Chapter 639 (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hao Ren and his group had finally reached the sanctuary deep within the planet’s crust. After their initial awe, they quickly realized that the city was uninhabited like everywhere else.

There were no pedestrians on the street, and while the buildings were lit, there were no signs of any living being behind the windows. There were vehicles running in the air and on the streets, but when Y’zaks hailed one to stop, it was an unmanned vehicle.

“So?” Lily turned around to look at the vibrant yet empty city. “Where are the supposed survivors?”

Nangong Sanba was dumbfounded. Looking up to the sky, he shouted in hopes of getting the attention of any “observer” who may exist. “Hello! We’re in the sanctuary! What’s next? There’s no one here!”

No one appeared, and the only sound was from the engines of the vehicles speeding through the air.

“This planet is getting weirder by the minute,” Hao Ren recalled the middle-aged man on the screen as he muttered to himself. “Didn’t the guy say we would meet some civil officers down here…”

“Not sure what that man’s trying to do.” Vivian summoned a swarm of bats and got them to fly all over the place while she took a few careful steps forward. “He has no beef with us… He won’t be pulling such a massive prank.”

The group walked about the bizarre sanctuary, scouting the place out. They followed the lights and the busiest roads in hopes to find any survivors living there. Hao Ren knew that there were survivors in that place; the man who appeared on the screen was unquestionably one. However, no one knew what happened as there were nary a person in the city.

Were the survivors hiding?

Nangong Sanba looked around as he observed the place. He may be half-baked when it comes to combat, but because of being half-baked, his observation and deduction skills are well honed. He was like a seasoned hunter now analysing tracks. “The streets are clean, everything is well maintained, and does not look like it was desolate for a millenia. The city is within a cavern and logically speaking should be coated in dust. But look at this railings… they are as good as new.”

“Because there’s ‘someone’ wiping them all the time.” Nagong Wuyue patted her brother’s shoulder and pointed towards a floating robot not too far away cleaning earnestly. The robot too was an inverted triangle and its job was probably to keep the street spick and span. It had a versatile mechanical arm holding a brush while another was spraying mist. Noticing that someone was closing in, the robot flew towards them and circled Hao Ren and his group.

Lily’s nerves tightened but she quickly realised that the robot was harmless. She stretched her hand out and gave it a knock on the outer shell. “It doesn’t seem to be able to speak…”

As Lily finished, a short and bright melody played from the robot, and a cheerful male voice came from it. “Vjekally Limited. The specialist in cleaning products. Giving you and your family the best cleaning service. The new household robot Alpha 3 is now available for purchase…”

The music and the voice repeated itself again. “Vjekally Limited. The specialist in cleaning products. Giving you and your family…”

As it finished the last sentence of the broadcast, the robot left the group and started cleaning the streets again.

“Seems like just a pre-recorded advertisement.” Vivian shrugged. “But at least there’s some ‘humanity’ in that.”

Y’zaks demurred. “A robotics company. There should be someone running it.”

Over on the next street, they reached a building that looked like a shopping complex. The building’s exterior was bright and exuberant and a big mascot even stood by the entrance. The giant screen above the entrance played a rather obnoxious cartoon. While culturally distinct from Earth, it was rather obvious it was some kind of advertisement. Hao Ren led the group into the shopping mall and was greeted by an empty concourse that had rows upon rows of equally empty shoplots.

“This is rather unnerving.” Lily mumbled beside Hao Ren.