Caged Humanity

Chapter 3: Something from the Sky

What... was this?

It had to be said that Yuan Ling was a strange person in the eyes of most people. He was the kind of strange person who only knew how to deal with machines, numbers, and equations. Ever since he was young, even when there were girls who showed interest in him, he would rather stay alone in the laboratory than go out with someone else.

Love was no different from obsessive-compulsive disorder. That theory had already been proven by Dr. Charles back in the year 2000, and kissing was a severe symptom displayed by serious patients of that disorder.

So what was this kiss supposed to be?

And what exactly was this girl?

Yuan Ling reached out, intending to push her away. However, the girl's way of kissing was far too rough. The moment their lips touched, she tried to push further in with no hesitation at all. Yet just like before, she came quickly and left just as quickly. After Yuan Ling retreated with caution, the girl still sat where she was, not even wiping the corner of her mouth.

"Analysis in progress... Analysis complete. Chromosome verification correct. Asian yellow race confirmed. Name: Yuan Ling. Age: twenty. Timeline comparison... complete. Accuracy: 99.9999 percent. Identity confirmed as the target individual. First-stage mission successfully completed."

"Wait a minute. What exactly is going on with you? Why did you appear in my room? And what did you just do? What first-stage mission? Who are you?"

Yuan Ling adjusted his glasses. At this moment, even though the beautiful girl in front of him still had no proper clothing on, he had no interest in that at all. After all, for a scientist, exploring the unknown was always the highest priority.

The girl's body gradually softened. After completing what she called the "first-stage mission," her pupils slowly returned to a dark green color. Facing Yuan Ling's caution, she still maintained that blank, expressionless look. Then she formally knelt in front of him.

"I finally found you, Master."

"Please wait."

Yuan Ling pushed up his glasses. Although there were still many things he did not understand, in order to prevent the girl's beautiful body from adding unnecessary confusion to his thinking, he took a shirt from the cabinet and threw it to her.

"Put this on before you speak. Then explain everything to me properly."

The girl held the shirt in her hands. Her face still looked confused and dull. After thinking for a moment, she finally nodded and said softly, "Yes, Master."

Her voice was light, like that of a shy little cat. That was Yuan Ling's first judgment of the girl before him.

But aside from that, everything had become completely unbelievable. This girl had somehow bypassed every mechanism he had placed at the entrance and arrived inside his room without obstruction. In theory, that should have been impossible. Just now, he had checked the surveillance footage from the entrance, but there was no trace of this woman passing through.

If that was the case, then what was the reason?

How had this woman smoothly bypassed those complicated calculations and obtained the answer to the equation without going through the process?

"Master, I have put it on."

Yuan Ling nodded and looked at the girl before him. She was only wearing his shirt, and because the shirt was too large for her, her delicate body seemed even smaller inside it. The faint outline beneath the fabric made him feel that, in some ways, this was even more distracting than before.

"There is also a sweater and a pair of pants here. Put them on too."

"Yes, if that is Master's order."

"This is not an order. This is a matter of dignity that you should have as a woman."

"I am not a woman, Master."

"..."

A sharp light flashed behind Yuan Ling's narrow-framed glasses. He was still wearing only his shorts, leaning against the wall as he stared at the girl who was now dressed in his oversized clothes.

What did she mean by that? Did she want him to say she was a young lady instead? From the moment she appeared in a strange man's room without any clothing, Yuan Ling already had enough reason to suspect that she was not simply a "girl," but a "woman." Then again, could this be some kind of new scam? A new kind of setup?

Under Yuan Ling's stern gaze, the girl finally finished putting on the clothes. However, Yuan Ling's clothes were far too large, making her look even more petite.

"You are not a woman? Then what are you? Or do you think what you are doing still counts as something a human would do?"

"I am not a female 'person,' and I am not 'human' either."

The girl's face remained dull and expressionless. Wearing those oversized clothes, she looked at Yuan Ling and slowly revealed the first part of the truth.

"I am a general-purpose wide-area combat weapon. My official name is the First-Generation Combined Combat Bionic Humanoid Mobile Fortress, Unit One."

The girl still looked fragile.

Yuan Ling pushed up his glasses and gave a slight smile.

"In simpler terms, you mean a humanoid machine."

Yuan Ling's smile twitched at the corner of his mouth.

By evening, the city might still have some light left, but around this small mountain, the setting sun had almost taken away all brightness.

Darkness covered the lonely mountain house. Only the light coming from inside the house proved that someone was still living there.

Inside the brightly lit living room, the dull-faced girl sat obediently on the sofa. A cup of hot black tea had been placed on the tea table in front of her. Yuan Ling, still wearing only his underwear, stood by the window and looked into the darkness outside, thinking.

"Ha... All right. Now tell me again. What exactly are you?"

The girl stared blankly at Yuan Ling. After thinking for a moment, she repeated, "Master, I am a general-purpose wide-area combat weapon. My official name is the First-Generation Combined Combat Bionic Humanoid Mobile Fortress. Model: Unit One. The first machine body."

Yuan Ling turned his head and looked at the fragile-looking girl. "In other words, you are a weapon? An armed robot?"

The girl tilted her head and thought for a while. "Robot...? Are you referring to an individual combat model? But I am a 'robotic-human' type mobile fortress. I belong to a position warfare or large-scale battle model..."

Yuan Ling raised his hand and stopped her explanation, which was becoming increasingly difficult to understand.

"Fine. Then tell me directly why you came here. Start from the beginning and explain everything clearly."

The girl's blank expression made Yuan Ling feel that there was likely something wrong with her emotional expression system. Fortunately, when he asked questions, she was very cooperative.

"Master, I come from July of the year 2318..."

"Wait!"

Yuan Ling pushed up his glasses. "If there is nothing wrong with my ears, you just said you came from more than three hundred years in the future, correct?"

"...Yes, Master."

For a short while, both of them fell silent.

Then, suddenly, Yuan Ling quickly took out a piece of paper and a pen. He also pulled a ruler and an eraser from a nearby drawer. His voice trembled slightly.

"Tell me! The energy formula required for time travel and the laws of matter conversion! Tell me everything!"

Excitement. There was no other word that could describe Yuan Ling's current state.

Time travel? Fantasy? Do not be ridiculous. If it were an ordinary person, perhaps they would only be shocked or amazed. But as a scientist, there was no reason for him not to be moved when faced with such an epoch-making research achievement.

The theory of reversible time.

This was knowledge that absolutely violated every known law of physics. It challenged the entire modern scientific world, quantum mechanics, spatial theory, and the mechanics of time expansion and contraction. If a scientist could remain unmoved in front of such a thing, then could he still be called a scientist?

Yuan Ling held the pen with great enthusiasm. Behind his glasses, his eyes almost widened enough to burst out of their sockets. He expected the girl before him to speak a long string of mathematical formulas and structural diagrams, revealing the true nature of "time," something humanity had dreamed of understanding for tens of thousands of years.

But...

"Master... Even if I told you, setting aside whether you could understand it, it would still be impossible for you to put it into practice."

Science came from practice.

Yuan Ling raised his head and looked at the girl. If the theory she told him could not be put into practice, then it would indeed have no value.

But why could it not be practiced? Was it because of the equipment?

"Master, I should... start from the beginning and explain slowly."

The girl's expression remained blank. Yuan Ling looked at her for a moment and finally decided to set that matter aside for now. After all, figuring out what had happened was clearly more important than the theory of time reversal.

"I come from July 14, 2318. The purpose of my arrival in this time period is to protect you, Master."

Protect me?

Why protect me?

The girl sat on the sofa somewhat stiffly. The black tea in front of her was slowly cooling. Yuan Ling placed his hands on his waist, pushed up his glasses, and sat down across from her.

"You can drink the tea. Ah, but a robot... no, a mobile fortress probably does not need tea, does it?"

The girl lowered her head and looked at the cup of tea that was still giving off heat. After staring at her own reflection in the tea, she finally stretched out both hands, carefully picked up the cup, and took a small sip.

Seeing that she drank it, Yuan Ling let out a breath. He leaned back completely on the sofa, crossed one leg over the other, and said, "Then tell me. Why do you need to protect me?"

"Yes, Master."

The girl put down the cup and began to speak.

"Everything begins thirty years from now, at the Copenhagen Conference in 2042..."