In the tenth year after the construction of the Apsu Tower, the people of the empire no longer questioned why the Emperor suddenly built such a tall tower. The rumors about the so-called "place of imprisonment" and "captives brought back from the sea of stars by His Majesty" disappeared without a trace.
The technological growth brought about by the Tower of Apsu has given this mysterious tower a sacred coat of scientific research, gradually turning it into a scientific research sanctuary praised by everyone.
Countless scientific research students believed that there must be a peerless genius in the tower, and those who had entered Apsu were also amazed. Every time they talked about the tower's owner, their faces were excited, "I have never seen someone so familiar with the laws of the universe. His technology is at least hundreds of years ahead of us..."
So everyone became even more curious about the owner of the tower.
However, the places to enter the Tower of Apsu are extremely scarce and must be strictly controlled by the royal family. Ordinary people cannot come into contact with the people in the tower at all.
The fame of the Apsu Tower quickly spread to West College. A professor excitedly ran to Zhong Xingyi's office, opened the door, and shouted, "Xingyi! I have an appointment!"
In the office, a slender Alpha sat on a chair, leaning lazily against the back, covering his face with a drawing.
He tapped his foot lightly, spun his chair halfway, and faced his colleague. His voice was lazy, "It's an appointment, then it's an appointment. You were so excited I thought you'd met the legendary tower master."
Zhong Xingyi has a handsome face, and his pair of brown eyes always have a loose smile when he looks at others. There is also a smile at the corner of his lips, but he gives people a non-serious feeling.
Even though he was wearing a formal plaid shirt, he still exuded the unruly and unruly nature of a dandy boy.
The colleague snorted and waved the appointment letter in front of Zhong Xingyi. "You're right! I'll be able to see you soon."
"It's said that this tower master's bionic mechanics are top-notch. The Meteor series of bionic humans released last quarter were created by him. The overall combat capability of the military has more than doubled."
Hearing about the meteorite series, Zhong Xingyi's eyes flickered. He suddenly stood up, put his hand on his colleague's shoulder, and raised an eyebrow. "You said I'm also very interested in this person. Why don't you take me with you to this meeting?"
His colleagues looked at him quizzically. "Haven't you always looked down on the androids that Apsu has released?"
"I..." Zhong Xingyi opened his mouth. Was he going to say that after actually seeing this series of bionic people, he felt that they were indeed quite good?
That won’t do. It’s so embarrassing.
"I'm just curious." Zhong Xingyi nonchalantly changed his words. "Yes, I'm just curious. I heard that everyone who has seen Lord Apsu says he's an extremely beautiful Omega. I just want to see how good-looking he is."
Of course, the most important thing is to ask how the Meteorite series was developed, and by the way, to prove who is the best mechanic in this empire.
This was Zhong Xingyi's original thought, but when he actually stepped into the Apsu Tower, found himself under this gorgeous sea of stars, and looked at the black-haired and black-eyed Omega from afar, his heart began to beat faster unconsciously.
The Omega looked quite young, as if he had just reached adulthood. He sat quietly in a recliner in a daze, his beautiful eyes staring blankly at the sea of stars, and his delicate eyebrows contained a sadness that others could not understand.
When people see it, they can't help but frown with pity.
In addition, there was a child squatting next to him, concentrating on playing with toys. The child had silver hair and sometimes lay on the Omega, as if begging him to play with him.
But the Omega just touched the child's head and did nothing else.
At first, Zhong Xingyi didn't recognize that this extremely beautiful Omega was the legendary Tower Master, but when the researcher who led them here called him "Tower Master", Zhong Xingyi had to admit it.
This is the first meeting between Zhong Xingyi and Shi Xi. One is the best mechanic in the empire, and the other is the mysterious Lord of Apsu.
Zhong Xingyi did not forget the purpose of his visit, but when the white-haired child turned around, the pair of red pupils unique to bionic people fell completely into Zhong Xingyi's eyes, making his heart skip a beat.
This child... is a bionic man.
But he didn't recognize it.
Success and failure were decided in this way. Zhong Xingyi, filled with excitement, completely forgot about etiquette and ran directly to Shi Xi. "Who is this android? You made it, and how did you do it? He actually has mental power?! Can androids have human mental power?"
Shi Xi didn't answer any of the questions. She looked at the reckless Alpha in front of her with calm eyes. She lowered her eyes slightly and waved to the child, "Daniel, come here."
There were several beads on Shi Xi's slender wrist, some silver, some red, and some half white and half red.
The ball made a crisp clattering sound as he raised his hand. This sound brought Zhong Xingyi back to his senses. He then realized his previous disrespect and took a step back in shame. "I'm sorry, please forgive my reckless behavior."
Shi Xi said "hmm" lightly, put her hands on Daniel's thin shoulders, and walked away slowly with him, "What do you want to play? I can accompany you."
The child's voice was extremely cheerful, "Master, master, will you play hide-and-seek with me?"
Shi Xi: "Okay."
During their first meeting, Zhong Xingyi didn't say anything else to Shi Xi. After returning, the other person's figure lingered in his mind. Zhong Xingyi scratched his hair irritably, threw down his pen, put down the half-finished design drawings, and went straight to the palace.
He wants to go and apply to His Majesty to enter Apsu.
For some reason, Emperor Bollit has refused everyone's request to see him in recent years. Zhong Xingyi is not afraid of death. He uses special radio wave jammers and blockers to bypass the royal guards and goes straight to Emperor Bollit's bedroom.
The smell of alcohol in the bedroom emanated the moment the door was opened, accompanied by the emperor's hoarse voice, "Zhong Xingyi, did I ever tell you not to come to my place without permission?"
Zhong Xingyi's father was a mechanic who had followed Emperor Berlitt into battle, but unfortunately he never returned.
Zhong Xingyi's mother died of frailty after giving birth to him. It was Emperor Bolit who raised him, and they were like half father and son.
Zhong Xingyi waved the air. "My Majesty, what's wrong with you? Did someone make you unhappy?"
Emperor Berlitt had deep and three-dimensional facial features. He held a bottle of wine in his strong hands and took a few sips with his chin tilted back. His whole body was shrouded in gloom and negativity.
Zhong Xingyi didn't understand why the emperor had become like this. He looked at him worriedly. Berlitt said nothing and stood up shakily. "Tell me, what do you want from me?"
Zhong Xingyi said frankly, "I want to go to the Apsu Tower and learn bionic mechanics from that Omega named... Shi Xi. He's better than me, and not much younger than me... Wow, he really is a genius even more talented than me."
"Bang--"
The wine bottle in the emperor's hand exploded, and the fragments fell to the ground. There was a sticky emotion in his eyes, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. In short, he was definitely in a bad mood.
Zhong Xingyi looked over, confused. "W-What happened?"
"Shi Xi wouldn't want to teach you." Berlitt's voice was icy. "He's a heartless person, a cold-blooded monster..."
Berlitt will never forget that the usually well-behaved Shi Xi killed his father, the person he loved the most.
Omega's neck was cut open by a sharp weapon, and a steady stream of blood flowed out of the wound. Shi Xi was still quietly protecting the crying Shi Xi in his arms, staring at him hatefully, "Are you satisfied? Don't even think about... don't even think about trapping me forever."
At that time, Berlitt could only numbly hold his lover in his arms, covering his neck with his hands, as if he was the one whose throat was cut, and he couldn't say a word.
Omega's breath was filled with the smell of blood. He pressed Shi Xi's hand into Berlitt's. "This is the child you've always wanted. You, you must love him... even if he's just a bionic man..."
——"This is my revenge on you. I hate you."
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty...?"
Zhong Xingyi's voice pulled Berlitt out of his thoughts. He looked at him blankly, "Why do you say that about Shi Xi? He seems fine to me, just a little lonely... or like someone has bullied him."
Hearing this, Berlitt's hands curled up slightly. He couldn't remain indifferent to Shi Xi's situation, because he had also been looking forward to the arrival of this child, even though Shi Xi had no blood relationship with him.
In the end, Berlitt agreed to let Zhong Xingyi go and study with Shi Xi, but he could only allow him to enter and leave the Tower of Apsu freely. As for other things, Shi Xi had to agree to it himself.
So, every day after that, Zhong Xingyi would go to find Shi Xi. They were both studying bionic mechanics, so they would have topics to talk about.
It’s just that Shi Xi is slow-tempered and doesn’t speak actively. It’s always Zhong Xingyi who takes the initiative to bring up the topic, and Shi Xi will say a few more words if she finds something interesting.
Slowly, the distance between Shi Xi and Zhong Xingyi grew closer and closer. Shi Xi was like an autistic little mushroom. Sometimes she would fall into depression and ignore others.
It just so happened that Zhong Xingyi was the most patient, and at this time he would pull him to play hide-and-seek with Daniel. In the happy atmosphere, Shi Xi's sadness slowly dissipated, and a smile appeared in his eyes.
Zhong Xingyi saw Shi Xi become happy and couldn't help laughing along with him.
It is not surprising that Zhong Xingyi and Shi Xi would fall in love with each other after spending so much time together.
Once, after completing Daniel's system upgrade together, their hands accidentally touched each other, as if it was a collision of hearts, stirring up thousands of emotions.
That was the first time Zhong Xingyi kissed Shi Xi. Under the sea of stars, he gently kissed Shi Xi's soft lips, his voice filled with scorching love, "Ah Xi, Ah Xi, you are my precious treasure."
Shi Xi inexplicably shed tears after hearing this, her voice choked with sobs, "If it's not a treasure, no one will cherish it, and no one will like it."
After he killed his father, everything was gone.
But he couldn't control it, because his father created him just to let him kill him. Shi Xi had no way and no room to resist.
He is not a human and cannot integrate into the human race. The bionic people will love him according to the operation of the system, but Shi Xi still cannot feel the true love.
But during the time he spent with Zhong Xingyi, Shi Xi seemed to feel what it felt like to be loved, which made him unable to stop immersing himself in it and unable to extricate himself.
Shi Xi clutched Zhong Xingyi's collar tightly, as if grasping at her last straw. Her obsidian eyes were soaked with tears, yet a glimmer of hope shone in them. "You will love me forever, right?"
"Yes I will."
"What if I'm not human? What if I'm just a android?"
Zhong Xingyi was stunned and stared at him blankly, "You...what did you say?"
He is also an expert in bionic mechanics, so he naturally knows that the so-called "love" of the bionic man is just an operating setting from the code. It is a false digitized emotion and cannot be taken seriously at all.
Why did Shi Xi suddenly say this...
Zhong Xingyi couldn't help but think of Daniel, the growing bionic man whose appearance and mental strength were no different from ordinary humans.
Daniel is not a human, and Shi Xi is not a human either... ?
Zhong Xingyi's mind was blank and his thoughts were in a mess.
He was stunned for three seconds.
The light in Shi Xi's eyes gradually faded. She looked at Zhong Xingyi deeply, then slowly released her hand from his collar and lowered her eyes. "I understand."
Then he turned and left.
Zhong Xingyi stared at his back in a daze, and subconsciously wanted to chase after him, but his feet felt like they were filled with lead and he couldn't move at all. He could only watch Shi Xi disappear from his sight.
This incident was too shocking and he needed to calm down.
If Zhong Xingyi was not studying bionic mechanics, he would not have thought anything of it, but he happened to be in this field and would not confuse the boundaries between real people and bionic people.
Zhong Xingyi returned to his residence in a daze and spent a whole day accepting the fact that he had fallen in love with a bionic man.
Yes, he was sure that he loved Shi Xi, there was no doubt about that. Zhong Xingyi took a deep breath, looked at the light outside the window, and decided to go find Shi Xi to make things clear.
He loves him, regardless of these identities.
But when Zhong Xingyi arrived at the Apsu Tower, the person sitting on the lounge chair on the top floor was not Shi Xi, but a young Alpha boy.
Zhong Xingyi looked around but couldn't find Shi Xi. He frowned and looked at the Alpha boy. "Who are you?"
"The owner of this tower." The Alpha boy's tone was far from polite, and his hostility towards Zhong Xingyi was extremely obvious. "The person you're looking for is not here. Go back and get out of my sight."
Zhong Xingyi's eyes widened, a sinister premonition forming in his heart. He grabbed the Alpha boy by the collar and demanded, "What do you mean? Where's Shi Xi?! Where is Shi Xi?!"
Shi Xulin looked at him indifferently, a cruel smile on his lips. "Where else can he be? He's dead."
Zhong Xingyi's heart trembled, "What did you say?"
"Shi Xi died, just after you left yesterday." Shi Xulin's eyes were filled with hatred for the man in front of him. "Anyway, you don't want him anymore, so why are you so concerned about his life or death? It's hypocritical."
Shi Xulin was created by Shi Xi a long time ago and had been sleeping in an incubator. He only woke up at the moment of Shi Xi's death and took his place.
By checking the surveillance, Shi Xulin saw Shi Xi walk to the fuel room on the bottom floor, staring at the blazing flames, stunned for a while, and finally took off the bracelet and jumped into the flames without hesitation, turning into ashes.
In fact, he knew that Zhong Xingyi could not be blamed entirely for Shi Xi's death. From the moment Shi Xi started to work on him and put on the bracelet that would continuously absorb his mental power, he had already made up his mind to die.
Zhong Xingyi was just a fuse.
Zhong Xingyi couldn't believe that Shi Xi, who was still alive yesterday, was no longer alive today, but when Shi Xulin showed him the surveillance video, he had no choice but to believe it.
Watching Shi Xi being engulfed by flames, Zhong Xingyi's heart ached to the point of numbness, but he watched the scene over and over again as if torturing himself, and finally the scene paused before Shi Xi's death.
He stood alone on the high platform, his expression indifferent, not afraid of the flames beneath his feet at all, as if the world had abandoned him, and so he no longer had any thoughts about the world.
"I didn't abandon you... Ah Xi... I love you." Zhong Xingyi burst into tears, holding Shi Xi's bracelet tightly in his hand, kissing it on his lips, tears sliding down his face, "I was wrong... I was really wrong."
The three seconds he hesitated made him lose Shi Xi forever.
Zhong Xingyi couldn't imagine how desperate Shi Xi was when he died, and how painful it was to die in the fire. That was his treasure, but he still lost it.
After Shi Xi's death, Bolit came once. He and Zhong Xingyi stood side by side on the high platform in the energy room, looking at the flames below, "I think I made another mistake."
This time, Berlitt didn't call himself "I." Looking at the place where Shi Xi was buried, his already numb heart began to ache again. He glanced at Zhong Xingyi and said, "I thought you could help that child get out..."
Zhong Xingyi already knew everything and looked at the emperor with no respect. "We are all the murderers who forced him to death. No one can escape this crime."
The emperor smiled wistfully, "Indeed."
After that, the emperor resigned, distributed power to various families, and disappeared. Zhong Xingyi stayed in the Apsu Tower, in his office, wearing Shi Xi's bracelet on his wrist.
The small ball of mental power continuously absorbed Zhong Xingyi's mental power, while time was also eroding his life.
Shi Xulin still had a bad face towards Zhong Xingyi, but Zhong Xingyi treated him as his own son. However, a few years after Shi Xulin took office, he began to prepare for the next successor.
Perhaps moved by Shi Xi's love for Daniel, Shi Xulin also wanted to experience the feeling of family, so he created a female Omega.
Shi Xianyun was born. Unlike Shi Xulin who was born in the form of a teenager, Shi Xianyun was born in the form of a baby. The first few years were fine. Shi Xulin and Shi Xianyun got along very well, just like an ordinary father and daughter.
However, as Shi Xianyun grew up, the murderous intent towards her parents in her genes began to show. Shi Xulin noticed this and became estranged from Shi Xianyun.
Shi Xianyun was handed over to Zhong Xingyi for training by Shi Xulin. Zhong Xingyi loved this child from the bottom of his heart, but Shi Xianyun didn't believe it.
The little child stared at him coldly, his words icy and hurtful. "I know what you want to do. You want to help my father train me so that I can take his place in this prison? I hate you, and I hate my father, too."
Zhong Xingyi, who was already old, could not utter a word. Pain was hidden in his cloudy eyes. He almost witnessed the tragedy of every family member going through hardships and heading towards death step by step.
However, this time, there were some changes in Shi Xianyun. She chose to create a pair of twins and eliminated the inherited genes in the gene sequence in advance.
Shi Xianyun sent the two children to school and let them grow up like ordinary people. Gradually, the two children depended on each other and each had a happy family.
Zhong Xingyi watched this scene silently, turned around and returned to his dim laboratory, closed the door, and never saw anyone else.
Until one day, a soft voice sounded from outside the door. The little guy knocked on the door and shouted anxiously, "Grandpa, help me, I can't fix my little robot."
The old man's withered heart revived again.
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