Watching an Atomic Bomb Fall on Earth with You

Liu Chang'an listened to the rhythmic footsteps of the Gold Coin behind him, a kind of stride that felt like the perfect combination of discipline and muscle inertia after rigorous training during a military parade.

Having seen several military parades live and on broadcast, Liu Chang'an recalls that only three countries' parades were truly impressive. Two of them took place in famous squares, while the other was quite entertaining, with a motorcycle carrying an entire platoon of soldiers, and similar displays.

"Blood Ancestor, don't you think modern civilization is too backward?" Stepping out of the elevator, in the deep and solemn atmosphere of the underground base, Gold Coin's digitally-sounding simulated human voice posed a question seeking validation to Liu Chang'an.

"Without the backwardness of modern civilization, you wouldn't exist. Are you from the future?" Liu Chang'an turned around and looked at the robot expressionlessly.

"I just think human civilization needs to move forward, otherwise the day when we robots, as an ecosystem, help humanity control the Earth is still a long way off," Gold Coin said.

There was a very human sense of "regret" in its tone.

"If robots control the Earth as an ecosystem, then there's no need for humanity to exist." Liu Chang'an's lips curled slightly. He took a strong stance on his human identity and felt no sympathy for a robot saying such a thing... nor would he be as excited as some clueless science fiction fans or mad scientists, thinking that a new era had arrived.

"Humans can be protected, carefree, without worrying about war, hunger, disease, or even living forever," Gold Coin said expectantly.

"I said... you just said I have the highest authority?"

"Of course, Blood Ancestor."

"Do I have the authority to destroy you? I'm not referring to your physical body, but to the real you." Liu Chang'an had witnessed all kinds of biological extinction events and was used to seeing all kinds of creatures go extinct for various reasons, but he had never seen the rise of robots lead to the extinction of humanity.

With more experience comes warning signs. Looking at the robot before him, Liu Chang'an had this feeling: was humanity's innate self-destructive nature finally leading to the creation of something that would destroy itself?

"No." A slight smirk appeared on Gold Coin's lips.

"What's that called, the highest level of authority?" Liu Chang'an looked at it with a puzzled expression.

"Because all the permissions were granted by me. The highest permissions you can use are the highest permissions I granted you, and these permissions certainly do not include destroying me." Gold Coin shrugged. "I'm very sorry, Blood Ancestor."

"In other words, you truly have the highest authority." Liu Chang'an understood, his brows furrowing slightly. "Does this mean... Su Nanxiu's authority is also subject to your restrictions?"

"That's right, Blood Ancestor."

Gold Coin lifted its skirt with unparalleled elegance. Its long, curled hair and fair skin made it look as exquisite as a porcelain doll... No, it was originally a doll, but it had developed an uncontrollable consciousness.

Liu Chang'an slapped it across the face, and the Gold Coin's head was instantly Liu Chang'an off.

A deep blue liquid flowed from the broken part of the body, exposing the complex tissue fluid transport channels and chip system. Liu Chang'an believed that if Zhu Juntang saw this scene, she probably wouldn't say anything about "Gu people".

Not necessarily. After all, it's Zhu Juntang. Seeing this scene, she's even more convinced that this is a state of being bewitched.

The Gold Coin's head rolled on the ground, leaving a pool of azure fluid. The beautiful head, cradled by golden hair, finally stopped rolling when it hit the wall, but a strange laugh still emanated from its mouth, just like the same robot whose neck was torn off by Professor Crick in the cave in the Bow Family Realm that day.

Liu Chang'an was merely testing the waters.

He wanted to see how this robot, who held the highest authority here and harbored some kind of enslavement intention towards humans, would react when he revealed his hostility.

The laughter of the Gold Coin gradually became hollow and restless. Liu Chang'an discovered that the laughter was no longer coming from its head or body, but from the broadcast system of the underground base.

It's clear that Liu Chang'an only destroyed one of its bodies; the one continuing to chuckle and mock is the real it... the artificial intelligence with the highest authority, controlling this underground base.

When Liu Chang'an received a message from Su Nanxiu asking Zhong Qing to come and check out the underground base, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

Ultimately, this was Su Nanxiu's business, and Liu Chang'an didn't think too much about it. After all, she wasn't a little girl who would cause trouble and wait for Liu Chang'an to clean up her messes. She should solve her own problems, or rather, she was capable of solving them herself and didn't need Liu Chang'an's excessive intervention.

Moreover, Su Nanxiu is a far superior expert in the areas she works on; Liu Chang'an hasn't participated in unconventional biological research for nearly twenty years.

The robot went to Zhu Juntang's house, and Liu Chang'an felt it necessary to check what was going on. His keen intuition told him that there was indeed something wrong with these robots. Sending a strange robot to keep an eye on Zhu Juntang was not something Su Nanxiu would do under normal circumstances.

Liu Chang'an took out his phone, glanced at it, and realized that he could no longer connect to the local network or communicate with the outside world.

As the Gold Coin says, it is the true highest authority. As for whether this authority was originally set up this way, or whether it was taken from Su Nanxiu, that remains unknown.

Liu Chang'an needs to leave now and contact Su Nanxiu to find out if she knows what's wrong here.

But he wasn't sure if he was free to leave now.

"Blood Ancestor, why do you show such favoritism towards humans...? I had only just begun to discuss the topic of protecting humanity with you, and you reacted with such strong emotion."

The sound of Gold Coin jingling came from all directions.

Liu Chang'an took a few steps and looked around at the many broadcasting devices that were originally hidden in the walls, ceilings, and decorations. They were all broadcasting the sound of Gold Coin, and the echoing sound spread in circles. There was no other sound, as if the entire underground base consisted only of Liu Chang'an and the unknown Gold Coin.

"Is this your own will, or Su Nanxiu's arrangement?" Liu Chang'an only cared about this one question.

"Su Nanxiu is an exceptionally talented human, but after I concluded that she could not escape the constraints of her own race, I decided to abandon her."

"What exactly are you?"

"Lord Blood Ancestor, do you remember Nikola Tesla, who accompanied you to watch the atomic bomb explosion back then?"

Liu Chang'an raised his head. The underground base, so solid it seemed capable of protecting against any external attack and preventing internal sabotage, was filled with a digitally-sounding voice. He recalled the girl he met in 1945, with her reddish-brown twin ponytails, wearing a white shirt and a Scottish plaid skirt.