Chapter 211: What Kind of Me Do You Want?

After activating the new energy device.

The laboratory at night was no longer as dim as before.

The rumbling machinery, the blue glow, and the silver-white walls reflected the faces of those present.

But within that bright tranquility, there was still a heavy sense of night, a deep, silent, winding calm where all things were hushed.

Drip—

Drip—

Coolant dripped from the side.

The sound of splashing droplets and the faint hum of vibrations were slow and gradual.

Xu Xi gently supported Ailei’s mechanical body, slowly lowering the seemingly light but actually heavy steel frame to the ground.

Watching her feet touch the floor.

Watching her body stabilize.

Only then did Xu Xi relax a little.

“Great, Ailei, no issues this time,” Xu Xi smiled, his furrowed brows easing as well.

After the incident of her body collapsing once, he was truly afraid it might happen again. Fortunately, the quality this time was solid, and nothing awkward occurred.

“Ailei, is there anywhere that needs adjustments?”

Xu Xi bent slightly.

Lowering his height.

Keeping his eyes level with Ailei’s.

Her mechanical yet clean eyes shimmered with a cold blue light, a sight no human could possess, like two gemstones embedded in silver, deep and radiant.

When they blinked, Xu Xi felt a sense of emptiness.

Unlike the witch.

The witch’s emptiness stemmed from her soul, a lack of emotion, while Ailei’s emptiness came from her vessel. Cold metal, no matter how well it imitated, could never be true flesh.

“Master, I…”

The ‘girl’ spoke in that familiar electronic tone, explaining to Xu Xi where adjustments were needed.

Like the lack of coordination in the arm joints.

The poor flexibility in the lower legs.

Xu Xi listened carefully, jotting down each point. His meticulous expression made one wonder who the true human being served here was.

“…”

The master is indeed strange.

While Xu Xi was busy, Ailei stood still, hesitatingly glancing at his back before looking down at her ten fingers.

Her palms rotated slightly.

The delicate fingers revealed intricate details.

Perfectly mimicked skin, even fingerprints and palm lines were carefully engraved, with a slight bounce when pressed, the details were flawless.

But upon closer inspection, the mechanical bones inside could still be detected.

She extended a single index finger.

The fingertip touched above her cheek.

Ailei, in a slightly dazed posture, gently slid her finger across her cheek, feeling the feedback from the processor, synchronized between her cheek and fingertip.

…

What is love?

What is hate?

What is liking?

What is dislike?

The Federation’s database had everything, and Ailei could easily retrieve those so-called analytical reports.

“Love is a strong emotional state, a deep affection for people, things, or objects.”

“Love is attitude, love is approval, love is acknowledgment, love is care.”

Are these the answers? Are these correct?

Ailei didn’t know.

She only knew that her program, through repeated runs and interactions with Xu Xi, had rewritten itself into an unknown form.

The surging data seemed to symbolize some kind of change.

Is that human emotion?

Ailei tried to express it in her own way, but it was difficult. The intense emotions clashed with her cold body, almost incompatible.

A human heart would pound, while a machine’s core remained silent.

Human skin would be warm and delicate, while a machine’s shell was hard and cold.

Human reactions would be varied, while a machine’s chip followed its programming.

Mechanical logic is rational.

Program operations are predetermined.

It should be so, it must be so.

Ah…

But it’s really strange. Just as the master is a strange human, Ailei felt she had become a strange machine.

She even fantasized.

About changing from “it” to “her.”

To touch, to feel, to express those intense and warm emotions.

So, after getting Xu Xi’s permission, Ailei eagerly set out to create a humanoid body for herself.

There were some setbacks, but in the end, Xu Xi made a new body for her.

But still… was it not enough?

Those silver-blue eyes suddenly dimmed. Though her expression remained unchanged, Ailei knew she felt a bit disappointed.

Disappointed at not becoming truly human.

With just a mechanical body, she couldn’t experience the myriad sensations humans could.

But.

It was enough.

As long as she could stay by her master’s side in this form, the loyal mechanical servant felt it was already a fortunate thing.

“Ailei, sit down. I’ll readjust you.”

A familiar voice came as Xu Xi finalized the correction plan and approached Ailei again.

He smiled.

Using Mechanical Force to enhance his strength, he carried Ailei’s body back to the workbench.

The adjustment process wasn’t complicated.

During this, Ailei and Xu Xi could even converse, their shadows stretching out under the solitary light, two very similar figures.

“…Master, I’ve troubled you these past few days.”

“It’s fine, just minor issues. Don’t worry about it.”

“The body is complete. What does Master want Ailei to look like?”

“That’s up to you, Ailei.”

Xu Xi said.

He only helped create the body, not presuming to decide Ailei’s appearance or finer details.

Xu Xi felt that if he made the decision himself,

He would inevitably be influenced by past memories.

Subconsciously transferring others’ traits onto Ailei.

As a collection of strengths, the result would undoubtedly be beautiful, but then Ailei would no longer be Ailei.

But a tangible copy of others.

So, Xu Xi didn’t want to do that, instead returning the choice to Ailei herself.

…

[You’re a strange creator]

[You neither demand your creation to be reverent nor require it to fulfill all your demands]

[You made a new body for Ailei]

[Ailei wanted you to decide her appearance, but you rejected the idea, encouraging her to follow her heart]

[You claimed this was the “human” right to choose]

[Ailei disagreed, feeling she was far from being human]

“No, Ailei.”

“You already are, always have been.”

[You laughed, correcting Ailei’s words. Though the traits “Mechanical Soul’s Joy” and “Mechanical Resonance” still affected the pristine body before you]

[To you, Ailei, with consciousness inhabiting the body, was no different from a true “human”]

[The only difference was the frail flesh]

[It, has always been her]