Ziye, holding Little Sprout, moved forward with the crowds of visitors, beginning at Pavilion One, accompanied by Blackbeard, the greatest contributor to the robot exhibition.

Both had altered their appearances. Ziye wore a casual yet unremarkable dress and a beret, and she had changed Little Sprout into a black outfit the little one rarely wore. Blackbeard disguised himself as Ziye’s father. Blended into the throng, they attracted no attention.

It was the first time for both of them to admire these works from an audience perspective, and listening to the surrounding critiques—both praise and condemnation—was a rare experience.

Many tourists’ initial impressions were surprisingly astute. Without Ziye needing to act, Little Sprout immediately switched to recording mode, filtering out ambient noise to capture every comment. Sifting through the raw data provided better insights than any survey questionnaire could have yielded.

Blackbeard mused, "We never imagined back then that our robots could reach this level. Looking back over these past few years feels like a dream. Only today do I truly feel that I am not dreaming, and that everything is possible."

Ziye smiled. "Do you regret it?"

Sensing her implication, Blackbeard asked, "What exactly are you referring to?"

Ziye replied, "Your role as the CEO of Sprout Group, instead of being a part of the high-level management of the Wolf’s Den Legion."

Blackbeard slipped his hands into his pockets, glanced down at his feet, then looked up to watch the robot sparring with guests in Pavilion Four. He said softly, "Big Head came to see me about that matter."

Ziye raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Blackbeard curved his lips slightly. "Big Head said that I was the first man to emerge from that planet, and the first to earn money to support the Wolf’s Den. He felt I deserved a share of the Vice Commander position."

Ziye pondered for a moment; what he said was true.

Many people were grateful to Blackbeard, including her. When she was only managing to make small money, Blackbeard had already secured a storefront in the vast market of Kailai and made the business thrive. When he started his venture, Red Hair didn't even know which space station entrance to run robberies at.

During those most difficult times, it was Blackbeard who earned money to support them.

Blackbeard seemed to sense her thoughts and smiled. "Actually, I am grateful to you. The market competition in Kailai is so fierce that every day feels like rowing upstream. My products lacked distinct features, so I could only engage in price wars with them. It was you who entrusted your shop to me to manage, and you who created the first robot for Sprout Group."

Ziye laughed softly. "Let's stop praising each other. Those things are in the past now."

Blackbeard sighed. "Yes, but I will never forget those days. When the Legion first selected its high command, I considered abandoning Sprout Group to find a position within the Legion that I desired more. After careful consideration, I realized that Sprout Group was what I truly wanted."

Ziye looked up at him. "Why?"

Blackbeard smiled. "Because I am inherently a greedy person. If I joined the Legion, I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't engage in corruption. I didn't want my own actions to harm our Legion."

Ziye twitched the corner of her mouth; so honest.

"Thankfully, Sprout Group is powerful enough. We don't need corruption to generate high income," she quipped. "If the profits weren't so generous, you would have abandoned it long ago?"

Blackbeard shook his head. "No. After earning so much money every year, I suddenly felt that holding onto it without spending it held no meaning at all. I truly don't understand why I was so greedy before. It was the money that cured my greed."

Ziye: "..."

Blackbeard continued, "Today's exhibition confirms that my initial choice was correct. If I had taken a position in the Legion, my abilities would have topped out at Vice Commander—that's practically a nanny's role. At Sprout Group, however, I am the king of the robot kingdom."

Blackbeard smiled knowingly at Ziye. "Do you think my choice was wise?"

Ziye replied, "If the king of the robot kingdom thinks it is wise, then it is wise."

Blackbeard roared with laughter. "I sound like an obstinate king."

Ziye shrugged, and the two exchanged smiles.

Just then, Little Sprout nudged her gently. "Someone over there is speaking ill of things."

Ziye turned around. "Where?"

Little Sprout nestled into Ziye’s embrace, its two wings lying flat against its back. "The one wearing dark red clothes."

Ziye scanned the crowd and saw a man leaning sleazily near a robot display stand, his eyes fixed on the robot with what looked like malicious intent. His clothing was exactly that dark red color.

She couldn't help but recall that pervert who’d been groping the robot’s backside; Hmph, courting death.

She signaled Blackbeard and started walking toward the man.

Blackbeard considered for a moment, then followed behind her.

The man stared at the robot for a long time, then muttered quietly to his companion, "I suspect these robots aren't real."

(⊙_⊙)?

Ziye suppressed the urge to "tease" him, watching the robot while listening intently to his conversation with his companion.

His companion replied, "Now that you mention it, I find it strange too. How can a robot look exactly like a real person on the outside?"

"Exactly," he insisted. "So, I suspect these robots are actually clones. If that's the case, the Wolf’s Den is doomed. The Interstellar Convention on the Prohibition of Illegal Cloning has explicit regulations about this."

His companion asked, "Should we report them to the Integration Authority?"

He thought for a moment. "Not yet. Let's first confirm if they are clones. I heard the CEO of the Integration Authority has good ties with some people in the Wolf's Den. We absolutely cannot let them get any leverage over us!"

With sinister intentions, the two left the hall and headed toward the next pavilion.

Ziye and Blackbeard exchanged a glance, following them together. The visitor traffic was dense, and the two men failed to notice the 'predatory' presence following them.

As they looked around, their suspicion that the robots were clones grew stronger. After reaching the ninth pavilion, they felt there was no need to look further and activated their comms devices.

"I initially thought these robots were fake, but I didn't expect them to actually be real," a voice suddenly rang out loudly in the hall. The speaker was a young man in jeans, sporting a mop of messy hair.

It seemed this question had troubled many, as someone immediately asked upon hearing him speak, "How do you know they are real?"

Xie Er was fast enough to arrive at Pavilion Nine to resolve the issue. Ziye gave Xie Er a silent thumbs-up, then retracted her hand, choosing to observe.

Xie Er said, "You all definitely haven't been to Pavilion Ten, have you!"

The crowd asked curiously, "What does Pavilion Ten have to do with this?"

Xie Er laughed. "The truth about the robots is in Pavilion Ten. I just came back from there; I was nearly terrified when I saw Pavilion Ten."

The crowd surged toward Pavilion Ten.

The man in dark red had already dialed his communication. He couldn't speak before being drowned out by the shouts of the crowd. He exchanged a look with his companion and also headed toward Pavilion Ten.

-RP