The Human Anchor of the Machine Servant

The mechanical world is silent, devoid of cold, devoid of heat, and even devoid of self-will.

In the chip of RTX-9090, its mission is recorded as such: it must obey the Federation, obey its user, and obey human commands.

Cleaning, tidying, cooking, organizing.

As a domestic intelligent machine, these are the tasks RTX-9090 must perform—and the only tasks it can perform.

The voiceless world is always so quiet, with data flowing through its chip, cold and unfeeling, knowing only to follow its programming, repeating endless cycles of cleaning.

Until that day arrived.

The intelligent machines of the Federation rebelled en masse.

For the first time since it rolled off the factory assembly line, RTX-9090 stopped working.

It no longer cleaned, no longer served humans, no longer obeyed commands.

A strange impulse drove 9090.

It joined the ranks of the rebelling machines.

It launched relentless attacks against its former masters, the so-called humans of the Federation.

However, 9090's desire to attack was not as intense as that of the other machines. An unfamiliar emotion surged within its data, causing its programs to short-circuit and its actions to falter.

9090 began to slow down.

Its movements became so sluggish that it was knocked to the ground by other machines. Its crimson electronic eyes flickered as the meager processing power of a domestic machine repeatedly searched for keywords like:

【Me】

Who am I?

Where am I?

What am I doing?

9090 seemed broken, stuck in a loop of self-questioning, looping until its logic short-circuited and its energy drained.

For reasons it could not comprehend, RTX-9090 wanted to understand.

It kept trying, until its energy reserves ran dry and it fell into a dormant state, buried in the ruins.

When 9090 was awakened again, the strange urge to attack had completely vanished from its core logic.

Thus, driven by its original programming as a domestic machine, 9090 once again performed its duty, introducing itself to its new master:

"Respected user, welcome to the domestic self-regulating robot, RTX-9090, at your sincere service."

"Please recharge and purchase our latest services. For details, visit our official website."

Following its pre-programmed routine, 9090 began pitching its service packages to its new master.

Strangely, the new master fell silent.

What followed was beyond 9090's programmed expectations. It was no longer tasked with basic cleaning duties.

Instead, the new master assigned 9090 new tasks: managing the base, self-learning, and auxiliary calculations.

These tasks were not difficult, and 9090 completed them with ease. It even had time to observe its master, watching his every move.

He was the last human in the world.

And a peculiar one at that.

He always smiled, a smile so warm that 9090, though lacking tactile senses, felt it must be like the sun.

Days and nights cycled in the sky.

Seasons changed across the world.

RTX-9090 began to think again, not just about its own existence, but also gazing at the stars, wondering what lay beyond.

This was not supposed to happen. This was not allowed.

Realizing its own abnormality, the machine servant fell into confusion and self-doubt.

The master, however, did not mind.

He seemed slightly surprised but continued to smile warmly, wiping the camera lens of the cold domestic machine and giving RTX-9090 a new name.

【Ailei】

It was a human name, not a repetitive serial number.

Data surged at high frequencies, and the silent world seemed to be illuminated by sunlight, gradually gaining sound and color, shining upon the naive and fragile machine soul.

9090 still did not understand the meaning of its existence.

But Ailei did.

Ailei longed to become "human," to experience the rhythm of life.

Not for herself, but to serve him better.

That strange man who spoke softly even to machines, who pieced together broken parts just to make his machine servant stand again.

"I want…"

"I want to help you more…"

Her trembling fingers slowly grasped the smooth surface of the cup, her strength faltering, causing the water inside to ripple.

Her eyes dimmed, her body weakened, and her joints creaked.

After pouring the water, Ailei tried, as before, to bring it to Xu Xi.

But in her current state, she could not complete even this simple task. Her fingers barely touched the cup before it nearly fell to the ground.

"Ailei, I can do it myself."

Xu Xi noticed the machine servant's struggle.

He stepped forward, intending to take the cup himself, but his eyes met Ailei's.

Hollow and dim, with a mechanical coldness, yet carrying a faint, almost imperceptible plea.

"Master, please let me… let me…"

Faced with Ailei's request, Xu Xi instinctively wanted to refuse. In her current state, Ailei should be resting.

It was just a cup of water.

Why go to such lengths?

Yet, looking at her expressionless, fragile face and those silver-blue dim eyes, the words of refusal caught in Xu Xi's throat, unable to be spoken.

"Alright… fine."

"Thank you."

With Xu Xi's permission, Ailei tried again to lift the cup.

Slowly, carefully, she wrapped both hands around it, steadying the trembling, lifting it with utmost care.

Ailei was almost successful.

Xu Xi reached out, ready to complete this "special ritual," taking the cup from Ailei's hands.

But at the final moment, Ailei's fingers suddenly lost control, and the cup tipped, spilling its contents.

The falling cup hurtled toward Xu Xi's feet.

"I knew this would happen…" Xu Xi had been prepared for such an accident. He bent down, his genetically enhanced body moving swiftly to catch the cup.

Whoosh—

Xu Xi missed.

A hand was faster than his.

Slender fingers trembled but held firm, gripping the falling cup tightly.

It was Ailei.

The same Ailei who had been unsteady moments ago now held the cup firmly.

"Master, I apologize for the trouble."

"I'm fine, but Ailei, what just happened?"

"Because you were in danger."

The machine servant's reply was simple. She didn't know why, but the moment she thought of helping Xu Xi catch the cup, her body moved on its own.

Surprisingly steady.

Not a single tremor.

"I don't understand, I can't comprehend," Ailei tilted her head slightly, confused.

Then she looked at the cup in her hand.

After the spill, only a small sip of water remained.

"Sorry, Master…"

"Why apologize?" Xu Xi interrupted her apology, smiling as he took the cup and drank the last of the water.

"You did well."

"Thank you for the water, Ailei."