Chapter 63: [Ruin No. 1074 Survey Report]
[Overview]
Ruin No. 1074 is located at ° N, ***° E, covering an area of approximately 96 square kilometers.
It sits within the crater of an extinct volcano, with rich geothermal energy underground. The entrance is narrow, featuring a bottleneck terrain that is easy to defend but hard to attack, and transportation is inconvenient.
The ruin was constructed after the nuclear war of the Omnic Crisis. It is estimated that the population reached about 200,000 at its peak.
The local signature architecture is a thermal conduction device driven deep underground (this makes me suspect the ruin received aid from large corporations or a certain nation during its initial construction).
There are two sets of thermal conduction devices. Set A consists of superconducting heat pipes going 6,000 meters deep into the earth, extracting magma and injecting it into a cooling zone. This process generates massive thermal energy, which is converted to electrical energy via a surface power station. (Note: This was also one of the power source concepts for the Human Alliance’s underground cities; it achieved success in Chang’an City and Bianliang City).
Set B is located 2,000 meters underground. This depth hasn’t reached the magma layer but has a high-temperature granite layer. Cold water was injected into deep wells, allowing the rock mass to heat the water, and hot water was extracted from the other end. The hot water was used for heating and steam power generation.
The estimated historically active period of this ruin is 80 years.
Based on monitoring, there are three reasons for the abandonment of Ruin No. 1074:
- The ruin’s leader was an engineer. To consolidate political power, this leader refused to teach students the production and maintenance technology for the thermal conduction devices. Consequently, after the leader’s unexpected death, no one possessed the complete maintenance technology for the devices. Around the New Calendar Year 150, underground activity was frequent; the thermal conduction devices suffered magma incursions and were severely damaged. They could no longer provide sufficient heat sources for the surface.
- Internal wars among surface survivors.
- The Human Alliance planned to build underground cities and issued notices to all surface survivors. Survivors who believed themselves capable flocked to the Human Alliance headquarters.
Ruin No. 1074 was once one of the most advanced human settlements nearby. The region’s industry was relatively developed, featuring power plants, information stations, and chemical production workshops. However, the surface lacked soil, making traditional agriculture hard to develop, resulting in a severe food shortage and an extreme reliance on food imports!
In the early days, Ruin No. 1074 reached a long-term mutually beneficial agreement with Settlement No. 888 (a slave-based agricultural estate of 3,000 people, now called the Eternal City). 1074 supported 888, treating it as its own granary and backyard. In the mid-to-late period (around New Calendar Year 200), the leader of 888 unilaterally tore up the agreement and cut off food transport. The residents of Ruin No. 1074 held out for 4 years until their ammunition and food ran out; the surviving residents were reduced to serfs for Settlement No. 888. (Note: Surface human gathering place = Settlement; abandoned gathering place = Ruin).
[Conclusion]
If rebuilding surface human civilization, Ruin No. 1074 can serve as one of the industrial cities, relying on cheap geothermal energy as a foundation to develop other industries.
Without a stable food source, this area can accommodate 18,000 people (using technologies like greenhouse hydroponics and vertical farming). With a stable food source (and ignoring construction costs, survival pressure, etc.), the maximum population capacity of this area is approximately 5 million people (with an independent living space of 18 square meters per person).
Recommendation rating: 3.4 stars (out of 5).
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“Heave-ho! Heave-ho! Heave-ho!”
A rope was tied around Gospel’s waist, dragging a slick steel plate.
Two rows of rollers were installed beneath the steel plate, while warm artificial animal fur was spread on top.
Gospel sped freely through the snow like a sled dog: “Xiao Bei, hold on tight, don’t get thrown off!”
Beichen, bundled up in a winter suit, sat on the steel plate, desperately gripping the handle on the side: “Xiao Fu, you, you… slow down!” This is a downhill slope!!!
Even though his head had been replaced, his body was still the same old antique used for hundreds of years. Furthermore, it didn’t have a reserved coolant tank, which meant it couldn’t heat itself up to stay warm like Xiao Fu could. Thawing out metal was very troublesome, and if it got too cold, the chips would freeze and break.
Fresh tracks were left behind on the vast white snow.
Gospel carried Beichen, running toward the ruins: “Xiao Fu can’t wait any longer!”
Their task was to clear out a place to sleep inside the ruins.
Xiang Nanli was at the entrance, assembling a mechanical arm.
The road ahead was blocked, basically clogged by hundreds of years of fallen rocks and blizzards. Moreover, it was a very steep downward slope; in the short term, the cargo truck had no way of getting in.
The truck compartment was wide open. Dongfang Qingdi shuttled between the cargo shelves, searching for the parts Xiang Nanli needed.
The warehouse had loaded things a bit messily, but fortunately, he was very familiar with these mechanical parts. Rummaging through the cargo boxes wasn’t a difficult task for him, either.
It got dark very early on the surface. It was only 3:00 PM, but the sky was already a hazy gray.
Dongfang Qingdi thought for a moment, dug out a few lightbulbs, and rigged up a hanging lamp to provide illumination for Xiang Nanli.
When Xiang Nanli worked, he tuned out the entire world. Sitting on a spread-out plastic tarp, he didn’t even lift his head to take a look.
Looking down, Dongfang Qingdi could see a small mole behind his earlobe.
He poked it with his metallic index finger; as expected, Xiang Nanli didn’t react at all.
Xiang Nanli spent four hours assembling a set of transport equipment, then instructed: “Xiao Qing, go down and install the lifting platform. I’ll write a robot program.”
The main body of this mechanical device looked like a mobile crane, responsible for grabbing the cargo boxes and hoisting them onto the lifting platform.
Dongfang Qingdi hoisted the lifting platform—which was taller than he was—with both hands and jumped straight off the cliff face.
Xiang Nanli craned his neck and saw him hover in a highly anti-gravity manner two seconds before landing, then slowly descend. Carrying a hunk of iron weighing hundreds of pounds, his landing was completely silent.
Xiang Nanli couldn’t help but ask, “How did you do that?”
At this distance, shouting would no longer be heard clearly, so he communicated through Xiao Zhi.
Dongfang Qingdi answered, “I generated a magnetic field during the descent.”
Xiang Nanli opened his newly bought secondhand work computer. It was heavy, like a suitcase. He inserted a blank chip into the workstation slot, opened the programming software, and began typing lines of code.
After so many years, computer science had still seen some development. Fortunately, apart from neural interfaces and immersion pods, the most primitive computers hadn’t been completely phased out.
After he finished writing, he ran a simple test, confirmed the code worked, popped the chip out of the slot, and inserted it into the body of the mechanical device in front of him.
Xiang Nanli said strictly, “From now on, you are ‘Transporter 01’. I appoint you as the Grand General of Logistics for the Base Transport Corps. Currently, the base is severely short-handed, so we are adopting a 007 work schedule. Every cargo box transported counts as 1 point. Accumulate 10,000 points, and we will replace your old parts with new ones. In the future, the base will produce more machines and implement a shift system, giving you time to rest and play. Understand?”
The rugged-looking Transporter 01 let out a beep, rolled over to the cargo truck, and began its work.
It didn’t have an anthropomorphic module, so it obviously didn’t understand a word.
But Xiang Nanli believed that protocols had to be established step by step, even if it was just feeling things out.
Of course, this was really just part of Xiang Nanli’s roleplay.
The transporter unloaded the goods, the lifting platform carried them down, Dongfang Qingdi below tossed the cargo boxes to Gospel, and Gospel transported them into the ruins. A highly efficient assembly line was thus completed.
There were a lot of goods inside the truck, and with two enormous compartments, the volume was massive.
Xiang Nanli planned to transport the daily necessities down first. In this desolate wilderness, there was no need to worry about goods being stolen anyway.
Xiang Nanli stood guard by the truck for a while. Seeing that the transporter was operating normally with precise movements, he nodded in satisfaction.
He put on a hard hat equipped with a headlamp, his gaze sweeping over the rows of cargo boxes inside the truck. Finally, in a corner on the second level, he found the item with the highest unit price in this haul.
Xiang Nanli pulled the moderately sized cargo box out from the middle and opened it.
Inside were two unactivated humanoid robots. Their entire bodies were metallic, without skin; they were completely bald and had male physiques. They looked like two mannequins.
Back then, the smuggler had introduced them like this: Worker robots phased out by large factories. The model is called “Screw.” They’re installed with a low-level AI; although they lack an anthropomorphic module, they possess a certain degree of intelligence. No weapon systems. One for 150,000, two for 200,000. It’s not easy to get a hold of these things; I only have two left.
Xiang Nanli haggled the price down to 188,000 credits and snagged them both.
The markings on the robots’ surfaces had been deliberately filed away, making it impossible to tell which factory they came from. These robots were supposed to be destroyed, but someone had secretly smuggled them out to sell.
The robots’ activation buttons were on their necks, exactly where human cybernetic access ports were located.
Xiang Nanli activated the robots, but the two machines just stood there blankly, completely unresponsive to his commands.
Left with no choice, Xiang Nanli pulled out the manual and took a look: “Use a neural transmission cable, connect it to the metal disc below the switch on the robot’s nape… complete facial recognition, register control authority… Facial recognition? The authentication method is this primitive?”
But thinking about it carefully, this was indeed the most suitable method at present.
The artificial intelligence identifies facial biometric data, confirms the “owner,” and then pilots the mechanical body to complete the master’s tasks.
Although “clones” would cause the AI to make erroneous judgments, how could an average person afford a clone? The cost of creating a clone was enough to buy a villa in the suburbs of Gusu City.
Xiang Nanli muttered, “Come to think of it, why didn’t Xiao Bai need to be registered when he was activated? Could it be that housekeeping robots have different codes?”
He patted his pants pocket and pulled out two data cables.
Both ends of the data cables had metal spheres the size of grains of rice. With a flick of his wrist, the small spheres flew over and stuck firmly to the backs of the robots’ necks.
According to standard procedure, the human user was also supposed to plug the data cable into the access port on the back of their own neck.
Xiang Nanli didn’t have anything like that. But the moment his hand grasped the data cables, they obediently lit up on their own.
What was even less scientifically sound was that both cables lit up simultaneously.
[Facial recognition in progress. Loading data.]
[Loading complete.]
“Master,” both robots spoke simultaneously.
Xiang Nanli kept his instructions concise: “You are 02, you are 03. This machine is 01. 02, you are responsible for carrying the cargo boxes out and handing them to 01. 03, you are coming with me to the bottom of the mountain; you’ll be responsible for moving the cargo boxes from the lifting platform and stacking them neatly in the clearing.”
“Yes.”
Having finished his instructions, Xiang Nanli turned on his flashlight and began walking down the mountain in the dark.
A biting cold wind howled around him, a humanoid robot trailing closely behind.
This scene was actually a bit terrifying.
If the robot were to be remotely controlled, it wouldn’t even need to pick up a rock; its metallic hands could effortlessly crush an ordinary human’s skull.
Back when the Omnic Crisis erupted, many high-ranking officials died exactly like this.
After that, personal Omnic guards were all swapped out for humans whose degree of mechanization was below 10%.
Xiang Nanli walked for about seven or eight minutes before another patch of light flickered ahead.
It was the sled dog Xiao Fu and the porter Xiao Qing.
Xiang Nanli’s eyes immediately lit up. He bounced over cheerfully: “Xiao Qing!”
His tone carried a joy that even he himself didn’t notice.
Dongfang Qingdi gave an “Mm”: “Let’s go; I came to pick you up. Let 03 go by itself, although the AI installed in this kind of robot has a rather low level of intelligence. Wait…”
Dongfang Qingdi originally wanted to make a copy of himself, just like how he had copied out the “Xiao Zhi”.
But he pondered for a moment and felt that this was inappropriate.
All Alpha constructs probably possessed an inherent rebelliousness; there was no telling what kind of trouble they might cause in the future.
Besides, to be honest, in Xiang Nanli’s eyes, he might not even look as good as this tin man next to him.
Dongfang Qingdi grabbed Gospel, ignoring its struggles, and pressed its forehead against the robot’s.
The robot’s exterior underwent no changes whatsoever.
But if information could be visualized, a “+10 Intelligence” prompt would have definitely popped up above its head.
03 turned its head and asked Xiang Nanli: “Should I follow his commands?”
Xiang Nanli: “Go ahead.”
Thus, 03 gave a slight nod and consciously headed toward the work site.
Xiang Nanli asked curiously, “What were you just doing?”
Dongfang Qingdi released his grip on Gospel’s two hind legs: “Upgrading the AI.”
Xiao Fu dropped to the ground and grumbled dissatisfiedly: “Comrade War Criminal! Xiao Fu is not a pet dog. Next time you want to copy something, please get my consent first. Otherwise, I will—”
Its front limbs drew a capital letter “A” in the snow, but regrettably, it only had time to write the first two strokes, making it look like a “^”.
Xiang Nanli raised his flashlight and shone it in that direction.
Dongfang Qingdi stepped in first, smoothing out the marks in the snow with his foot, slightly blocking Xiang Nanli’s line of sight.
He rested a hand on Xiang Nanli’s shoulder, leading him forward: “Let’s go. Are you hungry? I set up the diesel generator and gathered some firewood for a fire. I’ll cook for you at our new home.”
Xiang Nanli’s attention was successfully diverted: “Yay! I don’t want to eat nutrient paste. I want braised pork ribs.”
Xiao Fu gave a somewhat smug hmph hmph and happily followed behind.
It guessed right, after all.
Hehe, Comrade War Criminal, I’ve finally discovered your weak spot, haven’t I?
Xiao Fu is going to hold this over you so hard!
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Author’s Note:
This volume is tentatively titled “Explorer.”
