“Damn, what kind of shitty-ass name is this?” the robot spoke.

Chapter 3 Self-Rescue

Hearing the robot’s words, Jack Spencer was instantly stunned, almost thinking he’d misheard—did the robot just curse?

“What are you spacing out for? Reminiscing about the days you licked Rice Mountain and ate Noodle Mountain in the Heavenly Court? I’m talking to you.”

When the robot spoke again, Jack Spencer finally snapped out of it. This must be the change after the logic system iteration it just mentioned.

But he really hadn’t expected that after the system update, the robot’s intelligence would change so much—the cold, mechanical robot had actually learned to curse.

“Is it really that advanced? The iteration is that fast?”

“Of course! What do you think artificial intelligence is?” The robot put its hands on its hips, leaning back slightly, looking very proud.

Although it was shocking, nothing mattered in the face of death. He didn’t have time to be surprised—the space station was descending, and if they didn’t find a way to save themselves, both of them were doomed!

“Did you find the location of the escape pod from the subnet data?” Jack Spencer hurriedly asked the robot.

“Nope.” The robot’s reply instantly dashed Jack Spencer’s hopes.

“But, we don’t actually need to escape. This thing has a retro-thruster system. I don’t know how much of it still works, but I figure with the friction from the atmosphere and the final impact, the chance of breaking apart is less than 10%.”

That was definitely good news, but just because the station wouldn’t break apart didn’t mean he’d land in one piece.

Looking at the metal parts floating everywhere above his head due to zero gravity, he could easily imagine how terrifyingly deadly they’d become once they regained Earth’s gravity.

In this life-or-death moment, Jack Spencer’s mind started racing. “Robot, I need a safe place to cushion the landing and avoid the debris. Do you know where in the station that might be?”

“How would I know? The screws on me have never worked here.” The robot spread its hands and shrugged.

“Come on! Didn’t you connect to some subnet data?! Isn’t there a map or something? Did you just learn to talk trash and curse?” Jack Spencer scrambled to the door, carefully poking his head out to look around.

“How is that my fault? That subnet isn’t even from this ship—who knows which nearby wreck’s WiFi is still on.” The robot swaggered along behind Jack Spencer.

Its feet and hands seemed to have magnets or suction cups or something, so even in zero gravity, it could stand easily on the floor.

“Besides, why do you look down on cursing? The art of language starts with swearing.”

Annoyed, Jack Spencer couldn’t be bothered to argue with this foul-mouthed robot. He just wanted to survive.

Jack Spencer racked his brains, trying to figure out a way out. In this life-or-death crisis, his mind spun rapidly, and suddenly he remembered the red dot from before. “Right, that glitchy monitor!”

Although it was clearly broken and he couldn’t use it, just because he couldn’t use it didn’t mean others couldn’t.

“Robot! Can you get data from a broken computer? Like hacking into it or something?”

“Who do you think you’re talking to? That’s my specialty.” As it spoke, an emoticon popped up on the robot’s head display. (^ω^)

“Great, follow me.” Jack Spencer led the robot, dodging the floating debris, and started heading back the way they came.

When Jack Spencer returned to the arched glass room, he saw that the Earth behind the glass had become a massive presence, growing larger and larger, like a Leviathan opening its huge mouth, ready to swallow them whole.

Watching his home planet slowly and steadily grow larger, a wave of oppression and suffocation washed over him. At this moment, Jack Spencer finally understood what it meant to have megalophobia.

Jack Spencer forced down his fear, doing his best not to look outside the glass. He brought the robot to the flickering screen. “This is it! Hurry up, we don’t have much time.” “Watch and learn.” Right after, Jack Spencer saw its left hand quickly split open, several fiber-optic tentacles like jellyfish tendrils sliding swiftly into the gap on the left side of the monitor.

Immediately, the images on the screen flickered even faster. A sightseeing ad flashed by, and Jack Spencer realized this was just a viewing spot deliberately set up on the station.

Just then, a faint “crack” sounded, and Jack Spencer turned to look to the left.

He saw a crack, accompanied by the sound, rapidly spreading from the bottom across the entire glass dome. He gasped, feeling as if his soul was about to float out of his skull.

“Hurry! Hurry up! The glass dome is about to give way!!”

Cold sweat broke out all over Jack Spencer as he frantically looked around for a solution.

Suddenly, he stomped his feet and rushed to the spot where the red dot had been before, pressing hard. With a jolt, the previously dropped arc-shaped wall slowly rose up.