Chapter 69

Nan Yuan continued working with relentless focus, his hands never stopping as he welded the machinery.
Electric arcs danced across the screen, bursting into blossoms of fireworks.
Tao Shushu's heart beat faster and faster, overflowing with joy.
"Knock, knock." The room door was tapped.
Lost in her thoughts, Tao Shushu reflexively turned off her phone. Then, she realized how guilty she must have looked.
She wiped her face vigorously and said, "Come in."
Mother Tao beamed with delight. "Shushu, you just finished your exams. Don't overwork yourself. Call your friends more often, chat, and relax."
"I wasn't on the phone," Tao Shushu explained.
"Daughter, you're mature enough now. Your father and I aren't rigid parents. I overheard you on the phone." Mother Tao sat beside Tao Shushu, smiling as she said, "I wasn't eavesdropping intentionally. I was bringing you some fruit and just about to knock when I heard you being coquettish. I felt too awkward to come in."
"Mom!" Tao Shushu exclaimed, "I wasn't, I..."
Mother Tao wore an expression that said 'I've been through it all', "Alright, alright, I won't say more. Just use your judgment. Whenever you want to bring him home for us to meet, your father and I will be ready anytime."
Mother Tao closed the door and left.
Tao Shushu picked up her phone again and saw that Nan Yuan had paused what he was doing, seemingly looking for her. She quickly explained, "Nan Yuan, I was just dealing with something."
A fleeting look of loneliness crossed Nan Yuan's face before he replied, "Okay."
Tao Shushu's heart instantly ached. Nan Yuan only had her as someone he could truly trust and rely on.
Could it be that her longing for Nan Yuan had become so obvious that even her mother could detect it?
Lost in thought, Tao Shushu poked Nan Yuan to let him know she was still there.
Nan Yuan, who had been focused on his work, curled his lips into a slight smile.
Tao Shushu was dazzled by his smile. Pressing a hand to her heart, she solidified her resolve.
She was truly captivated by Nan Yuan.
Seeing such a beautiful person every day, being fully trusted and depended on by him, it was hard not to develop feelings.
Tao Shushu chuckled and, during a break in Nan Yuan's work, said, "Nan Yuan, I really liked that little boxing figure from earlier. Can you show it to me again?"
Nan Yuan paused briefly before responding, "Okay."
Beside Nan Yuan, on the display, the "bad guy" was knocked down once more, rolling on the ground and begging for mercy.
Meanwhile, Nan Yuan controlled the welding arc, shaping the light and shadow into the same form as the little figure.
Several lines of electric light, like colorful tears, streamed from the corners of the "bad guy's" eyes.
Tao Shushu laughed so hard she rocked back and forth.
Hearing her laughter, Nan Yuan also let out a soft chuckle. He wasn't as fortunate as the people around Shushu, he couldn't see her in person or accompany her in doing many things.
All he could do was make her happy every second he could spend with her.
Before logging off, Tao Shushu bid Nan Yuan a gentle farewell, "See you tomorrow, Nan Yuan."
She had said goodbye to Nan Yuan many times and often arranged when she would visit him again, but Tao Shushu knew this time was different.
This time, she faced her true feelings, she liked Nan Yuan and wanted to see him first thing every morning when she woke up.

Perhaps because too much had happened during the day, Tao Shushu had a dream that night.
Waking up in the morning, she hugged her blanket, picked up her phone with mixed emotions. Had she already fallen for Nan Yuan subconsciously?
Was that why, as soon as she confirmed her feelings, she had a nightmare about being in a lifelong "online relationship" with Nan Yuan?
In her dream, Tao Shushu was already in her thirties and had finally decided to introduce Nan Yuan to her parents. So, she immediately took out her phone and showed Nan Yuan to her mom and dad.
Her parents had to put on their reading glasses just to see what Nan Yuan was saying on the screen.
Neither of them understood Tao Shushu's love.
Tao Shushu said to the system, "I'm not native to this world. Take me back to my original world; I want to find Nan Yuan."
She patted her cheeks and sobered up a bit.
She knew that dreams reflect a person's subconscious worries, and she was acutely aware that the distance between her and Nan Yuan spanned two dimensions of time and space. That's why, even in her dreams, their relationship had always been a "long-distance romance."
Tao Shushu silently reminded herself that dreams don't come true.
For instance, if she were really in a long-distance relationship with Nan Yuan, she would definitely buy a voice package so they could communicate through voice calls.
And for something as significant as meeting the parents, at the very least, she would arrange for a projector to display a life-sized image of Nan Yuan.
Besides, she doubted her phone would even last over a decade.
The latter part of the dream was a fierce battle with the system, which was also something troubling Tao Shushu lately. But the Academic Genius System had set the rules of the game, and the only way for Tao Shushu to defeat it was to compete in the challenges it selected. There was no better alternative.
Tao Shushu cheered herself on with a "You can do it!"
After freshening up with renewed energy, she ate breakfast while chatting with Nan Yuan.
Nan Yuan was always busy.
Watching him bustling about, Tao Shushu said sympathetically, "Now that the survivor group has grown larger, you're even busier."
Nan Yuan smiled. "Because there are more things I want to accomplish."
He had to fight against artificial intelligence, avenge his parents, try once more to find his brother, and also search for a way to reach Shushu's side.
A focused man is the most attractive.
This time, Nan Yuan repaired two small robots, each only as tall as a person's knee but fully equipped with intricate internal mechanisms. He explained, "These are child-friendly toy robots. They can reassemble their appearance, shoot, and engage in close combat. They're generally used for playing house."
"Wow," Tao Shushu marveled. "Kids get to use such advanced robots for war games."
The utilization of artificial intelligence in the C1 star system had truly reached its peak.
Nan Yuan recalled something. "This might have been part of AI's plan all along. A long time ago, AI was integrated into battlefield simulation exercises. Some military units even allowed AI to lead one side of the conflict. They've gathered plenty of experience from actual combat."
Information that should have been strictly confidential had long been secretly stored and analyzed by AI.
Familiar with human tactics and weaknesses, they were unstoppable when they rebelled.
Not wanting to dwell on the topic, Nan Yuan pressed a switch, and the two small robots began to spar.
Their movements were surprisingly harmonious.
One threw a punch while the other kicked, then simulated the damage of each move on a display screen.
Tao Shushu occasionally mischievously poked one of them.
The other would shout, "You're cheating! You're cheating!"
After listening for a while, she suddenly felt that the little robots' exclamations bore a striking resemblance to "Xun."
Remembering this, Tao Shushu took out her phone and sent a message to Shen Yichen, asking if he had time recently and if he could share some information with her.
As he was playing, Nan Yuan's ears twitched. "Someone's coming."
The environment outside was quite noisy.
Nan Yuan simply stopped what he was doing and went out to check.
The base was bustling as Zhou Yan led a group of people transporting a large haul of scavenged supplies.
"Places taken over by artificial intelligence are different, we found a lot of useful stuff on this trip," Zhou Yan said with a laugh.
Zhou Yan passed by, fully loaded, having gathered a large pile of still-functional components.
Dr. Xie specifically assigned an assistant to help with sorting.
Nan Yuan followed behind the assistant and remarked, "Core components? Dr. Xie's progress can speed up now."
The assistant abruptly closed the box. "Yes, to avoid light corrosion, I'll take this inside first."
Nan Yuan acted as if he hadn't noticed the other's wariness and continued helping with the sorting.
Tao Shushu thought for a moment, switched perspectives, and followed the assistant to Dr. Xie's laboratory.
Dr. Xie was busy with something, and the assistant didn't speak, just unloaded the items.
Could there really be no issue?
Tao Shushu couldn't spot any problems and returned to Nan Yuan's side.
The ability users worked quickly and had already finished moving everything.
"Here," Zhou Yan tossed a small cannon tube to Nan Yuan. "A birthday gift. I probably won't be back the day after tomorrow, so I'm giving it to you now."
The cannon tube was only as thick as an arm, silver-white in color, and matched Nan Yuan's particle gun perfectly.
"I don't like this thing, so it's perfect for you. Weapons that require careful aiming are only suitable for you and your brother," Zhou Yan said.
Nan Yuan was taken aback for a moment. "Thank you."
Only then did Tao Shushu realize that Nan Yuan's birthday was approaching.
For this birthday, Nan Yuan had no other family or friends left.
Tao Shushu felt troubled, unsure of what gift to give Nan Yuan.
"I'm off. Taking a day's rest, then heading out tomorrow to scavenge again," Zhou Yan waved and walked into the rest area.
Nan Yuan also smiled. "Maybe we won't need to scavenge anymore."
Nan Yuan's judgment was correct, Dr. Xie was very satisfied with this batch of findings and proposed a bold idea.
Since the artificial intelligence rebellion, spaceship navigation, interplanetary communications, and even medical robots had been controlled by AI, leaving humanity in a passive position.
But with the materials they had found this time, he was confident they could create a new signal transmitter to restore communications between several planets. Once that happened, humanity could unite their forces and launch a counterattack against the artificial intelligence.
Dr. Xie first discussed the plan with several high-ranking officials. If everyone agreed, he would announce the good news to all surviving humans.
"This should be the most uplifting news," Dr. Xie said with a smile. "Of course, if Nan Yuan hadn’t destroyed the mechanical arm, we would never have had this opportunity."
Under Dr. Xie’s slightly urging gaze, Nan Yuan paused briefly. "I agree."
The higher-ups erupted in cheers.
It seemed they now had a chance to defeat the artificial intelligence.
Nan Yuan lowered his eyes, looking somewhat dizzy.
Dr. Xie walked over to Nan Yuan with concern, his expression full of pity. "Nan Yuan, to be honest, I hope this path doesn’t succeed. If I manage to build the communication framework, we’ll still need a team to travel to other planets and install it."
The task sounded fraught with danger from the outset.
Navigating through a universe blockaded by artificial intelligence, confronting AI interceptions with meager combat strength, and landing on uncharted star systems.
"I will give it my all for even the slightest possibility," Dr. Xie declared.
Those around him were immediately moved. "Dr. Xie, your health is important. You still need to rest properly."
Dr. Xie sighed and shook his head. "I don’t have much time left."
Tao Shushu was full of question marks. Wow, so Dr. Xie was a green tea b*tch.