Counterattack (1)

Pei Shao walked out of Eastern Martial Arts Hall with his head hanging low. The sky had already begun to darken.

Pei Shao listlessly made his way to the bus stop. After boarding, he found an empty seat, plopped down, and took the Castle from his pocket, repeatedly turning it over in his palm.

Castle's cool white design immediately drew admiration and envy from the young people around him. But Pei Shao was in no mood to feel proud of it anymore. He wondered whether bringing Castle along for the interview today had truly been the right choice. Granted, Castle's omnipresent power in every area had instantly elevated him to the level of a "superhuman" in this society. But what had happened today...

Pei Shao deeply regretted it. If he had known, he would rather have agreed to become Dongfang Yinyin's apprentice than botch things up like this. Given Dongfang Yinyin's relationship with Lin Meijing, after this happened, Dongfang Yinyin would definitely go cry to Lin Meijing and complain about him. He had been on the job for less than three days. He had originally left an excellent impression on Lin Meijing—his future had even looked bright. But after causing such a scene, forget about a future; whether he could even keep his job was now a question.

After getting off the bus, Pei Shao did not even feel like eating. He sighed again and again. Noticing that something was clearly wrong with him, Castle immediately asked, "What's wrong, Pei?"

"Maybe tomorrow, not only will I have nothing to eat, you won't have any electricity to replenish your energy either!" Pei Shao spoke weakly. Castle, however, was unconcerned. "Why do you say that?"

"Sigh... You wouldn't understand even if I explained it. There are many things on Earth that you silicon-based lifeforms can't comprehend!"

"What does that have to do with whether I can replenish my electricity tomorrow?" With its "survival" at stake, Castle could no longer remain silent.

"I might... lose my job!"

"Even if you do lose your job, what's the big deal?" Castle's tone remained perfectly calm. "With my abilities, can't I help you find another one?"

"But... there won't be another job with such a beautiful boss and such a nice work atmosphere! [Meijing Magazine Agency] It may be small, but I fit in there." Pei Shao muttered as he walked toward home.

Just then!

"Wait, Pei!"

"Hm?" Pei Shao suddenly sensed something strange in Castle's tone. The infrared port on his phone flashed with an intense red light. "What did you find now?" Pei Shao asked casually. To his surprise, Castle actually answered, "Something's happening! It's one of my kind!"

"No way?" Pei Shao's heart lurched. He immediately looked around in a panic. "Is it that square robot from last time?" Whenever he thought of that octopus-like thing, his scalp still tingled. That robot's long-range firing system had been terrifyingly powerful.

"Yes! I detected traces of light-energy information it left behind, but I don't have enough energy to fully lock onto it!"

"When did you start detecting it?" Pei Shao grew nervous. Home was just ahead—had the other side actually tracked them down? No! That can't be! It must just be a coincidence! Pei Shao reassured himself inwardly.

But Castle's next words made Pei Shao completely tense. "It is nearby right now, within a range of no more than one kilometer. Its coordinates are..."

"What? It's real? Don't scare me. Can't you search more clearly?"

"Unfortunately, no! I already used up two-thirds of my energy at Eastern Martial Arts Hall!"

"But if it really is that thing, how could its injuries have healed so quickly? And how did it track us down?" Pei Shao's mind was already becoming a mess.

"Since I can detect its light-energy information, it can naturally detect mine as well!" Even with only one-third of its energy remaining, Castle's answer was still exceptionally calm. "And the biological structure of us silicon-based lifeforms is entirely different from that of you carbon-based humans. As long as the main database has not been destroyed, we can regenerate anytime and anywhere with suitable metal materials!"

But Pei Shao had no mood to marvel at how miraculous silicon-based life was. He only worried that if the other side had truly found their home base, they would be completely passive from here on out. What should they do now? Castle only had one-third of its energy left. Should he find somewhere to hide first and wait until Castle restored its energy before fighting?

After voicing his doubts, Pei Shao received nothing but disdain from the arrogant Castle. "Why run? Do you think I would lose?"

Wasn't that obvious? Still, Pei Shao said, "It's called being careful. Better safe than sorry, Mr. Castle."

"Do not question my capabilities!" Castle ordered somewhat unhappily, "Go home!"

Great. Castle was being stubborn again! Left with no choice, Pei Shao followed Castle's instructions step by step until he reached his front door, then carefully made his way upstairs one step at a time.

"Strange. The other party's light-energy information has disappeared!" Castle said when they reached the door.

"Damn! You should've said so earlier! You scared me to death!" Pei Shao, who had been hesitating with his key in hand, instantly relaxed. With a click, he twisted open the front door.

Castle continued muttering to itself, "What exactly is going on? Could it really be that my energy is insufficient, or that my database needs a complete upgrade?"

By then, Pei Shao had entered the living room. After hurriedly scanning the room and finding nothing, he muttered inwardly, Castle really isn't reliable without energy! Though it had been a false alarm, Pei Shao decided that from now on, no matter what, he had to keep Castle fully charged.

But just as Pei Shao had finally breathed a sigh of relief and was about to turn on the fluorescent light and sit on the sofa to ease the day's exhaustion, his pupils suddenly shrank. "What is that?"

Pei Shao nearly cried out.

By the faint moonlight filtering through the window, Pei Shao saw a metal object standing silently beside the pale green sofa, its color clearly clashing with the sofa, like a trap. "W-What is that?" Pei Shao felt his scalp tingle again, because he remembered very clearly that when he had left that morning, there had definitely been no such metal object beside the sofa!

Sensing danger at once, Pei Shao immediately suppressed the urge to shout. He only hoped that Castle would be just as sharp as he was and notice the ambush in the living room. But the light shining from Castle's infrared port in his palm grew dimmer and dimmer, until it vanished completely!