Chapter 1 Hand Grenade and Uncle

Bang! Bang! Bang! "Jasper. Jasper, are you all right?" 5188 jolted awake to a barrage of gunfire, her eyes opening to a world bathed in red. She found herself pinned under a man in a green uniform. As she blinked, trying to make sense of her surroundings, the man spoke reassuringly. "Girl, don't be scared." His blood dripped onto her slightly grimy face. He attempted to raise his hand to wipe it away, but his arm felt as heavy as lead, his eyelids almost too heavy to keep open. "I'll protect you, just ... don't move." His words were cut short as 5188 felt his head slump against her, his weight pressing down. She pushed the man off and tried to stand, only to be met with a stern command from nearby, "Hey, don't move! Stay right there!" Turning toward the voice, 5188 saw another man in a green uniform attempting to approach them from a dim alleyway. Yet, he was forced to duck back as gunfire erupted again. Confusion clouded her vision as 5188 wondered about the identity of this human from the base. As a robot designed to overpower ten bases, did she truly need the protection of these fragile humans? Struggling for breath under the man's weight, 5188 clenched her teeth as she pieced together the events that led her here. She's 5188, a robot who followed Helena Zimmer after gaining self-awareness. She called Helena "Grandma." Later, Helena was going to find her husband, and that's when she hid 5188 away. Then, some people discovered 5188. She adhered to Grandma's advice; if she could not fully trust humans, she should engage in a trade. Once a trade was agreed upon, they were not allowed to deceive her. If they betrayed her, she had the right to seek revenge. Thus, she assisted those people in locating resources, and they agreed to help her find Grandma. Yet, they had lied to her. She overheard them saying that Grandma and her entire family had died a long time ago. Anger welled up inside her. She longed for Grandma and refused to be confined as a mere human tool in the base again, so she activated her self-destruct sequence. However, she had already initiated her self-destruct sequence; how could she turn into a human child? Was this what Grandma meant by reincarnation? Could a robot like her also undergo reincarnation and start anew? As a buzzing filled her ears, 5188 activated her search program. Her grimy, gaunt face grew stern as she raised her small hand to push the man again. This time, as she pushed, her hand encountered something cold at his waist. The men hidden in the alley saw her movements, muttered curses under their breath, and prepared to rush forward. However, as the small figure stood up, she quickly used the cold object to strike Jasper, who was still unconscious on the ground, and then discarded it. Boom! An explosion followed, and then silence enveloped the alley entrance. 5188's tense expression softened as she dragged Jasper toward the light. "Child, don't move." She heard several shouts and then felt someone lift her from behind. Another voice urgently called out, "Quick, take him to the hospital! He is out!" In the faint light, 5188 caught a glimpse of Jasper's face and her eyes brightened. "Uncle!" Her voice, crisp and joyful, echoed in the air. Grandma had once shown her a photo of her son. This was Uncle! She had found Uncle! But where was Grandma? ... County Hospital. In just half an hour, 5188 had quickly understood her current circumstances. It was 1969 in Drakoria, a time of chaos, just as Grandma had described it. Feeling the pangs of hunger, 5188 rubbed her shrunken stomach while attentively listening to the nearby conversation. "You mean, Jasper saw this girl on the road and chased after her, only to stumble into a human trafficking den?" "Yes! Jasper was simply following a child he saw on the road. We didn't think much of it, but then gunshots erupted. By the time we got there, Jasper had already subdued her!" The man speaking took a pause before adding, "Captain, I don't believe those were ordinary human traffickers. And this girl, she's peculiar too. It might just be a coincidence, but she tossed that grenade with pinpoint accuracy!" As the two men spoke, their gazes landed on the dark eyes of 5188, causing them to momentarily falter. 5188 averted her eyes, mulling over her abilities in silence. She was a robot, the most advanced one created by Grandma. A simple task like aiming should not be difficult for her. Noticing her rubbing her stomach, Captain Colin Bailey approached her with a friendly smile. "Are you hungry? How about I ask you a few questions, and then we can go grab something to eat, okay?" 5188 cautiously backed away, her dark eyes scanning her surroundings before abruptly stopping. She pushed past the man in front of her and swiftly approached another man engrossed in a newspaper. The man looked up at her, then at the two military men nearby, and lowered his newspaper with a smile. "Girl, what can I do for you?" 5188 stared at him briefly, then climbed onto a nearby white bench. Just as everyone was perplexed by her actions, she suddenly leaped onto the man, swinging her small fist down hard onto his head. With a resounding "bang", the man collapsed heavily to the ground. "You!" Liam Webb, taken aback, hurried over. Before he could reprimand her, he saw the girl dragging the man's clothes. She hauled him towards Colin and Liam, declaring, "Exchange!" Both Colin and Liam were taken aback. 5188 tried to elaborate, but could only manage one word, "Bad!" She pointed to the unconscious man, then to her stomach. "Exchange!" As Grandma said, fair trade. They wanted to feed her, and she would hand over the bad guys. She was not exploiting these people—she was just ensuring fair play.