Lia, the most beautiful girl in her school, was enjoying her holiday and feeling happy because she was finally dating Jake, the half-robot human. She went cycling in the park in the morning, where it was bustling with activity. As usual, Lia's beauty attracted men to flirt with her.
While Lia was resting and drinking mineral water, a group of guys approached her with grins on their faces, teasing and taunting her. Lia looked at them and smiled politely.
"What can I do for you, gentlemen?" Lia asked, still smiling.
One of the guys suddenly picked up Lia's bike that was lying next to her. "We don't need anything, sis, we just want to borrow your bike for a short ride," he said, laughing.
Lia felt uncomfortable with the request. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel comfortable giving my bike to someone I don't know. Please return my bike," Lia said firmly.
However, the guy became more aggressive. "Oh, don't be like that. Besides, this bike is not locked. Don't be so arrogant; maybe we can become good friends in the future," he said, teasingly.
Lia felt even more uncomfortable with the situation. She tried to reach for her bike, but one of the guys prevented her. "Don't play games, sis. We just want to have some fun. Don't worry, we'll return the bike," he said.
Lia started to feel scared and trapped, with limited options other than trying to escape. She stood up and attempted to run away, but one of the guys grabbed her and tried to touch her body.
Lia felt trapped and terrified. She screamed for help, but the park was so noisy and crowded that no one heard her screams.
When Lia felt hopeless, suddenly a man appeared and chased away the guys. He helped Lia to stand up and asked what happened. Lia tearfully recounted the whole incident.
The man took out his phone and called the police to help handle the situation. He also reassured Lia, making her feel safe and calm.
Shortly after, Lia called Jake and informed him about the incident. Furious, Jake immediately came and saw Lia's condition.
Lia introduced the man to Jake, but the man's behavior seemed a bit strange. He stared at Jake from head to toe.
Lia and Jake felt puzzled, and the man said, "Are you Jake? The boy with robot arms..." Before he could finish his sentence, Jake signaled him by putting a finger to his lips.
The man then whispered to Jake, "Are you the boy with robotic arms?" the man asked. Jake responded, "Yes, and how did you know, sir?"
The man smiled slightly and handed him his business card. "My name is Dr. Wu. I collaborated with your father in the development of prosthetic technology," said Dr. Wu, showing his card to Jake.
Jake was surprised and asked, "What do you know about my father?"
Dr. Wu took a deep breath before answering, "I want to apologize. I may have misinterpreted the information I received. I have checked my records again, and it turns out your father is still alive."
Jake was stunned and asked, "What? What do you mean, sir?"
Dr. Wu nodded, "Yes, and he is currently in our laboratory. I tried to contact your father before, but unfortunately, it didn't work."
Jake felt silly hearing this news and thought to himself, "What does this man mean? It's clear that my father is alive and living with me at home. Something is not right."
Dr. Wu answered, "Come with me, Jake."
Jake and Lia felt confused yet curious about this uncle's motive, so they followed Dr. Wu to the nearby laboratory. Upon arrival, Jake saw someone who looked exactly like his father sitting in a wheelchair in a spacious room. The man smiled happily upon seeing Jake enter.
Jake was silent for a moment, then he said in confusion, "Father? What's going on?"
The person who resembled his father answered gently, "I know you're confused, Jake. It may be hard to understand, but I am a clone of your father."
Jake and Lia exchanged glances, both shocked and unable to say anything. Dr. Wu introduced the clone as "Father Clone," a secret project he and Jake's father had worked on together a few years ago.
"We started this project because your father wanted to find a way to extend human lifespan," explained Dr. Wu.
Jake was still confused, "But why create a clone of my father? And why didn't my father tell me about this?"
"Your father was involved in this project, but unfortunately, he passed away before the cloning was completed. We decided to develop this clone as a way to fulfill your father's dream," Dr. Wu explained again.
Jake felt a mix of emotions, "What do you mean? My father is at home with my mother!" Jake exclaimed.
Lia added, "Who are you really? And what do you want?"
Dr. Wu and the Father Clone exchanged glances before Dr. Wu answered, "We apologize, Jake and Lia. We didn't mean to hide anything from you. In fact, your parents knew about this project, but they decided to keep the project's secrecy from you until the cloning was ready."
Jake felt a bit relieved hearing Dr. Wu's explanation but still confused, "But what will happen to this Father Clone? Are you going to replace my father with this clone?"
Dr. Wu shook his head, "No, Jake. The Father Clone will not replace your father. Instead, we want this clone to be a companion and a working partner for your father. The Father Clone possesses the same abilities as your father, even better in some aspects."
The Father Clone added, "We hope I can assist your father in fulfilling our shared dream of extending human lifespan. And I hope we can be good friends to you and your mother."
Jake and Lia exchanged glances, finding it difficult to process all the information they had received. But they felt a bit relieved now that they knew the truth about the Father Clone.
"I don't know what to say, but I hope the Father Clone can help my father in this project," Jake said.
Lia added, "And I hope you can inform me if there are any more things like this in the future."
Dr. Wu smiled, "Of course, Lia. We promise not to hide anything from you anymore."
Then Lia and Jake went back to Jake's house to ask Jake's father about the confusing matter.
"Father, do you know Dr. Wu?" Jake's father furrowed his brow. "Dr. Wu? Yes, I know him. He is one of the researchers at the company where I work. But I have never discussed cloning projects with him."
Jake and Lia told their father about their visit to Dr. Wu's laboratory and the confession that their father had been cloned.
Jake's father was surprised, "What?! Cloning? That's impossible!"
Jake and Lia explained that they had seen the Father Clone and were told that the clone would be a working partner for their father in a project to extend human lifespan.
Jake's father fell silent for a moment, digesting all the information he had heard. "This is truly surprising. But if it's true, then it's dangerous!"
Jake and Lia looked at Jake's father with confusion, "Dangerous? Why?"
"What would happen if this clone of mine falls into the wrong hands? What if this technology ends up in the wrong hands and is used for malicious purposes?" Jake's father explained.
Jake and Lia understood their father's concerns. They realized that technology like this could be extremely dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. However, they also believed that Dr. Wu and his team had done everything they could to ensure that the clone of Jake's father would be used for good purposes.
"You may be right, Father. But we have to trust Dr. Wu and his team to ensure that the clone of my father is used wisely," Jake tried to convince his father.
Jake's father nodded, "You're right, Jake. But we have to remain vigilant and make sure this technology is not misused by anyone."
Amidst the intense conversation about the cloning, Lia's phone suddenly rang, and her mother called to inform her that she needed to come home immediately because something bad had happened.
Upon hearing that, Jake and Lia rushed to Lia's house together.
Arriving at Lia's house, they saw a crowd of people in front of her house. Jake and Lia immediately ran towards the crowd and saw that Lia's house was on fire.
"Father! Mother! Where are you?" Lia shouted, searching for her family who hadn't been found yet.
A few moments later, Lia's family was found by the firefighters, and they were immediately taken to the hospital due to severe burns.
Jake and Lia were shocked and saddened to see the condition of Lia's family lying in the emergency room.
"What happened? How did your house catch fire?" Jake asked Lia.
Lia shook her head, "I don't know either, Jake. Only my parents know."
Jake felt extremely sad and worried for Lia's family. He felt that he had to do something to help Lia's family in this difficult situation. Jake needed to find out why Lia's house caught fire.
Jake tried to find out the cause of the fire by asking the neighbors and talking to the firefighters who handled the incident. However, all he got was confusion and no definite answers.
Jake took the initiative to ask his father to repair the damages caused by the fire at Lia's house, and Jake's father nodded, "Of course, Jake. We should help Lia's family in this difficult situation. You have to stay strong and patient. We will help as best as we can."
Lia thanked Jake's father and felt deeply touched by his kindness.
However, Jake couldn't shake off his suspicion towards Dr. Wu. He felt that Dr. Wu didn't behave like an honest and good person. Jake decided to check Dr. Wu's laboratory again to find out if there was any connection between the fire at Lia's house and Dr. Wu.
After conducting a thorough investigation, Jake found evidence that Dr. Wu had intentionally caused the fire. He realized that Dr. Wu felt threatened by Lia and her family's presence because they could expose the secret of the cloning project.
Jake felt extremely angry and disappointed with Dr. Wu for causing danger and harm to Lia's family. He decided to confront Dr. Wu and hold him accountable.
"I knew from the beginning that you weren't behaving honestly and kindly, Dr. Wu. Did you intentionally cause the fire at Lia's house?" Jake asked firmly.
Dr. Wu fell silent and couldn't answer. He felt ashamed and regretful for what he had done.
"What was your reason for doing this? What were you afraid of from Lia's
family?" Jake asked again.
Dr. Wu looked at Jake with remorse, "I was worried that Lia and her family could expose the secret of the cloning project. I didn't want this project to be stopped because they could question the ethics and morality behind human cloning."
Jake felt deeply disappointed with Dr. Wu. He apologized to Lia and her family for this incident and vowed never to let Dr. Wu take such actions again.
"I promise to report your actions to the authorities. You must be held accountable for what you've done," Jake said firmly.
Dr. Wu felt deeply remorseful and admitted his wrongdoing. He promised never to take such actions again and was willing to bear all the consequences of his actions.
Jake felt relieved after resolving the issue with Dr. Wu and promised to always ensure the safety and well-being of Lia and her family.
After the incident, Lia suddenly displayed a different attitude. Lia started distancing herself from Jake and always tried to find reasons to stay away from him. Jake felt puzzled and confused by Lia's behavior. One day, Jake found Lia sitting in the cafeteria lost in thought. He approached Lia.
"To be honest, Lia, I feel strange about your sudden distance from me. What's the problem?" Jake asked.
"I'm sorry, Jake, it seems we have to end our relationship. I don't want to become a victim of the people around you whose work I don't understand myself," Lia replied.
"What do you mean?" Jake grew more bewildered.
"The longer I live close to you, the more I'll be in danger. I hope you understand, Jake," Lia replied.
Jake fell silent. He couldn't think at that moment; all he felt was sadness, anger, frustration—all mixed together. Suddenly, Jake felt his hand transforming into a robot. He hastily left Lia and distanced himself. Lia could only cry as she watched Jake running away from her. "Forgive me, Jake. I love you so much, but I also don't want my family to live in danger," Lia said in her heart.
Jake ran as fast as he could towards a vast and empty hilly area, unaware that his hand had turned into a robot. Out of control, his hand displayed an immense anger. Jake's hand started moving wildly, destroying large objects until, at its climax, the hand emitted a blinding beam, forming a massive laser.
Jake, shocked by his hand's behavior, immediately aimed his hand at the sky, and... a powerful beam of light shot up into the sky. The event could be witnessed by the entire city's residents due to the magnitude of the laser's power.
Lia, who was sitting in the cafeteria, could also see the phenomenon. Even her schoolmates started gossiping about aliens coming to Earth. Lia knew it was Jake in his furious state. Lia could see the extent of Jake's anger by the magnitude of the beam. She ran, crying, toward her home.
In Lia's home, she slammed anything related to robots. "To hell with robots, to hell with everything! My family is destroyed because of my association with robots," Lia screamed hysterically and cried.
"I HATE ROBOTS!"