A moment later, Xia Yu had finished picking up all the wreckage of the Machine Lifeforms on the ground.
Xia Yu also returned to the center of the pentagonal formation, carrying his backpack which showed no signs of change.
9S, brimming with curiosity, looked at the backpack on Xia Yu's back. He hesitated several times before finally deciding to speak up after a moment's thought.
"Lord, those remains you just put into your backpack?"
"Oh, you mean this?" Xia Yu shrugged and showed off the light-as-air backpack. "Isn't it common sense that materials can be put into a backpack? Don't tell me you don't even know that."
"Ah, this..."
Was this actually common sense? I don't understand it, but I'm greatly shocked.
9S was in shock, 9S began to think, 9S felt his system starting to overheat, and 9S's head began to smoke!
Bang! 9S stopped thinking.
"9S, are you okay!"
Seeing 9S suddenly swaying as if about to fall, 2B hurried forward to support him. 9S held his head, shook it, and exhaled a puff of white steam.
"I'm fine, 2B. My system just heated up suddenly, but the temperature has gone down now."
After recovering, 9S turned to look at Xia Yu with a face full of admiration. Even without taking off his tactical goggles, Xia Yu could imagine the sparkling eyes behind them.
"It's truly amazing, Lord. Please tell me more common sense!"
Xia Yu: "..."
Is this kid a bit of an idiot?
After thinking about it, Xia Yu decided to give 9S a bit of an education; after all, he had nothing better to do.
"Materials you pick up can't just be put in a backpack; they can also be crafted into new things anytime, anywhere. Also, when a human is injured, just a sip of a secret medicine called a Health Potion can fully recover the injury. Oh, and you have to eat the Health Potion whole; you can't leave the glass bottle behind."
"Humans can actually eat glass bottles?" 9S was shocked.
"Of course. Humans can not only eat glass bottles but also various minerals. Otherwise, where do you think the various minerals in the human body come from? They're all eaten bite by bite."
9S: (°Д°)
"By the way, the minerals you eat shouldn't be left out for too long. It's best if they're freshly dug from the ground; those are the freshest and have the best texture. If minerals are exposed to air for too long, they'll spoil."
Hearing this 'common sense,' 9S looked conflicted and spoke somewhat diffidently, "But the books didn't mention this common sense you're talking about, Lord..."
"Hey, you silly kid. I'm seriously bullsh—cough, seriously educating you, and you still don't believe me? Do you believe the words in books that can be changed at any time, or do you believe me, a living human?"
Hearing Xia Yu's questioning tone, 9S's expression contorted. After thinking it over, he finally decided to abandon everything he had learned from books. The Lord was right; the Lord was a living human, how could he possibly be lying!
"I choose to believe the Lord!" 9S said seriously.
"Good, you're a quick learner. Since you're so eager to learn, I'll tell you some more human common sense."
Next, as Xia Yu moved deeper into the forest, he continued to educate 9S on human common sense. Things like how you can avoid fall damage by placing a bucket of water beneath you just before landing, or how throwing an egg on the ground might result in a hatched chick... 9S would occasionally let out gasps of wonder at this common sense, and even 2B and A2 frequently glanced over.
Only Popola and Devola listened with helpless expressions. They were one of the Android models that had existed since the era before humanity's extinction, so they naturally recognized the nonsense in Xia Yu's words.
But seeing the Human Lord talking so eloquently, the twins rationally chose to remain silent. As long as the Human Lord was happy, it didn't matter to them if that silly boy named 9S was being completely fooled.
That's right, it was all for the sake of the Human Lord, not because they also wanted to watch the fun.
Thus, under Xia Yu's common sense education, with the three YoRHa Androids' occasional gasps of wonder and the twins' silent suppression of laughter, the group soon arrived at the center of the forest.
In the center of the forest was a naturally formed plaza. On the plaza stood buildings left behind by humans of the old era; though covered in moss, the buildings showed no signs of collapsing or weathering.
At this moment, the plaza was filled with several rows of Machine Lifeforms, and a special individual who looked like an instructor stood on a building.
"Are they... drilling?"
Behind some tree roots, 9S said in shock while looking at the images sent back by the pod. The Machine Lifeforms in the images were actually practicing spearmanship methodically to a beat.
Although those spear moves were incredibly simple, they revealed a very significant piece of information: the Machine Lifeforms had actually developed intelligence!
This was something completely unimaginable to the Androids. In their view, Machine Lifeforms were merely simple machines.
The only reason they could put the Androids at a disadvantage in the war was because there were so many Machine Lifeforms; mass-produced Machine Lifeforms existed in the hundreds of millions.
But now, if these special individuals had developed intelligence like them, it was definitely not good news.
"Lord, please allow us to go and deal with these Machine Lifeforms!"
After reviewing the intelligence sent back by the pod, 2B spoke seriously to Xia Yu.
"Alright, the three of you go together. Don't cut those Machine Lifeforms into too many pieces. Popola and Devola will stay here to protect me."
Hearing this, the twins stepped forward simultaneously and nodded with determined expressions, indicating they would definitely protect the Human Lord.
The three white-haired Androids gave Xia Yu a military salute and then dashed toward the forest plaza.
"They might be dangerous, 2B. Please don't be careless!" 9S said to 2B beside him on the way.
"That's my line. Be careful, Ni...nes." 2B responded quickly.
"Eh?!" 9S suddenly turned his head in surprise and looked at 2B, asking, "What did you just say?"
"Be careful, 9S."
"Eh? No way? The pronunciation was closer to 'Nines', wasn't it?"
"Advance quietly and defeat the enemies."
"Damn it!"
Watching the interaction between 9S and 2B, A2, who was alone, felt a sour taste in her mouth for some reason.
"Tch!"
Silently picking up her pace, A2 gripped her sword tightly. She wanted to vent this inexplicable frustration on those damn Machine Lifeforms.
On the other side, behind the tree roots.
Popola and Devola exchanged a look. For the sake of the Human Lord's reputation, they decided to overstep slightly and give the Human Lord a reminder.
"Human Lord, the common sense you mentioned earlier might cause them to have misunderstandings. If they realize it, it will affect your reputation," Popola said.
"That's right, Human Lord. If they find out you're fooling them, your image might shift in their minds," Devola added.
"I thought it was something serious." Hearing the twins' reminder, Xia Yu waved his hand dismissively. "I never said that common sense was correct anyway. They chose to believe it themselves; you can't blame me."
"Besides," Xia Yu suddenly looked at the twins with a smile, "I still have you two, don't I? If they figure it out, I'll be counting on you to explain for the sake of my reputation."
Counting on us... the Human Lord wants to rely on us!
At that moment, the twins' systems instantly heated up, and feelings of jubilation kept refreshing. They looked at each other and said with firm tones:
"Rest assured, Human Lord! We will not let your reputation be tarnished!"