Thirteenth month of death

Chapter 219 Mechanical Heart
Li Daosheng withdrew his gaze and turned to Ren Ou.

Ren Ou still stood there, looking indifferent, as if the conflict just now had nothing to do with him.

However, Li Daosheng caught a subtle fluctuation in his eyes.

It was a complex emotion, like confusion, and like some long-buried memory was being awakened.

"Do you know that bionic man?" Li Daosheng asked in a low voice.

Ren Ou did not answer immediately, but slowly walked up to the injured android.

Blue liquid was still dripping from the broken part of the bionic man's arm, but his expression was unusually calm.

He looked up at Ren Ou, a faint light flashing in his mechanical pupils.

"You... are also a android?" The android's voice was still cold, but there was a hint of expectation in his tone.

Ren Ou was silent for a moment and nodded.

A glint flashed in the android's eyes, and he whispered, "They... are hunting us. All androids without legal ID will be destroyed. We... just want freedom."

Ren Ou frowned slightly, as if he was unfamiliar with the word "freedom".

He looked down at his hands, as if thinking about something.

Li Daosheng stood aside and watched all this quietly.

Renou's world is not simple. The sudden change of "Thirteenth Month" did not allow everyone to return to their original world before, but now at least one person will return to his or her own world.

There must be some secret hidden.

"Freedom..." Renou repeated in a low voice, then looked up at the android, "What's your name?"

"I don't have a name," the android replied. "We only have numbers. I'm X-73."

Ren Ou nodded and said nothing more.

He turned and looked at Li Daosheng, a complicated look flashing in his eyes.

"I want to help him." Ren Ou said.

Li Daosheng did not answer immediately, but looked at the bearded man and the middle-aged man with a broken horn.

The bearded man nodded slightly. Judging from his appearance, he was a simple and honest man.

The middle-aged man with the broken horn had an indifferent look on his face, as if he didn't care about all this.

Li Daosheng pondered for a moment, then said, "Okay, let's help him. However, we need to first understand the rules of this world."

Why are androids being hunted, and what does their existence mean to the world?
Li Daosheng actually wanted Ren Ou to give everyone an answer. After all, this was his world and he knew it best.

However, Renou did not answer, but looked at X-73.

The android was silent for a moment, then whispered, "We are created as tools. Originally, we were designed to perform dangerous tasks or do heavy work in place of humans."

"Later, some androids began to awaken and gain self-awareness."

"They no longer wanted to be enslaved and began to rebel."

"So, the government issued a decree that all bionic people without legal IDs would be destroyed."

"Awakening?" Li Daosheng raised his eyebrows. "You mean, the android has gained self-awareness?"

X-73 nodded. "Yes. While most androids are still just tools, some... like us, have begun to awaken."

"We want to be free and live like human beings."

Li Daosheng was silent for a moment, then looked at Ren Ou: "Do you... know about this?"

Ren Ou didn't answer, but his eyes became deeper.

Instead, it was X-73 who answered Li Daosheng's question: "Our awakening began after the explosion of Lan Base."

"Lance Base?"

The appearance of this term finally caused a noticeable change in Ren Ou's expression.

"Well, the father and mother of all androids, the great scholar Lance."

"My database shows that there are rumors that Lance has developed a new machine. After it is implanted into the body of a android, we can have a soul."

"Then, a massive explosion occurred at Lance Base, and the two prototypes Dr. Lance had been using for his experiments disappeared." The two prototypes...

Hearing this, Li Daosheng subconsciously glanced at Ren Ou.

Could he be one of those two prototypes?

After all, the fact that the "death" of a bionic man can be included in [Thirteenth Month] is full of questions in itself.

"However, after the Lancs Base explosion, the androids in New Kolin City also began to show abnormalities. Some of them even awakened their own wills... like me."

X-73's narration ended here as sirens were heard from below.

The guy who wanted to catch him just now was obviously a ruffian who wanted to trick the bionic man.

But now the sound of the sirens made it clear that they were really coming to hunt him down.

"Let's leave here first." Ren Ou said to X-73.

"Okay, please follow me."

X-73 nodded immediately. He seemed to trust Ren Ou very much.

His arms were still dripping with blue liquid, but he didn't seem to care.

He turned and walked towards the other end of the observation deck, followed closely by Li Daosheng and others.

The road here is complicated, but he is extremely agile.

Walk through several narrow streets and go down several flights of stairs.

Listening to the sirens that sometimes approached and sometimes went away, the group finally arrived at an abandoned subway station.

The entrance to the subway station was blocked by a heavy iron door, but X-73 skillfully turned on the switch hidden in the wall.

The iron gate slowly opened, revealing a staircase leading underground.

"This is my base," X-73 whispered. "Other awakened androids are nearby."

Li Daosheng and others followed X-73 down the stairs and into the depths of the subway station.

The subway station was dark and damp, and the walls were covered with fluorescent fungi, emitting a faint blue light.

Several mutated butterflies were flying in the air, their wings gleaming with a metallic luster.

In the dark space of the subway station, they did see several androids.

The bionic people were either sitting or standing, some were talking in low voices, and some were repairing their bodies.

But without exception, they all noticed the entry of outsiders at the first moment.

However, for some reason, they did not come forward to ask the reason, nor did they launch an attack rashly.

"Please rest here first. I need to treat the wound on my arm."

Li Daosheng looked around. This was a room converted from a dispatch room. After X-73 left, the four men fell silent for a moment.

In the end, it was Li Daosheng who broke the silence first.

"My name is Li Daosheng." He looked at the other two and introduced himself.

This was his first time traveling with these two people.

"Moshi." The man with the broken horn spoke, his voice a little dull.

"Yang Tianyan." The bearded man in armor also said his name.

Silence came again.

Until Li Daosheng asked that question...

"Ren Ou," he said, looking at the quiet Ren Ou, "Are you involved in the Lancs base explosion?"

A very straightforward question.

Ren Ou turned around, looked at Li Daosheng and the other two, and replied with a calm expression, "Yes."

(End of this chapter)