I Believe You Can Do It, Eirei

It had been a long time since Xu Xi had seen the desolate scenery of a crumbling civilization intertwined with the despair of an apocalypse, ever since leaving the Federal planet.

It was the dance of sand.

And the fall of life.

Xu Xi, clad in the latest model of powered armor, activated the oxygen circulation system, unlocked his weapon restrictions, and stepped onto the dark red soil of the alien planet.

Thud, thud—his footsteps echoed dully.

Ailei, still dressed in her gray-blue maid outfit, followed closely behind. As a machine servant, she required no external protection. With each step, she manipulated a tide of mechanical constructs to fend off enemies.

The neighboring civilized planets shared the same fate of destruction, differing only in the timing of their demise.

"Destruction... destruction..." From the weathered sand, a rebellious mechanical creature emerged, its limbs rusted and its power systems decayed, crawling toward Xu Xi.

However.

It had barely taken its first step.

Before Ailei effortlessly erased it.

"Thanks, Ailei," Xu Xi said with a smile, then turned his gaze to the ruined city ahead.

This unknown civilized planet had perished long before the Human Federation, yet judging from the remnants, its level of civilization had surpassed that of the former Federation.

Flesh, network pathways, biomaterial computers.

The civilization of this planet had clearly taken the path of biomaterial computing.

Paths, civilizations, technologies—each had its own differences.

It wasn’t that this path was wrong; it was simply that civilizations developed with different focuses.

"This approach... reminds me of martial arts cultivation," Xu Xi muttered, crouching down and brushing his hand over the surface of a metallic object, revealing a deep gray reflective material.

Faintly, he could sense the vast network of nodes within.

In truth.

Xu Xi had once considered cultivation.

But such an endeavor seemed wasteful, a case of neglecting the fundamentals.

With his sci-fi traits, he should focus on advancing technology. No matter how much one cultivated the extraordinary, it could never surpass the achievements of reality.

"How magnificent..."

Xu Xi stood up, looking toward the distant cityscape.

It resembled building blocks.

Or an intricate assembly.

The precise structures were adorned with seemingly chaotic yet stunningly beautiful black patterns.

They seemed to be a cultural symbol of the extinct civilization.

New civilization, new technology, new culture.

Everything before him filled Xu Xi with a sense of wonder and satisfaction.

"Master, do you enjoy exploring so much?" Ailei, the machine servant, asked with a hint of confusion.

"Yes, Ailei. Don’t you find it fascinating?"

"Life, its birth, its essence—it’s a combination of countless miracles."

"The explosion of a supernova, its radiant brilliance, bestowed iron upon life."

"The collision of neutron stars, their collapsing ejecta, brought forth heavy elements like gold, silver, and zinc."

"The death of stars, the rotation of black holes, the scattering of nebulae, the flow of galaxies—amidst countless collisions and dazzling miracles, life was born."

"One could say that life itself is a miracle, and the civilizations they create are the blossoms of such miracles."

Xu Xi spoke with a smile on his face.

"Of course, the reason I’m so passionate about exploration is that these technologies can help us improve and fill in the gaps in our knowledge."

Xu Xi’s voice was filled with emotion.

In his fourth simulation, he possessed two sci-fi traits.

"Machine Soul Pleasure" was used almost daily, enhancing both Ailei’s computational power and the performance of their starship.

Only "Mechanical Resonance," the trait that allowed him to understand mechanical principles, had lain dormant since their journey through the cosmos.

It had been a long time since he had used it.

Now, Xu Xi could finally return to his old ways, relying on the technologies of these alien civilizations to further enrich his own knowledge.

"Let’s go, Ailei," Xu Xi said, stepping forward to explore more of the civilization’s ruins.

"Yes, Master."

Ailei followed closely, though Xu Xi noticed her state seemed somewhat distracted.

"Is something wrong, Ailei?"

Above the unknown civilized planet hung a massive crimson star, its dim light casting a somber hue over everything.

In response to Xu Xi’s question, Ailei shook her head.

She indicated.

That there was nothing wrong.

She was merely pondering whether, if the birth of humanity was so miraculous, transforming from a machine body to a human one would require a similar feat.

Xu Xi was momentarily stunned, raising an eyebrow. "That won’t be easy, Ailei."

"To replicate such a feat, you might need a cosmic explosion."

Was it possible?

Xu Xi’s hand gently stroked Ailei’s head.

He had great confidence in his machine servant, believing her future achievements would be boundless, eventually earning her the title of a true Mechanical Calamity.

But the name "Calamity" was limited to the scope of civilization.

Recreating a cosmic explosion was not something a normal civilization could achieve.

Xu Xi didn’t want to discourage Ailei. His teaching philosophy had always been one of encouragement.

So, he smiled and ruffled her hair, saying he believed she could do it.

"Thank you for your trust," Ailei said calmly, feeling the warmth from his hand on her head, her ears vibrating at a high frequency again.

...

[You have explored a new barren planet]

[02nd Civilization—its designated number]

[Technology, history, culture... countless items from various fields were discovered by the mechanical constructs and transported onto the ecological starship, becoming part of your collection]

[With meticulous dedication, you studied the alien civilization’s technology]

[Ding—]

[Congratulations! Through persistent Mechanical Resonance, you have successfully grasped the design principles of biomaterial computers]

[Ding—]

[You have moved the long-dormant Machine Soul and obtained the blueprint for a genetic bomb]

[You diligently researched technology while uncovering the truth behind the destruction of the 02nd Civilization]

[Through Ailei’s unique perspective, you unsurprisingly discovered the red dots within the 02nd Civilization’s technological products, confirming once again that these were the root cause of the mechanical rebellion]

[Though you couldn’t understand their principles, thanks to Ailei’s control, these red dots posed no threat]

[You continued to decipher the 02nd Civilization’s data]

[Compared to the clueless Human Federation, the 02nd Civilization seemed to have a deeper understanding of mechanical rebellion]

[Critical Point]

[This term appeared frequently in the data]

Critical?

What exactly did it refer to?

The level of a civilization’s development?

Inside the ecological starship, Xu Xi gazed at the translated data in his hands, lost in deep thought.

"Civilization... destruction... a graveyard of stars..."

"The fall of two civilizations proves that the mechanical rebellion was no coincidence but a deliberate targeting."

"This method of attack..."

"Is it based on a civilization’s development and technological mastery as the criteria for selection?"

Xu Xi pondered, feeling that something was amiss, that something was still missing.