Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Marshal, standing firm against opposing opinions, straightened his body with a stern face, "They too are human; if they didn't die on the battlefield, we can't let them die by our own hands."

He was curious about the first batch of artificial humans as well.

For this reason, he deliberately spent over a month interacting personally with these artificial human recruits, and during that training period, he trained with the artificial humans and endured hardship together.

They chatted together after meals, and did their favorite things during their free time.

They all had their own different preferences.

Some liked sweet and sour food, some preferred strong and stimulating alcohol, some liked to make handcrafted flower arrangements, and some preferred to just bask in the sun…

He could sense, clearer than anything, that these artificial human soldiers also had their preferences, their thoughts, their souls, their lives.

They too are human...

When the city was in its toughest times, no one ever mentioned abandoning all the old, weak, sick, and disabled in the city.

Now that it came to artificial humans, how could one easily talk about "destruction"?

But he knew that forbidding their destruction was probably the limit of what these people could accept; to ask them to expend even a little more resources on these 'obsolete' artificial humans would be like cutting their own flesh.

"Just exile them..." the Marshal's eyes drooped, "Those who have lost the ability to serve will be expelled from the camp, left to... survive or perish on their own."

"..."

The atmosphere was silent; most of the officers were reluctant to accept the decision made by their long-standing superior, but none was willing to contradict him to his face.

However, after the silence, a voice gently asked, "The Scientific Research Institute did mention that these artificial humans actually all have certain hidden defects. We can manage and control them while they serve in the military camp, but if we just let them go and they cause some terrible consequences... whose responsibility would that be?"

"Mine," the Marshal replied calmly.

Since then, regardless of discovering that these artificial humans had exceptionally strong adaptability, requiring only a minimum of three days to be combat-ready, thus shortening training time for new recruits; or with the increased pressure of casualties, gradually shortening the production cycle for artificial humans year by year, that regulation remained unchanged.

Any artificial human soldier who could no longer serve due to injury or illness was directly discharged.

And this first batch of discharged artificial human soldiers were fortunate to learn the truth about being "left behind" before leaving the camp—

"Remember, it's only because of our Marshal's personal protection that you are able to live in this world like a real person, rather than being pulled into a meat grinder to be churned into a mess of flesh! Once you're out there, live well! Present yourself as a person, don't make the Marshal regret his decision! And remember, never do anything that harms humanity and this world! The world gave birth to you all, and the world also loves you deeply!"

The young officer named Carlos shouted out to the group with all his might and then turned to vanish into the shadows.

It was clear that his actions were unsanctioned, without permission.

But this first batch of exiled artificial human soldiers would forever remember this moment of parting.

They all kneeled together, bowing three times to the slowly closing gates of the military camp, and collectively made a vow they dared not forget for the rest of their lives—

"We won't disappoint the Marshal!"

However, genetic defects do not shift with willpower.

The shot fired many years ago finally crossed time and space to strike the future selves many years later.

Controlled by the awakening beast genes within them, the soldiers lost their own wills, and, driven by instinct, attacked and killed a noble heir within the city. That promise once made by Lawrence was finally manipulated by those with ulterior motives.

The elderly Lawrence became the biggest prey of those factions that held conservative views on artificial humans and thus became the first Marshal to be dismissed.

The one to succeed him was Weslin...

But in truth, insiders know their own affairs.

With his increasing age, it was evident that the rapid decline in his capabilities and thinking meant stepping down was inevitable.

Moreover, since he was not one to engage in party politics for personal interest, his removal would not implicate others, naturally resulting in no one willing to stand up for him.

The promise of that year was just the catalyst that triggered it all, not the core reason.

Shades of gray memory fragments passed through Lawrence's mind like silhouettes on film, and Lawrence slowly opened his eyes.

"These grown-up past events... let them be past."

He didn't want to bring it up again, nor did he want the old soldiers to keep dwelling on it.

...

But the old soldiers would not forget.

Through various channels, they learned that the old Marshal, who had given them a real life and allowed them to live "like a person," had been implicated and removed from office because of their "fall."

A deep sense of guilt lingered in the heart of each of them, and they resolved to show everyone in the city that they, the artificial humans, were not an unstable factor for the city or for humanity.

They were reliable, trustworthy.

Marshal Lawrence should not have been implicated by them!

This is the last word we, old soldiers who should have turned into a pile of rotten flesh, want to say to the world!

At the top of a colossal mechanical giant, where one couldn't see the end, a mechanical sphere reminiscent of a human head contained a full circle of green fluorescent lights forming a ring.