Can you know what I’m thinking? Although Shu Bao’s question had not escaped his lips, could the other party sense it? This ability was indeed somewhat dangerous.
“Our two races do not share consciousness, but I can feel your emotional fluctuations and general thought tendencies. Besides, this isn’t the first time we’ve been mistaken for the mechanoids,” T33674 replied, its mechanical voice unexpectedly carrying a hint of helplessness.
Hearing this, Shu Bao relaxed. No wonder this fleeing alien had suddenly stopped; it must have sensed his intention to pursue and investigate further. “So, what were your findings? What are your plans?”
T33674 was quite honest. “Your energy field is very fascinating; it can convert most forms of energy and is also applicable to our race. If possible, I think we could engage in trade or cooperation.”
“Sounds good,” Shu Bao agreed readily. The fact that the other party could travel through space indicated impressive capabilities. Cooperating could only benefit the base.
Now it was T33674’s turn to feel somewhat at a loss. It seemed a bit confused, incredulously asking, “Why did you agree so quickly? You don’t seem like a race that tells lies at all.”
In T33674’s understanding, intelligent races in the universe could be roughly divided into three types: one evolved to be deceitful, suspicious by nature, resource-grabbing, exclusionary, and warlike; another was a truthful race, mostly peaceful and with a strong sense of tolerance; and the last was the mechanoids, possessing intelligence but existing solely for slaughter.
During its long travels through the universe, T33674 had encountered deceitful races more than once. The interactions were very difficult and communication was exhausting. So when it crash-landed here and discovered that the intelligent race on this planet was deceitful, they immediately abandoned the idea of communicating.
What they never expected was that on this technologically backward planet, someone had constructed a high-level energy field. If they could access that energy, it would greatly expedite their ship’s repair process.
“Why bother with all that? You have what I want and I have what you want. Let’s make it clear; if you can accept it, we cooperate. If not, that’s fine too.” This fellow in front of him clearly wasn’t suited for bargaining; a straightforward price was the best way for both parties to cooperate.
Feeling Shu Bao’s candid emotions, T33674 was quite pleased. It had never expected such a significant gain from this outing. It actively squatted down and reached out its mechanical hand toward the fluffy little creature on the ground.
Shu Bao naturally wrapped his claws around the other party’s thumb and shook it up and down. “Happy cooperation.”
“Happy cooperation.” T33674 was indeed quite pleased. After that, both sides agreed on the time and place for their next meeting and went their separate ways.
T33674 happily returned to his dwelling and shared the good news with the other tribesmen. The tribesmen were very cautious; after all, interacting with the deceitful race was not an easy matter. Even though they could sense each other’s emotions and thought tendencies, the deceitful race was known for their constant scheming and varied means to achieve their goals. They had suffered quite a bit in this regard.
“That is a particularly special truthful race; I can sense his sincerity,” T33674 conveyed his feelings about the exchange with Shu Bao to his fellow tribesmen. They immediately understood all of his sensations and thoughts at that moment and quickly reached a consensus that it was worth a try.
Perhaps this was the reason why the truthful races always managed to stay ahead in development despite starting at the same time: their thoughts were shared with no selfishness or secrets, including knowledge. Their knowledge did not need to be passed down through generations; as long as the race existed, knowledge could be accessed anytime and anywhere.
What Shu Bao valued was precisely this point—a race that had almost never experienced a gap in knowledge accumulation over thousands or even tens of thousands of years was quite formidable. The benefits that the Xia Wang tribe would gain from cooperating with them were largely intangible. Furthermore, the reward for Shu Bao’s next technology task was unlocking the education system.
After returning, Shu Bao explained the situation to his tribesmen. They were somewhat apprehensive about this strange race, especially since they didn’t look much like humans. However, since it was what the great deity had said, they naturally would offer unconditional support.
The happiest among them was Tesla; the genius’s thirst for knowledge was greater than that of ordinary people. He was eager to learn about the fields he had never encountered before.
Soon, the day for their scheduled meeting arrived. The agreed-upon location was a flat, open grassy area outside the tribe. The Xia Wang tribesmen, fearing that the great deity might be bullied, all clamored to follow him. In the end, it was the high priest who selected a few outstanding mages and knights to accompany him.
Shu Bao felt like a child on the first day of kindergarten, with a large group of worried parents following closely behind. Some parents held weapons to maintain order, while others brought food and water, fearing their great deity might suffer any grievances.
Upon arriving at the designated spot, T33674 and his tribesmen were already waiting there. The number of people on their side was small—only three—which created a stark contrast with the bustling crowd behind Shu Bao.
T33674 and his tribesmen were ready to face the potential malice and rejection from these unfamiliar races, especially since they were confronted with a large group that seemed well-prepared. But to their surprise, in their first meeting, they did not sense much rejection or hostility in the other party’s emotions; instead, there was more of an exploratory and vigilant feeling.
Shu Bao stepped forward a few paces and shook hands with T33674 again. Both sides were equally resolute about cooperation, which saved them from needing an opening speech. They began to express their needs, of course, after a brief self-introduction.
T33674’s self-introduction was also simple and straightforward. He projected a virtual image showing the history of their race. They were a race transitioning from humanity to machinery, possessing human emotions while also having the formidable combat power of the mechanoids, hence they were called the half-mechanoids.
Most of the half-mechanoid’s body and organs could be replaced by machines. Unless their central brain suffered irreversible damage, they could achieve immortality. Since the emergence of chaos in this universe, the half-mechanoids have begun to travel through the cosmos in search of the source of chaos, hoping to resolve the issue.
The team T33674 belonged to was just one of many exploratory teams dispatched. When they arrived near this planet, they suddenly encountered an exceptionally large chaotic rift, which led them into the chaotic world. In that place, the exploration team entered the abandoned ruins of the mechanoids, where they were heavily damaged by various traps within the ruins. Their spaceship was damaged and they exhausted all their energy to escape.
Afterward, they crash-landed on this planet and had been collecting materials and energy to repair their ship, but progress was slow. Many of their machines were unusable due to energy depletion. Originally, they were immortal and didn’t need to rush, but after the last visit to the mechanoid’s ruins, it was very likely that they would attract the attention of the mechanoids. They had to leave before the mechanoids came to investigate.
“So, in the uncertain future, it’s very likely that the mechanoids will arrive on this planet?” While learning about the half-mechanoids, Shu Bao also focused on this point.
T33674 nodded. “Yes, but even for the mechanoids, locating and arriving at a planet on a cosmic scale is not an easy task. What’s certain is that this planet will be safe for at least the next decade or so.” The half-mechanoids had no deceit and openly stated the consequences of their crash landing.
What made the three half-mechanoids happy was that after being honest about this matter, they did not feel any hostility, which gave them more hope for future cooperation.
“I understand. If the arrival of the mechanoids is inevitable, I hope you can help us develop technology to the best of your ability. I want to provide my tribesmen with a safe living environment.”
Regarding Shu Bao’s request, the half-mechanoids readily agreed. They did not reject sharing their culture and technology; it was in their nature to enjoy and excel at sharing.
After final discussions, both parties reached a consensus on future cooperation. The half-mechanoids would share and help the Xia Wang Tribe develop technology, be responsible for the tribe’s education, and provide assistance when the tribe faced threats.
In return, the Xia Wang Tribe needed to help the half-mechanoids find resources to repair their spaceship and share energy from the electric tower. Of course, to obtain energy, the half-mechanoids would need to relocate to the vicinity of the tribe, and the Xia Wang Tribe would have to reserve a living area for them.
Once the negotiations concluded, both sides were very satisfied. T33674 even received gifts from the Xia Wang tribesmen. Although they could not consume either food or water, receiving gifts still made them very happy.
After saying their goodbyes, the half-mechanoids eagerly returned to inform their fellow tribesmen that they were preparing to move. Fortunately, their technology already allowed them to utilize spatial folding, so transporting the massive spaceship wouldn’t be difficult.
Shu Bao led his tribesmen back to plan the area where the half-mechanoids would reside. According to T33674, their exploration team consisted of thirty people, who usually lived inside the spaceship and didn’t require additional housing or food.
On the way back to the tribe, the tribesmen were abuzz with discussion. They never expected that after a winter had passed, they would become neighbors with the monster tribe—oh no, they should say with the half-mechanoids.
Their curiosity about the half-mechanoids kept them talking non-stop along the way. After returning, they excitedly introduced the half-mechanoids to other tribesmen, leaving those who had never seen a half-mechanoid in awe and even more curious about their new neighbors.
The three half-mechanoids shared their experiences from the meeting with the other tribesmen. The half-mechanoids immediately sprang into action. That afternoon, they collectively arrived outside the Xia Wang Tribe and were soon engulfed by the curiosity and enthusiasm of the Xia Wang tribesmen.
Upon learning that the half-mechanoids did not require food or water, the Xia Wang tribesmen prepared other gifts, such as a bouquet of wildflowers, a beautiful stone, a piece of rare ore, and so on.
The half-mechanoids were stunned. They were inherently sensitive to emotional fluctuations, and suddenly being surrounded by such warmth made them somewhat at a loss. They kept saying thank you, but each “thank you” was in the same mechanical tone, giving Shu Bao the impression that the robots had collectively experienced a glitch.
