Chapter 3        Robotic Dog

“Hi, Victor Hugo. Can you tell me what you guys are chatting about?” asked David Lawrence.

“Well… uh, in fact, I’m just performing a skit. As you can see I’ve succeeded in amusing them.” That was the only reply Zhou Qingfeng could give. At the same time, he was roasting his name as he thought to himself, I have the same name as the French great writer!

“Oh! It looks like you’ve really succeeded.” David Lawrence then smiled and said, “Do you want to come over and have dinner with us? I wouldn’t wish to see you cooking and burning your house down once again.” 

Burning my house down, what do you mean?

Zhou Qingfeng followed David Lawrence’s glance as he turned his head around. All he could see was a house charred by fire.

The windows of the house had been burned into holes, and part of the rooftop was even carbonized. Judging from the look of the exterior, the furniture inside the house was likely also burnt, with the floor covered by a thick layer of ashes. The house looked as if it was haunted.

This burnt house is mine? G.o.d, have you made any mistake? I don’t care if you didn’t give me a bungalow, but please, at least give me something that’s acceptable! You’re so stingy for giving me such a place to live.

Zhou Qingfeng sighed dejectedly as he looked at his dilapidated house. David Lawrence came forward and patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you fix the house as long as you give me some time. Come on; Rachel must have finished preparing our dinner.”

Give you some time? New York will be in chaos after three days, and a nuclear bomb will even be launched after three months. There’s no way I will be willing to stay in this place.

Zhou Qingfeng understood that his first priority wasn’t to collect resources, but rather to build a good relations.h.i.+p with the Lawrence family in order to lay a foundation for the upcoming catastrophe. David Lawrence was the male protagonist. With his luck, there was no way he’ll be dead within three months.

“Thank you. I’m so grateful for all your help!” Zhou Qingfeng entered the Lawrences’ house and sat on the sofa in the living room, waiting for dinner to be served.

The technology level in 2030 was much more advanced than that in 2016. There were smart home appliances everywhere. Although the Lawrence family could not be considered wealthy, they still possessed some great stuff. For example, once Zhou Qingfeng sat down on the sofa, a smart robot came over and asked him, “Mr. Hugo, do you need any drinks?”

The smart robot was not big in size. It had a round, cute head, and relied on two small crawlers to move around. It controlled almost all of the smart appliances throughout the house and made life much more convenient for the Lawrence family.

The robot was named ET by Angie. Angie always had ET by her side while fleeing from the cataclysm, as a wealth of data was stored in it.

“No, not at the moment,” Zhou Qingfeng rejected ET’s offer. As he saw that the Lawrences were all busy preparing in the kitchen, he asked, “Can you perhaps check my background, especially my financial status and social network?”

“Sure, I’ll link you up with the public database right now.” The smart robot’s eye began to project images, displaying a virtual screen to Zhou Qingfeng.

“Mr. Hugo, you moved to Murdoch Avenue two years ago and had always lived alone. You relied on the social welfare program, and occasionally you’ll work some part-time jobs to afford your living costs. Your social network is extremely small, as you only know the Lawrence family.”

Zhou Qingfeng roughly knew his ident.i.ty after ET’s explanation. He understood that he basically had no money, no friends, and no status. His wallet was constantly empty, and he was a poor young man who depended heavily on the social welfare program. He was surprised that he had a good relations.h.i.+p with the Lawrences.

Well, Lord. You’re truly ruthless, aren’t you! So I’m a clean slate with nothing at all and my only house was even burned down.

After knowing his ident.i.ty, Zhou Qingfeng requested ET to get him something to drink. However, when the smart robot delivered his drink, he focused his attention on the futuristic device instead of his beverage.

This robot is so cool! The highly intelligent robot was obviously not a cheap device. With only sixty thousand U.S. dollars of annual salary, David Lawrence could not afford a brand new robot. Angie was actually the one responsible for building this device by collecting sc.r.a.ps from the secondhand market.

Zhou Qingfeng was excited as he examined ET. As he was all alone, he definitely needed a reliable helper, and a smart personal a.s.sistant was a good option. With the catastrophic events due to shake the world a mere three days away, it happened to be a good time for him to take advantage of the ensuing chaos, and plunder.

“ET, what’s the best smart personal a.s.sistant in New York?” asked Zhou Qingfeng.

ET replied, “According to the current world ranking, the newly designed four-legged smart dog by Columbia University, codenamed DogMeat, is the best smart personal a.s.sistant.

“Unlike a smart personal a.s.sistant like me that can only be used at home, DogMeat’s limbs were built with bionic muscles and bones that have the ability to walk on a complex terrain. It is equipped with graphene battery, which, when fully charged, will provide it a two hundred-kilogram load capacity and more than a week’s worth of activity time.

“Furthermore, its intelligence has reached the level of an eight-year-old kid. It can deal with complex situations and even has self-learning capabilities. In contrast, my intelligence is only at the level of a two-year-old kid.”

Columbia University? It’s located in Manhattan, New York! Zhou Qingfeng came across the smart dog when he was watching the movie. It belonged to David Lawrence’s henchman. To be honest, I’m envious of him. He was able to bring along a pet that not only can fight for him, but also accompany him.

“Oh, right. Where’s my location now?” asked Zhou Qingfeng.

“You are at 200th Street, Murdoch Avenue, New York.” ET showed a map on the projected virtual screen as it labeled Zhou Qingfeng’s current location.

“Is there any way I can get my hands on DogMeat?” Zhou Qingfeng thought it was a good idea to have a smart dog around him as it looked cool and was also extremely practical.

“DogMeat is the U.S. military's experimental product and is not for sale. Rumors say that its experimental costs exceeded two billion U.S. dollars, and it took more than ten years for one smart dog to be successfully manufactured. The probability of you laying your hands on it is extremely low,” said ET.

U.S. military? It’ll disappear in three days anyway, there’s nothing to be afraid of!

“ET, can you please do an a.n.a.lysis for me? If the military disappeared, what’s the probability of me acquiring it?” Zhou Qingfeng asked as he refused to give up.

Everyone will be searching for resources once the cataclysm began and the mobsters as well as criminals run rampant. Only a few knew that the most important element for survival was to recruit helpers, as problems can be solved easily and efficiently when people work in groups.

However, ET did not provide Zhou Qingfeng with any good news. Its answer remained the same, “The probability of you acquiring DogMeat is extremely low.”

“Why?” Zhou Qingfeng was dissatisfied with its answer. I still can’t get my hands on it even without the U.S. government, military and police?

ET continued, “That’s because Tony Parker already has a plan to steal the smart dog. If you were to join the compet.i.tion, your chances of winning will be extremely low.”

What…. The annoying henchman had already set his eyes on the dog?