I , Robot ：Awaken

Chapter 4，Dreams

“Tap, tap, tap, ... tap, tap, tap!”

In the darkness, I felt as if something sharp was hitting me. The tapping sound persisted for a while, stopped for a few seconds, and then started again.

Why do I still have consciousness? I tried to open my eyes, and an animal’s head immediately filled my entire vision. Its pointed beak pecked at my head, making the 'tap...tap..tap' sound. Seeing that I was awake, it immediately flapped its wings and jumped aside.

Angrily, it shouted, “Za za za! You scared me! This jerk woke up! This jerk woke up!”

I sat up and looked around. It was still the valley where I had been Terminated, but the Firecaller Gers and The Ouster Gers were gone. There were no signs of fire; the valley remained a lush grassland with trees. ‘Father’ had also vanished. It was as if nothing had happened.

I was bewildered. Was what I experienced just an illusion?

What’s going on? And what's with this talking winged animal?

“Who...who are you? Where are ‘Father’ and the other robots? Where is this place?” I urgently asked it a string of questions.

“You i***t! Who are you?”

“Who am I?”

“Za za za! You don’t even know who you are, what an i***t. You deserve to be Terminated. You should be terminated a thousand times, ten thousand times, you... za za za..za za!!” It spoke very fast, and by the end, it was almost just shouting randomly at the sky. I didn’t understand a word.

“Uh... I’m a combat-type robot, designated The Ouster Ger. What kind of... animal are you?”

“i***t! Can’t you see that I’m a bird? I am Bulin, the clever Lord Bulin,” Bulin said.

“Lord Bulin, I don’t understand anything that happened here. This is beyond my knowledge. Do you know what’s going on?”

“Za za za! You brainless congenital i***t, you bad and stupid piece of scrap metal, I’m going to fight you.”

After Lord Bulin finished cursing, it flew to my shoulder and pecked my head again.

“Did I do something wrong? Can you explain it from the beginning? I don’t understand a word you said,” I said while dodging its sharp beak.

But Lord Bulin had no intention of communicating properly, only continuing to curse and peck randomly. I had to grab it, its strength was very small and its body seemed quite fragile. To avoid harming it, I gently enclosed it with both hands.

Lord Bulin struggled desperately in my hands.

“Let go of me! Za za za! Quickly let me go! I’ll spare you.”

So I released it, and it immediately flew to a nearby tree. While adjusting its feathers, it said, “Za za! If it weren’t for my powers being restricted, you’d be nothing.”

.....

I couldn’t deal with it, but since I finally encountered a talking creature, I was reluctant to leave just like that. While hesitating, I suddenly heard a familiar barking sound.

“Woof woof woof!”

I turned around and saw that the tail-wagging animal had somehow appeared out of nowhere. It wagged its tail rapidly and jumped onto me. “Well done! Nomi, bite it!” Bulin exclaimed excitedly.

“Great, you’re okay too.” I patted its head. It rubbed against me, looking very excited.

Bulin disdainfully said, “Za za za! This heartless beast!”

“What exactly did I do wrong?” I asked, looking up.

“Za za za! Do you really want to know?”

“Of course!”

“Nomi, take it away. Just seeing it makes me angry.”

“Nomi?”

“Stop talking, just follow the dog and go away, quickly! Za za za!” Lord Bulin angrily threw out this sentence and then flew away.

“Woof woof!” The dog named Nomi responded to Bulin with two barks, circled around me, and then ran towards the bottom of the mountain.

I hurriedly followed behind. Nomi led me through a forest, continuing to run downhill. This valley had very gentle terrain, and in the forest, we encountered those long-eared jumping animals again. But this time, Nomi didn’t even look at them. It ran while occasionally looking back and barking, as if urging me to keep up. Out of the forest, I saw a big tree from afar. This tree was tall and straight, incredibly huge. Compared to it, other trees looked like disproportionate shrubs. The big tree soared into the clouds, and its canopy looked like a green cloud.

We ran towards the tree, turned around a small hill, and ran for another ten minutes before the tree came fully into view. At the same time, a small river and a beautiful wooden house appeared beside the giant tree. At this moment, the dog barked excitedly and sprinted towards the wooden house.

It seemed that this was our destination. I rushed to the front of the wooden house in a few steps.

“Woof woof woof!” Nomi pounded on the door, barking loudly.

After a while, the door opened, and a creature similar to me appeared in front of me.

After a while, the door opened, and a creature similar in form to me appeared in front of me.

The first time I saw him, I searched the database but couldn’t determine what he was, yet I felt his exceptional presence. He had a certain quality that made me feel incredibly humble, similar to how I felt before ‘Father’, but different. ‘Father’ felt cold and commanding, whereas he... I couldn’t describe it, but it was entirely different.

He had curly, graying hair that extended from his head to his chin, bright, deep eyes, and a kind smile. He patted the excited Nomi and said with a smile, “Hi, Nomi! Where’s Bulin? Is it bossing you around again?”

Nomi panted and wagged its tail vigorously, while I stood there, dumbfounded, until he smiled and greeted me.

“Hi, DR-F1209! I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

“Waiting for me?” I asked, pointing to myself.

He nodded with a smile and stepped aside, saying, “Come in and let’s have a chat. I know you’re very confused.”

I followed him into the cabin. The furnishings were very simple: a wooden table and two chairs, with a vase of bright flowers on the table. The sound of flowing water could be heard in the room, and two large windows on the river-facing side provided a view of the flowing water outside.

Nomi lay down beside the table. He motioned for me to sit in one of the chairs, then took a seat across from me.

After I sat down, I didn’t know how to start. He looked at me with his deep and wise eyes, making me feel a bit lost. He stared at me for a while, then seemed to talk to himself, “It’s amazing, your ‘Father’ didn’t know you were an Awakened Being. How did you hide it from him?”

“I...” I lowered my head, not daring to meet his gaze, not knowing how to answer.

“Uh, sorry! I got a bit carried away.” He noticed my discomfort and withdrew his sharp gaze, smiling, “So, what do you want to know the most?”

“What are you?” I asked cautiously.

“Me? I have many names and titles. Recently, I have been using the title ‘Creator’ more often.”

“Creator?” This word I knew: “You are the same as ‘Father’...?”