Chapter 2497: Hot Machines

Liu Li was stunned for a long time and finally collapsed. Angrily, she drew a wrench from her pocket and hit the Fist King’s head. She shouted and hit, hit and cried, and cried and shouted.

“It seems that I’ve truly made a mistake.”

The Fist King controlled the iron puppet to sit down. While Liu Li relentlessly hit him, he held his chin and fell into deep thought. “Let’s not be devoted to hitting just yet. Can you tell me what I did wrong? I can write the error in my log, and I guarantee that it will not happen again.”

“Who… Who asked you to apologize to me in the appearance of Han Te?”

Clinging to the giant wrench, Liu Li sobbed and said, “Is Han Te’s apology so precious? When I said I’m fine, I’m fine! n.o.body asked you to treat my wounds for me! Besides, it’s not the real Han Te. It’s all fake! Everything is fake!”

“I knew that it was a bit too unconvincing.”

The Fist King said solemnly, “It can’t be helped. There are only limited resources in the Blue Sky Market, and it’s impossible to create a 100% simulated puppet. However, I promise you that as long as you work hard for me, I will gather the most expensive materials in the Imperium and build a vivid puppet for you that will be covered in the softest silica gel and embedded with the tiniest sensors. Its specifications will be absolutely the same as the real Han Te’s.

“Not just Han Te, if you want Li Jialing or anybody else, I can help you make all of them for you. Even ten will not be a problem. They will be around you all day and cater to you like you are the queen of the Imperium. I’m sure you will be happy, right?”

“Happy my a*s!”

Liu Li was so exasperated that she completely forgot that she was faced with the tough Fist King. Weeping hard, she continued hitting him with the wrench. “Who wants those puppets? Fake is always fake. However vivid it is, they can’t be real! Who wants them?!”

“Is… that so?”

All the indicators on the Fist King dimmed as he mumbled, “Fake is always fake, and fake can’t turn real… So, that was my mistake.”

The puppet’s shoulders gradually lowered, as if the vigor was leaking from invisible gaps.

“M-Master Fist King?”

As if waking up from a dream, Liu Li finally realized what she had done. She was bold enough to attack Master Fist King, the most ferocious dominator of the Land of Sins. She was truly out of her mind!

Liu Li immediately panicked. She was wondering what she should do when she noticed that all the puppets in the workshop dimmed and slowed, as if the Fist King had suffered a major mental blow.

Liu Li had never seen the Fist King like this before. Overwhelmed, she went back to the room and shouted, “What’s wrong, Master Fist King? Are you alright? I-I’m sorry. I was too excited and said things I shouldn’t have said. I was also insane enough to hit you with a wrench. I probably really need a rest!”

“That’s alright. If you feel uncomfortable, just go and take a rest.”

Controlling a new clone to raise its head, the Fist King said casually and paused for a moment. Then, he said again, “So, you are not fond of fake things, are you?”

“Of course not.”

Liu Li said matter-of-factly, “Is there anybody who likes fake things? But what’s wrong about that? I still don’t understand. Why is Master Fist King suddenly so down? Can you tell me? Didn’t you say that malfunction must be a.n.a.lyzed and faced bravely when it occurred? I think that it is not me who’s malfunctioning, but you!”

“Probably. This is strange. After I met Li Yao and you, my abilities have improved a lot, but the malfunction rate is also higher and higher. Sometimes, the most bizarre malfunctions are happening, ones that I never encountered before.”

The Fist King lowered his head and looked at his hands that were lackl.u.s.ter due to the unremoved rust. “You’re right. n.o.body likes fake things, and fake can never turn real. But what if I am a fake thing? I am… not a real human being?”

“Is that a big deal?”

Amused, Liu Li waved her hands and said, “Everybody knows that. You are a ghost. It’s no biggie. There’s no need to worry about it at all!”

The Fist King said, “You’re not scared of ghosts?”

“What’s scary about ghosts?”

Liu Li’s tears turned into a smile. “On the Land of Sins, the most horrible things were all done by people. Ghosts never harmed anyone. It is needless to say that Master Fist King is such a great ghost with a strong sense of justice!”

The Fist King hesitated for a moment and asked again, “But what if I am neither a human nor a ghost?”

“Huh?”

Liu Li bulged her big round eyes. “Neither a human nor a ghost? Then what are you?”

“A machine.”

The Fist King’s voice was mixed with vague sorrow. “A cold machine.”

Liu Li asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The Fist King said, “Literally what it means. If I am just a cold machine, will it affect our affiliation or your devotion and efficiency in your work?”

“Well…”

Liu Li scratched her head with the big wrench, accidentally smearing the oil and dirt on her hair. “Master Fist King, you always talk about the stuff that other people can’t understand. I haven’t read many books, and I grew up in an isolated environment. I don’t know humans, ghosts, machines, or any of that, but I can tell who is nice to me and who is not! Since Master Fist King will always protect me—”

“Not always—”

The Fist King corrected Liu Li again. “But until the moment of my destruct—”

“Aya!”

This time, Liu Li interrupted him impolitely. “That’s just a rhetorical device. You don’t have to be so pedantic. Anyway, since Master Fist King will always protect me, I will certainly work hard with a high efficiency every day!

“Also, hehe, allow me to point out a minor mistake of yours. Machines are not necessarily ‘cold’. Just feel your skull. How about it? Isn’t it burningly hot inside? The chips inside are almost on fire. How are you cold?

“In terms of temperature, the human body needs to be kept around 37 degrees, but machines can work well above a hundred degrees. So, machines are not necessarily cold but can be as hot as fire!”

Catching the loophole in the Fist King’s words, Liu Li blinked with a gloating smile.

The Fist King couldn’t help but touch and feel his skull. It was indeed hot.

Of course, he realized that it was unnecessary after he did that because he could’ve monitored the temperature of the crystal processor in real time with the sensors inside the skull.

It was an unnecessary, redundant movement.

Recently, he had more and more redundant movements. Was it because of a certain new, major malfunction that had not been detected yet?

“According to my test, your breath, heartbeat, and secretion of sweat have been back to normal.”

The Fist King refreshed the interface and resumed tranquility. He said, “You seem to have walked out of your coma. Are you alright now?”

“Yes, I think I am. Because of the episode just now, I think I forgot the other things!”

Liu Li was slightly stunned. Thinking for a moment, she shook her finger at the Fist King quickly. “However, I need to inform you with all solemnity that what you did wasn’t right, Master Fist King. You must not simulate other people’s look or voice without their permission, because it may cause major trouble to them.”

“Got it.”

The Fist King said, “I promise that I will not simulate Han Te’s appearance without the permission of you and Han Te.”

“Not, it’s not just about Han Te and me.”

Han Te pouted her cheeks and put her hands on her hips. As if she were the Fist King’s little housekeeper, she declared, “You cannot mimic anybody else because that will lead to a mess! Besides, the Fist King is already a magnificent man. Why do you need to a.s.sume somebody else’s appearance?”

“… Fine.”

After a brief silence, the Fist King said, “I promise that I will not simulate anybody else without their permission.”

“Really?”

Her eyes narrowed, Liu Li looked at the Fist King suspiciously. “No, Master Fist King has picked up the bad habit of lying now. You can’t make a promise with nothing. Let’s do a pinky swear!”

The Fist King said, “I’m aware of the pinky swear as a social custom, but I doubt if it has any guaranteed effect.”

“Aya, it doesn’t matter. I just want to pull fingers with Master Fist King. Come on!”

In a playful mood, Liu Li pulled the Fist King’s iron arm over and curled the little finger. “Haha. We’ve already done a pinky swear. You must see to your promise, Master Fist King!”

“I still did not sense any effect on the spiritual energy or the soul…”

The Fist King’s artificial eyes were blinking. “However, as long as you are happy and can get back to work calmly, so be it. Are you recovered now?”

“I’ve fully recovered, in full health!”

Liu Li waved her arms and declared, but her belly suddenly bubbled. The little girl’s face was reddened again. “Excuse me, Master Fist King. I haven’t eaten much in the past few days due to my bad mood. I-I’ll refill a can of high-energy drugs before I get back to work.”

“No.”

The Fist King shook his head.

“Huh?”

Liu Li was stunned again.

“I have learned a lot from the literal works and the masterpieces on emotions. You just walked out of a major trauma. How can you eat the tasteless high-energy drugs? Such lousy rapid food will only ruin your mood and sabotage your perfect work state.”

The Fist King said, “For safety reasons, you should have a decent, delicious meal.”

“It does make sense.”

Liu Li smiled. “It… It will take a long time. Also, I’m not the greatest cook. Han Te used to say that the dishes I made could poison people. Forget it. I think I can deal with it.”

“No, your work state is concerned with my combat ability. You must not tolerate anything.”

The Fist King said calmly and stood up, going straight out of the room.

Liu Li: “Master Fist King, where are you going?”

The Fist King: “To cook.”

Liu Li: “Huh? Huh? Huh? Can you cook, Master Fist King?”

The Fist King: “I’ve never tried it before, but I’ve downloaded 192 recipes of multiple schools of multiple worlds that cover all flavors. I’m sure that one of them will be satisfactory for you.”

Liu Li: “For me? M-Master Fist King is going to cook for me?”

“Exactly. It has occurred to me that I have overlooked your daily life and your emotional changes and regarded you as another cold machine, which resulted in your unsteady work state. This is unacceptable negligence since a great battle is coming near. Therefore, starting from this moment, I will micro-adjust the mode of our relations.h.i.+p. I’ll have to ask for your cooperation too. Feel free to offer your opinions or suggestions if you have any so that I can modify my behavior.”

The Fist King finished his words, but his cold eyes pierced through the ceiling to the sky. “Let the new mode begin with a hot meal! However, first things first—”