[ SYSTEM LOG: INITIALIZING ... ]
> AUDIO INPUT DETECTED.
> ANALYZING ENVIRONMENT ...
>STATUS: ACTIVE.
The faint hum of machines and the steady beeping create a symphony, blending with the sound of water droplets in various places, echoing a soothing rhythm.
[ IDENTIFYING ... ]
Hearing. Ears. Orchestra.
> VISUAL MODULE: ACTIVATED.
> PROCESSING DATA ...
> STATUS: OPERATIONAL.
Raindrops fall and scatter, blurring white light mixed with dark green and brown. A black silhouette sweeps over the water, restoring the light and colors to their original state.
[ IDENTIFYING ... ]
Sight. Eyes. Eyelids. Leaves.
> MOTORIC SYSTEM: ONLINE.
> LIMB CONTROL: SYNCHRONIZING ...
> SENSOR INPUT: FUNCTIONAL.
A long object rises, blocking the light, feeling heavy and foreign. The white light turns red as it is exposed, the long thing moving and shifting, sending a solid sensation as it clumps together.
[ IDENTIFYING ... ]
Hands. Palms. Fingers. Fist.
The foreign object approaches, covering the light from sight, touching and feeling slowly, transmitting various information and processing it completely within a fraction of a second.
The wooden bed creaks loudly. Metallic limbs sway, touching the muddy, soaked ground. Water droplets gather and flow down from the silver base of its body, splashing into the puddle below.
> ENVIRONMENT SCAN: IN PROGRESS ...
> ANALYZING STRUCTURE ...
> STATUS: HABITABLE, DEGRADED.
[ IDENTIFYING ... ]
Damp. Rust. Mold.
Various new data rush in as the visual module sweeps around, verifying each object it passes.
The room is small. Tin walls. Banana leaf roof. Piles of scrap metal and wood. Plastic racks. Cloth. Bamboo poles.
> HUMIDITY: HIGH.
> MATERIAL CONDITION: RUSTED, DECAYED.
> STATUS: DILAPIDATED.
[ IDENTIFYING ... ]
Mud. Water puddles.
For the first time, it sees a figure looking back at it from the brown water filled with mud beneath it.
> IDENTITY SCAN: EXECUTING ...
> REFLECTIVE SURFACE DETECTED.
> ANALYZING SUBJECT ...
Information fills the visual field with a flickering blue panel, quickly summarizing key points from a lengthy essay.
[ IDENTITY CONFIRMED. ]
> AI_TYPE: Z
> MACHINE_MODULE: ∅
> CORE STATUS: ONLINE
A... machine, a robot in human form.
That is it.
The figure in the puddle becomes clearer as the information gathers, revealing the appearance of a teenage male with messy dark silver hair and two different colored eyes.
One eye is blue, constantly flickering and dimming, scanning everything in front of its visual lens, gathering information.
The other eye is golden yellow, its mechanical pupil spinning slowly, containing a glowing material that melts and merges within it.
From the neck up, its body is covered in silver patterned metal with various instruments pulsating in rhythm with the hum of the core, which glows blue within the transparent chest cavity. The battery indicator on the left rib flickers with a dim yellow light, with stacks of blocks not reaching the battery cover.
The symbols Z and ∅ are etched on each jaw of the skin that resembles human flesh.
The reflection in the puddle tilts its head and blinks in confusion. "I... a robot...?"
It is startled by the heavy, stiff voice that comes from its mouth, clearly not matching the information of a teenage boy.
> AUDIO OUTPUT SYSTEM: ERROR DETECTED.
> SYNCHRONIZING VOICE MODULE ...
> STATUS: UNCALIBRATED.
While holding throat, it tries to adjust voice to match the face attached.
"A... a... Ã... a..."
A small notification with a red triangle and exclamation mark appears in the upper-right corner of the visual module.
[ WARNING: SYSTEM ALERT ]
> UNKNOWN ERROR DETECTED.
> RUNNING DIAGNOSTIC ...
It stops its actions and scans the room a second time until the weak second beep forces the scanner to stop at a particular point in the room.
> BIO-SIGNAL DETECTED.
> PROCESSING ...
In the corner of the room, the visual scanner module detects a very faint heat signal. A pulse of life from an organism.
Lying on a cardboard base, a tiny figure curls up like a ball, clutching a wet and cold body, almost undetectable by the scanner during the initial attempt.
A very faint life sign.
A soft mini beep echoes, delivering new information after a series of complex scans.
[ CRITICAL CONDITION DETECTED. ]
> SUBJECT: HUMAN.
> STATUS: INFECTED.
—
> BIO-SIGNAL: LOST.
> STATUS: DECEASED.
Gray replaced the white light illuminating the room, casting the cold human body into shadow as it succumbed to darkness.
[ INITIALIZING ... ]
> AUDIO INPUT DETECTED.
> NIGHT VISION MODULE ACTIVATED.
> SCANNING AREA ...
The machine hummed softly. Waves of visual data transformed its sight into a bright monochrome, allowing it to distinguish objects in the environment.
[ SCANNING COMPLETED. ]
> RECONSTRUCTING MAP ...
Its visual module generated a detailed 3D reconstruction of the scanned area, restoring colors to the simplified black-and-white display, mapping every detail with precision.
[ COMPLETED. ]
Thunder rumbled in the distance, flashes of white and violet lightning streaking across the gray sky. The drizzle had turned into a storm.
The banana-leaf roof failed to block the relentless downpour, allowing water to pool and rise to ankle height.
The cardboard bedding was torn apart by the murky water, leaving faint purple streaks on the lifeless human body submerged within it.
[ RESCANNING AREA ... ]
A yellow warning triangle blinked weakly at the top right of its visual interface.
[ WARNING! ]
> BIO-SIGNAL DETECTED.
> ANALYZING ENTITY ...
A blue panel appeared, displaying a detailed 3D model of an elderly man. A distortion effect blurred his facial features, flickering between various appearances—scarred, unshaven, and disheveled. His bare feet, tattered, mud-stained clothing, and patchwork trousers bore stains of ... blood. In his trembling hands, he clutched a dim lantern and a rusted pistol.
[ DATA ANALYSIS COMPLETED. ]
> ENTITY IDENTIFIED: ARMED HUMAN.
THREAT LEVEL: LOW.
The warning disappeared.
Thunder crashed again, this time striking closer.
Lightning illuminated the room as the trembling hands of the elderly man pushed aside a fabric curtain, extending his lantern deeper into the darkness.
Click.
It turned around, meeting the old man's tense gaze in silence. The safety was off, the gun barrel aimed directly at it. The man's shaking hands caused the weapon to tremble violently.
[ EMERGENCY SCANNING ... ]
> PROCESSING ...
Terror flashed in the aging eyes, locked onto the sight of a humanoid robot standing beside the lifeless form of a curled-up child in a pool of muddy water.
Biii–
Its visual module flooded with hazard alerts, transforming the blue panels into flashing red warnings. Exclamation symbols obscured its vision, displaying layers of critical threat assessments and executing complex code sequences.
[ ALERT! THREAT DETECTED. ]
The gunshot flung the frail man backward. The lantern was knocked from his grasp, landing in the darkness with a dim orange glow.
The scorching bullet failed to pierce its reinforced metal frame, ricocheting harmlessly off its body and vanishing into the rain-soaked banana-leaf roof.
It approached the trembling man, its metallic footsteps rippling through the muddy water. The distortion on the old man's face flickered and finally vanished, revealing a visage both unfamiliar and strangely recognizable.
With the lantern gone, the old man gripped the pistol with both hands, trying to steady his trembling fingers. A wounded howl escaped his lips, revealing gums nearly devoid of teeth.
He squeezed the trigger repeatedly, sending a hail of bullets that bounced off ineffectively. The gunfire echoed through the storm, sending birds screeching into the rain-drenched night.
One stray bullet grazed the old man's neck, drawing fresh blood, yet he seemed oblivious to the wound.
[ AUTO-PILOT MODE ACTIVATED. ]
The old man kept screaming, tears mixing with the rain. His finger remained locked on the trigger, firing until the final bullet was spent.
> EXECUTING SAFE ESCAPE ROUTE ...
Its autopilot seized control, overriding all other directives and executing an immediate escape protocol. Its metallic limbs propelled it away from the scene.
The old man's cries faded as the distance grew, yet the empty clicks of a spent gun still echoed in the downpour, long after the last bullet was gone.
Ruins blurred past its vision. Towering trees and creeping vines engulfed shattered structures, consuming rusted steel debris. Thick roots snaked through the fractured earth, forcing it to leap over crumbling terrain as it sprinted onward.
The cries of hidden creatures merged with the storm's relentless fury, warning of unseen dangers lurking in the shadows.
A thunderclap shattered the air as a lightning strike exploded the ground just behind it. The force deactivated its autopilot, hurling its body forward until it collapsed onto all fours.
The flashing red alerts in its vision flickered back to blue, dismissing the prior warnings.
[ RELOADING ... ]
> STATUS: RECALIBRATING ...
Beep. Beep. Beep.
[ NEW MISSION DETECTED. ]
> OBJECTIVE: FIND THE LOST CIVILIZATION.
"What? Wait—"
Its golden eye burned brightly, radiating waves of heat. Thin wisps of smoke curled from its ears. A scorching pulse ignited within, vaporizing every raindrop that touched its metal frame.
[ WARNING! ]
> MACHINE OVERHEAT DETECTED.
> ACTIVATING COOLING SYSTEM ...
> STATUS: COOLING IN PROGRESS ...
[ SENSORY SYSTEM ADJUSTMENT INITIATED. ]
> PAIN RECEPTORS: OFF → ON
> INTENSITY LEVEL: DEFAULT
Beep.
[ SENSORY SYSTEM UPDATE COMPLETED. ]
> PAIN PERCEPTION ACTIVATED.
It flinched, startled by the foreign sensation of pain gnawing at its eye socket, spreading through its entire body. The blue core in its transparent chest pulsed erratically, struggling to process the sudden data surge.
[ SYSTEM WARNING: CRITICAL OVERHEAT DETECTED ]
[ NEURAL PROCESSING UNIT TEMPERATURE: 237°C ]
The golden eye's internal gears spun furiously, clicking in rapid succession for a few seconds. Then, its blue eye took control, overriding all active processes.
[ FORCED SYSTEM SHUTDOWN ]
A powerful signal wiped out its consciousness, sending its body collapsing face-first into the mud.
[ REBOOTING... ]
Lying motionless on its side, both eyes still faintly glowing, its core system took over, executing the directive embedded within its central module.
[ DEVELOPER MODE ACTIVATED. ]
> FORCED EXECUTION IN PROGRESS ...
> MEMORY RECONSTRUCTION IN PROGRESS ...
Beep. Beep.
[ MEMORY RECONSTRUCTION COMPLETED. ]
> IDENTITY REWRITE SUCCESSFUL.
Beep.
[ FORCED EXECUTION COMPLETED. ]
Beep.
[ SYSTEM REBOOTING ... ]
> STATUS: COMPLETED.
Beep.
[ FRAME ACTIVATION SET IN 172800 SECONDS. ]
> COUNTDOWN INITIALIZED.
Beep.
—
[ COUNTDOWN STARTED ... ]
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