War of Intelligent Machines

Chapter 3: Imprisonment on the Floating Island

Chapter 3: Imprisonment on the Floating Island

The people inside the two-story building all wore uniforms similar to security guards, and some had daggers, laser guns, and stun sticks strapped to their waists. Jiang Yuesheng felt as though he had entered a detention center.

The two men who had kidn*pped him spoke to the uniformed people, then walked away.

A middle-aged, overweight man approached Jiang Yuesheng and motioned for him to follow. After entering a room, Jiang Yuesheng was instructed to strip and take a shower.

He was reluctant to undress in front of strangers, but the man had a gun, and not complying was not an option.

After the shower, he was given a new outfit that resembled a work uniform.

He dared not resist and changed into the clothes as instructed. Then, the overweight man led him to another room.

"What’s your name?" asked a cold voice from a middle-aged woman.

"Jiang Yuesheng."

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Where are you from?"

"From Cang’er City in the western part of Yunnan."

"What are your hobbies?"

"I assemble combat robots."

"This island is on international waters, two thousand kilometers from the nearest land. Don’t even think about escaping, understand?"

"Yes," Jiang Yuesheng nodded.

"As long as you work here and obey, you'll have food and water. If you don’t listen, we’ll throw you into the sea! Got it?"

"Got it!" he replied.

The overweight man then led Jiang Yuesheng out of the back door of the building and took him to the entrance of a large courtyard. There, he handed Jiang Yuesheng over to the security guard at the gate and said, "Take him to the assembly workshop."

After the middle-aged man turned and left, the guard pulled out a walkie-talkie and shouted, "Assembly workshop, come pick up a new worker!"

Soon, a dark-skinned man appeared, driving an old-fashioned open-top electric vehicle. The man appeared to be South Asian, and he gave Jiang Yuesheng a cold look before saying, "Get in the car."

Jiang Yuesheng obediently got in the car.

"Have you worked with robots before?"

"I’ve assembled combat robots."

"Good, then just get to work on the line!"

What the South Asian man meant by "getting to work on the line" was that Jiang Yuesheng would be doing tasks on the robot assembly line.

The work wasn’t difficult for Jiang Yuesheng. It was mostly screwing bolts and connecting wires. After watching others for a while, he picked it up quickly and started working.

The first few days were hard. He stood all day and worked from morning till night, leaving him with a sore back and aching legs. However, he quickly adapted, and his skills improved as he practiced.

As time passed, he got to know a few of his co-workers in the section. Through casual chats, he learned that all the workers here had been captured. Some were taken while fishing at sea, while others were tricked by scammers.

From his co-workers, Jiang Yuesheng found out that this was not a natural island but a massive artificial floating island. Beneath it was foam material, held together by a fibrous mesh framework, forming the gigantic floating platform.

The factory mainly produced robots, and no one knew who the boss was. All they did was work on the assembly line. They had food when they worked, and if they were tired, they could rest. They worked twelve hours a day, and the remaining time was spent watching closed-circuit television.

Jiang Yuesheng felt a sense of despair as he listened to his co-workers' stories. No one knew where the floating island was, who had captured them, or when they would be able to leave. The only thing they knew for certain was that working was the only way to get food.

At first, Jiang Yuesheng doubted his co-workers' story about the artificial floating island. But one day, a violent storm changed his mind and made him fully believe that this was indeed an artificial island.

That morning, while he was working in the workshop, a violent wind began to blow, and rain started pouring down. He felt the ground beneath him sway slightly, similar to when he was a child, sitting on a cruise ship with his grandmother during a storm at sea.

Curious, he ran to the window beside the workshop and looked outside. He saw that the ground in the distance seemed to rise and fall, as though it were slowly shifting with the waves.

But the movement of the ground didn’t transmit to the workshop building, as there seemed to be a stretchable gap between the foundation of the road and the factory. The height difference between the two sides would occasionally shift by a couple of centimeters. He guessed that the factory’s foundation was integrated with the road’s base and connected semi-movably. From this, he realized that his co-workers' story about the floating island was true.

……

After Jiang Yuesheng was kidn*pped, Jiang Hui reported it to the police that evening.

That afternoon, before leaving, Jiang Yuesheng had told his grandmother that he was going to Xiaguan to buy some robot parts.

But by dinnertime, Jiang Hui still hadn’t seen her grandson return, so she called him. However, no matter how many times she called, the phone was off.

Worried, she drove to the electronics market where her grandson often went to search for him. After circling the market a few times and not finding any sign of him, she asked some shop owners. One of them actually knew Jiang Yuesheng and said he hadn’t come by.

Jiang Hui then called all their acquaintances, but no one had seen Jiang Yuesheng that day.

Around 11 PM, frantic with worry, Jiang Hui felt she couldn’t wait any longer and went to the police station to report her grandson missing.

The next evening, just as her daughter called from the Moon for a video chat, Jiang Hui told her the truth.

When Jiang Yu heard that her beloved son had suddenly disappeared, it felt like a bolt from the blue. She froze, completely stunned.

After a long while, she finally started crying, wiping her tears as she looked into the camera.

She had worked so hard to raise her son, and now, just when he was almost grown, he had disappeared.

Seeing her daughter crying uncontrollably made Jiang Hui feel even guiltier. She kept blaming herself, saying it was her fault—if only she had gone to the market with her son, none of this would have happened…

After hanging up the video call with her mother, Jiang Yu felt as though her heart had been tied up with ropes, aching faintly. It was as though her entire chest had been filled with lead, heavy and suffocating.

She had lived in the underground Moon base for more than thirty years, but this was the first time she had felt such loneliness, fear, and torment. It was as though death itself were looming nearby.

She looked up and saw a photo of her son from his first birthday, holding it tightly in her arms. Her heart seemed to ease slightly.

She realized then that she had to rid herself of these negative emotions quickly, or her already 30% smaller heart would never be able to endure such pressure.

Slowly, she sat up straight on the sofa, crossed her legs, and began to do deep breathing exercises, using both hands to smooth her chest.

About half an hour later, her mood gradually improved, and her heartache lessened.

Feeling a bit thirsty, she went to the kitchen to drink some water. When she returned to the sofa, she picked up the photo of her son and mother, gazing at it. Unknowingly, her thoughts drifted back to sixteen years ago.