The Frenzied Savior - Chapter 8

A mechanical watch face was suddenly embedded into a slender strap, transforming the once bulky timepiece into a delicate silver bracelet.

[Human DNA binding system activated, host confirmed]

A mechanical male voice suddenly rang out.

[Host, please state your name.]

“Fu Qingya.”

Fu Qingya spoke to the AI with practiced ease.

[Host confirmed for Intelligence System No. 12: Fu Qingya.]

[Hello, Host, would you like to rename Intelligence System No. 12?]

“Xiao Jin.”

He chose the name because the watch face was entirely gold.

[Understood, Host, Xiao Jin is honored to be at your service.]

“Stay hidden unless there is a special situation.”

[Understood, Host, Xiao Jin has received your command.]

[Xiao Jin will continuously monitor for mechanical lifeforms below D-series, please rest easy, Host.]

Fu Qingya frowned, thinking that using an F-series energy core could only produce something capable of detecting D-series mechanical lifeforms was truly pathetic.

However, things were different now compared to the year Star Calendar 27, when mankind had already spent years accumulating, dissecting, and analyzing mechanical creations from the A48 galaxy. Even if Fu Qingya was dissatisfied, the materials he once had at his fingertips were no longer available.

Given his current circumstances, he had no choice but to accept it.

Fu Qingya sealed the blade of his scalpel and strapped it to his arm, pulling down his sleeve to hide it. He then picked up the smart butler system and installed it into the villa’s central hub, modifying several programs to give it the second-highest priority to monitor and manage the building’s entire electronic network.

“Master! Master! Time for breakfast!”

The round robot whizzed along, its body rolling into the basement to urge Fu Qingya. Its voice featured a soft, human-like quality, making its repetitive reminders endearing rather than annoying.

Having lived without anyone to look after him since his rebirth, Fu Qingya was long used to these mechanical voices. Hearing the prompt, he glanced at the large clock in the room and realized it was almost time for school.

Leaving the remaining cleanup to the square robot, Fu Qingya left the basement for the master bedroom to take a quick shower. After tidying himself up, he finally entered the living room.

He hurriedly finished the soy milk and buns the round robot brought over, grabbed his bag from the living room, and walked briskly toward school.

Because he was in a rush, Fu Qingya actually ran the whole way. He didn’t take the time to sync his brainwaves, which meant he walked into the classroom today with his eyes wide open. This rare, spirited appearance left his classmates both surprised and curious.

Ever since the school term started, Fu Qingya had developed a deep love for sleeping. On a normal day, he would walk with his eyes closed, moving like a silent breeze, and he hadn’t paid attention to a single lesson.

At first, Old Fu, the homeroom teacher of Class 1, Grade 12 at Huangquan High School, was incredibly worried. He knew that while Fu Qingya was usually a bit rebellious, he had never been the type to slump over his desk and sleep as soon as class began.

He had called Fu Qingya in for several talks, but the boy was bold and refused to change. Eventually, the teachers realized Fu Qingya wasn’t physically ill, he was just inexplicably sleepy. Since it didn’t affect his grades, they reluctantly chose to let it slide.

After that, Fu Qingya became even more blatant about his sleeping. Out of a five-day school week, he slept all five days, and truly kept his eyes shut even while walking.

In the two months since the start of the term, they had never seen Fu Qingya look energetic. Occasionally, he would open his eyes during breaks or after meals when he felt a strong urge to read a certain book.

So, this was the first time they had ever seen him enter the classroom with his eyes open.

Fu Qingya’s seatmate was a round-faced boy with large glasses. He had a cheerful, outgoing personality and a bit of a thick skin, usually remaining completely unaffected by Fu Qingya’s cold aura.

Seeing it was a rare day where Fu Qingya was awake, the curious boy eagerly handed him a pillow while leaning in to whisper.

“Qingya, why are you so energetic today?”

“I’m not energetic, I’m exhausted.”

Having stayed up all night, Fu Qingya was truly tired, in every sense of the word. He took the pillow from his seatmate, leaned down, and closed his eyes. For the first time in two months, he didn’t try to synchronize his physical shell or evolve his brainwaves, he simply fell into a genuine sleep.

Fu Qingya fell asleep quickly. Even though the noise of the crowd and people passing by kept him on alert, he was so used to pushing himself that he could force his guard down and drop into a deep slumber almost instantly.

A few rays of morning sunlight filtered through the window, hitting his sharp features. The play of light and shadow made him look exceptionally exhausted and fragile.

The round-faced boy felt a sudden, heavy sense of weariness just looking at him. He didn’t have the heart to disturb him further, so he swallowed his words and sat quietly in his chair, waiting for class to start.

The boy’s quiet presence seemed to influence those around him. More and more people instinctively quieted down, and even the teacher seemed to lower their voice out of pity.

Fu Qingya slept through two whole periods. When he finally emerged from the dreams of that desolate, abandoned era, the lively, harmonious scene around him left him feeling momentarily dazed and hollow.

The corners of his eyes seemed slightly flushed. He lowered his gaze, his expression turning cold as he pulled a book on foreign languages from his desk.

Fu Qingya spent nearly half of every day tirelessly researching and developing technology to combat the mechanical lifeforms of the A48 galaxy. The other half was spent synchronizing his body and evolving his spirit, relentlessly digging for the special energy source that belonged to legend.

He was pushing himself to the limit without end, but occasionally, when he grew weary, he would find a bit of entertainment to soothe his frayed nerves and heavy exhaustion.

These languages, which represented the traces of civilization, were one of the joys he had recently discovered. Every now and then, he would flip through them during breaks to learn something new and experience the cultural depth of different regions.

These were things Fu Qingya hadn’t seen for a very long time during the later decades of the Star Calendar, things his past self could never have hoped to see again.

After all, back then, humans were struggling just to stay alive, so how could they have the luxury of preserving culture?

“Hey, Qingya, so why exactly did you walk into class with your eyes open today?”

The round-faced boy in black-rimmed glasses saw that Fu Qingya was finally awake and reading a language book, so he knew his friend was lucid. He leaned over with a small, awkward smile.

It was a bit strange to ask now, but he couldn’t help it, his curiosity was just too damn strong.

Fu Qingya looked up at the boy, not quite understanding why he was asking since it didn’t seem to have anything to do with their studies. However, having experienced his seatmate’s intense curiosity before, he paused for a moment before replying.

“Because I was almost late.”

Even though the villa was close to the school, there was very little time left before the bell. If he had continued to walk while synchronizing his body, he would have been late, and he could not accept becoming a human who lacked punctuality.

That would be quite annoying.

Fu Qingya, who possessed a rigorous sense of time, thought to himself.

“Eh? Was that really it?”

The round-faced boy had a sudden realization. Having sat next to Fu Qingya for so long, he knew the boy’s sense of timing was freakishly precise. If that was the reason he forced himself to stay awake and run to class, it actually made sense.

Satisfied, the boy returned to his seat. Although he was still curious about what had delayed Fu Qingya in the first place, he knew that as a polite seatmate, he shouldn’t pry too deeply into someone else’s business. He suppressed the rest of his questions.

Fu Qingya glanced at the boy, noting his respectful boundaries, and the corner of his lip curled slightly as he went back to his book.

A few minutes later, the bell rang, and a stern-looking Old Fu strode into the classroom.

Just as Fu Qingya was about to lie down and sleep again, the teacher spoke.

“Fu Qingya, don’t sleep yet, something has come up.”

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