I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

These reasons serve as excuses for them to escape from Future City with a clear conscience, thereby bringing disaster to that robot city.

Faced with such a disaster, no one dares to say they felt no fear whatsoever.

Fear leads to avoidance, and avoidance breeds evil thoughts.

Of course, from the singer's perspective, those robots were just strangers he had met, and they served the people of the old era, not himself. Under such circumstances, the future city, which was destined to be destroyed, was not worth risking their lives to protect.

Shuangxin hesitated.

The singer is absolutely right.

They had no reason to cut off their own escape route for those lifeless robots.

Thinking of this, Shuangxin gritted her teeth and spurred the camel worms toward Future City.

The swarms of insects quickly spread across the mountains and plains, turning the desert black.

These swarms of insects from different queens surged and crashed into the storm.

Among them, some insects discovered Frostheart and the others.

Soon, a small group of insects emerged from the swarm and headed towards Frostheart and the others.

Under the cover of these insects, it's virtually impossible to escape their sight; being discovered is only a matter of time.

Frostheart urged the camel worm to quicken its pace, heading towards the future city that was not yet completely free from the sandstorm's reach.

Behind them, the number of insects increased, and when they turned around, there was no trace of the storm; it was just a dark mass of insects.

And this was just a small fraction of the massive swarm of insects rushing toward the ruins of the industrial park.

The singer opened his voice and sang loudly. His clear voice echoed in the desert. A few insects in the swarm hesitated for a moment, but soon, more insects surged up.

Even extraordinary abilities are useless in the face of natural disasters.

The swarm of insects continued to approach the three, threatening to engulf them.

Black claws, wriggling tentacles, countless eyeballs—a twisted entity not belonging to this world was right before my eyes.

Shuangxin clenched her fist and punched the insect closest to her. The scorpion-like insect froze instantly and fell backward, but its position was only vacant for a moment before being filled by more of its kind.

A sense of despair completely overwhelmed the three of them.

The enormous, twisted, terrifying worm stretched out its claws toward the camel worm.

The next moment, a shadow collided with the insect.

The two became entangled, knocking away several other insects in the process. The collision at high speed resulted in an impact force that exceeded the limits, with some insects being crushed by their own kind behind them, their juices splattering everywhere.

"?"

Shuangxin found it hard to believe, but then more figures rushed toward the insects, and the massive swarm of insects was actually slowed down.

She turned her head to look ahead.

The chef who used to work diligently making noodles in a noodle shop and was highly praised by customers.

A tailor in a clothing store who can determine the size at a glance, possessing precise and delicate cutting skills.

Every quiet evening, a pianist plays melodies at the piano in the commercial street square, bringing solace to people's hearts.

Gardeners who trim the grass and trees neatly and clean the streets early in the morning.

Those robots, some familiar, some unfamiliar, some recognizable, some unrecognizable, were rushing toward the swarm of insects at top speed, forming a Great Wall of Steel.

bang——

The robot, holding a rolling pin, smashed the head of an insect, sending juices splattering onto its face.

crunch--

A gardening robot wielding large shears cut off the head of an insect. It turned around, plunged the shears into the body of another insect, spun it around, and flung it away.

These robotic beings stood behind Shuangxin and the others, blocking the vast, ocean-like swarm of insects between them and the three people.

However, that's far from enough.

Dozens of insects swarmed around a robot, pinning it to the ground and gnawing at its steel body. As the circuitry was completely corroded, the robot struggled briefly, then lay still and was swiftly devoured.

With sheer numbers, even a body of steel would struggle to withstand them.

But why?

Shuangxin felt confused and puzzled.

Shouldn't these robots stay in the future city and wait for them to return?

With the solar panels already destroyed by the sandstorm, such a rash action is tantamount to suicide.

No human being would step forward to stop the swarm of insects in such a situation.

Those robots didn't have to do this. They could have simply stayed in Future City and, if they were lucky, avoided the swarms of insects and had a peaceful end before their power finally ran out.

why?

Shuangxin gazed into the distance and saw a young girl standing atop the tallest building in Future City.

Chapter 506 Shackles

"I'm sorry, everyone, for making you do these things."

Looking at the swarm of insects drifting towards them, and at the boundless wasteland, Lin murmured.

Her gaze fell on the three camel-like insects; the robot's excellent vision allowed her to immediately identify the three people.

Not seeing Lu Ban, Lin felt as if a low-voltage pulse had been generated in her logic circuit. This weak current was like the sadness in humans, making her feel lost.

But soon, Lin raised her head again.

Beside her, a huge loudspeaker for broadcasting was erected. Lin looked at all the robots that were still able to move, pouring out of Future City, and she spoke.

“Come, creatures ahead, please stop harming humans, or we will take coercive measures.”

The sound came through the loudspeaker and reached the swarm of insects, but obviously, these insects, driven by instinct, paid no heed, and the torrent did not weaken in the slightest.

"If a threat to humans is detected, the robots in Future City will carry out rescue operations according to the established procedures."

Lin said.

She glanced at the robots charging forward.

After hundreds of years of watching over each other, the companions who had spent every day together finally encountered someone who needed protection.

Over tens of thousands of days and nights, Lin imagined their last moment countless times.

It stops operating due to irreparable damage, or it falls into a deep sleep due to loss of power.

She never imagined that she would meet her final moment in this way.

At this very moment, in the wasteland outside the future city, all the robots' communication systems are operating at maximum power. Centered on Lin, a dense intelligence network has been established, and corresponding to it is a steel defense line to resist the swarm of insects.

"Friends, we have had billions of discussions, and many of our companions who participated in these discussions have fallen into slumber. Throughout these discussions, I have always held the view that humanity has not abandoned us. They will return one day to revitalize this place and awaken every slumbering companion."

Lin's voice was transmitted through the communication network to each robot, and then rang out from their speech devices, reaching Shuangxin's ears.

She couldn't understand why these robots would do such a thing for something so vague and unrealistic.

Just minutes before, they were even considering bringing the swarm of insects into Future City and annihilating the robots.

For Shuangxin, every promise has a time limit and conditions.

If she were asked to wait here for hundreds of years for people who might never return, she certainly wouldn't stay.

"Now, I am very happy because humanity has truly returned, and we will light the flame for humanity to illuminate this long, dark night."

The next moment, flames rose up in front of the steel defense line formed by robots.

The fuel for these flames comes from the banners on the commercial street, the signs of the noodle shops, the artificial trees in the ecological park, and everything in Future City that can be burned.

Even the remains of the robots that were devoured burst into flames.

The flames burned the insects, setting some of them ablaze as they tried to cross the defense line. The bright flames illuminated the desert, which had become dark due to the sandstorm, and reflected on the faces of the three people.

"This is the bonfire party. I remember people dancing around the bonfire to celebrate the passing of the old year and the arrival of the new year."

At this point, Lin's voice became weaker.

As the communication hub, her processor contains all the complex information—wind, terrain, temperature—to maximize the use of the environment and hinder the advance of the swarm.

This is a calculation that even supercomputers struggle to perform, requiring the use of every sensor in the robot.

This calculation also caused Lin's logic processing unit to overload. She was like a human who had overused his brain, and his individual consciousness had become unclear, leaving only endless calculations.

If this calculation continues for a while longer, there are only two possible outcomes for Lin.

Either the energy is completely exhausted by calculation, and it enters a permanent slumber.

Either the processor is overloaded and burns out completely.

Even if she doesn't burn down and receives an energy boost, her "personality" as a robot will cease to exist.

Despite this situation, she wore a smile.

"You...you don't need to do this."

Shuangxin murmured to herself, never imagining that in this desolate world, what warmed her most was not humanity, but the gleaming flames of these robots.

When humans of the old era chose to abandon themselves and become insectoid swarms, they left behind a group of robots that were more like humans than they were.

"Do not."

Lin seemed to hear Shuangxin's words and spoke in the gentlest tone before the increasingly hot processor was completely incinerated.

"Under no circumstances should we harm human beings, nor should we stand idly by while human beings are in danger."

She recounted the shackles that bound humans to robots in this old era.

"I really like this rule because it means we will never harm humans, and we will never be powerless to see humans threatened, who are my favorite, my very, very favorite humans."

"This is the vow we are most proud of."

She called this shackle a "vow".

"It's not worth it."

Shuangxin said that she was getting closer and closer to Future City, and she could clearly see the robot girl on the roof of the building with her skirt swaying in the wind.