《The Busker, Chorong》 0 - Prologue The moonlight lit an abandoned skyscraper. Noises of metals clashing, crashes, shouts, and yells echoed from the building. Then, a mechanical, robotic, autotune-like voice shouted, ¡°I¡¯m Chorong!¡± A particular girl was on one of the floors of the skyscraper. She seemed to be in her adolescence, though she was a bit shorter than the average female height. She curled her hands into fists; her left forearm was clearly a prosthetic that was big and clunky. Still, it responded to her signals well, and its hand clenched. Her light-green hair that came down to her chin glistened in the light. Contrasting the cold moonlight, the look in her eyes burned fiercely, like a pair of burning cameras locked onto a target in front of her. So, who was she, and how did she get there? That¡¯s what this story is about. And to tell you the story, we need to rewind the time, back to when two men were having a conversation. ¡­ ¡°Have you seen William lately?¡± ¡°No? He¡¯s the head of the software development team. Why are you asking me?¡± ¡°¡­Did you hear what happened?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°His daughter passed away.¡± ¡°¡­Wait, Katherine? Really?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, yes. Same disease as his wife. I think genetics played some part.¡± ¡°Shucks. I hope William¡¯s okay. We should check if he is. He¡¯s not gonna try anything stupid, right?¡± ¡°I already tried to go to his house, but no one responded. I checked with HR, and there are records of him logging into the company OS every day, so he¡¯s still alive, at least.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. A third voice interrupted the conversation: ¡°Patrick, Mathieu, I need you guys back.¡± ¡°Coming,¡± the two men said in unison. The two men stood up from their chairs, holding their cups of coffees. Their lab gowns glowed brightly, reflecting the sunlight coming through a window of the office pantry room they were in. ¡°I bet you, Jack probably configured hardware-software unison test wrong again and blew a circuit,¡± Patrick, a tall man with an egg-shaped head, said. His name tag on his gown notified its readers that he was an intermediate software engineer. He drank all his coffee in one shot and then threw the paper cup in a garbage can. ¡°I just hope William¡¯s okay,¡± Mathieu, a short man with a rather circular head, said. Like Patrick¡¯s, his name tag had his position title, which was the intermediate hardware engineer. ¡°He will be. Hopefully,¡± Patrick said. The two left the office pantry together, marching back into the hell called work. In the same building as the two men, there was a room near the top. If the curtains were not draped, one in the room would¡¯ve been able to look down at a part across the street, shined on by a bright sunlight. However, the curtains covered the windows, making the room very dark. The only light source in the room was a monitor. A man sat in front of it, typing furiously on the keyboard to write hundreds of lines of code within mere minutes. His lab gown indicated that he worked for the same company as Patrick and Mathieu. The difference between him and the two were that he looked much more tired. The dark circle under his eyes and bushy hair indicated he had not been outside for a very long time. His back was slouched even though he looked like he was in his forties. However, even though he looked extremely tired, his eyes were focused on the screen, never being distracted to something else. The monitor was connected to a computer, which had a thick wire connecting it to something else. Suppose there was a mouse that would crawl up the wire and follow it, starting from the computer body. The wire weaved across the floor of the office, which had a messy web of wires already. If the mouse had managed to not lose track of the thick wire and reach its end, it would¡¯ve climbed onto a medical bed resembling a dental chair. The chair was occupied by a humanoid skeletal frame with bunch of mechanical parts and circuits attached inside. However, one could tell it wasn¡¯t just a humanoid robot; its head, unlike other parts, was nearly completed. It was covered with synthetic humanlike skin with a human face resembling a young, cute teenage girl. Yes, as you can probably tell, she is the main character of this story. She would explore the world, experience many things, question many things, and eventually find an appropriate ending to her story. But all these come later. Firstly, she has to be born. Authors Note: the Background of the Project Hello, everyone. My name is Decimal Noel, and I¡¯m the author of this story. If you¡¯re reading this, it means that you are devoting your precious time to reading my story and this note. I want to express my genuine gratitude for your interest in my project. This is a note explaining the background of the project for those who might be interested; if you aren¡¯t interested in the background and just want to read the story, feel free to skip this. What might be a bit different about my webnovel from others is that I have a completed draft of the story, which means that I have a clear guideline on where I want to lead Chorong¡¯s journey. I genuinely think it¡¯s a pretty good story, so I¡¯d really appreciate if you stick with me throughout my journey writing this webnovel.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Basically, I¡¯m revising the draft as I convert each chapter into a webnovel. The draft is around 50000 words long; if each chapter has around 1500-2000 words, that¡¯s around 25-35 chapters. However, the webnovel will probably end up being a bit longer as I add more details to the story. My main goal, however, is to be somewhat fast-paced with the story so you don¡¯t get bored. The story is entirely original: it doesn¡¯t belong in any pre-existing franchises. However, as the story goes on, you can probably see that I got lots of inspiration from other stories or media, including animes, mangas/manwhas, and Korean webtoons. The main inspiration of the entire story is actually a vtuber and their background story, which you might find interesting. My general goal is to upload at least 1500-2000 words per week. The first few chapters are likely going to be a bit longer, so that I can start the main conflict within the first five chapters without rushing the story. I¡¯m quite new to being a webnovel writer, so I welcome any feedback and interest you show in my story. Again, thank you for showing interest in my project, and I hope you enjoy your ride on Chorong¡¯s journey. 1 - Hello, World There was a dark office near the top of a skyscraper. A girl¡¯s body lied on a metal bed in middle of the room, which was also filled with machines and mechanical equipment. Thick metal cables connected the back of her neck to a massive console on a computer nearby. She had a puffy turquoise hair that came down to her neck. Her short height¡ªaround 160cm¡ªand her young-looking face made her look like she was in her teenage years, perhaps 17 or 18 years old. She wore a simple, slightly oversized shirt and oversized pair of shorts. She was quite beautiful, with pale skin, big eyes, and small mouth. However, her eyes were shut and she did not move at all, as if she was in a deep sleep. A man in a lab gown walked into the room. He stared at the girl for a very long time, and then walked to the edge of the office with windows. For the first time in months, he swung open the curtain. Bright sunlight intruded the office, blinding him temporarily. The name tag on his chest reflected the sunlight. It read that his name was William Woo and that he was the head of the android software development department. His eyes slowly adjusted to the sunlight, allowing him to see his own reflection on the window. His middle-aged face and short black hair with grey here and there made him look older. He also realized his back was slouched. He forcefully opened his chest with a grunt. He then grabbed a comb from his messy desk and fixed his hair. He wanted to cover the dark circles under his eyes as well, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about them. So why was a man who was stuck in this office for such a long time suddenly trying to look better? Was he trying to go on a date? No. Well, at least not a romantic one. He was preparing to meet someone the first time. He approached the console and typed text commands into it. The console then displayed bunch of status lines that seemed endless¡­until it printed: Activate? Y/N: William typed Y. He hovered his index finger above the Enter key for a moment hesitantly, and then pushed down on it. Mechanical buzz echoed in the room as electricity flowed into the metal cables. The buzz got louder and louder as the power increased. William felt like his skin was tingling, as if electricity was jumping across on it. Then with a loud puff, the buzz died. All the lights in the entire building went out. Employees and workers shouted and grunted in complaint. Patrick and Mathieu were among them. They stared blankly at a black screen in front. The work they had been doing for the last two hours was gone with electricity. Then, finally realizing what happened, the two screamed in unison. Of course, William couldn¡¯t hear their cries. William stood calmly. He wasn¡¯t surprised; he needed to use a massive amount of power to power up a self-looping power generator. A moment later, the lights came back on as the power to the building stabilized. Well, the damage had already been done to Patrick and Mathieu¡¯s work, but who cares. The console displayed: ACTIVATION: SUCCESSFUL William ran to the girl and pulled the cords out from the socket on back of her neck. Two skin-like plates slid out and shut the sockets. The plates covered the mechanical parts seamlessly, as if they were never there. The scientist waited, and waited, and waited¡­like a father who was waiting for his daughter to wake up after a surgery. ACTIVATING MODULE: CHORONG The world was black. But then, a pair of cameras flickered on and sent signals to the central intelligence module. The module commanded the eyelids to open, and the world greeted Chorong into its arms. Print(¡°Hello, world¡±) ¡°Hello, world,¡± she said. Her voice was not humanlike at all; it sounded like an autotune voice, with each note being unnaturally disconnected from the previous one and flowing chunkily. William did not care about the voice. He wrapped his arms around her. A storm of emotions swirled inside him. He couldn¡¯t stop his tears escaping his eyes. He sobbed out loud. Memories of Katherine and Bella mixed his brain around. Chorong stared at him with a stone-neutral face. Her cameras adjusted its aperture, making very small whirring noises. William looked up, and their gazes met. He couldn¡¯t tell what she was thinking¡ªor if she was thinking anything at all. But he did not care. It did not matter what she was thinking. It did not matter her voice was not humanlike. It did not matter that she was a robot¡ªan android. He was just thankful for the fact that she was there in front of him, and that her twinkling eyes were staring at him¡ªhe was just happy for her existence. He let go of her and backed up a little. ¡°Welcome to the world,¡± William said, sniffling. ¡°Are you my master?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes. Yes, I am your master. I am William Woo. I built you.¡± He took a deep breath, trying to calm down the storm of emotions a bit. Once the storm did slow down, he added, ¡°And your name is Chorong.¡± Chorong stared at him for a bit. Her gaze was enigmatic. Her eyes looked as if they were empty, but there was a twinkle behind them. ¡°Why was I born?¡± she asked. That, William could not answer at once. He had to think. He himself did not really know why he created her. When Katherine¡­left him and his world, he buried himself into working on Chorong like a madman without really knowing why. He worked like a machine, as if his life was meant to finish the project. It was perhaps the only thing to keep him going. An answer formed in his head, which he articulated: ¡°You were born to live.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He reached his hand out, as if offering a handshake. Chorong¡¯s gaze went back and forth between the hand and William¡¯s face. ¡°What does it mean to live?¡± she asked. For this question, William needed no time to think; someone had already taught the answer to him. ¡°Explore the world,¡± he said, smiling. ¡°Experience things, question things. Choose things.¡± Chorong didn¡¯t seem to understand the answer. Her gaze slowly moved onto his hand. Then, she reached her own hand out and grabbed it. William slowly pulled her, helping her to sit up on the seat. Then, she put a foot forward, stepping down on the floor with her bare feet. William felt like he was watching the first man to be on the moon put out the first step. Then, Chorong¡¯s next feet came down to the floor. In less than ten minutes, those two feet were in shoes that William had brought, and those shoes were on a sidewalk between a big street and the skyscraper the two had just came out of. The sunlight shined on her and William so brightly that Chorong had to adjust her camera¡¯s aperture and ISO. William held onto her small hand firmly but gently, as if he would never let go. William led her across the street, into a park. Chorong¡¯s logic module ran at its maximum capacity as it stored and processed all the new information she saw and felt. She recognized that she was in a park. She knew what a park was because data about one was inside pre-installed knowledge module. However, she had never actually been to one before, since she was born fifteen minutes ago. As she walked with William, she looked around. She could see humans walking around with other human beings. Some of them were small, which her logic module labelled as ¡®baby¡¯ or ¡®child¡¯. She could see tree branches swerving as wind blew. Her tactile sensors in her skin detected the breeze, allowing her to feel the cool, moving air. Then her auditory sensors caught something. Something was making the air vibrate, but unlike wind or other noises, this one was continuous and artificial. She stopped walking. William was jerked into a stop since they were holding hands. He nearly fell; he had forgotten how much power P-Series was designed to have. He looked at her. She was staring at somewhere. ¡°What is this vibration in the air?¡± she asked. William instantly knew she was talking about some sort of sound. However, P-Series¡¯s auditory sensors far surpassed the capabilities of human ears, so he couldn¡¯t hear anything. ¡°Do you want to go see it?¡± he asked. Chorong nodded. ¡°Lead the way,¡± the scientist said. Chorong started walking somewhere. William let her pull him along. As they walked, William started hearing music. It was a light, pop-like rock song, with a male singer backed by an electric guitar. He soon realized they were approaching the back of the park¡¯s stage. Unless there was an event, the stage was usually empty for amateur performers to use. They turned around a corner, and they were able to see the front of the main stage. This is where another main character of the story appears for the first time. A young man sang to a microphone while playing a red electric guitar majestically at the same time. He was a pretty cool, handsome guy in his early twenties. He called himself moderately tall since he was 177cm. His voice was a bit high-pitched for a man, allowing him to sing clean high notes that were being projected out from a speaker connected to the microphone and the guitar. He wore ripped jeans and a t-shirt inside red checkered long-sleeved jacket. There were no one around him except Chorong and William, but nonetheless, he sang so hard that sweat rolled down his cheek. He was not discouraged by a nearly empty hat to the microphone stand that only had a few coins inside. His eyes were closed to focus solely on his performance. In the middle of the singing, the man finally opened his eyes, and then flinched when he realized a girl was squatting less than half a meter in front of him, staring into his face. His music abruptly stopped. ¡°Holy crap, you scared me,¡± he said; his voice projected out from the speaker. He turned it off so he could hear her. The only people listening to him was only the girl and a man who looked like her dad, anyway. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked in an autotune-like voice. The busker frowned. He took a closer look at the middle-aged man behind her, and realized he was wearing a lab gown. The name tag on the gown had a logo, same as the one the skyscraper across the park had. He looked back at the girl. He leaned forward and looked really, really deep into her left eye. He caught a glimpse of a camera lens adjusting its aperture behind the human-like iris. ¡°You¡¯re a robot?¡± he asked. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked again. ¡°Me? Oh, uh, I¡¯m playing music.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Well, I enjoy it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Huh? Well, uh, I guess it¡¯s human instinct? It¡¯s a form of art.¡± ¡°Why?¡± The busker looked into her eyes, not sure if she was seriously curious or not. Her face was neutral; it hadn¡¯t changed ever since he first saw it. William grabbed Chorong¡¯s shoulders gently. He smiled at the busker. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. She¡¯s a bit new to this world.¡± ¡°No worries. Sir, she¡¯s good. I genuinely thought she was an actual girl. I thought this kind of stuff was only possible at, uh...¡± ¡°Mi-Ray?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°May I try it?¡± Chorong said abruptly. Both William and the busker looked at her. She was pointing at the busker¡¯s guitar. ¡°Uh, sure,¡± the busker said. He slowly passed the guitar to her. William felt his gut hunching, as if something bad was going to happen. She put on the guitar strap and held the guitar just like how the busker had. The busker was surprised how well she held it even though it must be her first time. She strummed the guitar¡ªshe strummed it so hard that it was louder than when the speaker was on. Before the busker could stop her, she strummed the guitar one more time. This time, the guitar made only much lower sounds. Chorong¡¯s force had ripped the three thinner strings. ¡°Give the guitar back, Chorong!¡± William commanded. Chorong passed the guitar back to the busker. He examined the guitar with extreme worry, trying to see if there were any more damages. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, young man,¡± William said sincerely. The busker turned on the guitar amp and played the low strings. He let out a sigh of relief when the remaining three strings still played their sounds well. ¡°Thank god, she didn¡¯t damage the bridge. I think it¡¯s just the strings,¡± he said. ¡°Say sorry, Chorong,¡± William scolded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Chorong said, still with a neutral expression. William handed the young man a lump of cash, probably more than enough for a pack of new guitar strings. The young man rejected it at first, but then conformed and accepted it. The man packed up his equipment and left. The two main characters would later meet again¡ªbut let¡¯s come back to present. Chorong turned to William and asked, ¡°Why did I have to say sorry?¡± William could tell that she wasn¡¯t being sarcastic or being rebellious; she was genuinely curious. ¡°You damaged his guitar. It¡¯s probably something very precious to him. When you damage people¡¯s things, they get hurt,¡± William answered. ¡°What does hurt feel like?¡± William didn¡¯t answer right away. He was surprised, because Katherine had asked the exact same question. Chorong stared into her master¡¯s face. His expression told her that he was having a hard time to generate an answer. She knew the concept of hurt, but she didn¡¯t really understand what it felt like. She decided it would be better to rephrase the question. ¡°What does pain feel like?¡± she asked. Suddenly, for William, an image of Katherine¡¯s face overlapped on top of Chorong¡¯s. He remembered his daughter wearing the patient¡¯s gown in the hospital, lying on the bed, with hundreds of wires and tubes connected to her body. William slapped himself, forcing himself to escape the train of memories. Chorong only slowly tilted her head, expressing her curiosity. Without any warning, he flicked a finger on Chorong¡¯s forehead. The robot rubbed where she got hit as if it throbbed. ¡°How did that feel?¡± he asked. ¡°¡­Not pleasant.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just a small taste of what pain is.¡± ¡°But Master, I do not understand. You inflicted pain directly on me. I damaged the busker¡¯s guitar, but not on him himself. Why does he feel pain?¡± William put an index finger on side of Chorong¡¯s head. ¡°You can feel pain here,¡± he said. He then moved the finger to her left chest. ¡°And here.¡± Chorong tilted her head again, expressing incomprehension. Her eyes stared into William¡¯s. He felt as if she was trying to read his soul. Quietly, William put his hand on Chorong¡¯s head and rubbed it lightly, wrangling her hair. ¡°You may not understand it now, but it¡¯s something you will eventually understand,¡± William said. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her. Within his heart, he prayed that she won¡¯t have to understand what pain is, ever. Unfortunately, she would, just like any person in this world. 2 - Start over Not far away from William¡¯s workplace, there was a two-storied house in the residential area. It was a small one, perfect for a family of three to live. Its wall was made of beige bricks that emitted a relaxing, welcoming atmosphere. It had quite many windows, allowing a lot of sunlight into the room. There was a living room and the kitchen on the first floor, and three rooms occupied the second. One of the rooms on the second floor once belonged to a particular young lady called Katherine. She was William¡¯s daughter, who had made a major impact on this story without ever being in it. That room had not been occupied ever since she had left this world. Another room beside that one was designed to be identical as Katherine¡¯s. William¡¯s family had been using that room as their storage filled with boxes and unused items¡­until three days ago. It was now occupied by our particular young female robot, Chorong. William had moved all the boxes to somewhere else, and then set the room up like a typical teenager student¡¯s room: one desk, one chair, one set of drawers, one bed, and one closet. He also had put up some glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling; they were the leftovers from decorating Katherine¡¯s room, which he had found from one of the boxes. Additionally, a map showing a mass of earth¡ªa continent¡ª with dots and labels scattered across it hung on a wall. He had gotten the same copy as the one in Katherine¡¯s room. Only after finishing setting up a room did William realize Katherine¡¯s and Chorong¡¯s rooms looked almost the same. William pointed at a dot labeled Hyun-Jae on the map. ¡°Hyun-Jae¡±, William pronounced slowly. ¡°Hyun-Jae,¡± Chorong said after him. She was sitting on the chair, listening like a university student taking a lecture. ¡°Good. That¡¯s the city we are living in right now. It¡¯s one of the two biggest cities known to us.¡± William had installed some pre-activation knowledge modules into Chorong¡¯s consciousness before activating her. However, she still barely knew about anything in this world. Thus, he was manually teaching Chorong the missing data. He did not find it a chore or annoying; he enjoyed teaching. He still remembered the day when he taught Katherine the same thing in the room beside this one. He glided his finger above the map, scanning through a few smaller dots. It stopped above another big dot labelled with the corresponding city¡¯s name: ¡°Mi-Ray. That¡¯s the other big city.¡± William paused for a moment as if he was hesitant, and then added, ¡°The technology I used to make you also came from there.¡± Chorong stared in the text reading Mi-Ray on the map. She stared and stared at it, as if she was being sucked into the map. She sometimes did that over the last few days since her activation, especially when she was actively absorbing new information. William did not like that; the look on her eyes felt¡­eerie. It was very different from the look on Katherine¡¯s face when she was learning; her eyes used to twinkle. Then, however, the engineer reminded himself the robot in front of him was not his lost daughter. ¡°Why is the map so sparse?¡± Chorong asked. All the dots representing villages and cities on the map were centered around the Northwest corner of the continent; everywhere else was empty. ¡°Humans are the most-daring living species, so I find it unlikely that humans have not tried venturing further,¡± she said. ¡°Outside any cities and villages right now is deserted and dangerous for two reasons. One, there¡¯s an extreme amount of radiation. Fortunately, humans do have radiation immunity, so it doesn¡¯t affect our health, it disrupts any sort of communication. Two, a virus called Alpha made animals extremely hostile. Think that virtually all wild animals are infected by Alpha. They will attack anything they see alive.¡± Chorong turned from the map to William. ¡°Why did that happen? Radiation usually doesn¡¯t come naturally; viruses usually don¡¯t spread to almost every species alive, either.¡± William shrugged. ¡°That, we do not know. I was born into this world, too. Lots of people have been researching, and we believe an important event caused the nature to change, spread radiation, and mutate a virus into the Alpha virus. But, there are no records of it, and it must¡¯ve happened a really long time ago.¡± Chorong turned back to the map, which told William she understood his answer. After a moment, she asked, ¡°Does that mean these dots are all that¡¯s left of humanity?¡± William shook his head. ¡°We believe that there are more human civilizations out there. No, we are sure there are more out there. We just can¡¯t reach them yet.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Chorong looked into the map. She suddenly stood up from the chair and stepped forward, approaching it. Then, she slowly reached her hand out, and put her index finger on Mi-Ray. William frowned slightly. ¡°¡­What are you doing, Chorong?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Chorong answered. For some reason, that made William smirk. He thought for a moment, and then rephrased his question: ¡°What are your thoughts on why you¡¯re pointing on that dot?¡± ¡°¡­People can reach here, right?¡± William nodded. ¡°There are still traders who travel between civilizations.¡± ¡°¡­Then I feel like I can reach here, too.¡± A familiar voice in William¡¯s memory shouted, Dad, when I grow up, I¡¯m going to be an explorer! William had programmed the urge to learn and explore new things in Chorong¡¯s logic module. Obviously, this was a sign that his programming was working well. He smiled. However, the reason he grinned was not the fact that his programming was working well. Chorong¡­just made him smile. He rubbed Chorong¡¯s head, messing her hair. He said, ¡°Of course you can reach there.¡± --------- And of course, due to unauthorized use of company materials, properties, and programs, plus causing a building-wide electricity blackout, William was suspended. However, he managed to pull in some strings in the administration to guarantee two things. One, he wasn¡¯t fired. He was simply suspended, meaning he was being forced to have unpaid vacation. Two, the company didn¡¯t learn what he had created; thus, he was able to keep Chorong to himself. Plus, the company couldn''t just completely fire him, because he was an integral part of the company. This meant that he could have a long break with Chorong at home. Thus, for the first time in the last few months, he woke up at home, in his bed. He sat up, stretched his arms, and then opened the door in his room to go downstairs. Chorong stood at the doorway, staring at him. ¡°Jesus!¡± William exclaimed, surprised. He had programmed her to sleep¡ªor to at least pretend to sleep like a human being while she organized and sorted all important data inside her memory. ¡°Good morning, Master,¡± she said. ¡°Good morning,¡± William replied. He looked outside the window. The sunshine lit up the world brightly. A ray of it came through the window and shined on Chorong. ¡°Do you want to go for a walk?¡± he asked. ¡°If you want me to, Master,¡± she answered. William put on a jacket and went outside with Chorong. They strolled together, just like how they did back at the park. William held Chorong¡¯s hand. He breathed in and out slowly. He hadn¡¯t enjoyed the cool morning air for so long. Everything was so peaceful, and calm. Then, a bit of the calmness got ruined when he heard, ¡°William!¡± Chorong and he turned around, finding two men approaching them from behind. William recognized them. He tried his best to hide his discomfort. ¡°Patrick, Mathieu,¡± he greeted. Patrick was his subordinate developer in the software team. Mathieu was an employee in hardware department who William had to work together a lot in different projects. William knew that the two were close friends and both lived near William¡¯s place. William glanced at Chorong worriedly. He had to somehow tell her to not let the two men know that she¡¯s not a human. ¡°We haven¡¯t seen you for a while,¡± Mathieu said. He saw Chorong, and then bent his back to be eye level with her. ¡°And who¡¯s this young lady?¡± Using her autotune-like voice, she said, ¡°Hello.¡± Patrick and Mathieu froze. They looked at each other, and then back at Chorong, and then at William. ¡°My name is Chorong. Who are you?¡± she asked. ¡°I, er, my name is Mathieu,¡± the hardware engineer replied. He turned to William. ¡°So, this is what¡ª¡± Patrick smashed Mathieu¡¯s back with his palm, interrupting his sentence. Mathieu yelped. ¡°Nice to meet you, cute young lady. My name is Patrick,¡± Patrick said, making a smile that looked forced. He turned to William. ¡°We will be off, then. Have a fun time.¡± William saw the look in the two men¡¯s eyes. They were mixed with feelings of confusion, shock, and¡­pity. He did not like that. He felt a discomfort¡ªrage¡ªsuddenly boiling inside his chest. ¡°Have a good day, gentlemen,¡± he managed to say. The two men turned around and left. ----------- The night draped over William¡¯s house. William sat in the couch in the living room, staring into the lit fireplace. He held a glass of brandy in his hand. He weaved his hand around, and the ice in the glass made light noises. He was alone, and the only light source was the fireplace. He couldn¡¯t sleep. He had lots of things in his head. He couldn¡¯t forget the looks in the two engineers¡¯ eyes. The pity in their eyes stirred his mind. He clearly knew why they felt bad for him; they were thinking he made Chorong because he missed Katherine. That was not true; he did miss Katherine, yes, but he hadn¡¯t built Chorong to be Katherine. Then, why did I build her? Suddenly, he felt like something came up in his throat and blocked it. Why did I build her? ¡°Are you okay, Master?¡± ¡°AHHH!¡± William almost lost grip on his glass. He turned around, finding Chorong standing behind him with a very straight, almost soldier-like posture. ¡°Chorong, please, make some sound when you move in the house,¡± he said. He then realized he sounded a bit irritated. He shook his head, and then said, ¡°Sorry, that sounded a bit mad. I¡¯m not. But it would be nice if you try to not scare me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master,¡± Chorong said. Her facial expression didn¡¯t seem sorry at all. ¡°I detected your breathing getting faster to an unnatural rate, so I wanted to check.¡± William scanned Chorong up and down with his eyes. She stood still, staring back at him. Again, he felt this eerie aura from her that he didn¡¯t like. ¡°I¡¯m okay, Chorong. Go back to bed.¡± Chorong nodded. She turned around and walked upstairs. He could hear her room door opening and closing. He fixed his posture and stared at the fireplace again. Chorong had really surprised him. However, a smile rose on his face. That was because his head felt clearer. The encounter with Chorong had enlightened him. Katherine loved scaring his father, knowing that he reacted extremely to any sort of surprise. However, unlike when Katherine scared her, when Chorong scared him, William hadn¡¯t felt any of the warm, tingly emotion in his chest. She just¡­didn¡¯t feel the same. Chorong is not Katherine, he told himself. 3 - Objective The next month went fast for William. He tried his best to spend time with Chorong and teach her how to act more like a¡­normal person. They went on short trips, visiting rural and forestry areas inside the city. William taught her how to smile, and when to smile. Chorong first made a very weird, asymmetrical smile as if she didn¡¯t know how to control her facial muscles well, but soon the smile became more natural. She smiled more often as the month passed. She laughed softly when they watched a comedy show on the television together. After that, they watched boxing matches. Though subtle, Chorong started showing excitement and discomfort depending on how the matches went. ¡°Upper cut, right hook, left straight,¡± she murmured during one of the matches. One day, they went on a fishing trip. One demonstration on how to cast and reel in a fishing line was enough for Chorong; she caught a fish before William could even cast his fishing line. Then, before he could explain what to do afterwards, Chorong bit into the raw fish that was still alive. William quickly explained why she should properly kill the fish before eating. Chorong made a sad, apologetic face and constantly nodded as William lectured her. However, William knew that Chorong was still not perfectly like a person just by the fact that she just ate a raw fish like that. Another time, they were walking in the park, and a group of young kids approached her and asked her to temporarily play soccer with them because they had odd number of players. William warned her to not overdo it, which she agreed to. However, once the match started, Chorong absolutely destroyed the opponent. She alone scored six goals in ten minutes. Eventually, some of the kids in the other team started showing tears. William had to apologize to the kids and then escape the park with Chorong. ¡°I told you to not overdo it!¡± he said to Chorong. ¡°I did not. I didn¡¯t hurt any of them,¡± she said, looking confused. William felt his forehead thumping as a bit of headache came to him. He shut his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, Chorong¡¯s lifeless eyes stared into them. An uncomfortable chill travelled down his spine. ¡°Are you ok, Master?¡± ¡°¡­Yes. I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Master, why was I born?¡± Chorong suddenly asked. William felt like invisible hands were choking him. A big mass of weight weighed him down inside his chest. ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know,¡± he answered. He wasn¡¯t lying. Chorong is not Katherine, a voice in his head whispered. That night, William sat on his couch with his glass of brandy again. However, instead of staring blankly at the fireplace, he held a digital tablet. He navigated through the files and tapped on a video file, which started playing. A girl and a woman appeared on the screen. The video was taken inside this exact house, showing the dining area. The woman put a cake on the table; its icing read: Happy 7th Birthday, Kath! ¡°Oh, wow, this is so big, Bella!¡± William¡¯s younger voice said behind the camera. Bella put her hands on her waist and puffed out her chest proudly. ¡°I did put in some hard work, you know.¡± ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t like strawberries,¡± the girl complained, pointing at fruit decorations on the cake. ¡°But Mom does. Shush,¡± Bella said jokingly. The girl grumbled audibly. William in present smirked. ¡°Alright, shall we sing the song?¡± his younger self said. ¡°Oh, I want to sing!¡± the girl shouted. ¡°The birthday girl singing the birthday song for her own birthday¡­isn¡¯t that a bit weird?¡± young William said. Bella shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s her birthday. She can do whatever she wants for today.¡± ¡°Alright, alright.¡± The woman turned off the light switch. Only the candles lit the dining area and the two people¡¯s faces. ¡°Three, two, one,¡± Bella counted. Katherine started singing the birthday song. Even though she was young, she controlled her beautiful, silklike voice masterfully, controlling the speed and tone of each tone. William could give it all if he could hear that voice just one more time. Chorong lied on her bed with her eyes closed. However, she was wide awake. She did have a function that closely mimics human sleeping, but she refused to use it as she thought about her purpose: the reason why she was built. Master had said her purpose was to live. However, as she experienced quite a few things with him, the concept of living became more abstract. There wasn¡¯t a clear goal. She didn¡¯t know how she should live. Her master, who built her, didn¡¯t seem to know, either. She could hear Master¡¯s soft breathing coming from the living room. She also detected a speaker, presumably attached to a tablet, playing voices of a young girl, a woman, and younger Master. She recalled the time she was with Master. What was his purpose? He didn¡¯t seem to have one. He just¡­lived, spending time with her, sometimes watching videos of his family. She wanted to ask someone. Master was not the right person, since she had already asked him. That meant there were only three people she knew and could ask. She got out of bed and opened the window, which made an opening just big enough for someone to come through. Without hesitation, she ran to the window, leapt through the opening, and gracefully landed on the asphalt. ¡°What the ¡ª¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. She turned her head. A man was standing there, staring at her. ¡°Do you know where a man named Patrick lives?¡± Patrick was having the best sleep of his life when his doorbell pulled him out of his sweetest dreams. He grumbled as he got out of the sweet bed. He marched downstairs and swung open the front door. Chorong stood there. ¡°¡­Hi,¡± Patrick said calmly, hiding his surprise. ¡°Could I ask you a question?¡± Chorong asked. Patrick stood aside, opening the door so she could come in. However, she stood still, staring at him curiously. ¡°This usually means the person is inviting you inside,¡± Patrick explained. Chorong came inside the house. Together, they sat down at the table. Patrick brought two cups of tea and put one in front of Chorong, even though he didn¡¯t know if she could drink or not. ¡°What¡¯s your question?¡± Patrick asked, sipping on his tea. ¡°What does it mean to live?¡± Chorong asked Patrick coughed, nearly choking on the tea. He slowly put down the cup and wiped his mouth with a tissue. He hadn¡¯t expected such a philosophical question. However, he thought for a moment, trying to think of a good answer. ¡°¡­Well, I think I should first tell you that there are many different answers, and there¡¯s no right or wrong answer. It¡¯s a bit different from mathematical formulas.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like a perspective of a human being; any human being.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t want a perspective of a human being. You want a perspective of a person.¡± ¡°¡­?¡± Chorong tilted her head, confused. ¡°My perspective is that to live is to attempt to become happy.¡± For some reason, Chorong remembered Master watching videos of his family on the couch in the living room, alone in the night. ¡°¡­How do you become happy?¡± she asked. Patrick turned his head toward the dark living room and called out, ¡°Jiji?¡± A light meow sounded in the room. A black cat emerged from the shadows and leapt onto Patrick¡¯s laps. ¡°For me, I tried making others happy,¡± Patrick said as he stroked his hand on the cat. The tips of his mouth rose upward, creating a smile: Chorong had never seen such a smile. It was calm, and yet, it was the brightest, and the warmest smile she had ever seen. It was as if Patrick, at least during that moment, was living in a different world. She would never forget that smile. Chorong came back to her house. Her knee motors were powerful enough for her to jump back through the window back into her room in one simple jump. Instead of going back to bed, she listened: the video was still playing, and Master was still asleep. She stealthily walked downstairs to the living room. William sat on the couch. The tablet in front of him played a video taken with a handheld camera. It showed Katherine standing on the stage. A sign above her indicated this was a singing competition organized by an elementary school. Katherine stood tall on the stage. Chorong detected both excitedness and nervousness in her face. The background music consisting of a moderately-paced acoustic guitar melody played out from the speakers. Katherine opened her mouth and began to sing with her silk-like voice: ¡°I opened my eyes and saw the glow-in-the-dark stars. I took them off and threw them in the garbage bin. I used to enjoy looking at them, I used to see the light of hope. But not anymore. Life comes and goes around, I guess I grew up in the end.¡± Quietly, Chorong picked up a blanket and covered William with it. William¡¯s eyes opened slowly. His eyes saw Chorong, and he suddenly reacted wildly, leaning away from her. He breathed fast as adrenaline rushed through him. Chorong tilted her head. She was sure she was careful to not scare him even him he woke up. Still, she apologized. ¡°Sorry, Master.¡± William¡¯s breathing slowed down. He shook his head, as if to shake something off from his head. ¡°No, no¡­I¡­Shoot, I fell asleep, didn¡¯t I?¡± he muttered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, master. I had no intention of waking you up,¡± Chorong said. She turned to go back to bed. ¡°Chorong,¡± the master called. Chorong stopped and faced him. ¡°¡­What¡¯s your thought on people who can¡¯t let go?¡± he asked. Chorong blinked a few times. She didn¡¯t answer. Silence filled in the room. ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry for asking a sentimental question. Good night, Chorong,¡± William said as he shifted around on the couch and adjusted his posture. He closed his eyes. ¡°Good night, master,¡± Chorong replied. Chorong went to her room and lied in her bed. Thoughts and memories lingered in her mind, especially Patrick¡¯s smile and Master¡¯s question. She did not understand what pain or what negative emotions really are, but she could tell that Master was not happy. Then, she decided what her definition of to live was. For me, to live is to make Master happy. In order to do that, she had to become Katherine. She had an idea how she could do that. William put on his jacket over his work shirt. He grabbed his suitcase and walked into his work shoes. Chorong opened the door and stepped aside. ¡°Thank you, Chorong,¡± he said, making a forced smile. ¡°Stay in the house. As I said, you can read the books in my room and watch the television if you are ever bored.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± William gave her a worried look. After a moment of hesitancy, he walked out the house, heading back to the workplace for the first time in such a long time. Chorong softly closed the door behind him. Then, she ran up to her room and changed from her pajamas to outside clothes. She looked out the window and watched her master walk away. When he turned around a corner and exited her line of sight, she opened the window and leapt outside. She didn¡¯t have the keys for the door, so she had to go through the window. She jogged the way Master had gone. She tailed him stealthily, hiding from cover to cover, until they reached the skyscraper she was born in. She watched him go into the building. However, instead of following him inside, she ran to the park across the street and headed to the main stage. Just as she hoped, the same busker was there, singing and playing his guitar. She waited until he finished his performance, and then approached him. This time, his eyes were open, so he saw her. ¡°Hello, again,¡± the busker said. He slightly pulled his guitar away from her. ¡°Teach me how to sing,¡± she said. The busker frowned. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I will pay for lesson fees. Teach me how to sing.¡± She reached inside her pocket and produced a stack of bills. Master had given her some money when they were walking around just in case they got separated and something happened. The busker had never seen such amount of money in cash before. He straightened his posture and then made a formal bow. ¡°Where and when would you like your lessons to be, ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Chorong,¡± she said. ¡°My name is Chorong.¡± ¡°Mine is James. James Gwak.¡± Every day from then on, once Master leaves the house, Chorong would head to the park and have the busker teach her how to sing. Her singing was initially not so great. Her pitch was off and would sometimes create very high-pitched, ear-piercing notes. The busker was quick to realize her vocal system was completely different from a human vocal system, so he couldn¡¯t give any specific instructions on how to control the sounds by controlling the muscles. However, he could guide her what kind of sounds, notes, and rhythm she wanted to create. Being a machine, she could produce the sounds the busker tasked her to produce within the first few practices. Then, one day, her autotune-like voice sung: ¡°I opened my eyes and saw the glow-in-the-dark stars. I took them off and threw them in the garbage bin. I used to enjoy looking at them, I used to see the light of hope. But not anymore. Life comes and goes around, I guess I grew up in the end.¡± Chorong turned to James. His eyes were closed. He did not say anything and stayed still. ¡°James?¡± she called. The busker opened his eyes. ¡°That was good. Notes were stable and on point.¡± Chorong smiled. The busker looked at her in awe. He remembered first meeting her: she had no facial expression whatsoever. Then, the smile disappeared as if it had been never there, and her signature neutral face returned. ¡°I will head back before Master is home.¡± ¡°Bye, Chorong.¡± James watched the robot jog back to her house. He could hear her humming the song she had just sung, as if she was practicing. There was something he didn¡¯t say to her. It was about why he closed his eyes and didn¡¯t say anything for a while after she stopped singing. He had never thought he would think this, but he had wanted to keep listening to her voice: her autotune-like, robotic voice. He had never expected such a voice could sound so¡­touching. He didn¡¯t want her to stop singing. He wanted to keep listening to her voice. Never did he know, he would be hearing her voice over, over, and over again for the next few months. 4 - Breakdown Chorong and William walked, heading back to his car. The moonlight and the streetlights lit their path. A simple carrier robot¡ªessentially a sophisticated shopping cart able to follow a customer around¡ªstrolled behind them, carrying plastic bags with groceries. Chorong kept glancing at the robot. ¡°I told you I can hold the groceries, Master,¡± she said. ¡°Let the carrier do its work,¡± William said. Though what he said was warm, his words felt sharp to Chorong, as if the words hid a steel blade inside them. Chorong took a glimpse of William¡¯s face. It looked stern. ¡°Master, I¡¯m not so different from that robot behind us. I can carry things. I can help,¡± she insisted. Her master did not reply. Chorong twirled her hair around her index finger, trying to guess why Master was rather unhappy. Was it because of what she answered to his question just after watching the movie? Before groceries, they watched a movie at the theatre together. It was a story of a young boy losing his sister and then taking revenge on the killer by sacrificing his own life. William asked her what she thought; she answered that the main character was foolish for sacrificing his own life for revenge. No, that¡¯s not why Master is like this, she thought. She had been feeling that her master was getting more and more¡­cold toward her recently. She had been just trying to act like Katherine by using any data she could get on the dead girl, so she didn¡¯t really know why Master¡¯s state was moving further and further away from being happy. She truly wanted William to be happy. Chorong and William entered the parking lot building. They had to go watch the movie together after William got off work, so it was late, and the lot was nearly empty. Then, Chorong¡¯s ears picked up a sound. She turned her head toward the source of the noise. A man was there, wearing a handkerchief over his mouth like a mask. He started talking: ¡°Give¡ª¡± Chorong remembered a scene from the movie. The main character got stabbed by an opposing gang member in an alley with a knife, nearly costing his life. Chorong stepped forward. The next thing the man saw was the parking lot¡¯s ceiling. Then he thought he saw the girl¡¯s face; however, it disappeared for him within a split second, so he wasn¡¯t sure if he actually had seen her. He felt something like two small rocks hitting his face repeatedly so fast that he felt like he was getting shot by a Gatling gun. Fortunately, the physical pain was soon gone with his consciousness. William watched in horror as Chorong sat on top of the man¡¯s chest and pounded his face with her small fists. Red liquid splattered. ¡°CHORONG!¡± he shouted. Chorong stopped and turned her head to face him. Her white shirt was now mostly stained red. Red liquid also painted her left cheek and hands. A pair of soulless eyes stared into William, which seemed to glow in the dark, like those belonging to monsters from horror stories. He found himself taking a step back, away from his own creation. She stood up and approached William. When she reached her hand out toward him, he flinched. A knife was in her hand, with the blade pointing away from William. ¡°The man had a weapon.¡± ¡°¡­¡± William could not say anything. William sat on his couch in the living room, facing away from Chorong, who stood at the doorway to the living room in a set of clean clothes. After the man was knocked down, William called the police and told Chorong to run back home. He applied blood onto his clothes and told the officers that he did it. Fortunately, the man they had met was a wanted criminal, so the police let him go quickly after getting his information. Chorong reconciled with him at home. However, he hadn¡¯t said a single thing to her since then. Chorong looked at her master. She squeezed her own arm, calculating what she should say. Should I apologize? she initially thought. However, her logic circuit failed and gave out NULL as the result of the calculations. She quietly walked up the stairs and into her room. She sat on her bed and looked up at the ceiling, where the glow-in-the-dark stars twinkled. Back in the parking lot, when she had detected that the man had a knife, she just wanted to protect William. She took the initiative and did what she thought was the right thing to do. However, when Master called her and she turned around, his face told her she was wrong. The face that Master was making¡­she would never forget it. It was utter horror. So what she had done was wrong. Why? Was protecting someone wrong? She stared into the glow-in-the-dark stars as if she demanded answers from them. Of course, they didn¡¯t reply; they only glowed at a constant luminosity.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Without realizing it, she started humming with her mechanical voice: ¡°I opened my eyes and saw the glow-in-the-dark stars. I took them off and threw them in the garbage bin.¡± William¡¯s eyes popped open. He could hear a very familiar song: a song that squeezed his heart, a song that¡­snapped something inside him. He stood up and marched upstairs. The singing was coming from Chorong¡¯s room. He barged the door open. Chorong, who was sitting on the bed, turned to him, her eyes open wide. ¡°Master?¡± she said. William lost control of himself and of the words coming out of his mouth. ¡°PLEASE STOP!¡± he shouted. Chorong froze on the spot. Words escaped his mouth in a voice like he was begging. ¡°Please stop. Stop reminding me of my daughter. She¡¯s gone; I know she¡¯s gone, and I miss her. I miss her voice. I miss how she sang. I miss how she acted. I miss how cute she was. Chorong, she would¡¯ve never done things you¡¯ve done. You are not her. You are NOT Katherine. So, please, Chorong, stop reminding me of Katherine. Just¡­STOP!¡± Silence. Chorong and William stared at each other without saying anything. William¡¯s chest huffed and puffed as if he had used all the air inside his lungs to say the words he had just spit out from his mouth. Chorong just stared at him. Then, William turned around, softly closed the door behind him, and walked down the stairs. Chorong didn¡¯t move. She stared at the door as if her master was still in her room at the doorway. She did not understand what just happened. Did¡­Master just yell at me? Did he just express anger at me? Her memory told her that he did, but she could not answer why. Why was he so mad? Because of the fact that she was just singing a song? Was it because she woke him up from a good sleep? You are NOT Katherine, Master¡¯s voice played in her memory. ¡°¡­I just wanted you to be happy, Master,¡± she muttered to herself; she did not know why she was vocally talking to herself. She remembered how she spent time with Master: walking, fishing, jogging¡­She remembered how she snuck out of the house every day Master went to work so she could practice singing and surprise him one day. She remembered how she always put a blanket on Master if he was sleeping on the couch in the living room. She felt the artificial muscles around her eyes twitch. The twitchiness infected nearby facial muscles and soon expanded to her entire face, and then to her entire body. She felt as if something was squeezing her heart, even though she didn¡¯t have one. Liquid poured from her eyes and flowed down her cheek as her entire body rocked. She felt like a thousand knives were stabbing into her chest and scraping out whatever was inside. ¡°I just¡­wanted you¡­to be¡­happy,¡± she said through her loud sobs. She had trouble controlling her voice as her facial muscles refused to listen to her commands. Yes, this was the moment when she finally understood what pain is. She had to do something. Anything, to distract herself from what she was feeling. She saw the window in her room open. She leapt off from the bed, dashed across the room and jumped through the window. ¡°James!¡± James opened his eyes. He slowly sat up with messy hair and half-closed eyes. He looked around, only to realize he could only see the sides of his tent. He thought he heard his name; was he wrong? ¡°James!¡± a familiar, autotune-like voice shouted from afar. James hurriedly opened his tent and emerged outside. The cold night breeze greeted him, making his neck muscles tense up. His tent was behind a bush near the main stage, hiding away from the park guards. He slowly peeked over the bush. Chorong was running at an incredible speed on the park¡¯s path, looking around for him. ¡°Chorong!¡± he called. His voice didn¡¯t come out clearly because he had just woken up, but Chorong¡¯s head snapped toward him, and she saw him. She slid to a stop and then dashed again toward him. Before he could react, she charged into his body with enough force to make him stumble back a bit. ¡°Woah, Chorong¡ª¡± ¡°Is my voice that horrible?¡± she shrieked, looking up at his face as she clung to his shirt. ¡°Huh? Wha¡ª¡± Then he realized her face was looking more reflective than usual. It was a bit dark, but when he squeezed his eyes a bit, he realized that her cheeks were wet; trails of water flowed down from her eyes down her cheeks. ¡°Is¡­my voice¡­that bad?¡± she said in a strained voice. Her voice was lower than before, but she was sobbing even harder. ¡°Am I¡­that¡­MONSTROUS?¡± James stood still for a moment, not knowing what to do. Other than Chorong¡¯s sobs, the night was quiet. Then, the busker hummed the first song that came into his mind: ¡° When the train travelled through the stardust, A boy cried out as he looked for his mom. He walked and ran, but no one was there. He then saw a woman and asked, ¡®Is this the train to the stars?¡± And she answered, ¡®No, boy, this is back to Earth.¡¯ The body got on the train, and he could see the orb Then he could see a train going the other way, And he saw the mother on that train.¡± Soon, Chorong¡¯s sobs subsided into sniffles. James looked down at her face and softly asked, ¡°Are you good now?¡± Chorong nodded, even though some tears were still escaping her eyes. They quietly sat down together on a park bench. James tried his best to not show how cold he was feeling. Chorong stared at the ground, sniffling from time to time. ¡°May I ask about the song you sang, James?¡± she asked. ¡°Oh, uh, I sang whatever came into my mind,¡± he said. Chorong turned to him and tilted her head. She felt like he was hiding something. ¡°What is the song?¡± she asked again, her eyes locked onto his. James¡¯s eyeballs darted around, and then he sighed as if he gave up. He pulled out his phone and went to a music streaming site. He searched for the song and pressed the play button: a female, high-pitched singer sang the same song. ¡°I don¡¯t think this was the most appropriate song to sing for you, but¡­¡± Chorong concentrated on the singing, and realized that the singer¡¯s voice was just a bit¡­unnatural. There was just a bit of discontinuity in the syllables, similar to hers, but to a degree ordinary humans would never notice. ¡°Who is this?¡± she asked. ¡°Her name is Fanny. She¡¯s an artificial singer from Mi-Ray.¡± Chorong¡¯s eyes twitched when she heard the word artificial. ¡°¡­Yes, she¡¯s a robot. Like you. That¡¯s probably why the song came into my mind first,¡± the busker confessed. Chorong didn¡¯t reply and instead focused on the song again. The singer¡¯s voice was¡­something. She couldn¡¯t describe it in words, but she felt like some of her heart that was torn away was starting to beat again. ¡°Can you tell me more about her?¡± she asked. ¡°Uh, I first heard about her when I was back in my hometown. A trader came, and I bought a tape of her songs from him. Apparently, her voice is a copy of a famous singer who passed away, and the company behind Fanny got some sampling of the original singer for the robot to sing in the same voice.¡± As James explained about Fanny, an idea slowly formed in Chorong¡¯s head. It was an idea that would forever change her life¡­and James¡¯s. ¡°James, would you mind waiting here?¡± ¡°Wha¡ª¡± Before he could ask anything, a strong breeze swept his face. Chorong was gone. He caught a glimpse of her turning around a corner and dashing away, following the park¡¯s path. 5 - Night Run Chorong returned home and leapt back into her room. She looked up in the ceiling, where the glow-in-the-dark greeted her. She lowered her head, and the map William had put up came into her line of sight. The word Mi-Ray seemed more bolded than other texts. She made her decision. She stood on her bed, allowing her to reach the ceiling. She grabbed a glow-in-the-dark star, and detached it from the ceiling. She took another one, then another one. She repeated until all the stars were in her hand. She neatly placed them on her desk in a stacked pile. Why did she do that? She didn¡¯t know for sure. She could only assume that her subconscious wanted to convey her decision to Master. She pulled out a backpack from the closet and packed it with clothes and a few other items, including a digital compass. Then, she approached the map. She grabbed a corner of it and yanked it, cleanly ripping it off from the wall. She rolled it like a scroll and jammed it into her backpack as well. She then grabbed a sticky note. She used a pen to scribble something on it and then slapped it where the map used to be. After that, she sneaked into Master¡¯s room. She grabbed a flash drive from a drawer, stuck it into the computer on his desk, and turned it on. She copied certain folders into the flash drive, then turned the computer off and left the room. She paused near the stairs. She knew that downstairs, Master would be sitting in the living room. She did not know what he was feeling or thinking right now, but she still knew he was there and would be there as he waited for her return. ¡°I will return, Master,¡± she murmured. She went back in her room and closed the door behind her. She turned around, took a deep breath, dashed to the window, and leapt through. The wind created by running circulated inside the room, blowing off the sticky note from the wall. The note slowly glided to the floor, with Chorong¡¯s writing facing up. It read: I will make you happy, Master. James was freezing in the night, still sitting on the bench. He couldn¡¯t even go back to his tent, because he didn¡¯t know when Chorong would return. Just when he was about to give up to the coldness, he saw a small silhouette appear around the corner and dash to him. Chorong slid into a stop in front of him, wearing a backpack in front of her. Her facial expression was completely different from when he first met her today. It was as if her eyes were glowing. ¡°You said you¡¯ve travelled in between the cities, James, right?¡± she said. ¡°¡­Yeah,¡± James answered slowly, wondering why she was asking. ¡°I need a guide. I¡¯m going to Mi-Ray.¡± ¡°HUH!?¡± he shouted. He was so surprised that he wasn¡¯t realizing how loud he was. ¡°Mi-Ray? Do you know how far that city is? It¡¯s going to take weeks, perhaps months! You know how dangerous it is outside civilizations?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I need a guide with experience being outside civilizations.¡± James and Chorong gazed at each other. ¡°¡­Me?¡± James asked, pointing his index finger at himself. Chorong nodded. James shook his head. ¡°Chorong, I¡¯m sorry, but the journey to this city from my hometown was hell by itself, let alone a journey that will be a thousand times longer. I don¡¯t want to go.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Chorong had expected him to say no. Thus, she had come prepared: she reached inside her backpack and tossed a lump of cash at him, a lot thicker than the one she had paid for her lessons. ¡°That¡¯s for the journey going there. I will pay the same amount for the returning journey.¡± The busker stared at the cash. He grabbed it with his hand. He then slowly stood up from the bench, and then bowed to her like a butler. ¡°When should we leave, milady?¡± Chorong smiled brightly, like a cute girl. ¡°Today. Now.¡± William blinked his eyes as weak sunlight shined on him through the window. He slowly sat up on his couch, his head aching. The clock indicated that it was dawn. Memories snapped into his head. He remembered barging into Chorong¡¯s room and saying things he now regretted. He sighed, pressing down on his forehead with his hand. He cursed under his breath. He licked his dry lips, and then stood up from the couch slowly, being careful not to fall. Once he was sure he was awake enough, he walked upstairs to Chorong¡¯s room. The door was closed. He knocked on it. ¡°Chorong?¡± he called softly. No reply came. He took a deep breath, and then said, ¡°I came to apologize.¡± Still, no reply. ¡°¡­?¡± Slowly, he opened the door. No one was in the room. He looked around. The glow-in-the-dark stars were not on the ceiling anymore, but instead was on the desk in a neat stack. There was a sticky note that fell on the floor. He picked it up and read it. In Chorong¡¯s writing style, it read: ¡°I will make you happy, Master.¡± Wind breezed upon him. He turned, realizing that the window was open. Puzzles pieced together inside his head, and he felt like a loud thud echoed in his head. Desperately, he ran outside his house and shouted her name: ¡°CHORONG!!!¡± Chorong and James stood at the border of the city. The city¡¯s edge had¡­nothing. The only thing that properly indicated that this was the edge of the city was a metal sign, which read: ¡°End of Radiation Barrier.¡± The asphalt road and the sidewalks and the streets just ended altogether abruptly, as if the city has been cut off there. Beyond the edge of the city, there was just plain dry dirt ground that spanned around a few hundred meters until a forest started. The forest looked huge, seemingly surrounding the entire Hyun-Jae. The sun¡¯s orange light was just starting to emerge above the trees, lighting everything with a warm glow. Chorong looked around; it was obvious that the buildings near the edge were old and abandoned for a long time, shown by broken windows and doors, and cracks on the walls. The sign also was rusty and old. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Chorong asked, pointing at the sign¡¯s text. ¡°Not all people are completely immune to radiation, so Hyun-Jae has an invisible barrier that weakens the radiation from outside. I don¡¯t think most people in Hyun-Jae know that, though,¡± James said. He adjusted the straps on his shoulders. A huge backpack containing the disassembled tent was on his back, along with a guitar case protecting his red electric guitar. ¡°We are going to go to a village called Tomorrow first, which is on the way. I¡¯m going to stock up some food and supplies. It¡¯s my hometown, so I know how to get there. The journey from here to there should be quite safe, and it should take two or three days,¡± he explained. He set a foot forward when a voice called behind them: ¡°Hey, you two!¡± James and Chorong turned around, finding an armored SUV strolling toward them with its driver sticking out his head from the window next to the driver¡¯s seat. The driver wore a set of goggles that hid his eyes. ¡°Are you guys gonna go outside the city?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes. To Tomorrow,¡± James answered. ¡°With no weapon?¡± James turned to Chorong. ¡°I don¡¯t have one,¡± she said. The driver turned around and yelled to the back of the vehicle. ¡°Hey, pass me one of the backup guns.¡± A hand from the back of the SUV passed on a rifle to the driver¡¯s hand, who then tossed it through the window to James. The busker caught it with a grunt. Its shoulder strap slapped his face. ¡°We are heading a different direction so we can¡¯t give you guys a ride,¡± the driver said. ¡°This is more than enough, thank you,¡± James replied, holding the rifle. James and Chorong watched the armored vehicle drive away. Soon, it went on a path into the forest and turned around a corner. Trees blocked their line of sights from seeing the vehicle. ¡°Do you know how to shoot, Chorong?¡± James asked. Chorong shook her head. She had only seen guns in movies; they weren¡¯t accurate enough for her to copy and shoot a firearm properly. ¡°I will take the gun, then,¡± the busker said. He wore its strap on his shoulder so the gun was behind his back, next to his guitar case. He shifted his upper body, fixing the positions of the things on his back. ¡°Shall we go as well?¡± Chorong nodded. She turned her head forward. ¡°¡­Chorong, you already probably know, but if we leave now, we are actually leaving. Like, you are leaving home.¡± Chorong nodded again. Her eyes were locked on forward. James soon realized that she was just looking forward; she was looking beyond the path directly in front of her. She was looking beyond the forest, and even beyond Tomorrow: she was looking at Mi-Ray. Together, the busker and the robot set their feet forward. 6 - Importance of How The busker and the robot walked together in the forest. Unlike what James had expected, Chorong weaved through branches and tree roots majestically, never scraping or scratching herself once. On the other hand, James bashed into branches multiple times and nearly tripped a few times. The guitar case, the gun, and the backpack clattered behind his back nonstop. ¡°Would you like me to hold your guitar case?¡± Chorong asked, reaching her hand out toward the guitar. ¡°No thanks!¡± James said, moving away from her hand almost like he was dodging it. ¡°¡­¡± Chorong remembered breaking the guitar¡¯s strings. Master had told her to apologize. She had, but without really understanding why. However, now, she did understand. She was about to say something, but James said, ¡°Ah, here it is!¡± A stack of branches with burn marks lay in front of them as if someone made a campfire there before. ¡°This is where I camped a night when I was going to Hyun-Jae. This is almost exactly the middle of the city and Tomorrow. Let¡¯s sleep here tonight and then move again tomorrow morning,¡± James said. Chorong looked at the sun. It was near evening, but the sun was still up. She thought about saying they could go a bit further; however, she saw the amount of sweat on the back of James¡¯s neck. He wiped away the sweat on his forehead with his sleeves. James carefully put down his guitar case and the gun. He then threw the backpack to the ground. Together, they gathered some dry sticks from trees nearby, made another stack, and then started a fire with a lighter. The sun started falling fast, and the sky changed from orange to dark blue with white dots scattered across. James quickly built the tent next to the fire and then sat down on the floor with a sigh. It was big enough for two people. They kept the tent open so they could see outside. Chorong looked up at the sky. The white stars greeted her. She remembered how, just a few days ago, she was in her room, with the glow-in-the-dark stars watching over her. James must¡¯ve noticed her gaze on the stars. ¡°I like the stars, too. Have you ever watched the Knights of the Stars?¡± Chorong scanned through her memory inside her processor and said, ¡°A story about a mysterious hero who used a star as his symbol, who dies in the ending under the stars. Yes, I¡¯ve watched it on the TV.¡± ¡°¡­You know, you don¡¯t have to remind a fan that their hero dies in the end¡­¡± James sniffled. ¡°Is that why you like the stars?¡± Chorong asked. James breathed out. ¡°Yes, it is one of my reasons.¡± He suddenly pulled out his guitar from the guitar case and strummed it without turning on its internal amp. He started singing a fast-paced rock song: ¡°Feel the burn, Feel the burn of my heart! May the stars guide you, May you kill the devils. I used to live in darkness, ignoring the calls. The pouring rain and the guiding lights awaken me, Make my heart burn like the stars! I am the knight, the Knight of the Stars!¡± After letting a moment of silence pass, James turned to Chorong, smiling. ¡°Not bad, huh?¡± Chorong nodded, grinning. ¡°The opening theme of the series.¡± The moonlight lit the guitar, making it reflect light into Chorong¡¯s eyes. It made her look at it, and she remembered what she was going to say. ¡°James, I want to apologize formally. I am sorry for damaging the guitar.¡± ¡°Apology accepted. I think I also overreacted when it came to the guitar, so I think I should apologize, too. Sorry about that. This guitar is special to me.¡± Chorong stared at the guitar and then asked, ¡°May I ask why?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s the reason why I exist. It¡¯s what made Dad and my mother meet.¡± James put the guitar strap from his shoulders, about to put it away. When he turned, he realized Chorong¡¯s head was right beside his, staring into his face. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear the story.¡± James let out a short laugh. ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a long story.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Chorong fixed her posture to a more comfortable sitting position, expressing that she¡¯s ready to listen. James let out a breath and then started talking. ¡°My dad used to live in a house really close to the one beside it. One day, he started hearing a guitar. He was okay with it for the first few days, but the guitarist kept playing and playing over weeks. And, according to his words, it was like the sound of the devil: the guitarist was so bad that it irritated Dad. Eventually, Dad realized the guitarist lived next door, so he knocked on the door. A lady came out and greeted him. Dad told her he didn¡¯t want to hear her playing. She asked when he was outside to work, and they negotiated that she would play the guitar during only those hours. She kept the promise, and Dad didn¡¯t hear the guitar when he came back from work. ¡°But, one day, he came back home earlier than usual, and he could hear the guitar again. He prepared himself to hear the devil¡¯s music again, but then, this time, it didn¡¯t sound that bad. A few weeks later, he came back home early again, and this time, the guitar sounded nice. A few months later, the guitar sounded great. A year later, the guitar sounded majestic. ¡°Then he soon got a mail notifying him that his mother¡ªmy grandma¡ªpassed away. I¡¯ve never met her, but Dad told me she was a good mother to him. Dad got sad, and Dad was going through hard times. Then, he found himself listening to the guitar more and more, and started finding it¡­soothing. When he came back from work a few times early, the songs would always be playing, as if they were greeting him. He soon found himself shifting his work schedule to an earlier time so he could listen to the guitar more often. The guitarist kept getting better and better. ¡°Then the lady next door and Dad met in front of their houses by coincidence. Dad was a straightforward man: he told her he liked her guitar now. He told her everything. He then asked if he could buy her a cup of coffee.¡± James smirked. ¡°And as you probably guessed, that lady became Dad¡¯s wife and my mother. And this,¡± he tapped on the guitar with his finger, ¡°this is the guitar my mother practiced with.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good story,¡± Chorong commented. She was smiling in a relaxed, warm sort of way, just like an ordinary human audience listening to a heartwarming story. ¡°How¡¯s your mother and father right now?¡± Chorong asked. She caught James¡¯s facial muscles flinching as if something shifted the state of his mind. ¡°¡­I unfortunately do not remember much about Mother. She passed away when I was really young because of an illness.¡± ¡°¡­Oh.¡± James looked at Chorong. Her eyes were darting around. She was making an expression as if she didn¡¯t know what to do. He smirked. He remembered the old Chorong: the robot with always the neutral poker face. But now, she was acting much more natural, much more like a human. No, not a ¡®human,¡¯ he thought again. The word didn¡¯t really carry what was inside in his head. More like a¡­¡®person,¡¯ he corrected himself. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I don¡¯t remember her well, anyway. And, I truly believe she¡¯s looking over me,¡± James said, pointing at the sky: more specifically, at the stars. Chorong looked up at the sky again. ¡°Also, I sometimes feel that she¡¯s around me. I can sometimes feel her warmth from this,¡± he added, tapping on the guitar with his finger. Chorong found herself reaching her finger toward the guitar. She quickly retracted her hand away from it. Fortunately, James was still looking at the stars, so he hadn¡¯t seen what she had done. ¡°¡­Chorong, I told you my story. I¡¯m wondering if I can hear yours. All I know is that you want to change your voice.¡± James turned his head to Chorong. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a long story,¡± Chorong said with a light smile. James laughed. He fixed his posture to match Chorong¡¯s. The smile on Chorong¡¯s face faded as she told him everything. From her birth to spending time with her master and to her master yelling at her. She stayed neutral throughout the entire telling as if she was reading a history book. However, she couldn¡¯t stop her lips from trembling and stuttering a few times when she was on the part about her master yelling at her. James stayed quiet throughout the entire story and only made nods. ¡°¡­What do you think I¡¯ve done wrong, James?¡± she asked. ¡°What made Master be angry at me?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s hard to say one particular reason. The human mind is a complex thing,¡± the busker said. ¡°But, if I give an honest opinion¡­I think it was because of the how: how you handled a few things.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°I made a few mistakes in my life. Quite many, so I thought about them a lot. And I soon realized my actions weren¡¯t really wrong. I always had valid, reasonable reasons behind them. But, how I did them was wrong. I lost friends because of not what I communicated but how I communicated. You could¡¯ve simply scared away the assaulter, but you beat him near to his death.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Okay, I will give you an example. There used to be a king who just became one after a series of power struggles. The first thing he did as the monarch? He executed every single person who had opposed him during the power struggles. He became more powerful than ever. Do you think this is right, Chorong?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I¡¯d agree. But then, he used the power to rule his kingdom with integrity and fixed internal corruption, allowing the kingdom to reign strong, even decades after his death. Still, he¡¯s remembered as a tyrant for most people.¡± ¡°¡­What I do is important, but how I do it is important, too,¡± Chorong said. ¡°Human minds are not calculators. Results by themselves aren¡¯t enough: you need the proper way of getting those results.¡± ¡°¡­How do I know that? The how?¡± James shrugged. ¡°That, I think only one can answer for themself. All you can do is think and make a decision for yourself.¡± After a short silence, the busker added, ¡°Chorong, perhaps consider deciding the how for yourself for this journey: how you are going to go on this journey and how you are going to make use of it throughout it.¡± ¡°The how¡­¡± Chorong muttered. ¡°What¡¯s your how, James?¡± ¡°To be like the Knight of the Stars!¡± he said proudly, chest puffed. Chorong couldn¡¯t hide her smirk. ¡°What? He¡¯s cool! It¡¯s not childish. He¡¯s a good role model for anyone to have!¡± Ignoring the busker¡¯s self-defence, Chorong looked up at the stars once more as if to ask them a question. They showed no signs of answering. The sun rose. The busker and the robot quickly cleared up the campsite and disassembled the tent. Chorong insisted on carrying James¡¯s backpack with the tent: unlike him, its weight seemed not to bother her at all. It was as if she was wearing nothing on the back, surprising James with her strength. They left the campsite and walked through the forest, using the map and the compass to guide themselves. When the sunset painted the sky orange, they were greeted by a gate in the middle of a tall stone wall with a sign on top reading: Tomorrow. 7 - Tomorrow The town of Tomorrow was in the middle of the forest, surrounded by a tall stone wall that protected its citizens from the outside Alphas (animals infected with the Alpha virus). The town looked like a modernized medieval village. The buildings were mostly made from wood, and most were only two or three stories tall. The roads were paved with actual rock slabs rather than asphalt, unlike Hyun-Jae. There were some trucks and big vehicles parked on the side of the streets, but they were rare to see throughout the village. ¡°We¡¯re going to spend a night here and then restock some food tomorrow morning,¡± James said. Everything in Tomorrow felt different from Hyun-Jae. Chorong felt like she was finally, truly away from home. It felt weirdly unreal as if she was in a dream. After walking through a busy outdoor market site and squeezing through people, James and Chorong arrived at an inn two floors tall. It was a small one that looked cozy. The sign above the door read: Gwak Inn. ¡°This is...¡± Chorong muttered. ¡°Yes. This is Dad''s inn. My grandmother ran it, and then it was passed on to Dad.¡± James grabbed the door handle and swung the door open, walking into the lobby. A lady in her late twenties stood behind the reception desk. Her eyes widened when she saw James. ¡°James?¡± she said. ¡°Hey, Anne. I haven¡¯t seen you for a while,¡± James said as he approached the counter. Chorong followed inside and let the door close behind her. ¡°It¡¯s been a year since you left! How have you been?¡± the lady asked. ¡°Still surviving,¡± James replied, trying to ignore thousands of hardships he had been through as a broke travelling musician. He once had to play for ten hours for three days in a row to make enough money to buy a loaf of bread. The lady glanced at Chorong. She seemed to be wondering how such a small girl could handle such a heavy backpack like it was air. ¡°Is Dad around?¡± James asked. ¡°No. He¡¯s probably drinking again.¡± James smirked. ¡°He hasn¡¯t changed, huh?¡± Chorong looked at James¡¯s face. Even though he was smiling, she sensed sadness in it. ¡°Well, anyway, room for two, please. Put the tab on Dad,¡± James said. The lady smiled. She pointed her chin at Chorong. ¡°Just to make sure, is that your girlfriend?¡± ¡°Uh, no,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m his boss,¡± Chorong said in her mechanical voice. Chorong instantly realized she had made a mistake. The lady¡¯s smile disappeared in an instant, and her facial expression froze, with the outside ends of her eyebrows spiking toward the ceiling. Her gaze went back and forth between Chorong and James. James also seemed to realize something was not right. After a moment, James opened his mouth. ¡°...I didn¡¯t know you were a NURAT believer.¡± ¡°I will have to ask her to leave,¡± the lady said. Her voice sounded as sharp as a blade. ¡°I am the owner¡¯s son. I demand a room for both of us. I guarantee you, she won¡¯t cause any harm.¡± ¡°I am the innkeeper appointed by your dad. I have the authority to decide who can stay here. She will not get a room here.¡± James glared at the lady. The lady glared back. A heavy atmosphere filled the room. ¡°Pheh!¡± James said. Then he turned around and barged outside. Chorong followed him. Before the door closed behind her, she took a glimpse of the lady. The lady was glaring at her, and the expression on her face reminded Chorong of her master¡¯s face when he was yelling; it was an expression that she would never forget. ¡°Life sucks,¡± James muttered, strutting toward somewhere. The sun had gone down, and the streetlights were becoming the only sources of light. ¡°You can get a room, James. I can sleep outside,¡± Chorong said. As she talked in her mechanical voice, many people nearby turned and stared at her. James sensed anger, hate, and disgust in those stares. NURAT, he thought. He didn¡¯t know NURAT spread through Tomorrow this fast. ¡°I may be poor financially, but I¡¯m not a poor employee who treats his boss poorly,¡± James said, forcing himself to be cheerful. He led Chorong to the back alleys, where garbage dumpsters filled the space instead of people. There was barely any light, so it was hard for an ordinary human being to see further than a few meters. However, James weaved around the dumpsters as if he memorized where they were. ¡°One, two, three...¡± he counted as he passed the dumpsters. After a few minutes, he counted ¡°eleven¡± and stopped in front of a dumpster that was far away from others. He reached under the dumpster and waved his hand as if he was searching for something. Then he felt a switch. He clicked on it. Something clunked like a lock that was being released, and light shined through the gap between the lid and the dumpster¡¯s body. He stood back up straight and looked at Chorong. ¡°Welcome to my old home.¡± He swung open the lid, which hit the wall behind it with a loud thud. LED light strips attached to the bottom of the lid lit up the alley. Chorong looked inside the dumpster. It was empty, big, and very clean. She could see wires from the light strips connecting to a sliding lock mechanism, which had wires coming from a small hole in the bottom of the dumpster. ¡°The switch underneath controls the lock and the light. I made the circuit myself,¡± James said proudly. ¡°You lived in here?¡± Chorong asked. ¡°Yes. There was a period of my life where I was a runaway.¡± Chorong scanned James with eyes indicating she wanted to say something. James sighed. ¡°Yeah, yeah, technically, I¡¯m still a runaway, but the time I am talking about is when something called puberty hit me. I wanted to pursue music, but Dad didn¡¯t want me to. So I ran away for a year.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He jumped inside the dumpster masterfully, as if he had done that a thousand times. He leaned the guitar case against one of the shorter walls. He removed the cartridge from his rifle and leaned the weapon next to his guitar. Even with the two long items, there was still enough space for two people to lie down. James sat on the floor and patted on the ground next to him, signalling her to come in as well. Chorong put a hand on the dumpster and used it as support as she jumped inside swiftly. She sat down, and James closed the lid above them. ¡°It is¡­eleven. We should sleep,¡± James said. ¡°Good night, James,¡± Chorong said. James reached through the small hole from which the wires were coming. Chorong heard a switch click, and the lock mechanism slid into place, preventing the lid from opening. The lights also flicked off. Chorong adjusted her eye cameras to the darkness. Even though there was a bunch of noise in her visual signals, she could still see James quite clearly as he lay down in the dumpster. She also did the same. Their shoulders touched. ¡°Are you uncomfortable?¡± James asked. ¡°No,¡± Chorong replied. ¡°You?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± Chorong saw James closing his eyes. She wanted to ask something before he fell asleep. She turned her body to face James and asked, ¡°¡­Do you not like robots?¡± The busker¡¯s eyes opened again. He rotated his eyeballs to look at Chorong while not moving his head. ¡°I like robots, actually,¡± he answered. ¡°Dad was...busy after my mother passed away, so I would watch cartoon shows on the TV. One of the ones I watched was called Space Generation Robot, and its main characters were robots. I still remember their names.¡± James raised his hand and started counting with his fingers as he recalled the characters¡¯ names: ¡°Atom, Vivy, Miku, Tiffany...¡± He paused, and a few seconds of silence followed. Then he waved his hand as if to shake off something. ¡°Anyway, that show made me like robots. I liked robots to the point that I studied robotics by myself.¡± ¡°Is it why you came to Hyun-Jae?¡± Chorong asked. James nodded. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°...I assume not all people are like you when it comes to liking robots.¡± James recalled the glares from pedestrians on the streets. ¡°¡­Have you heard of this thing called NURAT before, Chorong?¡± Chorong shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s this¡­theory, almost like a religion, spreading around civilizations. It¡¯s called NURAT. It stands for Nuclear-Robot Apocalypse Theory. A relic from an era before the world became like this¡ªwith all the radiation and Alphas¡ªwas found. People used to use something called nuclear reactors as their main source of electrical energy, but they were unstable and dangerous. NURAT states that the world became like this because a nuclear reactor exploded¡­and the explosion was caused by a robot.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°As I said, not all people are completely immune to radiation, and small towns like this don¡¯t have barriers to weaken it. The radioactive damage eventually cumulates in their bodies, so many people outside the major cities lose their loved ones to radiation. They want something they can blame their deaths on.¡± Chorong curled into a ball. She couldn¡¯t hold a sigh escaping her mouth. Then, a thought came into her head. ¡°James, I¡¯m sorry if this is a sensitive question to ask, but did your mother also¡­?¡± James sighed. ¡°Yeah. Radiation got her. Oh, I don¡¯t believe in NURAT, though. Even if it¡¯s true, I don¡¯t blame the robots in the current era. That¡¯s the same with Dad.¡± ¡°¡­Even though radiation took his wife?¡± ¡°My mother made him promise her before she passed away.¡± ¡°Promise?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t blame others. I do not know the reason why she made him promise such a thing, but that¡¯s the exact wording she used to make him say.¡± James fell asleep in the dumpster. Chorong lay next to him in her sleeping mode as well, but then her auditory sensors picked up noise from far away. She opened her eyes. The noise belonged to a male human being, probably in his fifties or sixties. She adjusted her sensors¡¯ sensitivity until she could hear what he was saying. He was mumbling. His irregular footsteps hinted that he was stumbling often, walking with minimal balance. He hummed a song that she did not know. Then, he ended his singing and grumbled, ¡°Damn it all, damn it all.¡± He made a huge sigh and then grumbled again. His grumbling was not understandable¡­but Chorong caught an irregularity; between his grumbling was his sniffling. He was weeping in between the grumbles. Chorong reached up at the lid. After pushing the lock to the unlocked position, she slowly stood up and pushed the lid open. A cold breeze swept her hair. Being as quiet as possible, she crawled out of the dumpster and closed the lid. James didn¡¯t wake up. She followed where the grumbling voice was coming from. She walked onto a narrow street that was connected to the alley where James¡¯s dumpster was. Not far away from her, a man lay on the bench next to a streetlight. The grumbles were coming from him. Chorong approached him. His hair was whitening, and his beard was unorganized. His clothes seemed high-quality and thick, but they were now old and ragged. His back was facing Chorong. Even though Chorong wasn¡¯t being quiet with her footsteps, he didn¡¯t seem to notice her. Chorong soon realized his breathing was slowing down, and his grumbling was subsiding: he was falling asleep. He grumbled something not understandable and then wept a bit again. Chorong carefully sat down on the bench next to his head. His eyes opened. He looked at Chorong. At once, his grumbling and weeping stopped. ¡°If you want me to move, just say it,¡± he said with a growly voice. Chorong shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to move.¡± The man frowned in response to her mechanical voice. ¡°Are you a robot, or are my ears so messed up?¡± He suddenly groaned out loud and shifted his body as if he was uncomfortable. He closed his eyes again. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Chorong smiled slightly. The man glanced at him. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know,¡± she answered. ¡°What are you doing here, anyway? This late?¡± ¡°The inn didn¡¯t allow me in, so I¡¯m sleeping in the streets.¡± The man smirked. ¡°Reminds me of my son. He used to be homeless for a bit.¡± Chorong kept quiet for a while. She detected his breathing stabilizing as he fell asleep. Then, his breathing got a bit irregular again, and he mumbled, ¡°Rachel...¡± She saw his hands grip tight and shake as if he was trying to grab hold of something. Two small drops of water formed underneath his eyes. Chorong clutched her shirt above her chest. For some reason, Chorong felt sad, too. She was sad because¡­the man felt sad. She didn¡¯t want this man to feel sad. Yes, she was feeling what people call empathy. She stared at the poor man, thinking what she might be able to do. Then, she remembered herself clutching onto James¡¯s shirt in her tears and listening to James¡¯s singing. The man heard a noise. He couldn¡¯t tell what it was, as his state of mind was somewhere between being conscious and being unconscious. The alcohol inside him prevented him from being able to command his body. He couldn¡¯t open his eyes, and he felt droopy. However, the noise slowly changed its shape into music, one that sounded very familiar. A silk-like female voice sang the song beautifully. ¡° When the train travelled through the stardust, A boy cried out as he looked for his mom. He walked and ran, but no one was there.¡± He felt his senses coming back slowly. He forced his eyes open. Next to him, a beautiful woman sat on the bench, looking down at his face as she sang. He found himself muttering, ¡°Rachel...?¡± Then, the image of the woman shook, and her voice changed as she sang. The image of the woman changed into the girl he had seen earlier. The silky voice changed into a mechanical voice. ¡° He then saw a woman and asked, ¡®Is this the train to the stars,¡± And she answered, ¡®No, boy, this is back to Earth.¡¯¡± The girl next to him had closed her eyes and was focusing on singing. She didn¡¯t seem to notice he was a bit awake. Drowsiness swept over the man again, and he couldn¡¯t make his eyelids stay open. Instead of fighting it, he let his eyes close and focused on his hearing. He hadn¡¯t heard this song for such a long time. He wanted to savour this moment. He let the warm drowsiness take his body over. He couldn¡¯t stop a small smile crawling onto his face. His body relaxed. He felt his consciousness glide away as sleepiness took its place. ¡° The body got on the train, and he could see the orb Then a train went the other way, And the mother was on that train.¡± ¡°Where have you been?¡± James asked. He was awake and was sitting up in the dumpster. ¡°I was close by. I apologize if I woke you up,¡± Chorong replied as she jumped into the dumpster and closed the lid above her. She then lay down next to James. The busker stared at her for a moment and then also did the same. Chorong stared above her. She felt...different. She had felt something when she sang to comfort the poor man. She had felt something when the man fell asleep with a smile on his face. Her inside felt¡­different. She didn¡¯t know how to explain it. However, she didn¡¯t dislike it. She thought that if she had a heart, it would be lit up with a warm light. ¡°James, you said I should decide my how, right? My how for the journey,¡± she said. ¡°Yes, I did.¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± They were interrupted when something banged on the dumpster lid three times. 8 - The How of Chorong Robert Gwak had been thinking he was going through the worst days of his lives, which is what he had been thinking for the last ten years. However, for the first time in this week, he fell asleep with a relaxed mind. A small noise made him open his eyes. A stray cat was nearby, playing around with a beer bottle. He slowly sat up, grunting. He had a headache from the booze, but he was used to it by now. The good sleep was helping it feel less painful, too. He looked around. The sky was still dark, but the robot girl was gone. He let a breath out. He wanted to talk with the girl a bit more. He shifted his feet to stand up, stepping on a puddle beside the bench. He realized there were wet footprints on the street, staring from the puddle. A pair of feet had stepped in the water and walked somewhere. He immediately realized the footprints belonged to the robot girl. He stood up and slowly followed the trail, which led to an alley with no lights. It was hard to see the footsteps in the darkness, but then he realized the alley he was in looked familiar. He kept following the footprints, which ended in front of a particular dumpster he recognized. He could hear voices inside the dumpster talking. ¡°Where have you been?¡± a very familiar voice for the man said. ¡°I was close by. I apologize if I woke you up,¡± the female mechanical voice replied. A moment later, the mechanical voice said, ¡°James, you said I should decide my how, right? My how for the journey.¡± ¡°Yes, I did.¡± Robert was waiting for them to finish the conversation, but his small patience ran out. ¡°I¡ª¡± He knocked on the dumpster¡¯s lid three times. The voices inside the dumpster stopped talking. The dumpster¡¯s lid slowly opened, and the robot girl¡¯s head emerged. Her eyes widened when she saw him. ¡°Mister?¡± she muttered. ¡°Follow me,¡± the old man said. He turned and started walking to the main street. He didn¡¯t bother to check inside the dumpster; he already knew who the other person inside was. ¡°Dad?¡± the familiar voice said behind him. Robert turned his head. James was standing in the dumpster, also surprised by the coincidence. ¡°Long time no see, son,¡± Robert said. The old man led James and Chorong to the inn they had been in a few hours before. Robert walked in first. The same lady still held the counter. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw her boss for the first time this month. ¡°Oh, Mr. Gwak, hello...¡± She didn¡¯t finish her last sentence when she saw James and Chorong also walk into the inn¡¯s lobby. ¡°Give them Room 1012,¡± Robert said as he went upstairs through a wooden staircase next to the counter. The lady opened her mouth as if to say something back but then shut it again. She quietly reached for one of the keys hanging on the wall behind her and handed it to James. James quietly received the piece of metal, and then he hurried after his father. Chorong followed as well. When Chorong was upstairs, Robert was standing next to a door with a sign reading 1012. ¡°It¡¯s your entertainment fee, robot lady,¡± he said. He pulled out a key from his pocket and opened a door next to 1012. It had a sign reading Staff Only. Chorong looked inside, and it looked like a hybrid of an office and a bedroom. Robert walked inside and was about to close the door but then paused. He added, ¡°That was horrible singing.¡± Chorong made a face that looked like: -_- Robert then added, ¡°But...it was a good experience.¡± He motioned to close the door but then stopped again. ¡°Oh, and James.¡± Chorong detected James tensing up. ¡°...It is nice to see you.¡± ¡°I know, Dad,¡± James replied, smiling. Robert closed the door and locked it. James used the key given by the counter lady to unlock the door to room 1012. He opened it, revealing a big room with two beds, closets, and nightstands. ¡°Welcome to the suite,¡± James announced. He put the gun and the guitar inside one of the closets and jumped into the bed next to it. He threw his jacket into the closet. Chorong also dropped her backpacks into the other closet.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. James turned his body to face Chorong. ¡°May I ask what happened with you and Dad?¡± Chorong explained what happened. ¡°I see. That¡¯s why Dad gave us the suite,¡± James said. ¡°Thank you, Chorong. I really am grateful.¡± Chorong didn¡¯t know how to reply, so she just smiled. She lay on the other bed and turned off the nightstand next to her. James also did the same. Only the moonlight that came through a gap between the curtains lit the room. ¡°Oh, yeah, Chorong, what were you trying to say? When Dad knocked on the dumpster,¡± James asked. ¡°¡­I think I found my how: my how of my journey,¡± the robot replied. ¡°What is it?¡± Chorong clenched her hand into a fist in front of her chest. It was as if she was making a promise to herself. ¡°I don¡¯t want others to experience something called pain. I want to help those in pain so they don¡¯t feel such a thing anymore.¡± ¡°...¡± Chorong turned her body to face the busker. ¡°What do you think of my how?¡± ¡°Well, I did say only you can choose your how, but¡­¡± James smiled. ¡°I think I chose a good employer.¡± James groaned as a ray of sunlight hit his eyes, waking him up. ¡°Oh, gosh, I don¡¯t want to stand,¡± he muttered. ¡°Do you want help waking up?¡± Chorong¡¯s voice asked. The busker realized it was coming from a close distance. James turned his head and found Chorong crouching beside his bed, her face really close to his. He reflexively pulled his face away from hers. Chorong puffed her cheeks, put the tip of each of her index fingers on each of them, and said in a high-pitched, childlike voice: ¡°It¡¯s morning! Wake up, or this cute Chorong will punch you!¡± James blinked. Chorong also blinked. The robot stood up. ¡°My master had shown a video of Katherine doing this to wake him up.¡± James still didn¡¯t respond. He was still in shock. His mind couldn¡¯t comprehend that the mostly-expressionless robot and the girl who just acted cute were the same thing. Someone knocked on the door. Chorong opened it. Robert stood in the doorway. ¡°Mr. Gwak,¡± Chorong greeted. ¡°Good morning,¡± Robert replied. He was able to stand straight, indicating he wasn¡¯t as drunk as last night. ¡°What¡¯s up, Dad?¡± James said. ¡°I came to ask where you guys are heading.¡± James briefly explained what happened to him and Chorong and told his father they were heading to Mi-Ray. He then pulled out a map and laid it on a table where everyone could see it. ¡°And to head to Mi-Ray, we will take stops at the villages and big cities so I can restock food. The next stop is here,¡± James said, pointing to a dot on the map labelled Yue. Robert scratched his chin, looking at the map. He glanced at Chorong briefly. Then, he pointed a dot very close to Yue. It was labelled Bulan. ¡°I¡¯d recommend here instead,¡± Robert suggested. ¡°Why? It will make the route a bit longer,¡± James pointed out. ¡°I have an adventurer friend. He¡¯s been to Yue recently, and he told me that NURAT has been on the rise there.¡± James looked at Chorong and then back at Robert. The son nodded. ¡°¡­Thanks for letting us know, Dad.¡± ¡°Be careful on the way there. There shouldn¡¯t be many Alphas between here and Bulan, but sightings of them in that area are becoming more and more frequent. ¡°¡­Oh, and also, James, come with me for a moment,¡± Robert said. He walked out the doorway. James followed. Chorong was about to follow as well, but then Robert added, ¡°It¡¯d be nice if I could talk with you in private.¡± ¡°Sorry, Chorong, but I think he wants to talk with me,¡± he said, making an apologetic smile. Chorong nodded. She wasn¡¯t offended at all. James followed his father and went into his office. Robert grunted as he picked up a box from a corner and put it on his desk. Cans inside the box jingled as he placed it down. ¡°Food. It will be enough for around a week or two. I also added some ammunition for your rifle, just in case.¡± ¡°Thanks, Dad,¡± James said. ¡°¡­Can I talk to you for a moment?¡± James expected this. He nodded and closed the door behind him. After packing up all their stuff and supplies from Robert, James and Chorong left the inn. Robert stood at the doorway of the lobby, watching them walk away. Chorong looked back and waved her hand at the old man. Robert smirked. He waved back. Chorong turned around to face forward. ¡°Did you get to say a proper bye to your father?¡± she asked James. ¡°I¡¯d say so, yeah,¡± James answered. The busker and the robot left Tomorrow using an exit on the opposite side of the village from the gate they used. The exit immediately led to a forest. Using their digital compass and their map, they navigated through the forest. The ground was relatively flat, so the walk wasn¡¯t too bad. They just had to be careful not to get tripped by tree roots. The sun went down, and the night fell. Just like how they did last time, they set up the tent and lit a fire using tree branches. ¡°Starting soon, we might not be able to make a fire. We are going toward an area with more Alphas,¡± James said as he sat down in the tent. ¡°Is it to make one right now?¡± Chorong asked, sitting down next to him. James shifted his body away from Chorong a bit. ¡°Should be. We aren¡¯t in that area yet.¡± Chorong stared at James. How he moved away didn¡¯t feel like it was for giving her space. He looked¡­uncomfortable. He looked like he had something to say. ¡°James, do you have something to say?¡± she asked. James glanced at Chorong as if he was surprised. ¡°¡­Yes.¡± He took a deep breath and said, ¡°Chorong, you are my boss, and I want to make something clear in our contract. Throughout this journey, if we get endangered, I will prioritize my life. I am not going to sacrifice my life in any means.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Chorong replied right away. ¡°¡­Okay, cool,¡± James said, a little bit surprised by how neutral and calm she was. It was as if she had expected him to say such a thing. That was because she had indeed expected him to say such a thing. Back in the inn, James and Robert were about to start a private talk in the office. Chorong, with her sensitive auditory sensors, could hear their voices. She tried to adjust the sensors¡¯ sensitivity, but the son and the father started talking before she could do so. Son, I don¡¯t plan to control your life. But promise me one thing. What? Come back home alive. No matter what happens, prioritize your life. You are my son: you¡¯re a person. She¡¯s a robot. Chorong couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit of bittersweetness. Still, she forced a smile. ¡°James, it¡¯s okay. I understand. I¡¯m a robot, after all,¡± she said. And just a few hours later, James¡¯s promise for his father would get tested. James held his rifle, aiming something in front of him. His hands¡ªno, his entire body shook. I will prioritize my life, he remembered what he had said to Chorong. He didn¡¯t know why he was remembering it now. Then, he heard a metallic crunch. ¡°CHORONG!¡± he shouted as Chorong¡¯s body flew across the air until it smashed into a tree with enough force to crunch the trunk¡¯s bark. Her body then fell to the ground. She tried to use her hands to get back up to the ground. Then, she realized something was wrong. Electrical sparks were exploding near her left arm. Her left arm. It was gone. Severed just below the elbow. Electrical wires and mechanical parts swung around near the edge of the cut arm. In front of the busker and the robot was a beast: a giant wolf with red, glowing eyes. It was the duo¡¯s first encounter with an Alpha. 9 - Encounter A day had passed, and the sun was setting as it painted the world orange. The busker and the robot weren¡¯t far from Bulan, but they would have to travel through the night if they wanted to arrive within that day. ¡°Maybe we should start looking for a place to camp for the night,¡± James suggested. Chorong was about to say I agree when her auditory sensors detected footsteps. They were close. Chorong estimated it was 200 meters away. Chorong analyzed the pattern and realized it resembled a four-legged creature. Chorong put her index finger on James¡¯s lips vertically, indicating to him to stay quiet. His eyes rotated around, scanning the area. He slowly put down his guitar case and backpack. Then, he grabbed the rifle. ¡°I thought this wasn¡¯t Alpha territory yet,¡± Chorong whispered. ¡°Me too,¡± the busker said. ¡°Front,¡± Chorong said. Between the trees in front of them, a wolf creature revealed itself. Its eyes were locked onto the duo, and they glowed red. It was the exact symptom of getting infected with the Alpha virus, which Chorong remembered from a book she had read. The wolf growled. It was huge: Chorong estimated its head to butt would span at least two meters. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t too close yet. It was around 150 meters away. ¡°I don¡¯t detect anything else. It¡¯s just that one,¡± Chorong said to her employee. The wolf started approaching the duo slowly. James thought for a moment. Could he run? No. The wolf was too close, and it was faster and bigger than both him and Chorong. James raised his gun and aimed his shot, lining the muzzle with the wolf¡¯s head. Then he cocked the gun with its bolt, loading a bullet into its chamber with a metallic noise. As if that noise was the starting signal in a race, the wolf started charging at the duo at full speed, dancing through trees and over tree roots. James couldn¡¯t help but flinch. He felt his heart starting to beat faster. Adrenaline pumped through his body. He tried to steady himself but struggled. This was his first encounter with an Alpha. Then Chorong stood slightly in front of James and took a boxing stance. ¡°150 meters away,¡± she said. James found her presence reassuring. The busker let out a long, deep breath. He cleared his head and focused solely on his arms and hands, just like when he played the guitar. He pulled the rifle against his shoulder to steady it. He fired a shot. It hit a tree next to the wolf. ¡°I can do it, I can do it,¡± he muttered. He fired another shot. This time, a splat of blood splashed from the wolf¡¯s side, and it seemed to lose its footing for a moment from the impact. However, it regained balance and continued charging, showing no signs of pain.Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got my aim down,¡± James said. Chorong wasn¡¯t sure if he was talking to her or himself. James steadied his breath and adjusted the gun¡¯s angle with as much detail as possible. He breathed out one last time, and his gut told him that the crosshair aligned with the wolf¡¯s head. He pressed the trigger. He heard no gunshot. Instead, there was a clicking noise. He pressed the trigger again. And again. And again. The rifle didn¡¯t fire. ¡°What the...¡± he muttered as panic slowly crept into his consciousness. He suddenly remembered what the adventurer who gave him the gun said back at Mi-Ray: Hey, pass me one of the backup guns. Why was it one of the backup guns? ¡°Shoot, it¡¯s a faulty gun!¡± James shouted in epiphany. ¡°100 meters!¡± Chorong notified. James grabbed the lever on the side of the rifle and desperately yanked it, hoping the jammed bullet would pop out. However, the lever did not move. Something had gone terribly wrong inside the gun¡¯s loading mechanism. Chorong let out a calm breath as she folded her hands into fists in front of her head, like a boxer. She advanced forward to put more distance between herself and James, who was still trying to get the gun to work again. 50 meters. 25. 10. The beast lunged, looking to bite off Chorong¡¯s head. Chorong took a small step forward to gain a bit of momentum and then launched an uppercut aimed at the wolf¡¯s chin. It would¡¯ve landed and shattered the beast¡¯s skull¡­if Chorong didn¡¯t hesitate. An image appeared in her mind. It was back in Mi-Ray, just after she protected William from the assaulter. She vividly remembered how William had looked at her. Utter horror. Then she realized she was in the middle of a combat. Recalling memories slowed her, and she realized the wolf¡¯s attack would reach faster than hers. Instead of continuing with the uppercut, she jumped sideways and raised her left arm to guard her head. The beast¡¯s teeth dug deep into the arm. The beast swung her body around, its teeth still stuck in her arm. She tried to plant herself to the ground, but she was too light. Then she heard metal crunching from her left arm. Just a moment later, she felt herself flying in the air backwards. Her back then crashed into a tree trunk hard enough to shatter its bark. She then fell to the ground. She tried to push herself back up with her hands, but she couldn¡¯t. She realized her left forearm was missing, just under the elbow. Electrical wires and broken circuits flung around at the edge of the cut. The wolf spit out Chorong¡¯s left forearm. James felt like his mind was going blank. Only desperation remained. He repeatedly yanked on the bolt, still trying to get the gun working. He glanced at Chorong; she was shaking but wasn¡¯t standing back up, as if she had a concussion. The wolf turned and looked at him. Instinctively, he lowered his body, ready to spring. The wolf jumped, aiming for his head. Using all of his might, he lunged out of its way. He landed on a side of his body. He stumbled back up onto his feet, still holding the rifle. The situation really wasn¡¯t good; the distance between himself and the wolf was small. He slowly stepped back, but the wolf also approached at the same speed, taking its time to hunt its prey. Then, something caught his eye: his guitar case. It lay right in front of the wolf. The wolf put a paw on top to step over it. James heard its frame straining under the weight. ¡°NO!¡± James shouted without realizing. Surprised by James¡¯s sudden shout, the wolf retreated, removing its paw from the guitar case. The busker¡¯s shout surprised himself, and it helped him wake up. He could think again. He breathed, trying to hold onto the string of his consciousness. I got this, I got this, I got this, he told himself. He glanced at Chorong. She was straining to get back up. We got this, the busker thought. He put his eyes back onto the enemy. The wolf seemed to have realized James still didn¡¯t have any good weapon against it. It bared its teeth and advanced. It lowered its legs as if it was ready to spring. I don¡¯t got this, the busker realized. The beast was too close for him to dodge the next attack. Then, he saw a glimpse. A glimpse of hope. A glimpse of a saviour. A glimpse of Chorong running at the wolf. 10 - A New Encounter Chorong was on the ground. Her system announced a bunch of alerts inside her modules. She looked at her damaged arm. She didn¡¯t really feel pain, but just the sight of a missing limb was so shocking and was engraved into her memory. Her body refused to listen to her commands. It was as if her body was frozen. Her body trembled. Why? Why can¡¯t I move? she thought. Then she felt liquid flowing down her cheeks. She lightly tapped on the liquid and looked at her hand. It was her tears. Why was she crying? She heard ruffling near her. She looked up. The wolf had jumped to James, who managed to dodge the attack just by a mere inch. She saw the expression on the busker¡¯s face. Fear. She realized why she was crying: she was afraid. I don¡¯t want to die, she thought. Her gaze dropped to the ground. This was her first time experiencing fear. She didn¡¯t know how to react to it. She was so afraid that she couldn¡¯t dare to look at the wolf. Then, she heard a shout: ¡°NO!¡± She looked up. James glared at the wolf, which was backing away from him. His expression had changed from fear to rage. James was resisting against the wolf: against fear. The yell was enough to wake Chorong. She let out a sequence of short breaths. Think of your how, think of your how, she told herself. Her right hand tightened into a fist, collecting dirt into her grip. Is this how light your decision is, Chorong? She looked up at the wolf. Its legs were lowered, ready to spring. I am a robot. I can¡¯t die, she told herself. Then, she launched herself forward. Before the wolf could launch its next attack, Chorong ran 50 meters. She carried the momentum into a punch and landed it on the wolf¡¯s head. It whelped, but the punch wasn¡¯t strong enough to shatter its skull or make it unconscious. The missing limb had thrown off her balance, significantly reduing her punch¡¯s impact. The wolf lunged at Chorong, trying to bite her head. She dodged graciously like a boxer weaving to dodge their attacks. She occasionally threw counterpunches with her right hand, but they didn¡¯t do much damage. James moved away from the fight so Chorong could fight freely. Still, he had to do something: Chorong couldn¡¯t launch any blows hard enough to kill or stop the wolf.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. He grabbed the rifle by its barrel like a bat. Then he swung it against a tree next to him. He swung again. And again. He grunted each time he made a swing, squeezing out every bit of his strength. He knew this was a dumb way to fix a gun, but it was all he could think of. ¡°Come on, come on,¡± he muttered between his grunts. Then he heard a metallic cling. It was very quiet, but he still heard it. He stopped swinging the weapon. He grabbed the rifle correctly and yanked the bolt one last time. It slid smoothly. A bullet shell flew out from the rifle¡¯s chamber and fell to the ground. He raised the gun. Chorong and the wolf fought viciously, moving around everywhere quickly. He steadied the gun. He could shoot his boss if he didn¡¯t aim right. After letting out a deep breath, he stayed still. Instead of trying to track the enemy with the crosshair, he kept the gun still and waited for the wolf to align. Then it did. James fired. The bullet flew past Chorong and the wolf, hitting a tree behind them. The wolf slashed its claws at Chorong, forcing her to jump back. Then, suddenly, it started charging toward James. ¡°James, watch out!¡± Chorong shouted. She chased after it, but it was too fast to catch up before it reached James. James felt his heart starting to pump again. His instinct screamed at him to run away. However, he knew he had to stay still. The wolf was faster than him, and he gauged that he had just enough time to fire one more bullet. Using the bolt, he loaded the chamber with another bullet. He lined the crosshair with the wolf¡¯s head. He pressed the trigger: the trigger that would determine his fate. Blood splashed from the wolf¡¯s shoulder. It didn¡¯t stop charging. Well, that¡¯s it, James thought. A gunshot echoed in the forest. The wolf¡¯s head flicked sideways as blood splashed from its forehead. Its legs stumbled, making its giant body fall onto the ground and roll to a stop just in front of James. James stared at the wolf, huffing and puffing. It was dead. He was alive. He looked at Chorong, who looked back. She was also panting. The busker suddenly stood up and looked around frantically, his rifle raised. It wasn¡¯t him who shot the wolf, so there had to be someone with a weapon nearby. Chorong, too, got into a boxing stance again and raised her sensors¡¯ sensitivities. There was a small cliff behind where Chorong was, perhaps around fifteen meters high. Chorong heard footsteps from the cliff¡¯s top, so she turned around and faced it. James did the same. Someone emerged on the top. The evening sunlight shined brightly on the figure¡¯s back as a strong backlight, making them look like a silhouette. Chorong and James couldn¡¯t see their face. The duo could tell that the silhouette carried a rifle, but the figure held it so that it pointed at the sky. ¡°Put the gun down! I just saved you!¡± a female voice shouted. The voice belonged to the person on the cliff. After a moment of hesitancy, James lowered his rifle. If she had wished to harm him or Chorong, she already could¡¯ve done so. The person slid down on the less-steep part of the cliff to come to the duo. Once they were on even ground together, James could see the saviour¡¯s appearance properly. James couldn¡¯t hide his surprise. She was¡­short. Very short. About 150cm tall. She was a girl, perhaps in her late twenties. Her long orange hair had a wavy curl to it, like the wind blowing in the evening sky. A huge backpack and baggy jacket made her look bigger than she actually was. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to say thank you?¡± she said. ¡°Thank you,¡± James said, bowing. ¡°My name is James.¡± ¡°Chorong,¡± Chorong said. The busker got frightened and thought that she should¡¯ve hidden her identity as a robot, but then realized her severed arm was showing wires and circuits. The saviour probably already knew she wasn¡¯t a human. ¡°We owe you our lives. May I ask your name?¡± James asked. ¡°Hmm...¡± the girl with orange hair muttered, rubbing her lips with her index finger as if she was thinking. Then she opened her chest wide and put her gun over her shoulder, like a constructor worker holding their hammer. She smiled, revealing her shark-like teeth. ¡°You can call me Secretto.¡± 11 - Arrival at Bulan Secretto opened her mouth. ¡°So, young man and...¡± She glanced at Chorong and the exposed wires from her damaged arm. Her eyes twinkled with interest. ¡°...a female-looking robot. What are you here for?¡± ¡°We are heading to Mi-Ray to change my voice,¡± Chorong said with her mechanical voice. Secretto didn¡¯t seem to be disturbed or surprised by her voice. Chorong briefly summarized what happened and her journey with James. Throughout the story, Secretto listened without saying anything. Once the robot was done, Secretto asked, ¡°So right now, you¡¯re trying to get to Bulan?¡± Chorong nodded. Secretto stared at them momentarily and said, ¡°I will guide you. I¡¯m heading to Bulan right now, anyway.¡± James bowed. ¡°Thank you.¡± Secretto smirked. Chorong thought that she seemed to like him. Before leaving, Secretto approached Chorong and gestured to raise her damaged arm. Chorong did as instructed. Secretto carefully examined it. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s damaged too much to attach the arm again,¡± Secretto muttered. ¡°Did you learn robotics, Miss Secretto?¡± James asked. His eyes glistened, happy that he possibly found someone with a common interest. ¡°Little bit,¡± Secretto answered. She looked up in the sky. The sun was going down fast, and the sky became darker every minute. ¡°More Alphas show up in the night. Let¡¯s leave for now.¡± Chorong and James quickly grabbed the stuff that they had dropped, and the three of them started walking together in the forest. ¡°A question, Miss Secretto,¡± James said. ¡°Is NURAT prevalent in Bulan?¡± Chorong felt Secretto glancing at her. ¡°Yes,¡± Secretto answered. ¡°We are going to have to sneak into my house. It will be dark, so it should be fine.¡± ¡°Oh, do you live in Bulan?¡± ¡°To be more specific, I¡¯m having a long-time stay there.¡± ¡°How nice. How is it living there?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°?¡± ¡°...You will see.¡± Soon, they encountered a big hill. They started climbing up. The hill was steep enough to make James start panting ten minutes after the start of the incline. However, Chorong and Secretto seemed to not be bothered about gravity. As they climbed, the sun completely fell, and darkness consumed the world. James could barely see Secretto walking two meters in front of him. Then, Chorong¡¯s auditory sensors picked up noises from far away. It was a clanging noise of metal. As they climbed more and more, the noise became closer and closer. James started hearing them, too. ¡°What is this noise?¡± ¡°Be quiet,¡± Secretto hissed. James realized that her facial expression had changed entirely; she had lost the cheerfulness, the liveliness that she had when they just met. James looked down the side of the hill, which was so steep that it was as good as a cliff. Then he realized there was light at the bottom of the hill. There were people with pickaxes mining away at stones and a cave that seemed like a mine. He could see them quite well since there were lights near them, but he was sure the miners couldn¡¯t see the trio because of the darkness. A man standing among the minors stood out. He didn¡¯t look like a miner; he wore a blue military-like uniform. Unlike the dirty miners, his clothes were perfect and straightened out, as if he hadn¡¯t done any labour. He held what looked like a TV remote from afar. Then, one of the miners near him suddenly collapsed. James squinted to see him better and then realized that the fallen miner¡¯s left leg was a robotic prosthetic. It wasn¡¯t just him; most of the miners each had some sort of robotic prosthetic on them, replacing a limb. The uniformed man approached the fallen miner and yelled something. The miner struggled to get up. Then, the uniformed man raised his remote, pointed it at the miner, and pressed a button on the remote. The miner¡¯s body jolted and shook horrendously. His disfigured face expressed extreme pain. His scream came out muffled, but even James could hear it. Chorong could hear it even better. She felt her chest tightening, over the point of being uncomfortable and to the point of being painful. ¡°What the...¡± James muttered. ¡°Electricity,¡± Chorong whispered. ¡°I¡¯m sensing electricity flowing through his body. Not enough to kill him, but more than what a human body can safely tolerate.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± James hissed to Secretto. ¡°I will explain once we get to my place. Until then, stay quiet, follow me,¡± Secretto said. ¡°I¡¯m assuming we are pretty close to Bulan, so that means those people are part of the city. What is this?¡± James demanded. ¡°Just trust me. I saved your lives, so just trust me. We are still exposed. I will explain everything once we get to a safe place.¡± The trio kept climbing, leaving the miner¡¯s scream behind them. James glanced at Chorong. He could tell she was also feeling some of the miner¡¯s pain. Soon, they reached the top of the hill. The forest ended there: on the other side of the hill, a huge bland plain greeted them. The plain was covered with dry dirt, reminding Chorong of a desert. A village that seemed to be straight from an old west movie stood in the middle. Though it was dark, lights in the town allowed the trio to see it quite well. The buildings were primarily made of wood, and most were one-storied. There were barely any people in the streets, and most of those people wore blue uniforms, the same one that the man they had seen in the forest wore.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Welcome to Bulan,¡± Secretto said. James and Chorong followed Secretto into the village. They moved stealthily in the shadows, trying to not be seen by anyone. They eventually reached a barn. Secretto unlocked a side door with a key and let the busker and the robot inside. Inside, it was pitch black until Secretto turned on the lights. The man and the female robot realized they were standing inside a workshop. Mechanical tools, wires, electrical circuits, and many other machine-related things filled the workshop. A bunch of artificial arms, legs, and what even looked like a heart rested on shelves in a corner. James approached the corner and examined the machines. He soon realized the arms looked the same as the artificial arm the electrocuted miner had. Secretto grabbed one of the artificial forearms and sat next to a desk crammed with soldiering and cutting tools. She put on a pair of glasses. ¡°Chorong, come here.¡± Chorong sat down on the opposite side of the desk from Secretto. ¡°Give me your arm,¡± the orange-haired girl said. Chorong put her damaged arm on the desk. ¡°You don¡¯t have pain sensors, right?¡± Secretto asked. Chorong shook her head. Without hesitation, Secretto grabbed a pair of pliers and started yanking on the broken circuit parts and wires on the destroyed edge of Chorong¡¯s arms. ¡°Please be gentle!¡± Chorong shrieked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing!¡± Secretto replied as she pulled out a huge cubical mechanical component from the robot¡¯s arm. She smiled like a mad scientist, looking proud that she managed to pull the component out. Chorong looked as if she was about to cry, despairing that her surgery was being done by this mad engineer. James started doubting if Chorong and he could trust this woman''s mechanical skills, but it was too late now. Around half an hour later, after removing numerous parts from Chorong, Secretto put down the pliers and grabbed the soldiering tool instead. She opened a side of the artificial arm she had grabbed earlier and pulled some wires out from it. She started connecting them to Chorong¡¯s wires. James had waited for some time. He opened his mouth to say something, but Secretto intercepted. ¡°You probably want some explanations, right?¡± ¡°Please,¡± the busker said. Secretto continued soldering as she talked. ¡°A long time ago, Bulan didn¡¯t exist; only Yue did. Everyone got along with each other until certain people started having a disease. It¡¯s very similar to cancer; a lump grows somewhere on the patient¡¯s body, impacting body functions and eventually killing the host. What¡¯s a bit different from cancers is that the lumps start to develop during adolescence. Also, the disease is genetic. ¡°People who didn¡¯t have the disease started separating themselves from the patients and their families. They forced the diseased people out of town. The exiled ones had to build a new village to survive together: that became Bulan. Then, people who remained at Yue realized that they had a problem. They simply did not have enough manpower to keep their own village survive.¡± Suddenly, Chorong yelped and flinched violently. ¡°Sorry, I touched a neural link there by accident,¡± Secretto said calmly, looking not apologetic at all. Secretto continued soldering, and Chorong kept jolting around and yelping. James started to regret letting Secretto mend his employer. Regardless, she continued the story. ¡°But people at Yue were smart; most of the diseased ones were labourers, while people left in Yue were mostly engineers and doctors. They offered Bulan people a deal: a deal to fix their disease.¡± ¡°The artificial limbs. They offered surgeries to remove the lumps,¡± Chorong muttered. She yelped right after her sentence. ¡°Yes,¡± Secretto said, smiling. ¡°The dumbest, simplest, yet the best treatment: cut off the body part with the lump, replace the body part with a mechanical one. The treatment did work, as you can see. Bulan people survived. However, Yue wanted something in return.¡± ¡°Manpower,¡± James guessed. Secretto nodded. ¡°Yes. They wanted the Bulan people to be slaves for mining and manufacturing plants. NURAT is prevalent in Yue. People with robotic limbs and body parts? They are perfect for Yue people to exploit without feeling guilty at all.¡± ¡°The person in uniform back at the mine was from Yue, aren¡¯t they?¡± Chorong realized. Secretto nodded. ¡°They are the Yue officers. They are in charge of managing and forcing Bulan workers to work.¡± ¡°But surely, not everyone from Bulan would comply with those conditions,¡± James said. Secretto put the soldering tool aside. She carefully adjusted the position of the mechanical arm so its edge would be just above where Chorong¡¯s arm was cut. She then pulled out a welder and started welding the edges together, connecting Chorong¡¯s arm with the artificial forearm. ¡°As I said, Yue people were smart. They were prepared for some Bulan people to rebel. In preparation, they put a secret gimmick to the artificial limbs they provided. Every one of them has an electrocutor that can be triggered remotely.¡± Chorong recalled the miner¡¯s face filled with pain and high readings of electricity from her sensors. She also remembered the remote the Yue man was holding. That remote must be the remote that can activate the electrocutors. ¡°That¡¯s so¡­evil,¡± she muttered. ¡°Is it possible to remove the electrocutor?¡± James asked. Secretto shook her head. ¡°No. At least, not with my skills, and I¡¯m the best engineer in Bulan. The electrocutor is embedded into the part that receives commands from the wearer¡¯s brain. If we remove it, the artificial body part is as good as broken.¡± ¡°How about body parts themselves? Can the Bulan people remove their artificial body parts?¡± ¡°Depends on where the lumps grow. People who had their lumps grow in their organs obviously can¡¯t remove their artificial parts. Those who lost limbs can detach the parts, but they can¡¯t fight the Yue officers disabled. ¡°You know the worst part? Bulan people can¡¯t survive without the Yue people. Bulan people don¡¯t have the education to understand how machines, weapons, or trades and currencies work. Even if Bulan declares independence from Yue, they will die from starvation or be eaten by Alphas. Yue people purposely designed the system that way.¡± Chorong sighed, amazed by what humans can do. The heavy atmosphere in the barn disappeared when Secretto turned off the welder and shouted, ¡°There we go!¡± Chorong stared at her new forearm. It was big and clunky, unlike her old humanlike one. It was heavier as well; she could easily tell her left-right body balance was completely off. She slowly raised her arms to compare the forearms and hands to each other. The new hand was much bigger. She sent commands through her motor management module to move her fingers. The ones attached to her new arm moved much more slowly and less smoothly. There was no way she could do any precise handling with the new artificial arm. ¡°Seems to be working well,¡± Secretto said, like an artist satisfied by her new artwork. Chorong thought for a second and then turned to Secretto. ¡°Does this also have an electrocutor?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Secretto replied, smiling innocently. Chorong and James looked at the woman. And you didn¡¯t tell us beforehand? they thought in unison. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. You can get out of Bulan tomorrow. The remotes have a limited range, so once you leave the village, you will be fine,¡± Secretto said. ¡°One more question,¡± James interrupted. ¡°Who are you, Miss Secretto?¡± ¡°?!¡± Chorong was surprised by James¡¯s question. The busker stared at the engineer. ¡°...¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem to have any artificial limbs. You are knowledgeable enough to understand the engineering inside Chorong¡¯s body. Plus, you have a rifle,¡± James said. Using his chin, he pointed at Secretto¡¯s gun that was leaning against a wall in a corner. ¡°Usually, oppressors don¡¯t allow slaves to have weapons.¡± Secretto did not reply right away. She pursed her lips as if he had hit her weak spot. Then she sighed and answered his question: ¡°I was born in a Yue family. I¡¯m in charge of making and mending the artificial body parts for Bulan people.¡± Secretto looked up, matching her gaze with James. Then, she said with unwavering eyes, ¡°My goal is to free Bulan from Yue¡¯s oppression.¡± 12 - Trouble at Bulan ¡°My goal is to free Bulan from Yue¡¯s oppression,¡± Secretto declared. ¡°...I see,¡± James said. A hand inside the barn slowly rose up, shyly asking for attention. It was Chorong¡¯s new hand. ¡°I want to help freeing Bulan,¡± Chorong said. Secretto looked at James, checking if the robot was joking or not. James¡¯s expression told the mechanic that she wasn¡¯t. Chorong continued. ¡°I¡¯m against harming people, but as long as I can avoid that¡ª¡± ¡°Princess, you cannot help me,¡± Secretto said coldly. ¡°To completely overhaul a system, you need violence: it¡¯s in history, it¡¯s in human nature. If you are against harming people, you will be useless.¡± Chorong was about to say something more, but then James gave her a look and silently gestured her to stop without letting Secretto see the signal. Chorong shut her mouth. The busker turned to the mechanic and said, ¡°Thank you for saving us and giving Chorong a new arm.¡± Secretto read his intention: he was trying to change the topic. ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± the mechanic said. She stood up and opened a cabinet in a corner of the workshop. She pulled out sleeping bags from it and then tossed Chorong and James one each. ¡°I will let you guys stay here tonight. Tomorrow morning, I will guide you out of here.¡± She pulled out another sleeping bag for herself and opened it on the floor. She was about to turn off the lights but then hesitated. She turned to James, who was opening up his sleeping bag in the opposite corner of the barn. She asked, ¡°¡­You aren¡¯t going to ask me more about Bulan? About my plans?¡± ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want to involve outsiders.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°I also have a contract to uphold, and Bulan¡¯s business is not part of it. But, I do regret that I will be missing an opportunity to help out a beautiful lady,¡± the busker said. He made a mischievous smile. Secretto blushed. ¡°Shut up and sleep!¡± She turned off the switch. Darkness filled the workshop. James and Chorong lay next to each other. The concrete floor was less comfortable than the beds back at the inn, but James was used to hard floors. He had spent months in the dumpster. Chorong listened to Secretto¡¯s breathing. She lay a few meters away from them, lying on her side, facing away. She seemed to be sleeping. ¡°James,¡± Chorong whispered. ¡°Yeah?¡± James responded in a low voice. ¡°Can we not help?¡± ¡°No. We are complete outsiders. And, remember, our goal is to get you to Mi-Ray.¡± ¡°As I told you, James, I¡¯ve decided what my how is gonna be.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I want to help people, James.¡± James felt as if someone was poking him on his arm that was on the other side of Chorong. He looked in the direction. His guitar case lay there. He sometimes felt like the guitar poked him when he did something that made him uneasy. He tried his best to ignore that feeling. ¡°Chorong, I¡¯m sorry, but I agreed to take you to Mi-Ray safely. That¡¯s our primary goal. Don¡¯t you want to meet your master again?¡± William¡¯s face flashed in Chorong¡¯s mind. ¡°Master...¡± she muttered. She clenched her hand into tight fists in front of her chest. She pursed her lips and then said, ¡°You¡¯re right, James.¡± Chorong turned her body, facing away from James.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. James let out a quiet, grunting sigh. His chest felt tight and uncomfortable. He remembered what he had said to her: how he would prioritize his life over anything else. Then he remembered fighting the wolf Alpha together in the forest. If Chorong didn¡¯t come to help, he would¡¯ve died. With her speed, she probably could run away from the wolf alone and leave him behind. But she stayed, and she saved him. And here he was, preventing her from saving others. He could only tell himself that this was for her own sake: he wanted her to live, get to Mi-Ray, and return to her master to be happy. Trying to save Bulan people would put her in grave danger eventually. I¡¯m protecting Chorong, the busker told himself. The guitar poked him again. The sunlight shined into the workshop. When James woke up, Chorong and Secretto were already moving. The busker and the robot packed their stuff. The busker groaned from time to time. His legs and arms ached; running away and fighting that Alpha had really taken a toll on his muscles. ¡°Put this on,¡± Secretto said, throwing a cloak to Chorong. ¡°We need to hide your arm. Once we are outside, don¡¯t talk; your voice will give it away.¡± James picked up his guitar and walked over to where he had put his rifle. He noticed that the angle at which it was leaning against the wall had changed slightly; someone had moved it. He picked it up and examined it. Its front sight had been just a small piece of metal, but now, it was a circular crosshair. Also, the entire bolt was gone. Instead, it had a simple lever. Secretto saw him looking at the firearm. ¡°I took your gun apart in the morning. The inside was messed up like hell, so I changed it up completely. It¡¯s semiautomatic now, so you don¡¯t have to load the chamber manually each time.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± James said. He then pointed at the front sight. ¡°Why did you change this?¡± ¡°Your aim is ass.¡± Her words made James feel like a bat hit his heart. ¡°Circular sights are easier to aim. I might not be there when another Alpha shows up in front of you,¡± Secretto said, smiling. She turned to Chorong. ¡°I saw you fighting for a brief moment; I feel like you will be a much better shot than this idiot.¡± Chorong shook her head. ¡°I...I definitely realized from the last battle. I hesitate when I am about to hurt something else. Weapons will be much more useful in James¡¯s hands than mine.¡± Secretto considered explaining how violence was sometimes necessary. Then she scanned Chorong. Secretto did not see a blood-stained war machine but instead saw a kind-hearted, innocent girl. She decided to not talk about the topic more. She looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost ten. ¡°We should go. Stick close to me when we are outside. Yue guards might question who you are, but they know me. Just act like my friends who work as traders.¡± James nodded. He remembered an episode from the Knight of the Stars, where the main characters had to go do an undercover operation under disguise. Even though he knew he was being childish, he couldn¡¯t help but feel like he was in the show. He put on the rifle strap and said, ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± Chorong nodded, signalling she was also prepared. ¡°Here we go,¡± Secretto said. She opened the door and let the two out first before locking the door. Then they started walking on the roads, with the mechanic leading the other two. There were much more people than at night. Most wore sleeveless white shirts and shorts to combat the grilling air rising from the dry dirt floor. Like the group Chorong had seen back in the forest, most had visible artificial limbs. Chorong could not see any sort of smile on their faces. ¡°Go! Keep moving!¡± a low male voice shouted. A group of workers came toward the trio, each of them carrying two bags over their shoulders. Chorong could tell the bags were extremely heavy for ordinary humans to carry. Next to the group, a Yue man in a uniform hurried the workers on, barking non-stop. He waved a remote in his hand like a whip. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to become an eel, keep moving!¡± the man shouted. Then he turned his head from the workers and noticed the trio. ¡°Good morning, Gilbert,¡± Secretto greeted with a smile. ¡°Good morning, Miss,¡± the man greeted back, approaching them. James couldn¡¯t help but tense up slightly. He wondered how spies in the Knight of the Stars could act so naturally. ¡°Where are you off to?¡± Gilbert asked. It wasn¡¯t an interrogative question, just more like a how-do-you-do question. ¡°I¡¯m going out with my friends to the forests. They need some guidance to the next village,¡± Secretto said. ¡°Ooh, friends of the Miss. Nice to meet you, sir and madam,¡± the man said. Gilbert bowed lightly to James and Chorong. ¡°Hello,¡± James said, trying his best to relax. Chorong opened her mouth. ¡°Hello¡ª¡± Both James and Secretto snapped their heads to Chorong. Realizing her mistake, she quickly coughed, drowning out her mechanical voice. ¡°She is a bit sick, so she can¡¯t talk much,¡± James lied. ¡°I see. No worries, madam,¡± Gilbert said. He turned to Secretto. ¡°Well, I will take my leave. Have a good day, sir and madam.¡± ¡°Bye, Gilbert,¡± Secretto said. She led the other two and walked past the uniformed man and the group of workers. Chorong glanced at the faces of the workers. She could not see any light in their eyes. They all looked gloomy as if they were in front of a great void they had to jump into. Her heart ached for them. She wanted to help them. But she suppressed the urges and kept on walking. She didn¡¯t have a proper plan on how she could help them, anyway. The trio and the group were around twenty meters apart when a worker collapsed with a thud. Rocks fell out from the bags he dropped and rolled on the ground. ¡°Get up!¡± Gilbert shouted. The worker panted. He put his hands on the ground and tried to push himself back up, but his arms shook. ¡°His leg is not functioning well,¡± another worker said, pointing at the collapsed man¡¯s left leg. It was an artificial limb. Gilbert ignored the worker¡¯s comment. He pointed his remote at the collapsed worker and pressed the button. The worker screamed as electricity burned through his body. James, who had been watching what was happening, turned away. He felt as if he was feeling some of the pain the worker was feeling. His guitar felt heavier, as if it was scolding him. ¡°James,¡± Chorong¡¯s voice whispered to him. ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± James immediately realized what that meant. The busker turned around, desperate to stop Chorong. However, the robot was no longer next to him.