Xu Xi changed his treatment location.
After waking up,
He was lifted by the mechanical servant and moved from the cold, hard treatment pod to a soft bed.
Crisscrossing wires and dense instruments were arranged around the bed, providing the necessary support to keep the flame of life burning within Xu Xi.
This was Ailei's doing.
A desperate attempt at salvation, driven by guilt and sorrow.
To save that person.
To hold onto that light.
To ensure that the one who had whimsically named the machine and then irresponsibly tried to leave would remain by her side forever.
"Master must take responsibility for Ailei."
"Because of Master, Ailei has become strange."
"Because of Master, Ailei cannot remain calm."
"This is Master's fault, so Master must take responsibility for Ailei and cannot leave so casually."
By the sickbed, the man's condition worsened further. His face was pale and gaunt, his fingers long and withered, covered with tubes from various life-support machines.
Ailei couldn't bear to see Xu Xi like this.
She hated her own helplessness.
The mechanical servant's voice, though calm, trembled deeply, like a wingless bird plummeting, utterly lost.
She lowered her head.
Unable to meet those familiar, gentle eyes.
The once-loyal servant had defied her master's orders, and Ailei could not forgive herself for it. The damaged half of her face silently screamed with sorrow.
The man on the sickbed was not angry with the mechanical servant.
Once again,
Weakly leaning against the bed, he stretched out his hand and, with a tired but warm voice, gently grasped Ailei's fingers.
"I'm sorry, Ailei, for troubling you to take care of me at a time like this."
...
[You did not stop the mechanical servant's plea to stay.]
[You clearly knew]
[That ending your own life would be an unbearable act for a loyal servant.]
[If the roles were reversed, and it were Ailei begging you, you too would struggle to make such a decision.]
[Thus, you respected Ailei's choice.]
[You no longer asked the loyal servant to turn off the life-support machines for you.]
[You lay on the sickbed, your consciousness slowly fading, acutely aware of your mind gradually disintegrating, moving toward the final embers of life.]
[The life-support machines ran 24 hours a day, only slowing the approach of death, not truly curing you.]
[Ailei realized this.]
[She tried every method, pushing her computational power to its limits, exhausting every possibility to prolong your life.]
"Ailei, how is it today?"
"..."
"I see, still trying. You're doing great."
"..."
"Mm, I'm fine."
"..."
Failure after failure, each one more devastating than the last.
No matter what she tried, nothing worked on Xu Xi's body, nor could it reignite the soul that was already burning out.
Xu Xi's flame of life was inevitably fading.
Against this outcome,
Ailei could do nothing but watch with her silver-blue mechanical eyes as the figure before her grew weaker and more hunched, trapped in the agony between life and death.
As time passed, Xu Xi's suffering deepened, and so did Ailei's guilt.
"It's alright, Ailei, don't worry about me."
Xu Xi lay on the sickbed, his face as pale as paper, each breath a struggle, as if he might lose consciousness at any moment.
Yet even in such a state,
He forced a smile, comforting the mechanical servant who had failed time and time again, telling Ailei not to blame herself.
I'm sorry...
I'm sorry...
Ailei's body trembled violently.
After yet another failed experiment, she returned to Xu Xi's bedside, looking at the familiar face with its vacant eyes, listening to the familiar, gentle words of comfort.
Finally,
The sorrow within her core surpassed the limits of her data.
"...I'm sorry, Master."
"Because of my incompetence, you have suffered too much," Ailei could no longer endure it. She could no longer bear to see Xu Xi living in such pain.
Every word of comfort from Xu Xi
Became an invisible blade,
Silently cutting into the loyal yet guilt-ridden mechanical soul.
With a trembling, mournful voice, she asked Xu Xi why he didn't forcefully command her to turn off the life-support machines.
In terms of authority,
Xu Xi was the creator of Ailei's core logic.
He held the highest level of control.
In terms of emotion,
Xu Xi was the most important person to Ailei.
If Xu Xi insisted, no matter how reluctant she was, Ailei would obey.
But Xu Xi did not do so.
After the first request to shut down the life-support system was rejected by Ailei, he never brought it up again.
That weak and helpless demeanor left the mechanical servant utterly confused.
"Because if I did that, Ailei would be heartbroken, wouldn't she?"
The escape pod had no sunlight.
The pale overhead light shone down, illuminating Xu Xi's nose and his hollow eyes.
Suppressing the emptiness and discomfort in his body,
He smiled and explained to Ailei.
There was no special reason, nor was he unaware of the pain. The reason was simple: he just didn't want Ailei to be sad.
"But, but you—" The circulating air in the pod tousled the hair on Ailei's forehead, blurring her vision.
The silver-blue calm of her mechanical eyes seemed to gain depth amidst the chaos.
All the grief,
All the sorrow,
Were conveyed through that inhuman yet lifelike face,
Laid bare before Xu Xi.
Unable to hide, unable to endure, ever since the RTX-9090 era, the mechanical servant's emotions had always been this direct.
"But you, this is too painful," her voice trembled, distorted.
Apart from the lack of real tears,
Ailei's expression was no different from a human's. Thick sorrow was etched into every part of her face, her features slightly distorted from overwhelming grief.
The heartless machine had gained human emotions,
While the human was slowly fading into nothingness.
The contrast was so stark that Ailei could not accept it. She refused to accept this reality.
"It's alright, Ailei."
Xu Xi stretched out his frail, withered hand and gently placed it on Ailei's head, using what little strength he had to offer her comfort. "This has nothing to do with you."
"Actually, during this time, I've come to understand many things."
His voice was as faint as a wisp, as if it might vanish into the air at any moment.
Like a falling leaf, its sound fading into silence.
Like a light rain, nourishing without a trace.
Yet it was also hoarse, strained from his dry, weak throat.
"We've known each other for a long time, haven't we?"
Xu Xi wanted to smile, but such an action was beyond his exhausted body.
The corners of his mouth twitched, but he was immediately wracked by a coughing fit.
"Cough! Cough!"
"Cough, cough, cough!"
"Master—" Ailei quickly helped the weak Xu Xi sit up, smoothing his breathing.
"I'm fine, Ailei," Xu Xi gently shook his head.
His body was even weaker now.
The pain was more pronounced.
Xu Xi fought against the drowsiness, forcing himself to stay alert, offering a strained smile as he met Ailei's gaze.
"Ailei, time really flies. It's been over seven hundred years since we met in that underground laboratory."
"So fast..."