Number 50 sat in the arena, unmoved, facing the Death Card Spider, which was observing its new environment and ready to attack at any moment.
“Come with me to save him, okay?” Bo Ge crouched down quickly to attach the two feet onto Number 49. Number 49 stared at the boy, its hand moving towards the injury on Bo Ge’s forehead.
It seemed like something cool had been sprayed on his forehead. Bo Ge raised his hand, but Number 49 grabbed his wrist.
“I’m a medical-type robot. What I sprayed on you just now was an anti-inflammatory and healing agent. It may itch a bit, but don’t scratch it,” Number 49 said as it struggled to stand up from the ground.
“I’ve never seen this kind of creature before. Do you have any information on its weaknesses?” Bo Ge, based on his past hunting experience, did not approach recklessly. Instead, he chose to move along the wall of the arena, slowly closing the distance to the Death Card Spider.
The more familiar the hunter is with the prey, the higher the chances of success. Medical and combat robots have their own built-in databases, so they can access information even without connecting to the star network.
Number 49 glanced to the side, then followed Bo Ge closer. “The venom of the Death Card Spider contains polypeptide neurotoxins and adrenal toxins. Once injected into a human body, death occurs in fifteen minutes.
As for its weaknesses, it has poor vision, its knees can’t straighten, it has slow digestion, and, lastly, it tires easily.”
“That’s enough.” Bo Ge took a deep breath and picked up a bottle that had been thrown into the arena earlier.
“When I fight the Death Card Spider, you’re responsible for protecting Number 50 and moving him to a safe spot.”
“I can’t just watch you fight and do nothing.” Number 49 shook its head. “Rather than that, you’d be better off flattening me.”
The Second Law of Robotics requires robots to obey human commands, but exceptions can be made when it conflicts with the First Law.
This means that human life and safety are the highest priority, and to protect humans, robots can even disobey human orders.
At this moment, the flaw in the robot’s reasoning was exposed.
“Under the premise of protecting yourself from harm, help me distract the Death Card Spider. I’ll move Number 50 into the crushing vehicle. Will that work?” Bo Ge had to change his approach.
“Understood.” Number 49, mimicking Bo Ge, picked up a bottle from the ground. Bo Ge rushed towards Number 50, and Number 49 threw the bottle at the Death Card Spider to get its attention.
The eight legs of the spider, covered in bright, fine hairs, swiftly moved towards Number 49. Bo Ge lifted Number 50 and sprinted towards the crushing vehicle.
Household-type robots generally weigh between 30 to 100 kilograms, and Number 50 weighed about 50 kilograms, like carrying two large bags of flour. Bo Ge stepped onto the crushing vehicle and threw Number 50 inside.
Number 49 was much slower than the Death Card Spider. Bo Ge turned around to see the spider’s large black fangs lift Number 49 into the air, attempting to inject venom.
The audience gasped, and Bo Ge immediately turned to charge at the Death Card Spider, but Number 50 grabbed his shirt corner.
“Don’t… go,” Number 50’s remaining synthetic face was filled with sorrow.
“It’ll be fine.” Bo Ge smiled, tugged his shirt corner free, slammed the crushing vehicle’s door shut, and ran towards the Death Card Spider.
The venom of the Death Card Spider was extremely deadly to humans, but it had no effect on robots.
The spider’s fangs plunged into Number 49, injecting venom, and it tried to suck it in. Half of Number 49’s body was inside the spider’s mouth, its eight black eyes glistening like obsidian.
Hai Tu stared intently at the arena, feeling like he might faint at any moment. Bo Ge could have stayed inside the crushing vehicle with Number 50, waiting for rescue. Why did he have to return and face the Death Card Spider directly?
Hai Tu couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen if something happened to the boy. His father, the cold and ruthless Black Panther, who stood at the top of the Alliance’s power structure, would certainly make him experience the most painful way to understand the value of his life.
“Don’t go!” Hai Tu shouted hoarsely, tears streaming down his face as he tremblingly opened his light brain and sent a message.
The Death Card Spider focused on swallowing Number 49, while the boy, at an incredible speed, had already jumped onto the spider’s body before the audience could even realize. Without warning, he raised the broken bottle and aimed it at the spider’s eyes.
The human boy seemed to exceed everyone’s expectations. He was incredibly fast, able to silently leap onto the Death Card Spider. There was no trace of fear or panic in his eyes; in fact, he seemed to thrive in such a hunting environment.
The boy hesitated for a moment with the bottle, then, to everyone’s astonishment, he did something unimaginable.
He dropped the bottle, then stepped back a few paces, standing on the spider’s head and chest, bouncing up and down repeatedly.
The Death Card Spider remained still, allowing the boy to jump on it. Then, the boy slid off the spider, grabbed the body of Number 49, which hadn’t been fully swallowed, and with great force, pulled it out.
The Death Card Spider also pulled back, and with both sides pulling, Number 49 was successfully freed from the spider’s jaws. Due to the force, the boy and the robot rolled to the side, and the robot’s body was covered in green goo, its system in a state of confusion.
The Death Card Spider crawled towards the boy, its black fangs opening and closing. The audience held their breath, some beastmen even shutting their eyes in pain.
Hai Tu pinched his philtrum and screamed desperately, “Don’t give up! Struggle just a little more, rescue is almost here!”
Bo Ge stood up, quietly watching the Death Card Spider. Its eight eyes fixed on the human, then suddenly, it tilted its head.
There was no attack, no killing, no death.
The human boy raised his hand and touched the area below the Death Card Spider’s eyes. The spider’s legs twitched, moving the dense hairs on its body, making its eyes shine brightly.
Number 49 instinctively stepped in front of Bo Ge. The Death Card Spider carefully examined the goo-covered robot, then lifted one of its feet and poked at Number 49’s outer shell.
“It says it didn’t know you can’t eat it, and it’s apologizing,” Bo Ge translated for Number 49.
“What?” Number 49 looked at the boy in confusion. “It’s talking? Why can’t I hear it?”
Bo Ge scratched his head. During training on the barren planet, one of the tasks was communicating with animals. Bo Ge had spent over a decade communicating with the animals there, only able to hear them express hunger, with most of it being unconscious growls. He had originally thought this skill was a failure.
However, when Bo Ge leaped onto the Death Card Spider, he truly heard its voice, as if using a technique from a martial arts novel that allowed sound to be transmitted. Bo Ge clearly heard it shouting desperately.
“Ah, ah, this thing is stuck! It hurts, it hurts!”
Bo Ge instinctively responded, “I’ll help pull him out. Please don’t attack us, okay?”
The Death Card Spider paused for a moment, then quickly agreed.
This led to Bo Ge throwing away the bottle and jumping on the Death Card Spider’s chest and back. After no success, he pulled on Number 49, using strength together with the Death Card Spider to extract the robot that was stuck in the spider’s jaws.
Being able to communicate made everything much easier.
Bo Ge conveyed the Death Card Spider’s apology to Number 49, who glanced at the venom inside his body and chose to forgive the spider.
“The venom of the Death Card Spider is poisonous, but it also has high medical value. A peptide extracted from its venom can protect the brains of stroke patients,” Number 49 said as he secured the venom inside himself. “Selling this would be enough for me and Number 50 to get properly repaired.”
Bo Ge tried to translate for the Death Card Spider, but it couldn’t understand complex language, as its intelligence was roughly equivalent to that of a seven or eight-year-old child. It only knew that its venom was useful.
The Death Card Spider stabbed Number 49 again, trying to spray more venom.
The next moment, the lights suddenly brightened, and countless black humanoid mechs rushed into the arena, surrounding the entire area. Screams and laser beams filled the air. Bo Ge saw the Alliance emblem on the chest of these mechs and relaxed, along with Number 49, as they released Number 50 from the crusher vehicle’s cockpit.
“ULPC, coordinates 64.5, 134.5, suspected of illegal operations, gathering for gambling…” Three humanoid mechs flew overhead, holding laser weapons. Bo Ge saw all the people in the stands crouch down, hands over their heads.
“Allowing rare species to fight… This place is definitely going to be shut down,” Bo Ge said, looking at Number 49 and Number 50. “Your companions will be rescued too.”
Number 49 smiled bitterly. “Even if we’re rescued, it’s too late. Someone has already replaced us. We’re dispensable. No one remembers us. We can only wander or be recycled.”
“Someone remembers!” Bo Ge looked at Number 50. “Your companion, she’s been searching for you. She never gave up on you!”
Number 50 silently grinned, looking as if he wanted to cry, but couldn’t make a sound.
“But she’s gone.”
“I’m sorry,” Bo Ge said sadly. “She was controlled by a force. After the Alliance found out, she…”
“I know,” Number 50 interrupted, pulling off the remaining half of his synthetic face and holding it in his hands. “She self-destructed.”
“How do you know?” Bo Ge was confused. Number 50 had been in the arena. How could he know about his companion’s self-destruction?
“Because we worked for the same master. I had a link with her. If her work went wrong, I would help her fix it. I know she was always looking for me, but my locator was taken, so I couldn’t give her location feedback.”
Number 50 looked down at the half face in his hands. “She’s gone. I lost the only reason to stay in this world.”
Bo Ge recalled Number 50’s numb attitude after entering the arena. He had remained motionless in front of the Death Card Spider—that was a cry for death.
“You had a link with her, so you know Aiss?” Bo Ge suddenly realized.
“I met Aiss through her. Aiss seems to be a robot like us,” Number 50 projected a red, short-haired, gender-neutral image. “But she’s strange.”
“What’s strange about her?” Bo Ge straightened up.
“Her way of thinking is different from ours. What she says is strange too. But her body looks like a robot,” Number 50 sent Bo Ge several locations. “She’s here. I met Aiss here, and this is where she was controlled by that force. I really want to save her, but I can’t escape.”
Number 49 patted Number 50’s back, a hint of pity showing on his synthetic face.
The protective shield above the arena opened, and Hai Tu rushed into the arena at almost the speed of a hundred-meter hurdles, tightly hugging Bo Ge.
The Death Card Spider, standing aside, raised a foot and tapped Hai Tu on the shoulder.
Soft. Could eat.
Bo Ge shook his head at the Death Card Spider and slapped away one of its legs.
“That human is here!”
Bo Ge heard the voice of a black humanoid mech.
“We’re doomed.” Hai Tu’s rough voice grew hoarse as tears streamed down his face.
“I was worried something might happen to you, so I sent a message to your dad.”
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