Counterattack (2)

"Damn it! Why is this happening at a critical moment?" Pei Shao went pale with shock. Just as he was about to turn around, open the door, and flee for his life no matter what, Castle's voice suddenly sounded in his tiny earpiece. "Pei! Is something wrong?"

At a time like this, Pei Shao did not dare make a sound, not even breathe too loudly. How could he possibly answer such a question? Castle seemed to have noticed that something was off as well, but with its infrared scanning function concealed, Castle was now nothing more than a "blind man." If Pei Shao had not suddenly stopped walking, Castle would not have been able to detect anything unusual either.

Then, about three seconds passed.

Castle's voice sounded again. "Pei! There is a signal-metal pen formed beneath my body. Take it and write what you want to say on my screen!"

Pei Shao hurriedly turned it over and, sure enough, found a metal pen about five inches long. After feeling for the direction of its tip with his fingers, Pei Shao immediately wrote on Castle's screen: "Beside the sofa, unidentified metal object! One of your kind?"

"There is over a 90% chance that it is, but it is very strange. I have not detected the other party's light-energy signal!" Castle sounded puzzled.

"Could it have gotten lucky and upgraded its database somewhere, installing some kind of anti-search software?"

"Unable to determine. However, the moment I noticed your unusual behavior, I concealed my light-energy signal. According to my analysis, the other party likely did the same!"

"No wonder! But it must have discovered us already. Why hasn't it acted yet?" Pei Shao could not understand.

"You have not entered its optimal attack range, so it is waiting for an opportunity!"

"Oh, so that's it! Damn it, good thing I was smart enough. Otherwise, I wouldn't even know how I died tonight! So what do we do next?" Pei Shao began to worry again.

"Fight!" Castle's voice was always this cool.

"But your energy..." Pei Shao had never been confident about this fight.

"Trust me! Now follow my instructions. We have an 82.37% chance of winning!"

"..." Pei Shao thought, At a time like this, you're still being so meticulous about the numbers. Still, he quickly wrote on the screen: "Please instruct me!"

"First, after I finish gathering energy, use the keys in your hand to attack it with all your strength. Second, quickly flee into the kitchen. Do not take part in the battle between us. Otherwise, you will only distract me and lower our chances of victory. Third, find something that can interfere with its light-energy signal, such as a radio or television. This will cause communication delays in its database and greatly reduce its system's analytical ability."

"But... wouldn't that last part interfere with you too?" After thinking for a moment, Pei Shao voiced his doubts.

"Without question. That is precisely where I am stronger than it is! Just follow my instructions. My analysis error rate is below 0.01%!"

"Damn! Castle truly lived up to its name. It could even calculate its error rate so precisely!" Hearing this, Pei Shao's confidence surged. While waiting for Castle to secretly gather energy, he carefully rehearsed every move he would make next in his mind. After waiting for around five minutes, Pei Shao began worrying that the other side might lose patience and launch an attack first. Fortunately, the next three minutes proved that silicon-based lifeforms were not emotional beings like Earthlings. Their composure was far beyond anything any Earthling could match.

At that moment, Castle's voice came through again. "All combat procedures ready. You may begin!"

Damn it, could you not make it sound like a SWAT operation? I'm so nervous! Pei Shao muttered inwardly, when Castle continued its instructions. "After a three-second countdown, begin the first step. After that, you must handle everything yourself!"

"Okay!" After writing that word, Pei Shao inserted the metal pen back into Castle's groove. Then he felt its shape slowly begin to change, gradually shifting into combat mode.

"Pei! Why is your palm full of cold liquid? Could this be a secret weapon of carbon-based lifeforms?" Castle began probing the mysteries of silicon-based life again.

Pei Shao did not answer. The cold sweat in his left palm only grew thicker. His right hand was not idle either, gripping a bunch of keys tightly. After silently counting to three, he suddenly launched his attack!

At the same instant, Castle's electronic eye blazed with intense light once more!

Smack!

The keys struck the metal object's hard shell in an instant, moving at incomparable speed. At the same time, the moment Pei Shao threw the keys, his body shot forward like a wild horse breaking free of its reins. With one stride, he rushed toward the remote control on the sofa!

But just then, the metal object beside the sofa indeed gave off a familiar series of "squeak-creak" sounds. In an instant, it transformed into the shape of a square robot!

It really was you!

Pei Shao grabbed the remote control and quickly pressed a button. The television behind him immediately turned on. But before Pei Shao could make his next move, the square robot had already raised its mechanical arm and unleashed a barrage of fire at him!

Startled out of his wits, Pei Shao leaped from the sofa without caring about anything else and scrambled toward the kitchen. Along the way, he knocked over the coffee table, water cups, alarm clock, and other things, but he could not care less.

Driven by an intense instinct to survive, Pei Shao fled as the square robot's laser gun tore into the sofa behind him, leaving it riddled with holes in the blink of an eye. Countless black craters appeared across it, while the stuffing inside drifted through the living room like willow catkins!

Bang!

Having safely escaped into the kitchen, Pei Shao swiftly shut the kitchen door and leaned against it, gasping violently. Though the escape had lasted only a few seconds, that brief stretch had made Pei Shao feel as if his heart had nearly stopped beating. That was fucking thrilling! That was fucking dangerous! Pei Shao screamed inwardly.

At that moment, fierce fighting sounds came through the kitchen door, reminding Pei Shao that Castle had not yet escaped danger. Though he had deep confidence in Castle, Pei Shao still pulled the kitchen door open a crack and narrowed his eyes to observe the situation inside.

By then, the battle between Castle and the square robot had reached a fever pitch.

Relying on its compact form and the living room's abundance of cover, Castle swiftly gained the upper hand once again in this battle. The square robot soon discovered that its infrared scanning system could not capture the other party's image at all!

Castle, meanwhile, fully displayed its advantage as the more advanced machine, sweeping every movement of the square robot into its electronic eye.