Chapter Seven: The Robot

“Brother Tang, it’s done. Now, our Tang Group’s signal covers one hundred percent of the solar system,” Hua Shaojie exclaimed excitedly after deploying the last batch of relay stations.

“Good, well done. We can call it a day for now. Next, let’s head to Horse Tail Star and capture a few of those ghostly creatures for research!” Tang Yi lounged in the command chair, shaking his leg as he munched on an apple that Hua Ruoxue had peeled for him.

“Tang, can’t you act a bit more like a proper boss?” Hua Ruoxue shot him a glare when she noticed him shaking his leg again.

“Oh, alright. If Ruoxue says not to shake, I won’t shake. Heh heh…” Tang Yi chuckled. The others, meanwhile, made exaggerated gagging gestures in protest at his words.

“All right, everyone, pay attention. We’re about to execute a long-range spatial jump. Please take your seats and fasten your safety belts!” Tang Yi sat up straight and addressed the group, who were still making retching motions. Once everyone was settled, he shouted, “Depart!” and activated the ship’s spatial jump function.

Five hundred meters ahead of the ship, a blinding white light burst forth, forming an artificial white hole. In an instant, the ship plunged into the light and vanished, as if nothing had ever existed there—save for a communication relay station still orbiting that planet.

In the Pegasus System, above the orbit of a planet named Sky Administrator, a flash of white light appeared, and a spherical shuttle darted out. The light faded away.

“Brother Bai, what planet is this? It’s so yellow!” Tang Yi asked Bai Dongfang as he gazed upon the golden expanse of Sky Administrator.

“Tang, this planet is called Sky Administrator. It’s covered with a plant called Yellow Sea. The flowers it blooms are bright yellow, which gives the whole planet that golden hue,” Bai Dongfang replied. He was quite familiar with the Pegasus System, thanks to the sect leader who adopted him. The head of the Xuan Yin Sect, Hua Fengtian, was always roaming the stars in search of strange treasures—like that millennium ice pearl he once found on an uninhabited planet.

“The whole planet? This plant is quite domineering,” Tang Yi said, stroking his chin.

“Tang, you truly are extraordinary. One glance and you already understand the habits of this yellow-flowered plant!” Bai Dongfang actually offered a compliment. Hua Shaojie and the others stared at him as if he were a curiosity, leaving Bai Dongfang confused. In truth, he was simply expressing his genuine admiration, not trying to flatter Tang Yi.

“All right, stop staring at Brother Bai. Now, Zhengyang, go to the warehouse on Level One of Section B and bring out a humanoid iron machine. Pengfei, you go to the warehouse on Level Three of Section C and fetch a large transparent glass container.” Tang Yi issued his instructions to Lü Zhengyang and Ding Pengfei. Then to Hua Shaojie, he said, “Shaojie, head to the oversized room in Section D and activate the cultivation chamber there. Prepare to receive our first specimen.”

Tang Yi had divided the enormous ship into four areas—A, B, C, and D—apart from the command deck. Sections B and C had three levels each, serving as categorized warehouses on either side of the command deck. Section A, just behind the command deck, was reserved for rest, entertainment, and dining. Section D, relative to the command deck, was at the ship’s stern.

“Ruoxue, let’s keep eating fruit. Here, Brother Bai, have some more! Don’t be shy. About your senior brother’s situation…” Tang Yi smiled at Hua Ruoxue, then turned to continue his conversation with Bai Dongfang.

Before long, all three returned. Lü Zhengyang wheeled in a robot the size of a real person, Ding Pengfei carried a transparent glass container as thick as a barrel and over two meters tall, while Hua Shaojie returned empty-handed.

“Tang, the cultivation chamber is up and running,” Hua Shaojie reported, then helped Ding Pengfei position the container. Spotting the robot, he couldn’t help but ask, “Tang, what’s this iron doll for?”

“It’s called a robot, not a doll. It’s for collecting samples. Shaojie, open the external cargo hatch,” Tang Yi instructed. Then to Lü Zhengyang: “Zhengyang, see the red button on the robot’s back?”

Lü Zhengyang nodded, indicating he saw it.

“Good. Now, press the green button to activate the robot,” Tang Yi continued.

“…Er, Tang, it’s already on,” Lü Zhengyang replied, a bit exasperated by Tang Yi’s instructions.

“All right, now attach the container to the robot’s back and then push it out through the cargo hatch.” Tang Yi, still the same as ever, was shaking his leg, eating fruit, and talking, juice occasionally dribbling from his mouth so that Hua Ruoxue had to keep wiping it away.

The robot tumbled from the ship toward Sky Administrator, and only then did Tang Yi pull out a remote control panel to operate it. The command deck’s main screen clearly displayed the robot and its surroundings.

Since Bai Dongfang had boarded the ship, he had witnessed many wonders and had already resolved that after saving his senior brother, he would persuade him to join Tang Yi’s group, just like Hua Shaojie and the others, and travel the stars together.

“Tang, this robot is so much fun! Let me try!” Hua Ruoxue, seeing how entertaining it was to control the robot, wanted a turn herself. “Me too!”

“Of course, no problem! Form a queue, one at a time. Here, Ruoxue goes first. Now, let me explain…” With everyone taking turns at the controls, the robot managed, after a herculean effort, to collect a sample of the Yellow Sea plant and return it to the ship, where it was placed in the cultivation chamber.

“All right. Everyone’s worked hard today—let’s rest for half a day and continue to Horse Tail Star tomorrow. Now—”

“Time to eat!” Tang Yi’s habits were already well known to the group; they could finish his sentences before he even started.

The next day, since they were already in the Pegasus System and not far from Horse Tail Star, Tang Yi decided to forego spatial jump and instead travel at warp speed, collecting materials along the way.

At three in the afternoon, the ship’s synthesized electronic voice delivered another surface report.

“Beep. One hundred million meters ahead, a small planet detected—Type E. Humans could barely survive on such a planet. Signs of biological activity present. Humanoid life form detected: quantity, one. Report complete. Beep!”