When Estelle left, she told PWL-000 that she would be back within half an hour, but when she left Gavriel's office, more than an hour had passed.
The elevator descended slowly, and the orange sunset of the city streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, it was late, the THG new product exhibition had ended, and the exhibition hall was empty except for a few staff members cleaning up and tidying the booths.
PWL-000 was gone.
For a moment, Estelle felt lost and helpless—PWL-000 didn't have a phone, so there was no way to contact him, he had no money, couldn't find his way around, and had almost zero common sense or social experience; he was like a humanoid idiot.
She hurried to the front desk: "Excuse me, the young man sitting on the sofa over there... wearing a light gray hooded sweatshirt, very tall..."
The receptionist shook her head, indicating she hadn't noticed; the disappointment was expected. Estelle had no choice but to say, "Thank you."
Should she ask Gavriel if PWL-000 has a tracking system? But she no longer had visitor access to 5013, which meant she'd have to go see Aiden again.
Estelle was feeling frustrated and confused, not knowing what to do, when suddenly someone behind her said, "Are you looking for me?"
She turned abruptly and saw PWL-000 standing behind her.
Estelle raised her hand and threw something at him: "I told you to wait for me. Why did you run off?"
"I didn't run off; I just went to the restroom," PWL-000 gently held her wrist. "Stop hitting me; it hurts."
She paused, unsure whether to ask "Do robots need to use the restroom?" or "Do robots feel pain?" But regardless, the moment she saw him, she calmed down: "Forget it. You're here, and that's what matters. Let's go."
PWL-000 followed behind her, now carrying the bag she had thrown at him.
He asked, "What is this?"
"It's electrolyte water and moisturizer, all for you." Estelle said, "It's expensive, so use it sparingly."
PWL didn't have a digestive system; his bioengineered digestive tract stops at the stomach, so he couldn't eat human food. As a service robot, losing moisture was inevitable, so he needed to drink specialized electrolyte water regularly to replenish lost moisture.
He has experienced this before, and likely his internal metrics were out of balance; if he didn't drink water promptly, his mouth, eyes, and skin would become dry. Aiden was crazy about making money; robots were expensive, and robot-related products were even pricier. A bottle of electrolyte water cost as much as a bottle of wine. It's fortunate that PWL was a male robot; a female model like THG would require even more water after each process.
PWL-000 looked down at the bag and said, "You're really nice to me."
Estelle smiled, walked to the car, and opened the rear door: "Get in."
PWL-000 remarked, "Before, you had me sit in the front."
"There are some things we need to do in the car," Estelle said. "The back seat is darker, so it's less likely that people will see us."
PWL-000 didn't understand, but he complied. He bent down to get into the car, and Estelle sat next to him: "Give me your hand."
PWL-000 spread his palm, and a pale blue light appeared from beneath his skin—the interface for managers. Estelle placed her hand over his, confirmed the user's palm print, and then placed the magnetic sensor chip that Gavriel had given her.
She clicked the virtual buttons on his skin to input the code, and PWL-000's fingertips involuntarily curled. Estelle looked up and asked, "Are you ticklish?"
"I don't feel ticklish," PWL-000 answered truthfully. "This is a programmed physiological reflex that I can't control."
Estelle nodded and didn't say anything else. Soon the code import was complete, and she put away the chip, saying, "Okay, take off your pants."
"What?" PWL-000 looked calm but clearly puzzled.
"Gavriel gave me the latest code; your issue should be fixed now. However, just to be safe, we need to check it. It's easier to fix problems while we're still at the company."
Before PWL-000 could stop her, Estelle already squeezed him. His arm muscles tightened quickly: "Uh..."
His threshold is set very low; a slight signal immediately triggers a response. The familiar sensation of electricity, PWL-000 swallowed, waiting for Estelle to do more, but once his body changed, she let go and got out of the car to return to the driver's seat.
"What are you doing?"
"Just wait," Estelle replied.
PWL-000 sat alone in the back seat, like a discarded toy.
But it seemed different from last time. After 30 seconds, he suddenly felt the current weaken; his body recovered and slowly returned to its normal state.
"Good," Estelle watched from the rearview mirror, confirming that he could retract spontaneously. She looked away and started the car. "You can put your pants back on."
PWL-000 put his pants back on without a word. The car drove out of Stella Technology, and far in the distance, the dim sunset shone weakly and uninterestingly through the car window.
He suddenly asked, "You won't do what you did to me in the bathroom again, right?"
"Yes," Estelle answered casually, "Your function has been restored to normal; that won't happen again."
PWL-000 softly said, "Okay," and turned to look out the window.
In his field of vision, a gray miniature drone floated in the sky, following the car like a butterfly. He didn't notice it, nor did he notice Estelle staring at the drone.
