In the end, Nana and the robot exchanged contact information.

There's no other reason than that the mugwort doesn't have its own contact information.

It can't be entirely blamed on her. After taking Xia Moli from the small room, she and Xia Moli traveled around on the warship, and she didn't even get a cell phone from the male lead.

Only Nana, being a robot herself, managed to exchange radio frequencies with the other robots.

For the first time, Ai Cao saw a speechless expression on the robot's metal face.

Ai Cao chuckled dryly: "Shall we contact each other again after that?" She waved her hand casually, "Tell me when you can restore those spiritual energies to their individual forms."

The robot nodded.

She led the group back to the upper floor of the clothing store. She stopped at the top of the stairs and said softly, "...I look forward to our next meeting."

Artemisia responded with a smile: "I'm looking forward to it too."

After saying goodbye to the robot, she and Xia Moli activated their appearance disguises and left the clothing store.

With her new look, Ai Cao felt much more confident walking down the street. She and Xia Moli, one petite and the other tall, were completely different from the original two people in both aura and appearance.

Even the male protagonist who had "intimate contact" with her wouldn't recognize these two women as the ones who turned him into a research subject.

She didn't want to clash with the seemingly innocent but actually cunning research director right now—if she killed him so early, there wouldn't be any fun to watch later.

Xia Moli, disguised by her appearance, wandered around the city for a while before being stopped by a smiling man with narrowed eyes.

"Will you be attending the gathering, sir?" As if by magic, an exquisite invitation appeared in the man's hand. He smiled and handed the invitation to Xia Moli, not even glancing at Ai Cao, who was standing next to Xia Moli.

Ai Cao looked at Nana. Nana had a lot of things Xia Moli had bought for her, from clothes and small decorations to supplies for the warship, all of which were packed in those bags.

"Can't he see me?" Ai Cao glanced quickly at the man, then looked back at Nana with a questioning look in her eyes.

Nana shook her head slightly.

Ai Cao breathed a sigh of relief, then took two steps forward, feigning weakness, and took Xia Moli's arm.

Xia Moli, her body stiff, blinked slowly.

The instant her eyes closed, her mental energy, like fine needles, penetrated the man's brain. The man's expression changed slightly; he glanced around nervously before regaining his previous smile.

But there was a hint of timidity in that smile.

Although the man was unaware that Xia Moli had thoroughly investigated his memories, his instincts told him that the man in front of him was not someone to be trifled with.

“…Give me one more,” Xia Moli said.

The man hurriedly pulled out another invitation and handed it to Xia Moli with both hands.

Xia Moli handed the new invitation to Ai Cao.

Ai Cao held the invitation and looked at it.

This invitation is anonymous. The paper is covered with luxurious patterns and appears to be covered in gold leaf.

The main text of the invitation is an invitation to the recipient to attend an auction.

"Get lost," Xia Moli glanced at the man and said coldly.

The man quickly left in front of them.

Xia Moli showed the invitation in her hand to Nana.

Nana glanced at it and said, "The auction is today." After confirming the current time, she continued, "The location is one block away, and it starts in an hour. If we go now, we can make it in time."

Ai Cao nodded: "Shall we go?"

Xia Moli nodded.

She briefly explained the auction on the way.

Unlike shops in the city, most of the items at the auction house have not passed the Empire's security review.

For example, items like "mermaids that are claimed to be extinct" or "drugs that can forcibly boost mental strength for a period of time" might appear at such auctions.

All customers participating in the auction remained anonymous.

Xia Moli was silent for a moment, then said, "I saw strange products in that man's memories."

"I don't know why, but whenever I see it, I feel my heart clench..."

She pressed her hand to her chest, her expression somewhat bewildered.

Artemisia smiled, her eyes crinkling, as she comforted Xia Moli.

She chuckled inwardly, "You're really curious, aren't you, System?"