Son of the Stars

Chapter 145
Lu Chen didn't know very well what it felt like for a wanderer to return home after a long absence.His own feelings probably cannot be used as a universal reference standard - after all, when other wanderers return home, at least their relatives will greet them... or at least make eye contact.

But Lu Chen didn't receive such treatment. All he saw was one AI robot after another.

The operational scale of the welfare home is visibly shrinking. In the past, this passage was filled with scurrying AI robots, which had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of managing and operating the welfare home.Pipeline repairs, building maintenance, and even the safety of children in various places rely on the maintenance of these robots.

In the past, the robot corridor was busy and non-stop, but now there are only a few robots still walking slowly.Their state of maintenance seems to be very poor. The gray paint on their bodies has been worn away to reveal the metallic color underneath. Some of the robots even make a heart-wrenching creaking sound when they walk.

Walking through the passage and looking at the strange and familiar scenes around him, he suddenly wanted to call Mu Zhiran.At least let her take a look at the scenery here, and tell her that there was once a boy in a corner staring blankly at the sky, wondering how other children with parents could be happy every day.

Before he plucked up the courage to confess his love to Mu Zhiran, only the robot said good night to him.

After a long time, Lu Chen finally found his destination in the orphanage.That place that only belongs to you, that person that you have always wanted to see.

Among a group of children, there was a child-care robot with a conspicuous blue paint.

There is only one robot in the entire orphanage with blue paint - the other child care robots have standard pink paint.This blue-painted robot was once pink in the past, and it has always been Lu Chen's "responsible" robot.

The word "responsibility" is used uniquely in welfare homes. In outsiders' terms, "responsibility" means one-to-one responsibility.After all, the orphanage is a place to take care of children who have lost their caregivers. Education and care are very important tasks.During the day, some human staff come to teach and socialize the children.

At that time, no one knew whether a group of orphans raised purely by robots could successfully integrate into society.For the sake of safety and humanitarian considerations, even if manpower is extremely tight, the coalition government has equipped various welfare homes with a considerable number of real teachers.

When there are real teachers during the day, the robots are just regular robots.Only at night, the robots will be loaded with role modules and become super nannies to take care of the children.

It's funny to say that, because the robots all use the same model and the same system, and are located under the control network of the same central server.In theory, these robots are just different hairs on a head, they are still essentially the same.

But on the eve of Lu Chen's fifth birthday, he suddenly discovered that the robot he was responsible for had suddenly been replaced.

The number is correct, the numbers are correct, the appearance is correct, and even the module is correct.But Lu Chen just knew that it was not his responsibility to take care of himself.

There is a small shallow pit in the center of the palm of his right hand. This shallow pit was made by the older child with a knife in order to save a child who committed suicide.

Five-year-old Lu Chen looked at that pit and felt distressed for a long time. Of course, he couldn't remember it wrong, let alone forget it.

Looking at the situation from the perspective of adults today, the robot only needs to coax the child with the words "I replaced the palm parts" and it will be over.But the robot cannot lie. It can only explain over and over again that the previous body was too old and had been recycled and destroyed.But as long as the memory and role modules are there, it will always be Lu Chen's role robot.

But this kind of logic really doesn’t make sense to a five-year-old child.

Finally, Lu Chen's robot reached a "deal" with him.Lu Chen stopped crying. From then on, it was painted in blue, so that no matter how long it took, no matter where it was, Lu Chen could recognize it at a glance.

It even gave itself a name - but it could only be called when Lu Chen was alone with it.

Lu Chen just stood in the distance, watching the blue figure circling back and forth among the group of children, and said nothing.Time does not seem to have left any traces on it. It is still the robot that moves very flexibly and naturally, and is very patient with children.The next moment, Lu Chen met his eyes.Although he didn't know how the camera on the top of a robot's head could express its "eyes", Lu Chen was [-]% sure that it was a little surprised.

After taking two deep breaths, Lu Chen waved to the blue robot, then walked towards it.In contrast, the blue robot put down the child in its hands and walked towards Lu Shen.

Ever since he passed out of Jincheng University and went to Dongyang, Lu Chen never came back.After ten years of studying, Lu Chen had almost completely forgotten what it was like to get along with such a person who was between family and closest friend.

He even felt that his legs were a little weak and his vision was slightly blurred.

Lu Chen coughed and said hello in the calmest cry he could, "Mom..."

"If you dare to call me Blue Swordsman outside, be careful and I'll slap you." The blue robot opposite narrowed the aperture of the camera to the narrowest point, and also added an eye-rolling expression displayed on the facial display.As a result, this series of warnings and dissatisfied "feedback" fell apart the moment he heard Lu Chen call "Mom".

It lowered its arms and then hugged Lu Chen's shoulders, "Boy, why didn't you tell me in advance when you came home?"

Lu Chen coughed slightly awkwardly, "We can actually change that name."

"You can't change it. What if you cry again?" The same conversation happened 20 years ago, and Lu Chen would always regret choosing such a name for it.The Blue Swordsman always rejected Lu Chen's attempts to change its name without hesitation.

What statement could be more mentally damaging than "Your mother's name is Blue Swordsman"?

Boy, I was kind enough to comfort you, but you gave me such a name, so let’s die together!

This part of the reason was made up by Lu Chen himself. Anyway, he felt that this guess was probably not far from the truth.

Having said that, although almost every child will call their robot "Mom", and the robots will indeed recognize this name and give an answer.But they never agree to such a title.

The blue swordsman led Lu Chen towards the group of children who were staring curiously, and then announced to them, "The doctor is here. The naughtiest children are going to get injections before dinner today! Now everyone is going to the handicraft classroom to knead the plasticine." Well—children who eat plasticine need two injections!”

There was a flurry of frightened but healthy screams and cries.

"Is it necessary?" Lu Chen's right eyelid twitched a few times, and then asked, "Isn't it bad to use threats to raise children?"

"A too stable mood is not conducive to the development of the children's nervous system." The blue swordsman said, "If I don't send them away, how can I have time to chat with you?" It pointed to the joints on its body and said, " We serve far fewer children now than before, so the quotas given by the coalition government are naturally smaller. Robots in good condition will have to do more work - we can't let those hemiplegic old people take care of the children, right?"

Lu Chen followed the blue swordsman towards the rest area. He had a vague hunch that this sudden trip to visit relatives might not bring him the care and warmth he expected from his family.

(End of this chapter)