I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 491 - 491 490. Coupon_1

Chapter 491: 490. Coupon_1 Chapter 491: 490. Coupon_1 “That… robot, can it really operate for so long?”

After leaving the eco-park, Shuangxin looked back and asked.

“If there is an energy supply, it should be more or less the same?”

Lu Ban felt that the lifespan of electronic products was not very long, a smartphone would break down after four or five years of use, but on second thought, if these consumer electronics were very durable, then probably the businesses would not make much money, so it’s possible that these things were intentionally made with such a short lifespan.

Because things like space telescopes and artificial satellites can operate for decades even in the harsh environment of space, Lu Ban thought that it wasn’t that people couldn’t make durable things, it was just a matter of whether they wanted to or not.

Not to mention, the level of technology here in Future City must have already surpassed his own era, maybe the robots here could even repair themselves automatically.

Arriving at Building A3, Lu Ban swiped his card to open the door.

This place was more like a snack street, or commercial street, than a restaurant.

The variety of shops inside did indeed give Lu Ban the feeling of coming home.

However, the shops were all manned by robots, not as delicate as Lin, having more of a mechanical feel to them. They sat quietly in the shops, like a row of tombstones.

Lu Ban approached the entrance of a noodle shop and swiped his card.

“May I ask what kind of noodles the guest would like?”

Lu Ban ordered two bowls of the same beef ramen, curious about what would be served.

A moment later, the robot turned and came before the two of them.

“I am very sorry, but due to insufficient preparation of ingredients, we cannot make beef ramen.”

“Is that so…”

Lu Ban tried to order other dishes, only to find that all ingredients were insufficient.

He guessed that these robots probably had settings to detect whether the food had spoiled, so they detected that the ingredients in the storage had all rotted, hence they couldn’t prepare the food.

“I am very sorry, this is a coupon provided by the store, which can be used at any shop in Future City Commercial Street.”

The robot offered two coupons.

“Thank you.”

Lu Ban took the coupons, thinking they probably wouldn’t be of much use anyway.

He looked at the clothing store, the aesthetic of the people in this world was not too different from his era, only the clothes had softened and could no longer be worn.

“Bookstore?”

Shuangxin quickly spotted a shop of interest to her.

She walked into the store, eagerly hoping to find books from the old era.

However, the scene before her made her pause.

In the bookstore, there were only screens and tablets, which were locked onto the tables; the screens had already turned pitch black.

“It seems that they no longer use paper to make books.”

Lu Ban thought of the newspapers he had seen before; perhaps this store was some cutting-edge meta-universe bookstore or something, with everything in digital format.

“I was hoping to find some books from that era.”

Shuangxin seemed slightly disappointed.

Sizzle—

At that moment, the sound of mechanical operation came from outside the store.

Lu Ban looked out to see a street-sweeping robot cleaning. The cylindrical machine passed by the shops, and the robots inside just watched it silently, creating quite a bizarre scene.

“It seems there isn’t much to eat here, let’s call over Singer and Moment first.”

Lu Ban suggested.

The two rode camel worms back to where they were hiding, explained the general situation, and the four of them returned to the eco-park.

“Welcome to Future City Ecological Park, I am Lin, the guardian of the park, and I am very happy to guide you through this area. Please join me in stepping into the world of nature.”

As soon as they entered the park, they heard the crisp voice of the robot girl.

“Ah, it’s the two guests, and there are new guests, welcome.”

She seemed very happy, although Lu Ban wasn’t sure whether this “happiness” was a false emotional display inflicted by mechanical codes.

“Is this human?”

Despite Shuangxin’s explanation on the road, Singer still found it incredible.

“Hello, I am a display robot; you can call me Lin.”

The robotic girl said cheerily, seemingly proud of her identity as a robot.

“At seven o’clock in the evening, there will be a free special program in the Ecological Park; you are welcome to attend.”

She then promoted another event.

It seemed she was very invested in that special program.

“Let’s go take a look at the residential area.”

Lu Ban suggested.

Lin bowed to the group once more, as if it were her mission.

According to Lin, A4 to A10 were all residential buildings.

Lu Ban arrived at the entrance of A4.

After swiping a card to get in, he saw the elevator and a dense array of apartment doors.

Since this was a universal card from the sales office, he could open any door; he opened one and discovered that the room was only about six or seven square meters, with just a bed and a narrow walkway. Aside from that, there was nothing else, not even space for a table.

Lu Ban thought of what was previously mentioned as “snail dwellings” or group rentals.

He had been curious about how these few buildings could house thousands of people, but now it seemed that not only thousands, but tens of thousands could fit here.

These rooms were only for sleeping, playing games or watching TV on the screens in the rooms. There were no windows, and bathing and toileting had to be done in the communal bathrooms on each floor, accessed by swiping a card and paying.

More than apartments for people, they resembled some kind of beehive.

Lu Ban could almost imagine what the daily life of the people who lived there was like.

In the morning, as alarm clocks signaled the start of the workday, the inhabitants would spill out like a swarm of bees, and the entire city would fall silent. In the evening, they would return to Future City, have dinner on Future City Commercial Street, take a walk in the Ecological Park, and then lie back in their tiny rooms—a day gone by.

The Ecological Park and Commercial Street were probably built to prevent the living conditions here from feeling too oppressive.

There appeared to be signs of habitation in the rooms, but they were long faded, with only the messy beds refusing to be tidied.

The group examined dozens of rooms in succession, some of which were dirty and messy, some had rotten clothes, damaged electronic devices, and so forth. It was evident that the inhabitants had left in a hurry, yet very decisively.

“Maybe the people here got news of an impending disaster, so they left early for the shelters,”

Lu Ban tentatively concluded.

The layout of the houses here was uniform, with no variation in design. According to Lu Ban’s speculation, there should also be an industrial park nearby.

If there really were swarms of insects, they might be nesting there.

The group continued their investigation of the area. As it grew late, they returned to the Ecological Park, planning to get something to eat.

“Is there a problem with the food from the Commercial Street?”

Seeing this, Lin asked with some concern.

“There’s no food left there.”

Lu Ban answered.

“What a pity, the noodle shop on the Commercial Street had quite a nice taste, and it could make noodles from all over the world. The one I would recommend the most is the beef ramen, with fine and chewy noodles served with large slices of beef and a rich, aromatic and spicy broth,”

Lin said as if she were introducing her own child.

“Have you eaten it?”

Lu Ban asked reflexively.

“Although I have not eaten it, the beef ramen has a ninety-seven percent approval rating, which I consider to be a very high evaluation,”

Lin said with certainty.

For a machine, 1 is 1 and 0 is 0; there is no room for ambiguous evaluations.

“But don’t worry, the current situation is only temporary. In a little while, the supply personnel will arrive, and then the Commercial Street will reopen,”

She said with equal certainty, as if it were an established fact.

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