Natalia was shot in the chest, the force of the bullet sending her flying backward.
Simultaneously, her upper body exploded, not with blood, but with dazzling electrical sparks. Relays and springs scattered across the ground with a clatter.
Jiang Ye froze for a second, then stepped forward, aiming his gun at the corpse.
Boom!
The five-shot shotgun roared deafeningly. Amidst the blinding muzzle flash and smoke, Jiang Ye fired another shot at Natalia's head.
Her golden braid flew off, and her silver-white metallic skullcap was blown open.
Instead of brains spilling out, a cascade of chips, screws, and various unidentifiable electronic components spewed forth.
Natalia was blown to pieces. She truly was a robot!
"Wow, this robot is incredibly advanced! I thought she was a sexy lady, but she's a robot," Jiang Ye muttered, then turned to Gao Yu. "You can put your hands down now. Sorry to have startled you, Miss Gao Yu."
Gao Yu let out a sigh of relief and lowered her hands, looking at Jiang Ye with keen interest. "How did you figure out Natalia was a spy robot?"
"Do you want the truth or a lie?" Jiang Ye asked.
"The truth, of course."
"Actually, I didn't know which one of you was lying, nor could I judge who to believe. So, I just shot one of them to see what would happen," Jiang Ye said nonchalantly.
Gao Yu's smile vanished, and her eyes widened. "Just shot one? That means you had a fifty-fifty chance of shooting me?"
"Yes," Jiang Ye nodded. "Fortunately, the goddess of fate favored you and me. By the way, you don't need to kneel anymore. Get up."
Gao Yu stood up, brushed the dirt off her knees, and looked down at the handgun three meters away. "Can I pick up my service weapon?"
"Colony rules. Your service weapon is in my safekeeping. I'll return it to you when you leave my territory." Jiang Ye walked over, bent down to pick up the handgun, and examined it.
The handgun was unusual. It had a thick barrel, no magazine, and was loaded from the rear of the barrel, one shot at a time. The gun body had a small display screen showing "0%".
"What kind of gun is this?" Jiang Ye asked.
"A charged Black Star handgun."
"Charged?"
"You don't even know about charged weapons? Oh, right, you're not from modern times." Gao Yu scratched her head. "After loading a bullet, you hold down the trigger, and the bullet accumulates energy. 20% causes pain, 40% incapacitates, 60% is lethal, and the higher the percentage, the greater the power."
"Is it expensive? Can I buy it from you?" Jiang Ye asked.
Gao Yu blinked, seemingly deep in thought. "It's not expensive. Since you saved my life, I'll give it to you if you like it."
Gao Yu then pulled out a handful of golden bullets and handed them over. "Here, there are 12 rounds left. That damn robot was fast, and I'm in the air force. My aim isn't great, so I could never hit her."
Jiang Ye took the bullets and nodded. "Thank you for the gift. Where is your unit? Do you have any return ships or anything? Would you like to rest at my base for a night? It's so windy, it could freeze a person to death."
Gao Yu's face flushed slightly. "A unit ship will pick me up tomorrow morning. Sorry for the trouble. Take me to your base."
"It's about five hundred meters north, very close." Jiang Ye walked over to Natalia's corpse, grabbed one of her legs, and said, "I need to drag this robot back. The parts might be useful."
"I'll help you," Gao Yu said, reaching for Natalia.
"No, no, you go to the base first. Add some coal to the furnace, have something to eat and drink," Jiang Ye said seriously. "I'm a gentleman. How can I let a beauty like you do the heavy lifting of dragging a corpse? Ladies first!"
Gao Yu's face turned even redder. "Then I'll go first."
She turned and walked up the slope against the night wind. After taking five steps, the clicking sound of a shotgun being cocked echoed from behind her.
Gao Yu froze for a moment, her face contorted with extreme terror. Then, a deafening roar and a flash of fire erupted.
The shot hit her in the back, and her back exploded. No blood spilled out, but a pile of relays and springs flew everywhere, along with sparks from severed wires.
She collapsed to the ground, not quite dead, struggling with tears streaming down her face. "I'm not... I'm not..."
She suddenly fell silent, her eyes fixed in horror on the ground before her, where relays and springs were twitching, all having flown from her back.
In an instant, her expression became one of disbelief as she murmured, "How is this possible! I... I am..."
Jiang Ye walked over and fired another shot at her head, then another at her heart. The bullets dislodged numerous screws and electronic components, which bounced and skittered on the dirt slope.
"Damn it, two robots, are they putting on a show for me? Or telling jokes? Was she the straight man and you the funny man?" Jiang Ye opened his shotgun, waiting for the wind to blow away the smoke, and reloaded five shells.
He fired three more shots at Natalia and two at Gao Yu, hitting her thigh and buttocks respectively.
He had never seen such high-tech robots. Who knew if they could feign death or reboot? So, Jiang Ye decided to fire more shots, to shatter them into pieces, confident they wouldn't be able to get up again.
The cold wind howled even louder, like a mournful cry.
Jiang Ye sneezed a few times and returned to his base, carrying his gun.
His body was almost frozen. The temperature was at least minus ten degrees Celsius. His padded jacket was useless against the biting, knife-like wind.
Especially after the confrontation, while he appeared calm, his body had honestly broken out in a good amount of cold sweat. The sweat soaked into his cotton coat, nearly freezing.
He returned to his base, closed the hatch, and locked it.
The furnace was still burning, and the air was warm and pleasant.
Jiang Ye let out a long sigh, sat down, took off his padded jacket, and spread it on the floor beside the furnace to dry, letting his sweat evaporate.
Then, he opened the chat channel.
The channel was lively, with everyone complaining about the cold.
Few had padded jackets, and even fewer had furnaces. Those who had furnaces and were willing to fill them with coal and burn them intensely were almost nonexistent. So, almost everyone was cold, relying on sheer grit to endure.
Jiang Ye thought for a moment and typed a message:
"Everyone, I have a critical piece of intelligence. Please give me one minute, and don't send any other messages so more people can see this.
I just killed two spy robots.
These spy robots seem to be produced by the Mil people. They are extremely sinister, capable of imitating human appearance, and their imitation is incredibly lifelike. No, it's exactly the same. From their skin, their expressions, to their hair, they all look exactly like humans.
Moreover, these robots seem to be able to absorb the memories of the deceased. They are highly intelligent; when you speak to them, you can't tell they are robots at all.
However, these spy robots have several fatal flaws. I discovered that those two were not alive precisely because of these flaws."