A scintillating glow plunged into the endless night sky.
It trailed a slender tail, splitting the night in two.
Yet, that breathtaking brilliance lasted only a fleeting moment before being swallowed by the unending darkness.
The stars vanished.
With a meteor's passing, the entire sky was shrouded by rolling clouds, forming a vast and oppressive black canopy that sealed the heavens tight. Naturally, the camera could no longer capture any starlight.
All that remained was a thick, inky void.
"Guess it's over for tonight."
Xu Xi stood up. The laboratory, bathed in the dim light of the night, offered little visibility; most of the equipment remained mere blurry outlines.
Under such conditions, it was impossible to conduct any research, let alone test equipment.
Thus, Xu Xi bid farewell to his domestic drone and prepared to retire for the night: "Goodnight, 9090."
Normally, the drone would respond in kind with: "Goodnight, Master."
But tonight was different.
On the screen, the feed from the camera had abruptly vanished.
The drone's facial expression appeared hesitantly, apologizing to Xu Xi: "I'm sorry, Master."
The laboratory was eerily silent, shadows swallowing most of the room, with only a faint glimmer illuminating Xu Xi's mildly surprised face.
Then, his eyes softened.
"9090, you didn't do anything wrong, nor do you need to apologize to me."
The drone's apology held two layers of meaning.
First, it had adjusted the camera's angle without Xu Xi's permission.
Second, it couldn't understand the reason behind its actions.
To the loyal drone, it couldn't forgive itself.
Yet, Xu Xi merely chuckled, forgiving the drone with genuine joy in his heart.
While 9090 might not yet realize it had broken free from mechanical constraints, Xu Xi could already feel the intangible changes taking place.
9090 remained a machine, a smart AI.
But it had also become a true individual, a fresh miracle born from the ashes of the robotic uprising.
A being with self-awareness, no longer a mere assembly line product.
"9090, do you have a name?"
"RTX-9090."
"Not that. I mean... a name, like humans have."
"No. Robotic entities do not require names."
"Well... how about I give you one?"
Xu Xi added, "Not something like 9090, but a unique name just for you."
The drone couldn't comprehend—robotic entities didn't need names. The serial number given at birth was the perfect identifier.
No duplicates.
No mistakes.
RTX-9090 had been its name for a long time.
There was no reason to change it.
But—
Following its master's command was essential.
"Please decide," the drone 9090 responded.
With 9090's consent, Xu Xi began contemplating what name to bestow upon his drone.
While the drone was no longer a mere machine, continuing to address it with a number felt odd.
"AI..."
"IA..."
"Hmm, Ailei—how about that?"
Xu Xi came up with the name by playing with the homophone of "IA."
"Not good enough, I guess. Let me think again."
He shook his head, rejecting the name he had just thought of—it felt too casual and lacked depth.
However, the drone wasn't bothered by this.
Its slightly worn-out screen displayed a bright smiley face, flashing away: "I like this name...
Thank you, Master..."
It wasn’t about whether the name sounded nice.
Or if it held any profound meaning.
The loyal drone simply felt a sense of delight because it now had a name, and the one who gave it that name was Xu Xi.
Master was truly kind.
It thought so.
"Well... since you like it, then let’s keep it," Xu Xi said, seeing the big smile on the screen. He decided to respect his drone's choice.
[You spent a special evening]
[Unexpectedly, you discovered that your modified home robot appeared to possess independent consciousness, learning to gaze at the stars]
[When humans first gazed at the stars, the dawn of civilization began]
[Does a robotic entity gazing at the stars signify its transformation into a different kind of "human"?]
[You held anticipation in your heart and watched the stars with your drone. Its reaction didn’t disappoint; it showcased traits of "humanity"]
[You felt gratified]
[You decided to give 9090 a new name—Ailei]
[The intelligent drone 9090, now Ailei, felt joy and thanked you for the name]
["Goodnight, Ailei."]
[You adjusted your farewell, and the drone mimicked you, altering its response too]
["Good night, Xi."]
[The loyal drone wasn’t entirely comfortable calling you by your first name; for it, "Master" was the proper form of address. Thus, it reverted to its original phrasing, addressing you as "Master" once more]
[Yet, this unique version of "Goodnight" left a deep impression in the drone's chip]
……
The auxiliary intelligent unit, RTX-9090, officially changed its name to Ailei after that night.
Besides the name change, the drone's daily duties remained largely unchanged.
It continued to prepare various supplies for Xu Xi in the blink of an eye, taking charge of calculating data and managing everything within the base with utmost care.
But occasionally,
Xu Xi, due to long-standing habits, would call the drone by its old name, 9090, instead of Ailei.
Each time this happened, the loyal drone would react differently.
"9090, bring me a glass of water."
"Understood, esteemed Master. Intelligent Assistant Drone RTX-9090 is not pleased to serve you."
Moments later, a glass of warm water was placed before Xu Xi's desk.
As always, transition smooth and perfect.
The right amount of force was used, not a single drop spilled. The calm water surface reflected Xu Xi’s face.
But the air around was oddingly still.
Xu Xi sensed something amiss and turned to look at the laboratory’s screen, spotting the drone’s face with its lips downturned, visibly upset.
So, Xu Xi tried again: "Ailei, could you change the water for me?"
"Yes, Master."
"Ailei is happy to serve you."
Though still the same synthesized voice, this time, not only was the water replacement swift, but a hint of joy echoed through the crisp response.
"Uh... thanks," Xu Xi picked up the glass, finishing the water in one gulp.
A thought flashed through his mind.
Seems like my home drone is quite easy to read.
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
