"I wonder how Ailei and Krisha's conversation went."
"I hope everything is fine..."
The morning world was awakened by the warm sunlight.
The display cabinet, outlined in the hazy light, revealed its slightly dark contours, with textures of varying depths supporting the four collectibles inside.
In the room.
A soft sigh echoed.
Xu Xi stood up and drew open the curtains, allowing the already radiant sunlight to fully illuminate every corner of the room.
He stood quietly, gazing at the flowers and plants in the courtyard outside the window.
The crimson and azure Dragon Blood Grass swayed like waves, following the trajectory of the wind.
As the wind gradually subsided, the grassy waves calmed, and the tender tips of the grass touched the blue sky, with glistening dewdrops sliding down the stems and leaves.
Xu Xi watched the scene before him.
His fingers unconsciously tapped on the windowsill.
His thoughts drifted far away, worrying about the relationship between the mechanized servant and the others.
Last night's events were too bizarre—the sudden arrival of the mechanized servant and the subsequent escape through the stars far exceeded Xu Xi's expectations.
"Ailei... she was too concerned about my safety. Her concern made her act rashly."
Xu Xi sighed again.
Reuniting with Ailei should have been a good thing, but the loyal mechanized servant was too loyal.
She accidentally clashed with his sister, the sorceress, and the princess.
The reason Xu Xi went to bed early last night was partly due to exhaustion, but more so to give the girls enough space to communicate on their own.
Xu Xi believed that Mo Li and the others wouldn't give Ailei a hard time.
Well, at least they wouldn't fight to the point of chaos restructuring and the collapse of the heavens, as in his dream.
"After all, it was just a dream. It can't be real."
"Mo Li and the others are quite well-behaved..."
His slender fingers tapped lightly, silently and slowly.
Tick.
Tock.
Time passed.
Xu Xi waited.
After about ten minutes, a faint movement came from beside him, and a figure materialized, taking on a form familiar to Xu Xi.
"...I'm sorry, Master."
Her silver-blue eyes remained lowered, not daring to meet Xu Xi's gaze.
Her voice was filled with apology.
The first thing the mechanized servant did upon returning was to apologize to Xu Xi, saying she had caused him trouble.
Trouble? Indeed, it was troublesome.
What should have been a warm and harmonious reunion had turned into conflict and arguments due to the mechanized servant's impulsiveness.
So, what words and what kind of discipline should be used to criticize and educate her behavior?
Xu Xi did not do that.
"It's been a long time, Ailei. I'm back," he turned around and smiled in the sunlight.
Not "good morning."
But "it's been a long time."
Not a casual greeting.
But a reunion after a long separation.
The haste of yesterday clearly couldn't be considered a reunion, so Xu Xi put a period on his past promise, telling the loyal mechanized servant that she no longer needed to wait.
The mechanized servant was stunned.
Her silver-blue eyes rippled with emotion, her expression trembling uncontrollably, before finally forcing a smile.
"It's been a long time, Master..." Her smile was beautiful.
An intense emotion overflowed.
Brilliant, explosive, echoing in the empty air.
Before returning, the loyal mechanized servant had prepared herself mentally, ready to face Xu Xi's reprimand.
But as expected, her master was still as peculiar as ever.
He had no intention of reprimanding Ailei.
Instead, he apologized, saying he had returned far too late, making Ailei wait for far too long, which led to the series of misunderstandings last night.
"...That's not true, Master."
"...I didn't do well enough."
"...You are always right."
The hollow metal heart cavity had become a real, beating heart.
Because of this.
The sorrow and emotion cut even deeper.
Ailei smiled, trying her best to smile, wanting to show Xu Xi her most beautiful side.
But the deep stirrings from the core of her mechanized soul made tears flow uncontrollably from the corners of her smiling eyes, streaming down her face.
Her smile was radiant.
Her sorrow was equally radiant.
"I'm sorry, Ailei, for making you wait so long..." The flowing tears were so sorrowful, moving anyone who saw them.
Xu Xi comforted her softly, extending his hand as he used to wipe her camera lens.
With a gentle and delicate touch, he wiped away Ailei's tears.
Camera lens.
Mechanized eyes.
And now, real human eyes.
The cold machinery had become a real person.
Xu Xi's wiping bore witness to that growth, drying Ailei's tears, allowing her face, which had been forcing a smile, to face the future with a cleaner, more genuine expression.
"Master, thank you..."
"Could you... please not let go..."
Thank you for returning to my life.
And please, never leave again.
As Xu Xi finished wiping Ailei's tears and was about to withdraw his hand, Ailei took hold of it herself.
Trembling, she moved Xu Xi's hand to the top of her head, feeling that warmth again, pleading for him not to leave.
Autumn is merciless.
The transition from heat to cold, the howling winds take away all warmth.
Therefore, the mechanized servant did not want that warmth to leave, craving more of its presence.
"It's alright, Ailei. I'm here."
Meeting those fragile silver-blue eyes.
Xu Xi comforted her softly.
His hand moved, his palm caressing her smooth hair, bringing warmth to the mechanized servant's soul, dispelling the cold silence.
Only after a long time did that uneasy emotion finally settle.
It shouldn't have been like this.
Before meeting, the mechanized servant had prepared herself mentally, determined to protect Xu Xi and not cause him any trouble.
But when they finally met, the surge of sorrow was impossible to suppress.
"I'm sorry, Master."
"I still have many shortcomings..."
After regaining her composure, having found meaning in life once more, and being bathed in light again, the mechanized servant.
Reflected on her shortcomings with a serious attitude.
Promising never to trouble Xu Xi again.
"It's alright, Ailei," Xu Xi smiled, rubbing the mechanized servant's head.
He never cared whether the mechanized servant had made mistakes. If anything, mistakes were a way to fill in the gaps of humanity.
Rather than focusing on her so-called shortcomings.
Xu Xi was more concerned about something else.
"Ailei, while I was away, how did your communication with Mo Li, Krisha, and Ying Xue go?"
"Did you resolve the misunderstandings and get along peacefully?"
Facing Xu Xi's concern, Ailei nodded slightly.
"Please don't worry. We've cleared up all misunderstandings. What happened last night won't happen again."
"I'm truly sorry for making you worry."
Her calm voice carried sincere apology and obvious guilt.
The mechanized servant apologized earnestly.
Xu Xi breathed a sigh of relief: "It's fine. As long as the misunderstandings are resolved, that's the best outcome."
Indeed.
Things like the chaos battles in his dream were just dreams after all.
How could something like that happen in reality?
He laughed.
The eternal supremes were quite well-behaved.
Feeling relieved, Xu Xi asked the mechanized servant what had happened after the fourth simulation ended, how she had become a supreme.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
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.
