It's common knowledge that Himeko loves coffee; this is common knowledge among everyone on the train.

Although Himeko usually collects many different coffee beans and is quite skilled at brewing them, the people on the train just felt that the coffee tasted strange.

It has a strange smell.

Xingmei silently put down her cup, thinking to herself that this was the last time she would drink Himeko's coffee.

...

The day passed quickly. The train traveled smoothly through space throughout the day. As Pam had said before dinner, the train would make a jump after breakfast the next day, and everyone should prepare.

Zhou Xiao completed his workday and successfully earned his self-discipline points for the day.

With the self-discipline points gained today, the self-discipline points on the system panel have reached 500, enough for a high-level lottery draw.

In addition to achievement-based rewards, self-discipline points can be used to draw some rewards, which are divided into regular draws and advanced draws.

One regular lottery draw costs 100 self-discipline points.

The advanced lottery costs 500 self-discipline points per draw.

The lottery system is a complete mess; there's no guaranteed minimum, it's all about luck.

It's even worse than miHoYo's gacha pool.

Zhou Xiao had tried the regular lottery several times before.

It's not like you get Bronya's black stockings, or you get Himeko's half-finished coffee, a broken clock, or a broken gramophone.

It made him feel like he was a pervert.

Later he learned to be smarter.

Regular lotteries offer no future; only high-level lotteries can make him shine. So... he transformed into a "hoarder" and has been hoarding ever since.

Inside the room, Zhou Xiao sat upright on the floor, rubbing his hands together.

My hands are freshly washed, so my luck must be pretty good!

The premium prize pool is definitely better than the regular one!

Zhou Xiao thought to himself, then silently selected the advanced lottery option on the system interface.

[Mechanical modification technology has been acquired]

Mechanical Modification Technology

[Blood and flesh suffer, machinery soars!]

[Capable of freely modifying and upgrading machinery, creating core drives through programming templates, and transforming it into a controllable mechanical life form]

"this..."

Zhou Xiao glanced at the vast amount of knowledge flooding into his mind, and a feeling of being "living like a clam" welled up from the bottom of his heart.

He couldn't understand the description "suffering of flesh and blood, mechanical ascension".

"What exactly am I?" Zhou Xiao couldn't help but ask himself this question at this moment.

An assassin who went into battle with a knife?

Or they are researchers working behind the scenes.

Um...

The ingredients are too varied to make a judgment.

Perhaps he is the most capable fighter among the researchers behind the scenes, or perhaps he is the most knowledgeable about scientific research among the assassins hiding in the shadows.

Zhou Xiao organized and studied the knowledge about mechanical modification technology in his mind and prepared to give it a try.

The core technology of mechanical modification is the control core, which can endow unconscious mechanical life with a certain learning ability, and is also the port for control and energy output.

Zhou Xiao used the limited resources to program a small device with simple control functions and behavioral logic, and then scanned the room and found that there was nothing he could experiment with.

“Sister Himeko should have quite a few…” Zhou Xiao suddenly remembered Himeko’s drones, so he took the simplified control core and went straight to Himeko’s room.

When the door opened, Ji Zi was somewhat surprised to see Zhou Xiao.

"What's wrong...?" At this moment, Himeko was wearing a nightgown, her long red hair casually draped over her shoulders, exuding the intellectual charm of an older sister.

"Yes, I do need your help, Sister Ji..." Zhou Xiao didn't stand on ceremony and directly stated his needs.

After hearing this, Ji Zi raised an eyebrow and looked at the device in Zhou Xiao's hand with slight surprise.

You need to know.

Zhou Xiao had never demonstrated any scientific research ability before.

"Come in and let's talk." Ji Zi, also assuming the role of a researcher, let Zhou Xiao into her room.

Just as Zhou Xiao was about to enter Himeko's room, the door to March 7's room opened not far away, and March 7, who was holding toiletries, walked out in a very good mood. He turned his head and caught a glimpse of a figure that looked exactly like Zhou Xiao entering Himeko's room.

"!"

On March 7th, he suddenly became alert.

She was certain that the person she had just spoken to was Zhou Xiao.

In the stillness of the night...

What was Zhou Xiao doing in Ji Zi's room?

On March 7th, her mind started wandering again. After all, Zhou Xiao rarely went into other people's rooms, especially hers...

A man and a woman alone in a room...

No, no, that's not right.

Zhou Xiao must have had something to ask Ji Zi.

After hesitating for a long time, March 7th tiptoed to Himeko's door and carefully pressed his ear against the door to listen.

"Did you make this?"

"Yes."

"Although it's a bit rough, it's still very impressive."

The conversation sounded perfectly normal.

It must have been normal work-related communication. March 7th secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

That's strange.

Why do we so easily imagine normal things to be abnormal...?

March 7th felt that she might be a little anxious these past two days.

She had always acted normally in front of Zhou Xiao...

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—"

Another strong gust of wind came from inside the room.

"It actually works..."

"Have a seat for a bit, I'm going to take a shower first, we'll talk in detail when I get back..."

"Clatter".

"Take your pants off first, I'll... I'll blow on them for you."

There was a part of the conversation that was difficult for March 7 to hear clearly because of the strong airflow. Until the airflow disappeared, the last sentence that Himeko said kept replaying in her mind.

What's going on?

He took off his pants?

March 7th felt she must have missed some important details of the conversation, but in order to find out, she hesitated for a long time before knocking on Himeko's door.

Himeko, are you there?

"???"

Hearing the sound of March 7th outside the door, Zhou Xiao raised an eyebrow slightly. At this moment, his shirt and pants were stained with coffee and felt a bit sticky.

He and Himeko were discussing the control core when Himeko, who was holding a cup of coffee, listened to him while controlling the small drone according to Zhou Xiao's design concept. As a result, Himeko's hand slipped, and the coffee was spilled all over Zhou Xiao.

"It's a small March."

Himeko opened the door generously, revealing March Seven's slightly embarrassed face.

"Huh? Zhou Xiao, what are you doing here?" March 7 pretended not to know that Zhou Xiao was in Himeko's room, with a surprised expression.

"I discussed some academic issues with Sister Ji Zi." Zhou Xiao slowly stood up, took the makeshift control device from the small drone, and then looked at Ji Zi.

"Sister Himeko, I won't disturb your rest any longer. I'll study it some more later."

"Okay, sure."

Himeko crossed her arms slightly and then watched Zhou Xiao leave the room together with San Yueqi.