Chapter 136: Real Steel
In the not-too-distant future, boxing has been replaced by high-tech robot combat.
Humans can no longer compete in the ring themselves—instead, they control robots to fight for them.
Charlie Kenton once competed as a human boxer but lost his career when robot fighting took over. Because of that loss and his inability to adapt, Charlie is now broke and struggling.
Before all this, Charlie had been a world-class boxer, ranked second globally.
Charlie has an eleven-year-old son named Max, whom Charlie never properly cared for due to his boxing obsession. Having lost his career, his reputation, and nearly everything else, Charlie now has an unexpected opportunity to reconnect with his son.
The competitive kid encourages Charlie to scavenge a junkyard of scrapped robots to find parts and build their own fighter to compete.
They don't find many useful parts, but they unexpectedly discover an old sparring bot—a second-generation robot designed to take punishment while training other fighters.
Max names the sparring robot "Atom." At first, Charlie takes Atom to various underground fights to earn quick cash, and the bot gets pummeled repeatedly.
As time goes on, Max realizes this strategy won't work. He convinces Charlie to teach Atom his boxing techniques using the robot's shadow function—a feature that allows it to perfectly mirror human movements in real-time.
Atom, being a surprisingly adaptive machine, replicates all of Charlie's boxing techniques flawlessly.
Eventually, Atom becomes a championship contender, gaining recognition in the robot boxing world.
But Atom still has several brutal fights ahead to prove itself as a true competitor. Charlie needs these victories not just for the prize money, but to prove his own worth and rediscover his purpose. Through these matches, Charlie gains more than just fame—most importantly, he rebuilds the broken relationship with his estranged son.
Real Steel is a science fiction film set in the near future, specifically around 2020.
The plot follows a somewhat predictable formula—using a sci-fi setting to tell a heartfelt story about father-son relationships, which relegates the robot battles to a secondary role despite their spectacular nature.
However, regardless of the story's sentiment, this is a world with advanced robotics technology, and here, fighting robots can be freely purchased on the open market.
This is exactly why Jake chose this world—he could acquire what he needed with simple currency transactions.
By purchasing robots in bulk, these towering metal combatants could more than double the construction speed at his wasteland base.
They could also serve as a defensive force. It was the perfect solution.
Early morning sunlight bathed the small Texas town's fairgrounds in golden light.
A breeze rustled through the surrounding fields, carrying the earthy scent of farmland and livestock.
And this very morning, right here, an unusual spectacle was underway.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2020 Travis County Fair! Please find your seats—we're about to begin!"
In this world dominated by robots, anything associated with them could draw a crowd.
Besides the official World Robot Boxing league matches, various entertainment events were permitted, and this small county fair was hosting a robot versus bull fight!
A gimmick using robots to grab attention—no matter how widespread the technology became, rural areas like this were always the last to modernize, so here it remained a novelty attraction.
"It was agreed that my robot would fight an 800-pound bull!" a man argued heatedly with someone near the arena. "But that bull is clearly over 800 pounds!"
At that moment, a man who seemed to be running the event walked over.
"Charlie! My old friend, remember me?" He grinned with obvious disdain and provocation. "Last time we met was at that fight in Houston, and I punched you hard in the face!"
He mimed the punch, and the man named Charlie instinctively flinched.
"Ricky," Charlie raised his hands defensively, "listen, you're making a big mistake here!"
"Easy now, old friend," Ricky gestured for him to calm down.
"The deal was my robot against an 800-pound bull for three grand, right?" Charlie's tone made it clear he expected foul play.
He knew his robot's capabilities well enough—it would be seriously outmatched against anything much heavier. The armor and hydraulic fists could only handle so much.
"That's right," Ricky nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
Seeing Ricky's confirmation, Charlie pointed excitedly toward the chained bull waiting near the makeshift arena.
"But that bull looks like it weighs 2,000 pounds!"
Hearing this, Ricky hesitated briefly, then reached into his back pocket.
"How about we make a deal?" He pulled several bills out with his right hand. "If your robot doesn't fight, you walk away with nothing. How's that sound?"
He waved the cash tauntingly near Charlie's face, his tone unmistakably provocative.
Charlie leaned back slightly but couldn't completely avoid it. A few years ago, he would've already thrown a punch.
Back then, human boxing hadn't been retired. Unlike now, where robots dominated the sport and nobody paid to watch humans fight anymore.
Rubbing his jaw, Charlie really didn't want to go home empty-handed. Although his beat-up robot was all he had left, his finances were in shambles. Refusing would mean he wouldn't even cover his gas money for this trip!
"How about we raise the stakes? My robot versus your bull?" He projected confidence in his machine.
After all, it was made of steel—against a bull, it should definitely win!
"How much?" Ricky asked, tilting his head.
"Twenty thousand. Winner takes all."
"Twenty grand? You've got that kind of money?" Ricky asked with a skeptical smile, finding it hard to believe.
"Hidden in my truck," Charlie nodded with false confidence.
"Alright, Charlie. Twenty thousand it is," Ricky agreed. "But when you lose, you better stay gone, or I'll kick your ass every time I see you!"
He jabbed his finger close to Charlie's nose. "You know I'm not bluffing—I've beaten you before!"
"Get out of my face," Charlie retorted weakly. "You were always soft in the ring. Are we doing this or not?" He was trying reverse psychology.
"First, we shake hands. Then, just like old times, I knock you flat with an uppercut!" Ricky laughed and turned away. "Yeah, I'll take your bet!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, can I get a show of hands—who here is a fan of robot boxing?" Ricky had transformed into an announcer in the next moment.
This was the harsh reality of robot fighters emerging—no matter how skilled human boxers had been, they were now forced into other industries just to scrape by.
As his question landed, a loud cheer erupted from the crowd.
"Alright folks," he gestured for quiet, "I know not everyone can afford a $300 ticket and the trip all the way to Dallas to see the World Robot Boxing Championship!"
"So I've decided to bring robot boxing to you!"
He had a talent for working the crowd. "Right here! At our Travis County Fair!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce our first fighter!"
"AMBUSH!"
With a flourish of his left hand, Charlie—standing to his left—twisted a large, futuristic-looking controller, and a seven-foot-tall blue robot with slow but powerful movements walked toward the center of the dirt arena.
The mechanical whir and hydraulic hiss of its joints echoed with each step.
Then Ambush performed a series of intimidating combat poses, instantly igniting the crowd's enthusiasm!
"And Ambush's opponent is from the annual Texas Bull Circuit... with the highest knockout rate..."
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
"BLACK THUNDER!" With a gesture of his right hand, the massive black bull burst from its holding pen!
"Let the battle begin!"
The blue-painted robot swung its arms and charged forward, but the aggressive and incredibly powerful black bull had already locked onto its target. Fearless, it exploded from the pen the moment it opened!
Two seconds later, the combatants collided!
WHAM!
The blue robot immediately dropped into a crouch, arms spread wide. Seizing the perfect moment, it grabbed the black bull's front legs as they lifted, and with one powerful heave, hoisted the 2,000-pound beast and slammed it to the ground!
"Ambush just flipped the enraged bull with a single move!" The announcer provided real-time commentary, his voice rising with excitement!
[A/N: This is the world of Real Steel (2011), starring Hugh Jackman. The robot Charlie uses here is called Ambush in the film, not "Raider." These fighting robots typically stand 7-8 feet tall and weigh around 1,000-2,000 pounds.]
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