“The Zeroth Law” had already released three trailers, and from their perspective, it seemed to be a romance film disguised as sci-fi. Most men still preferred action-packed, thrilling blockbusters. Gong Yijian didn’t have high expectations for “The Zeroth Law”; perhaps it was a good movie, but it definitely wasn’t for him.

This thought was completely disproven the moment the movie screen lit up. Soaring skyscrapers hundreds of stories high, supersonic hovercars weaving through clouds in the sky—the world was magnificent and grand. 

The night sky was filled with countless small spacecraft, and the city lights formed a beautiful halo. As the camera traversed this city, the incredibly realistic scenes made every viewer’s scalp tingle, causing them to instinctively gasp.

“The Zeroth Law” utilized the latest filming techniques and the most cutting-edge special effects production. 

There was no need for the superfluous 3D glasses of decades past. Simply by relying on naked vision, sitting in these specially made seats, and listening to the sound coming from the top-tier audio system, viewers felt as if they had completely entered the cinematic space, touring this magical and wondrous future world. In this world, robots could be seen everywhere, in every street and alley.

 Some robots were of lower grade, with white mechanical shells and somewhat stiff movements, making them instantly distinguishable from ordinary humans. 

But some robots were exactly like humans, and when a beautiful woman’s face on the big screen suddenly split open to reveal the machinery inside, the thrilling visual effect caused a gasp of surprise in the movie theater.

As a man, Gong Zijian, of course, enjoyed such grand sci-fi special effects. From the very beginning of the film, Lance Holt used terrifyingly realistic special effects to present the entire world to every audience member. 

Then, as the plot developed, the protagonist, Chu Wen, finally appeared. This cinematic technique, moving from grand to small, allowed the audience to have a better sense of immersion and gain some understanding of the overall worldview.

Qin Cheng’s face was quite suitable for the big screen; it was a genuine movie face. He had never played such a cold scientist before, but when he wore a white robe and stood on the suspended platform of the laboratory, explaining key points to his assistant, he truly embodied a cold and emotionless scientist.

Soon, the audience noticed that in the world of “The Zeroth Law,” human emotions seemed very subdued. 

When an assistant input wrong data, almost leading to failure, Chu Wen impassively dismissed her, but the assistant showed no particular sadness or distress. 

She simply packed her things and left. Was she truly not sad? Absolutely not. Before leaving the laboratory, the blonde assistant calmly said to a colleague, “I don’t know what to do now, Louis. It’s hard to find work, and I can’t ask Professor Chu for help. I feel like crying.” She said she felt like crying, but in fact, there wasn’t a hint of disappointment on the female assistant’s face.

This situation was quickly noticed by the audience present, and Gong Zijian also observed it curiously for a few more glances. 

If it was because the actress playing the female assistant was too bad at acting, performing crying scenes as if she wasn’t crying, that was simply impossible. Lance Holt had extremely high demands on actors; if a scene didn’t pass, he could go as far as doing a hundred takes.

Moreover, it wasn’t just this female assistant who was off; the emotions of other humans were also very flat. They would say things like, “Ruth, I’m so sad that you’ve left; I will definitely intercede for you with Professor Chu,” but their faces showed neither joy nor disappointment, and their voices had no significant fluctuations—they merely stated it very calmly.

In contrast, the higher-level robots working in the laboratory would display polite and gentle smiles when greeting researchers and would apologize with a look of guilt when they made mistakes.

 This situation made audiences worldwide watching the premiere involuntarily think: compared to the researchers, these robots seemed more like true humans.

The story began by describing the grand backdrop of the entire world. Five minutes into the film, the audience was immersed in the wonderful and beautiful special effects technology, while some viewers contemplated: 

Perhaps this movie is about the loss of human nature in the future world? In over twenty thousand cinemas worldwide, Rong Xu’s fans were more concerned: “When will Rongrong appear…?”

Rong Xu’s appearance came completely unexpectedly. Chu Wen saw an advertisement stating that his rival company had created love robots. 

In that advertisement, hundreds of love robots flashed across the screen. Rong Xu’s face appeared for no more than 0.5 seconds, yet some Rong fans excitedly grabbed their companions’ hands: “Rongrong! Rongrong! That was Rongrong just now!!!”

The development of the movie’s plot was very smooth. Chu Wen, disbelieving that robots could possess human emotions, naturally chose to purchase a robot as an experimental subject. The moment the box was opened, just as every viewer imagined, an exquisite and beautiful youth stood within the light curtain, timidly looking at the man before him. 

In their first meeting, Chu Wen scanned the robot up and down, seemingly checking for any issues, while Qi carefully watched the man across from him, swiftly looking away whenever their gazes met.

The audience held their breath, filled with infinite anticipation for the two male protagonists’ first encounter. But no one expected that after Chu Wen finished his inspection, his first words to Qi were: “Can you kiss?”

Direct and straightforward, then, to the audience’s stunned expressions, just eight minutes into the film, the two male protagonists directly kissed.

Audience: “!!!”

This exhilaration… this exhilaration!!!

Director, please love me again!!!

The entire first half of the movie was a story of how a naive and innocent little robot learned to love its master. Perhaps the characters in the movie would ponder “how could robots have feelings,” but for the audience, watching from a God’s perspective, they naturally knew that this emotion was certainly real—Qi truly loved Chu Wen.

So, for the audience, they were watching a love story between two people.

They saw the little robot, almost out of power, not saying a word, obediently sitting in a corner of the laboratory, eyes unblinking, watching the man. 

They also saw that every day after Chu Wen fell asleep, Qi would open his eyes, lie obediently in his arms, and watch him intently for the entire night. Robots don’t need to sleep, and perhaps this was Qi’s happiest thing, because it meant he could use every minute and every second to watch this person. Seeing him was like seeing the whole world.

Naturally, there were certain bed scenes in the movie. At first, fans were so excited they were incoherent when they saw the bed scenes. But later, as the plot progressed, what they looked forward to was no longer the bed scenes, but that innocent and pure little robot. Qin Cheng had never played a role like Chu Wen, and Rong Xu had never played a character like Qi.

Such a Qi was as pure as a blank sheet of paper. From his birth, his only mission was to love Chu Wen. He loved this man, but he didn’t know how to express it. 

When Chu Wen kissed him, he would blush shyly; when Chu Wen wanted him to take the initiative to kiss him, he would clench his fingers, then quickly stand on tiptoes and gently kiss those lips.

His pearl-like eyes reflected only two things: one was the world, and the other was Chu Wen. Perhaps for Qi, there was no distinction between the two: Chu Wen was his whole world, and his world was Chu Wen. This love reached an almost humble degree, but no one had the right to criticize him for putting himself in the dust like this, because his love was etched above any command, written in his soul.

From initial fondness to later worry, Rong’s fans felt uncomfortable halfway through the movie. They weren’t sad about how humbly Qi loved, but suddenly felt that such love was too much like a moth drawn to a flame, destined for a bad ending.

As expected, no matter how cold Chu Wen’s personality was, he would be moved by such a robot who loved him unconditionally. 

He himself lacked love, his parents died young, and he grew up alone. Being too outstanding resulted in few friends. 

Now, suddenly, a robot appeared who loved him to the point of considering him the whole world, and he naturally fell for it. But now, a problem immediately presented itself to Chu Wen and the audience—did robots truly have emotions?

For Chu Wen, this question caused him pain and despair, leading him to directly order the little robot to never appear before him again. 

As for the audience in the movie theater, they had initially ignored this question, just wanting to happily watch a movie. But facing this situation, they had to start thinking. Chu Wen loved Qi, a genuine affection from the heart. But did Qi love Chu Wen purely by following instructions?

…Did robots truly understand what love was?

On the movie screen, when the cold scientist uttered the words, “Don’t ever appear before me again,” the robot, who had been intently watching and gazing at him, suddenly froze, and a strange light flickered in his bright eyes. 

The little robot moved his lips, then tightly closed them. When he finally spoke, all he said was, “Okay.” 

Chu Wen was truly a man of his word. Just the day before, he had realized his wavering feelings, and the next day, he uttered such heartless words. He truly wouldn’t allow Qi to look at him again, and he absolutely wouldn’t look at Qi, as if he were the only one in the house, and no love robot had ever appeared.

However, how could the other party truly have never appeared? When Chu Wen left in the morning, his ironed coat was waiting by the door; when he returned home at night, warm food was on the table, kept ready. 

The study, messy from reading the night before, was tidy the next morning. A dirty shirt left in the bathroom was folded and placed on the table by morning. For a full ten minutes of screen time, Rong Xu’s figure did not appear again. The audience couldn’t see him.

but he was still always there: in the hot tea Chu Wen saw upon entering the kitchen, in the blanket covering Chu Wen when he awoke after working too late.

Finally, when the audience saw the little robot tiptoe to Chu Wen’s bedroom door and quietly sit down, many female fans couldn’t help but purse their lips tightly. Rong’s fans grumbled, both angry and heartbroken: “Why are you so good to him? Why are you so good to him!”

The robot in the movie couldn’t hear the audience’s words. He simply leaned his ear gently against the door, wrapped his arms around his knees, and sat quietly, then happily smiled. It was enough just to hear his voice, even without seeing him.

The audience was both angry and heartbroken, so much so that they wished they could rush into the screen to love this little robot. But then, the door was suddenly yanked open. 

Facing the person he had thought about for over a hundred days, longed for for over a hundred days, Qi’s first reaction was actually to apologize. He awkwardly apologized, repeatedly saying there wouldn’t be a next time, continuously repeating “I’m sorry.”

Chu Wen looked at him in silence, then suddenly pulled him into his arms.

“…Do you like me?”

“I like Wen, I really like Wen.”

“Good… that’s enough.”

Chu Wen began writing the final experimental report for the rival company’s research. He sat in the empty laboratory, surrounded by assistants who still had cold expressions.

 The advanced robot who delivered documents to him, however, had a smile on her face as she placed the papers on his desk. After eleven years in this lab, Chu Wen looked up for the first time at the female robot and asked, “What’s your name?”

The female robot suddenly froze. She seemed very nervous, gripping the corner of her clothes, and whispered, “My serial number is Z3127.” Chu Wen nodded, saying nothing more.

What followed was a pleasant romance, and this time Chu Wen truly began to spoil his little robot. He might not f

ully understand what dating was like, but he would occasionally ask, “What do you want?” Qi would just shake his head, “I don’t want anything.” 

What Qi truly wanted, Chu Wen didn’t understand, but the audience knew perfectly well.

[He wants you!]

People in love are blind. The audience watched the film with relish. 

Although they were still unsure whether Qi’s love for Chu Wen was simply him executing commands, now that the plot was so sweet, there was no need to overthink it; they just needed to be together. 

This thought persisted until near the end of the movie, when all the viewers watched helplessly as the little robot shielded Chu Wen, blocking bullets for him again and again. 

Of course, those bullets couldn’t kill Qi, but they could damage his mechanical structure, causing him to show numerous glitches, with strange numbers appearing in his eyes.

Everyone knew that robots could not harm humans; this “human” was not limited to any specific person, but referred to every person in the world. 

The killer showed no hesitation, directly kicking Qi aside, then pressing the gun to Chu Wen’s forehead. He didn’t need to care about the robot at all, because the robot could not harm him—this was the First Law of Robotics.

The audience in the cinema watched the plot unfold tensely. They subconsciously felt that Chu Wen couldn’t possibly die; he was the protagonist, after all. But in this desolate, unknown location, who could possibly come to save Chu Wen?

Just then, suddenly—bang!

A loud gunshot echoed throughout the entire movie theater. The music faded completely, the sound of the wind vanished, and that gunshot slammed into every audience member’s ears, making their hearts tremble. Looking back at the screen, they saw a small robot, full of holes and glitching, raising its right hand, its palm holding a dark gun barrel.

The camera’s view was from Chu Wen’s perspective. 

When Chu Wen fainted, the audience no longer knew what happened. The screen seemed to be covered in a layer of water; a figure appeared to be limping and crawling from a distance, continuously muttering strangely pronounced words. Sometimes it was “Wen,” sometimes “Wun,” and rarely “Hear.”

Then, people gathered. Through the speakers, the police said, “Get him to the hospital quickly, he’s been shot once in the leg and once in the shoulder.” 

The doctor said, “To the operating room, quickly, to the operating room! This is the latest D20 bullet; get it out quickly.” 

As for the voice muttering “wen,” it had long disappeared from the speakers. In the subtitles, that strangely pronounced word never appeared again.

Finally, Chu Wen slowly awoke. He had only been unconscious for two days. 

The laboratory had specially sent a robot to care for him. He opened his eyes and saw the female robot, serial number Z3127. Z3127 looked at him happily and called for a doctor. 

After the basic examination was completed, Chu Wen asked hoarsely, “Where’s Qi… Where is he… Qi…”

The female robot smiled and said, “Professor Chu, I don’t know who Qi is. Is he your friend? Do you need me to contact him for you?”

A layer of fear suddenly welled up on his usually calm face. Chu Wen’s eyes widened, staring intently at the female robot, repeating: “Impossible, he can’t leave me… I’m here, he must be here too. Qi, where is Qi? Give him back to me… Give him back to me!”

The female robot shook her head in confusion, unable to provide an answer. However, at this moment, Chu Wen’s eyes were already red with anxiety. 

From the beginning of the movie until now, this was the first time he had such a large emotional outburst: “Qi… Give him back! Where is he, where is he!”

“Professor Chu, you cannot get up yet!”

“Qi, where is he! Where is he?!”

Medical robots quickly rushed in and gave Chu Wen a sedative shot.

The next morning, as soon as Chu Wen woke up, he directly called his supervisor. He had barely opened his mouth when the other party calmly replied, “Are you talking about that love robot you bought from Aiside Company? Chu Wen, you did a great job this time. One of Aiside’s love robots actually killed someone, which violated the First Law of the Robotics Association. Now all of their robots have been recalled and destroyed, and Aiside has already gone bankrupt. You should return to the company as soon as you’re rested.”

On the other end of the phone, Chu Wen remained silent for a long time. His supervisor continued to speak calmly: “In fact, if possible, I hope you return to the company now.”

“…Who was destroyed?”

A hoarse, unpleasant voice suddenly sounded. The supervisor sat in his office, his voice calm, saying, “All of Aiside Company’s love robots have been destroyed. Chu Wen, you did a great job. The company will reward you.”

The screen abruptly shifted to reveal the young scientist, who had just gotten out of bed in the hospital, his eyes wide and bloodshot. He gripped the phone tightly, veins bulging on his forehead, spitting out each word through clenched teeth: “WHO! WAS DESTROYED!!!”

“Chu Wen, what’s wrong with you? I don’t want to repeat myself for the fourth time. This morning, all of those love robots were sent to Area A135 for destruction. What on earth… Hello? Hello?!”

The phone was thrown beside the hospital bed. The usually stoic scientist rushed out of the hospital at top speed, all the way to the A135 robot recycling center. 

Piles upon piles of robot parts were strewn carelessly on the ground, forming small mountains. Here, low-level robots expressionlessly destroyed their companions, then tossed them into these mountains of trash.

The moment he saw these six mountains of trash, Chu Wen rushed in directly, digging frantically. 

No matter how brilliant a scientist, it would be impossible to find the one he wanted among thousands of electronic components. Yet, this man in a hospital gown seemed to have forgotten all the knowledge he had ever learned, digging tirelessly through these piles like an idiot. The parts cut his hands, but he kept searching. 

After three full days of searching, the first mountain of trash was only halfway dug through.

The female robot, Z3127, had long since found her way there. 

Following Chu Wen’s orders, she wouldn’t stop him, but would provide him with nutrient solution to keep him from collapsing. 

She didn’t understand what Chu Wen was doing, but she would stay there forever, because her current duty was to care for Chu Wen.

On the seventh day of searching, Chu Wen was so exhausted that he collapsed onto a pile of trash, falling into an uncontrolled sleep. But as soon as he woke up, he continued digging with his scarred hands, his eyes wide, meticulously searching for every tiny component. 

He didn’t care about the company’s affairs, nor did he pay attention to his supervisor’s cold threats of resignation. From beginning to end, he didn’t cry.

 He just kept searching with those seemingly crazed eyes, never stopping for a moment.

But how could he possibly find it? Even if he did, how could it be restored to its original state? The parts might have already been shattered during destruction, and no one could return his little robot to him.

By the time he finished searching the first mountain of parts, a full month had passed. Chu Wen, dragging his exhausted body, walked to the second mountain of parts. This time, as he raised his hand to pick up the first piece of debris, he suddenly smiled.

How could he possibly find it?

He knew, how could he possibly find it!

A sharp piece of debris cut his scarred finger, and blood flowed down his skin. 

Plink.

 It landed amidst the endless mountain of parts. 

Suddenly, there was a movement from beneath his feet. Chu Wen, dazed, lowered his head and looked at the palm-sized screen chip stained with his own blood. The chip’s screen was flashing lights, over and over. The chip was already broken in half, flickering like a faulty light bulb, its screen intermittently bright and dim.

The drop of blood floated lightly on the component. The light shone for a long time, then suddenly, it fell silent. 

A small red dot of light appeared from the bottom of the screen, followed by a second small red dot in the upper left, then further up and to the left, a third small red dot… As the small dots lit up one by one, rigid lines slowly emerged. Starting from the bottom, an almost imperceptible curve was drawn to the left, then falling to the lower right, the pen lifted to the upper right, finally symmetrical with the left figure, returning to the initial point.

A red heart, gently appearing on the damaged, dirty, and broken screen chip.

In the cinema, it was now completely silent, with faint sobs audible. 

On the big screen, the pale, handsome man slowly crouched down, gently picking up the half-broken chip. His fingers carefully held the chip, which had “seven” carved in its upper left corner, and slowly embraced it, holding it tightly against his heart. 

On the half-broken screen, the red heart was still weakly flickering, but the man holding it seemed to notice nothing, simply holding it gently as if embracing the only love of his life.

His lips trembled slightly, his face devoid of a smile, and not broken enough to cry loudly. 

The warm morning sun rose from the eastern sky, representing vibrant life, wanting to awaken a new day. And the man stood with his back to the sun, hiding in the darkness where the sunlight couldn’t reach, quietly holding his beloved.

He didn’t wail or express excessive grief. He smiled softly, tightly clutching the chip, and whispered tenderly, “I know, you love me. I know, you truly… truly love me…”

The moment the words were spoken and his eyes closed, tears fell, dripping onto the worn chip. No one would hold him again, press their face to his chest, and answer him “I love you.” 

But on the chip’s screen, the red heart continued to flicker, tirelessly speaking the Zeroth Law encoded deep within the chip.

__

Author’s note: 

Qin Chengcheng: Rongrong, are you thirsty today???? Rongrong: Not thirsty at all (┙>∧<)┙へ┻┻!!!