Top Warzone Analyst Chapter 4

There was a door on the right wall, also slightly ajar.

The combat robot named Cheng Feng didn’t seem to like closing doors.

The group rose one after another and walked over.

This room was probably Cheng Feng’s bedroom. There were far more things inside, all packed neatly into square boxes and placed against the walls, yet it still felt somewhat crowded.

Yan Shen finally found the switch. A pale yellow light spread across the room, illuminating all sorts of old electronic parts inside. It seemed Cheng Feng was a “treasure hunter” of the junkyard.

In the corner sat a motionless figure, with a thin red blanket draped over its legs.

The scene felt familiar, carrying an eerie, otherworldly vibe.

Jiang Linxia, who had been startled by Cheng Feng before, suddenly met the robot’s dark, hollow eyes. His years of training kicked in, making his muscles tremble slightly. He quickly took half a step back and drew a weapon from behind his waist.

Xiang Yunjian pressed down on his wrist and said, “It’s broken.” The other three nearby let out a sigh of relief at the same time.

Xiang Yunjian walked over, reached out to touch the back of the robot’s head, and concluded, “The core has been destroyed. There are multiple impact marks on the exterior, and the wiring and joints have rusted. It must have been broken for a long time.”

Jiang Linxia collected himself and took a closer look. Upon seeing a faded children’s sticker pasted over a scratch on the robot’s head, he felt for the first time that this highly lethal humanoid weapon could also be somewhat endearing.

Xiang Yunjian found its production number near its neck and remarked calmly, “This robot was produced twenty years ago.”

“It’s been about seven or eight years since the war ended. Back then, Cheng Feng was still young. After refusing placement in an orphanage, he probably stayed with this robot until it was completely destroyed.”

Considering the timeline, Cheng Feng might have been with the combat robot for even longer than they had imagined.

Jiang Linxia hesitantly asked, “Does Cheng Feng think this robot is his father?”

Xiang Yunjian took two steps to the side and pulled back the blue curtains. Using the light from inside the room, he saw Cheng Feng harvesting cabbages in the field.

The black jacket was clearly too oversized for her. From this angle, she looked even more like a child who had stolen her father’s clothes.

Her overly long sleeves gripped a hoe as she cleared the drainage ditch beside her, then hurried back home with quick, small steps.

Not long after, Cheng Feng appeared at the front door, looking puzzled at the four young men standing motionless.

“What are you doing now?” she asked.

Jiang Linxia replied, his voice growing softer, “We thought you were in the room, so we came in to check.”

He pointed at the robot and asked, trying to sound friendly, “Is this your friend?”

Cheng Feng nodded.

Jiang Linxia tentatively added, “It’s… really nice-looking.”

It felt like such an insincere compliment.

Cheng Feng replied honestly, “Not nice-looking. It’s already broken.”

Jiang Linxia suddenly felt a mix of emotions – touched, yet somewhat bewildered.

Aside from some cognitive quirks, this little bean sprout seemed perfectly normal in every other way.

Even the aesthetic sense was more normal than that of his own brothers.

Still, Jiang Linxia’s willingness to praise the combat robot greatly improved Cheng Feng’s impression of him.

This was a kind person.

Cheng Feng asked, “Are you guys still not leaving?”

Jiang Linxia awkwardly replied, “No need to rush us away, right? We haven’t started the tests yet.”

Cheng Feng thought for a moment and asked, “Are you still planning to recruit me?”

Trust between people is already scarce enough – between humans and robots, it’s even less.

Jiang Linxia nodded earnestly and said, “Yes, we are. But first, we need to make sure you’re not a threat. Um… because you’re a combat robot.”

“I am not a threat.” To show her sincerity, Cheng Feng specifically switched to a gentle, synthetic female voice and repeated, “I am not dangerous.”

All four of them felt her thoughtfulness, and they hadn’t expected that her old sound module could still perform such a function.

Jiang Linxia said, “Alright, then go with Xiang Yunjian for the test first.”

Cheng Feng, holding the cabbage, was about to dash toward the living room when Xiang Yunjian casually grabbed her and said, “It’s getting late. Let’s eat first.”

All Cheng Feng had was cabbage. She lowered her head to glance at her hands.

Jiang Linxia chuckled and said, “We don’t take even a single cent or thread from the people, and we won’t take your cabbage either.”

He picked up his bag, shook out several vacuum-sealed packages, and asked, “Where’s the kitchen? Let’s heat these up.”

…

Cheng Feng’s kitchen was extremely sparse. Aside from a small amount of rice and noodles, there was almost no other food.

While Cheng Feng was boiling water, Jiang Linxia took the opportunity to rummage through the cabinets, then pulled out a bag of fruit candy and tucked it into Cheng Feng’s pocket.

She likely hadn’t had a proper meal in a long time, but she ate very well-behavedly. Worried about dropping rice on her clothes, she held the bowl high.

Jiang Linxia nudged the person next to him with his elbow and asked, “What do you think?”

“Not much,” Xiang Yunjian replied, resting one arm on the table in a casual, somewhat unrefined posture. A faint smile played on his lips as he added, “I just know that a typical robot wouldn’t sway its legs while eating.”

Cheng Feng paused for a moment, struggled internally, and then decided to continue following her instincts.

It was because she lacked experience.

Since it was already late, after the meal, Xiang Yunjian conducted a simple test for Cheng Feng.

Physical assessments couldn’t be carried out for the time being. He selected some classic questions from academic categories, compiled them into a test paper, and gave Cheng Feng an hour to finish it.

The results were better than everyone had imagined – much better, in fact.

Scores on the three-dimensional spatial reasoning test and the logical thinking test were quite impressive. Language skills were average, reading comprehension was weaker, and vocabulary was limited.

In subjects like mathematics and geography, Cheng Feng could solve advanced models in some question types but was completely clueless about common-sense topics.

Her learning system was different from that of an average student. While others were geared toward exams, she seemed more geared toward combat. Most of her knowledge aligned with the database of a combat robot.

Still, this didn’t hinder her ability to pursue normal studies. After all, military academy students don’t need to master every piece of knowledge. The fact that she wasn’t illiterate was already a pleasant surprise.

After lowering their standards, the group found that life suddenly seemed much brighter.

No wonder the instructors were always so cheerful.

After the academic tests were completed, following the instructor’s requirements, Xiang Yunjian opened the equipment and had Cheng Feng take additional shooting and manual operation tests.

The final results of the shooting test were not ideal. Cheng Feng’s accuracy ranged between 4 and 7 rings, a performance that would likely earn her a flying kick from any military academy instructor.

However, this score made the group take notice because Cheng Feng’s draw speed was extremely fast, and her stability was exceptional.

Originally planned for ten minutes, the shooting duration ended in less than half the time, with all target positions successfully hit.

Yan Shen was a sniper, while Jiang Linxia played as a forward. Both were among the fastest shooters in their team.

They tried to follow Cheng Feng’s movements but found that their target tracking wasn’t as sharp as her.

Her dynamic vision might even be more developed than Yan Shen’s. It seemed she was intentionally sacrificing accuracy to prioritize attack speed.

After all, if it were a manually operated mecha, the weapons would have some degree of automatic calibration. Minor deviations could easily be compensated for.

Moreover, her movements were rigid and precise – the tilt of her head and the height of her raised arm during each attack stayed at nearly the same angles, giving off an oddly familiar sensation.

It wasn’t until she removed the simulation equipment that the group realized what it was.

It was the combat robot.

Her attack posture was almost identical to that of a combat robot.

Jiang Linxia thought deeper into it, couldn’t help but shiver, and whispered, “I’m starting to wonder if he might actually be a robot.”

Xiang Yunjian shot him a sidelong glance and said, “What nonsense are you talking? Be more scientific.”

Yan Shen was busy exporting the data and chuckled softly at the remark.

If someone like Jiang Linxia could get in normally, Cheng Feng seemed perfectly ordinary in comparison.

Moreover, once the data from here was transmitted, he believed the instructor would immediately pull strings with the admissions team and rush over to the post-war planet by aircraft.

“Alright,” Xiang Yunjian said. “We’ll notify you if there’s any news tomorrow. It’s best if you don’t go out. If you do, leave a note at the door.”

The group tidied up the equipment, left some food for Cheng Feng, and then departed one after another.

It was already around ten at night, and the temperature outside had dropped by more than ten degrees. The night wind carried a sharp, chilling bite.

In the vast night sky, a faint red glow still flickered. The light from the optical computer illuminated the path overgrown with wild grass and scattered stones, as countless tiny specks of golden dust danced in the beam.

Shortly after leaving the room, the instructor’s call came through.

Xiang Yunjian tapped to put it on speaker and said, “I have good news and bad news to tell you.”

The instructor replied enthusiastically, “I want to hear the bad news first!”

“The good news is that he has little social experience and is relatively easy to persuade. He likes food and money,” Xiang Yunjian explained calmly. “The bad news is that he seems to have some cognitive dissonance – he believes he’s a robot.”

The instructor fell silent for a moment, then countered, “Liking food and money shows he has worldly desires. Having worldly desires means he lives in the real world, understands and follows social rules, making him a normal person. So the first is good news, and the second is false information.”

Xiang Yunjian: “…”

Talk about bending the truth.

Jiang Linxia scoffed, “Heh. Instructor, the way you defend him like this really makes me jealous.”

The instructor responded with a tolerant smile, “I understand – youth often lacks perspective.”

After a few moments of casual banter, Xiang Yunjian turned serious and asked earnestly, “Are you planning to place him in the manually-operated mecha specialization of the infantry department? Putting aside the fact that the Alliance currently has very few frontline-ready manually-operated mechas, his mental state is also a real concern. He lacks sufficient cooperative awareness, and his understanding of interpersonal relationships is rather unclear…”

A faint rustling sound came from the instructor’s end, likely from him opening a window.

Standing in the draft, he said in a solemn voice, “You know what? In all my years as an instructor, the most valuable lesson I’ve learned is not to jump to conclusions about others based solely on my own experience.”

Xiang Yunjian replied, “I’m not jumping to conclusions about him. I just want to understand – what kind of soldier are you planning to shape him into?”

“Trust your alma mater, you rascal!” the instructor scolded with a laugh. “Tomorrow, organize a live combat drill for all qualifying students. Have him join you. I’ll be watching, helping him find his place. Who knows, maybe he still has some surprises I haven’t uncovered yet?”

Xiang Yunjian gave an “Mhm” and was about to discuss the specific rules of the drill when the school representative from earlier in the afternoon sent over a contact number, indicating it belonged to a welfare institution administrator.

Xiang Yunjian promptly ended the current call and dialed the new number.