei Ran, hold on, I need to look up the internal wiring diagram for this forklift and research common car theft methods. It might take a little time…”
Before he could finish, Pei Ran had already left the forklift and walked out of the alley.
W: Huh?
The hole in the door of Wolin Pharmacy was still there.
After just one night, the pharmacy’s shelves were almost completely empty. There was no one in the store, nor were there any of those annoying patrol robots.
Pei Ran headed straight for the medicine cabinet.
Next to the cabinet was a small door labeled “Staff Only.”
The door was slightly ajar, and on the wall next to it was a hook with a set of keys hanging from it. Pei Ran took them down, quickly picked out one key, clenched it in her hand, and slipped out of the pharmacy.
W forgot his bubble voice again and asked coldly, “How did you know it was this one?”
Pei Ran showed him the key.
On the key’s handle was a sticker that clearly read—
Forklift.
W: “…”
Pei Ran: “Your observational skills aren’t great.”
W explained earnestly, “This scarf obstructs my view. Sometimes I can’t see.”
Now that he resembled a proper ball again and didn’t need to be wrapped in a scarf to hold his broken parts together, Pei Ran had pulled a string used for binding cardboard from a large trash bin in the alley.
After fiddling with it for a while, Pei Ran tied the string around the ball, made a knot, and looped the other end into a large circle. This way, it could be carried like a bag, either in her hand or slung over her shoulder—very convenient.
The metal ball dangled from the string, spinning smoothly in a full circle.
Regaining his 360-degree unobstructed view, he was quite pleased and said in his bubble voice, “Thank you.”
Pei Ran: “You’re welcome.”
He spun around again and asked, “I’m a little curious, where exactly did you tie the string? It feels very secure.”
Pei Ran glanced down.
The string, salvaged from the trash bin, ran along the crack in the ball’s shell, looped around his glowing blue core processor, and was tied in a tight knot.
“Tied to your brain.”
“My what?”
Pei Ran corrected herself, “On your head.”
Sitting in the forklift’s only driver’s seat, Pei Ran inserted the key into the ignition and turned it. Sure enough, the forklift’s indicator lights all lit up.
W: “Have you driven a forklift before?”
Pei Ran: “No.”
W paused, “Do you need me to find you a driving tutorial? I really do have one.”
Pei Ran: “No need.”
The vehicle was incredibly easy to operate—one pedal for acceleration, one for braking. Even a toddler could drive it. As long as it moved forward, that was enough. It wasn’t like she actually needed to use it for lifting goods.
She placed her backpack on the rear of the forklift, hung the metal ball on the front, and pressed the accelerator.
The metal ball hesitated before speaking.
“I know that talking too much can negatively affect our good relationship, but I still feel the need to say this. According to federal safety production laws, to ensure operational safety, all forklifts are required to have speed limiters installed. So, this vehicle’s maximum speed should only be ten kilometers per hour.”
The small forklift, under Pei Ran’s foot on the accelerator, moved forward steadily but slowly.
Pei Ran: “…”
Pei Ran asked, “Can that thing—the speed limiter—be removed?”
W replied coldly and leisurely, “Of course, it can’t be removed so easily. If it could, there would be no point in mandating its installation.”
Pei Ran reminded him, “Voice tone.”
W adjusted quickly, using an extremely sultry, deep baritone to whisper softly in her ear, “In short, no.”
Meaning, she should stop dreaming.
Ten kilometers per hour was about the speed of a human running, but using wheels was still better than relying on her own legs.
Pei Ran sat in the driver’s seat, perking up. “Ten kilometers per hour it is. At ten kilometers per hour, two thousand three hundred kilometers would take only two hundred and thirty hours—less than ten days—and we’ll reach Black Well.”
W: “If you don’t sleep, rest, or eat potato chips.”
He added, “I mentioned potato chips not to bring up the topic of constipation, but simply to complete the conditions of your earlier calculation.”
Pei Ran enunciated each word slowly, “What. Did. You. Just. Say?”
W, knowing when to back off, immediately switched to a deep, soothing bubble voice, his tone gentle, “Uh… I didn’t say anything.”