NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 268:
Chapter 268: The Loyal Machine Servant, Clever and Cunning:
“Hahaha, ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”
“The strong preying on the weak is the ultimate truth of the universe!”
“Kill? So what! Annihilate? So what!”
Ailei’s philosophy of cleansing the starry skies naturally attracted ridicule and scorn from countless civilizations.
She remained expressionless.
Continuing to seize new resource star systems, she expanded the production of mechanical units, replicating them endlessly until vast fleets were assembled to launch a total assault across the cosmos.
Thanks to the stellar modification technology obtained from the Caretaker Civilization, Ailei’s forces now included several mobile, heavily armored celestial bodies—capable of destruction while retaining strategic utility.
There were planetary fortresses equipped with curvature engines…
Stellar warehouses serving as colossal energy sources…
And neutron war stars equipped with spatial weaponry and impenetrable defenses.
Beyond these, Ailei’s primary fleet underwent a full technological upgrade, now featuring cutting-edge spatial technology.
For offense, she deployed spatial disintegration devices.
For defense, she utilized spatial distortion fields.
In propulsion, she adapted dimension-based technologies from the Caretaker Civilization, beginning the climb toward dimensional engines, with the potential for dimensional strikes and higher-plane traversal in the future.
“Master, please wait a little longer…”
“Ailei will cleanse the universe thoroughly, ready to welcome your return…”
An unending war of eternity had begun, engulfing countless galactic clusters. As Ailei’s technology advanced, the battlefield expanded even further into the vast cosmos.
Her astonishing war potential and highly efficient strategic command meant that not even the interstellar insectoid swarms, another form of cosmic catastrophe, could gain any advantage over her.
Temporal stasis, quantum black holes, dimensional strikes…
Realizing Ailei’s formidable presence, the opposing civilizations resorted to truly lethal means—deploying weapons capable of severely damaging or even erasing Ailei’s very existence.
Several times, Ailei was pushed to the brink of destruction, giving the allied civilizations a glimmer of hope for victory.
However…
The loyal machine servant also possessed remarkable cunning.
Every time her enemies thought they had finally cornered her, she would retreat at the perfect moment—strategically withdrawing, only to return even stronger.
The war dragged on endlessly, and with each battle, Ailei’s forces grew in strength.
No one knew how much time had passed.
“Perish!” The universe’s most advanced civilizations finally took action, wielding causality-based weaponry. Yet, even such formidable forces could not bring about Ailei’s defeat.
The once cold and mechanical machine consciousness, now enriched with unique human-like emotions and tempered by the passage of time, had long transcended the limitations of universal laws.
Ailei recalled something Xu Xi used to say about situations like this…
“If it’s not turned off, it means it’s still running.”
BOOM! BOOM!
In the final, climactic battle, both Ailei and the pinnacle civilizations unleashed an overwhelming arsenal of dimensional weaponry.
The universe collapsed into lower dimensions.
No height. No length. No width.
A zero-dimensional universe was born.
The once radiant sea of stars vanished, color drained, space-time lost meaning, and all that remained was a pure, silent void.
It was an inconceivable sight—an infinite cosmos reduced to a single point, nearly imperceptible, devoid of mass.
Drifting within the chaos, the tiny remnant of the universe floated aimlessly, carried by the currents of entropy.
Time in the chaos was immeasurable—perhaps only an instant had passed, or perhaps eons beyond counting.
No one knew when it began, but eventually, two ghostly hands emerged from the chaos.
They appeared translucent and illusory, gently enclosing the zero-dimensional universe in a careful grasp, protecting it from the chaotic tides.
“…Master.”
“…Ailei is always at your service.”
“…Please… use me again…”
A fragmented, static-laden voice echoed faintly.
Time passed in silence, until those ethereal hands began to solidify. No longer translucent, they now glowed with a miraculous radiance.
Gently, they enclosed the singularity within their grasp.
The zero-dimensional universe fell into an absolute stillness.
Yet, within this extreme stillness, another extreme took shape.
Golden and silver light flickered between the fingers, piercing through the surrounding chaos, illuminating the void.
The eternal, transcendent machine servant slowly loosened her grip.
A burst of brilliance escaped her hands, dazzling beyond compare.
A tiny singularity began expanding within the chaos.
Space, time, matter, energy…
All things, all concepts, were reborn with the singularity’s great explosion.
One-dimensional, two-dimensional, three-dimensional… all the way to ten dimensions.
In this newborn universe, time flowed in multiple dimensions, radiating brilliant hues. Countless elements collided and merged under a grand will, forming something entirely new.
“Master, I have become just like you now…”
“So… this is what it feels like to cry…”
“You were right… it’s not something to be happy about…”
In the murky, chaotic void, Ailei gazed at the ten-dimensional universe resting in her palm, then lowered her eyes to her newly reconstructed body.
Her expression was calm.
Yet silent tears had long since streamed down her cheeks—glistening droplets shimmering with light.
Grief had never left her, but until now, her mechanical body had been incapable of expressing it in a human way.
And so, on the first day of her rebirth…
Ailei shed her first tears.
She did not know where she should go.
She had nowhere she wished to be.
All she wanted was to continue waiting…
Waiting for her master to return… and to serve him once more.
…
(In the real world.)
A serene courtyard bathed in sunlight, with shadows of leaves forming gentle patterns on the ground.
Xu Xi nodded occasionally, listening carefully to Krisha and Wu Yingxue’s explanations.
The “Life Simulator” remained a profound mystery.
Even the two supreme beings beside him could not fully comprehend its true nature.
But they had detected subtle changes during the simulation process.
“Master… you disappeared for a while,” Krisha said blankly, handing Xu Xi a cup of tea and some desserts.
By “disappeared,” she did not mean his physical form, but rather something intangible—something related to his unique presence across different time-space possibilities.
It sounded abstract, yet Xu Xi pondered her words, recalling the branching paths he had encountered within the simulator.
“I see… Thank you, Krisha, Yingxue.”
“Haha, no need to be so formal, sir!”
“This is only natural, Mentor.”
Wu Yingxue chuckled playfully, while Krisha remained quiet.
For now, Xu Xi decided to put aside his thoughts on the simulator’s nature.
Returning to his room, he opened the final summary of his fourth simulation.
[Ding—]
[Fourth Simulation Complete]
[Congratulations! You have unlocked the following achievements: The Last Human, I Am Civilization, Exterminator of Insects, Her Creator, The Ultimate Origin of the Universe, Supreme Machine Master.]