TMLSG -Chapter 128 Continuing to Block the Mouth

When Tang Zhen and Ren Yanjing arrived at the City Science and Technology Museum, the other team members were already there.

As soon as Ren Yanjing arrived, the group immediately started a thorough pre-match check on Robert, making sure his performance was at its peak.

On the other side, Li Ran and her teammates were performing final checks on Confession Letter.

Tang Zhen began to feel nervous.

The last time Robert had been torn apart in battle was still fresh in her mind, and today would be its second match. She didn’t know if Ren Yanjing was nervous—at least she definitely was.

Nearby, Ren Yanjing remained calm, his expression composed, eyes focused, listening attentively to Zhang Mian’s report. His side profile looked very concentrated.

111 immediately commented, 【The male lead is really good-looking.】

Tang Zhen glanced at him—he really was.

At 1:00 p.m., Robert and Confession Letter stepped onto the stage in front of a crowd of curious museum visitors.

Both Future and Fate placed high hopes on the robots they had developed.

Besides the members of the two teams, Song Zhiqing and members of Star were also present, clearly curious about the outcome.

The referee blew the whistle.

In the next moment, Robert and Confession Letter launched fierce attacks at each other simultaneously.

Both robots attacked aggressively—always forward, never retreating—trying either to knock the opponent off the platform or completely destroy it.

The audience cheered loudly.

Tang Zhen, however, felt a little too anxious to watch.

In just a few seconds, Robert had already been hit several times by Confession Letter—but of course, Confession Letter wasn’t having it easy either.

It was time to test the defense strength of both robots.

The match required both attack and defense, so winning wasn’t easy.

Tang Zhen covered her eyes with her hands and said to 111, “Santiao, just tell me the result later.”

111’s eyes were glued to the fight.

【Okay, Zhen,】 it said.

Then, excitedly, it added, 【Zhen, you’re really not watching? It’s so exciting!】 Shen Qi and the others were also watching very closely.

Tang Zhen didn’t want to watch.

Time passed, and suddenly the crowd erupted in explosive cheers.

Had the match ended?

Before Tang Zhen could ask, 111 broadcast the result to her, 【Zhen, Robert won!】

Robert won!

It was Robert who won!

Tang Zhen finally felt relieved.

She lowered her hands from her eyes and looked toward the stage.

Confession Letter had already been thrown off the platform, sparks flying from its body. Its developers immediately rushed over to check its condition.

Li Ran’s teammates shook their heads and said, “That was brutal—they fried Confession Letter’s circuits.”

Li Ran lowered her head and looked silently at Confession Letter.

It wasn’t just the robot that had been knocked down—it was her confidence and pride.

She had placed high hopes on this match, but the result—

Confession Letter lost.

Its loss felt like her own defeat.

A total, crushing defeat.

After the robot boxing match ended, the nearby visitors gradually dispersed. Li Ran and her teammates, along with Confession Letter, also intended to leave.

Just as Ren Yanjing’s group prepared to leave, Robert’s core suddenly exploded with a bang. Smoke billowed from its body, and tiny flames flickered among the white smoke.

Pieces of Robert’s machinery fell to the ground.

The supervising teacher shouted, “Water! Water!”

Museum staff rushed over with a fire extinguisher, spraying Robert.

Fortunately, the flames were quickly controlled.

After the extinguishing was complete, the Future team fell silent.

Li Ran and Shen Qi also paused in their steps.

Shen Qi crossed his arms and said to Li Ran, “I thought you lost and Ren Yanjing won, but actually… he didn’t really win either.”

At least, he didn’t win completely.

Ren Yanjing had won the match, but it came at the cost of Robert being scrapped.

The Future team’s loss this time was rather severe.

Song Zhiqing suddenly said, “They were too impatient.”

They were too eager to win, too eager to win spectacularly, too eager to knock the opponent flat—but in the end, they neglected the most critical safety issue.

Robert’s offensive power had already exceeded its limits as a robot.

Its being scrapped was only a matter of time.

Even if it didn’t fail immediately, the next second, the next hour, it might still fail.

Of course, if luck were on their side, it might last a long time, but clearly, Future’s luck today was average.

Tang Zhen looked at Robert, now covered in foam, and asked 111, “Santiao, Robert… it…”

111 was silent for a moment before saying, 【The core is broken. Even if it’s repaired, the Robert of the future won’t be the Robert you know now.】

Although Robert was just a robot, and although it hadn’t developed emotions, Tang Zhen still felt very sad.

111 had actually guessed some things but didn’t tell Tang Zhen.

Perhaps this was another test for the male lead.

If he had broken up with the female supporting character earlier, Robert might never have reached the point of being scrapped.

But the male lead hadn’t separated from the supporting female.

If he had been with the female lead, this match would never have happened, and Robert wouldn’t have been scrapped.

So now, the male lead was facing a harsh test of love—

When career and girlfriend conflict, when the career suffers serious consequences because of the girlfriend, will the male lead still firmly choose the supporting female?

Will he hesitate for even a moment, questioning the choice he has made?

Although 111 didn’t say much, Tang Zhen still sensed something.

She bit her lip and whispered,

“Santiao… it’s because of me, isn’t it?”

111 quickly replied, 【No, Zhen, it has nothing to do with you.】

Tang Zhen didn’t speak.

Seeing her remain silent, 111 tried to reassure her, 【Think positively, Zhen. Your blessings for the male lead have been working. This time, Robert was scrapped, no one was hurt, the visitors have mostly left, and aside from a few of the male lead’s acquaintances, no one witnessed this failure.】

【Is it even a failure? No, no—it’s just an ordinary mistake.】

But Robert had become a thing of the past.

Maybe there would be a Robert again in the future.

But that would be Robert 2.0 or 3.0, not the Robert they knew now.

From the scrapping of Robert, to the fire, to extinguishing it, the Future team remained silent.

No one spoke.

Even Shen Qi, unusually, didn’t make a snide remark.

What could he say?

As a fellow robot developer, he understood too well what it felt like to watch a robot you designed with your own hands get scrapped—a deep sense of frustration, helplessness, and pain.

Though he didn’t get along with Ren Yanjing, he wouldn’t stoop so low as to kick someone when they were down.

Ren Yanjing’s failure was also a warning for him: when developing robots, never chase quick results, stay humble, and work steadily.

The supervising teacher saw the Future team looking dejected and comforted them, “Research is like this: there’s success and failure, often more failures than successes. You have to get used to failing, but you can’t let failure consume you.”

Shen Quanli knelt down and held Robert’s hand, unable to hold back tears.

Zhang Mian and the others had red eyes as well.

Their old friend, Robert, had fought for their victory—but in the end, it was scrapped.

After the incident, Ren Yanjing spoke for the first time, his voice hoarse, “This is my fault.”

As the team leader, he had been too eager for Robert to win, which led to this outcome.

He felt he had let Robert down.

The supervising teacher sighed, “What? When you win, it’s the team’s glory, but when you fail, it’s only your responsibility?”

Shen Quanli wiped his eyes and said, “Captain, don’t say that.”

Future was never a one-man show.

Focusing too much on increasing Robert’s attack power without considering its limits was a mistake shared by all members. It wasn’t just Ren Yanjing wanting to win—everyone wanted to win.

It was just that Robert bore the consequences.

An hour later, the team members adjusted their moods and prepared to return to school.

Ren Yanjing held Tang Zhen’s hand tightly and led her toward the car.

After a few steps, Tang Zhen suddenly called out, “A-Jing.”

Ren Yanjing stopped immediately and apologized,

“Wife, I’m sorry for giving you a bad viewing experience today.”

Tang Zhen froze for a moment.

She knew he was feeling bad, but he was still thinking about her feelings. If he had been more selfish right now, maybe she would have felt better.

Tang Zhen bit her lip, “I don’t want to hear those three words.”

Ren Yanjing immediately said, “I take them back.”

Tang Zhen didn’t want things to continue like this. Hesitating for a moment, she finally said, “Today’s scrapping of Robert wasn’t your fault.”

It was because of her.

If only she hadn’t gone to watch the robot performance with her cousin that day.

If she hadn’t gone, Zhenguai wouldn’t have found her, Ren Yanjing wouldn’t have found her either.

They wouldn’t have gotten back together.

This match might never have happened.

Robert wouldn’t have been scrapped.

“It’s because…”

Tang Zhen hadn’t finished her sentence before Ren Yanjing blocked her mouth.

111 exclaimed, 【!!!】

【Zhen, the mouth-blocking act is happening again!】