It was dark in the bunker during the day. The old man's eyes had been in the dark for too long and had begun to degenerate, so he could not see clearly. But his ears were still good, and every day he could hear the children around him talking, making noises, snoring, and walking.
These children were abandoned because they were infected with schistosomiasis. At first, an old man picked up a few of these abandoned children and brought them to live in the bunker. Later, those children picked up other children. Although they were not related by blood, they lived together and formed a peculiar big family.
But the people in this family are always changing.
The schistosomiasis of these children ranges from mild to severe. The severe ones may die after being picked up and living here for a short period of time.
Over the years, children have come and gone, and the old man can no longer remember exactly how many children have lived here.
"Jiuer?" the old man called out in the darkness.
After a while, a little girl with braids came over and lay down beside the bed, "Grandpa, what's wrong?"
This little girl named Jiuer is the second oldest among the group of children after Qi Ling. She usually stays near the bunker most of the time, taking care of the nearby chicken coop, other younger children, and her bedridden grandfather.
"I heard some noise outside. Is that the big robot moving around?" the old man said vaguely.
"Yeah." Jiuer responded.
The old man was silent for a while and then said, "Tell me about that robot."
Jiuer held his mechanical hand with some concern, "Grandpa, are you okay?"
Previously, the children in the bunker saw the big robot and came back to describe it to everyone excitedly. As a result, their grandfather burst into tears when he heard it. He cried for a long time. Later, Qi Ling did not allow the children to talk about robots in the bunker anymore. Jiuer never thought that his grandfather would suddenly bring up the robot after being quiet for so many days.
"Isn't Grandpa sad?"
“Grandpa is not sad, Grandpa is happy… Grandpa wants to see the robot with his own eyes.” The old man said as if he had made up his mind.
Having not seen the light for a long time, the old man was dragged and carried by Jiuer and several other children to the door of the bunker. When he felt the wind blowing on his face and the light shining from above his head, he felt as if he had suddenly appeared in another world.
When he finally adjusted to the light outside and could vaguely see the scenery in front of him, he saw large areas of green, which were the hillsides, and yellow ripe grains scattered across the fields.
Finally, he saw a tall mechanical leg stepping over from a very close distance, accompanied by a slight vibration and sound, which he had heard many times in the darkness these days.
“Ah—” He made a hoarse sound and looked up, seeing a huge robot passing by the yellow and green curtain. Its tall figure was even more frightening than the children had described... What a terrifying mountain.
The old man stared at the robot that was slowly walking towards him with wide eyes, and suddenly a lot of noisy sounds from the past rang in his ears.
“In our hometown, there are robots that are taller than the mountains. We put our homes on the robots. They are both robots and our homes…”
"In our lost civilization, our former capital was the world's largest robot. It was the city itself, carrying all the precious treasures left by our ancestors..."
When his mother told him these things, he was still very young and did not understand the complex emotions in her tone. He just felt very longing and curious about the magnificent and dreamy giant robots she described.
He also once searched for the legendary lost country based on his mother's description, but in the end he found nothing. It was truly a lonely journey.
At the end of his life, a huge robot suddenly appeared before his eyes - this was not a dream, but a ray of light from his wonderful childhood memories that penetrated his entire life for decades.
Yes, those giant robots really exist in this world.
"Grandpa?" Several children looked at the crying old man helplessly and tried to help him up from the ground.
Qi Ling, who was standing on a distant hillside, saw the situation from afar and ran down the hillside quickly, "Grandpa!"
Qin Minghui sat on 01's open palm, feeling the gentle breeze. The fragrance of ripe grains was carried by the wind, and at her feet were golden waves of wheat.
"01, this wheat needs to be harvested."
[Yes, little miss, they are ripe.]
"How about I write a harvesting program for you? This is also a very practical function." Qin Minghui said seriously.
She often has such sudden ideas, so she added a lot of useless functions to 01 and developed many new ways to play, but 01 feels that this is very good because his little lady said that he should often enjoy some boring things.
Sometimes, learning some useless knowledge can also make you happy.
[That sounds great, little lady.]
01As always, supportive.
Qin Minghui plans to add this harvesting function to 01 when she returns home in the evening.
When she finished her walk and brought 01 back to the hillside where she was staying temporarily, she saw a group of children carrying a person waiting for her there.
It was an old man whose body was mostly covered in steel.
"Child, are you from the legendary mechanical kingdom?" The old man couldn't wait to ask this question after being placed in front of her. The hopeful light in his eyes was hotter and brighter than the flames dancing in front of him.
When Qin Minghui heard the key words "Mechanical Kingdom", the radar in his brain suddenly sounded as if it had captured the key words.
Wait a minute, this name sounds very interesting. Although it didn’t appear in the movie, it’s really easy to make associations with it.
The protagonist Qin Minghui, who comes from an information-rich world and grew up watching various stories, instantly came up with ten or eight different story directions in his mind.
Things did not go as she expected. The old man who suddenly came to her door told her a story about a lost mechanical kingdom.
It is said that a long time ago, dating back to before the chaotic war began on this land, there was a country with a highly developed civilization, nicknamed the Kingdom of Machinery.
No one knows what the real name of that country is. In short, it has long been lost in human history.
But it is said that the old man's mother is a descendant of the Mechanical Kingdom. She left her hometown when she was young and could never find her way back.
"The remnants of the Mechanical Kingdom are still living there. There is no war, only peace. There is no illness or hunger. Everyone lives a rich life. Everyone is warm and friendly..." The old man said in a low voice. There were a row of children sitting around him. Some of them had a longing expression similar to his, while others stared at the food buried in the fire in front of them with a confused look on their faces.
Ah, isn't this description the Peach Blossom Spring? Qin Minghui thought.
However, if there really is such a mechanical country, she thinks that Qin Boyi and Qin Ledan, the father and daughter who created 01, might come from that magical country. At least Qin Boyi is very likely to be related to the mechanical country.
She has always found it a bit strange that there is only one magical robot, 01, in the movie, but his production level is countless times higher than the average machine manufacturing level. This is actually unreasonable. If there is such a source, it can explain why he is so special and powerful.
"I have been looking for it for many years. I didn't give up even after my mother died. I wanted to find it... But I was disappointed. I knew that I would never be able to see that magical mechanical kingdom with my own eyes again in this lifetime."
"The kids told me they saw giant robots, I couldn't believe it, I thought I was dreaming or I was dead..."
The old man's gaze was fixed on 01, and his eyes became distant and hazy.
Although she didn't have the heart to break the old man's expectations, Qin Minghui still told him that she was not from the mechanical country.
"But I think that place definitely exists." Qin Minghui pulled out all the food from the fire and shared it with the eager children. He said to the old man, "Let me tell you, Grandpa, you hold on for another two years. After a while, I will leave here and travel around, taking my robot with me to find the Kingdom of Machinery."
"When I find it, I'll come back and tell you."
The old man's somewhat distant gaze suddenly returned, and the scattered light gathered again, "Really? Can you really find it?"
Qin Minghui: "Others may not be able to find it, but I think with such a powerful robot, maybe I can find it."
The old man became visibly more energetic.
"Grandpa, do you have any news about the Mechanical Kingdom that you can tell me?"
The old man began to think carefully, digging out relevant memories from corners. Regardless of whether they were useful or not, Qin Minghui nodded seriously and took out a notebook to record them. Such a cautious attitude greatly encouraged the old man, and he racked his brains to talk about everything he could think of.
After waiting for him to finish, Qin Minghui asked again: "Grandpa, these machines seem to be very powerful. This is the first time I have seen them. Can you tell me about them?"
"Well, it's nothing special. My mother taught me a little bit, and I learned some simple mechanical manufacturing. At first, I was infected with schistosomiasis, and I thought, if I can cut off the rotten body parts, can I cure the disease?"
"As you can see, I made some attempts. I replaced my legs, hands, and a large part of my chest with mechanical ones. Afterwards, the schistosomiasis still raged in my body. This did slow down the progression of the disease, but the mechanical body parts I made failed to perform the functions I envisioned, so I became what I am now."
What the old man didn't say was that he wanted to make such a bold attempt in order to save the children's lives. He wanted those children to survive, so he used himself as a model for this experiment.
Unfortunately, he failed, and replacing the mechanical parts could not achieve the effect he wanted, so he became an old man who rotted in a dark corner.
Life is boring, but I have to live on tenaciously as the spiritual pillar of these children.
"This is a very good idea," Qin Minghui said. "Combining the human body with the machine is as worth exploring as the idea of 'turning the machine into a human'."
It is because humans dare to think and act that they stand out from countless animals.
The old man was stunned. Ever since he started this experiment, he had been lonely and a failure. No one had ever affirmed him.
He saw the little girl in front of him pull up her sleeves, revealing the purple scars on her arms. "I've also been infected with schistosomiasis. When I can't hold on any longer, I might try your method, Grandpa. If I can do it, I'll come and tell you."
…
The old man went back crying. It was Qin Minghui who took 01 to send him back. In terms of transportation, he was much better than a group of weak children.
Back at their hillside, Qin Minghui changed from her previous calm and composed demeanor and sighed, hugging her arms with a sad face.
"01, if I really have to cut off my arm and replace it with a robot, it will be very painful, right?"
[Please rest assured, 01 will not hurt the little lady, 01's knife is very sharp.]
Qin Minghui didn't expect this answer. Thinking of how skillfully 01 cut open a pig, she almost burst into tears. "Don't say anything, 01. I have a picture in my mind!"