This Robot Wants to Kill Me!

This Robot Wants to Kill Me!

After spending half an hour reviewing the exam papers, he found that all three had earned high marks. Professor Wang Zhong was growing more and more pleased with his grand-disciple. The sternness had long since vanished from his face.

A talented young man... Was that really called pulling strings?

He deserved it!

He asked kindly, "What was your undergraduate major?"

"Space Mechanical Engineering."

"Why that major? What a waste!"

The major covered a little bit of everything: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and mechanics. It was supposedly meant to give students a better understanding of the entire space industry. But people only had so much energy. Studying everything meant mastering nothing, and few students could truly excel during their undergraduate years.

"A promising student should study pure mathematics. Why study space mechanics? Anyone can maintain a spaceship!"

Wang Zhong shook his head and sighed, then realized his idea wasn't very practical.

There were only five hundred thousand people on the spaceship, and every one of them had to pull their weight. Only Earth's civilization could afford to support pure theoreticians.

He said, "Once you're aboard the spaceship, the research conditions aren't very good. Most people focus mainly on administrative work, maintaining the systems we already have."

"...Administrative work is indeed important, but it takes up far too much time. It's really only suitable for an old retiree like me. There are so many trivial things to deal with every day that I can't even supervise doctoral students anymore. I can only take on a few master's students..."

Xu Yunjing rolled her eyes, unsure what to say. He made it sound as if supervising master's students were easy. Maybe it was, for someone as brilliant as him.

"But even with the poor conditions aboard the spaceship, you still have to take your research seriously. Once people get lazy, it's hard for them to become diligent again," Wang Zhong advised. "Make sure you remember that!"

Zhang Yuan nodded.

Wang Zhong asked, "Did you publish any good papers during your undergraduate years?"

"No."

Wang Zhong frowned, instinctively blaming Zhang Yuan's choice of major.

Besides, he only had an undergraduate degree. It was normal for him not to have published any particularly good papers.

"That's all right. You're still young. As for your advisor, you'll need to choose one based on your research interests. Be careful, very careful."

At nine that evening, Zhang Yuan walked out of the office, feeling delighted. Professor Wang Zhong had agreed to write him a letter of recommendation. Sometimes a recommendation letter was just the icing on the cake; other times, it was crucial.

As long as I'm good enough, why worry about finding an advisor? He wasn't particularly concerned about that.

He also had a temporary student ID tucked in his pocket.

That meant he could stay at Xisha University for a few days, and borrow books from the library for free.

That was great.

Xisha University was brightly lit at night. Even during summer vacation, a small number of students had stayed behind to take part in summer programs. Teams competing in events like mathematical modeling and robotics competitions were training intensively over the break.

Couples were having the time of their lives on the beach. Waves rolled in amid screams and cheers.

That was the joy of a university by the sea.

The tide would be coming in soon. Several patrol robots were blaring warnings, telling everyone that the tide was on its way and they shouldn't go swimming. If anyone drowned, it would be their own fault, and the university wouldn't be held responsible.

"I'm starving!"

Zhang Yuan suddenly remembered that he hadn't eaten dinner. He hurried toward the east gate.

The late-night food stalls by the east gate were packed, and the rich smell of seafood reached him from far away.

Zhang Yuan swallowed. "One serving of seafood noodles, and two grilled octopus skewers."

"Order confirmed. Please wait."

"Hey, student! Student!"

He turned around. A blue-eyed, blonde-haired girl had stopped him.

A foreigner?

That wasn't unusual. Xisha City was an international metropolis, and foreigners were everywhere. More than 35 percent of the students at Xisha University came from around the world.

"Uh... What do you want?" Zhang Yuan asked with a frown.

"Have you met Professor Wang Zhong? Professor Wang!" Her fluent Xia Language was quite rare.

Intelligent translation systems were now widespread. One phone could translate all kinds of languages with ease, so few people were willing to spend time learning another language.

In Xia Kingdom's college entrance exams, English had also become an elective rather than a required subject.

"I have. What about it?" Zhang Yuan replied.

"Could you take me to meet him? I'm Angelica, a reporter for the Humanist Association of Lan Kingdom. I'd like to interview Professor Wang, the scientific advisor to the Deep Space Foundation..."

"What... Humanist Association?"

At those last few words, Zhang Yuan shuddered.

He pretended he hadn't heard her and continued walking.

"Could you help me out? There are some things I'd like to ask him. Please, I'm begging you."

Angelica grabbed his arm, her eyes sparkling.

"What do you want?"

"I want to interview him, and apply for a share of the electricity aid allocated to impoverished countries..."

Zhang Yuan thought it over, but still didn't want to get mixed up in something so strange.

It didn't take much thought to realize that the foundation was short on money already, and Professor Wang definitely wouldn't want to see her. Besides, these Humanist Associations were usually entangled in politics, which made them a pain to deal with.

Some Western countries were still living in the delusion that they were traditional great powers. They were always meddling in Xia Kingdom's internal affairs and criticizing its human rights in the name of freedom and democracy.

Come on, the world had changed a long time ago!

Zhang Yuan didn't want to help. A sudden idea came to him, and he said, "Sorry, our beliefs are different, so I can't help you. I'm a member of the Animal Protection Association. If you're applying for aid, we're competitors..."

The blonde beauty's eyes widened. "The Animal... Protection Association?"

"Animal Protection, you know?" Zhang Yuan said, putting on a serious expression. "We should love animals as much as we love ourselves. We shouldn't eat them. We should eat more environmentally friendly synthetic meat and plants instead..."

The blonde beauty nodded in agreement. "So you're a compassionate person too. Synthetic meat really can replace natural meat. We can reduce slaughter and protect the environment..."

"Customer number 719, your grilled octopus and seafood noodles are ready for takeaway."

Zhang Yuan was mortified. Damn it, this robot wants to kill me!

The blonde girl looked at Zhang Yuan with disgust, then at the steaming grilled octopus. Her expression turned strange.

Zhang Yuan's face flushed red. He put on a saintly expression. "Actually... My association mainly protects cats and dogs. We don't eat cat or dog meat. I believe cats and dogs should be raised as our own children."

"Cats and dogs under one year old should be kept in cradles and fed milk formula, so they can enjoy the greatest care and affection humans have to offer!"

"Huh?!" Angelica, the reporter, shuddered despite herself.

While she was still stunned, Zhang Yuan had already darted far away.

Only then did she realize he'd been messing with her. She stamped her foot in anger and cursed in fluent Xia Language, "Scumbag!"