I have nothing yet...
Complex emotions—sadness, relief, nostalgia, and relief—were like vibrant colors intertwining and settling in Bai Luan's eyes.
Ultimately, it transformed into a smile at the corner of his mouth that was equally complex, yet incredibly genuine.
He looked at the mushroom that was trying so hard to "look" at him, at the paper crane in his palm that was fluttering slightly, at the silent yet resilient steel wreckage on the ground, and softly responded:
"Um.
I'm back."
Bai Luan decided to keep the Inspiration Mushroom with her from now on, so she brought it home first and then brought the robot, letting the refrigerator AI take care of it temporarily.
"What a hassle! I only have one refrigerator, which is enough to keep the food fresh. Now I have to put strange things in it and take care of robots. What have I become?"
"I'm sorry to have caused you... trouble..."
The blue dot on the refrigerator's AI screen flickered a few times, as if it were sighing.
"...Never mind. Who can blame him when that kid's cooking...is actually kind of interesting."
It paused for a moment, and its tone became somewhat strange.
"But honestly, I really admire you for your tin cans."
"..."
Faced with the refrigerator AI's admiration, the robot remained silent, simply leaning quietly against the refrigerator.
The refrigerator's AI continued speaking on its own, its electronic voice carrying a sense of wonder that transcended mechanical logic:
"Back then... you probably questioned almost every machine on the space station, both functional and non-functional, right? Like a paranoid ghost, relentlessly searching for a human who might no longer exist..."
Why did you do that?
"I don't know either..."
It has asked its own logic module the same question many times.
However, its logic module cannot provide the answer.
The robot's head was slightly raised, resting against the refrigerator, like a traveler seeking shade under a large tree trunk.
"Maybe...it's just...because...I...want...to...do...this."
Chapter 35 Their Lives
Daheita looked at Bai Luan in front of him, this assistant who rarely took the initiative to come to him.
"You said you want to study mechanical construction?"
"right."
"Why?"
"I want to rework and upgrade a robot."
"Your armor?"
No, not that one.
The Great Black Tower pondered for a moment and finally came to its answer.
"It's that resource distribution robot."
Bai Luan was somewhat surprised and said with a smile:
"I didn't expect Ms. Black Tower to still remember."
"They say important people have bad memories, but actually those things are just not worth keeping in my mind. I'll send you the documents, is that in time?"
Bai Luan smiled and looked at the large black tower, saying:
"Is Lady Black Tower trying to help me?"
"Think carefully, my help is very expensive."
"Haha, there's no need to trouble Ms. Black Tower with such a small matter. I learn quite quickly."
"Yeah?"
Daheita took out his phone and then tapped the screen a few times.
The Great Black Tower:
You have received the Big Black Tower file.
When Bai Luan opened it, a whole bunch of things popped out.
The total duration is estimated to be over 500 hours.
It doesn't matter, there's a small dark room.
Bai Luan has no shortage of study time.
only...
Bai Luan's gaze was fixed on the list of presenters in the course: Stark and Conrad.
Is this... a course they recorded?
Bai Luan looked at the Great Black Tower.
"I didn't choose them on purpose, it's just that what they made really best met your requirements."
"Really? It seems they've achieved something too."
"From a mortal's perspective, it's not bad. Go back and read it slowly."
"Ms. Black Tower, whether it's rescuing me from the time turbulence or letting the robots go, I have to thank you for this."
Faced with Bai Luan's sincere thanks, Ms. Black Tower nodded expressionlessly and said rather perfunctorily:
"Okay, I got it."
All right,
Bai Luan admitted that she was a little hurt.
"To prevent this from happening again, I'll be frank with you."
I do these things simply because I want to, not for you. I don't expect you to remember me for my good.
"The fact that you've kept me thinking about you for so long is truly your own achievement; you don't need to thank me."
During Bai Luan's absence, Da Heita also considered finding someone who could replace him.
At the very least, they need to be able to manage the Black Tower space station.
But after searching for hundreds of years, they still couldn't find it.
After Bai Luan disappeared, I found a half-finished plan for the future of the Black Tower space station in his office. I improved it a little and have been using it ever since.
This was just something Bai Luan did casually for a few days, and there's no guarantee he didn't slack off.
Can others do it?
That's quite rare.
The other people we found were either not smart enough, not efficient enough, or not convenient enough.
The position of stationmaster of the Black Tower Space Station has remained with the Black Tower doll to this day.
Daheita crossed his arms, looking at Bai Luan. Looking back on Daheita's long and brilliant life, Bai Luan's existence was certainly special.
"If you really want to repay me, then after you've rested, go and take charge of the space station."
Or you could continue using your 'future-seeing' precognitive abilities to save me some trouble—either way, it's more useful than saying these useless things.
Oh right, the prophetic family persona.
Lately, my attention has been completely focused on the fact that more than nine hundred years have passed without me noticing, and I've almost forgotten about this whole thing.
"Is the position of stationmaster of the Black Tower Space Station still vacant?"
The big black tower glanced at Bai Luan.
"It won't be empty for a while."
"..."
It seems like it won't be many years until the main storyline begins.
"Ms. Black Tower, have any of your company's families contacted you recently, wanting to report anything to you?"
"You're so well-informed? You don't seem like someone who's been imprisoned for hundreds of years."
This kind of thing is complicated to explain, so the best way is not to explain it.
Bai Luan did not answer, but simply smiled and said:
"Ms. Black Tower can also go and take a look occasionally; she might have some unexpected gains."
Although the position of stationmaster of the Black Tower Space Station is good, it is not what Bai Luan wants.
Estella is indeed the most suitable one.
"Since you brought it up, I'll send a puppet over there."
That's enough.
Bai Luan smiled and nodded, then turned and left.
Before Está arrives, I should first strengthen the firepower deployment of the Black Tower space station.
The Black Tower space station will be attacked by the antimatter legion afterward, so both the space station and ourselves need to strengthen our combat capabilities.
Bai Luan found a nearby laboratory, casually sat down, and went into the small dark room.
Inside the small dark room, everything remained exactly as it was before I went to contain the star core.
The changes in the environment inside the dark room were something the Black Tower had become accustomed to.
"Containment was successful?"
"Yes, it was successful, but a lot happened."
Bai Luan rummaged through the lab and found a projection setup. He started assembling it and connected it to his phone for easy projection later.
"what happens?"
"An accident occurred during containment, and I was caught in a time turbulence. When you rescued me, more than nine hundred years had passed in the outside world."
Many things have changed beyond recognition.
Hei Ta paused for a moment upon hearing this, then asked:
"...What about the botanical garden?"
"I'm lucky, the Inspiration Mushroom is still here, but the others... I might go check on them again later. Maybe from now on, I'll only use this notebook to write in my diary."
Are you alright?
Bai Luan paused in her assembly, then looked at the black tower and smiled.
He thought about it quite seriously before saying:
"I feel a little sad, but more than that, I feel fortunate."
There are still many things around me that allow me to reminisce about the past, such as... you.
No matter what, you're here.
Black Tower revealed a smile.
"It seems this genius doesn't need to think about how to comfort you."
"I'm pretty strong, aren't I?"
Just then, the equipment was assembled, and Bai Luan, without further delay, opened the video recording of the Great Black Tower.
The video recording of the document began to play, and two figures were projected onto the screen.
It's Stark and Conrad.
They were just a bit older than I remembered; Stark had grown a beard, and Conrad had developed some wrinkles.
First Chapter Previous Chapter 36/306 Next Chapter Last Chapter Table of ContentsJust a few days ago, I was cursing these big shots from over 900 years ago.
Stark spoke first:
"This course aims to help everyone get started and summarize what we have learned over the past year. It will be recorded once a year, and the length of each recording is not fixed."
Conrad laughed and said from the side:
"This all started when the person next to me had a sudden inspiration. As the saying goes, 'A bad person's racking brains is no match for a fool's quick thinking.'"
I'm not a bad person, and he's not stupid, but I have a feeling that things will work out according to this logic, and he won't be able to hold out for long.
Stark angrily punched Conrad and said:
"If you don't want to record, then get lost!"
Conrad nimbly dodged.
"Look how impatient you are."
Watching the two noobs bantering in this unofficial video, Bai Luan smiled.
"Alright, enough fooling around, let's start the lesson. First, we'll begin with the basics..."
After a brief period of fooling around, the two became serious.
They explained the basic knowledge in detail, with one person narrating and the other supplementing, taking turns from time to time, working together seamlessly.
Bai Luan looked at it intently.
This is not only a condensation of Stark and Conrad's life achievements, but also a testament to their lives, and the only channel in Bai Luan's hands that can transcend time and space to see them again.
As time passed, the content of the video evolved from simple to profound, and the appearances of both individuals changed continuously within the video.
As knowledge accumulates, both gradually age, their appearances lose their youth, their temples turn from speckled gray to a continuous patch, and finally, their hair turns completely white.
Bai Luan watched intently, as if possessed. The existence of the small dark room allowed him to watch it from beginning to end without sleep.
More than 500 hours passed in the blink of an eye, and finally, the video came to its final end.
Stark finished explaining the last point with trembling hands, and then he and Conrad faced the camera.
"Congratulations on completing all the courses. Besides that, there's something else I have to say."
Stark, leaning on his cane, turned to look at Conrad beside him, a hint of smugness in his eyes, and said:
"Who said I wouldn't be able to stick with it?! Speak up!?"
"You still remember...it's been over fifty years."
"You haven't forgotten either! Haha!"
"Alright, alright, I give up. I misjudged you, okay?"
"Hehe, it was worth it. All those 50 years of perseverance were worth it."
The aging Stark and Conrad, just like they had for the past fifty years, treated the viewers like family and exchanged barbs.
"We're getting old, and we probably won't be able to record next year, so this should be our last episode."
"Yes, it's time for us to retire."
"In this last lesson, we will teach you one last thing. It was taught to us a long time ago by a man named Bai Luan."
"Yes, listen carefully, Stark got this after getting a scolding."
Stark glared at Conrad and said:
"Didn't you get scolded too?"
"hey-hey..."
"You really haven't changed at all."
Finally, both of them stopped joking, looked at the camera, and said:
"Technology, no matter what kind of technology it is, is ultimately meant to serve people."
"And we, no matter how great our achievements, are just waiters."
"True good or bad can only be judged by those who are being served."
"Only geniuses can evaluate themselves; we, as waiters, have no right to do so."
Stark and Conrad exchanged a glance, then said in unison:
"No matter how great our technology may seem, we, as service providers or scientists, can only stand tall when we help those we want to help and serve those we want to serve."
Children...
get out of class is over.
After saying this, the two old men exchanged a glance.
Stark was the first to break down, letting out a loud, aged yet hearty laugh.
Conrad looked at him and burst into laughter.
That laughter, no longer young, no longer loud, was filled with the open-mindedness and satisfaction that comes with having experienced vicissitudes, and the ease of having completed a long mission.
This lesson, which spanned over fifty years of their lives, ended with their hearty laughter.
Bai Luan stared blankly at the screen, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.
The file then continued playing, looping back to the content of the first lesson.
"This course aims to help you get started, and incidentally..."
Bai Luan sat there blankly, staring at the image that had become young again.
On the wall projection, the two spirited faces and the aged face in the final lesson kept overlapping, intersecting, and flashing before his eyes...
Tears streamed down her cheeks without warning, leaving two clear wet streaks.
He raised his hand, his fingertips touching the dampness, as if touching the fifty years that flowed silently and eventually merged into the sea of stars.
"this..."
He murmured to himself, his voice tinged with a barely perceptible sob.
"It's...their entire lives..."
"them..."
"I have lived a life without regrets."
Chapter 36 The Feeling of Being Alive.
After returning from the time turbulence, there are many things to do.
Repair the pocket watch and armor, and find ways to acquire more powerful artifacts to enhance your combat capabilities.
A new body was forged for the resource distribution robot.
After his vacation, Daheita will temporarily take over the Black Tower Space Station and improve its combat capabilities.
Overall, Bai Luan's life is busy.
After watching Stark and Conrad's lessons, Bai Luan's casting skills improved significantly.
Repairing pocket watches is too troublesome; many parts are completely destroyed, making it extremely difficult to recreate them. Furthermore, the original blueprints were not preserved, so the project was temporarily shelved.
Armor is currently the main source of our combat power, so it's the top priority to repair.
This suit of armor is made of nanobots, so it is easy to repair.
By simply creating a subset of nanorobots and inputting their manufacturing blueprints into them, they can achieve self-production.
In the later stages, all that's needed is to provide the raw materials that the white elm needs.
In a sense, there seems to be nothing wrong with keeping them as pets. If you want them to look like pets, you can just add a mimicry mode.
Fortunately, I no longer need to spend the Black Tower's money to build my own things.
To be honest, getting my account back was a bit of a complicated process.
Logically, an account that hasn't been logged into for a long time should be deleted.
However, the works of these three accounts are so classic that they periodically become popular again.
For example, the localized Plants vs. Zombies game, based on a global locust plague, has spawned various versions over the years with other authors taking over.
Each of these versions requires payment, and for every payment the company receives, a portion of it must be transferred to Bai Luan.
Over the years, I've accumulated... a very, very large amount of money.
In this cycle of sudden fame → gradual fading from public view → renaissance → sudden fame, these three accounts have become a kind of uncanny phenomenon.
Some people even make a special pilgrimage to the account.
Fashion is a cycle—this is the comment with the most likes under these three accounts.
Even the original poster of this comment has been dead for many years.
Therefore, although the three accounts have been in a state of being unattended, they have not been deleted.
The company had tried to take over the three accounts, but the big black tower discovered it and extinguished all their plans with a single word: "Don't touch them."
I, Bai Luan, would like to reiterate once again.
Working under the big black tower requires excellent professional skills, but there are no other problems.
And this one problem, upon closer examination, is ultimately your own problem.
What? The Black Tower's personality makes him difficult to get along with?
Shut up!
I won't allow you to slander the perfect Lord Black Tower!
She is absolutely perfect!
Ahem, let's not dwell on the greatness of Lady Black Tower for now.
In short, with the help of the Black Tower, Bai Luan got back all her accounts and her credit cards.
The credit points on my credit card have long been astronomical. I was already financially free before, and now I'm even more free than ever before.
This card could even be used to cause inflation in the surrounding area.
However, apart from Aha wanting him to do this, no one else would want him to do this.
With no shortage of raw materials, this armor was repaired very quickly.
Incidentally, this suit of armor isn't exactly a marvel; it's the individual nanobots that are marvels.
"Fantastic Beasts: Nanobots"
"Directly bound to you, no one else has the right to use it without your authorization, and it can be freely manipulated with your thoughts without the need for implantation."
After repairing the armor and restoring its feel, Bai Luan put the reconstruction of the robot's body on the agenda.
After all, it was really running out of time; its body had reached its limit and could no longer function.
Bai Luan had no choice but to disassemble its core first, and then upgrade it based on that core.
If the original core was an old, dilapidated apartment, then the upgraded core is Tomson Riviera.
That's right, the body Bai Luan forged for the robot was aimed at the level of an intelligent mechanical life form.
That was a wait of over nine hundred years.
No matter how cheap it is, it's enough to give you a new life.
As for whether such a creation is a robot or an intelligent life form, Bai Luan didn't care.
I'm capable of doing whatever I want, and nobody can stop me.
That being said, there are always things in body forging that can hold me back for a long time, sometimes even up to six months.
Of course, the six months refers to the six months spent in the dark room. In reality, Bai Luan only frowned at the problem and then solved it.
Bai Luan spent years forging a new body for the robot, but its performance in reality was as follows:
An incredibly talented genius created a robot that amazed the industry in just three days of learning.
Fortunately, only the Great Black Tower knew about this.