Dragon's Blood Grass Cultivation Contestant +01

Conquering the Sixth Satellite City was a crucial and significant step.

This meant.

Xu Xi now had a stable territory and a secure environment.

He no longer needed to hide cautiously from the rebel synthetics, as he had done before.

Silence.

Tranquility.

Leisure.

Xu Xi moved to a new residence, not far away, just above his former laboratory.

He was accustomed to the laboratory's working environment but didn't like the underground surroundings, so he built a new living space on the surface, connecting it to the lab for easy access.

"Rumble—"

"Rumble—"

The sounds of machinery echoed throughout the Sixth Satellite City, massive and raucous, as if countless steel factories were operating simultaneously.

Having endured the ravages of time and the destruction of the synthetic uprising, this once-glorious federal metropolis had long since become a pile of historical debris.

Buildings had collapsed, the land lay barren, and the entire cityscape was a scene of utter ruin.

However, strictly speaking, the Sixth Satellite City still held considerable value, such as buried high-tech equipment, extensive material reserves, and energy devices that remained functional.

To fully exploit these residual assets, Ailei was now operating numerous engineering machines to dismantle and reorganize the Sixth Satellite City.

"It feels a bit noisy."

"And yet, strangely quiet."

In the newly-built courtyard, golden sunlight seemed to ignite everything, dazzling and captivating, even casting a golden glow along the edges of the leaves.

The sky was a deep blue, with clouds drifting lazily.

Xu Xi sat in the shade, watching the machines move methodically through the air, and the leaves rustling, creating dappled shadows.

The noise was real.

The quietness was within his heart.

Although Xu Xi preferred quiet, the current situation in the Sixth Satellite City, with only him and Ailei, felt a bit too silent.

"What should be done next...?"

The overly glaring sunlight forced Xu Xi to half-close his eyes: "The success of the Sixth Satellite City is a good start, but it's only one of the many cities in the southern part of the federation."

"Going forward, we'll need to face even more, and even stronger synthetics."

"I'll probably have to use some of my resurrection abilities."

"After all, those interstellar weapons are just too powerful. If a synthetic were to use one against me, I wouldn't stand a chance."

"Hmm... With 'Ten Deaths, Ten Lifetimes' at my disposal, my odds are still pretty good."

Self-deprecatingly, he chuckled to himself.

With such an overpowered ability and Ailei's help, stepping into the universe seemed almost inevitable.

"A bit drowsy," a wave of post-lunch sleepiness, mingled with the sweltering heat, gradually overtook Xu Xi, and his eyes slowly closed.

The wind was calm, the sea of leaves rustled softly, and even the noise of the machines at work turned into soothing white noise.

"Master, I've prepared some new dishes."

Ten minutes later,

With her skirt swaying as she walked, the graceful, slender-fingered, blue-eyed android girl, Ailei, carried a tray of food.

"Master?" Seeing Xu Xi's sleeping face, she paused for a moment, but quickly placed the food on a small wooden table.

She then returned to the house, fetching an umbrella for Xu Xi.

The umbrella was light in texture.

At just the right angle, it shielded the sun's scorching rays and the stifling summer breeze that made one drowsy as it blew across.

"Is Master too tired...?"

Ailei murmured, her golden hair swaying in the wind, silently and peacefully.

With a gentle gesture, she brushed the strands behind her ear, and then fetched a cover to place over the still-warm food.

Ailei's thoughts were simple:

She couldn't let Master eat cold food when he woke up.

"What kind of praise will Master give...?" The quietness of summer always led to daydreaming.

Even a cold machine, after acquiring a human soul, couldn't escape this rule.

Dappled light illuminated her beautiful and serene face, as she blinked her eyes, revealing a kind of emptiness.

Her golden hair cascaded down from her neck,

Long but not messy,

It gently rested on the grey-blue dress she wore.

This was attire Ailei found in the database, called a "maid's outfit."

The database indicated that most human males liked this kind of outfit, and the definition of a "maid" fit Ailei's self-perception.

As a household robot, her purpose was inherently to serve.

However,

With Xu Xi asleep, Ailei couldn't find an opportunity to serve him, so she could only wait, letting her thoughts wander in the quiet summer.

"Today, I found some edible ingredients. I hope Master will like them."

Her calm voice resonated in the air.

Within her chest, her energy core, or "heart," seemed to gradually stir with an unfamiliar sensation.

Was it a racing heart?

Ailei wondered, her expression puzzled, as she placed a hand over her chest, feeling that silent wave.

"I don't understand... not at all..."

To date, Ailei had learned much and understood that she possessed emotions.

But emotions, and humanity, were not things that existed in isolation.

Lacking a physical body's feedback,

Lacking a true living being's response,

Ailei couldn't fully comprehend what her current state was.

"What is... life?" The android was confused; after a moment's thought, she decided she didn't need to understand.

As long as she could take care of Master, as long as she could stay by Master's side, her life would have value.

The girl stood there,

Waiting in the wind for Xu Xi to awaken.

Leaves swirled, a few green leaves blown off by the wind, twirling to the ground.

Looking at those leaves, the beautiful android suddenly remembered that Xu Xi had once mentioned he particularly liked flowers and plants, reveling in natural scenery.

Especially a peculiar plant called "Dragon's Blood Grass."

Ailei didn't understand Dragon's Blood Grass, but she knew that Xu Xi liked flowers and plants.

Thinking this,

In the shimmering, hallucinogenic sunlight, Ailei stood under sparse tree shadows, allocating a tiny fraction of her computing power to command a few synthetics to excavate various flowers and plants from across the city.

They had grown between the cracks in bricks and tiles,

Or buried deep underground,

Now, controlled by Ailei, they were dug out and transported to the courtyard.

"Next, I'll plant them myself..." The girl's expression was calm yet earnest, clutching gardening tools, meticulously transplanting the flowers and plants.

Yes,

This was something Ailei discovered in the database.

["Showing one's labor results to others can easily gain their favor. Industrious and capable members of the opposite sex often receive more attention."]

Would this truly work?

Ailei wasn't sure.

But she knew that Master would like these flowers and plants.

So, Ailei did it.

The gentle sunlight filtered through the gaps between leaves, casting shadows on the girl, her image heightened by her careful digging of soil, and her solemn planting of the flowers.

In no time, Ailei completed all the transplants.