The usual visitor flow is from Exhibition Hall No. 1 to No. 10, and after viewing Hall No. 10, they proceed down the thousand-meter-long corridor, never looking back. Few people would race back to Hall No. 9 to share what they saw in Hall No. 10; that's why they needed Shel Tordong there.

The man in the dark red clothing, whether due to haste or some other urgency, darted through the crowd like a fleeing rabbit, soon surging ahead of the main body of visitors.

They were impatient to see the truth of Exhibition Hall No. 10, and Hall No. 10 held nothing back. The moment the man stepped inside, he gasped, stumbling three steps backward, his face turning deathly pale with fright.

Because what he saw was a naked robot, holding an Aurora Blade, swiftly slashing across its own chest—ripping the torso open!

The robots from the Sprout Group were capable of passing for real; seeing any "living being" perform such brutal self-mutilation would shock anyone, let alone someone who believed them to be a stage beyond bio-machines—cloned entities.

Thus, he was instantly paralyzed by the "clone's" action, fearfully covering his eyes, unable to watch.

All around him, from front to back, left to right, the only sound was sharp intakes of breath.

Unexpectedly, he heard no one nearby protest this gruesome act.

As he hesitated, debating whether to open his eyes, he heard his companion murmur, "The truth, this is the truth! The Sprout Group robots are invincible!"

He could no longer contain his curiosity and released his hands.

What met his eyes was not the river of blood he'd imagined pooling from the robot's chest; neither were there visible organs or entrails. The only things visible were the metallic skeletal structure and the internal system components within the abdominal cavity.

(⊙o⊙)?

The self-mutilating robot set the Aurora Blade aside, spread its hands toward the crowd with its chest cavity open, and said, "Apologies, I seem to have startled everyone. There's a piece of equipment inside running a bit sluggishly, and I was just checking if it needed a bit of oil."

It pulled out a drawer from the display stand, retrieved a bottle of lubricant, squeezed a dab onto a fingertip, returned the bottle, and then, manipulating parts with one hand while oiling components with the other, performed the task with more proficiency than a professional robot mechanic.

"That's such a prank!" some faint-hearted female tourists complained. "You shouldn't scare people like that."

"Indeed!" someone chimed in with an almost dramatic flair. "That move was brilliant! I have to admit it!"

There were murmurs of agreement and sharp words of complaint from the crowd, but no one dared question the authenticity of the robots anymore.

Exhibition Hall No. 10 featured not only the eviscerated robot but also others missing limbs. These were clearly far superior to standard medical robots. After their legs were severed, they selected suitable spare parts from a component bin, painstakingly assembled them, fitted them to the leg sockets, and then used a cellular repair device to regenerate the torn skin.

Once repaired, they didn't forget to perform a little dance as thanks for the visitors' close inspection.

The tourists were practically beside themselves.

What a terrifying yet real world this was!

The eyes of the man in dark red clothing seemed ready to shoot bullets directly into the robot's abdominal cavity.

How could human forms so agile and so lifelike possibly be robots?

This world was too cruel to him.

No, he couldn't believe what he was seeing!

He glanced left and right, spotting the wolf-head fountain in the center of the hall. With a burst of speed, he charged over, seized a toolbox left nearby by a robot, scattered its contents carelessly onto the floor, and hurled the box into the fountain, scooping up a huge splash of water. With a loud whoosh, he doused the chest cavity of the disemboweled robot, which was just about to engage its cellular repair system.

The tourists gasped in unison.

The man in dark red belatedly realized the trouble he'd caused and turned to flee.

He hadn't taken more than a few steps when a sudden chill brushed past his ear. He instinctively whipped to the side, the Aurora Blade whistling past his scalp. Another robot, halfway through reassembling its legs, sprang forward, hopping on one leg, catching the Aurora Blade mid-air, and sharply pointing it at the fleeing man.

The tourists let out an even louder cry of alarm.

The man flinched, then seeing no one moving to help, he frantically looked toward the robot he had just drenched.

That robot paid him no mind, lowering its head to inspect its stomach, its voice soft but firm: "Unknown substance detected in the abdominal cavity. Self-diagnostic countdown initiated. Three, two, one. Self-diagnostic commencing."

Seeing that the damage seemed minor, the man spun around, intending to bolt again.

None of the robots present made a move to stop him.

He rushed toward the exit, thinking he had succeeded, but the moment his foot crossed the threshold, a pair of stun batons materialized before him. The robot police officer, clad in uniform, spoke in a stern voice: "You have violated the Xilian Galaxy Public Security Management Punishment Regulations. Please accompany us."

The man's face went ashen; he meekly allowed himself to be led away by the officers.

Upon witnessing this, the visitors shook their heads.

A man who would splash water on a robot was either insane or foolish. Furthermore, everyone had seen the splashing incident and knew the man was at fault; yet, as everyone watched, no one spoke up. The vast exhibition hall was so quiet only the faint sounds of robots repairing their own bodies could be heard.

After walking a few paces, the man suddenly remembered something. He glared at the two officers: "Are you people or robots?"

The two officers replied in unison: "We are the Robot Security Police of the Xilian Galaxy."

The man collapsed onto the floor with a soft thud.

Having observed this entire farce, Zi Ye beckoned to Black Beard. "Exhibition tour concluded. Are you ready to see the Grand Corridor?"

Black Beard nodded. "As a King, one must occasionally patrol one's domain, and take the opportunity to observe my subjects."

Zi Ye waved her hand. "Then you go ahead. I'm going back to check on the mecha deployment status."

Just as they parted ways, Zi Ye spotted two police officers piloting an airship flying in from outside, stopping precisely at the entrance before disembarking. Zi Ye was intimately familiar with everything in the Xilian Galaxy; these two were external police officers, and they were living human beings.

They also held another title: Peacekeeping Police stationed in the Xilian Galaxy under the Unified Directorate.

Thanks to the connection through Stas, the entire Xilian Galaxy generally maintained good relations with them.

Zi Ye paused, smiling as she greeted them. "Hi, visiting the robot exhibit too?"

The Peacekeeping Police displayed their badges. "Ms. Zi Ye, we just received a report alleging the illegal use of clones posing as robots within the robot exhibition hall. We are here accordingly."

Zi Ye frowned. "Are you here to collect evidence now?"

The Peacekeeping Police stated, "No, we have concluded our investigation. The robot exhibition hall is not using clones as robots; therefore, we are here to apprehend the individual who filed the false report."

Zi Ye breathed a sigh of relief. "Who filed the false report?"

The Peacekeeping Police pointed to the man in the dark red clothing lying on the floor.

Zi Ye's eyes twinkled. "Excellent. I was just preparing to sue him for slander."

-RS