What does it feel like to communicate with machine souls?
It’s mysterious.
It’s profound.
Seeking that unique spirituality within cold tal feels like stepping into another dinsion, interacting within a world that belongs solely to machines.
To Xu Xi, such interactions weren’t a bad thing.
Thanks to the effects of the[Machine Soul Resonance] trait, every machine soul he encountered harbored goodwill, striving to provide all kinds of assistance.
Ailei’s machine soul, in particular, had evolved beyond comprehension, becoming a high-dinsional existence—a miracle in itself.
However…
Everything must have its limits.
“Ever since I decided to develop the curvature engine, I’ve been constantly communicating with machine souls, establishing connections without pause.”
“At this frequency, with such intensity…”
“It’s normal for my body to struggle. In fact, the stiffness and sluggishness I feel are far lighter than I expected.”
Xu Xi looked at his hand.
The lines in his palm spread out like intricate neural pathways, fine and interwoven.
When he curled his fingers, the palm lines shifted under the pressure, changing shape accordingly.
The machine souls were like his five fingers. When they activated and resonated with him, responding to his thoughts…
And he—he was the “palm.”
Unknowingly, Xu Xi had been affected by them, undergoing subtle changes beyond his awareness.
He could only chuckle and shake his head, marveling at the intensity of his work, and chose to ignore these side effects.
After all, he was soone destined to die.
Side effects didn’t matter.
The only thing that mattered was that he had to keep resonating with the machine souls, using chanical force to grasp even the faintest chance of survival in a hopeless future.
“But… what should I say?”
Xu Xi stood up, tilting his head slightly to gaze at the dim artificial sunset in the distance, his voice carrying a sense of lancholy.
“Whether it’s a world of fantasy or a world of science fiction…”
“Human life…”
“It’s always fragile—like an illusion, a bubble that bursts with a single touch…”
The afterglow of the sunset poured over the vast field of blue-violet flowers.
A gust of wind swept across, making the flowers shimr with golden-orange hues, their leaves rustling in an endless, srizing wave.
They were teor Flowers—one of the many seeds brought from the Federation planets.
Xu Xi rembered that Ailei liked these flowers, so he had specially designated an entire area for them, planting only blue-violet teor Flowers.
Their flower language, he still rembered clearly.
Loyalty, freedom, and eternal love.
It suited Ailei perfectly.
The first represented Ailei’s self-awareness; the latter two were what Xu Xi hoped she could one day attain.
“What is love, really?” Ailei had once clung to Xu Xi’s arm and asked in a confused tone.
Xu Xi had no answer, because true love had no fixed definition.
Later on…
Ailei never asked again.
Perhaps she had found her own answer, or maybe she no longer felt the need to know.
“Master.”
A familiar voice ca from behind, pulling Xu Xi out of his thoughts.
It was Ailei, right on ti as usual.
“Why have you been looking at all this ti?” she asked, puzzled.
“Nothing, I just suddenly thought… today, Ailei looks even prettier than usual,” Xu Xi replied with a smile, reaching out to pat her head.
Ailei felt sothing was off, but the slight tremor of her ears betrayed her excitent, making her forget everything else.
…
[You noticed sothing wrong with your body and discovered the true cause.]
[It was the very foundation of your survival.]
[The ability that allowed you to survive in the wasteland world and make it to where you are now—machine soul resonance.]
[If you want to avoid the side effects, your best option is to stop resonating with the machine souls and let your body and mind recover naturally.]
[However, this would significantly slow down your technological research.]
[You looked up at the sky without hesitation and made your decision—to continue resonating with the machine souls until this simulation ends.]
Life at present…
Was sowhat painful.
The struggle in this hopeless cosmic prison.
The monotonous, enclosed universe.
The inhumanity of the machine soul resonance.
By now, the balance between what Xu Xi had gained and lost was long gone.
But with his personality, he didn’t really care.
“Before the simulation ends, I must research as much technology as possible—perfecting the antimatter engine, the energy decay engine, and the final missing pieces of gravity technology.”
“Only by doing this…”
“Only in this way…”
“Can I create a chance for Ailei to escape.”
Xu Xi whispered to himself as he plunged back into his research.
To avoid worrying his loyal companion, he chose not to ntion his growing sluggishness.
His thoughts were simple.
Stopping was not an option, which ant his body and mind would continue deteriorating.
If that was the case, it was better to keep it from Ailei, sparing her from unnecessary concern.
Technology research, daily life, eliminating insect swarms—
Xu Xi believed his performance was flawless.
Despite his diminishing emotional responses, he could still control his expressions, smiling or acting helpless when needed.
Yet sohow, Ailei seed to see through the perfect façade.
At so point…
Gradually, little by little, in every mont they spent together, those calm silver-blue eyes were always fixed on him.
Until one day, Ailei finally spoke up.
“Master, are you sick?”
Her voice was calm, her face expressionless, yet her shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
“I’m fine, Ailei,” Xu Xi replied.
“It’s just… I’ve been working too much lately. I’m just a little tired.”
Xu Xi forced a smile, stroking Ailei’s head as he always did, trying to reassure her.
Was it really just that?
Under the faint glow of the lights, Ailei’s silver-blue eyes flickered with a strange circular pattern—an abnormal fluctuation of high frequencies.
“Please… don’t keep doing this. You need to rest.”
Ailei’s voice trembled, as if sothing was blocking her speech module.
“I will… soday, Ailei,” Xu Xi said gently, promising her with a vague “soday,” but without specifying when.
The room’s lighting dimd.
But golden sunlight filtered through the window, casting long diagonal beams onto Ailei’s hair, enveloping her in a sacred golden glow.
Xu Xi stood facing her, his hand moving gently through the light, stroking Ailei’s head.
Watching the cold machine slowly gain humanity, becoming more radiant, Xu Xi felt genuine contentnt.
Yet, in contrast…
He himself was becoming duller with each passing mont.
His emotions were fading, gradually influenced by the machine souls on the starship, turning him into sothing no longer quite human.
“…I believe you.”
Ailei closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of Xu Xi’s palm on her head.
She trembled slightly, trying to smile in response.
But her expression twisted—
A smile so awkward, it looked worse than crying.
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