When he rounded the corner to the area glowing red, the human screams inside had already vanished.
Lu Heng saw the horrific scene inside through the room's glass window.
Fierce flames burned within, and some people, already charred black, lay haphazardly on the ground.
From time to time, Lu Heng could still hear the crackling sound of oil exploding.
Through the flames, Lu Heng roughly counted the number of bodies inside.
It was exactly the number of people who had teleported with him, minus one.
Therefore, Connor was not inside.
But considering that person's inhumanity, always eliminating those useless to him, Connor was likely also in grave danger.
Turning away, Lu Heng returned to the corridor to search again.
With his communicator, Lu Heng passed through door after door in the passageway.
Soon, he sensed human thoughts again.
"I, how will I explain myself later?"
Connor's earlier nervousness had caused him to tell the other person that he had found no clues.
At this moment, he was entirely focused on how to justify his previous words.
Lu Heng headed in the direction of the thoughts he heard and soon arrived outside another room.
He quickly hid in his space and looked into the room through the glass window.
Inside, there was only Connor, sitting on a bed and occasionally looking towards the doorway.
Lu Heng waited for a while, and finally saw the "person" he had first encountered with Connor.
This time, the distance was very close; the "person" entered the room almost right behind Lu Heng.
Lu Heng finally saw clearly. No wonder the voice had sounded wrong earlier; he finally knew what was off.
This was completely a robot, not human at all, nor any alien.
As the robot moved, Lu Heng saw no limb movement beneath its clothes.
It was as if a pole was supporting a set of clothes that were floating.
And as the figure drifted by, the wig was lifted, revealing the robot's skin behind the neck, skin Lu Heng had seen before.
"When you said you found nothing over there, your heartbeat accelerated. You are lying!"
The robot's mechanical female voice sounded again.
Perhaps these robots, created by aliens, could accurately imitate human voices, but no matter how they tried, they were not like humans, their tone completely devoid of emotion.
Inside the room, Connor, already tense, shot up from his seat.
His hands were clasped behind the bed, the veins in his forearms bulging.
"I was just nervous for a moment. You know, teleportation, I've only experienced it twice. I misspoke subconsciously, I actually..."
Connor stammered, looking at the "person" opposite him, constantly trying to explain.
"Then tell me, what did you find over there? I know you found something."
"You asked me to find someone with high technology. I did find them, but I haven't met those people. However, the place they took us after capturing us was very advanced."
"You were captured by them?"
"Yes, we had a conflict with some humans, and then, ah... cough, cough, cough... cough, cough, cough..."
Connor was sent flying backward, crashing heavily against the metal wall behind him.
The moment he fell, he spat out a mouthful of blood and coughed violently, choked by the blood.
"You, cough, cough, cough, why did you hurt me, cough, cough... The one you're looking for, I found them for you, you..."
Before Connor could finish speaking, two beams of light projected from the robot, instantly piercing his body.
"Useless human!"
The robot turned and left without even looking at Connor's corpse.
Only after the robot had moved away did Lu Heng emerge from his space.
Connor, to his death, never exposed that he had followed.
But perhaps this was just because the robot hadn't given Connor enough time; it lacked the patience to listen to Connor's full explanation.
When it heard that Connor had been captured by aliens, it seemed to become enraged.
Wait...
Did this robot develop its own consciousness?
Moreover, Lu Heng remembered that Borna had said these robots were implanted with systems that prevented them from attacking proactively.
The robot in their space had only had that added after arriving on Blue Star, for self-preservation.
And Lu Heng had seen two robots already, both lacking emotion.
From the conversation between the robot and Connor, it was clear that this robot had developed its own thought patterns; it could not only think but also communicate normally with humans.
Looking in the direction the robot had left, Lu Heng hesitated whether to follow and see.
Had the robots here modified their own programs to become this way, or were there aliens here who had modified them?
Considering he had his space, if things went wrong, he could always retreat into it.
Lu Heng then followed in the direction the robot had gone.
Passing through two doors, Lu Heng reached a fork in the road.
There were two directions ahead. Lu Heng squatted down and tilted his head to look at the ground.
The ground was also paved with metal, with a thin layer of dust. It was difficult to notice without careful observation.
On the path to the right, there was a trace of fabric brushing against it.
Lu Heng stood up and walked to the right.
Soon, Lu Heng reached the end of the passageway. Not only were there no rooms ahead, but the path also disappeared.
A metal wall stood there, indistinguishable from its surroundings.
Lu Heng took out his communicator again; the wall ahead showed no change.
"Are you looking for me?"
Behind Lu Heng, the robot he had been searching for appeared at some unknown time.
Lu Heng raised an eyebrow. It seemed this robot was not simple.
He had thought that since Connor hadn't revealed him, he might gain something here.
He hadn't expected to be discovered by the other party so quickly.
"Hello!" Lu Heng turned and smiled at the robot, ready to retreat into his space at any moment.
"What you are holding does not belong to humans."
"Yes, I found it by chance. I don't know what use it has, but it looks nice."
"Give this to me." The robot extended its arm towards Lu Heng, revealing a mechanical palm.
The skin on the outside of this mechanical palm was damaged, and some of its joints had exposed the metal structure within.
"Why should I give you something I found?" As soon as he finished speaking, the communicator in Lu Heng's hand disappeared.
"Where did you put the communicator?" The robot scanned Lu Heng from head to toe.
Lu Heng guessed that the other party was scanning him, trying to locate the communicator.
"I put it away. I was afraid you would snatch it. You know, at a time like this, whatever is found belongs to the finder."
The robot ignored Lu Heng's words and repeated, "Hand over that thing, and I'll let you leave."
"I don't believe you!"
Handing it over would only hasten his death. He clearly remembered how this robot had deceived those foreign ability users, telling them to disinfect themselves, and as a result, had burned them all to death.