"Uh..."
Seeing the communication suddenly cut off, 2B and 9S looked at each other in dismay; they hadn't even had the chance to ask the Commander what to do next.
This was a noble human, after all. Even if it was only a suspicion, that suspicion only existed because there was no genetic map to compare against.
But there was no helping it. The genetic maps of humans from the Old Era were kept on the Moon Base, and unless absolutely necessary, such top-secret data would remain sealed.
Although now was a necessary moment, it wasn't something two ordinary Androids could decide.
Furthermore, how should one put it? Although the YoRHa Unit had always been fighting for humanity, the number of Androids who had actually seen a human was extremely small (actually zero, because humans were extinct). So, seeing a living human now, their first reaction was actually to be at a loss.
Books did describe how to treat the noble Creator, but that was just theoretical talk in the end and could only serve as a reference.
Fortunately, the pods transmitted orders from the Bunker in time, which allowed 2B and 9S to breathe a sigh of relief. At least they were told what to do, otherwise they might have actually crashed on the spot.
The order was very simple, just four words: Protect the Human!
It was confirmed. The person in front of them really was a human; even the Bunker's orders explicitly stated to protect the human!
However, despite the order to protect, 2B was still a bit bewildered. It wasn't her fault; she simply lacked the experience.
One must know that before this, her missions were all about slashing and killing. From descending to Earth from the Bunker, she had fought her way from the Resistance Camp to the Machine Lifeforms' amusement park, and then all the way to the aliens' underground facility.
During this time, she had encountered giant Machine Lifeforms, two naked humanoid Machine Lifeforms, a crazed diva Machine Lifeform, and two humanoid Machine Lifeforms wearing pants. If Xia Yu hadn't called out to her at the forest entrance, she might have fought her way into the forest and encountered even more strange Machine Lifeforms.
Thus, with only experience in cutting down Machine Lifeforms, 2B really didn't know how to interact with the Androids' Creator. Asking a reticent combat-type Android like her to converse with him was truly putting her in a difficult position.
9S, on the other hand, wasn't as restrained. His curiosity gave him a mountain of questions he wanted to ask, but facing the Androids' Creator, he found it hard to speak up.
It felt as if no matter what he asked, it would seem offensive.
But in the next second, as if sharing a telepathic bond, both placed their left palms over their chests, arms level with their shoulders. This was the YoRHa military salute.
"Welcome, Lord Creator."
"This is really..." As the object of their reverence, Xia Yu waved his hand somewhat helplessly. "It feels awkward every time I'm called Creator. There's no need to call me 'Lord Creator' specifically. Also, I have a name. It's Xia Yu—'Xia' as in summer, and 'Yu' as in universe."
Of course, even if Xia Yu said so, the two Androids opposite him naturally wouldn't do something as bold as calling the Creator by his name, so—
"We understand, noble Human Lord."
"Drop the 'noble human' part too. Um... this is a human command."
Expecting the Androids to call him by his name was clearly unreasonable, and being called 'Lord Xia Yu' also felt weird, so Xia Yu had to settle for the next best thing: just calling him 'Lord' would suffice.
That's right, from now on, his title would be 'That Person.' Code name Sha... can't say it, can't say it. It wouldn't be good if that person came knocking.
*Cough.*
Xia Yu gave a light cough to get the attention of the two Androids in front of him. But before he could speak, 2B spoke up as if she had suddenly understood something.
"I understand, Lord. I will escort you to the nearest Resistance Camp immediately."
?
No, wait, I haven't even said anything yet.
"Wait, I didn't say I wanted to go to the Resistance Camp, though I did want to go there before."
Going to the Resistance Camp was Xia Yu's original plan because it would allow him to contact the Android forces. But now that he had run into 2B and the others, and the Bunker already knew about him, it didn't matter whether he went to the Resistance Camp or not.
Besides, he wasn't exactly an ordinary person without any combat ability now. So, rather than going to the Resistance Camp, he wanted to enter the forest and check out that Machine Lifeform Forest Kingdom.
Within the Machine Lifeform army, those that had disconnected from the network also developed self-awareness, which was quite absurd. However, the self-awareness of these Machine Lifeforms had only just awakened, and they only possessed simple cognition.
Only a few special individuals possessed complete self-awareness and thought.
Therefore, Xia Yu wanted to first collect some Machine Lifeforms from the Forest Kingdom. These special individuals, detached from the network, were not monitored by the Machine Lifeform network.
Of course, he wasn't afraid of the network behind the Machine Lifeforms either. Sooner or later, N2 would be whining in front of him just like the red queen.
Well, AI Xia Yu was also him, so saying it that way was fine... "Lord, why did you change your mind?"
Hearing that Xia Yu had indeed wanted to go to the Resistance Camp before but had now changed his mind, 2B asked in confusion.
"Well... because I'm human, I suppose. After all, humans are fickle creatures like that."
Xia Yu spread his hands, playing an "Impeccable" card.
"So that's what humans are like."
9S had a look of realization, as if he finally understood why there were so many contradictions in the books passed down from the Old Era.
"Stop over-interpreting things. Come, I'll apply a patch for you."
Seeing 9S's expression, Xia Yu knew exactly what he was thinking and immediately cut off any strange fantasies the other might be having.
After thinking for a bit, Xia Yu also called A2 over. She was also a YoRHa-type unit. Although she hadn't updated her system in a long time, he had to guard against any potential backdoors.
The Android systems of the YoRHa Unit had always had vulnerabilities, but the YoRHa Unit itself didn't know. The only one who knew, the Commander, wouldn't specifically mention it.
The Commander hadn't betrayed the Androids either. Rather, the existence of the YoRHa Unit was a tragedy destined for destruction; they existed only to be disposed of at the appropriate time.
To prevent the tragedy from unfolding, naturally, one had to start by applying patches.
At the Commercial Ruins, Popola and Devola stood guard nearby, while the white-haired trio sat in a row, quietly waiting for the human to apply the patches.
They also knew what "applying a patch" meant, but they couldn't guess how the human would do it. Did he have to open their heads and completely expose their systems to his eyes?
It wasn't as if it were out of the question; after all, he was a human, and they would do whatever he asked.
But Xia Yu wasn't that twisted; he wouldn't do anything like that to an Android's system. The "patching" he mentioned would naturally be handled by little red.
That's right, it was little red, the artificial intelligence in his nano-watch, which was loaded with some of AI Xia Yu's capabilities.
"Alright, just open your local network and receive the data I send over."
So it wasn't about looking at their systems. For some reason, a strange sense of disappointment welled up within the three Androids who needed the patch.