Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 507: Volume 6, Chapter 12: Startled by a Fart

Shouting loudly, the humiliated Fatty was dragged away by Boswell from the Command Department.

Fatty felt very frustrated that his romantic and free-spirited nature was stifled in front of the big-boobed beauty.

”What’s going on? What’s going on?” Fatty asked, while being pressed into the flying car seat by Boswell and looking around: ”Hey, old man, why are you pulling me?”

Not far away, a curvy young confidential secretary stood there dumbfounded, staring at the struggling Fatty with a face full of disbelief.

Boswell climbed into the flying car and pulled off Fatty’s distorted face from the car window. The flying car wobbled twice and sped away hurriedly.

”Is he...?” The young confidential secretary’s beautiful face showed a nearly collapsed expression: ”Federation Hero Tian Xingjian?”

Several Command Department officers standing nearby avoided the question and dispersed.

They really couldn’t answer the woman’s question. The Federation Hero... just the mention of it makes them want to cry, the hero’s dream, it’s all shattered!

The flying car darted out of the base like a frightened rabbit.

”Really...” Fatty’s face was stuck against the rear window, complaining: ”Such a romantic encounter, ruined by you.”

Boswell’s face turned dark. He really wanted to kick out this Fatty. Such lowly actions, and he even calls it a romantic encounter!

”Say...” Fatty slid down from the window, sat in the chair, and asked: ”Old man, where are we going? Since when do you have a lab in the capital?”

”Capital First Military Academy,” Boswell said: ”As early as a year ago, when the situation was tense, Gallipalan Military Academy started transferring several departments and most of the crucial labs to the capital. We are using the facilities of the First Military Academy.”

”Then why didn’t Milan come along?” Fatty, looking at the urban scenery outside the window, asked casually.

”The school has collaborative projects with the military in Gallipalan.” Boswell leaned his head against the chair back and said, half-closed eyes: ”If it weren’t for the new jump technology, I would still be in Gallipalan. Don’t worry, Milan will also come to Chuckna in a while. She is in the second batch of project collaborators.”

Fatty almost cried out loud. Don’t worry about what? Thinking of Milan’s divine Mauser pistol, Fatty shivered in fear. He realized that he should work out more, otherwise, one day he might get shot by Milan just for whistling at a beauty.

The flying car glided smoothly like water on the road. The deep engine roar was barely audible, and the interior was exceptionally quiet. After exiting the base’s surrounding closed road, the steering wheel of the autopilot system turned slightly, directing the car onto a majestic overpass, and within minutes, they reached the edge of the capital’s urban area. The further they went, the more bustling it appeared outside the window.

Fatty was very familiar with this city where he had lived for over twenty years. Guest Reception Avenue, Triumph Avenue, Luoye Lake Road, Freedom City Park—all along the way, it sparked countless memories.

Elementary school, middle school, university. A boy who lost his parents and was born timid, how he became a fat, creepy guy disliked by his peers, all the scenes seemed like yesterday.

Suddenly, a huge recruitment poster flashed past his eyes. Fatty jumped up in surprise, stuck himself to the window, pointing outside and shouting: ”Me! Me!”

Boswell, already used to these antics, kept a straight face and ignored the ecstatic Fatty.

The poster vanished quickly around the street corner, and Fatty, not getting a response from Boswell, asked unsurely: ”Did I see it wrong?”

Another poster flashed past the window; this was the capital’s central district, the most bustling area. Fatty widened his eyes, staring at his own silly grin on the poster.

”Me, it’s me!” Fatty’s hands shook with excitement!

The posters retreated rapidly outside, one after another, hanging on every lamp post on both sides of this bustling street. As far as the eye could see, they lined up endlessly.

Fatty was so excited he became senseless!

”Stop the car! Stop the car!” He stuck his face against the glass, squishing it into funny shapes while pulling Boswell’s clothes.

”Stop what car?” Boswell knew Fatty shouldn’t appear in public. Otherwise, why would the Command Department drag him away? He immediately refused: ”Isn’t it just your photo on the recruitment posters? Look at how excited you are.”

Fatty scratched his head and asked joyfully: ”Why use my photo? Even if there aren’t many more handsome than me in the Federation, they could find a few, right?”

”Pfft!” Boswell, extremely irritated, laughed: ”I don’t know how many better-looking people there are, but I do know there aren’t many more shamelessly, brazenly than you in the Federation.”

”You mean...” Fatty grew even more ecstatic: ”I am the most shamelessly brazen?”

Boswell couldn’t communicate anymore; he turned his head away and issued a voice command to the autopilot system: ”Drive faster, drive faster!”

Fatty looked joyously out the window, feeling gratified.

The flying car continued forward. Outside the window, a beautiful lady passed by a wall covered with posters and turned her head, smiling at the big-hearted Fatty on the poster.

A few lively young girls crossed the street, linking arms and laughing as they reached the bus stop. One girl grabbed her companion’s hand, pointing at the recruitment poster with Fatty’s image chattering, making the companion’s face blush and tickle her.

Fatty couldn’t hold back anymore. He grabbed Boswell’s neck and shouted: ”Stop the car! Stop now!”

Keeping Fatty from exposing himself to the public was specifically instructed by the Command Department. Boswell, swayed by Fatty’s grip, just refused to order the stop.

Fatty’s curiosity was unbearable; in desperation, he took out the little kid and shoved it into Boswell’s hand: ”Know what this is? Stop the car, and I’ll tell you.”

Boswell rolled his eyes, tossed the metal ball onto the seat, and said: ”It’s just a spherical robot, with such crude workmanship, you can buy one for a few hundred bucks. Nowadays, elementary school kids have more advanced electronic pets than this!”

With a few faint buzzes, the metal ball cracked open, and the little kid’s limbs emerged from the holes. As soon as the round head appeared, it cursed: ”Old geezer! You’re the electronic pet! A few hundred bucks, try buying me if you can!”

Boswell was startled and looked at the bouncing spherical robot in awe.

”Hurry up!” Fatty pushed the little kid around a few times and pointed at the dashboard: ”Pipi, take over this car and stop it!”

The little kid, still not appeased, spat at Boswell before reluctantly mumbling and crawling towards the dashboard.

Such human-like movements, Boswell couldn’t believe it. The old man got excited and grabbed Fatty’s neck, his eyes gleaming: ”What is this? How human-like is this robot?”

Human-likeness, an assessment index for machine intelligence in artificial intelligence research—a term once specific to AI research that has now become a standard for evaluating service robots and toy manufacturers’ products.

The higher the human-likeness, the higher the product’s price. Nowadays, robots have achieved up to 50% human-likeness, though it’s merely simulation, not the creation of new life. Those realistic electronic robots can only interact with humans within limitations, any emotions they display are just surface-level programmatic behaviors.

When the little kid appeared, it stunned Boswell, who had spent his life immersed in AI and interacting with robots.

Modern robots absolutely could not react so quickly and vehemently to someone’s slander without an order from their owner. Especially the last moment when the ball spat after Fatty’s order—Boswell considered that simply a miracle!

This disregard for orders and autonomous actions, though brief, completely overturned the robot laws!

”Human-likeness?” Fatty disdainfully pushed Boswell’s hand away and arrogantly said: ”Like dogs chasing motorcycles, don’t understand science. Listen up, this is an artificial intelligence with a fully independent personality!”

”A...artificial intelligence.” Boswell seemed thunderstruck, his whole body frozen: ”A fully independent personality.” He grabbed Fatty frantically: ”You’re lying, how is this possible?”

Fatty snorted: ”I intended to give you a surprise in the lab. Since you didn’t stop the car, I had no choice but to let Pipi do it himself.”

”Pipi, Pipi.” The sudden emergence of artificial intelligence evidently overwhelmed old Boswell too much. He muttered and stared in a trance at the spherical robot climbing onto the dashboard, inserting a mechanical hand into the data interface.

.

.(To be continued. For more updates, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters available to support the author and for legitimate reading!)