"This way!" The blue-skinned robot took the lead. Facing the maze-like corridor, he knew the way accurately and quickly, leading Noel through the small door, through the dog hole, and into the ventilation duct...

In the narrow space, the puppet silk played its best role, and the bullets and artillery fire were thrown back, exploding into fireworks one after another. The pursuers were led around by Noel like dogs, and were so tired that smoke came out of their pores.

"Come up there!"

The two rushed into the ventilation duct, and Noel immediately blew up the passage below, and the sound of pursuit finally stopped.

"It's a little safer now, follow me." Lan Qi crawled forward.

A cool breeze blew in from the vents, and Noel yawned. He had grown up before he was fully developed, and his body was lacking in nutrition, so he felt drowsy now.

In order to avoid falling asleep, Noel looked at the iron legs moving in front of him and started talking casually:

"Lan Qie, have you ever thought about buying yourself some clothes?"

Clothing is generally a good topic to lift spirits.

"Ah?" Lan Qi was stunned, the mechanical gears in his brain turned a few circles, as if he had never thought about this problem. He subconsciously felt shy and scratched his exposed iron skin: "No, no. Aren't we running for our lives? You actually care about this."

"It's better to chat while crawling than to crawl in silence." Noel walked forward: "If you are too nervous, your calf muscles will be stiff when you run later."

"Um, oh..." Lan Qie's brain was unable to wrap around. He was just the most common model, with an outdated chip and old-fashioned parts. He knew he was stupid and couldn't keep up with other people's thinking. He could only respond as best as he could: "The temperature sense is fixed, so I don't need to wear nice clothes... Turn ahead."

"Hmm." Noel looked at Lan Qie and kept himself awake by chatting: "I think you look good in a suit. You have a tall and straight figure."

"Ah...really?" Lan Qie was a little overwhelmed. He had always been in contact with cold machines, doing the same work day after day. It had been too long since anyone had spoken to him like this. He could only squeeze out all his energy and come up with the best response: "...Thank you."

Yes, the best response in his program is to say thank you.

Saying thank you is the most sincere response and it will never go wrong.

"Keep talking to me or I'm going to fall asleep," said Noel.

"good."

"Tell me about Rowsa?"

"I don't really understand either. I've been working here since I was conscious... and I've never been outside. The mechanics who went out on field work told me that the sky outside is blue and the grass is green, but I don't know what it's like..." Lan Qi said shyly.

"So you do the same thing day after day, no rest, no food, 24 hours a day."

"Yes... The Machine Lord often tells us that if we don't do it, there are plenty of people who can do it." Lan Qie's voice was muffled, echoing in the ventilation duct: "Occasionally we will take a half-hour break, and then I will lie on the floor and chat with my companions. We will imagine together that as long as we work hard, we can sleep as long as we want in the future, and we can eat whatever mechanical fluids we want... If we work harder today, we will have a better life in the future."

"……after?"

"After we work until we are no longer fit, we will be sent to the surface to live a free life."

"But you chose to escape."

"Yes." Lan Qie's voice lowered:

"Because the Lord of the End of All Things showed me the truth in my dream... All those companions who were scrapped and retired were dismantled into parts. The happiness we longed for... did not exist at all."

"From the moment we were born, we were just tools. The harder we work, the more work we will have to do, allowing the Master of the Machine to live a better life."

"So at that moment, I woke up. Why should I live a life that I can see the end of? Why should I wear myself out until I die? The first time I saw you, I thought of today's escape plan. I want to use your strength to escape together."

"So what do you want to do after you get out?" Noel gradually understood Lan Qi's thoughts.

"I want to see what color the sky my companions talked about is... I also want to taste the peach-flavored mechanical juice. I heard it's delicious. I've only eaten tasteless things..." Lan Qi's eyes moved up slightly. He was daydreaming, and his cheeks made a mechanical friction sound.

"It seems that the God of the End of All Things is really a good person." Noel sighed.

"I don't know whether He is a good person or a bad person, but at least He showed me another new possibility and gave me another choice... turn right ahead."

"After we get out, I'll take you to try some peach-flavored mechanical juice, and you'll introduce me to the Lord of the End of All Things. How about that?" Noel suggested.

Lan Qie's circuit was running rapidly. After a moment, the temperature of his iron face rose slightly, which seemed to be a manifestation of overthinking. He lowered his head in embarrassment and stammered:

“…and suits.”

"Okay." Noel smiled, "There's also a suit that will suit you."

"Yeah." Lan Qi replied in a low voice.

The Tin Man had never worn anything so exquisite, but his friend was a good judge of taste. Whether it was peaches, blue skies, or fine clothing, people who loved life always knew better than the tin frame they were born into.

Although their first meeting was just helping each other escape, at this moment, Lan Qie felt Noel's kindness and enthusiasm. This was not reflected in the chattering of words, but the warmth radiated from the inside out by this blond boy, which made people feel the warmth even without touching.

"Thank you...my friend." This was the first time Lan Qie had met such a person. His numb life had almost made him become a piece of rigid iron.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!