Chapter 87: The Little Robot

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The Light Cone reward was indeed enticing.

However, the robotic repair and upgrade technology seemed even more valuable.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Bochang swiftly decided on Option Two.

"It looks like it can fix things... Why not capture it for the Astral Express to help with tasks?"

March 7th looked puzzled.

"Suit yourself," Dan Heng said.

Without wasting any time, Bochang rolled up his sleeves and took several steps forward.

Upon noticing their presence, the little robot emitted intermittent and somewhat garbled sounds:

"Repair%... Wait... Resid&@... Accomplish/*... Do not... ¥%"

"What is it saying..." March 7th, hearing the jumbled phrases, found this entity increasingly peculiar.

Normally, automatons would never exhibit such behavior; their language capabilities were flawless.

"Don't worry about what it's saying, let's just grab it first."

Bochang advanced further.

The little robot seemed agitated, its trembling intensified rapidly.

"Stop... ¥&..."

Bochang didn't halt; instead, he carefully examined this peculiar-looking robot... Its form resembled that of an Automaton Spider, but it had numerous haphazardly attached parts. The hammer-wielding appendage was just one small mechanical arm.

As the black-haired man approached closer,

the little robot planned to turn and flee. However, just as it began to move, Bochang swiftly extended his hands and captured it.

The system's notification sounded:

[Reward distribution in progress - Congratulations! You have obtained Robot Repair and Upgrade Technology.]

In an instant,

a vast amount of knowledge flooded into Bochang's mind, altering the way he viewed the little robot in his hands.

It appeared as if someone had casually pieced together this contraption using scrap metal components. The paintwork, customized parts, and connection methods were all remarkably crude, almost haphazardly assembled without any consideration for whether the machine could function properly.

Moments later...

The little robot launched an attack on Bochang.

The tiny mechanical arm raised its hammer and swung towards the black-haired youth while emitting sounds:

"DMG... Pain... Sorry..."

Anticipating this, Bochang effortlessly caught the mechanical arm with one hand. Drawing from his experience, he targeted a specific point on the small robot's body. With just a gentle touch or two, he detached the mechanical arm.

Of course, what March 7th and others witnessed seemed straightforward.

In reality, Bochang utilized the Invisible Hand ability, allowing him to dismantle the arm so effortlessly.

However, the little robot's counterattacks did not cease. Amidst utterances of "Pain," "Sorry," and similar phrases... it continued attacking using other components on its body.

Bochang adeptly countered each move, swiftly dismantling all the parts capable of initiating attacks within moments. He even removed the four mechanical legs at the base.

This transformed the robot into an immobile heap of metal, only able to emit sounds.

Witnessing this, Dan Heng, March 7th, and the others were left utterly amazed.

Stelle tilted her head, feeling something was slightly off, but then remembered it was Bochang... so it must be alright.

"Pain#... Sorry... Parts@&... Repair#... Rivets..." The robot's garbled sounds echoed around them.

Listening to its utterances, March 7th muttered, "Do you think... Rivet Town might actually be what it's repairing? That could explain why these lights strangely illuminate here, and it was fixing the wall just now, wasn't it?"

"Hmm... It's possible, but remember, many areas display scenes from the past generated by the rift. One robot alone couldn't restore lighting to such extensive regions." Dan Heng observed the small robot closely. "This fellow is indeed peculiar; I suspect it's not under Svarog's control at all. Otherwise, this situation wouldn't arise."

In the corrupted Rivet Town, the most crucial task was clearing out the rift creatures. Repairing Rivet Town held no significance.

Dan Heng didn't believe Svarog would engage in such pointless actions.

"Regardless of what's going on, let me fix it first. Let's quickly head to the Robot Settlement; I'm confident there will be ample materials for its repair."

Bochang turned around, revealing a cheerful smile.

Perhaps due to the infusion of robotics-related knowledge in his mind, he...

felt an intense desire to mend this inexplicably broken object. Not only did he want to repair it, but also to enhance it further.

"You can repair robots too?" March 7th was utterly astounded.

Dan Heng calmly observed, "Judging by Bochang's skillful disassembly technique just now, he must have considerable expertise."

"It just came to me like a sudden insight, feeling as if my past Removal memories are slowly awakening," Bochang casually improvised.

Whether others believed him or not, he certainly did.

Ignoring the little robot's incessant chatter, they continued onwards.

Next... With the borrowed components in hand, Bochang and the Trailblaze squad departed from Rivet Town, heading straight for the Robot Settlement.

Since the furnace core leading to the Overworld had been reopened, the gates here were no longer closed off. Anyone could now enter or exit freely.

Upon hearing this news, many inhabitants of the Underworld began journeying towards the Overworld.

Additionally, a significant number of Silvermane Guards were stationed near the Robot Settlement to maintain order.

Using the local robots as intermediaries, Bochang located Svarog.

"I need some materials to repair the robot I have with me, Svarog... Could you conveniently lend them? Later, I'll have the Silvermane Guards return them to you. How does that sound?"

The towering robot scanned Bochang and his companions before responding, "Identity confirmed - one of the heroes who defeated Stellaron and esteemed guests from afar. I understand your request, Bochang. Please follow me to the warehouse to locate the required materials."

With that, Svarog led the way personally.

Bochang and his group trailed behind.

They were deep within the Robot Settlement, quite far from the furnace core, so there were few people around. All they could see were robots—and...

Clara!

The silver-haired, red-eyed girl approached through the snow, accompanied by two beetle-shaped automatons. Upon noticing Svarog leading Bochang and the others towards her, she exclaimed in surprise, "Big Brother Bochang, everyone... Are you here to find Clara?"

"No... I'm here this time to fix robots, Clara. Do you see this one in my hand?" Bochang held up a dismantled heap of metal that used to be a small robot. "It's having some issues, and I want to repair it."

"Bochang, you can fix robots too?"

Clara looked puzzled. In her imagination, given his immense power, the black-haired youth seemed more suited to vigorously practicing martial arts daily rather than quietly sitting at a workbench, engrossed in tasks.

"I certainly can," Bochang nodded. "And I'm reasonably proficient at it."

Clara appeared unconvinced but didn't voice her doubts immediately.

Svarog interjected, "Clara, when did you get acquainted with these esteemed guests from afar?"