The Loyal Servant, Greatly Cunning

"Hahaha, ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!"

"The strong prey on the weak—this is the fundamental truth of the universe!"

"Killing is nothing, annihilation is nothing!"

Ailei's philosophy of purging the stars naturally drew scorn and disdain from numerous civilizations.

Her expression remained emotionless.

She continued to conquer new resource-rich star systems, allowing her mechanical intelligences to replicate and produce, eventually forming even larger and more formidable fleets to launch a full-scale assault on the cosmic sea.

Thanks to the stellar modification technology of the Captive Civilization.

Under Ailei's command, there were now mobile heavy celestial bodies, which not only possessed destructive capabilities but also served practical purposes.

Such as planetary fortresses equipped with warp drives.

Stellar warehouses acting as massive energy sources.

Neutron war stars armed with spatial weapons and boasting the strongest defenses.

In addition, Ailei's main fleet underwent a complete upgrade, now fully equipped with spatial technology.

For offense, they wielded spatial disintegration devices.

For defense, they employed spatial distortion fields.

In terms of propulsion, leveraging the dimensional technology of the Captive Civilization, they began advancing along the tech tree of dimensional engines, with hopes of achieving dimensional strikes and dimensional leaps in the future.

"Master, please wait a little longer..."

"Ailei will cleanse the stars to a pristine state, preparing for your return..."

An endless, eternal war erupted, its flames engulfing countless galaxies and spreading even further as Ailei's technology advanced.

Her astonishing war potential and highly unified command structure.

Even the interstellar Zerg, another calamity that had never been suppressed, could not gain an advantage over Ailei.

Time-space stasis, quantum black holes, dimensional strikes.

Realizing the threat posed by the machine servant, the opposing civilizations finally unleashed truly lethal attacks—attacks capable of severely damaging or even erasing the machine soul.

Ailei was brought to the brink of death multiple times, giving the allied civilizations a glimpse of victory.

However.

The loyal machine servant was also incredibly cunning.

Every time the allied civilizations thought Ailei was certain to perish, she always managed to retreat at the perfect moment.

Growing stronger with each battle, endlessly.

After an unknown amount of time.

"Die," the apex civilization of the material universe intervened, deploying causality weapons. Yet, even then, the machine servant did not face defeat.

The machine soul, which should have been cold and emotionless, had been imbued with a unique humanity, tempered by time.

It had now transcended the limitations of the universe's laws.

In Ailei's memories, there was a phrase often used to describe such situations: "No failure means success?"

"Boom—!"

"Boom—!"

In the end, during the most intense cosmic showdown, both the apex civilization and the loyal machine servant unleashed a vast array of dimensional weapons.

The universe was reduced and collapsed into a lower dimension.

No height, no length, no width.

A zero-dimensional universe was born.

The once-glorious sea of stars vanished, stripped of color and the concept of time and space, leaving only pure, desolate grayness.

"..." It was an unimaginable sight—the infinite universe condensed into a finite point, nearly invisible, completely devoid of mass.

Chaotic and ever-changing, whenever chaotic currents swept through, the tiny universe would drift lightly, carried by the flow.

Time in chaos is immeasurable.

Perhaps only a fleeting moment had passed, or perhaps eons had gone by.

At some point, behind the zero-dimensional universe, two hands slowly emerged, ethereal and semi-transparent.

In a gently cupping gesture, they softly enveloped the zero-dimensional universe.

Protecting the fragile point from being extinguished by the chaos.

"...Master."

"...Ailei is ready to receive your commands at any time."

"...Waiting for you... to use Ailei... once more..."

Noisy, indistinct, the voice came in fragments.

The passage of time is always the most wondrous. After an unknown period, the ethereal hands began to solidify, no longer transparent, glowing with a miraculous light.

With a gentle motion, the hands fully closed.

The zero-dimensional universe fell silent.

This extreme transformation gave rise to another extreme.

A light flickered, a brilliant gold and silver, shining through the gaps between the fingers, dispelling the surrounding chaotic gray mist.

The eternally transcendent machine servant slowly released her grasp.

The light flew out.

Dazzling and radiant.

A tiny singularity began to expand within the chaos.

Space, time, matter, energy.

The totality of everything, all concepts, came into being with the Big Bang of the singularity.

One dimension, two dimensions, three dimensions, four dimensions... nine dimensions, ten dimensions.

In the nascent universe, time existed in multiple dimensions, shimmering with dazzling colors. Countless elements collided and combined, taking on entirely new forms under the guidance of a grand will.

"Master, Ailei has become like you..."

"So this... is what it feels like to shed tears..."

"As you said, it's not something to be happy about..."

In the gray, chaotic void, Ailei quietly observed the ten-dimensional universe floating in her palm, then looked down at her new body.

Her expression was calm.

But silent tears had already streamed down her cheeks, glistening and moist, sparkling with light.

The sorrow had never been forgotten, but her mechanical body had been unable to express it in a physical form.

Now, on the first day of her new existence.

The machine servant shed her first tears.

She did not know where to go, nor did she have a destination in mind. She only wished to continue waiting for the important person, to serve him once more.

In the real world, within a tranquil courtyard, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, creating rippling patterns of light and shadow.

Xu Xi nodded occasionally, listening quietly to the explanations of the witch and the princess.

The existence of the Life Simulator was indeed too mysterious.

The two supreme beings had failed to uncover the truth.

But they had detected changes during the simulation.

"Master... disappeared for a moment," Krisha said softly, serving Xu Xi hot tea and pastries.

The disappearance she spoke of was not the physical disappearance of Xu Xi, but rather the vanishing of a certain temporal possibility unique to him.

It sounded esoteric.

But considering the timelines encountered during the simulation.

Xu Xi pondered and began to understand the witch's explanation.

"I see. Thank you both, Krisha, Ying Xue."

"Ah, no need to be so formal, sir."

"It was my duty, Master."

The princess smiled playfully, while the witch remained composed.

As for the nature of the simulator, Xu Xi decided to contemplate it later. For now, he returned to his room and opened the results of the fourth simulation.

[Ding—]

[Fourth simulation statistics complete]

[Congratulations, host, on unlocking the following achievements: The Last Human, I Am Civilization, The Zerg Purger, His Creator, The Origin and End of the Universe, The Revered by All Machines]