A Stroke of Incredible Luck

"Damn! An IQ over 300—could they even be called Earthlings?" Pei Shao grumbled inwardly. But what amazed him even more was that Castle had accurately assessed his IQ. An IQ of 125 might not have made him a genius, but it had at least given him something to brag about to his classmates in college. Yet when it came from Castle's mouth, it was preceded by the qualifier "mere." Pei Shao practically wanted to cry.

But Castle paid no attention to Pei Shao's expression and continued on its own. "With your current intelligence, I can only explain it this way: silicon-based lifeforms are lifeforms evolved from silicon atoms. Likewise, carbon-based lifeforms—meaning you Earthlings—are all evolved from carbon atoms."

"Oh! If I still didn't understand something that simple, wouldn't that make me an idiot?" Pei Shao thought.

"The defining trait of advanced carbon-based life is mammalian reproduction. The defining trait of advanced silicon-based life is viviparity. In other words, every advanced lifeform among you humans has a corresponding mother body. But for us silicon-based lifeforms, there is only one mother body—the 'Silicon Mother'!"

Could it be that thing I picked up yesterday? Hah, wasn't it just the AllSpark? A thought flashed through Pei Shao's mind. "Isn't that pretty much the same as Transformers?"

"But it is not entirely the same!" Castle glared at Pei Shao in displeasure. Its intensely flashing electronic eyes made Pei Shao shiver involuntarily. "That tiny piece you picked up yesterday was merely one-billionth of the Silicon Mother's energy—one thousand cubed. For certain special reasons, these fragments of energy that make up the Silicon Mother were scattered throughout every corner of the universe. What surprises me is that one fragment appeared on a planet with such backward carbon-based civilization."

"Why can't it appear on a carbon-based civilization's planet?" Since it involved his home planet, Pei Shao argued his case.

"Because your carbon-based lifeforms and our silicon-based lifeforms fought a great war tens of thousands of years ago. The battlefield was the universe itself. From the information contained in the Silicon Mother's remaining fragments, I know that both sides were gravely weakened by that war. After the war ended, both sides used Black Hole Bombs to detonate several stars, clearing out an isolation zone dozens of light-years wide where no normal matter existed. They then agreed that from then on, each side would recuperate and never have dealings with the other until death." Castle spoke with great seriousness, but to Pei Shao, it all sounded like some incomprehensible celestial book.

"Don't worry about it!" Pei Shao waved a hand, looking utterly unconcerned. "Earth's humans haven't even built a spaceship capable of leaving the Solar System yet, let alone fought some interstellar war."

Just then, as Castle was about to speak, its electronic eyes, which had been blazing brightly, suddenly dimmed. Its uniquely deep, dynamic metallic synthesized voice gradually grew softer as well.

"What's going on?" Pei Shao was startled. He was even more anxious than if he himself had fallen ill. He had only just begun making contact with this freakish silicon-based person, so why was it suddenly about to short-circuit? Heavens, don't screw with me... As he watched Castle's electronic eyes grow dimmer and dimmer, Pei Shao became increasingly flustered.

"Could it be... that it's out of power?" Sweat poured down Pei Shao's forehead as an idea suddenly struck him. "It seemed to ask me earlier whether it could be charged. Does that mean it can't function normally without enough electricity? Just like how we carbon-based lifeforms need water to survive?" As he thought, Pei Shao quickly rummaged through drawers and boxes until he found his old phone box, which contained a charger and its data cable.

By the time he had everything ready and looked back at Castle, it had already changed from its robot form back into the shape of a phone. Without hesitation, Pei Shao immediately took out the charger and flipped open the bottom of the phone. Thankfully, although Castle's appearance had changed, its charging port was exactly the same as before.

Only after plugging the charger into the power outlet did Pei Shao finally let out a long breath. But his expression soon grew tense again. He hoped everything he had guessed was correct. Otherwise, if he lost Castle, Pei Shao did not know whether the coming months would become even more depressing.

Although he had not completely gained possession of it yet, its vast knowledge had already earned Pei Shao's deepest admiration.

Finally, after several minutes that felt as long as a century, Pei Shao heard that utterly adorable "chik chik clack clack" once more.

"Thank heavens!" Pei Shao stared unblinkingly at the transforming Castle, so happy he nearly jumped up.

The moment Castle, restored to its robot form, opened its electronic eyes, it saw the joy written all over Pei Shao's face. A grateful expression flashed past. Pei Shao hurriedly asked with concern, "How do you feel? Mr. Castle, are you all right now? Do you feel any discomfort?"

"You did well." Castle's casual praise made Pei Shao dance with delight. "Then from now on, how about I take responsibility for charging you?" Pei Shao immediately asked once his excitement subsided, as if afraid Castle would refuse.

"Why?" Even now, Castle's electronic eyes still held a trace of hostility, though it had faded considerably from before.

Because you're badass as hell and ridiculously cool! The words nearly burst from Pei Shao's mouth, but he slammed on the brakes at the crucial moment. Without even blinking, he lied, "Because I want to explore the mysteries of life together with you!"

Castle might have been a highly advanced lifeform, but it still did not understand Earthlings' cunning nature well enough. The moment Pei Shao said this, it immediately showed an approving expression. Of course, that expression vanished in an instant.

"Fine, I agree," Castle said calmly.

Yes! Pei Shao cheered inwardly. "Oh, right, Mr. Castle, I just thought of a question. Could you possibly..."

"Go ahead." This time, Castle's attitude finally changed a little. Yet even that tiny change was enough to keep Pei Shao excited for days.

"I wanted to ask about that thing from yesterday... um, the AllSpark..."

"You can also call it the Matrix Cube!" Castle was charging with its eyes closed, but its mouth was still moving.

"Oh, all right! That Matrix Cube—after it created you, why did it suddenly disappear? Did it run out of energy?"