Chapter 60 - 59: The Program Can't Recognize Moving Trash Cans!

At first, Seele struggled to accept the abnormal events around her; there were simply too many things that defied common sense. However, one of Seele's strengths was her straightforwardness. Her approach was simple: do what needs to be done and solve problems as they arise. Even though Pei Guang's actions sometimes made her brain feel overloaded, she found it comfortable to be around him. Take fixing the minecart, for example. Seele needed materials, and regardless of where Pei Guang had "acquired" them from, he could pull them out and even adjust the cart's position to make repairs easier. As for how Pei Guang managed to disassemble and reassemble the minecart so quickly, Seele didn't care—it wasn't her concern. Indeed, after teaching Pei Guang how to repair the minecart and briefly explaining the various parts, Pei Guang was able to swiftly assemble and disassemble the vehicle. Seeing how quickly Pei Guang finished, Seele praised him: "Not bad! You've got some skills. You really didn't know how to do this before?" Pei Guang: "Nope, but I'm a player. As a player, how could I not know how to craft things with materials?" Seele: "Impressive, really saves a lot of time." With the minecart pushed aside, the four of them continued forward, while Dan Heng and Bronya watched from behind. Dan Heng: "Hmm... the ability to assemble and disassemble... there's more to document. But what's the upper limit of this ability? It looks like we should test his limits when we get back. It's certainly a handy ability, one that will be very useful for future operations." Bronya stood silently beside Dan Heng, contemplating. Noticing her, Dan Heng spoke calmly: "Confused, surprised, puzzled, right?" Dan Heng: "Indeed, the first time I met him, he did many things that left me baffled. But here's a piece of advice: when interacting with him, just focus on understanding what he intends to do and clearly communicate what you want to do. It'll make dealing with him much easier. As for the things he does that defy logic... the universe is vast, and there are countless things we can't understand. We're not sages, we don't need to overthink everything." "I..." Bronya was still deep in thought when Dan Heng continued: "What do you want to do?" "The people down here are struggling. I want them to live better lives. I want to save more lives and stop the Fragmentum's spread, but I feel powerless..." Dan Heng: "Then try working with him. Yes... when you're by his side, you don't need to think too much. As long as your goals align, you might even choose to stop thinking altogether. Sometimes, overthinking can really give you a headache." Bronya took a deep breath: "I'll give it a try!" She then jogged over to the group, only to find them all peering intently at something. Bronya curiously joined them: "What did you find?" March 7th made a shushing gesture: "Shh! There's an enemy up ahead, a fierce-looking robot." Around the corner, a humanoid robot with a chainsaw for an arm stood guard. Just looking at it was enough to confirm how terrifying its power must be. Seele pulled out her scythe: "Don't worry, I've dealt with this type before. Let's take it down!" Pei Guang intervened: "Hold on! If you just rush in swinging, what if the noise attracts more enemies?" Seele: "Do you have a better idea?" Pei Guang: "Watch this! As long as it's not a true AI, this trick works wonders!" Pei Guang pulled out three trash cans, which he had modified. The bottoms had been hollowed out, and the sides had slits that allowed them to see outside. Pei Guang placed a trash can over himself and began moving forward under its cover. Stelle and March 7th, already familiar with this routine, took the other trash cans and followed suit. The three of them moved in sync, no words needed—when Pei Guang took the lead, the others simply followed. The three moved out from the corner, advancing toward the robot at a steady pace. The robot, known as the "Automaton Direwolf," was formidable, only defeatable by those with significant combat experience. And even then, it wasn't an easy fight. This hulking machine was following orders to guard the area, and when Pei Guang, March 7th, and Stelle's trash cans appeared, it focused its sensors on the moving containers. It then began analyzing the situation. In its memory bank, there was no information on moving trash cans. It attempted to scan them, but during the process, it encountered a program bug. "Are there any life signals?" The robot found itself in a loop. How could it determine whether there were life signals? It wasn't programmed to think independently—it only followed orders based on data. There was no room for "thinking." While the robot was stuck in this processing loop, the three trash cans reached its side. As a machine, it didn't have emotions and only operated on data, following Svarog's orders. Svarog's directive was to expel humans and eliminate Fragmentum creatures. According to its logic, if it couldn't clearly detect life signals, there would be no humans—meaning the three moving trash cans were not its concern. And since it detected no Fragmentum corruption, these mobile trash cans were outside its jurisdiction. The robot watched helplessly as the three trash cans approached, passed by its body, and then stopped behind it. At that moment, both Seele and Bronya fell silent. Seele had thought she'd seen plenty of absurd things, but this was on another level. Bronya was on the verge of giving up trying to make sense of things, but what just happened completely derailed her plans. Before, they both felt like they were about to give up on rational thinking. But now witnessing this scene made them realize they hadn't given up nearly enough—now was the time to truly let go! Seele had experience dealing with these machines; they were tough, and even she had to resort to special tactics. Bronya, on the other hand, had studied these machines and knew how challenging they were to handle. And yet, this massive machine just watched three trash cans walk right past it without reacting at all? There were three living people inside!! Under Bronya and Seele's astonished gaze, the three trash cans stopped and shifted formation. Then, suddenly, the cans vanished. Pei Guang aimed and thrust a wooden sword upward into the robot's body, while Stelle leaped up, raising her bat, glowing blue, and smashed it down onto the robot's head. As for March 7th? She had already drawn her bow, aiming directly at the robot, and fired. Seeing this, Bronya and Seele both shivered. It was brutal—unbelievably brutal. Their combat style was so sneaky and so ruthless! After all, this was the first time the two had seen the trio fight an enemy head-on. Previously, they had only seen them dealing with ordinary people by giving them coffee, which hadn't given them much insight into Pei Guang's group's combat methods. Although Seele herself would sometimes use her "Phantom Illusion" technique to ambush enemies, her methods weren't nearly as underhanded as this. Setting aside the mechanics of how they got close, the sheer proficiency with which the three ambushed their target showed that they had done this multiple times already!