Chapter 55

The robot that Yuan Chu had initially possessed was equivalent to her life vessel in this world, connected to her life force. 

As long as its core remained intact, she would be safe; if the core were shattered, she would be harmed, and it would be difficult to condense her second form again.

Controlling both the robot and her physical body at the same time was a significant burden for Yuan Chu. 

She maintained her humanoid form only because the robot had not been repaired yet and couldn't move freely, saving her from expending too much energy.

She had never expected Fei Xiu, worried that the robot would get bored, to carry the fully charged machine into the living room and set it beside the dining table to join them for dinner.

"Unit One's cooking is quite good. You two could exchange tips." Fei Xiu suggested sincerely while eating the meal Yuan Chu had prepared. 

He noticed that both the human and the robot were excellent cooks, and if they collaborated, perhaps they'd reach even greater heights, which meant more delicious food for him.

Yuan Chu & Unit One: ...

After dinner, Fei Xiu carried the robot to the workshop and brought Yuan Chu along to begin working.

Faced with a tough problem, Fei Xiu asked, "How can I improve the coordination of mechanical movement and high-speed direction changes?"

A female voice and an electronic voice answered in unison, "Micro-control adjustments and enhancing neuron sensitivity."

Fei Xiu looked up, surprised. "You two are really in sync."

Yuan Chu & Unit One: ...

Their similarities were so obvious, yet he hadn't noticed anything suspicious. 

They had similar tastes in cooking, were both skilled in mechanical engineering, and now they were even speaking in unison.

"Where's the number 5 screw?" Fei Xiu asked.

Two screws were handed to him simultaneously by the human and the robot.

Fei Xiu: "Thanks."

A moment later, "Could you check if this formula is correct?"

Yuan Chu & Unit One: "Correct."

This happened from time to time, but Fei Xiu didn't think much of it, even joking, "Yuan Chu, you're basically a human version of Unit One."

Yuan Chu: ... How dense are you???

At night, the robot stayed in the garage while Yuan Chu followed Fei Xiu back to the bedroom, finally free from her split attention.

They had been sleeping together for the past few days, but nothing untoward had happened.

Fei Xiu didn't consider himself a particularly lustful person, but after breaking that boundary, he realized his self-control wasn't as strong as he'd imagined. 

Thankfully, they were both so busy that the moment his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep instantly. 

However, he would wake up every morning feeling energized, spending half an hour in the bathroom to calm himself down.

Logically, he already considered Yuan Chu to be his woman, and since she didn't reject him, doing something intimate didn't seem like a big deal. 

But he didn’t want her to think he was impulsive. He figured they should spend more time together and let things happen naturally.

This getting familiar period lasted about ten days, during which the materials he had ordered also arrived.

Fei Xiu started working on upgrading the robot’s body. 

This time, he planned not only to enhance the robot's body to military-grade durability but also to equip it with weapons. 

Unit One, as an auxiliary robot, had no inherent offensive capabilities. In previous attacks, they had barely escaped unscathed.

Not wanting a repeat of those close calls, Fei Xiu decided to transform Unit One into a comprehensive, combat-capable intelligent robot.

"Master, according to the Mechanical Biological Regulation Act, no individual or group is allowed to privately upgrade non-military mechanical creatures' weaponry without authorization." The robot reminded him.

"We're in a time of war." Fei Xiu replied without batting an eye. 

"Those regulations can be disregarded."

Fei Xiu held the rank of major general and faced an enemy that was an intelligent virus. 

Even if someone found out, the worst that would happen would be a warning. As long as he didn’t disturb civilians or break the law, he wouldn’t be held legally responsible.

Unit One, seeing that he had already considered this, said nothing further and began helping with the upgrades.

At this point, Yuan Chu realized the benefit of split focus. While the robot couldn’t move easily, its arms were functional, and as her human self, she was perfectly in sync with the robot. 

Once they entered work mode, Fei Xiu hardly needed to do anything.

Whenever Fei Xiu managed to make one part, the other side had already made ten. 

He’d finish studying one component, and the other side had already assembled the parts. While he took a few bathroom breaks, the other side worked tirelessly without rest.

Watching the efficient and skilled actions of the human and the robot, Fei Xiu realized he barely had the qualifications to assist. 

His competitive spirit ignited, and he pushed his mental control to its limit. 

His brain raced, and his sensory, calculation, and coordination abilities all underwent a qualitative leap as he struggled to keep up with Yuan Chu's pace.

The two of them, along with the robot, worked tirelessly. No words were needed, just a glance or a movement communicated everything. 

In the enclosed workshop, only the sound of metal clinking filled the air.

What should have taken three days to complete was finished in just one.

When the newly upgraded robot stood before them, Fei Xiu was too exhausted to even test it, collapsing straight to the floor.

One human and one robot simultaneously extended an arm to support Fei Xiu.

Yuan Chu lifted her gaze slightly, and the robot's bright electronic eyes slowly dimmed as its body ceased to move.

She quickly picked Fei Xiu up, carried him to the bedroom, cleaned his body, dressed him in clean clothes, and then lay down beside him to sleep.

The next morning, Fei Xiu woke up to a comforting warmth. Opening his eyes, he found his head resting where it shouldn't have been. 

Feeling a sudden heat in his abdomen, he instinctively rubbed against the source and began to toy with it. 

Just as he was about to stop himself, he was met with a passionate response. Unable to hold back any longer, Fei Xiu turned over and took action…

Two hours later, Fei Xiu got out of bed with a satisfied smile, washed up, and dressed. 

He said to the girl still lying in bed, "I'll go check on Unit One. You can sleep a little longer."

Yuan Chu hugged the pillow and silently watched as the man left the room. For some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that she had just been cheated… by herself.

A few minutes later, Yuan Chu closed her eyes, and her body gradually turned ethereal, disappearing from the room.

On the other side, the robot's eyes lit up, stretching its limbs and testing its new body's capabilities under Fei Xiu's watchful gaze.

The new body had greatly improved defense and attack capabilities and could even fly short distances. 

Under Yuan Chu's control, taking on a dozen or so ordinary mechanical beasts would be no problem.

Fei Xiu nodded approvingly, "Not bad. At least we don't have to worry about you getting blown to bits by a small bomb."

The robot spoke up inappropriately, "Master, although I appreciate the upgrades, I must remind you that your account balance is running low."

"What?" Fei Xiu opened his personal bank account and saw a pitiful balance of 134,557 points. 

He was speechless.

He had spared no expense in building a sturdy body for his robot, and since he hadn't taken on any jobs recently, his savings had quickly dwindled.

Unit One quickly added, "But don't worry, there's still some income from your online shop."

The online shop? Fei Xiu had left the management of the store entirely to his robot and rarely paid attention to it. 

Now curious, he opened the shop's account and checked the revenue, and was immediately shocked.

"97,549,931… Nearly a hundred million! Did you help someone rebuild their mech or scam a few rich fools?"

"What did you do?" Fei Xiu asked as he browsed the transaction history.

"I modified a few mechs…"

"What? You really modified mechs?!"

"…Their components."

Fei Xiu sighed, "…That's still impressive!"

His robot could not only do the laundry, cook, and take care of him but also earn money! 

A true multi-talented companion. Fei Xiu thought he might as well just stay home and be a lazy shut-in. 

Fortunately, he wasn't the type to let a cushy life make him complacent. Otherwise, he would have been living a hedonistic life under his robot's care.

On the contrary, he felt like he should work harder so his robot wouldn't have to shoulder so much of the burden.

Thus, he accepted all the pending orders and planned to make some quick money.

"It's 8:27. I'll go make breakfast." Yuan Chu said, heading to the kitchen.

"Make sure to save some for Yuan Chu." Fei Xiu called out as a reminder.

Yuan Chu paused, "…Oh."

Fei Xiu worked in the workshop all morning, only stepping out when the robot called him for lunch. Looking around, he asked, "Yuan Chu hasn't woken up yet?"

Yuan Chu replied, "…No."

"I'll go check on her." Fei Xiu quickly bounded up the stairs, reaching the bedroom in a few steps and pushing the door open.

To his surprise, the room was empty, no sign of the girl.

He approached the bathroom door and knocked on the glass, "Yuan Chu?"

There was no response, and he couldn't sense her presence.

Fei Xiu's heart sank. He opened the bathroom door, and sure enough, it was empty.

"Yuan Chu?" He searched room after room but couldn't find her. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.

He opened the surveillance footage and rewound it to the time after he left.

On the screen, the girl was quietly lying on the bed, but after a few minutes, the footage flickered, and when he looked again, she was gone. 

The hallway, the first floor, and the yard showed no trace of her. She had disappeared in that single second.

Fei Xiu's face darkened. He replayed the footage repeatedly, trying to find any clue about where she went in that one second.

The first time this happened, it could be explained as the girl tampering with the surveillance. But how could it be explained this time?

Fei Xiu returned to the bedroom and found the girl's shoes still under the bed, her pajamas and underwear still in the blankets. 

The pajamas were his, and so was the underwear. She had disappeared without wearing anything.

He picked up the pajamas from the bed and held them to his nose, catching a faint trace of her scent.

After living together for so long, it struck him that he had never bought her any clothes or personal items, leaving her to wear ill-fitting clothes and shoes without a single complaint.

"Yuan Chu… Who exactly are you?"

Fei Xiu, a self-proclaimed atheist, found himself questioning the very reality he believed in for the first time.

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Yuan Chu: If you had to choose between me and the robot, who would you choose?

Fei Xiu: This question is out of my league. I choose death.

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