77 THE UNDERGROUND

CHAPTER 77 THE UNDERGROUND Our robot was standing in a long, shadowy tunnel. Murky water trickled along the floor, and sour smells filled the air. Roz was belowground, in the city sewers. There was a squeak, and the robot's headlights flashed onto a crack in the wall. A rat's pointy face poked out. "You must be Roz," said the rat, wiggling his nose. "I hear you're in trouble." "That is correct," said the robot. "I need to get as far from here as possible." "I know where to take you," said the rat, and he started scampering down the tunnel. The rat knew the sewers better than anyone, but his short legs couldn't carry him very fast. So Roz carried him. She scooped him up, plopped him on her shoulder, and said, "Tell me where to run." With the rat squeaking directions in her ear, Roz stomped deeper into the underground. She splashed

第七十七章地下我们的机器人站在一条长长的、阴暗的隧道里。 浑浊的水沿着地板流淌，空气中充满了酸味。 罗兹在地下，在城市的下水道里。 吱吱的一声，机器人的前灯照在墙上的一条裂缝上。 一只老鼠的尖脸露出来了。 “你一定是罗兹吧，”老鼠摇着鼻子说。 “我听说你有麻烦了。” “没错，”机器人说。 “我得离这儿越远越好。” “我知道该带你去哪儿。”老鼠说着，开始往隧道里跑。 老鼠比任何人都熟悉下水道，但他的短腿跑不快。 于是罗丝抱着他。她把他抱起来，扑通一声放在自己的肩膀上，说：“告诉我该往哪儿跑。” 随着老鼠在她耳边吱吱作响的指示，罗兹踏着沉重的脚步深入地下。 她溅

down side tunnels, crawled through narrow passageways, carefully crossed subway tracks. Occasionally, they came upon cavernous chambers. Most of the chambers were empty, but some contained jumbles of pipes. The rat would scurry across the damp, dirty floor while the robot climbed the pipes as if they were trees. Mechanical sounds echoed out from some of the tunnels. Robot crews were hard at work. They spent their lives laboring below the city. Many would never even see the light of day. Roz was curious, of course, but she dared not spy on them. Those workers had no idea that a fellow robot was sneaking through their underground home. After traveling through miles of tunnels, the rat and the robot came to a dead end. A ladder was bolted to the wall and disappeared into a hole in the ceiling. "I don't know what you'll find up there," squeaked the rat. "But good luck." "It cannot be any worse than where I was," said Roz, placing him on the ground. "Thank you for your help." The robot gave the rat a quick scratch behind his ears, and then she climbed up to the street.

沿着侧隧道，爬过狭窄的通道，小心翼翼地穿过地铁轨道。 偶尔，他们会碰到一些洞穴。 大多数房间都是空的，但有些房间里有杂乱的管道。 老鼠会在潮湿、肮脏的地板上跑来跑去，而机器人爬上管道，就好像它们是树一样。 一些隧道里回荡着机械的声音。 机器人工作人员正在努力工作。 他们一生都在城市下面劳动。 许多人甚至永远见不到天日。 罗丝当然很好奇，但她不敢窥探他们。 这些工人不知道一个机器人同伴正在偷偷溜进他们的地下住所。 在穿过数英里的隧道后，老鼠和机器人来到了一个死胡同。 梯子用螺栓固定在墙上，消失在天花板上的一个洞里。 “我不知道你在上面会发现什么，”老鼠尖声说。 “祝你好运。”“不会比我在的地方更糟的。”罗兹说着，把他放在地上。 “谢谢你的帮助。” 机器人在老鼠耳后迅速抓了一下，然后她爬上了街道。