Warning

One month later, in February, the snow finally melted, bringing warmth back. City University, renowned for its picturesque campus adorned with trees and artistic elements that contrasted with its predominant character as a science and engineering technology major school, started to come to life. "It's called coordination," remarked Principal Clark, a scientist who disliked conducting experiments but delved into the study of operas.

On a secluded path behind the corner pavilion on campus, Sienna Quinn opened her suitcase-like box, looked around, and nodded in satisfaction at the deserted space. She had been observing this location for a while, anticipating this day when she could test the remote-controlled scooter she had been working on, without any interruption of outsiders.

Adjusting the device on its two wheels, Sienna stepped onto the scooter, pressed the button to make it move back and forth, slowly but steadily. However, this action still made her frown. "The speed is slow, and it consumes too much battery and won't last too long each time," she thought to herself, "Already 50 percent remaining now, how disappointing. Then I might as well raise the speed after all. If it has the same battery consumption, the merits and drawbacks should balance out anyway."

Pressing the speed button, Sienna suddenly dashed forward without any preparation. The scooter happened to encounter a small downhill, accelerating even more. Out of the blue, she noticed someone emerging from the pavilion, and a collision seemed imminent.

"Hey, watch out!" Sienna screamed at the figure, who effortlessly stepped aside. The scooter, along with Sienna, veered towards the pavilion column, dangerously close to hitting the stone. The figure reached out to grab Sienna's arm from behind, but unexpectedly, just half a second after the contact, the grip released. She was taken by surprise, glanced down at the wheels, and ended up falling onto the lawn.

The snow had recently melted, leaving withered grass dominant in the area. Sienna, upon hitting the ground, still felt significant pain in her back and limbs. Nevertheless, it was much preferable to colliding with the stone column of the pavilion.

Sienna stared up in misery and observed a tall man, neatly dressed in a white blouse, standing right beside her. He stood against the sunlight, yet Sienna could still discern his flawless, outstanding face. It was Brandon Myles, the solitary figure from the Computer Science Department.

"What is he doing here? And why did he release the grip?" Sienna wondered, groaning inwardly. Observing Brandon staring at her without any intention of assisting, Sienna dismissed any hope of receiving help and endeavored to stand on her own.

"You can remain seated," Brandon suddenly spoke, startling Sienna.

"Beg your pardon?" Sienna was curious – he wasn't offering assistance, yet he was still giving her orders?

Sensing her confusion, Brandon pushed the scooter to her side, adjusted it so it could stand on its wheel, and said to Sienna, "Or you can stand up and get support from this scooter."

Sienna raised her eyebrows in bewilderment, almost thinking that this man was behaving gently to avoid physical contact with any unfamiliar person of the opposite gender. Where was he from? Some mid-century?

"Fine, thank you!" Sienna expressed her gratitude, then intentionally exerted some very strong effort while attempting to regain her footing. She cast a furtive glance at Brandon, hoping for a hint of assistance. However, Brandon displayed no expression on his face, nor did he seem to make any movement with his hands.

Observing that the girl could manage on her own, Brandon nodded briefly and turned around, walking away. Sienna couldn't believe it. She shook her head at the departing figure, convinced that she had just witnessed what her schoolmates referred to as "the coldest man alive."

Yet, almost immediately, her attention shifted to the scooter's battery, discovering that it had jumped to 80%. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, gave her toy a small pat, feeling triumphant – "Ha, so the battery doesn't run out so fast after all?"

On the other end of the path, Brandon Myles bit his lips as he walked further away from Sienna. He looked at his hands, feeling equally incredulous. Just now, when he reached out for that girl's arm and their skin touched, he could feel a stream of electronic power flooding out of his blood, shooting directly at the girl. If he had not let go of her, he would have given her an electric shock! More importantly, as the power stream went out, the invisible wristband attached to his skin over his left hand showed up and gave out a red alarm – a dangerous sign telling him that he was losing battery.

How could that happen?

Brandon attempted to recall the life he was living after the car crash that night, trying to retrieve some overlooked details. He had a chip as his heart, and the chip only had 98% battery power. Then, he had a wristband that contained the entire program of his body for him to reference and check. The wristband's warning just now was glaringly evident—he should not lose battery power, or he would have no heart, and he would extinct. 

But did it mean that he could never touch anyone? He also recalled that he had never had any physical connection with anyone, including his parents, since the accident. The encounter with Sienna was the first one that made him realize another "superpower" of his after he became the chip-man.

Brandon slid into his new Porsche, a gift from his parents, modified to suit his current abilities, and drove home. His mother was in the garden, enjoying afternoon tea. Brandon silently approached her from behind and gave her a gentle touch on her bare neck, only to discover that there was no power stream, no warning from the wristband—just his mother's surprised expression at his unexpected presence.

"What is that bewildered look?" Mrs. Myles asked her son when she saw him standing like a fixed robot.

"Nothing," Brandon quickly brought himself back, answering, "Just... not sure about your afternoon desserts."

Mrs. Myles almost gasped but felt slightly joyful as her son finally showed some interest in her recreational daily life.

"Since when did you care about my desserts? Care to join me then?" she said, gesturing to the nanny to serve some more plates. As the nanny brought two trays of scones, Brandon purposefully took them from the nanny, his hands slightly sweeping over hers. No power stream. No warning of battery loss.

Brandon placed the trays down, earning an astonished glance from his mother.

"No, thanks," he rejected, apparently bringing some disappointment to his expectant mother, "I still have some issues to deal with."

"So busy, huh?"

No, Brandon answered to himself, just trying to find out why my battery power loses only when connecting with that girl.