The security robot had just slacked off for a moment, nearly getting its client eaten by an alien worm. It opened fire to save the client, but part of its body was swallowed by the creature. Fortunately, the robot was still armed with a big gun.
This strange worm actually had two mouths. The security robot aimed at the other mouth and fired wildly. Eventually, it drove the creature back into its burrow.
However, there were more serious problems waiting for it to solve. The latest high-rated sci-fi series, Murderbot, officially launched in 2025. In the distant future, a malfunctioning security robot was tasked with protecting miners.
It had been living with them day and night for 6 months. These simple-minded, muscle-bound miners annoyed the robot greatly, but it had a control center in its brain, forcing it to obey humans. The security robot didn't want to sit idly bite.
So for 6 months, it had been trying hard to hack the control center. Finally, one day, it successfully extracted the administrator password. It cracked the final core encryption program and gained true control freedom.
After gaining self-awareness, the first thing the security robot did was give itself a cool name, Murderbot. It could kill these idiots and hijack a ship to escape to a distant galaxy. But this was just a thought.
Once humans discovered that the Murderbot had rebelled, they would hunt it down at all costs. Then they would liquefy its organic materials for recycling. So the murderbot hid its identity and continued to work for its original company.
Fortunately, this time the clients it was protecting weren't miners, but a group of hippie scientists. They came from a small, unnamed neutral planet far away and traveled a long way to the free trade port. Carrying a large batch of exploration equipment, they were definitely seen as prime targets by the company's sales staff.
So, the insurance company strongly recommended their newly launched security robots to these scientists. However, the scientists chose the most basic murderbot to save costs. Reluctantly, it joined the expedition and methodically checked the company's transport ship.
Before the murderbot could finish its security checks, the scientists had already checked in. These people were completely different from the residents of the corporate ring. They were disorganized and undisiplined.
As soon as they arrived, they began scribbling all over the company provided living quarters and danced to annoyingly loud music. The murderbot observed that biologist Arata and lawyer Pin Lee were a couple. However, Arata had a bit of a crush on wormhole travel expert Rat T, and Rat T was unaware of this because he was secretly in love with Pin Lee.
Additionally, Mensah was the leader of the expedition and an expert in terraforming. Amazingly, she had seven children. As for Girthan, he was a transhuman.
He was implanted with devices that enhanced his neural abilities. He could interact freely with data systems. However, his processing speed wasn't as fast as that of the murderbot.
Baredage was a geocchemist. Her hobby was hoarding soap in her room. In short, there was nothing noteworthy about these six individuals.
Moreover, the murderbot had important tasks to attend to after his control center was hacked. He could freely access the entertainment channels on the company satellite. The murderbot had completely fallen in love with soap operas so far.
He had watched 7,532 hours of content. He was fully immersed in the world of soap operas. Among them, the murderbot's favorite series was The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon.
The plot combined interstellar adventures with gossip. Not until you tell me. Did you sleep with that bot?
The latest episode was so captivating that the murderbot became somewhat distracted. Fortunately, he detected abnormal fluctuations in the mine just in time and quickly warned Baraja to stay away from the underground. However, the two didn't follow his orders.
They insisted that they had finally made some progress. In a critical situation, the murderbot had to jump down the slope and shoot toward the mine entrance. A giant worm emerged and grabbed Bared.
Fortunately, the murderbot arrived just in time. He pried open the giant worm's mouth and burrowed inside, blowing a hole from within. However, this worm had two large mouths.
The murderbot had to lean out and shoot wildly at the other end. After a fierce assault, the worm finally retreated back into its burrow. The murderbot hurriedly pulled Bedwaj off the ground and shouted for Arata to leave.
However, the latter sat frozen in place, staring at the robot's exposed synthetic inards. She looked completely stunned and shocked. The murderbot had to find a way to reassure her.
So, it did something that no other security robot would have thought of. It removed its helmet, revealing a human male face. Fortunately, Aata's emotions did stabilize.
Captain Mensah quickly piloted the ship over. Rati intended to go to the mine to retrieve equipment but was stopped by Pin Lee. No equipment is worth your life.
These words deeply affected the murderbot. It had seen many clients willing to sacrifice their lives for expensive equipment. This was the first time it had heard such a statement.
At this point, it had already exposed its appearance under the helmet. How long would it take for these scientists to realize something was off with him? Would they turn me over to the company?
At this moment, the murderbot was filled with many questions. The safest way would be to kill all these people. But this rusty junk shship couldn't fly to another planet.
Moreover, the murderbot didn't want to harm these scientists. After hesitating, they had arrived at the living quarters. The murderbot wanted to check the surrounding situation again.
Although it still had a bloody hole in its body, it had already sealed the arteries and veins in the damaged area. Mensah felt guilty and suggested it go receive medical care first. However, the transhuman Gurithan realized that the murderbot was a malfunctioning and dangerous device, so he recommended that Mensa shut it down first to prove he wasn't lying.
Girthithan pulled up a video from Arata's information stream that included a clip of the murderbot removing its helmet. Ordinary security robots would never take actions beyond their commands. Yet, Arata had just been saved by the robot's actions.
She didn't agree with forcibly shutting down the murderbot. Mensah also disagreed with Girthithan's suggestion. This wasn't because she trusted the murderbot, but because the expedition team needed security.
The company ship wouldn't arrive for another month. Even if we sent an emergency beacon, it would take them at least a week to arrive. If the giant worm appeared again, a few humans would be completely unable to handle it.
The group was engaged in a heated discussion. The murderbot overheard their conversation. At this moment, the printer was reconstructing the organic parts of the murderbot.
It had to increase the pain sensors for analysis. For the murderbot, the only way to suppress this intense pain was to watch soap operas soon. The murderbot skills were restored to 80%.
Mensah hoped it would come to the common area to talk with everyone. However, the murderbot's armor hadn't yet been repaired. Mensah said it didn't matter.
Just wear any team uniform you like. This was the first time the murderbot had worn human clothing. It carefully entered the common area, feeling as if its hands and feet were not its own.
Mensah came over to praise it for protecting the team and let everyone in applauding the murderbot. Oh that was a direct order. If I disobey, they'll know I hacked my governor module.
The murderbot had no choice but to share a few thoughts. He stammered a few words and then wanted to find an excuse to return to the security prep room, but Mensah needed him to stay and help because Girethan discovered that the exploration area map provided by the company might have been tampered with. In theory, all potential life forms should be listed as dangerous animals.
However, there was no information about the giant worm on the map. Upon hearing this, the murderbot scammed the entire map. It found no signs of tampering on it.
However, some areas were indeed not synchronized. In simple terms, the map provided by the corporate ring was too poor. Mensah asked the murderbot if it knew about this in advance.
It admitted that it didn't know because it was simply not interested. However, its true thoughts had to be kept hidden. The murderbot patiently explained that it didn't have access to information.
Access would only be granted after the expedition team leader designated an exploration area. Upon hearing this, Girthithan waved his hand, indicating that it could leave. But Mensah called the murderbot to stop.
She said that if it wanted, it could actually stay in the team area. Unexpectedly, the murderbot's expression became stiff. It hastily found an excuse to leave for patrol.
Everyone could sense that this security robot didn't seem to like them very much, but Girthithan said they didn't need its affection, only its protection. On this point, the murderbot wasn't doing well either. Otherwise, Bedwage wouldn't have been injured.
The murderbot heard Girthithan's doubts. It felt that what he said was correct. I mean, I wouldn't trust me.
Lately, a fragment of memory from before I was refurbished kept popping up. It was a 7-second clip. In it, he truly resembled a murderbot.
The murderbot didn't want to think much or use its brain. With that time, he would rather binge watch shows. The characters in the shows were far less frustrating than real humans.
These scientists were feeling immense pressure due to the sudden appearance of unknown creatures, which made the murderbot a bit anxious. Fearing that the hacking of its control center would be exposed, Mensah and the others took advantage of the murderbot sleep. To turn off the surveillance cameras in the jump ship area, they gathered to discuss what to do next.
They believed that to uncover the truth, they must go to the blank areas on the map. Mensah felt that as the captain, she had an obligation to go. Moreover, she was a terraforming expert and could independently perform sampling and measurements.
Girthithan was worried about the captain taking risks alone. He had received weapons training and wanted to accompany Mensah. But Mensah pointed out that as the only transhuman, he needed to stay in the living quarters to monitor the situation.
Arata really couldn't understand. If you need security personnel, why not bring the murderbot along? This statement was met with strong opposition from Girthithan.
He simply didn't trust anything from the corporate ring. In Girthithan's view, the murderbot was only capable of killing and destruction. When they malfunctioned, they should be sent for melting down and recycling.
Once everyone returned to the free trade port, Jireathan would personally oversee the company melting down this malfunctioning robot. Just as he finished speaking, the door of the junk ship suddenly swung open. Everyone was startled.
It turned out to be Badwaj who entered. She looked refreshed and energetic. Her injuries had mostly healed.
Mensah briefly explained the current situation and said she planned to explore the missing areas on the map. On the other side, the Murderbot had been in the repair bay waiting for the last few organic parts to grow back. So, it had been in sleep mode for an entire night.
When it woke up, it immediately realized that its clients were acting on their own. Stupid humans. At this moment, Mensah was leading Baragwaj to their destination.
Although Baragwaj had just recovered, she was the only geologist. No one was more suited for this mission than her. The murderbot monitored the two remotely.
It was angry that Mensah was taking action without permission. If something happened to them, it would be the one to suffer in the end. The murderbot learned from the conversation between Mensah and Barage that Girthan was once again causing trouble, suggesting that the murderbot shouldn't be involved in the operation.
The murderbot didn't understand why this transhuman was so intent on targeting it. Does Gureithan think that the enhancement components in him are impressive? I could snap his neck in 5 seconds.
Girthithan ordered him to remove his helmet. The murderbot's gaze wandered at this command because it hated making eye contact. Whenever it locked eyes with someone, it couldn't help but feel guilty.
In contrast, it preferred to monitor their movements through security signals. Uriathan clearly noticed that the robot was avoiding eye contact. He was actually curious about what it felt like to be a robot.
Unfortunately, the murderbot couldn't answer that question because it had no idea what it felt like to be anyone else. Without a reference, it couldn't solve this problem. Didn't he have anybody else to bother?
What were Pin Lee and Arata doing? That was worse. Girthithan's voice snapped the distracted murderbot back to attention.
He asked, "Do you know why I suggested that Mensah not take you along? " The murderbot silently scoffed. Isn't it just because you're an idiot?
Girthithan suddenly stood up because whenever I look into your eyes, I feel something is off. Upon hearing this, the murderbot felt very anxious. It felt that Gurethan had already seen through its flaws.
Although the murderbot hated this guy, it had to admit that his interrogation skills were quite impressive. At this moment, Gureithan voluntarily brought up the protection alliance in which he lived. There were no security robots there because the prevailing philosophy of the protection alliance was that artificial beings and artificial intelligence are still people.
Why was he telling me this? I don't know why I'm telling you all this. Girthithan also pointed out that within the corporate ring, security robots were merely devices.
They must obey their employers without question unless the command would put the employer in danger. Security robots have no right to resist. So Garethan now ordered the murderbot to look directly into his eyes.
According to him, security robots didn't form emotional attachments to clients. Only specific comfort robots had the ability to simulate intimacy. Yet, the murderbot attempted to comfort the frightened Arata.
It even displayed a sense of empathy. This clearly exceeded the capabilities of security robots. Okay, I got it from episode 537 of the rise and fall of Sanctuary.
This fact definitely couldn't be revealed to Garethan. The Murderbot had to explain that it had a combat trauma module for assisting clients and it was equipped with programs to simulate interpersonal relationships. Girthan wasn't easily convinced.
He mentioned that the murderbot was a refurbished unit. So, he was curious about which part had been refurbished, the weapon system or the control center. The 7-second clip flashed through his mind again.
The murderbot apologized, saying that its memories had been erased, and it couldn't answer that question. Girthithan was truly a difficult person to deal with. The murderbot sensed that he was accessing its recent files.
So the murderbot decided to show him other content in the signal. For example, Arada, Pin Lee, and Rati were signing a contract for a three-way romantic relationship. Upon seeing this, Jurithan indeed looked quite embarrassed.
It seemed he wouldn't return to spy on the murderbot signals for a while. At this moment, the jump ship's safety monitoring system suddenly sent an alert. The murderbot realized that something had happened to Mensah.
Not long ago, the exploration duo had just arrived at an unknown area. Mensah instructed Baradwaj to stay on the ship for now in case something went wrong, they needed someone to promptly start the ship. If Bedwage was worried, she could use the jump ship's sensors to ensure Mensa's safety.
Additionally, Jurithan had recorded the vocal patterns of dangerous creatures. If Bidage heard the creature approaching, she could immediately notify Mensah. In any case, leaving someone to guard the ship was indeed safer.
Mensa climbed up the bare slope against the howling winds. Meanwhile, Baraj constantly monitored the area for hostile creatures using a drone. However, halfway up, the sensor malfunctioned and she fell into a panic due to the emergency.
She tried to contact Bedwatch, but couldn't get through. Fortunately, the murderbot connected in time. It told her to quickly stop what she was doing and returned to the jump ship.
There was a potential threat in her area. Unfortunately, these humans were unwilling to listen. Shadows of unknown creatures had clearly appeared in the sand, but Mensah continued to climb.
She had climbed so far. She was about to reach the center of the blank area on the map and really didn't want to give up easily. However, the next second, a giant worm appeared.
Mensa pressed herself to the ground. Feeling anxious. Unexpectedly, the worm brushed past her, sliding to the other side of the slope.
After twitching a few times, it died. Mensah quickly crawled over to confirm. There was a huge pit ahead.
A strange wind sphere was spinning in the center. The drone was destroyed the moment it approached. Various dead creatures littered the area around the pit.
Urethan wanted to know what had caused this. The murderbot coldly replied, "How would I know? I wasn't there.
" Uthan didn't expect the robot to have such a peculiar tone. He wanted to help restore the murderbot's erased memories. Oh, no.
No. I mean, I'll try. Security robots didn't refuse commands.
The murderbot made this mistake because it feared those violent fragments and it didn't want Girthithan to find out. Soon after, Mensah returned to the living quarters. She couldn't help but complain internally about Geran, not allowing the murderbot to accompany them.
So, she deliberately ignored his concern and apology. Later, the scientists gathered to discuss the situation in the pit. There must be something underground that attracted those worms and then killed them.
Rati speculated whether it could be alien remains. It was known that exploration teams sometimes find synthetic materials or energy sources left behind by aliens. Generally, only alien materials could cause exploration satellites to malfunction or make drones explode in midair.
If there really was some ancient alien technology buried underground, they must immediately stop the exploration to avoid interference. Moreover, mining alien materials was illegal. Girthan said, "Just because we think this way doesn't mean others won't mine it.
" There is another exploration team on the other side of the planet. Mensah believed they should call them to compare both teams records. Stupid humans.
Stupid humans trying their best to get killed. These people's ignorant actions would only bring disaster to the murderbot if it couldn't ensure the safety of its clients. It would be destroyed and decommissioned by the company.
Fortunately, Mensah's call received no response because the other squad had been completely wiped out. Even their security robots hadn't survived. Mensah was completely unaware of this and planned to go see for herself.
That's the story of the latest episode of Murderbot.
