Then the screen went black.
Jun-Yu: "But the most important thing about this robot isn't its strength."
The AI architecture appeared on the screen.
Jun-Yu: "It's its intelligence!"
Several scientists in the hall leaned forward, carefully observing the robot.
Jun-Yu: "A human doesn't have to remotely control every movement of this robot. Its artificial intelligence can analyze the surrounding environment and make decisions according to the situation."
Jun-Yu paused for a few moments before speaking again.
Jun-Yu: "Humans make mistakes—that could be a small mistake or a serious one. So, the ability to make decisions does not mean unlimited freedom."
Once again, the words "HUMAN OVERSIGHT" appeared on the screen.
Jun-Yu: "Humans will determine its purpose. Humans will define its limits. And humans will decide how it evolves in the future."
Then Jun-Yu said casually,
Jun-Yu: "Hey, Jun-X, could you bring me some water?"
Jun-X was the robot's name.
The robot slowly moved forward.
It stopped when it reached an obstacle. Its sensors operated for several seconds.
Then the robot independently chose another route.
It picked up a bottle of water from a table, brought it to Jun-Yu, handed it to him, and then stood beside him.
Applause erupted throughout the hall.
Suddenly, flames appeared on some metal equipment beside the stage.
Fear and chaos spread throughout the hall.
But Jun-Yu gestured to everyone, signaling them to remain calm.
Then everyone noticed something.
This time, without any instruction from Jun-Yu, the robot was already using a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.
Everyone's face was filled with astonishment, while Professor Lin Boshi's eyes remained fixed on Jun-Yu's presentation.
Tiny beads of sweat had formed on Jun-Yu's forehead. Even after presenting this much, he seemed to be struggling to catch his breath.
Jun-Yu: "I'm sorry for confusing everyone. But this fire was part of my plan. As you just witnessed, this time I didn't give Jun-X any instructions. That means Jun-X is capable of making its own decisions in dangerous situations."
Jun-Yu's presentation was impressing every scientist in the hall. Many of them were clearly pleased with what they were witnessing.
Suddenly, Jun-Yu looked toward the backstage area and raised his right hand to the side of his forehead.
Seeing him, Wan-Qing's heart skipped a beat.
He immediately began to worry about Jun-Yu.
Wan-Qing questioned himself,
Wan-Qing: "Did Jun-Yu not take the medicine for his headache?"
On the stage, Jun-Yu continued,
Jun-Yu: "But the biggest problem with an autonomous robot isn't simply completing a task. What happens if its power runs out before the task is finished?"
Jun-Yu's voice suddenly faltered.
His vision seemed to be becoming blurry.
He closed his eyes for a few moments, then opened them again and looked toward the screen.
The words "BATTERY INDICATOR" appeared on the screen.
The audience became attentive once again.
Jun-Yu smiled faintly and said,
Jun-Yu: "Then even the smartest robot would only be—"
But before he could finish, he suddenly stopped.
His body tilted slightly forward.
A look of clear concern appeared on Wan-Qing's face.
He immediately stood up from his chair.
Wan-Qing: "Jun-Yu!"
The robot seemed to have been monitoring Jun-Yu all along.
Its sensors detected the situation within moments.
The robot quickly moved forward and caught Jun-Yu before he could fall.
Its mechanical arm supported Jun-Yu's body weight with remarkable precision.
Then, with an unusually gentle and careful movement, the robot slowly lowered Jun-Yu onto the floor.
The hall fell silent.
Completely silent.
No one said a word.
Was this real?
A few seconds later, a hushed murmur came from the back rows.
"Is this also part of the demonstration?"
"Probably."
"Is he demonstrating the robot's response to a human emergency? That's an incredible robot."
Some people began clapping in amazement.
After all, every demonstration Jun-Yu had presented today had surpassed the previous one. So, to many of them, even Jun-Yu losing consciousness and collapsing seemed like another planned part of the demonstration.
But Wan-Qing knew this wasn't part of the demonstration.
He rushed onto the stage.
"Jun-Yu? Jun-Yu?"
The robot was still beside him.
Its sensors continued scanning Jun-Yu repeatedly.
The words "HUMAN CONDITION: ABNORMAL" appeared on the screen.
Wan-Qing's heart jolted.
He picked up the microphone that had fallen onto the floor and said,
Wan-Qing: "This is not part of the demonstration. Jun-Yu has genuinely lost consciousness. Shu-Yang, wherever you are, get the medical team here immediately!"
The hall, which had been filled with applause only moments ago, was now shrouded in an anxious silence.
Shu-Yang had been standing at the very back of the hall.
Shi-Han had been standing beside him.
However, Shi-Han had left the exhibition five minutes after Jun-Yu's presentation began because Ji-Shuan from VERN Club had called and asked her to come to the club.
Before leaving, Shi-Han had turned back and looked at Jun-Yu one last time before walking away.
Shu-Yang also realized that this was not an act.
A short while later, Shu-Yang rushed over with several people to provide medical assistance.
After examining Jun-Yu, they said,
"He needs to be taken to the hospital. Without running some tests, we can't determine whether this was caused by nervousness."
When Shu-Yang prepared to take Jun-Yu to the hospital, Wan-Qing stepped forward to go with him.
Shu-Yang turned and looked at him.
Wan-Qing paused for a moment and looked toward Jun-X.
Jun-X was a robot, and Jun-Yu was its creator.
Jun-Yu was no longer here, but his creation remained behind.
Although Jun-X was only a robot, to Wan-Qing, it almost seemed as if a trace of concern for its creator could be seen on its face.
Wan-Qing stared at the stage for a while.
Jun-Yu's unfinished presentation still remained there.
Wan-Qing looked at Shu-Yang, nodded slowly, and then turned back toward the stage.
Meanwhile, Shin-Yue had also witnessed Jun-Yu's condition along with Yu-Heng, who had come to the exhibition to film a documentary.
Shin-Yue's heart skipped a beat.
She immediately became worried about Jun-Yu.
Yu-Heng couldn't understand the reason behind Shin-Yue's sudden restlessness.
Without even waiting for Yu-Heng's permission, Shin-Yue hurried over to get a glimpse of Jun-Yu.
But unfortunately, before she could reach him, Shu-Yang had already taken Jun-Yu away.
Shin-Yue only caught a glimpse of Jun-Yu's enchanting face, which had turned pale and lifeless. His limp hand swayed weakly as he was carried away.
Nearly an hour later—
Jun-Yu's sudden illness had caused tension and concern among everyone. Along with the astonishing discussions about Jun-Yu's creation, concern for him was now clearly visible on everyone's faces.
To ease everyone's worries about Jun-Yu, the exhibition had been temporarily paused.
Yu-Heng was one of China's most famous commentators. At Tian-Lei's request, he had taken Shin-Yue on as his assistant.
He had been Shin-Yue's idol for a long time. She had also commentated on gaming events alongside him before.
When Shin-Yue rushed off after seeing Jun-Yu, Yu-Heng had followed her.
Yu-Heng found Shin-Yue sitting dejectedly on a white chair against the wall.
She looked as though everything inside her had been thrown into turmoil.
Yu-Heng: "Shin-Yue?"
Shin-Yue turned to look at him.
Her eyes had become slightly red.
It was obvious that she had probably been crying for quite some time.
But she was trying her best to hide everything in front of Yu-Heng.
Yu-Heng: "Are you okay, Shin-Yue?"
Shin-Yue nodded.
Yu-Heng: "Why do you look so distressed? And why did you suddenly rush out like that?"
Shin-Yue knew very well what the relationship between Tian-Lei and Yu-Heng was like.
There was no way she could reveal the real reason for her distress in front of Yu-Heng.
Shin-Yue: "That boy—the one who became ill while giving his presentation—I thought of my best friend when I saw him. That's all. Come on, Sir, let's go inside. The exhibition is about to resume."
Yu-Heng could clearly tell that Shin-Yue was hiding something.
Even though he realized that Shin-Yue was lying, he didn't say anything.
Instead, he simply nodded and said,
Yu-Heng: "Hmm. Let's go."
With that, Yu-Heng turned around and began walking.
Shin-Yue let out a long sigh of relief and thought to herself,
Shin-Yue: "What terrible luck! I can't even check on Jun-Yu once because of this documentary."
A short while later, silence once again returned to the exhibition hall.
Everyone's excitement had returned, eager to see the rest of Jun-Yu's remarkable presentation.
Wan-Qing was standing on the stage with a microphone in his hand.
Jun-X stood beside him.
Wan-Qing: "Jun-Yu wasn't able to present his entire research to you."
"So, on his behalf, I will present the remaining part of his research."
Once again, an image of a robot appeared on the digital screen behind Wan-Qing.
It looked different from Jun-X.
Pointing toward the robot, Wan-Qing said,
Wan-Qing: "The robot shown on the screen is Jun-Zara. Jun-Zara is the complement to Jun-X."
She paused for a moment before continuing,
Wan-Qing: "If a robot becomes incapable during a critical situation, then even the most intelligent robot will be reduced to nothing more than a heavy machine. And Jun-Zara was created to overcome exactly this limitation."
After saying this much, Wan-Qing looked toward the backstage area and snapped her fingers.
At once, another robot entered the stage and came to a stop.
The two robots slowly moved into position beside each other.
Seeing the two robots, murmurs once again spread among the scientists.
"Did you notice the difference between the two robots?"
"Yes! But what exactly is she trying to say about Jun-Yu's project?"
Pointing toward the two robots, Wan-Qing said,
Wan-Qing: "Jun-X is approximately the height of an adult man."
Then she pointed toward Jun-X's shoulder area and said,
Wan-Qing: "The structure of Jun-X's shoulders is also designed much like those of a man."
Then she pointed toward Jun-Zara and continued,
Wan-Qing: "On the other hand, Jun-Zara is approximately the height of an adult woman. And if you pay attention to the shoulder area, you can see that Jun-Yu has tried to give Jun-Zara a more feminine structure."
Wan-Qing stepped slightly away from the two robots and said,
Wan-Qing: "Jun-X and Jun-Zara are made of metal. Their beauty is a creation of humans. Although they are not human, based on their physical structures, it can be said that both of them are humanoid robots."
Silence fell over the exhibition hall.
There wasn't a single smile on anyone's face—only a storm of questions.
They had already witnessed Jun-X's effective functions and even seen proof of what it could do.
But then what was the purpose of Jun-Zara?
Besides, Jun-Yu's final question had been about the robot's charging system, not its physical structure.
Looking at everyone's faces, Wan-Qing could understand the questions forming in their minds. She looked at Jun-X and snapped her fingers again.
It was a signal for Jun-X.
Jun-X slowly turned toward Jun-Zara.
A whisper came from among the audience—
"What are the two robots trying to do?"
Suddenly, the two robots embraced each other, and Jun-X kissed the side of Jun-Zara's neck.
Everyone's eyes widened in astonishment at the sight.
But strangely enough, no one had yet been able to imagine the idea that Jun-Yu had already discovered.
Many people simply couldn't understand how one robot could embrace another robot and kiss it. That was one thing.
But why would they do such a thing?
Robots had no emotions, did they?
Driven by curiosity, one person finally asked Wan-Qing,
"Robots have artificial emotions, but their emotions aren't like those of humans. So, is this romantic moment between these two robots simply meant to demonstrate artificial love?"