Forest entrance, commercial ruins.
The three Androids quickly received something sent by Xia Yu; it was a segment of data.
The data instantly expanded into a silhouette, forming a young girl in red within their systems. (N2:???)
"Hello everyone, I am Master's AI housekeeper, little red."
Hearing this greeting from within their minds, 2B and A2 were startled; it was their first time experiencing another presence within their systems.
9S, on the other hand, was very calm. His specialized unit granted him hacking skills; though he had never experienced this situation himself, he frequently hacked into the systems of Machine Lifeforms, making others experience it.
More than shocked, he was now mostly curious, so 9S asked straightforwardly.
"little red, so are you called LR?"
"No, no, I'm just called little red. That's not my serial number; it's my name."
Hearing this, 9S also replied happily, "Hello, little red. I'm 9S, but those close to me call me Nines. You can call me Nines too."
"Okay, Nines."
The other two cold-faced Androids watched 9S suddenly start chatting, each having their own thoughts.
A2: So conversation is possible. Should I introduce myself?
2B: 9S... Nines. I haven't even called him that yet. Maybe I should call him Nines next time. No, just thinking about it is embarrassing.
"Alright, alright, look over here, you three."
Xia Yu's sudden voice interrupted their thoughts, and they all turned their gaze toward him in unison.
"little red is my artificial intelligence." Saying this, Xia Yu tapped the watch on his wrist, and a projection of the girl in red was cast out.
"Hi~"
little red in the projection waved a greeting. 9S reflexively raised his hand to wave back, but he was the only one among the three to do so. Realizing this, 9S lowered his arm awkwardly, inwardly wailing about why the female units were all so serious.
Xia Yu ignored what just happened and continued his introduction, "What I just sent you is little red's subprogram. She will protect your systems from intrusion, so you won't have to worry about being hacked by logic viruses."
Hearing this, 2B and 9S saluted in unison again, while A2 was a beat late. The three said in chorus, "Thank you, Lord."
"No need for that. Alright, let's enter the forest now."
The Androids: "..."
Why did the Lord still want to enter the dangerous forest? They thought he had already forgotten about it.
For the sake of the Human Lord's safety, 2B decided to try one more time to dissuade him.
"Lord, the forest is truly too dangerous. Let me escort you to the nearest Resistance Army camp instead; it's safe enough there."
"I don't want to."
Xia Yu turned his head away like a spoiled child, saying things that made his "guardians" feel troubled.
"Don't I have you all to protect me? Or can you not protect me?"
Xia Yu played another flawless card.
"No!" 2B's expression turned solemn, and her tone was serious. "I will protect you, Lord, even if it costs me my life!"
A2, standing nearby, also replied quickly, "I will be the strongest shield and the sharpest sword in your hand. You can place your full trust in me!"
9S, a beat late, also hurriedly declared, "Me too!"
Popola and Devola, who had been on guard against Machine Lifeforms nearby, also rushed over and shouted their commitment, "We too!"
It couldn't be helped; Androids had high specs, and since Xia Yu hadn't lowered his voice, the twins had heard almost the entire conversation.
They could ignore the previous conversation, but they had to voice their stance now; they didn't want to be alienated by the human.
"You guys..." Xia Yu chuckled helplessly. Although he had long known the Androids' attitude toward him, he couldn't help but feel a bit moved at this moment.
"In that case, let's enter the forest."
But moved as he was, the forest still had to be entered.
Thus, the original triangular formation became a pentagonal one, with Xia Yu still being the one protected in the center.
Xia Yu made a futile protest against this; he wasn't an ordinary person without any self-defense capabilities and didn't need such tight protection. But clearly, his protest was ignored.
Androids could indulge a human's every whim and even romanticize it, but regarding safety, they had to overstep a little.
The so-called forest was not like any ordinary forest from Earth's past; even the Siberian forest, the largest of the old era, couldn't compare.
Perhaps only the primeval forests from hundreds of millions of years ago could match it.
The trees in this forest were gargantuan; looking up, one could hardly see the tops of the canopies, and the roots bursting from the ground were several meters in diameter.
The surrounding roots were gnarled and intertwined, blocking almost every exit, with only a few narrow gaps allowing passage.
And within this forest lived many massive animals; two-to-three-meter wild boars were common, and even larger elk occasionally passed through the woods.
Their group entering the forest was almost like tiny people wandering into an ordinary forest by mistake.
According to A2, the Forest Kingdom was built deep within the forest; it was a site of ruined human buildings from the old era, but it had been occupied by special Machine Lifeforms who established the so-called Forest Kingdom.
As she spoke, A2 was worried that Xia Yu, as a human, would be angry about human buildings being occupied by Machine Lifeforms, but Xia Yu simply waved his hand to indicate he didn't care.
Humans had long ceased to be the masters of this world, so he didn't care about things from the past.
However, before they had gone very far, a patrol of Machine Lifeforms spotted them.
"Target: enemy Androids!!"
"Initiate combat mode!"
"For our King of the Forest!!"
This was a group of Small Biped Machine Lifeforms wearing scrap metal armor; their armor was pieced together from irregular sheets of iron.
They held spears carved from wood. The moment they saw 2B and the others, the yellow eyes of these Machine Lifeforms flashed red, and they charged forward with a shout.
"Tsk, how annoying!"
A2 drew her longsword and dashed into the group of Machine Lifeforms. Pale sword qi flew from her blade, and with a few swift slashes, she cut the nearby Machine Lifeforms in half.
2B originally wanted to join the fight, but seeing A2's combat prowess, she paused and stayed by Xia Yu's side to protect him.
In just a few moments, the Machine Lifeforms were wiped out by A2. After dealing with the enemies, A2 tossed her head provocatively at 2B and returned to the group with a flick of her long hair.
Though she didn't know where this inexplicable hostility came from, 2B secretly resolved to be faster than A2 next time.
Xia Yu, meanwhile, happily ran forward, picking up the remains of the Machine Lifeforms and putting them into his backpack.
Then the newcomers, 2B and 9S, also witnessed that extremely irrational scene. As expected of a human, he easily did something they completely couldn't understand!