"Sir, isn't this soda delicious?"

A little boy sitting on the steps not far from the Goethe Hotel was sipping the murky liquid in the tin can. To him, the liquid in the tin can seemed as precious as heavenly nectar.

"Mmm...delicious," Zhou Xiao agreed.

Well, how should I put it?

The liquid inside the tin can tasted like ordinary saccharin mixed with water, and it was packaged in a very rudimentary old aluminum can that I don't know where it came from.

"Yeah, I think so too. It's delicious, but it's a bit pricey..." the little boy chuckled and said.

"..." Zhou Xiao looked at the grinning kid beside him and fell silent.

The little boy had just broken the bill to give him the change, but he didn't take it. So, after thinking it over, the little boy went and bought him a homemade soda for three Winter City Shields.

"Xiao Hao...come here quickly."

Despite her injuries, Xi'er approached and pulled the little boy to maintain a safe distance from Zhou Xiao.

"Sister Seele..."

Judging from his tone, Xiao Hao seemed to know Xi'er.

"Xiao Hao, don't get too close to strangers!" Xi'er said to Xiao Hao, her tone implying that Zhou Xiao was not a good person.

"Sister Seele... Mr. is really a good person."

"Can you tell if someone is good or bad just by meeting them once? Have you forgotten what happened back then..." Seele started to say, but then realized something and swallowed her words.

In short, you should go back now...

“...Okay.” Xiao Hao nodded, then said to Zhou Xiao, “Thank you, sir. I’ll be going now…”

Urged on by Xi'er, Xiao Hao left with the box containing the crystals.

After Xiao Hao left, Xi'er remained wary, looking at Zhou Xiao and saying, "I don't know what you're here to do in Pan Yan Town, but if you hurt Xiao Hao, I definitely won't let you get away with it."

"Which eye of yours saw me hurt him?"

“…” Seele paused for a moment, then replied, “It’s best if there’s nothing.”

After saying that, she turned and left, leaving Zhou Xiao standing there.

Zhou Xiao: "..."

Watching Seele's departing figure, Zhou Xiao thought... it would have been better to do it while it was still fresh...

wrong.

It would have been better if I hadn't saved her in the first place.

Do I really have a face that doesn't look like a good person?

Zhou Xiao couldn't help but ponder this question. Clara before, Seele now... it seemed that outsiders' first impression of him was never that of a good person.

Back inside the Goethe Hotel, Zhou Xiao stood in front of the mirror and carefully examined his reflection.

His facial features were fairly handsome and well-defined, and his face rarely showed any emotional fluctuations, so he looked very indifferent and had a thin layer of emotion.

With thin lips, he has a villainous air about him; if he wore gold-rimmed glasses, he would perfectly fit the description of a "refined scoundrel."

certainly.

This is the first impression one gets.

Zhou Xiao stood in front of the mirror and deliberately made a fierce expression, which looked completely out of place.

Lying on the simple bed, Zhou Xiao considered his next move.

The logistics mission to collect special supplies has been accomplished.

Try using mechanical modification technology and bring back a mechanical object from the train... half the goal achieved.

Zhou Xiao thought for a moment. He had completed his basic mission on Yalilo Star; the next step was to consider how to contact the train...

I reckon Xingmei and the others will be reaching the lower levels soon.

Waiting two more days should be fine...

Zhou Xiao briefly recalled the few plot points from the original work in his mind, and then felt that there was no major problem.

According to the original plot, after Xingmei and her group caused some trouble in the upper district, they would naturally have to escape to the lower district to reunite.

A perfect mission outcome...

really...

Thinking about it that way, it really is perfect.

But how could the mission proceed so smoothly?

That's obviously impossible.

In the following days, Zhou Xiao did not receive any news of Xingmei and her group arriving in the lower area, which made him wonder if he had been abandoned by the train.

Strange.

That's strange.

How can there be absolutely no sound?

After modifying another automated machine soldier in the mechanical settlement, Zhou Xiao sat on the steps of Schwarz's castle and fell into deep thought.

"Brother Zhou Xiao, you are really amazing. Clara admires you." Clara, dressed in a red coat, stood barefoot beside Zhou Xiao, looking at him with admiration.

With Zhou Xiao's arrival in the mechanical settlement these past few days, a number of damaged mechanical soldiers have been repaired and partially modified.

With fewer metal parts required for Zhou Xiao's repair technique, the number of automated mechs that can be repaired can naturally increase.

The miraculous mechanical modification technology made the group of automatons exclaim, "Thank you, Dr. Zhou!"

"What do you admire?" Zhou Xiao asked Clara, his thoughts interrupted.

"I admire big brother for being able to revive so many friends..." Clara said excitedly.

After spending a few days together, Clara's wariness of Zhou Xiao noticeably decreased, and she gradually came to regard him as "family" of the mechanical settlement.

"What's the big deal..." Zhou Xiao got up from the steps, stretched his body, and then prepared to leave the mechanical settlement. He came to the mechanical settlement at a fixed time every day to "practice".

"Thank you, Dr. Zhou Xiao..."

Not far away, the automated machine soldier, after completing a self-check logic module, slowly thanked Zhou Xiao in its mechanical voice.

The problem with this automated mech was that its left and right mechanical legs were worn out. After Zhou Xiao made some modifications, it now has eight mechanical legs and is very stable.

Missing one or two is not a problem at all.

...

Zhou Xiao has been hearing thank you from the automatons quite often lately, making him feel like he's doing a free clinic.

Cyber ​​Doctor?

Suddenly, a title came to Zhou Xiao's mind.

Purely a hoax.

...

"Let's go." Zhou Xiao patted his butt and prepared to leave, but before he had taken two steps, Schwarz's voice called out to him.

"Mr. Zhou Xiao..."

"?"

When Zhou Xiao heard Schwarz call his name, he raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What is it?"

“I want to talk to you about something,” Schwarz said, getting straight to the point.

"?"

Zhou Xiao felt somewhat helpless upon hearing Schwarz's request.

During his stay at the mechanical settlement, Swaro would come to talk to him about some issues almost every few days.

The purpose is, under the guise of examining the impact of variables on big data analysis.

...

A moment later.

Schwarz sat down opposite Zhou Xiao and stated the topic of their discussion:

"The issue we're discussing today is...how to protect the lower-level areas."

...

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