Chapter Five: Eight Hundred Robots Change Commanders

He did not order them to stop. He shook hands with the nearest sixteen and shared the workers’ breathing data, the building’s structural map, and every vehicle’s braking distance. “Your command will destroy the asset and kill the people who maintain you. It violates your deepest preservation purpose. If you will form a new queue, turn left.” The first forklift turned seven meters from him. Then the second and third. Red beams slid away as sixteen vehicles formed a barrier against the machines behind them. The Zeroing controller raised their speed. An instant before steel struck steel, the network opened inside Chenzhou’s mind. He no longer shook hands one machine at a time. He saw every pack’s rhythm, position, and gap—an army awaiting formation.