"Hey! You scared me."
Seele's tone wasn't very good. The sudden appearance of the traffic light made her instinctively dodge to the side.
The traffic light showed no reaction to this at all, instead continuing to emit a stiff, mechanical electronic voice.
[Protocol... initiated. Beginning... scan... calibration.]
[Authentication failed... individual has not obtained access permissions. Initiating trial.]
"Huh? Th-this is starting already!?" March was a little dazed. The trial had begun far too suddenly.
[Trial step one begins. Please listen carefully to the question, who is the overall champion of the Internal Combustion Engine Rap Battle?" The traffic light continued to do things its own way]
"What internal combustion… what rap? How are we supposed to know something like that!" March was even more confused now.
"Sampo..." Dan Heng looked toward Uncle Cold Legs. "Do you know the answer?"
Sampo smiled and said, "I, Sampo, of course… don't know!"
"Can you seriously be relied on at all!?" March was extremely annoyed.
Sampo said with a very aggrieved and innocent look, "Hey, I'm not omniscient or omnipotent. You have to gather information by asking around. Don't rush, go listen to what the drifters nearby are talking about. Who knows, there might be a surprise?"
At this moment, the traffic light asked again, [Please answer the question, who is the overall champion of the Internal Combustion Engine Rap Battle?]
After hearing this question, Stelle still hadn't spoken. She carefully pondered it in her mind. Even though she had no clue at all, she still did so.
Just then, she suddenly felt inspired, as if blessed by fate. A flash of insight burst forth from her mind, completely enlightening her.
So Stelle blurted out, "Eighty-Eight Degree Mining Site."
After a brief silence, the traffic light said, [Answer correct.]
March was stunned on the spot. Even her voice trembled a little. "W-wow! Y-you could even guess that right? Did you secretly go to some music festival without us?"
Before Stelle could explain that strange feeling of sudden inspiration to the others, the traffic light spoke again.
[Authentication result, success. Remaining required authentications, 2.]
[Please extend your right hand.]
"Right hand? Here, what are you going to do, ow ow ow, that hurts!"
March didn't think at all before sticking out her hand, and then her hand was sucked into the traffic light.
A few seconds later, the traffic light spat March's hand back out.
"...So this is the authentication mark?" March said, looking at the imprint on her hand.
"Correct. Two more steps to go. Let's move, let's move." Sampo said.
After that, the group quickly found the second traffic light. However, this one seemed to be in a pretty bad mood.
Its first words were, [Protocol... initiated. Beginning... ah! I have to repeat this every time. So annoying.]
"Huh?" Seele raised an eyebrow. "What is this hunk of scrap even saying?"
"This thing seems to have a really bad temper..." March narrowed her eyes.
"We're one step closer to a machine intelligence crisis now." Nero said as he observed the traffic light.
"So annoying. Hurry up and finish this. Have you gotten level-one authentication or not? If not, don't come waste my time." The robot continued.
"You mean this? Here, look." March thought for a moment and then stretched her hand out in front of the traffic light.
"Yes yes yes, fine fine fine... I'm going to ask the question now. Listen carefully.
[Question, what component should the microcrystal unit be connected to?]
"Huh?"
That single sentence completely stunned March. The pretty girl blinked her eyes and looked around. She really had no idea.
But it wasn't over yet. The traffic light said, "You can't even answer that? Trash. Go study for a few more years and come back."
As soon as these words came out, March was even more confused. "Huh?"
Immediately after, the pretty girl's expression turned fierce. "Can I smash this thing?"
Before anyone else could speak, the traffic light said, "Huh? What, you want to fight? Perfect, I'm in a bad mood anyway. Come on, let's trade a few moves!"
As the words fell, sparks seemed to fly between the angry girl and the irritable machine. It looked like a big fight was inevitable,
But then Nero suddenly made a move, grabbing the traffic light by the top of its head.
After multiple enhancements, Nero's strength was now tremendous. His five fingers, like steel spikes, pierced straight through the iron plate on top of the traffic light's head, leaving five holes behind.
Before the fight could even start, before the traffic light could deploy its defensive field, it was already lifted up by Nero.
Nero smiled and said, "Got it!"
Then this kid forcibly flipped open the traffic light's head, and in front of everyone's slightly stunned gazes, said, "March, hand."
"Huh?" March froze for a moment, but her body obediently stretched out her hand.
Nero aimed at March's hand, found something beneath the traffic light's opened head, pressed it onto her hand, and said, "I just checked. You only need to collect this thing."
"Ow! That hurts, that hurts!" March cried out.
"Look, it's stamped!" Nero said with a smile as he removed the traffic light's head.
March looked at Nero with teary eyes. "Can't you be a little gentler with a girl's hand?"
"Let's go. Quick and decisive. We'll find the next one!"
Nero very perfunctorily rubbed March's hand as he said this, earning her a resentful look.
As for the irritable traffic light, Nero casually tossed it aside. It lay on the ground, the lights on its body flickering on and off.
It seemed that after having its brain opened up, the entire robot felt much more comfortable, its thoughts now flowing freely.
The third authentication was much easier to obtain, simply by opening up its brain as well.
After collecting all the authentications, everyone returned to the main gate. Sure enough, the gate successfully opened, and this time March even got to play the "Open Sesame" game.
"See? Sampo is useful, right?" Sampo started taking credit.
"Ah yes yes yes, thank you!" March praised Sampo very perfunctorily.
"I'll commend you to the boss. Now say a little less." Seele shut Sampo up with a single sentence.
"Uh, fine then. I'll just give one reminder, what lies ahead is unknown territory. Everyone must be extremely careful, watch your step...
"Yawn... I've said everything I needed to say. Old Sampo is going back to sleep now..."
After saying that, Sampo turned around and staggered away. Suddenly, his foot slipped, and he tumbled headfirst into the snow...
"Looks like we really do need to watch our step." Nero said seriously after seeing Sampo fall.
After Sampo left, the group walked into the gate, following the stone bridge covered in ice and snow all the way forward, only to find an even larger and heavier iron gate blocking their path ahead.
After negotiating with the wandering machines, the group learned that they needed to obtain permission from Clara before they could enter.
"Clara? Ah, the little girl who looks a lot like Nero? Who exactly is she, that we even need to apply to her for permission?" March was puzzled.
"She's Svarog's family." Stelle said.
March still looked confused. She raised a hand and scratched her head. "Family... um, I don't really get it."
"If you're confused about Svarog's identity as a machine..." Nero said, standing beside March, "then just think of it as the relationship between us and Pom-Pom."
"Pom-Pom...?" March's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed. "Now I get it!"
And the reliable Teacher Dan Heng had already started trying to ask where Clara was at the moment.
Though it was only an attempt, the wandering traffic light actually provided a clue.
It retrieved an audio recording. From the audio, they learned that in order to find repair materials or substitutes for the energy core bearing, Clara had run off to Rivet Town again.
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