After breakfast, Qi Zhimu entered the most concealed folded-space within his workshop.
Here lay his unfinished work—his painstaking creation.
The faint scent of solder and lubricant lingered.
He walked past a large machine blinking in standby and stopped at a wide alloy bench.
Under cold white light, the limb he had half-finished last night held an uncanny texture.
Cold metal had been fused with high-strength composite bones and synthetic muscle fibers.
Special materials at the finger joints ensured excellent dexterity; the fine sensor "skin" covering the fingertips could perfectly simulate human touch.
The arm's lines were smooth, seams perfectly sealed. Its internal transmission system lay silent.
Qi Zhimu issued a command and tested whether the full arm could execute precise motions.
Grip. Punch. Palm strike. Finger snap. Elbow sweep…
Any action a human could do, it replicated perfectly.
Even actions humans could not—like bending the finger joints backward ninety degrees—were effortless.
Satisfied, Qi Zhimu nodded.
Once he refined remaining details and passed final testing, he could feed it into automated production.
"Next…"
He looked at the lower limb.
Compared to a full arm, testing legs was simpler; toes didn't require the same function checks as fingers.
The results were excellent—better than expected.
He stored the finished mechanical limbs and looked to the side.
There was a mechanical skull there.
The cranial cavity was open, revealing a tangled lattice of neural interfaces and circuitry.
On a support to the left hung a semi-transparent crystal core.
To Qi Zhimu, this part had the fewest technical bottlenecks—almost no difficulty at all.
Because—
He wasn't creating a high-intelligence inorganic lifeform that looked and behaved like a human.
Leaving folded space, Qi Zhimu received a message from Clarisse.
"Good morning, Mr. Qi. Yesterday the market had a fruit shop that imported a really delicious fruit. I bought two jin—see if it suits your taste~"
The subtext was obvious: she planned to visit today.
Qi Zhimu smiled slightly and replied with a single word.
"Okay."
"You're not going to ask when I'm coming?"
"Knowing a friend will come from afar is enough."
"It's not that far—at least the car can reach the Du Yue River…" Clarisse typed with a small smile.
Qi Zhimu's cottage sat beyond a river that cut the wilderness like a boundary. There was no bridge for vehicles.
To cross, one had to ferry oneself.
"Dress warmly. Be careful on the road."
After replying, Qi Zhimu prepared to clean Ruan Mei's house.
A house without living warmth gathered dust quickly.
Winter sunlight filtered through sparse bamboo leaves, casting mottled shadows.
In deep winter, bamboo leaves that hadn't fallen usually shifted from bright green to a deep ink tone.
Frost clung faintly to the tips, melting into clear droplets under the morning light and washing the world clean.
The snow-white and blue-green bamboo formed a living landscape painting.
The air carried a light fragrance mixed with soil and morning dew—purer and sharper than spring or summer.
One breath cleared the mind.
Even Qi Zhimu's body—rotten within—seemed to gain a fleeting spark of vitality.
The plants along the path slept like hibernating creatures.
In this season, he didn't need to prune them.
At the fork in the road, he saw a slender figure standing against the white world, and a faint smile rose on his face.
"…You little thing. You were already here."
"Just got here~ I wanted to surprise you, hehe…"
Clarisse's voice was sweet and soft as she walked quickly toward him.
In truth, she had been there for a while.
As she neared, Qi Zhimu saw her outfit.
A pale violet, academy-style fitted sweater; a dark, thin velvet scarf at the collar that set off her delicate white jaw.
A matching pleated skirt fell past her knees, revealing slender calves wrapped in warm white socks.
Most girls her age couldn't pull off purple.
But on Clarisse it didn't look old-fashioned at all—it gave her a difficult-to-name poise while still keeping the lively spark of youth.
Her bright eyes were brimming with vitality, long lashes fluttering with charm.
"You've been waiting ten minutes?" Qi Zhimu asked, judging from small signs.
"No. I got here when I sent the message…"
Clarisse shook her head and opened the transparent fruit box in her hands, changing the subject.
"Here, Mr. Qi—try some on the way~~"
She knew he would go to the house today, so she had come early.
One more minute waiting meant one more minute of anticipation before seeing him.
The fruit inside was unusual—like peeled apples, but the size of plums.
Most striking was its color:
Half red, half blue.
The flesh looked full and juicy, with clear droplets—washed carefully by Clarisse.
"The shop clerk said the name is simple and direct: Red-Blue Crystal Fruit. No pit. It comes from a world called Onvak."
"The peel is special too—like peeling shrimp. I peeled them all already, so you can eat right away~~"
Clarisse wanted to pick one up and feed him, but restrained herself.
Maybe… she wasn't yet close enough in his heart for that.
"Thank you, little… Clarisse."
Qi Zhimu took one and put it in his mouth.
Clarisse caught the obvious mid-sentence correction. Seeing his relaxed brows, her smile turned sweeter.
"It's good, right?"
"Mm… very sweet."
Huh?
Clarisse blinked at his evaluation, briefly confused—but didn't think too hard.
"…If you want more later, just message me. I'll… buy it for you as fast as I can."
"No need. It takes you over half an hour to come here. Running back and forth isn't convenient."
"How could it be inconvenient? Half an hour—half a day—I'd still be willing…"
The words slipped out. Realizing how obvious they sounded, she hurriedly added:
"You're our family's benefactor! A drop of kindness deserves a spring in return!"
They walked along the frosted path, stepping into a stretch not yet touched by morning sun.
Qi Zhimu's heart warmed faintly at her words.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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