Chapter 101: Robot Colleague

Li Ming was not the only person who pressed the button when the countdown reached zero.

At the other end of the city, on a dusty construction site, Wang Qiang, in his forties, was crowded with a few coworkers in a shack, staring intently at the same page on his phone he had used for years.

Years of heavy physical labor had left his back unable to bear the load, and it would ache faintly whenever the weather turned gloomy.

"Hurry! Hurry! Old Wang, the network lagged!" a coworker shouted anxiously beside him.

Wang Qiang's fingers were stiff from nervousness; he didn't have time to answer, just repeatedly refreshed the page.

When the red pre-order button finally popped up, he almost instinctively clicked it.

【Order submitted successfully, your work robot has been successfully pre‑ordered……】

Seeing this message, Wang Qiang's rough palm clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white.

He didn't redden his eyes like Li Ming did; he simply let out a long, deep sigh, as if shedding a burden he had carried for half his life.

At the same time, in a brightly lit electronics factory, young female assembly‑line worker Chen Xue, taking advantage of the few minutes between shifts, also completed the same operation.

She looked at the confirmation message on her phone screen, then lifted her gaze to the endless conveyor belt before her and to the coworkers who repeated the same motions day after day.

A feeling she had never experienced before quietly sprouted in her heart.

In less than ten minutes, the quota for the first batch of five million work robots was completely snapped up.

The pre‑order buttons on the official website and authorized enterprise sites all turned gray in unison.

Those who succeeded ecstatically posted screenshots of their orders online, while many more who missed out regretted bitterly and could only wait helplessly for notice of the next batch.

Society as a whole was enveloped in a peculiar atmosphere.

On one side lay the decline of the traditional labor model; on the other side loomed a great anticipation for an unknown new life.

For those who had secured a quota, this month‑long wait felt especially long.

As time passed, a month flew by, and the first batch of work robots began to be delivered in succession. Against-the-wind Express Station.

"Are you Mr. Li? Please sign here to receive your work robot."

A staff member said calmly.

"Oh! Okay!"

Li Ming signed his name somewhat excitedly.

After finishing the signature, Li Ming could not wait to tear open the package, and the robot's silhouette immediately came into view.

It was uniformly matte silver‑gray, with no superfluous decoration; its lines were simple yet full of strength.

It was somewhat taller than a human, but did not look bulky.

The robot weighed 65 kg, about the same as an adult human.

"By the way, you can activate and bind it via the mobile app or voice command."

At that moment, the staff member reminded him from the side.

Upon hearing that, Li Ming exclaimed his thanks!

Thereafter he gazed at the "big fellow" before him that was about to change his fate,

his heart pounding uncontrollably.

Following the manual's instructions, he issued his first command: "Activate!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the robot's eye sensors lit up with a soft blue glow, and then an emotionless electronic synthesized voice sounded:

【Work robot, activation successful. Proceeding with identity binding…… binding complete. Boss, it's a pleasure to serve you.】

Li Ming suppressed his excitement and ordered the robot to follow him home.

Along the way it attracted many sideways glances.

After arriving home, Li Ming began trying out various commands.

"Go, lift that bucket of water."

Upon receiving the command, the work robot strode to the corner of the wall and effortlessly lifted with one hand the bucket of nearly twenty kilograms of pure water, the whole process smooth as if picking up an empty bottle.

"Clean up the room."

The robot immediately set down the bucket, its eye sensors quickly scanning the room, then began tidying up in an orderly fashion.

Its movements were precise and efficient—chairs and tables were neatly arranged, floor clutter sorted into categories, and even the bedding was folded by it into neat tofu‑block squares.

Li Ming was utterly stunned.

This was not merely a machine; it felt more like a partner endowed with superhuman intelligence.

He flipped open the manual and saw the page on energy specifications:

【High‑density energy battery, charge for five hours at 220 V to support sixteen hours of continuous high‑intensity work.】

Sixteen hours!

Li Ming silently calculated in his mind.

If based on his previous courier‑work intensity, the value this robot could create in a day would far exceed his own—and it would do so even while he lay idle.

Thus the curtain rose on a new era, slowly unfolding in countless ordinary households.

Meanwhile, Wang Qiang also brought his numbered work robot to the construction site where he worked.

The site foreman, Zhang Wei, had already been waiting there.

He looked the robot up and down—it was a head taller than Wang Qiang—and his eyes were full of curiosity.

The other workers on the site also gathered around, pointing and commenting on this "steel colleague."

"Old Wang, is this your precious little gadget? Can it actually work? Or is it just a showpiece?"

A familiar coworker joked.

Wang Qiang smiled, said nothing, and merely took out his phone to make a few taps in the app.

"Foreman Zhang, I've set your permission level to two. On the site you can directly issue work commands to it; as long as they're reasonable, it will obey."

Zhang Wei raised his eyebrows, eager to give it a try, pointed at a nearby stack of bricks, and shouted at the robot:

Hey! Big guy, move that pile of bricks to Area B on the third floor.

Just as the voice finished, the robot's eye blue light flashed briefly, as if it were performing calculations.

Immediately, it strode over with steady steps.

Amid everyone's astonished gaze, the robot bent its waist, wrapped its arms around, and effortlessly lifted the bricks weighing several hundred jin, then walked toward the stairs with steady steps.

Each of its steps seemed precisely measured, speed not fast but never stopping, steadier than even the most experienced porter.

Zhang Wei's mouth slightly opened, he blankly watched the robot tirelessly go up and down the stairs, moving that pile of bricks that originally would have taken two people half a day to move,

In less than half an hour, it had all precisely stacked in the designated spot.

Throughout the process, there was not a single complaint, not a drop of sweat, nor the slightest slack.

"Go mix cement."

Zhang Wei snapped back to attention and issued a new command.

The robot immediately went to the mixer, precisely controlling the proportions of cement, sand, and water; the mortar it mixed was uniform and fine, its quality surpassing that of the veteran worker's blend.

Zhang Wei and the others fell completely silent.

He watched that efficient steel figure shuttling across the construction site, and his heart was overcome with tumultuous waves.

What he thought of was no longer whether this thing could work, but the disruptive change it could bring.

No need to pay insurance, because it won't suffer work injuries.

No need to consider lodging and meals, because it only needs charging.

No need to worry about it slacking off, for it will absolutely obey orders. Moreover, no need to worry about holiday overtime pay; as long as there is electricity, it can even work twenty-four hours a day!

One robot's efficiency can at least match that of three to five workers, and its cost is lower, while management is also more reassuring.

Zhang Wei's gaze involuntarily shifted from the robot to Wang Qiang standing nearby.

In the past, Wang Qiang was the worker drenched in sweat and dirt, laboring painstakingly.

But now he merely stood there, hands in his pockets, watching his own robot work like a foreman.

In that instant, their roles underwent a complete reversal.

An unprecedented idea frenziedly sprouted in Zhang Wei's mind.