Pei Ran put down the medicine box and glanced at her wristband.
The wristband had no signal at all. She didn’t know whether it was because there was no signal inside the Black Well or because she was in the isolation center, sealed inside a metal can, truly cut off from the world.
She wondered how Ai Xia and Engineer Jiang were doing.
Her hair and body were still covered in dirt, which fell off as she walked. If she swept it up, it could probably be used to grow the flower Ai Xia carried in her pot.
Pei Ran went to the bathroom to take a shower and changed into the light gray uniform provided by the isolation center. She examined herself in the mirror.
Such long hair was really too troublesome.
Earlier in the tunnel, the red soil had collected in her loose, messy ponytail, adding at least two pounds of weight. The falling hair severely obstructed her vision, and while running for her life, she had to occasionally distract herself to push it aside.
Washing her hair was also a disaster. Thoroughly washing it once felt like completing a major project, time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Keeping long hair was a luxury, and in the current situation, it was clearly not the time to hold onto such luxuries.
Inside the bathroom cabinet was a brand-new razor. Pei Ran unwrapped it, studied it for a while, and found the hidden trimmer on it.
She slid out the trimmer, turned it on, and tested it in front of the mirror. Amid the soft buzzing, strands of wet hair fell to the ground.
Now that she was shaving it off, she didn’t even need to blow-dry it, drastically reducing the effort.
In the blink of an eye, all her hair was shaved off.
The person in the mirror finally looked like she did back in the bunker.
Her eyebrows and eyes were still the same, but without hair, only a faint blue shadow remained on her scalp, making her look much more presentable.
Someone knocked lightly on the door.
Pei Ran walked over, thinking: The door is locked from the outside. Do they really expect me to go over and open it for them?
A virtual screen automatically popped up beside the door, showing the person standing outside: Lieutenant Lin Yu.
“Pei Ran, please hand over all your personal belongings to me. I’ll take them to be cleaned.”
He stood politely at the door. After saying this, he waited a moment before opening the door himself.
His gaze fell on Pei Ran’s freshly shaved head, and he paused.
“Alright, just a moment,” Pei Ran replied, clearing her throat, her voice still awkward.
She turned and went back to the bathroom.
Her clothes were indeed filthy and needed washing. But he had said, “hand over all your personal belongings.” She didn’t know why he needed everything.
Pei Ran suspected that this was actually a security check.
As soon as she entered the Black Well, she had been taken directly to an armored vehicle and brought to the isolation center. They hadn’t checked her personal belongings. Presumably, not everything could be casually brought into the Black Well.
Pei Ran pulled out two blister packs of medicine and Shi Ge Ye’s black leather notebook from her jacket pocket. She tucked the medicine into the pocket of her clothes, then turned around and hid the black leather notebook under a stack of towels in the cabinet.
Hai Po and the Eagle Claw Man had already arrived. If they were determined, they could find her soon, so it was better to be cautious.
Pei Ran took out the dirty clothes she had changed out of, along with the large backpack and its contents. The clothes and backpack were shedding clumps of dirt as she carried them. She handed them over to Lin Yu.
Lin Yu didn’t show any disgust. He took them and asked, “Are you hungry? Someone will bring dinner soon.”
Not long after he left, there was movement at the door again. This time, the person outside wasn’t as polite—the door automatically opened.
Pei Ran curiously peeked out.
What entered wasn’t a person, but a pure white robot.
Its body was streamlined, standing only as tall as Pei Ran’s nose. It had two legs but no feet; instead, there was a round disk where its feet should be, allowing it to glide across the floor. Its arms and hands, however, were fully modeled after a human’s, complete with five fingers. It carried a large box in its hand.
Pei Ran thought: Is this the isolation center’s food delivery robot?
The little robot put down the large box but showed no intention of leaving. It turned its head.
On its head, where its face should be, was a black display screen showing a cartoonish face with large, round eyes that blinked at Pei Ran.
“Master?”
Pei Ran: “…”
Pei Ran stared at it without responding.
A strange thought crossed her mind: Could this be W?
Calling her “master” right away—had he developed some new hobby?
The little robot didn’t seem to care whether its “master” responded. It continued on its own: “It seems you are my new master. My name is Ren, a smart, advanced, excellent, and all-capable domestic service robot.”
The camera fixed to the ceiling suddenly moved.
Pei Ran immediately looked up. As soon as she did, the camera froze.
Ren continued, “From now on, I will serve you, responsible for the daily cleaning and maintenance of this isolation room.”
Pei Ran glanced back at the empty apartment: There didn’t seem to be much here that needed cleaning or maintenance.
But Ren had already silently glided forward, exclaiming in surprise, “Good heavens! How did it get so dirty here?”
As it passed by, the red soil Pei Ran had spilled on the floor earlier was instantly sucked up, leaving the area spotless.
So, the disk under its feet was a vacuum cleaner.
“Good heavens! There’s more here too! Master, did you just crawl out of a grave?”
Pei Ran: “…”
While exclaiming, Ren had already zipped around the living room several times, cleaning up the mess Pei Ran had made. It then followed the trail of red soil straight into the bathroom.
The hair Pei Ran had shaved off earlier was still on the floor in front of the sink, untouched.
Ren let out a sharp screech: “Ah—!”
It rushed over and began vacuuming frantically, moving back and forth over the hair.
“Human hair! So much hair!”
“Since I left the factory, I’ve never seen this much hair!” it said. “My previous master never shed this much hair!”
This wasn’t W. Pei Ran was quite familiar with W by now, and even when he was acting strange, it wasn’t in this style.
It was probably a robot sent by the isolation center. Having someone—or something—come to do the work automatically, without her having to lift a finger, was actually quite nice.
Pei Ran leaned against the doorway, rubbing her smooth head. “Don’t worry, there won’t be any more hair falling out in the future.”
She asked, “You mentioned your previous master. Who was that?”
Perhaps it was the previous occupant of this isolation room.
While vacuuming up the hair, Ren replied, “My previous master, his name was Qiao Sai. He was an artificial intelligence expert. He optimized my system, so I’m smarter and cuter than other household robots.”
And more boastful, apparently.
As it vacuumed, Ren multitasked. It opened a compartment in its body, pulled out a cloth, and while moving back and forth, efficiently wiped away the water stains on the bathroom counter.
“Today, I received an order to leave his dorm and come here to carry out a glorious special mission called: The! Great! Care! Tak! Er!”
Ren spread its metal arms, holding the cloth, tilted its head back, and spun around like a figure skater, completing at least five full rotations.
After finishing its spin, it continued in a dramatic tone, “—And I am that great caretaker!” (TL: I wish I have this robot 😭 Imagine not cleaning the house and you have a comedian/entertainer too?)
The great caretaker. Wasn’t that just a fancy way of saying a nanny?
Who had brainwashed it like this?
Super nanny Ren quickly finished mopping, then smoothly glided out of the bathroom, picked up the large box it had left by the door, and slid into the kitchen.
Pei Ran followed and watched as it carefully washed its “hands,” opened the box, and pulled out a bunch of vacuum-sealed bags of various sizes. It then opened the cabinet and took out some kitchen utensils.
Pei Ran was surprised. “You’re planning to cook yourself?”
She had assumed the isolation center would deliver meals.
“Of course,” Ren muttered. “Ren is an all-purpose household robot. If I couldn’t cook, what kind of household robot would I be? That would just make me a vacuum cleaner.” (TL: and he can cook too!)
With a flick of its hand, a small pair of scissors popped out from its palm. It snipped open the vacuum-sealed packaging with a crisp snip.
Inside the bag was a portion of pre-cooked meat chunks, complete with broth, which smelled quite fragrant.
Pei Ran craned her neck to look. “What are you planning to make?”
“Beef noodles,” Ren replied.
It was actually going to make beef noodles. The very beef noodles she had been craving ever since missing out on them in White Harbor.
Ren poured a pot of water, added the meat chunks along with the broth, and then pulled out a vacuum-sealed, square brown block from the box. It looked like a solid soup base, which it also tossed into the water.
Next, it casually took out a small, transparent vacuum-sealed package of bright green leaves.
“Just to confirm, Master, do you eat cilantro?”
Cilantro. That weird thing from her memories. Pei Ran shook her head firmly. “No.”
She glanced up at the surveillance camera again.
This time, the camera remained perfectly still, silently watching her.
—
Top floor of Central Tower.
Basserway and a group of people emerged from the command center, heading out for dinner.
He walked at the front, his brow furrowed as he turned to the Minister of Finance and said, “We need to keep an eye on the person sent to the isolation center. I have a feeling she might mutate and become a burden on the Black Well.”
The Minister of Finance nodded in agreement but added, “Actually, I think it might be fine. Agent W said he assessed the situation and that the Black Well can handle this level of mutation. An AI shouldn’t lie, right?”
Basserway sneered. “I don’t trust that AI at all. I think he’s not only capable of lying but also of all sorts of scheming and manipulation, playing us for fools. Besides, that AI was developed by the military. Who knows what its underlying logic is?”
He glanced back in the direction of the small meeting room. “Are Vina and the others still in the meeting?”
As he spoke, Song Wan hurried over from the elevator. Seeing Basserway, she gave a polite nod.
Basserway nodded back in acknowledgment.
Song Wan quickly passed the group and went straight to the door of the small meeting room. She knocked and then entered.
Inside the small meeting room, it was now filled entirely with military personnel.
The Federation had once established a series of emergency response plans. Among them, in the event of losing the majority of high-ranking officials, to ensure the normal operation of the federal government, a temporary decision-making committee would be formed by officials above a certain level, regardless of their positions. Decisions would be made through a simple one-person-one-vote system.
When the Silence suddenly erupted and government institutions were almost entirely destroyed, the Black Well immediately adopted this emergency plan and formed a temporary decision-making committee.
However, within the military, the strict hierarchical relationship of absolute obedience was still maintained.
Everyone sat upright, listening to Marshal Vina assign tasks.
Seeing Song Wan enter, Marshal Vina immediately asked, “Did you get it?”
Song Wan handed the small storage device to her.
Marshal Vina nodded. “Song Wan, after the cleanup of the northern battlefield is completed, the defense deployment outside the Black Well will be your responsibility.”
Song Wan was momentarily stunned but quickly replied, “Understood.”
Equally stunned was Lieutenant General Delsa.
When he arrived at the Black Well, being nearby, he was among the first to arrive, bringing with him personnel and equipment from the Northwestern Military District of Manya. Since the Silence erupted, he had been in charge of various defense deployments outside the Black Well and was the primary commander of the northern front.
Marshal Vina glanced at him expressionlessly. “Lieutenant General Delsa, the core shielding layer here is extremely important. I plan to entrust this to you.”
The core shielding layer was located inside the Black Well. As long as the Black Well wasn’t invaded, there would be nothing to do.
He was stripped of his authority and given a sinecure.
Delsa remained silent for several seconds before responding, “Understood.”
No one turned to look at Delsa, but everyone understood.
During today’s vote, Delsa had completely voted the wrong way.
Whether that person named Pei Ran entered the Black Well or not was, in fact, a trivial matter, inconsequential. But voting incorrectly indicated that his stance was not aligned at a critical moment, which was a serious problem.
This vote was a minor issue, but what if there was a major decision requiring a vote in the future?
Everyone knew that Lieutenant General Delsa had always been opposed to artificial intelligence, but this time, his vote had gone too far. It seemed Marshal Vina was also very displeased.
Marshal Vina continued, “Agent W, from now on, the defense deployment outside the Black Well will be reported directly to Lieutenant General Song Wan.”
W was the artificial intelligence of the Department of National Defense and Security and routinely attended all military meetings.
His voice came through: “No problem.”
In the command center next door, Qiao Sai had just returned to his seat and sat down.
W was still in his virtual room. He wasn’t reading this time but was fiddling with a small glass tank, carefully filling it with fine black soil using a delicate little shovel.
As soon as Qiao Sai put on his headphones, he heard W speaking.
“Qiao Sai, do you want your lunch box delivered here or to your dorm?”
“No need,” Qiao Sai replied absentmindedly, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he typed code. “I’m going back to the dorm tonight, so no need to order a lunch box. Ren will cook for me.”
On the screen, W tilted his head, examining the soil in the glass tank, and casually said, “Ren won’t be able to cook.”
Qiao Sai’s flying fingers paused. “Huh?”
W explained, “I’ve assigned him an important task and have temporarily reassigned him. I’ll need to borrow him for a few days.”
“What?” Qiao Sai protested. “Ren is the robot I brought to the Black Well. He’s my personal household robot, not some public asset of the Black Well. Why did you reassign him?”
“It wasn’t Agent W who requisitioned him,” W said. “It was me, personally. Don’t you remember? At 2:41 AM last Thursday, you told me, ‘W, if you ever need anything, you can use anything I’ve brought to the Black Well. Anything at all.’”
Qiao Sai: “…”
Suddenly, Qiao Sai understood.
“I see. You sent Ren to the isolation center, didn’t you?”
W remained silent.
Qiao Sai: “I knew it.”
W spoke up: “After entering the isolation room, she needs to be completely isolated from other humans. No one will go in to help her clean or organize. Sending Ren over is necessary—and besides, Ren himself is very willing.”
“Ren doesn’t know a damn thing,” Qiao Sai said.
He rubbed his temples in frustration. “So, for the next few days, without a household robot, I’ll have to do the chores myself?”
“You’ve been holed up here all day and hardly ever go back to the dorm. There’s not much housework to do anyway,” W said. “It’s just a matter of meals. I’ve already ordered lunch boxes for you from the cafeteria for these days.”
The Black Well, now primarily occupied by military personnel, had a centralized cafeteria that provided pre-packaged meals. With ration coupons, one could easily get three meals a day—simple and convenient.
Qiao Sai sighed. “What about those pre-made meal kits I just brought back to the dorm? You’re not expecting me to cook them myself, are you? With Ren around, I haven’t stepped into the kitchen in eight hundred years.”
W: “I’ve taken care of those pre-made meal kits for you.”
Qiao Sai was confused. “Taken care of?”
W: “I had Ren take them into the isolation center with him.”
Qiao Sai: “…”
Qiao Sai: “Why did you have to send Ren over? There’s not much to clean or organize in the isolation room anyway.”
W replied: “Mainly to cook for her. I noticed she used to order takeout every day. I strongly suspect she doesn’t even know how to use a kitchen appliance.”
Qiao Sai was puzzled: “Then why didn’t you just order her meals from the Black Well cafeteria?”
W answered calmly: “Because I’ve been receiving complaints these past few days. Many people have been saying the cafeteria meals aren’t very good.”
Qiao Sai: ???
Qiao Sai: “What did you say? Say that again??”
W, holding the small shovel, looked up with an innocent expression: “Hmm?”