Chapter 262:

At this moment, the roles of human and machine had completely reversed.

It should have been the cold, unfeeling machine speaking endlessly about future plans.

It should have been the passionate human silently listening.

Should he shatter these impossible dreams?

Xu Xi chose not to.

He reached out and gently stroked Ailei’s hair. “Sorry, Ailei… Even at a time like this, I’m still troubling you to take care of me.”

His sense of touch was fading, his vision blurring, and he could no longer feel the beating of his heart.

The idea of recovery was nothing but an illusion.

Injuries could be healed.

But a body that had already “died” could not be saved.

Xu Xi forced a weak smile. The suffocating void wrapped around him, yet he tried his best to maintain a gentle expression as he caressed Ailei’s head.

“From the very beginning, it’s always been you helping me. Thinking about it now… I really feel bad about it.”

He didn’t expose the cruel truth.

Instead, with a hoarse voice, he reminisced about the past.

The underground laboratory.

The activation of RTX-9090.

The surveillance camera gazing at the starry sky.

The triumphant capture of the first satellite city.

Memories that should have been hazy now played vividly in his mind, scene after scene.

In his daze, he seemed to return to that familiar laboratory, wiping dust off the camera lens once again.

“Master…”

“Master…”

Ailei’s voice pulled him back to reality.

Xu Xi realized he had been lost in some kind of illusion and apologized again.

“Sorry, Ailei… I must be troubling you with my current state.”

He smiled, but it was a hollow smile, devoid of the warmth it once held.

No… that’s not true.

As long as it’s you…

Ailei’s trembling was no longer confined to her eyes. With the overheating of her core power unit, her entire metallic body began emitting chaotic humming sounds.

“You don’t need to worry, Master. No matter what you become, Ailei will always serve you.”

Forever and always.

“I am just a heartless machine. I don’t know exhaustion, I don’t understand pain. You can use me without hesitation.”

Her trembling body, her voice module—both wavered with a distinctly human-like fluctuation.

It almost sounded like… she was crying.

“All along, it’s been you helping me, hasn’t it?”

“From the wastelands of the old Federation to where we are now, Ailei… you’ve contributed far more than I have.”

“You’ve grown so much… You’re no longer a heartless machine.”

Xu Xi’s movements grew slower.

His hand rested gently on Ailei’s head, gradually losing strength.

With a weak chuckle, he joked that if one were to measure by ability, Ailei—with her infinite computational power—should be considered the real human.

She could drive technological advancements.

She could sustain an entire civilization.

Compared to Ailei’s computing and observational abilities, Xu Xi felt he was insignificant.

He once again expressed his gratitude to Ailei for always helping someone as inadequate as him.

His words, his voice…

Even a machine lacking emotional complexity could sense that something was wrong.

“You… don’t have to worry, Master.”

“This is what I should do…”

It was no longer just the basic commands embedded deep within her core that compelled Ailei to follow Xu Xi’s orders.

Time had passed.

Their companionship had allowed her cold, mechanical soul to experience warmth.

Instinctively, she wanted to always stay by the side of the one who once wiped the dust from her camera.

Yet, that warmth she treasured so much was now slipping away… little by little…

Ailei glanced at the control panel of the medical pod, trying to find a way to help Xu Xi recover, to make him stand again.

But his voice stopped her.

“Ailei… Can you… turn it off for me?”

“Cough… cough cough…”

Too weak to operate it himself, he asked his ever-loyal companion to shut down the system keeping him alive.

Yes.

Not to continue treatment—he wanted it completely turned off.

No matter how obedient and devoted Ailei was, this command left her stunned, frozen in place.

Why?

Xu Xi could see the confusion on her damaged mechanical face.

“I know it’s hard to understand, but… lying in this pod… it makes me uncomfortable.”

Xu Xi explained tiredly.

His condition was unique; the silent decay had consumed most of him, dragging him ever closer to death.

The medical pod that could heal normal humans only served as an inescapable torment for him.

It couldn’t prevent his death; instead, it prolonged his suffering in an endless cycle of void and emptiness, trapping both his body and mind.

In such a state, he preferred to face it with acceptance rather than struggle against the inevitable.

“I… I can’t…”

“This order violates the Second Law. It would harm your life.”

“Request denied. Cannot execute.”

Ailei’s eyes flickered rapidly.

She refused his request.

Her metallic frame remained cold and unfeeling, but her synthesized voice was filled with a uniquely human urgency.

“Your body needs treatment. Your physical condition has deteriorated severely. I must ensure your safety.”

“Please don’t worry, Master. The treatment will be over soon.”

“You will get better…”

“You will get better…”

She began listing medical cases, citing scientific data and theories to justify the possibility of his recovery.

Gradually…

Her voice grew softer.

Until it faded into silence.

She could see Xu Xi’s pain—the torment of being on the brink of death, yet repeatedly pulled back to experience that crushing void.

Instinctively, she wanted to shut down the treatment pod.

But she also knew that doing so meant facing an even harsher reality, one she never wanted to confront—yet one that undeniably existed.

“…I’m sorry, Master.”

“I… I can’t do it…”

“I cannot fulfill your request… You need treatment…”

Life is a series of farewells.

Every moment that passes is a farewell to the person we were a second ago.

Among the countless farewells, there are a few moments where we have the choice—whether to part naturally or to hold on desperately.

In the empty and silent escape pod, Ailei made a choice she could never forgive herself for.

To keep Xu Xi alive…

She caused him suffering.

With a trembling voice, she refused his request.

Would he hate her?

Would he blame her?

Ailei waited for his anger.

But Xu Xi did nothing of the sort.

Instead, he gently stroked her head once more.

“…I see. If you can’t do it, then forget it, Ailei.”

No anger. No frustration.

Instead, there was a smile—a genuine one.

He was relieved that Ailei, like a certain witch from his past, had learned to say no.

If they could meet, they might have a lot to talk about…