Ch8 - New Play Starts

Heya! So when I copy from word I’m having weird formatting issues with font and stuff so sorry if the last two chappies have looked janky and the TN notes are getting in the way! I’m going to try and figure out a way to fix it!

Nowadays, there is a saying: The rich study mecha and the poor study the other. 

　　Generally, those who could study the mecha profession were children from wealthy families.

　　This was not because of some form of discrimination, but because learning mecha was so expensive that even a small part could be worth a month’s income for an average family.

　　As a result, the makers of mecha were generally upper class, and the vast majority of commoners were still studying a variety of professions, with acting being one of them.

　Actors made up a large proportion of all occupations in the interstellar, but there were many monks and little porridge (TN: lit. many monks and not much gruel (idiom) / fig. not enough to go around / demand exceeds supply), and only a few roles were available. 

Often, even if it was a walk-on part (TN: A walk-on part in a play is a very small part in which the actor is on the stage for a short time and speaks very few or no words.) many people would fight over it.

　　Bai Ruogu contacted a special school of acting to recruit the actors, but when he arrived, he was met with a long queue outside. Most of them were preparing their minds, trying hard to familiarise themselves with each emotion. While there were also some nervous people rehearsing their introductions aloud, not wanting to not embarrass themselves later.

　　Bai Ruogu and Li Huai went in through the back door. The indoor space was relatively large and open, most likely because the school wanted to give the students complete freedom when they performed.

　　A solid wooden table was placed against the wall, behind which were two chairs. According to the introduction cards placed on the table, they could tell that these two chairs were reserved for them.

　　They were not picky and sat down in the order their name cards were in. After that, they rang the bell on the table, and a short while later the first student to be interviewed entered ……

They told the school about their identities long before they came, and the school also truthfully explained their situation to the students, especially the prospects of the film possibly being banned from broadcasting. However, the students were young after all and were convinced that they were Jack Sue. This film could be their chance to become a big hit.

　　As a result, many were excited during the auditions, hoping they would pass.

　　The truth was that none of these roles were main roles, and many of the characters were short-lived. The students were aware of this fact too, yet none of them were willing to let it go, especially after knowing that the director had won so many awards. They were grasping at the idea of holding on to a thigh.

　　In the end, all the roles were almost filled, with most of them being male roles.

　　One of the more important roles was auditioned for by a lively and cheerful older boy.

　　He was 1.8 metres tall and spoke in a carefree manner. According to his friends, he was also a very righteous person.

　　At the beginning of the audition, Bai Ruogu was a bit surprised when he heard that the other party wanted to audition for the role.

　　This was because, in the script, the character was a nerd-like figure, who spent his days engrossed in studies, seemingly always looking dazed and seriously out of place.

　　However, when the party took out his glasses and put them on, his temperament changed instantly to that of a quiet boy. When he casually looked up and smiled bashfully, he seemed to have become the man in the play. Although meek, he didn’t look annoying.

After seeing this scene, Bai Ruogu smiled, clapped his hands, and before the boy could read out his lines, he pointed directly at the boy and said, “That’s him.”

The schoolboy’s name was Xu Dongyang. When he heard Bai Ruogu’s approval, his eyes shone with a delighted surprise. However, as the director was present, he did not dare to move too much and could only ask the director with his eyes. 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

　　The director laughed loudly and pointed to Bai Ruogu next to him, “Don’t look at me, look at him. He’s an investor, so I have to listen to him.”

　　Upon hearing this, Xu Dongyang hurriedly brought out two bottles of water and handed them over, he gave one to Bai Ruogu first and then one to Li Huai. After that, he laughed heartily as he scratched his head, “I’m sorry to trouble you two, it’s a hot day.” 

[TN: Xu Dongyang is speaking using formalities here, obviously hard to convey in English so I’ll leave a note!]/

　　Bai Ruogu shook his head helplessly while laughing and took a sip of water, after which he called for the next person. 

　　Meanwhile, an inaudible mechanical voice repeated ……

　　Name: Xu Dongyang. 

　　Analysis: Based on the analysis of eyes, language, movement and vigour, the current state of mind is ‘to curry favour’.

Likelihood of Love: 0.34%. 

Analysing based on the likelihood of it being him, the likelihood of one being green is: 0.00000000074%.

[TN: Basically saying based on the possibility that Bai Ruogu is Su Miao’s lover (Scientist Bai Ruogu) The possibility of Su Miao earning himself a green hat (Getting cucked LMAO) is: …. ] 

　　Summary: No need to fear, but when the likelihood of it being him and their intimacy increases, the likelihood of yourself being green will also increase.

　This person needs to be listed as the object of vigilance and must be guarded against. 

—

　　After a busy day, Bai Ruogu had cast all the other supporting characters and now, only the other main role remained. 

　　After reading through the script once, he didn’t want to play the role of the lead half-heartedly. He wanted to do everything he could to find a remarkable actor for the role.

　　Bai Ruogu turned on his smart brain and started looking inside Moonlight’s list of male actors. All those at the top of the list were, without exception, movie kings. 

　　Money was never a problem for Bai Ruogu, and even without technology, he had a million ways to get a large amount of wealth.

　　However, the ideal person…… 

　　He rubbed his chin and gazed carefully at the screen, but couldn’t find anyone satisfactory.

　　Just then, it occurred to him that he had the contact details of Zhuri Laoshi. After hesitating for a while, he sent over a message. 

　　[Laoshi, do you have a suitable actor in mind for the general?]

　　He sat in front of his smart brain and waited for a while, but no reply came even after a half day. He took a closer look at the status bar and the message on it said busy. 

　　He waited a little longer, but when he saw that the other party still had not replied he closed his smart brain, intending to take a look at it again the next day.

　　It was already late, he could go to sleep a little earlier today than yesterday, but not by much. 

　　Just as he was about to take a shower, he suddenly heard intermittent cries for help.

　　”Is there anyone out there?! Help me, I’m being beaten ah, ah, ah ……” The tone was steady, with the same interval of time between each word, even when calling for help it remained rhythmic. 

　　The voice was on the childish side and the sound of a crash could be heard from outside.

　　”Ah, ah, ah I’m being beaten, I’m being swarmed, a bunch of bad robots are bullying me, a weak little cleverclogs. Ah, ah the shell of my head is falling off, the paint on my chest is peeling …… Help, they’re going to kill this robot!” 

　　Bai Ruogu: ……

　　He walked silently to the door and opened it. At a glance, he could only see a street light from where time to time the sound of collision erupted. 

　　A group of relatively large “iron barrels” had formed a circle, and the wheels underneath the barrels were constantly poking inside the circle.

　　Bai Ruogu held up his anti-fatigue glasses and saw that inside the circle was a small “iron barrel”, which was hugging its head with its two iron plates, while the rest of the big “iron cans” were beating the small “iron barrel”. 

　　Bai Ruogu: ……

　　He didn’t know how to face this scene, should this be considered a “violent incident”? 

　　He simply coughed, and the rest of the large “iron barrels” turned their heads as their attention drew to him. They were all taken aback when they saw that it was a human standing there.

　　Bai Ruogu thought for a moment and switched on his smart brain, he pretended to talk to himself, but in fact, his voice could clearly be heard by the big “iron barrels”. 

　　”If memory serves me right, I think there’s a number for reporting robots. I wonder, what will happen when I call it? I feel like if I were in charge maybe I’d send these robots back to the factory.”

　　The big ‘iron barrels’ were taken aback, the red eyes on their displays flickered from initially two red dots into a flat red line, and eventually turned into a wavy line that appeared to be very scared. 

　　They looked side to side, found a suitable path and quickly ran away, leaving only the small “iron barrel” in the middle of the circle lying on the ground, which was looking at the stars in the sky in a state of disbelief.

　　Bai Ruogu sighed as he looked at the broken little robot and walked up to it, dragging it towards the hotel room by its legs. 

　At the same time, the little robot’s eyes became straight lines, with a series of small red dots being simulated underneath, it seemed like it was shedding tears.

　　”I’ve lost my paint, I’ve lost my paint, I’m not silver anymore, it’s become black.” 

　　Bai Ruogu: ……

　　He dragged the little robot to the power supply port and plugged it in with a universal charger. The little robot’s display quickly became a progress bar with the power level shown on it. 

　　Perhaps because it couldn’t both charge and talk, the little robot didn’t make a sound anymore.

　　Bai Ruogu was relieved to see this and took a change of clothes into the bathroom. 

　　Just then, the little robot, which had been motionless, began to shiver and its display showed a wavy line.

　　Su Miao floated in front of the robot, the simulated appearance of the adult man looked very cold. Especially when the gaze was directed at the little robot, his lips pursed and his eyes became even colder. 

　　An inaudible alarm sounded in the space –

　　A similar kind has appeared. 

　　The data began to be further analysed……

　　Type: Housekeeping assistant robot. 

　　Threat level: A.

　　Personality: White Lotus and Green Tea. 

[TN: 白莲花 (bái lián huā) ‘White lotus’ – someone who is pure in appearance, but opposite inside. Green tea is someone who presents themselves as innocent and cute to deceive people to get what they want]

　　The threat level has increased further: S. 

　　Based on the way Bai Ruogu dragged the robot earlier, the similarity was 99.99%.

　　The likelihood of it being him rose again to 8.88%. 

　　The threat level is being recalculated and has risen to: S+.

Predicting the future based on the current condition of the robot, the robot would likely live for a long time. 

　　Extrapolating the future based on the current condition of the robot, the robot is likely to be permanently inhabited.

　　The threat level rose once again to SS. 

　　Su Miao simply floated in the air and looked at it. When the step-by-step analysis was complete, he summarised it and read it out using his simulated body.

　　”The robot was worthless yet abnormally pleasing, with a trashy and backward configuration, it does not deserve to be called a robot.” His voice was indifferent but contained an imperceptible sharpness as if he was harbouring something waiting to explode. 

　　The more the little robot listened, the more he shivered, the red dots on his display shrank looking cautious, as he rolled backwards, as far away from Su Miao as possible.

　　The little robot was having a nervous breakdown, it wasn’t easy to be finally rescued. How could he then meet the legendary AI that stood at the top of the pyramid? 

　　In an electronic voice, he tried to beg for mercy, “I ……”

　　The next second his voice wouldn’t come out and the little robot’s display looked similar to ‘eyes widened in shock’. 

　　The inaudible voice in the air continued to read, “The robot has a scheming heart and is trying to make a living for itself with the image of an aggrieved white lotus. The robot has no morals, and the threat level has again risen to SSS.”

　　Before the little robot could faint in fear, an alarm sounded in the air. 

　　The threat level has exploded, will it be destroyed?

　　Little Robot: !