Ch 15 – Robot Photo

Tau didn’t quite understand what was happening to him. His identity had been discovered, so Kersz should either kill him or try to use him against his father.

It made sense. Since Tau wasn’t dead, he was prepared for Kersz to try to use him. Right now, he was only valuable because of his relationship with the Supreme Governor.

Tau had no idea how Kersz and that inexplicable robot intended to break down his mental defenses.

Yu Xi didn’t come to see him. While Tau was locked in his suite, an announcement informed him that Yu Xi had gone to take care of his own business.

Tau believed that this was a delaying tactic. They wanted to amplify his anxiety, as people often behaved irrationally under extreme stress.

But did this tactic also involve playing cartoons?

Tau’s assigned suite was a little overly luxurious, containing its own small living room, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a gym.

After going inside, a semi-transparent projection showed him how to use all of the objects here. And most importantly, it showed him food.

Yes, the projection showed Tau how to eat. It indicated that there was no nutrient solution here, but that more nutritious and enjoyable food would be provided.

Tau initially intended to go on a hunger strike, but then he discovered that there really was no nutrient solution provided.

From the moment he took his first bite, Tau once again sank into deep suspicion.

Was this a strategy to win him over gently?

Was this in Kersz’s nature? Kersz only wanted to torture him until he broke down physically and mentally.

Maybe it was the robot’s idea? Who exactly was that robot? And how had he managed to acquire such a high-tech starship?

Tau’s mind was a flurry of questions, but for now, all he could do was exist like this…..three meals per day, early to bed and early to rise, reminders to exercise, daily health checks, and even holographic games to play when he was bored.

This excessively affluent lifestyle left Tau completely bewildered. All of his preparations were rendered useless, which only heightened his anxiety.

Tau was unable to sleep, and when the transparent projection informed him that Yu Xi was coming to visit him, he felt a rush of relief, as if the blade hanging over his head had finally fallen.

He finally understood what Yu Xi intended to do.

Yu Xi brought Kersz along to visit Tau. At the door to his suite, Yu Xi repeatedly instructed Kersz not to be mocking or malicious, and to try to appear kind and gentle.

“I won’t mock him,” Kersz assured Yu Xi.

Yu Xi didn’t quite believe him.

Kersz gave him a gentle smile: “As you’re well aware, I’m a master of pretense.”

“Very good, keep smiling like that. After all, you need to promote my planet,” said Yu Xi. “There’s lots of delicious food and fun things to do there.”

Kersz cleared his throat, then said to Yu Xi: “Earth is covered in plants, food is readily available, the technology is more advanced, and there are more fun games to play. Most importantly, we no longer need to run ourselves ragged.” His tone was sincere, and his low-pitched voice exuded temptation.

“You’re amazing!” Yu Xi patted Kersz’s shoulder.

Kersz put his hands behind his back and smugly puffed out his chest: “I’m just speaking the truth.”

“You always have such a sweet mouth~” Yu Xi was ready. He reached out and knocked on the door, activating the communication system: “Hello, Mr. Tau. May we come into your room as guests?”

They waited for a while, and the door finally opened. Tau was both confused and wary. It seemed that ever since he met Yu Xi, he never knew how to deal with any given situation.

Kersz smiled gently at him: “Mr. Tau~”

Tau: …..

Yu Xi asked again: “Will you let us in?”

Tau retorted: “Do I have the right to refuse?”

Kersz glanced at Yu Xi: “It seems we’re not welcome.”

Yu Xi was a little disappointed, but he still respected Tau’s choice: “We’re sorry to have bothered you. We’ll be leaving now.”

Tau was even more befuddled, but he was quite certain that he didn’t want to wait any longer. He wished that the blade hanging over his head would fall soon, and that whether he lived or died, he would at least be given an explanation: “Wait. Come in.”

Yu Xi’s initial disappointment gave way to delight: “Thank you! !” He pulled Kersz into the room, and once inside, he even looked around and praised the beauty of Tau’s home.

Tau: ?

The three of them sat down on the sofa, and a spherical butler robot brought them drinks.

Tau waited for Yu Xi to interrogate him.

“What is your favorite color, ah?” Yu Xi asked in a conversational tone.

Tau: “Silver.” He didn’t keep silent this time.

“Oh, right, your hair is silver.” Yu Xi nodded. “Your eyes are purple. Do you like purple too?”

Tau nodded.

“Have you been enjoying the food these past few days? Do you have any feedback?” Yu Xi asked again.

“It’s delicious, thank you.” Tau was still on edge.

“Do you want to live like this forever?”

Here it comes!

Tau’s muscles tensed: “What do you mean by that?”

“What I mean is that you can forget your past, forget your father, and forget your mission. You can live your life happily on a certain planet, with no worries about food, shelter, clothing, or transportation, with plenty of entertainment options to fill your life with.” Yu Xi said, “Of course, you don’t need to give anything in return. I know it sounds like a scam, but once you spend enough time on my planet, you’ll realize I’m telling the truth.”

Tau’s brow furrowed.

Kersz spoke up in a timely manner: “I can vouch for him. When you go there, you’ll no longer be controlled by anyone. You’ll be free, and you might even find love when there are more humans in the future.”

Tau saw Kersz’s smile and felt a chill run down his spine.

There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

“I don’t want to.” Tau shook his head in refusal. He didn’t understand what Yu Xi was trying to do. In fact, the best course of action was to agree first and then figure out Yu Xi and Kersz’s intentions before trying to free himself.

But the overly comfortable life he had enjoyed these few days had caused Tau great distress. He disliked passively waiting in such an environment. “I will not betray my father.”

“To your father, you’re nothing more than a pawn to be sacrificed at will,” Kersz reminded him.

“Perhaps I will be sacrificed, but if I die when it’s time for me to die, it will be a worthy death.” Tau clenched his fists.

Yu Xi: …..

Yu Xi exchanged a few brief pleasantries with him, then said goodbye with a smile and pulled Kersz away.

They left Tau’s suite, and when the door closed again, Yu Xi could no longer hold back: “Is there something a little bit wrong with his head?”

Kersz understood Yu Xi’s meaning: “Please cut him some slack. After all, he is an Illegitimate.”

“I know he’s an illegitimate child. An illegitimate child should harbor even more resentment toward his so-called father, but why does he seem to have an unusually deep relationship with him?” Yu Xi asked.

“That’s very normal. He was trained on the Supreme Governor’s private planet from childhood. He’s been brainwashed.” Kersz had met many ‘Illegitimates.’ “They’re superfluous humans outside the law. They’re not protected by any of the human alliances, and their lives are far removed from the concept of ‘humanity.’”

“Their feelings toward their masters are highly abnormal. They regard their masters as the only truth, and their own lives as worthless.” Kersz glanced back at the tightly closed door. “God knows how many of their companions’ deaths they witnessed on their way to adulthood. Death is a common occurrence to them, something that can happen at any time. They don’t value their own lives much at all.”

These humans seemed very familiar to Yu Xi: “They’re like a group of interstellar suicide soldiers.”

“Suicide soldiers? In any case, I generally don’t try to reason with them.” Kersz ran his hand lightly across his throat. “I just take action, because they’re completely immoveable.” 

“Then if I capture their fathers, wouldn’t it be like capturing the queen bee of a swarm and luring in all the worker bees?” Yu Xi pondered.

Kersz looked at Yu Xi.

Yu Xi requested his opinion: “What do you think?”

Kersz gave Yu Xi a thumbs up: “You’re clever. Almost a little devious.”

“Is it possible for me to reform him by treating him a little better?” Yu Xi felt that kidnapping the Supreme Governor was too risky due to his special identity amongst humans.

“It’ll be a bit difficult. Those toxic beliefs are deeply ingrained in their minds.” Speaking of this, Kersz proudly patted his chest. “Their natures are dark and twisted from childhood, unlike us sunny, cheerful kids.”

“Sunny and cheerful?” Yu Xi doubted this statement.

“Yeah, sunny and cheerful. Wait just a second.” Kersz opened his ID profile and found a video of himself as a child.

Kersz clicked the video, and Yu Xi saw a big-eyed child pointing at pictures on another screen, introducing them to his imaginary friend.

“These is Star Beasts. They lives in stars. They glows, and they puffs out fire and smoke.” The child’s pronunciation was still a little fuzzy.

“Heavens! !” Yu Xi covered his mouth in astonishment as he watched the adorable child in the video who believed in fairy tales.

At the end, the child hugged his doll to his chest and smiled sweetly.

“I want this video! I really want this video!” Yu Xi exclaimed with great excitement.

“Then you can trade me one,” Kersz said. “A photo or video of you.”

Yu Xi thought for a moment, then nodded sharply: “Okay!”

Yu Xi began to search through his memory bank for photos. When he found one of himself from the past, he was a little embarrassed: “I might not be wearing any clothes.”

“Ah?” Kersz felt his ears getting hot.

Yu Xi first copied Kersz’s video, then sent his own photo over.

What Kersz saw was a fat orange cat looking at the camera with a disdainful expression.

Kersz: ?

Yu Xi pointed at the round disc under the cat: “This is a photo of me at work. I still didn’t know anything at that time, so I wasn’t wearing any clothes.”

Kersz: …..

He took a close look at the photo, wherein the fat cat was pressing down on the robot vacuum while seemingly regarding them with lofty scorn.

“My, my dustbin is even facing the camera…..” Yi Xi felt that his photo was a bit excessive. “I hope you don’t misunderstand me. I’m a decent and proper robot.”

So this photo was actually risqué?

Kersz was helpless. He felt like he’d gotten a great picture, but all he could focus on was the fat cat looking down on him. 

It was a little baffling, but he really wanted to make sense of it, ah.

He really wanted to appreciate this photo from Yu Xi’s perspective.

What was so titillating about it? He wanted to know!

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Chapter 14 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 16