Madam President shouted, "Two cities of people are now under threat!"
"But aside from the military, civilians haven’t suffered major casualties yet. According to what the satellites have captured, robots are even ensuring the trapped residents have food and clothing by allocating survival resources on a per capita basis," a politician said, "We could tell the public that this is just an exercise, and in doing so, minimize the impact to the lowest possible level."
Madam President frowned and said, "Then at the very least we should be doing something now, negotiate with them?"
An old general said, "We’ve sent out several teams of experts, but none have been able to communicate with them... They appear to have some kind of purpose. I still think we can let the public submit to checks and allow them to leave these two cities, and settle them in surrounding cities."
"There’s also a risk in doing this; once these people leave the network-blocked area, they will definitely spread images unfavorable to our nation across the interstellar network."
"We’ve already attracted a lot of journalists with keen noses for news."
"A little PR money should solve that."
The discussion continued, but it was clear that they had not come up with a suitable solution.
The Cas Federation was just a tiny particle in the human map of the Milky Way, a small nation.
Yang Ming quickly browsed through several other videos.
Just as these useless politicians and generals had said, the robots were ensuring that the residents had food and clothing.
Humans who had not managed to escape in time were trapped in their offices and residential areas, and a few local politicians, who had previously admitted to the existence of the virus, tried their best to reassure them as the robots ensured their safety.
Those trapped hostages still believed they were being protected.
Yang Ming had roughly sketched out the process of the Intelligent Mechanical Crisis.
Behind the scenes, the orchestrator’s plan was clear.
They had first secretly taken control of part of the Intelligent Machines, turning the politicians’ Intelligent Machines against their masters, and then by infecting the source of the Mechanical Guard’s production, they introduced the virus into the military and gained armed support.
When Yang Ming first came to the Cas Federation, he felt that the Cas Federation’s robot industry was highly developed. Young people’s entrepreneurial goals were concentrated in this area, which mismatched their overall economy severely.
This also provided fertile ground for the crisis.
Replacing politicians with fakes, using the armed force of the Mechanical Guard to blockade parts of the city, using the military’s advanced equipment to block regional networks, and using viral rumors to restrict human activities, they had taken enough hostages.
What did they want to do with control over the hostages?
Strive for so-called freedom and independence?
—Nearly all Intelligent Mechanical Crises aimed for independence.
So what did this have to do with Kolev?
These damned robots had better not harm his first mate.
Yang Ming closed his eyes, and ripples of light red glow appeared around him.
In Kolev’s manor, inside Kolev’s spacious bedroom filled with art,
Kolev lay immobile on the bed, his hands and feet bound by iron chains. Nearby, two adorable maid robots were stirring food, spoon-feeding him mouthful by mouthful.
The mechanical butler in a tailcoat stood at the door, with a faint smile on his lips, his silver-gray casing emitting a soft glow.
Mimili sat on the corner sofa. Her arms were bandaged and her feet bound by a magnetic collar, listlessly flipping through an electronic magazine in front of her.
"I want to change my clothes."
Mimili called out languidly.
The old butler snapped his fingers in a not-so-loud gesture, and several maid robots, carrying screens, ran over, also holding several pretty, pale-pink dresses.
"Very well, miss," the old butler said with a smile, "The three tasks you needed to complete in the past three hours are all done, you’re an excellent master."
Mimili raised a middle finger.
The old butler blinked, and suddenly the maid robots took out an electric baton, giving Mimili’s slender waist a fierce whack.