The metal strap, like a sharp dagger, instantly pierced through the robot's protective layer. A cracking sound came from its abdomen.
Beep—beep—
The robot suddenly trembled. Hissing sparks burst from its abdomen—that was where its core circuitry lay.
The metal strap's strike had hit the robot's most vulnerable point, causing its core circuit to short-circuit instantly.
As the robot's movements grew uncoordinated and its fist fell limply to the ground with a heavy thud, thick smoke rose from its abdomen, carrying the scorched stench of burnt electronics.
Vill-V still maintained her sliding posture, leaning against the door of the room. Only after confirming the robot had completely stopped moving did she finally relax.
After all, certain spy robots often activated a second form after being scrapped—that was the truly troublesome part. It seemed this one was not a harmless disguise of that sort.
"Wait a second!"
Vill-V suddenly realized that the frame she had just been restrained on looked somewhat familiar.
"Don't tell me this... is a bed..."
In the Three-Body world, beds had almost vanished, seen only in Dr. Luo Ji's museum.
It wasn't that humanity, living in zero-gravity space, had no need for beds. In fact, the concept still existed. It was just that the image of a bed had changed significantly from our modern understanding.
When modern people thought of a bed, they imagined four posts and a board, or perhaps a raised platform.
But in the Bunker Era, beds were mostly capsule-like, resembling hibernation pods. Many capsules didn't even contain a bed board—people simply floated in the center.
Only to give "hibernators from the Common Era" positive psychological feedback through familiarity did they deliberately arrange such traditional "beds" for them.
As for those living normally, no one would sleep on such antiques.
As for the marketplace conversations and bicycle rides Cheng Xin encountered upon awakening in the Bunker Era, Vill-V could only say, "A bunch of actors."
It also showed that in order to please the "hibernators from the Common Era," the Federation government and corporations had not only lost their brains but also their dignity. No matter how far humanity declined, it could not regress four hundred years. That was even more outrageous than the Sophon blockade.
"I haven't seen something like a 'bed' in decades. I'd almost forgotten such a thing existed."
Once she recognized it as a bed, everything around her began to take on new logic.
That bed was just a bed—not some restraint device tailored to a powerful figure's peculiar tastes.
That restraint apparatus was antique medical equipment, meant to immobilize a patient's limbs and prevent secondary injury.
That archaic robot was a medical robot. It wasn't attacking her—it was trying to carry her back to the bed.
This room wasn't a prison at all. It was a medical room.
"I was injured by the two-dimensional foil, and then someone rescued me?" Vill-V frowned, but immediately refuted herself. "No. An attack from a two-dimensional foil... how could emergency medical treatment possibly save someone from that? This isn't Tom and Jerry."
At that moment, Vill-V froze. She suddenly realized her voice sounded different—far sweeter than usual.
She lowered her gaze—only to find she couldn't see her feet. Two towering peaks completely blocked her line of sight.
?! What is this?!
Before she could finish marveling, the door above her head opened.
"Vill-V! Look at you—what kind of mess have you made?!"
Vill-V looked up and saw the safety shorts of a red-haired, single-ponytailed doctor.
"I stepped out for half a cigarette and you dismantled the Tesla Omni-Medical Machine I painstakingly developed! You little brat, you're driving me insane."
"And stop staring at my underwear!"
With that, she bent down and flicked Vill-V sharply on the forehead.
The administrator of this place. I could take her hostage—
However, at that moment, Vill-V felt her power draining away. Not just her power—her thoughts were becoming blurry as well.
What?! My power...
Not only her strength—her very consciousness began to grow hazy.
Clutching her head with tears in her eyes, Vill-V's mouth moved of its own accord. "You're hitting a patient who just woke up? I'm a delicate, fragile young girl. It's just safety shorts—what's wrong with taking a look? Mentor Tesla, you're already at quite an age."
The instant the words left her mouth, Vill-V's mind snapped awake in terror.
Who? Someone's controlling my body to speak?
"You little brat want another punch?!" Tesla's anger flared immediately. She waved her exoskeleton glove threateningly.
Seeing this, Einstein quickly stepped in to mediate. "Alright, alright. What she said is technically true. Put down the glove."
"Chicken-Nest Head, whose side are you even on?!"
"Yours, of course, Dr. Tesla."
After diverting Tesla and Einstein's attention with conversation, Vill-V's mouth seemed to murmur to itself, "Shh. Don't let them notice your current condition."
Vill-V silently asked in her mind: [Who are you?]
Conductor let out a soft chuckle. "Oh my, to think there would come a day when I'd have to introduce myself to... myself. I am Conductor, of course..."
...
After the commotion died down, Tesla finally calmed herself and began addressing serious matters.
"Vill-V, we discovered you inside the Eye of the Deep. Fortunately, that area falls under Einstein's jurisdiction. Otherwise, you might already have been found and taken away by MOTH."
Vill-V was equally puzzled. [MOTH? ...Did I transmigrate into the Honkai universe? Well then, that two-dimensional foil is something else. Careful—it might get deployed into the second dimension next.]
Dr. Einstein added in her calm, unwavering tone, "In fact, our initial plan was to hand you over to MOTH. Their medical facilities far surpass a small place like ours. But considering the previous experimental accident, we also bear responsibility. To avoid liability, we decided to conceal the matter."
Conductor naturally did not blame Dr. Einstein. The so-called "avoiding liability" was merely a surface reason. In reality, it was to prevent certain individuals within MOTH from harboring ulterior motives.
Rather than remain constantly vigilant and defensively cautious, it was safer to keep Vill-V within territory occupied entirely by their own people.
Tesla cut in before Einstein could continue.
"However, the Eye of the Deep is still only a half-finished product. It doesn't yet have the capability to interface with the Sea of Quanta and reach a stable state. So how did you return through it?"
"And where's Planck? Don't tell me you ate her."
Tesla fired off a barrage of questions, leaving Conductor clutching the forehead that had just been flicked.
"Oh dear, Mentor Tesla, have you realized I'm a patient who just recovered from a serious illness? Why don't you consolidate your questions and send them to me by email? Then I'll—reply to you."
A trace of suspicion flashed in Dr. Tesla's eyes.
"You really are Vill-V? Don't tell me you've lost your memory."
The Vill-V Tesla remembered always had an answer for everything. Whether it was relevant or merely teasing, she would at least give some kind of response.
And after experiencing something this major, she wouldn't discuss and organize the current situation with other top geniuses—like herself? How big-hearted could she possibly be?
Of course, when Dr. Tesla asked that question, she wasn't merely asking whether Vill-V had amnesia.
"Have you ever heard of 'Swampman'?"