CHAPTER 77: FIXING THE MESS

The smiles quickly faded, replaced by serious expressions.

"What do we do now, Alaric?" one of the staff asked, his face tense. "Didn’t you say you had a system that could monitor the robot remotely? If that’s true, something like this shouldn’t have spiraled out of control."

All eyes turned to Alaric. He stepped forward and took a deep breath. He knew this was the moment to prove his own words.

"Yes," he said confidently. "I do have that system. Let me handle it."

He reached into his bag and pulled out a small box. It was no bigger than a notebook, with several buttons on the surface and a thin, glass-like screen that flipped open like a transparent panel. Once the screen lit up, glowing lines of code appeared — green and blue, forming patterns only understood by those fluent in the language of programming.

He placed the box on the table and connected it to the main computer in the room. A thin cable slid into the port, and the large wall-mounted screen immediately displayed Alaric’s custom interface.

But just as Alaric’s fingers hovered over the keyboard to type the first line of code, a sudden electronic voice rang out from the robot’s speaker — the very same robot that had just been powered down.

"System... initializing..."

The voice was clear and unmistakable.

Everyone in the room froze. A chill ran down their spines.

The room fell silent in an instant. Moments ago, everyone had been busy with laptops, cables, and notes. Now, all eyes were fixed on a single point: the robot lying motionless on the cold laboratory floor. They were certain it had shut down after the main power cable was disconnected. But reality proved otherwise.

The indicator light on the robot’s chest flickered back to life, dim at first, like embers slowly reigniting. Its optical sensors, which had gone dark, lit up again, casting a steady glow. The metallic body twitched, joints creaking as if realigning themselves. Then, slowly, the robot rose to its feet.

"No way," whispered Professor Grant, his face pale. "I disconnected the cable myself."

The staff exchanged uneasy glances, some beginning to panic. One technician ran toward the power panel to double check. "Professor, there’s... no power! Everything is shut off!" he called out.

Robin, who had been watching from the sidelines, stepped closer, his face tense with curiosity. "So... it came back on its own?"

No one answered. The only sound was the soft humming from within the robot’s body. Its movements gradually stabilized. It began to walk with a calm, steady gait, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Even when a staff member nervously raised their hand in front of it, the robot responded. Its head turning, arm extending gently as though to greet them.

Everyone stood frozen.

Amid the confusion, Alaric who had been preparing to connect his control device—paused. His fingers hovered above his small screen, eyes locked on the robot. "What... is going on here?" he murmured.

Then, from within his mind, a familiar voice echoed. It was the AI system. An SSS-rank entity that had long been integrated with him. Its tone was calm but carried a firm urgency.

["Don’t be fooled, Alaric. This isn’t a sign of success. The robot may appear normal, but there’s a much more dangerous anomaly. If left unchecked, its system could spiral completely out of control."]

Alaric flinched. Cold sweat trickled down his neck. The robot looked flawless, functioning as if nothing had happened. Others might even believe it was fully back under control. But Alaric knew, the AI voice had never been wrong before.

He took a deep breath and quickly turned his focus back to the control device.

"No, I need to link it up right now," he said under his breath.

Some of the staff turned to him. "What do you mean, Alaric? The robot seems perfectly fine now. Maybe—"

"No!" Alaric cut in firmly, eyes locked on his screen. "You’re only seeing the surface. I can feel it, something’s still wrong. If we don’t get it under control now, this could become far worse than before."

Professor Grant looked like he wanted to argue, but something in Alaric’s conviction made him fall silent. Robin, standing nearby, could only nod slowly, though he clearly didn’t understand what was happening.

Alaric’s fingers moved fast. Lines of code began streaming across the translucent display of his control unit, green commands flowing like a digital river. He initiated a remote link to the robot’s core. A thin, glowing cable pulsed, and the large wall monitor showed a signal graph confirming the connection was successful.

But the moment the link was made, the screen shook. It wasn’t just a minor bug. The data stream twisted into chaotic patterns that infiltrated every line of code. Red segments emerged, forming fractured symbols. Like cracks splitting through the system.

"A virus," Alaric muttered. "There’s a virus embedded in its system. I don’t know where it came from. But this isn’t a technical glitch. This is sabotage."

The staff began whispering in panic, while Professor Grant narrowed his eyes, his expression hardening. "A virus? That’s impossible. Our systems are airtight."

"And yet, Professor, it’s right in front of us," Alaric replied quickly, dismantling the professor’s confidence in his system security. His fingers kept moving across the screen.

Alaric’s device trembled slightly, resisting the corrupted data that tried to overrun it. But he didn’t stop. He summoned a subprogram he had personally written, a cleansing protocol designed to purge hostile code. The screen showed lines of purging commands moving into action, attempting to eliminate the red contamination.

The virus fought back. For every line of code erased, two more sprang up elsewhere. The wall monitor turned into a visual battlefield red and blue lines clashing, pushing against each other in a digital tug of war.

Robin stepped closer, eyes wide. "Boss... can you fix this?"

Alaric didn’t look up. Sweat dripped down his temple, but his lips curled into a slight smile. "Of course I can. I built this system. If someone dares to corrupt it, I’ll be the one to take it back."

With firm precision, he pressed a series of commands. The screen turned a vibrant blue as a wave of clean code surged through the system, sweeping across the corrupted data like a storm. The red lines disappeared, wiped away until only the clean, stable system remained. The graph on the main screen gradually steadied, the blue line dominating completely.

The connection status turned green. Full remote control restored.

"It’s done," Alaric said, closing his control unit and exhaling in relief. "The virus is gone. We can safely power it back on now."

Professor Grant, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke. His voice was still stiff. "I don’t know how that virus got in... but if you truly removed it, then you’ve saved us from disaster."

Alaric turned to him and the others. "Alright. Try powering it up again. I’ve rerouted everything through my remote system. I’ll monitor it directly from here."

The staff got to work. Power cables were reconnected. The indicator light came on again. The robot’s eyes blinked, its body shuddered briefly, then it stood up. This time, its movements were calm, precise, without any irregularities. It executed simple commands perfectly, as if nothing had ever gone wrong.

The panic that had filled the room gave way to relief.

The green light on the robot’s chest glowed steadily. No more shaking, no more erratic behavior. The metallic figure stood tall, turning its head gently from side to side, as if waking from a long sleep.

Everyone held their breath, waiting to see if anything else went wrong. Professor Grant gave a small nod to one of the technicians. "Run the basic function tests," he instructed carefully.

The technician entered a simple command, and the robot responded immediately. It walked slowly, step by step, and stopped on cue. This time, the movements were smooth, fluid.

"Good," Professor Grant murmured, eyes lighting up. "Proceed with the next function."

And so, one by one, the tests began.

First, the robot was asked to assist a person in walking. One staff member pretended to be a patient struggling to stand. The robot reached out with a firm yet gentle grip and adjusted its pace to match the person’s. From behind, it was clear the robot was maintaining balance for the "patient," never letting them stumble.

"Just like a real caregiver," one of the technicians remarked, shaking their head in awe.

Next, the robot was directed to the water dispenser in the corner of the room. Its arm moved with precision, picking up a plastic cup, pressing the dispenser button, then carefully carrying the cup back. It stopped exactly in front of the intended staff member, offering the cup in a thoughtful gesture. Hand rotated perfectly to make it easier to take.

"This is... incredible," Professor Grant whispered as he took notes on his tablet.

Then came the more challenging test: feeding. A plate of porridge was placed on a table. The robot picked up a spoon, scooped a perfect portion, and approached the staff member acting as a patient.

It raised the spoon steadily, making sure nothing spilled, then brought it gently to the staff member’s mouth. Its timing was deliberate and thoughtful, almost human. Waiting patiently before offering the next spoonful.