I, with a long knife in my hand, can only do one move

What happened after he was in the room, but when he was chatting with Ke Long, the task progress that jumped from 5% to 23% reminded him that there was indeed a lot of conflict between the two.

Because even if Cheng Rang can't read "air" very well, he can still see something from Rick's obviously changed eyes.

With his mouth closed and without making a sound, Cheng Rang just continued to carefully clean the stains on the mechanical body for Shubi.

At the same time, for some reason, Rick also felt inexplicably disgusted with himself who looked down on machines, and he said as if trying to hide his feelings: "Is that so... Before that, your behavior was called insane."

"...? Although different from humans...but Shubi has a 'nerve conduction circuit'..."

"That's not what I meant."

Rick's expression was mixed with a wry smile, and he sighed, while Hubie continued seriously:

"Even so...that's right I don't mean anything else...Huby really...want to know Rick's heart...not a lie...."

Rick decides to admit it—it's not an illusion.

Rick sighed when he saw Hubie with his head bowed, his voice unsteady, and depressed.

"Don't mind...I was too emotional then."

It was weird, Rick looked back on his own unresolved feelings.

He knew that what he had done would not be justified, but even so, as an unchangeable fact, he actually apologized to one of the factors that drove mankind to a desperate situation...? !

Sure enough, as soon as Rick said these words, Cheng Rang, who was behind Shubi, poked his head out suddenly, with an incredulous expression on his face.

—How can you say such a thing? !

Such questions seemed to be clearly written on that guy's face.

But to Rick's surprise, even though he was so curious, he didn't ask any questions sensibly, but immediately withdrew his expression, and then buried himself in scrubbing Hubie's back—the folded mechanical wings on it, I am afraid that the complex structure can cause a headache for a while.

As Rick was thinking, Hubie asked in surprise, "Isn't it good to be emotional...?"

"Yeah, being emotional - like beating you up in a rage doesn't solve anything, does it?"

"...but Rick wants to...beat Shuby...."

With a snap, soon, Cheng Rang dropped the rag in his hand, raised his head and looked directly at Rick.

Still not saying a word, his staring eyes revealed surprise—probably meaning: "If you fight this thing, do you want to go to heaven?"

"It's just that I said the wrong thing for a while! No, who knows... To be honest, I don't understand..." Rick waved his hands to explain, then bowed his head and fell silent, slowly raised his hand and moved Play chess pieces.

The conversation was interrupted again, and the sound of water, chess playing, and hot and humid steam made the mind dizzy.

It lasted for a while, but it was Shuby who broke the silence.

"Why did Rick... close your 'heart'?"

Cheng Rang pursed his lips imperceptibly. It seemed that besides himself, Shubi had already seen Rick's state all along.

"Are you really reflecting on yourself? Don't you know what it means to be considerate of people—"

Rick, who was in the middle of scolding, stopped abruptly, and he got the answer when he was watched by Cheng Rang and Shubi's two completely different eyes.

Shubi is a heartless machine... completely different from that heartless guy like Cheng. Regardless of whether she really has a heart or not, she can be said to have no malicious intentions.

This guy really just wants to know...somewhere in Rick's mind.

Not the irrational, the calculating, the ruthless—that played Rick.

Rather, I want to know the real Rick who has value as an object of observation, who has a heart.

- click.

Feeling the feeling of [Heart Lock] being opened, Rick finally sighed as if he was relieved:

"...Because in this kind of world, if you don't do that, you can't survive..."

As long as you close your eyes, the scenery outside the cave will appear as if branded on your eyelids.

The sky was scorching red, and the earth was piled up with blue and black ash. Such a scene stretched to the other side of the horizon, endlessly.

It was a dead world, or a dead world, where you would die if you went out without a dust mask.

"...Is that Huby's fault?"

"do not know."

In fact, Rick couldn't figure it out anymore.

"Whose fault is not important at all... It's just that in terms of practical problems, if human beings want to live, if they don't close their hearts, they can only--break it, this world!  … It's too unreasonable .”

Chapter 23 Yo Rick, are you blushing?

"Unreasonable...unreasonable, what is unreasonable...?"

There is nothing unreasonable.

Hearing Hubby's question, Rick couldn't help but want to laugh.

But on second thought, yes, that's true.Really, there is nothing unreasonable in terms of theory and rationality.

Simply just...

"The strong live, the weak die. There is no meaning and no reason. The rules of the world are like that... and the part that feels unreasonable about such a world,

It's probably the 'heart'...I don't really understand. "

Feeling something close to giving up, Rick continued to move the black pieces on the chessboard.

"...Hubby wants to know...Rick's heart, but..."

Huby said word by word: "Huby...doesn't want to hurt Rick...what should I do?"

Rick felt uncomfortable with her statement, so he asked: "Why do you care about me? If you just want to know your heart, just treat me unceremoniously like before—"

"sorry"

Hubby apologizes again, and Rick scratches his head like he's having a headache.

"Ah~ I don't want to bring up old things again, but don't I? Why do you have any reason to worry about me..."

Probably not, if the object is someone else, maybe there will be concerns that the communication will be interrupted.

But there is no need to worry about talking to Rick. Instead, push him to the limit to hear the truth.

"...do not know."

Rick frowned when Hubie gave an incomprehensible answer for the first time.

"...don't know. But, I want to avoid... being a hazard to Rick."

"Oh! If the object of analysis is not kept in a natural state as much as possible, then the correct data cannot be obtained, is that so?"

Rick half-jokingly said so in a rational and formulaic tone.

"...It feels different...Also, although the reason is unknown, but..." Hubby lowered his head and replied with a trembling voice: "The sentence just now... ..makes me very unhappy...."

The sense of disobedience turned into conviction, and Rick and Huby's judgment when they first met was indeed correct.

This Ex-Machina girl Shubi——was broken.

And it was an obvious abnormality. Although she didn't realize what she said just now, everyone could see that she was advocating 'I have been hurt'.

Is this a response that a machine can make?Self-proclaimed ignorant guy....

Cheng Rang probably had the same problem in his mind as Rick.

It is also possible to deduce the appropriate response with the set simulated personality, which is considered the category of acting.

But whether it's really acting or not, it's not easy to tell with Hubi's setting.

Rick said: "Let me ask you, you were disconnected by the concatenation body...was it abandoned?"

"....Um."

The reasons and details have been heard from her, and it is because of the obstacles caused by the paradox of self-reference and theoretical flaws.

Are you really yourself?What reason is there to be yourself?If you don't have a 'heart' as soft as a human being's, it's an unavoidable problem.

It's cruel to say that, but she was abandoned as a matter of course, but——

"You want to analyze the 'Heart' anyway, in order to get back to that Nexus, but that has nothing to do with whether I'm harmed—"

"...? I don't want to go back... oh."

Uh?

Seeing Rick's puzzled expression when his thoughts were interrupted, Cheng Rang added for her: "Rick, from the second we saw her, she has never confirmed that she came back to analyze the 'heart'. Information like the connection body."

"Eh...but, no, then who ordered you to analyze the 'heart'?"

"Because interested...judge for yourself...."

"Interesting..." Cheng Rang murmured and repeated the words Shubi said, and looked at Rick.

There was obvious consternation in those eyes——

"You talk about interest—isn't that emotion, or 'heart', isn't it?"

Rick said so immediately, and Hubie froze for an instant.

"......do not know."

"what?"

"...I don't know, what Rick said makes sense...but Hubby doesn't feel the importance...why is that?"

"Here, do you ask me this kind of thing?"

Asked by her seriously, Rick's expression tightened unconsciously.

"List the candidate answers—"

"...It doesn't matter, as long as Rick is here, no interest, no meaning, no connection, no synchronization, analysis priority, not analysis but understanding priority——【Error】【Contradiction】【Violation】【Error】【 Error]【Error】"

"Woo, it's so hot!" Cheng Rang's hand flicked off the mechanical parts on Shubi's head, which was already so hot that it started to smoke.

"Hey, hey! She's smoking! You seem to have burned her head, Rick!"

"Eh?! Me!"

"Cool down, cool down!"

The two were in a hurry, but fortunately, Cheng Rang quickly scooped up a ladle of cold water, and poured it on the hot part of Xiobi's head that was almost red.

blah-

At the moment of contact, the sound of water being instantly evaporated accompanied by the steam overflowing from the bathroom made the surroundings hazy again.

A few seconds later, it seemed that the cooling effect had taken effect, or Shubi had resolved the error. She looked at Rick in front of her, nodded her head and answered:

"[Conclusion] seems to be, I don't want to go back."

The two men stared at the girl in front of them with stiff movements, sighed at the same time as if they were relieved, and then smiled at each other.

"What an ambiguous conclusion."

"Blame me..."

Hubie looked at the two of them

Moving left and right: "...can't be sure...according to that, but it seems like that."

"Ambiguous..." Cheng Rang raised his elbow and poked Rick with a smile on his face, "Could it be that you and her had a bad relationship from a long time ago?"

Rick's face changed slightly, showing a wry smile, and suddenly——

"...Forget about those...checkmates." Hubby finally moved the white stones on the board and said calmly.

Cheng Rang whistled: "Rick lost again, wait, why should I say again?"

"Ah—! You bastard, I'm concentrating on the conversation, I can't concentrate on the chess game, again!"

"Haha, do you still want to come?" Cheng Rang couldn't help laughing at Rick's behavior of playing but still wanting to keep playing.

"I will definitely win the next game, this time I was just distracted!"

The boy argued like this, his cheeks blushed with excitement, but maybe it was the reason for the high temperature steam here.