Chapter 71: Exchange 071
S01 led Chen Xu and one other through the empty hall to a slightly smaller room next door. Though sparsely furnished, there was at least a complete set of tables and chairs where they could sit.
“Please sit,” it said.
Chen Xu and his companion did as told and sat down.
S01 stood in front of them, its cold, hard nature accentuated by the dim lighting.
It began, “The original purpose of the shelter was to accept the surviving humans. On behalf of all residents of Shelter A020, I welco your arrival.”
“Let introduce the current situation of the shelter. A few months ago, a rescue team arrived and most people migrated with them. They took most of the supplies and only left behind an energy core to maintain the shelter’s daily operations.”
“Given the scarcity of resources, for the ti being, the shelter can only provide basic nutrition als and drinking water. Even though you have brought an energy core, we won’t be able to construct a planting warehouse anyti soon…”
Chen Xu waited for it to finish before speaking, “Actually, the only person who wants to stay at your base is her. I will be leaving shortly.”
“Chen Xu, you—” Yang Jinxia’s face changed as she clutched his arm, her voice anxious.
Chen Xu didn’t look at her and said, “I told you, once we got here, we would go our separate ways.”
“I was wrong, and I apologize to you,” Yang Jinxia bit her lip, gazing at him with pleading eyes, “I promise, nothing like this will ever happen again…”
“Stop talking.”
Chen Xu interrupted her irritably, took a deep breath, turned to her, and said, “In your heart, you never really took seriously, did you?”
“I…” Yang Jinxia looked into his eyes, suddenly unable to continue.
At that mont, she realized her mistake. She had not truly seen the man for who he was; he wasn’t as rational as he usually seed.
“I will leave half of the supplies in the vehicle. I want to take the vehicle with , and 2003 as well,” Chen Xu laid out his terms for splitting up their possessions. “The energy core can stay, but in exchange, I’d like so things from you, S01. What do you think?”
S01 replied, “Such a proposal is reasonable. What would you like to exchange for, sir?”
“A battery for the transport vehicle.”
“That is possible.”
“A high-powered weapon that can be carried personally.”
“That is possible.”
“A personal information processor capable of storing information.”
“That too is possible.”
“Inside this processor, I also want a copy of all the technical data from the shelter.”
S01 responded, “I’m afraid that won’t be possible, sir. Your clearance is too low. There is much technical data I cannot give you.”
Chen Xu hadn’t anticipated this limitation and said helplessly, “Then download into it whatever data you can give .”
“That is possible. Are there any other requests?”
“That’s all.”
Chen Xu knew when to stop. He wasn’t too greedy, considering the ager appearance of the shelter; any further demands might cause S01 to turn hostile.
After reaching an agreent, Chen Xu used the shelter’s equipnt to have a voice conversation with 2003 at the door, instructing it to bring the transport vehicle inside.
Throughout this ti, Yang Jinxia sat quietly, voicing no objections, silently consenting to his decisions.
While waiting for 2003, Chen Xu posed another question to S01, “When was the last ti the aberrations attacked?”
“Six years ago,” S01 answered.
“Based on your experience, how often do the aberrations typically attack?”
“In the first few decades, the aberrations attacked once a year. Starting from fifty years ago, it beca biennial. As ti went on, the frequency of attacks decreased further to once every three years and then to every five years. Additionally, the number of aberrations has been dwindling.”
Chen Xu expressed his admiration, “It’s truly incredible that you’ve held out for so long.”
“For over a hundred years, the shelter has sacrificed more than a hundred thousand people in defense against the aberrations,” S01’s voice grew heavy.
“Do you think they’ll co again?” Chen Xu inquired further.
“In recent years, environntal degradation in this region has worsened sharply, and the number of aberrations has drastically decreased. Beyond the walls, it has been nearly a year since any sightings of aberrations. According to the rescue team’s assessnt, the number of aberrations in this region is now less than ten thousand. They pose no significant threat to the shelter.”
On hearing this, Chen Xu felt more at ease. With the city so vast, along with the surrounding areas, ten thousand aberrations would be sparse. With the supplies from the vehicle, he should manage for the next four months or more.
“Do you have a distribution map of the aberrations?”
“A rescue team once left one behind. I’ll store it in the terminal for you.”
“Thank you.”
…
Eventually, 2003 brought the vehicle around and parked it just outside the hall. Next, they began unloading items from the vehicle.
The energy core was a cylindrical device over two ters in diater with multiple ports and slots.
This was Chen Xu’s first ti seeing such a device, and it was quite different from what he had imagined.
S01 stepped forward and used its two chanical arms to unload the energy core from the vehicle, showcasing incredible strength. Chen Xu, who had previously harbored suspicions, was now certain that S01’s structure was an exoskeleton armor.
Undoubtedly, it was a war machine, and even if he wore a full set of chanized exoskeleton arms, he might not be able to overpower it.
S01 carried the energy core—larger than itself—away swiftly.
Nearly half an hour later, it returned carrying a few items, exactly those Chen Xu had requested.
After Chen Xu received them, he handed the battery over to 2003 and examined the other two items on the side.
The weapon was shaped like a rifle, only bulkier, entirely tallic, yet not overly heavy. It was quite similar to the one he had bought with points.
It was an electromagnetic rifle, and as for its power, that could be tested after leaving the shelter.
The personal information processor resembled a pair of glasses. Once worn, following S01’s instructions, a display interface appeared before his eyes, which he could control with voice commands or gestures, highly convenient.
He first accessed the storage space to have a look, and was quite satisfied. It seed S01 had not deceived him. The data contained within was far more extensive than in Shelter G5232’s mainfra.
After a while, 2003 finished sorting the supplies.
Chen Xu, along with 2003, got into the vehicle. Before leaving, he looked back at Yang Jinxia and said, “Take care.”
Yang Jinxia seed to have sothing to say but ultimately held back, watching the vehicle slowly disappear into the passage. Her expression conveyed an indescribable sentint.
“Lady, I will take you to your room,” S01 said.
She remained motionless.
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