I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 492 - 492 491. Everyone has fallen asleep_1

Chapter 492: 491. Everyone has fallen asleep_1 Chapter 492: 491. Everyone has fallen asleep_1 After eating the grilled insect meat, night had finally fallen.

Lu Ban stepped outside and saw the street cleaning robots still diligently sweeping the roads clean of wind-blown sand. On the exterior walls of buildings, spider-like robots were carefully maintaining the surfaces to prevent signs of weathering.

The streetlights seemed to have broken, and probably even the spare bulbs were damaged. No one had repaired them, leaving the roads completely dark.

In this darkness, Lu Ban saw the stars over the wasteland shining brightly, densely scattered like the Milky Way back on Earth. He tried to identify some constellations, but to no avail—this was a wholly foreign nightscape.

At that moment, he saw robots emerging from Building A3.

They appeared to be heading towards a specialized maintenance location, walking in his direction.

Driven by curiosity, Lu Ban followed them.

The robots entered the back door of the ecological park, one after another.

Disguising himself as one of the robots, Lu Ban also walked through that door.

The room was spacious, and the robots positioned themselves next to columns that resembled charging stations. They then lost their vivacity and turned into purely artificial objects.

“They even have wireless charging, pretty advanced.”

Lu Ban examined the charging stations and realized they were for wireless quick charging. As for the power source, it likely relied entirely on solar energy.

There were many robots here.

They stood like soldiers guarding a frontier.

However, some robots were missing arms, others legs, and there were even those with no heads at all—they were probably destroyed by sandstorms while working outside.

The majority within the room, though, were those intact but with charging stations that no longer lit up beside them.

Using True Sight, Lu Ban checked and found that these robots simply ran out of power; if they could be charged, they would most likely be able to move again.

It seemed that Future City was originally connected to a nearby power plant, and most of its electricity still relied on an external supply. Solar power could only last for a while.

Moreover, the solar panels on these buildings might have been damaged by constant exposure to sand and wind, not all of them functioning well.

He guessed that after some time, all the robots here would gradually run out of energy and cease to operate.

“Everyone has fallen asleep.”

A voice suddenly arose from behind Lu Ban, causing him to turn around.

There stood the robot girl Lin, next to a robot that would never start again, looking at it.

“He was once the best chef in the noodle shop, famous for his beef noodles. Even the subsequent models couldn’t surpass him. Over three years in Future City, he made a total of 499,997 bowls of noodles. The last person to eat his noodles was a boy living in room A6-401. He always asked for extra spicy, saying it tasted just like the noodles from his hometown.”

Lin stepped a few paces closer to Lu Ban, then turned her attention to another robot beside her.

“This was a musician. He used to work in child music education before being sold here to continue his performances. Every day at nine o’clock, he would play the piano in the commercial street’s square. Many residents gathered around him, saying that the music soothed the soul. I am a robot without a heart, so I don’t know what that feels like, but I think they must have been very happy when they heard the music.”

“This was Future City’s doctor; during his tenure, the illness rate in Future City fell by…”

“This was a horticulturalist; every morning at five o’clock, he would punctually trim all the plants in Future City…”

“This one was responsible for repairs; every malfunctioning robot was sent to him, and during that time, the failure rate of Future City’s robots was…”

She introduced these robots to Lu Ban, one by one, not just their origins and models but also what they had done.

It was as if these were not just a collection of cold machines, but a group of vivid lives.

As Lin spoke of these things, her expression uncertain, Lu Ban couldn’t tell if it could be called nostalgia.

Suddenly, Lu Ban recalled what Feng Yu had mentioned: in some Foreign Domains, humans abandoned their flesh and chose to ascend with machines. If this place were not a Wasteland but another Foreign Domain, Lu Ban might suspect it had been affected by Pollution, causing an entire city’s population to become robots.

“Although they have fallen into slumber due to insufficient power now, as soon as everything is back to normal, this place will be just as it was before,”

Lin said with absolute certainty.

“Now that you’re here, other people will definitely return soon.”

She looked at Lu Ban and smiled.

“…”

Lu Ban didn’t know whether to tell the robot that the people she waited for had been gone for hundreds of years, that the world had been destroyed, and that it was no longer possible to return to the past.

In the days when civilization had perished and humanity had passed, these robots worked day after day, year after year, according to their initial programming, until their power was exhausted.

“At the end of each year, all the robots gather to light a huge bonfire on the commercial street to celebrate with the residents. It’s the happiest day of the year. According to my time, it’s just two days until the end of the year, and we can light the bonfire together again,”

Lin added.

“Hm.”

Lu Ban nodded.

“Actually, I deceived you earlier. You are not the six thousand six hundred and sixty-sixth visitor here but the six thousand six hundred and thirtieth. Due to the long time without visitors, I have judged that Future City and the Eco-Park are no longer popular, so as a rare guest, I took the liberty of lying to you.”

Lin apologized and bowed slightly to Lu Ban.

“It’s okay, you’ve done well. It’s not your fault that no one comes here,”

Lu Ban replied.

“I have tried to send messages to the service provider, but there has been no response. Due to my settings, I cannot leave this place. May I ask you, guest, whether the service provider of Future City has stopped services or for some reason has caused the communication to fail?”

The robot girl tilted her head again and inquired.

Her voice was clear, like the stream flowing through the Eco-Park.

“Perhaps they have. We haven’t been in touch either,”

Lu Ban said solemnly, pausing before asking.

“What if, I mean, if I told you that this world has been destroyed, that the people you knew are all dead, and they have been gone for hundreds of years, what would you think?”

Upon hearing Lu Ban’s words, Lin tilted her head, looking somewhat perplexed.

“Sorry, this scenario is not in my response manual. It might require a firmware upgrade, but unfortunately, I am unable to contact the service provider for an upgrade,”

Lin said, smiling again.

“Besides, guest, didn’t you come here with a companion?”

Lu Ban was silent.

“Guest, the special performance is about to start. If you’re interested, please proceed to the Eco-Park to watch,”

Lin invited once more.