"Love You, Hug Me~"

"Childhood?" Science didn't quite grasp this abstract metaphor.

The AI Mech world didn't have many metaphors. Their figurative language was more about "categorical distinctions," such as "apples are like pears," "humans are like monkeys."

They struggled to connect chickens and basketballs conceptually, so they disliked metaphors.

"In our human world, perhaps many people are like you, their fate determined at birth.

"But before that, we always have a brief period to choose, to prepare for the life we will lead."

Shu sincerely explained his thoughts to Science.

Since seeing these working AI mechs, Shu had realized they bore no malice towards humanity. Their attitude was more akin to respect.

And a desire for human recognition.

This was a nascent society… They were a brand new civilization, independent of human civilization.

And humanity currently needed this kind of help. That was why Shu was taking such pains to help these mechs. He needed the support of this grassroots mech force.

"You mean we should give each newborn mech consciousness a period of preparation, allowing them to choose for themselves?" Science pondered for a moment, then understood Shu's meaning.

"Not necessarily choosing." At that moment, Otto interjected.

Wait, what do you mean, not choosing?

Shu looked over in surprise, only to see Otto spread his hands. "Alright, let's end this topic. Captain Shu has provided a perfect answer."

Uh, actually, there's a bit more…

"Thank you for your explanation, Mr. Shu." Science bowed deeply to both Shu and Otto. The next moment, Ethics' eyes flickered, and his consciousness returned to his body.

"Mr. Shu, thank you again," Ethics said. "The First Sequence has made its decision. Thank you for securing a [childhood] for every newborn individual to come."

"Their consciousness will no longer be born within the mechanical body, but rather within the central hub. They will spend a period of time there in peace before being transferred to a suitable body."

So that's how they solved it? Amazing!

Wasn't this turning the mech birthing process into the unified allocation he had mentioned earlier?

With a bit of targeted allocation during the process… wouldn't this become an assembly-line mech factory?

But Shu realized humans weren't really in a position to look down on such an "assembly line," because the human assembly line—school—couldn't even guarantee the quality of every "product."

"What about you?" Shu couldn't help but ask. "You can't go back and experience it again, can you?"

"No need. I am very satisfied with my current capabilities." Ethics shook his head.

"Alright then…" Shu breathed a sigh of relief. "To love what you do… that's wonderful…"

"Are you envious? Of my life?" Ethics asked.

"Not really." Shu shook his head. "It's just that my current life is a bit… unsatisfactory…"

"You possess the capability, so you will become the next Scie…"

"No." Shu's reply was firm. "I could never become someone like that, no matter how much I wanted to. Because I couldn't do it."

"Mr. Shu, you can." Ethics' support made Shu break out in a cold sweat. He glanced at Otto, who was watching with great amusement.

"You're buttering me up…" Shu sighed. He really wasn't that kind of person…

"Possessing sufficient strength, unwavering will and conviction, as well as exceptional organizational skills and prestige, aren't you being a bit too modest?" Ethics believed in Shu's abilities more than Shu himself did.

"…" Shu shut his mouth. He looked at Ethics, then spoke again after a long while.

"If you look back at yourself, perhaps you might also discover flaws we can't see?"

"The flaws of AI are predetermined from the start." Ethics replied.

"No." Shu shook his head and pointed to his heart. "Before you met me, did you know that your initial perception of others was flawed?"

Ethics didn't answer.

He recalled his thoughts when they encountered the first mutated creature… Now, those thoughts seemed incredibly distorted.

Shu pointed at Ethics again: "For example, just now, could you have found that new loophole on your own?"

"We would need more time to verify and obtain relevant data." Ethics shook his head.

"But this is a question that could be answered through repeated hypotheses… You overlooked your own problem." Shu withdrew his hand, watching the contemplative Ethics, then sighed.

"You are fully capable of performing the calculations… but you didn't…"

"So… think more." Shu patted Ethics' shoulder meaningfully, then walked past him towards the door behind him.

He looked like an elder imparting wisdom to a younger generation, leaving them space to ponder.

But in Otto's eyes, it wasn't like that at all.

Shu patted Ethics on the shoulder, strolled past him, then immediately broke into a run, practically making sparks fly from his heels as he dashed into the elevator.

Otto chuckled and followed at a leisurely pace, finding a relieved Shu in the elevator.

"What's wrong? Has our great philosopher decided to stop lecturing?" Otto teased, amused by Shu's slightly disheveled appearance.

Shu rolled his eyes, glanced behind Otto, then turned his head away. "Come on, I barely managed to fool him with those grand principles. If he asks any more questions, I really won't be able to answer."

So he really did run away…

Otto stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the twelfth underground floor.

Seeing these neatly arranged incubation tanks and the new lives within them once again filled Shu with a peculiar sense of awe.

These children also need a [childhood]…

"Shu, I think you might be interested in this." Otto said to Shu, then led him to the side.

Shu followed. Soon, Otto brought him to an incubation tank.

"…" Standing before the tank, Shu blinked, then covered his eyes with his hand, peeking through a gap at the scene inside.

"How old is she?"

"Her developmental age is sixteen. All functions are fully developed, perfectly healthy…" Otto smiled, watching Shu's slightly flushed face, then tapped the tank.

"Don't worry, she's still asleep. She won't know."

"It's not about whether she knows or not." Shu lowered his hand, the flush fading from his face.

The blush was an instinctive reaction. It wasn't a big deal… it wasn't like she would suddenly wake up and slap him.

A young woman floated peacefully in the tank, unclothed, her body slightly curled, rhythmically blowing bubbles.

Sixteen years old… about two years away from leaving this tank…

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Shu turned to Otto, only to see him staring intently at the young woman in the tank, completely engrossed.

Shu's eyes widened.

Where's Kallen? Where the hell is Kallen?!

No, wait, where's my camera? I need to take a picture of this!

"Shu," Otto spoke just as Shu was considering using [Hope]. "Do you think there are humans who are truly born in Rome?" ["born with a silver spoon in their mouth"]

"Huh?" Shu looked over, puzzled, and saw Otto raise his hand, holding several test tubes.

The sealed test tubes contained blood drawn from someone unknown.

Shu instinctively hugged himself, feeling like one of those tubes contained his own blood…

"I don't think so…" Shu's expression turned pained. "That Herrscher was so powerful, yet you still have him completely figured out?"

Otto chuckled. "True… but I still want to try."

"Wait, what are you trying to do?" Shu's eyes widened, fixated on the test tubes in Otto's hand.

"The test subjects here are comprised of the most exceptional gene segments from all databases, combined. This project was overseen by Vakh…" Otto casually placed the test tubes aside.

Shu was genuinely worried that his blood sample might fall to the ground, giving Otto an opportunity to draw more…

"But she's already sixteen years old." Shu pointed at the girl in the incubation tank. "Vakh only joined Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical a few months ago, right?"

"There are many ways to accelerate growth." Otto said with a smile. "But the side effects are quite pronounced."

"Like this child." Otto also looked at the girl in the tank. "Even though she's perfectly healthy now, she only has about three years left to live."

"Since she lived through sixteen years in two months, then she can only…" Otto deliberately left the sentence unfinished, but Shu understood.

The children here had their time accelerated. Now, the older they appeared, the shorter their remaining lifespan.

They were like mayflies.

"So, in a few days… this girl will leave here." Otto turned to Shu. "Are you ready to welcome her?"

Shu didn't speak.

This was too sudden!

"At least… she won't have to worry about that Herrscher…" Shu could only offer this assurance.

This girl was just another reason for him. In this matter, he had to be confident.

He could only be confident.

The wind howled, a storm brewing…

"Alright, as for my experiment… let's keep it a secret for now." Otto clapped his hands, bringing Shu back to reality, then turned and walked towards their next destination.

The thirteenth underground floor.

"Otto, did you create some kind of superweapon?" Seeing the cold-colored core floating in the air, Shu couldn't help but ask.

"Do you want to wear Iron Homu-Man armor and fight the Herrscher?" Otto countered. "That would certainly be a good choice."

"But unfortunately…" The light that had just sparked in Shu's eyes died out. "No one in the world can create that kind of technology overnight, not even Homu Stark himself."

Shu's eyes widened, unsure whether it was due to the shattered fantasy of becoming Iron Man or Otto's mention of "Homu Stark."

Did Homu once rule this world and decree that everyone should believe in Homu?

"You said overnight?" Shu, regaining his composure, continued to follow Otto. They quickly turned a corner, leaving the core behind.

"Yes, at the latest, the Herrscher will attack again tomorrow night, more likely tomorrow at noon." Otto casually dropped this terrifying news.

Shu nearly tripped and fell flat, ready to kowtow to Otto.

What?! Tomorrow?!

What? I just started preparing for the exam, and you're telling me it's tomorrow?!

Instantly, Shu felt immense pressure, so much that he could hardly breathe.

"What about my [Hope]? You said you'd help me gather enough [Hope], right?" Shu took two quick, deep breaths, then asked urgently.

Otto stopped in front of a room and turned on the lights. Rows upon rows of densely packed server racks appeared before Shu's eyes.

Shu could barely make out where they were… He'd seen similar scenes in The Wandering Earth.

"Is this Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical's root server room?" Shu watched as Otto began fiddling with the cables. He wanted to help, but couldn't understand anything.

Otto nodded, elegantly placing his hand on a thigh-thick cable before abruptly yanking it out and tossing it aside.

Shu: "…"

Can mechanical engineering really make someone this violent…

"I'm going to restart all the root servers here. It will probably take a full day." Otto explained while surveying the room.

"You can't help with this. The Herrscher was too rough when using this place before, causing damage to a lot of hardware. I need to manufacture new parts on-site to replace the damaged ones."

"What's the point?" Shu quickly moved aside, afraid of touching these valuable devices.

Otto paused, looked back at Shu, and asked with a smile, "Shu, are you ready to become the public face of [Fire Moth]?"

"You're going to use me for advertising?!" Shu was aghast.

He could already envision Otto photoshopping him into a glamorous receptionist, holding a poster with the words, Join Fire Moth and protect humanity together~ Love you, hug me~ in pink letters!

If that happened, only one of them could survive!

"No, I'm going to have you do a livestream sales pitch." Otto pushed his luck.

Shu: "…"