537: Chapter 537 The White Without Enlightenment

A clearing in the forest, dappled spots of light, a fragmented bionic body with a "face," and a fully armed human with his hand on his gun's grip.

Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds.

Konks's tentative question drifted through the damp forest air.

Then, he saw the bionic body tremble ever so slightly.

"Can you hear me?" Konks asked again.

The other party did not respond immediately.

That "head," which had the outline of facial features, turned slightly, and its only functioning "eye" focused on Konks.

There was no light within the sensor lens, only a darkness that absorbed all light.

But on the helmet's analysis interface, Konks could see extremely weak signals flickering, indicating that the thing's sensory System might still be operational.

Konks did not lower his guard, but he slowly released his grip on the gun, spreading both palms forward in a "no threat" gesture.

He slowly moved two steps forward to get a clearer look at the extent of the other party's damage.

Upon closer inspection, the damage was shocking.

The left arm was severed at the elbow, and the bionic Materials, reinforced skeletal frame, cable bundles, and some complex fluid conduits at the stump were all exposed, dripping a dark red, viscous liquid.

The edges were jagged, showing clear signs of high-temperature erosion and tearing.

The right leg was severely deformed above the knee, as if it had been struck by a massive blunt force; the internal support structure was likely shattered.

The bionic material on the chest and abdomen also had several indentations and penetrating holes with charred edges.

"These wounds..." Konks frowned deeply.

The wounds before him, especially the severed arm, looked like they had been caused by a large-caliber kinetic weapon firing at close range.

It could have been a heavy riot control weapon used by the Shankong military police, or some high-powered firearm specifically designed to deal with difficult targets.

This guy was being hunted.

And the other party had used lethal force; they didn't intend to take him alive.

"You are badly injured," Konks said in a calm tone, pointing to himself. "I am not Shankong people. I mean you no harm. Can I help you?"

The other party remained silent. But Konks noticed that the single optical sensor seemed to be aimed at his helmet's visor.

Perhaps it was trying to observe him, to evaluate him.

A few seconds later, a voice with heavy electronic noise but barely distinguishable syllables came from a vocal component in the bionic body's "head."

"Who... are... you?"

The voice was very strange, like old, rusty gears grinding together, mixed with the hiss of an electric current.

The language was Shankong, but the accent and intonation were completely different from the tone Konks was used to hearing in Aetherland.

It was more direct, even carrying an ancient quality.

"My name is Konks, and I come from a distant civilization, the human civilization, in that Milky Way Galaxy to the east."

Konks answered as concisely and clearly as possible, while pointing toward the sky, though he knew the other party might not understand what the Milky Way Galaxy was.

"I am currently in Aetherland as a visiting Scholar. I was doing a scientific survey nearby, detected an abnormal signal, and came to take a look."

"What is your name? You seem to need help."

There was another silence, filled only by the sound of the wind in the forest and the faint chirping of birds in the distance.

The "android" seemed to be processing Konks's words, evaluating the credibility of the information. After another moment, the raspy, distorted voice spoke again.

"Bai... My name is Bai."

Konks nodded; the name was very simple. "Hello, Bai. Can you tell me what happened? Why are you here, and how did you get so badly injured?"

Bai's head seemed to want to make a "turning" or "looking around" motion, but due to the damage, it only completed half of it.

"Discovered... Shankong Defense Force... patrol. They used 'Stone-Cracker Cannons'..."

Konks made a note of the name; from the description, it sounded like some kind of large-caliber individual or squad support weapon.

"They wanted to kill me. I escaped. Hid for a long time. Energy almost gone. Components failing."

Bai's voice was intermittent, and the noise grew heavier; he was clearly in terrible condition.

"Wuqi Clan..." Bai's voice became even lower, almost inaudible. "I am a member of the Wuqi Clan..."

Wuqi Clan?

A new term. Konks's nerves instantly tensed.

This was not the name the Shankong Civilization used to refer to themselves publicly.

The Shankong Civilization called themselves the "Shankong people favored by high heaven."

Wuqi Clan—the name sounded like it carried a sense of being abandoned.

Could it be...! Konks's heart began to race.

He realized that he might not have encountered a simple android.

This individual with a "face" who called himself "Bai" was very likely a type of "remnant." Or perhaps an existence that had been deliberately erased from the history of the Shankong Civilization!

He had to obtain more information. And the prerequisite for obtaining information was to establish trust, or at least stabilize the other's condition.

"Bai, your injuries are very severe. If they aren't treated, you might shut down completely," Konks said, using as neutral a term as possible.

"I can repair part of your damage, but I need your permission, and I also need to understand your structure. Is that okay?"

Bai's optical sensor seemed to focus on Konks again. The silence lasted even longer, as if he were performing an extremely difficult internal calculation.

Finally, the raspy voice spoke again.

"You... can repair?"

"I'll try," Konks said, not making any absolute promises.

He didn't actually understand machinery, let alone the structure of Shankong androids, but he had other resources to rely on.

He took off his backpack and carefully took out a palm-sized metal canister from inside. It was printed with the Interstellar Peace Corporation logo and a line of small text.

[Universal Nano-Repair Gel — Military Version].

This was true hard currency, used for saving lives, even if it was almost expired.

If it weren't for his old man's good relationship with that company executive, let alone nearly expired stuff, an ordinary person wouldn't even be able to get their hands on something fully expired.

And it was common knowledge that for products with an expiration date produced by the Corporation, an extra year was generally added by default.

Although the price was ridiculously expensive, the effects were said to be miraculous.

Whether it was a carbon-based or silicon-based life form, as long as the structure hadn't completely collapsed or the energy core wasn't destroyed, this gel containing self-programming nanobots could automatically call upon available base Materials nearby—such as metals, composites, or even organic remains—based on the scanned missing parts to perform molecular-level repair and reshaping.

He didn't understand the principle, but when his old man had forced it upon him, he'd said that as long as the head was still there, it could save you—or at least keep you going until rescue arrived.

Alright, since he said that, it should probably be fine.

He aimed the metal canister's nozzle at the stump of Bai's completely severed left arm, maintaining an appropriate distance.

"You might feel something, so be prepared." As he spoke, he pressed the spray button.

A silver-gray, viscous gel with a metallic luster was evenly sprayed onto the severed surface.

As soon as the gel touched the bionic material, it immediately began to wriggle and extend as if it were alive.

Visibly, the gel began to consume the dust in the air around the severed surface and even stripped trace amounts of matter from Bai's own body. Countless tiny silver lights flickered inside the gel.

Bai seemed to tremble, but no sound was made; his "eye" stared intently at the growing silver-gray substance.

In just a few minutes, the gel stopped wriggling and began to harden and take shape.

A slightly rough but structurally complete outline of a "forearm" and "palm" was initially formed at the stump.

Although the color and texture were slightly different from Bai's original body, looking like a patch, it was complete and functional.

Konks took out another canister and sprayed it toward the distorted joint of Bai's right leg.

This time, the gel seeped into the deformed gaps and began to repair the support structure and transmission System from the inside.

A "click" sound, as if a bone were being set, came from the joint, and the leg returned to its normal shape at a visible rate.

After the two canisters of expensive nano-gel were used up, Bai's left arm and right leg had basically regained their function.

Although the new parts looked like they were pieced together, the sensors showed a stable connection, and the energy and signal paths were reconnected.

Several punctures in the chest and abdomen were also temporarily sealed by the gel, no longer leaking fluid.

Bai tried moving the fingers of his new left hand and then bent his right knee.

The movements were a bit stiff at first, but they quickly became smooth.

He—or perhaps it? But Konks was more inclined to use "he."

He seemed somewhat incredulous, looking down at his repaired arm and leg.

"This..."

Bai's voice was still raspy, but the distorted noise seemed to have lessened slightly, perhaps because the energy supply had stabilized somewhat due to the repairs.