Chapter 270: Intelligent Red Scarf·Youth Pioneer Innovation Award

The air outside the eaves split again.

Zhao Xing stood in the center of the auditorium, holding a red scarf. The audience below was full; the principal sat in the front row, the gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses a bit cold. He didn't smile, didn't applaud, just stared.

Zhao Xing didn't move.

He knew that metal arm was still spinning in the air above the courtyard wall, like an invisible eye. But now he had to finish saying this first.

"This is what I made." he said, "Intelligent Red Scarf."

The principal frowned: "You're five?"

"Hmm."

"You say this thing can locate? And do first aid?"

"Yes." Zhao Xing spread out the red scarf, pressed the small button on the edge. A beam of light projected onto the ground, showing a child running on the playground, then suddenly falling. A few seconds later, the broadcast announced: "Class 3, Grade 1, Zhang Xiaoming, fell on the east side of the basketball court; check for knee abrasions."

The principal jerked his head up.

The technical teacher next to him lowered his head to look at his phone, his face changing: "The system just received the notification; it's real."

"The red scarf has sensors." Zhao Xing said, "If someone gets lost, the backend knows where they are. If injured, the fabric changes color, releases a patch, for hemostasis."

The principal stood up, walked onto the stage. He took the red scarf, turning it over to examine.

"What about the materials?"

"Nanofiber flexible circuit." Zhao Xing said, "Mom helped me sew it; the thread is conductive."

Someone in the audience muttered quietly.

"Kid's just bluffing, right?"

"Don't say that; the broadcast just now was real."

The principal fell silent for a few seconds, then suddenly asked: "Why did you make this?"

Zhao Xing looked up.

He saw the crack outside the eaves still there, the metal arm slowly turning, scanning the Siheyuan's electric wires. When the wind after the rain blew, it swayed slightly.

"Because last night." Zhao Xing said, "Something wanted to get in."

The principal froze.

"It looked at our electric meter, looked at the door lock, looked at the wheelchair's controller." Zhao Xing pointed at his own eyes, "I saw it too. But it doesn't know that when I look at it, I can also record it."

The principal said nothing.

The technical teacher came over and whispered: "Principal, this positioning precision... is even higher than what the public security uses."

"'Where did the parts come from?' the principal stared at Zhao Xing."

"Learned in a dream." Zhao Xing said, "Grandfather taught me."

The whole hall fell silent for a moment.

Then laughter burst out.

The principal didn't laugh. He stared at Zhao Xing for a long time, then turned to the staff and said: "Connect the big screen, adjust the monitoring."

Three minutes later, the footage appeared.

It was from last night at 9:17 p. m., under the streetlamp outside the Siheyuan, a trace of distorted air. The camera zoomed in; a thin, elongated metal structure reached out from the void and tapped the utility pole.

The hall was silent.

The principal turned back to look at Zhao Xing: "Is that what you saw?"

"Hmm."

"So you're standing here now not to win an award?"

"Yes." Zhao Xing nodded, "I want everyone to know we can protect ourselves. I'm not just a dreamy child."

The principal took a deep breath.

He put his glasses back on and lifted the red scarf.

"'Classmates.' He raised his voice: 'Today our school has produced an inventor. Five years old, first grade, Zhao Xing.'"

No one applauded.

They hadn't reacted yet.

"'This red scarf.' The principal continued, 'It has built-in positioning, alarm, and first-aid functions; the materials are safe, the cost controllable. I've already contacted the District Education Committee; we'll discuss promoting it district-wide at tomorrow's meeting.'"

The audience began to stir.

"Real or fake?"

"Are we going to install this kind of system in our school?"

The principal raised his hand to press down, then said: "I announce that we award Zhao Xing the Youth Pioneer Innovation Award; this is the first technology award given to a lower-grade student since the school's founding."

Applause suddenly exploded.

Over sixty Youth Pioneer members stood up in unison, clapping. Someone shouted "Zhao Xing is awesome!" Someone jumped up and waved. A little girl pulled out a notebook and quickly wrote: "I also want to invent something."

Zhao Xing stood still.

He felt the sugar in his pocket warm up a bit. That was given by his dad, said to stabilize the heartbeat. He didn't eat it, but he knew it was there.

The principal walked over and handed him the certificate.

Red background with gold characters, the name written on it.

"'Does your dad know?' the principal asked quietly."

"'He does.' Zhao Xing said, 'He also said that next time we see that thing, we can stick a code on it, like leaving a note.'"

The principal froze.

"'What code?'"

"'To make it lose its way.' Zhao Xing blinked, 'It has to loop a hundred times before it can find the exit.'"

The principal opened his mouth, finally only saying: "... Alright then."

He patted Zhao Xing on the shoulder and stepped down from the stage.

Just then, the back door of the auditorium was flung open with a bang.

A lump of iron rolled in.

It had a round head, three legs, and one hand holding a placard that read, in wobbly letters, "I want one too."

"What is that?" a student shouted.

"It's a robot!" someone exclaimed, "The Xu Family's!"

The robot staggered forward, the placard held high. It walked up to the stage, looked up at Zhao Xing, and with two clicks, its camera flashed.

No one spoke.

Zhao Xing lowered his head to look at it.

It remained silent and motionless, just holding up the placard.

Three seconds later, two people dropped from the ceiling.

Dressed in black, they moved swiftly and landed silently. One grabbed the robot's arm, the other inspected its camera.

"Special Forces," the principal said quietly.

The robot struggled twice, emitting a buzzing sound: "I... also... want... to... invent..."

"Mute." The black-clad person pressed its head, and with a snap, its head tilted.

"Device Number 047, remote Signal Source not locked." Another spoke into his wrist, "Bring it back for testing."

They carried the robot out through the back door, like lugging a sack.

The auditorium fell quiet again.

The students looked at each other, the earlier excitement fading, replaced by an indescribable feeling.

Zhao Xing was still on the stage.

He lowered his head to look at the certificate, then at the Red Scarf in his hand.

Suddenly, he slipped the Red Scarf around his neck and tied a proper knot.

"Everyone," he said loudly, "from now on, everyone will have one. If anyone loses it, I can retrieve it."

Another round of cheers rose from the crowd.

A little boy rushed to the front row: "Zhao Xing! Teach me, okay?"

"Sure," Zhao Xing said, "first learn to sew buttons."

"Then can I install a tracker?"

"You can, but you need to write an application first."

"How many words?"

"Five hundred."

"Huh?"

Laughter broke out again.

The principal stood at the edge of the stage, watching this scene, slowly smiling. He took out a pen and wrote on his notebook: "Suggest incorporating children's technological innovation into the moral education evaluation system."

He closed the notebook and looked up at Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing was folding the certificate and slipping it into his backpack, a routine motion like putting away a homework book.

But he knew, this was different.

This child had just, in front of everyone, spoken of something they could not see.

And he said it as if it were completely natural.

The principal touched the old Red Scarf around his own neck.

Suddenly, he felt it was a bit worn out.

At that moment, Zhao Xing raised his head and gazed out the auditorium window.

Outside the eaves, that crack was beginning to close.

The Metal Arm retracted halfway, as if it had received a signal. It paused for a second, then jerked free and vanished into the air.

A gust of wind made the leaves tremble.

Zhao Xing narrowed his eyes and looked for a few seconds.

Then he opened his backpack, took out a piece of bubble gum, and popped it into his mouth.

The sweetness spread.

He smiled.