I Think That's Pretty Scientific

Chapter 26: 026: The Entire Northwest Shanxi Region Is in Total Chaos

“Eek—!!!” Alice screamed, covering herself with her clothes, then cowered behind Kraft. “No! David! Let me explain!” With cold sweat pouring down his forehead, Kraft grabbed Fat Liao, who was trying to leave the studio. If he let him walk out like this, there’d be no way to clear things up! “What’s there to explain in a situation like this?!” Faced with Kraft’s evasive excuses, Fat Liao looked both aggrieved and indignant. “I always thought you were just slow on the uptake, but I never imagined you’d be this kind of pervert! That’s truly enviable… Ugh! It’s utterly despicable!” "That's not how it is!" Kraft looked exasperated as he tried to explain, but then that stupid dog Quinn suddenly spoke up. “Oh no! Someone found out about the bad stuff Big Bro did!” “What nonsense are you spouting, meow! You stupid dog!” Beya couldn’t help but swat the idiot with her paw—he was just making things worse! “See! Even your own dog says you’re up to no good!” Fat Liao pointed at Quinn, who had just spoken, then froze in shock. “Your dog can talk?!! And a cat, too!!!” Realizing what was happening a split second too late, Fat Liao jumped to his feet, his eyes wide as he stared at the cat and dog beside him. “Oh no, we’ve been found out, meow… It’s all your fault, you stupid dog!” Beya swatted Quinn again with her paw and complained. “Ugh… my head hurts so much…” Kraft pressed his hand to his forehead, feeling a throbbing pain in his head. In short, the scene descended into chaos. After all the commotion, Kraft finally managed to explain the whole situation to Fat Liao. By then, Alice had finished getting dressed while hiding nearby. Wiping away her tears, she came over to Kraft and said through her sobs, “Okay, big brother, I’ll go make you dinner.” “Mm, just whip up something simple. Don’t worry—that fatso doesn’t have the best eyesight, and I managed to block it for you in time.” Kraft gave her a wry smile, ruffled her hair, and whispered soothingly. “Ah-uh…” Alice nodded through her sobs, then quickly walked away with her head down, heading toward the kitchen. Seeing their interaction, Liao the Fat’s gaze toward Kraft turned menacing. “You’re the only one enjoying a robot maid—you’re really too cunning!” That fatso still hadn’t given up on his plan to scrounge a robot maid from Kraft. “Alice isn’t some maid—she’s my sister!” Kraft emphasized to Liao the Fat Guy with a very serious expression. Seeing Kraft’s serious expression, Liao the Fat Man paused in surprise: “Are you serious?” He knew Kraft very well—it was hard enough to get him to accept an ordinary person, let alone a robot. Although Liao the Fat had been jokingly trying to label Kraft as an LSP, he’d be the first to disbelieve that Kraft could actually be tempted by a robot he’d built himself. Kraft sighed and briefly recounted what had happened earlier. “In any case, I created Alice, so naturally I have to take good care of her.” “So, technically a brother, but really a father?” Liao the Fat Guy’s way of thinking was a bit off the wall—otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to get along with Kraft. But he quickly got excited again: “Doesn’t that mean you, Kraft, have created a life? That’s the realm of the gods!” “Artificial intelligence—who knows?” Kraft shrugged indifferently. Whether it was a god or not, he wasn’t interested—he was an atheist, even though he’d encountered beings with god-like power in his dreams. “Aren’t you taking this a little too calmly?” Liao the Fat Man smacked his lips; he’d almost gotten used to Kraft’s nonchalant posturing. “It’s a shame you won’t film these amazing inventions—otherwise, the ‘Skilled Hands’ channel would definitely be even more popular!” Kraft rolled his eyes. “Do you want the FBI to come knocking on my door?” “True. If the American government found out about this, they’d probably lock you up and squeeze every last drop out of you.” As a close friend of Kraft’s, Fat Liao naturally didn’t have much affection for the United States either—he just wasn’t as extreme as Kraft. “But this time, at least film something useful!” Liao the Fat Man changed the subject. “That solar-powered flashlight and the shoe-shaped razor you made before—they were fun, sure, but not many people bought them! You’ve got Dream Toys making you money, but I’m counting on the ‘Skilled Hands’ channel to make a living!” “Doesn’t the ‘Skilled Hands’ Channel still have ad revenue?” Kraft frowned. “Your cut should be more than enough to live comfortably, right? Did Uncle Liao discover your stash again?” A middle schooler’s daily expenses aren’t high, and as the person in charge of Day-to-Day operations for the “Skilled Hands” Channel, Fat Liao’s cut wasn’t huge but was definitely enough to get by. Actually, Kraft had initially planned to hand over all of the “Crafty Hands” channel’s earnings to Liao the Fat, but Liao had refused, saying that would be crossing the line for a “sly businessman.” “Well… it’s just that I’ve started dating again, so my expenses have been a bit high lately…” Liao the Fat replied, squirming with embarrassment. Kraft rolled his eyes wildly: “At our age, there’s not much we can do anyway—what’s the point of dating?” Kraft, who valued practicality and efficiency above all else, simply couldn’t understand Liao Fat’s interests in this area. “You science nut can’t possibly understand the greatness of love!” Liao the Fat One said with a look of haughty disdain. “Is this so-called love of yours just getting dumped by girls six times in a single year?” “Five times! Only five times! The sixth time was on New Year’s Day! It’s already been two years!” Kraft repeated in a flat tone, “Oh… so it was five times, then.” [Indifference. jpg] “…Let’s just start filming!” Feeling awkward, Fat Liao clapped his hands and forced a change of subject. “No rush—I need to eat first!” As long as his good friend Liao Fat’s requests weren’t too unreasonable, Kraft would usually agree, so he spent the weekend filming the production process of a few interesting and practical props, making a few extra ones to keep in stock. As for how to edit and sell them later, that was Liao Fat’s job. Since these little gadgets weren’t very technical, Kraft found the process quite easy, and he’d actually managed to relax a bit during the two days of filming. “Let’s go to the music festival next weekend. You really need to unwind, buddy.” After finishing the shoot, Liao Fat put away his camera, patted Kraft on the shoulder, and urged him. “Yeah, I know.” Kraft pinched the bridge of his nose. Even if Liao Fat hadn’t said anything, he’d been planning to take a break anyway. He’d been spending way too much time in the lab lately, and his spirits had been flagging; he’d only managed to keep going this long thanks to sheer determination. Now that he’d relaxed, the relentless wave of fatigue had caused him to sleep straight through until noon for the past two days. Suddenly, he felt he understood a little better why those scientists conducted human enhancement experiments. Kraft smacked his lips, but still had no intention of getting involved. “A music festival? Can you take me with you, big brother?” After two days to adjust, Alice was finally able to speak normally in front of Fat Liao, though she was still too shy to meet his gaze; even when talking to him, she kept her head down, staring at the ground. This actually struck a chord with Liao the Fat Guy, causing him to look at Kraft with a mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment over the past couple of days. So before Kraft could even speak up, he jumped to his feet, pounded his chest, and promised, “Of course, no problem! Leave the tickets to me!” “Can I come too? Take me along!” Quinn, that silly dog, also ran over to join the fun. “Um… well…” Liao the Fat Guy looked troubled. “Music festivals usually don’t allow pets.” “F**k! That’s racial discrimination!”