Life Game In Other World
Chapter 170: The Operator (Please Subscribe, Add to Favorites, Request Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 170: Chapter 170: The Operator (Please Subscribe, Add to Favorites, Request Monthly Tickets)

The I-27 robotic arm workshop was tucked away in the deepest part of Zone I.

Avis Machinery Factory operated on a three-shift system, running non-stop for 24 hours. It was nearing the evening shift change, and workers trickled into the factory.

He Ao blended into the crowd and quickly found his way to the I-27 robotic arm’s workshop using the signs. There was a palm-sized e-ink display at the entrance of the workshop, showing the daily schedule for each operating room in that workshop.

He Ao located the schedule for the I-27 robotic arm which indicated that the current shift was the afternoon shift. The operators for the morning shift were named Michael and Lizzy.

After taking a look, He Ao walked further inside and pushed open the door to the I-27 robotic arm’s operating room.

The loud noise of massive mechanical assemblies greeted him.

Two workers clad in dusty gray overalls were operating the robotic arm inside the workshop, one slender with a tousle of short hair, the other burly and simple-looking.

"Shift change?" The burly worker asked without turning around, glancing up at the display monitor in front of him, "You’re early, we’ve still got half an hour left on the clock."

He Ao glanced at their attire and noticed that both were wearing smart wristbands. He replied with a smile,

"I’m here to help Big Brother Michael find something. He lost his wristband. I’m checking to see if it fell around here."

Hearing this, the slender man looked up at He Ao and returned his attention to the robotic arm.

"Michael?" The burly man was taken aback and also turned to look at He Ao. "Isn’t Michael a girl?"

He Ao: ?

His movements stiffened.

"Michael is a guy; it’s Lizzy who is the girl," the slender man said slowly, still focused on the control screen.

"Oh, oh, oh," the burly man nodded, directing his words at He Ao, "Well, make it quick; wandering around the workshop can get you fined. It’d be bad if the foreman catches you."

"Alright, alright."

He Ao nodded quickly.

He moved behind the two of them to a cabinet and began searching.

While checking, He Ao casually looked up at the robotic arm and inquired nonchalantly, "This robotic arm is so cool, much cooler than the one we have over at our place."

"That’s for sure," the burly man laughed heartily and patted the control panel, "This is some ten-million-yuan good stuff, ten million, man! We could work for hundreds of years and not earn that much."

Just then, the slender man pressed the temporary auto-control button next to him and looked towards the burly man, "Cover for me, I need to use the restroom."

"Sure, be quick," the burly man chuckled.

He Ao continued to search the surroundings. After the slender man left, the burly man barely spoke, concentrating intently on the control panel and fully absorbed in his task.

After rummaging around without finding any valuable documents or clues, He Ao approached the control panel, observing the multitude of buttons and the joysticks on either side.

His eyes drifted downwards, noting text on the panel, "Abert Intelligent Machinery TB-167A robotic arm."

"Hey, don’t mess around, huh," the burly man, engrossed in operating the robotic arm, glanced at He Ao, "This is complicated stuff; you need someone to teach you before you can learn how to use it."

"Oh," He Ao scanned the device briefly and asked offhandedly, "Isn’t there a manual for this kind of equipment?"

"Sure," the burly man said, still focused on the robotic arm, "but it’s only on paper. I heard it’s in the archives, thick as a brick standing upright. I bet you wouldn’t want to read that; it puts me to sleep just looking at it."

"Indeed," He Ao nodded in agreement. He glanced around and said, "It seems that Big Brother Michael’s wristband isn’t here. I’m going to look elsewhere."

"Okay," the burly man responded distractedly, "Tell him to search more carefully, places like the restroom, between the bed seams and so on. He’s bound to find it."

"Yeah, thanks," He Ao expressed his gratitude and headed for the door, "I’ll pass on the message."

When he left, he casually took the door with him.

The burly man glanced at the closed door of the control room, shook his head, and continued working.

In another corner, the thin man who had originally gone to use the bathroom leaned against the wall, raised his bracelet, found an avatar, clicked on it, and began to type.

"Who are you planning to message?"

A cold voice came from behind him, followed by the feeling of something hard pressing against his waist.

He looked down and saw nothing but a gun with dark red patterns extending from the darkness.

As his gaze fixed on the gun, a violent surge of Qi suddenly rushed into his mind, causing him to fall into a brief dizziness.

By the time he recovered his senses, the pathologically pale face of a youth had appeared before him.

His gaze met the youth’s icy pupils, and a bone-chilling coldness surged through his heart.

A primal sense of danger urged him to flee the place at once.

If he delayed even a bit longer, he would really die!

But under the youth’s gaze, his body had completely stiffened, and he dared not move an inch.

"Hmm?"

He Ao tilted his head, looking at him quizzically as if waiting for a response.

"To, to the foreman," the thin man stammered, "reporting people loitering in the workshops can earn half of the fine as a reward."

At this moment, he had realized that the youth before him was probably not just a simple worker.

Speaking, he carefully lifted his bracelet to show He Ao the conversation he had yet to finish with the foreman, which read,

[Foreman, I just saw...]

"Oh," He Ao put the gun away, "how do you get to the archives?"

"Next to Building B," the thin man raised his hand tremulously, "go down the stairs, and follow the road in front of the door all the way to the end."

"Okay, thanks," He Ao patted his shoulder, "open your mouth."

The thin man didn’t know why He Ao wanted him to open his mouth, but he slowly opened it. In an instant, he felt something thrown into his mouth.

It was somewhat sweet, like candy.

"Chew it and swallow."

He Ao continued.

The thin man obediently chewed and swallowed, then asked tremblingly, "What is... this?"

"A slow-acting poison,"

He Ao’s hand, which had been on the thin man’s shoulder, slightly lifted, his index and middle fingers parting, and a small ant that had been clamped between his finger joints crawled down the thin man’s neck and into his collar, "Do you feel itchy now, as if an ant is crawling on you?"

The thin man hadn’t noticed anything before, but as soon as He Ao said it, he began to feel itchy and couldn’t help scratching his back.

He Ao released his hand and looked at the thin man calmly,

"Do something for me, and I’ll give you the antidote. Of course, you can choose not to do it, but then in at most half an hour..."

"I’ll help, I’ll help,"

the thin man nodded hastily.