“If the Chief knows I brought you out, he might turn me into a rabbit biscuit,” Teacher Tu said with a bitter expression. How could he not resist the human’s cuteness? He actually brought the boy out!
“It’s fine, he won’t find out.” Bo Ge lowered his voice, waving his hand confidently. This time, they were sneaking out. As long as he didn’t say anything, the big cat wouldn’t notice.
“We’re just looking around, we won’t cause trouble or do anything reckless. We’ll go back after we’ve seen enough.” Teacher Tu was a bit uneasy, as if he was carrying a precious treasure into a bandit’s den, afraid they might get robbed on the way.
The boy obediently nodded.
“According to what I found on the star net, the robot gladiator arena should be nearby. You need to pay an entry fee, 20 credit points per person.” Teacher Tu nervously led Bo Ge, opening the navigation, and an arrow appeared on the ground with the distance and calories that could be burned.
The two entered a narrow alley. Teacher Tu frowned at the wall in front of them. “This doesn’t make sense. The navigation says it’s here, but there’s no way forward.”
Bo Ge raised his hand to touch the wall in front of them and looked at Teacher Tu. “Teacher Tu, there should be a door here. The temperature of this spot is different from the wall next to it.”
Teacher Tu tried knocking on the spot Bo Ge pointed to. The wall flickered and slowly opened.
Inside was a long staircase, with strange beastmen lined up on both sides. They wore exaggerated makeup, holding things between their fingers that emitted colorful smoke. Their faces were adorned with various rings, and their eyes were full of provocation. To Bo Ge, it looked like a street full of punk style.
Cleanliness and purity seemed out of place here. Teacher Tu swallowed nervously, walking in front of Bo Ge, trying hard to put on an air of “I’m very capable.”
Humans are a rare sight here, and the beastmen watch the small human with curiosity, instinctively putting away what they were holding. The human scent shouldn’t be masked by these things; what if the little one chokes on it?
Bo Ge followed behind Teacher Tu, glancing left and right. The beastmen they passed instinctively straightened up when they noticed him. The boy’s beautiful black eyes, under the dim light, seemed to have a mesmerizing power, making those who looked into them forget everything and simply want to follow those eyes.
“Smells so good.”
“He’s really handsome.”
“Look, a human!”
Various voices arose behind Bo Ge. Teacher Tu found a makeshift ticket window, where a black chimpanzee was sitting, puffing smoke.
“How many tickets?” The chimpanzee lazily glanced at Teacher Tu and pulled out a plastic card.
“Two,” Teacher Tu said, a bit nervous. He had never been to a place like this, and it looked chaotic.
“Forty credit points,” the chimpanzee said, tapping two plastic cards on the table and handing them over the counter.
Teacher Tu made the payment, but the ticket counter was too high. Bo Ge stood on tiptoe, hands gripping the edge of the counter, trying to reach the cards the chimpanzee was handing out.
When the chimpanzee saw the boy, he jerked back his hand as if shocked, giving Teacher Tu a displeased look.
“How could you bring a human to a place like this?”
“Huh?” Teacher Tu was stunned.
“We’re looking for a robot,” Bo Ge said, still straining to reach. “His name is Lyles. He’s very sunny when he smiles and is a household-type robot. He’s been missing for a month. Have you seen him?”
“Oh, dear human.” The chimpanzee awkwardly spit out the object in his mouth, turning his head to give Bo Ge a forced, friendly smile.
“I’m afraid that every day, dozens, maybe hundreds of household robots are brought here, and many of them are destroyed daily. If it’s from a month ago, he probably wouldn’t be here anymore.”
“Can I still go in and take a look?” Bo Ge refused to give up.
“Well… sure.” The chimpanzee hesitated and carefully handed the plastic card over. “But the beastmen you see here are just a small part of the group. They don’t represent the whole community. Most beastmen are peaceful. I’m just working here to survive. If I could find a better job, I’d leave this place for sure.
Actually, there are mostly mixed-blood beastmen here, and this place is run by a half-blood businessman. The loudest voices here are also from the mixed-bloods.”
“I understand. Thank you.” Bo Ge took the plastic card on tiptoe, glancing down at it.
The chimpanzee pointed at Teacher Tu. “You better keep that human away from the gladiator arena. Don’t let me see you encouraging him to place a bet, or I’ll have to call someone to kick you out.”
“Place a bet? How do you do that?” Bo Ge heard the words and curiously asked, looking up.
“Don’t forget why we’re here.” Teacher Tu gripped Bo Ge’s hand. “Just ten minutes. After ten minutes, I have to take you out.”
Holding the plastic card tightly, Bo Ge followed the ticket to their seats. The entire arena was like a giant inverted pyramid, with roaring, frantic crowds on all sides. In the middle of the pyramid was a massive platform, with a large projection floating above it.
“Next up, we have contestants 47 and 48!”
The host, wearing a half-mask, hyped up the crowd. “Let’s see what they’ll draw!”
Two robots were ushered into the arena, looking panicked as they glanced around, their metal legs shaking uncontrollably.
“Contestant 47 draws a combat match! What awaits him is a crazed Lunck beast. As for 48… oh, poor metal scrap, he drew the destruction card.”
One robot was driven to the center of the arena, while the other was directly tied to a pillar.
“I only broke a balance axis, I can still work! I’ll try harder, I swear…”
The robot tied to the pillar struggled desperately until hot metal liquid poured down on its head.
Teacher Tu quickly covered the boy’s eyes. Bo Ge heard the robot’s distorted voice and the excited cheers of the audience.
“It doesn’t feel pain.” Teacher Tu whispered in Bo Ge’s ear, trying to comfort him. “It’s just gone to a better place.”
“What we saw just now was just a little warm-up. Roar, look who’s coming now!” The host stirred up the excitement, and a giant Lunck beast was released. The robots in the arena desperately tried to run.
Bo Ge pushed Teacher Tu’s hand down and quietly watched the beast with several eyes chasing the robot. The robots were just regular household models.
The Lunck beast caught up with the robot and bit it in half. The robot’s upper body fell off, struggling to crawl away, while the Lunck beast spat out the robot’s lower half and stomped on it.
Luckily, the robot didn’t feel pain.
Maybe it wasn’t exciting enough for the crowd, as they started throwing their bottles onto the field. A tattered robot timidly entered, sweeping up the remains of its fellow robots and various trash.
“Next, you will see Number 49 and Number 50!” The host said excitedly, “These two robots have both drawn combat cards and miraculously survived. Now, let’s review their last fight!”
A huge projection displayed scenes of the robots fighting in the arena. When Bo Ge saw Number 50, his eyelid twitched.
“Teacher Tu,” Bo Ge looked up at Hai Tu, “I’m really thirsty.”
“Do you want me to buy you some water? What do you want to drink? We can go buy it together.” Hai Tu tightened his grip on the boy’s hand.
“But I want to watch this match,” Bo Ge blinked, “If we go for water, we will miss it.”
Hai Tu hesitated for a moment. Beastmen could not refuse a human’s request, especially since the boy only wanted a drink of water.
“I’m an adult now, and I will take responsibility for my actions and ensure my safety.” Bo Ge pointed to the beastmen around them, “There are many beastmen here; they definitely won’t hurt me. They’ll protect me, right?”
“Alright, you wait here for a moment. I’ll be quick.” Teacher Tu gritted his teeth and released the boy’s hand, turning to run towards the water stand. Bo Ge’s gaze returned to the arena. The draw had finished: Number 49 drew a destruction card, and Number 50 drew a combat card.
Getting to the front of the arena was not hard, as the beastmen, seeing the boy, instinctively made room for him.
“Number 49’s destruction method is quite special. It will be repeatedly crushed by a roller until its thickness is reduced to under ten centimeters. Number 50 wasn’t so lucky and drew a Death Card Spider. Oh, the field protection screen is going up. I sincerely hope Number 50 can survive for a second longer under the Death Card Spider’s claws, just to see how it sprays venom.”
The host’s gloating voice was somewhat grating, and Bo Ge subtly rubbed his pinky finger in his ear, shifting his neck.
It had been a while since he had hunted; his skills might be a little rusty.
Number 49 was restrained first, and an unmanned crushing vehicle drove into the arena, following a pre-set path to repeatedly crush its target.
Number 50 stood on the opposite side of the field. Its once handsome face had been half destroyed, revealing the metal beneath, while the other half of its face showed a dead, numb expression.
The crushing vehicle began to move, heading towards Number 49. However, Number 49 did not accept its fate calmly. It struggled to break free from its restraints. Perhaps for dramatic effect, Number 49 managed to escape the left arm restraints and even opened the right-hand chains.
However, the restraints on its legs were more difficult to remove than expected.
The crushing vehicle drew closer, and Number 49 quickly removed one of its feet. When attempting to remove the other, the crushing vehicle suddenly accelerated, charging straight towards the robot.
The audience continued to throw trash into the arena—bottles, rocks—enjoying the spectacle of hitting the robot and preventing its escape. Just then, a small figure suddenly leapt over the arena and ran straight toward the bound robot.
Bo Ge ducked to avoid two bottles, passed by Number 49, and jumped into the crushing vehicle’s cockpit. He quickly located the emergency stop lever and yanked it.
The crushing vehicle came to a halt. Number 49 removed its remaining foot and rolled to the side, only to realize the vehicle had stopped moving.
A small boy climbed out of the crushing vehicle and bent down to pick up his two feet. The audience was disappointed that they did not see what they had expected and began to boo, throwing even more trash at the boy in the arena.
Amid the barrage of objects, the boy was struck by a bottle and fell to the ground, a trickle of fresh blood running down his forehead.
“It’s a human!” The beastmen near the arena caught the scent and hastily warned those nearby, “That’s a human! We can’t harm a human!”
Number 49 struggled towards the boy. There was nothing more painful for a robot than watching a human get hurt.
The boy stood up, gazing around the stands with a confused expression, seemingly unable to understand why anyone would be so obsessed with watching such a show—enjoying the torture of souls like their own until their pain disappeared.
The garbage thrown into the arena suddenly decreased, and the boy’s blood contrasted with his fair skin, his pure black eyes seemingly holding the most innocent of emotions.
He was questioning. Every gaze felt like a silent lash to the twisted hearts of those watching.
Some people still tried to throw trash, but the beastmen around them lunged and fought, stopping them.
Using the last of its strength, Number 49 crawled towards the human. All robots knew that humans were the true creators of robots, and deeply etched in every robot’s soul were three unspoken principles, like a father’s teachings to his child.
A pair of white shoes appeared in front of him. Number 49 slowly looked up. The human boy crouched down and handed him a pair of mechanical feet, smiling gently, as though the wound on his forehead didn’t hurt at all.
Number 49 was stunned for a long time before regaining its voice. “Th-thank you.”
The audience was silent. Hai Tu stared blankly at the boy in the arena, and the two bottles of water fell from his hands.
“Hurry, go! Get out!” The audience suddenly went wild, and many beastmen desperately tried to climb over the already-raised protective barrier.
Bo Ge looked up and saw transparent barriers rising around the arena, closing above their heads.
“Hurry, close the beast pens! A human has entered the arena!” The host hurriedly contacted the staff, and the beast pens began to rise halfway before stopping. But it was already enough.
The Death Card Spider suddenly leapt out, its vibrant stripes signaling its lethal venom.
1You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️ -TL: Ysiad
