For some time afterward, the three of them sailed their warship into the Empire.
The resurrected empress paid them the highest respect and held a grand banquet.
The banquet will last for seven days and seven nights.
On the second day of the banquet, Xia Moli received new information from the robot.
"...Is it possible for me to go home?" she asked blankly.
The robot smiled and said, "Yes." She introduced the equipment behind her to Xia Moli, "This is the 'Apple' machine that we created based on the 'Bone of Adam'."
"Theoretically speaking, this machine can locate where you came from and send you back intact," the robot said. "If you have time, come and take a look."
Xia Moli and Ai Cao exchanged a glance and said, "Okay."
So on the third day, they bid farewell to the Queen. Nana, however, remained at the banquet.
After leaving the banquet, they went to the robot's den—the basement of the clothing store.
The robot led Xia Moli to the "Apple" machine and carefully took a drop of blood from her fingertip.
Blood dripped down, and the machine roared.
The robot said, "Location detected."
Amidst the roar, a simple scene was displayed on the machine's control panel. It was the interior of a cramped little hut. Although the wallpaper was peeling and the room looked somewhat dilapidated.
But looking at it, Xia Moli silently shed tears.
“This is my home,” she said. “This is my home.”
Xia Moli took a breath. Her body trembled slightly, but her eyes remained fixed on the machine panel.
“What do I need to do?” she asked.
The robot smiled and said, "You're still short a little fuel for the road. If you can solve that, then you can leave whenever you want."
Standing to the side, Ai Cao asked, "What kind of fuel?"
“One spirit, one soul,” the robot said. “But not a woman’s. A woman’s spirit is too strong; if used as fuel, it would suffer endless pain on the journey without finding relief.”
“Alright. Then I’ll take a man’s soul?” Ai Cao asked.
“Yes,” the robot said.
Ai Cao turned to Xia Moli and asked, "Moli, didn't we encounter a tiny worm before?" She said, "I remember you trapped it back then?"
Xia Moli's tearful eyes brightened. She reached into her pocket and took out a small cocoon.
“That’s fine,” the robot said with a smile. She asked Xia Moli, “When would you like to start your journey home?”
Xia Moli was silent for a while. Her eyes remained fixed on the picture of home on the panel.
"I... I still have no one to say goodbye to." She closed her eyes and said with difficulty, "In this world, there are still things I haven't finished doing."
“I’ll come back here once I’m done,” she promised.
Not only to the robot, but also to herself.
As Xia Moli and Ai Cao walked out of the clothing store, Xia Moli lowered her head and wiped away tears again.
Artemisia, who was beside her, thought for a moment and said, "Then I will stay in this world until you leave."
Xia Moli blinked. "Oh right...you're not from this world either." She wiped away her tears. "I don't want to be separated from you, and I don't want to be separated from Nana either."
"Shall we go and talk to Nana in person?" Ai Cao suggested.
So the two rushed back to the warship. The warship had gone from being looted to their private property. Therefore, unlike the hustle and bustle outside, the control room remained quiet.
In the center of the control room, Nana's holographic projection turned to greet the two returning individuals.
Xia Moli saw Nana's face and couldn't help but cry again.
She recounted what she had just seen and thought in fits and starts.
Nana nodded, "I understand." A smile appeared on her face. "Xia Moli, this is good news. Congratulations on being able to go home."
“But I can’t let you go,” Xia Moli said softly.
Nana pondered for a moment. She raised her hand and conjured several light screens in mid-air.
"This is a new finding released by a researcher yesterday," Nana explained. "It can record a person's personality and appearance, and generate an AI with a robotic shell based on her past experiences."
“Xia Moli, I am an AI. I possess a lifespan comparable to human technology.” Nana’s eyes were full of gentleness as she said, “If you can’t let me go, then perhaps you need to become an AI yourself?”
Ai Cao nodded excitedly from the side: "Can I leave behind an AI too?"
Nana was silent for a moment, then said, "No. This technology can only accept mental strength of C or above." She shrugged. "Your mental strength is really too poor, really."
Artemisia sat in a corner of the control room and retreated into seclusion.
Everything went smoothly after that.
Xia Moli generated an AI version of herself. When she entered the "Apple" machine, Xia Moli II, Ai Cao, and Nana were all watching her from outside the machine.
"Goodbye." She kissed her AI's forehead and said goodbye to everyone. Then, holding the worm, she turned and entered the machine.
A moment later, new people appeared in the scene on the machine's control panel.
It's Xia Moli.
She stood in her home, hesitatingly looking towards the direction of the machine.
She was both crying and laughing as she waved to them.
The scene on the panel disappeared.
Nana asked Ai Cao, "When are you planning to leave? Do you need a farewell party?"
Artemisia shook her head with a grin: "I have one more question. I'll leave once I figure it out." She asked the robot, "Since there are no men left in this world, how do women reproduce?"
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