Zhen Jiu’er had meant to say that yes, the medicine box was indeed quite heavy to carry, but handing it to someone else wouldn’t make much difference either way.
But the moment she actually laid eyes on A’Ke, she was thoroughly stunned.
A’Ke was a robot!
Nearly three meters tall, with a massive build, and whenever there was enough space, it walked along holding up a large umbrella.
Not only could it shield everyone from wind and rain, it could also generate electricity.
That was because the surface of its umbrella was made of solar panels.
“Hello, Miss Jiu’er. I’m A’Ke.”
The mechanical voice, at that moment, somehow sounded incredibly endearing.
She handed the medicine box to A’Ke, and she had no idea where it went, but in any case, it was tucked away instantly.
“I… if I need it, where do I dig it out from?” Jiu’er stared, dumbfounded, and turned to look at Qin Fei.
It was A’Ke itself that answered her question.
Yes — the robot itself.
“Miss Jiu’er, what do you need?”
“I… the medicine box…” Had she been away from the modern world so long that she’d fallen completely out of touch with the times?
Did technology like this already exist nowadays?
A’Ke immediately pulled the medicine box out from its “belly” and handed it over to Jiu’er. “Miss Jiu’er, here you go.”
Though it was tall and bulky, its arms were quite long, able to reach all the way to Jiu’er, so that taking something from it required no effort at all.
“Then, then what happens when it runs out of power?” It was so massive and heavy, its power consumption had to be enormous.
A’Ke’s expression shifted into a smile, a proud sort of grin.
It patted its own chest. “A’Ke uses very little power. Under normal circumstances, solar charging is more than sufficient, with plenty to spare. If there’s no sunlight, wind power can also charge A’Ke.”
“A’Ke also carries a trace-element battery. On days with no external power source at all, A’Ke can last a full month.”
Zhen Jiu’er nearly wanted to kneel before it.
How incredible!
“Qin Fei, time to head out.” Over there, the Young Master had finished listening to the rear support team leader’s briefing, and Ji Mingyu immediately called Qin Fei over.
“Got it, coming.” Before heading over, Qin Fei flashed Jiu’er a smile. “A’Ke is quite something — you’ll soon discover it has countless strengths.”
With that, Qin Fei strode quickly to Ji Mingyu’s side to hear his instructions.
Zhen Jiu’er’s gaze drifted, unbidden, toward the Young Master.
Looking at him a little longer, she couldn’t help feeling a fresh pang of emotion.
He really did resemble her Ninth Imperial Uncle so much — but if he truly were the Ninth Imperial Uncle, why would he have no memory of her at all?
Then again, people could simply look alike. She couldn’t just assume that anyone with a similar air about them must be her Ninth Imperial Uncle, could she?
Besides, he and her Ninth Imperial Uncle only somewhat resembled one another — they weren’t identical.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly let it out.
No more idle thoughts.
Once they reached Ying’an City and found the ruins of the Beimu Imperial City, she was bound to find her Ninth Imperial Uncle.
It was finally time to set out for real.
“Is it just the four of us?” It was only once they set out that Jiu’er realized everyone else had stayed behind, not joining them on this leg of the journey.
“They’re building a signal tower here, handling logistics.”
Qin Fei was the most talkative one in the group.
So Jiu’er’s questions were, for the most part, answered by him.
“Once we head in, all communication equipment will lose signal very quickly. That’s why they’re building the signal tower now — it’s there to serve us.”
“Also,” Qin Fei added with a smile, glancing back at the hulking A’Ke, “there are five of us, not four. Don’t go leaving A’Ke out of the count — it’ll get upset.”