Chapter 1 The Mechanical Girl

The mechanical girl exerted force, preparing to snap Hua Jun’s neck.

A tremendous force struck her from behind, making her feel like she’d been hit by a locomotive.

The terrifying impact instantly tore her skin, revealing the iron bones and steel tendons beneath her flesh.

The mechanical girl didn't even have time to scream before she exploded into scrap metal, black and red machine oil flowing across the ground, emitting a stench.

After the mechanical girl fell, a fist the size of a casserole appeared, solid and powerful, giving a sense of security.

It was Qiao Yu.

Hua Jun was his protection target; how could he let him be killed like this?

"Professor Hua Jun, are you okay? Are you cold? Hungry? Thirsty?"

Qiao Yu stepped forward, full of concern. The codes on the draft paper concerned his parents; he was determined to get the Mechanical Heart.

"Cough, cough, I'm fine. And you are?"

Hua Jun looked at Qiao Yu's young face, his mind full of doubt. When had he met such a powerful young man?

The bone density of robots was hundreds of times that of humans, and even firearms had little effect on them.

Yet this young man could smash a robot with one punch?

"Professor Hua Jun, have you forgotten me?" Qiao Yu's eyes were filled with tears. "I'm your third great-uncle!"

Hua Jun: "?"

"No, you're my third great-uncle! Have you forgotten? When you were little, you couldn't afford to eat in the dead of winter. It was my grandma who gave you a sweet potato and saved you from that cold and hungry winter!"

"Nephew! Dear nephew! I've finally found you, boo-hoo!"

Hua Jun hugged Qiao Yu and began to cry loudly. This memory had been buried in his mind for a long time, and the only person who knew about it must be his nephew!

Qiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief. The walkthrough he’d bought hadn't lied; Professor Hua Jun really did have a nephew.

He couldn't help but complain in his heart. How did the person who first triggered the hidden instance of the Mechanical Kingdom even think…

…to call an NPC in the Otherworld his third great-uncle?

"Nephew, how did you appear here? And how are you so strong that you can blow up a robot with one punch?"

After their reunion, Hua Jun asked his questions.

"I met a blind fortune teller who said my third great-uncle would have a bloody disaster today, so I rushed over. As for how I'm so strong…"

Qiao Yu raised his right hand.

"Third great-uncle, to be honest, I was born with divine strength!"

Hua Jun was even more amazed when he saw that Qiao Yu's fist was fair and smooth without any injuries.

"Excellent! The Hua family is truly accomplished in both civil and martial arts! Wonderful!"

"Let's go, third great-uncle will take you to the academic seminar! Let you broaden your horizons!"

At this time, the security forces of the Human Kingdom had arrived, and the rest could be left to them.

On the roof of a tall building in the distance, two men, one tall and one short, were watching the scene closely.

"Looks like the mechanical girl failed. As a robot, she can't even beat a human, humph! Trash!"

The tall man raised his head. Half of his face was exposed machinery, gleaming with metallic luster.

"I didn't expect that the old and frail Professor Hua Jun would have such a powerful nephew."

"Prepare to move, Blitz. Take Hua Jun away as soon as possible to avoid complications."

The short man spoke, and the two slowly disappeared from the spot.

"What? My nephew can't go in? Call your leader over here. I want to see who can stop me today!"

Seeing that the staff at the venue wouldn't let Qiao Yu enter, Hua Jun, the grumpy old man, was furious.

"I'm sorry, Professor Hua Jun. Every seat in today's venue is registered with a real name. Moreover, today's seminar content is all subject to the highest level of confidentiality in the Human Kingdom."

A man in a suit came forward to explain, implying that Qiao Yu was not qualified to enter the venue.

"He is my nephew! My beloved family!"

"Sorry, Professor Hua Jun, but rules are rules. No one other than the designated personnel can enter the venue."

"You son of a bitch!"

Seeing that the other party was unyielding, Hua Jun rolled up his sleeves and prepared to fight the suited man.

Qiao Yu quickly stopped the grumpy old man.

"Great-uncle, third great-uncle, calm down. You go in first, I'll sneak in quietly later!"

"Really? You have a way to sneak in?" A hint of suspicion appeared on Hua Jun's face.

"Don't worry! Don't you trust your nephew?"

"Okay, then I'll wait for you inside. You must come and listen to your third great-uncle's academic speech!"

Hua Jun stepped into the venue, snorting heavily as he passed the suited man.

Before long, Hua Jun discovered Qiao Yu's figure in the venue.

"Nephew, you're really something! You were able to sneak in despite such tight security!" Hua Jun praised loudly.

Qiao Yu smiled a little embarrassedly.

"It was nothing, third great-uncle. I just punched a hole through the wall and sneaked in."

Hua Jun looked in the direction Qiao Yu pointed, and there was a huge gap, looking as if it had been blown up by a bomb.

Countless security personnel were busy there, trying to find out what caused the wall to explode.

"…Nephew, is that what you call sneaking in?" Hua Jun asked.

"Yeah, see? Didn't anyone notice me?" Qiao Yu asked.

Hua Jun: "……."

Alright.

People gradually entered the venue, all wearing suits and ties, looking like high-level intellectuals.

When everyone had arrived, the venue was filled with nearly a thousand people.

The seminar officially began, and Hua Jun, dressed in simple clothes, walked onto the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we live in a society with extremely advanced technological civilization."

"Nature supports humanity with society, and humanity abstracts the laws of life. Until now, the complexity of computers and artificial systems can be compared with living organisms."

"How much of life can be converted into data? The reason why artificial intelligence was created is to explore this mystery."

"Even if it is an artificial intelligence that can pass the Turing test, we will not consider it a new life."

"Just like those robots in the Mechanical Kingdom, although they have their own consciousness, they cannot reproduce like living organisms in the traditional sense."

"So is it possible for machines to achieve organic growth?"

Listening to Hua Jun's speech, Qiao Yu, squatting in the corner, yawned.

He had no interest in this kind of academic seminar at all. If it weren't for protecting Hua Jun, he wouldn't have come in at all.

The academic experts present were listening with rapt attention, with expressions of surprise and doubt. From time to time, there was a cry of surprise in the venue, as if the theories Hua Jun was talking about were too shocking.

Two men, one tall and one short, appeared in the corner of the venue at some point.

The short man listened to Hua Jun's speech, a fanatical look on his face.

"Blitz, no matter what the cost, no one who has heard Professor Hua Jun's speech in this venue today can leave alive! Move!"