I Think That's Pretty Scientific

Chapter 13: 013: Da Vinci

Kraft teased Alice enthusiastically for quite a while, but in the end, it was Martin Lee—with a black line across his forehead—who made the call, telling him to take off that rather pointless wind-up mechanism. “Aren’t you supposed to be her big brother? Is this how you act?” Martin gave Kraft a light tap on the head and scolded him with a wry smile. “All right, all right… I get it…” Kraft rubbed his head and muttered as he removed the wind-up mechanism from behind Alice once again. “W-wonderful!” Overcome with joy, Alice burst into tears and threw her arms around Martin Lee. “Thank you, Uncle Martin!” What happened next was straightforward; with Martin’s current influence, getting Alice an ID was a breeze. However, Kraft didn’t immediately enroll Alice in school. For one thing, he wanted to observe her for a while longer. Although Kraft had imbued Alice with most of the general knowledge she needed early on—making her appear no different from an ordinary person—she was, after all, essentially a robot, so it was better to keep a close eye on her for a while longer. In fact, if it weren’t for the hassle, Kraft wouldn’t have thought there would be any problem with Alice’s identity being exposed. The second reason, of course, was her age. Although he held the title of “older brother” in terms of family hierarchy, the fact remained that Alice appeared older than him. While he could have had a new body built for her, Kraft felt it served no real purpose; he figured it would be better to wait two years until he was older himself, and then enroll in ninth grade alongside Alice. “That’s fine,” Martin Li said to Kraft as he savored the meal Alice had cooked. “I’m often away from home, so having Alice look after you puts my mind at ease.” As he spoke, Martin glanced again at the robot girl, who was eating with great relish, and was once again left speechless. A perfectly good robot, and yet it still has to eat… I really don’t understand what the younger generation is thinking these days. Still, her cooking is really quite good. Martin chuckled to himself, shook his head, and went back to savoring the meal on the table. It goes without saying that Alice is a great cook. After all, isn’t Kraft constantly nagging Martin Li to get married just so he can have a caretaker who knows how to cook Chinese food? That’s why, when he was inputting data into Alice, he made sure to include a whole bunch of recipes. Next time, he’d ask Fat Liao to see if he could get his hands on a few recipes for Fu Man Lou’s signature dishes. Kraft quickly shoveled down his rice, his mind already buzzing with plans. After finishing a hearty lunch, Martin Lee watched Alice as she took the initiative to do the housework, and his mind settled considerably. Regardless of all the weird quirks this robot had, it was at least very practical. He could leave Kraft at home with peace of mind and devote himself entirely to his plan for revenge against the Magia Gang. “I’ve got work to do, so I’ll be heading out.” Martin Lee patted Kraft on the head and gave him a reminder. “If you have time, prepare a few more trump cards for yourself. I’ve been having some business conflicts with others lately, and they might come looking for trouble with you.” “Again?” Kraft furrowed his brow. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened—otherwise, why would he have gone to the trouble of equipping himself with strange gadgets like an anesthetic watch? It was precisely because of past experiences like this. But that was all in the past. Ever since Martin had established the shelter, nothing like that had happened again. “Aren’t you a millionaire now? Why would anyone still come after you?” “It’s precisely because I’m more powerful now that this kind of thing happens more often. It’s just that my past opponents weren’t very strong—my men took care of them before they even reached you. But this time, the opponent is different…” Martin Lee ruffled Kraft’s hair, crouched down, and said with a serious expression, “I’ll need to deploy a large number of people to deal with them, so there might be some gaps in coverage here. Is that a problem?” Having relied on each other for so long, Martin Lee knew Kraft very well. His adopted son wasn’t as mild-mannered as he appeared on the surface, so he never treated Kraft like an ordinary child. “Not a problem at all!” Kraft replied confidently, patting his chest. “Rest assured, I’ve got plenty of tricks up my sleeve!” “Like that martial art you picked up—who knows when?” Martin raised an eyebrow and teased. “Heh heh…” Kraft scratched the back of his head sheepishly. After that dance, Martin had curiously asked Kraft what was going on. Of course, Kraft didn’t hide anything; he took out the strength-enhancing wrist guards he’d made and showed them to Martin. He’d even thought about making a set for Martin too, but Martin turned him down. “You’re not the only one with a trick up your sleeve.” Martin said this at the time, patting Kraft on the shoulder with a meaningful look. After finishing his conversation with Kraft, Martin Lee left the house. What he had told Kraft was both true and false. Martin had anticipated the Magia Gang’s retaliation, but to say he lacked the manpower to ensure Kraft’s safety would have been a lie. He simply wanted to see just how far his adopted son could go—and, while he was at it, set a little trap for the Magia Gang as they came to raid his home. “Is something dangerous about to happen?” Alice had overheard most of the conversation. Once Martin had left, she cautiously leaned in and asked in a whisper. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. It’s no big deal.” Kraft didn’t take Martin Lee’s warning too seriously. He had great confidence in his inventions, and besides, after such a long period of calm, he wasn’t as vigilant as he used to be—he’d let his guard down considerably compared to the past. “Still, I’ll need to beef up your armor a bit.” Although he didn’t pay much attention to Martin’s so-called business rivals, Kraft was a meticulous man—or rather, he aspired to be a meticulous sage—so he never neglected the necessary precautions. After all, Alice’s only means of attack—aside from a pair of rocket fists that were more cliché than practical—was that wrist-mounted soybean machine gun, which was really just for comic relief. “Huh? A-am I supposed to fight, too?” Alice looked panicked and waved her hands frantically “I can’t do it—fighting is just too scary!” It was truly baffling. Even though Kraft had slightly tweaked her personality while uploading data to Alice, in the end, she still had the same soft and cute personality she’d had in the dream. Kraft couldn’t do anything about it; artificial intelligence was still too complex for him, and he didn’t dare tamper with it too much. “Don’t worry, I’m just boosting your self-defense capabilities, just in case.” After softly reassuring Alice, Kraft stood up and stretched. “I’m going to take a nap. I’ll head over to the studio this afternoon to help you with the upgrade.” “Hah—I’ll take a nap too. Did you set up a room for me, big brother?” Alice yawned as well, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and asked. Kraft: “……” What on earth was Dr. Higashisumi thinking? Robots don’t sleep, for crying out loud! And that physiological reaction—yawning with tears welling up in her eyes—how on earth did he pull that off? Although he had assembled Alice from scratch himself, Kraft felt that even if he mastered every bit of knowledge in the world related to robots, he still wouldn’t be able to fathom the mysteries behind some of her unscientific functions. “Come with me.” Shaking his head to clear away these jumbled thoughts, Kraft led Alice to an unused room and took an air mattress, a pillow, and a blanket out of the closet. “Make do with this for now. I’ll finish upgrading you this afternoon, then take you shopping for some daily necessities.” “Hey~” Even though Kraft had programmed Alice to be of Chinese descent, she still exhibited some habits and mannerisms typical of Japanese people. However, none of this was a major issue, so Kraft didn’t pay it much mind. If anything, it made her even cuter. After helping Alice tidy up the room a bit, Kraft returned to his own room and fell asleep immediately. Since he could occasionally acquire all sorts of knowledge in his dreams, Kraft had developed the good habit of taking afternoon naps. However, this had a downside: he was still in the habit of going back to sleep when he woke up in the morning. Otherwise, Kraft wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of setting up a “screaming chicken” alarm device for himself. As Kraft drifted off to sleep, a middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat and with thinning hair appeared in his dream. “My luck’s been pretty good these past few days.” Seeing the standard-issue white lab coat, Kraft’s eyes lit up. The presence of such attire basically indicated that this dream was taking a scientific turn, and the middle-aged man before him was a new face he’d never seen before. This filled Kraft with considerable anticipation. “Big brother, it’s time to get up.” Woken by the alarm clock, Alice climbed out of bed, walked to Kraft’s room, and knocked gently on the door. “Come in!” Kraft’s voice came from inside; he didn’t sound too happy. Alice pushed open the door and poked her head through the crack. She saw Kraft sitting on his bed, his face dark with anger. “Did I wake you up?” Still feeling quite intimidated by Kraft’s earlier “groping,” Alice asked cautiously, afraid he might take his morning grumpiness out on her. “…It’s got nothing to do with you.” Seeing Alice’s wide-eyed, hamster-like expression, Kraft rubbed his cheeks vigorously to smooth out his scowl, then soothed her in a soft voice. Pinch his nose and roll out of bed, Kraft led Alice to his studio while trying to calm his inner rage. What the hell is a solar-powered flashlight?! And that shitty “3,000 to Kill You”… Can this even be called an invention?! First the white lab coat, then the bald head—he looks every bit the high-tech guru, but turns out he’s just as much of a goofball as Shou Gong Geng? No way! This guy’s inventions aren’t even as good as Shou Gong Geng’s! This is driving me crazy! And you’ve got the nerve to call yourself Da Vinci! “Da Wenxi” is how they translate “Da Vinci” in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Thanks to 【Soaring Wind storm】, 【Reader 20201019091405921501373】 (my eyes are blurry from checking all those numbers), 【Juicy Salted Fish】, 【Eternal Zero Splendor】, and 【Nocturne Remix】 for their tips. There will be a recommendation next week. Apparently, whether or not there’s another recommendation depends on the number of recommendations, so everyone, remember to vote and add this to your favorites! Please~ This really matters to me~