During this whole time, Jiang Qi had imagined all kinds of possible outcomes.
He had even considered the possibility that the AI core might fail to start at all—or that the moment it did start, the thing might go berserk.
He had also pictured many possible scenarios for what might happen after communication was established.
But never, not even in his wildest guesses, had he imagined it would turn out like this.
A pinky swear?
What kind of situation even was that...?
After thinking it over, Jiang Qi finally typed a tentative question into the dialogue box.
"Are you serious?"
[Of course. The structure of my left arm is intact, so I should be able to perform that action. However, my visual module is currently offline, and my tactile system is also severely impaired. I may require your assistance to complete it.]
Good grief. This thing really did sound serious.
Could it be that, for an AI, even a symbolic contract like this could somehow be written directly into its programming once completed?
Or was this AI just messing with him?
Jiang Qi felt his head starting to ache.
Trying to guess what another human being was thinking was already hard enough. How was he supposed to guess what an AI was thinking?
After a brief moment of thought, Jiang Qi decided he might need to change his approach.
He couldn't treat an AI the same way he would a human. Things like trust and guarantees shouldn't even be the sort of topic he discussed with an AI in the first place.
Even if Glaxia's AI felt rather strange to him, it was still, in the end, an AI. Reason and efficiency ought to be its primary drivers.
If Jiang Qi wanted to establish a stable long-term partnership with it, then the best method would be to make cooperation with him the best possible choice available.
And that meant Jiang Qi needed to possess a unique and irreplaceable advantage.
Fortunately, he really did have one.
After considering it, Jiang Qi typed a new message.
"You should know at least something about the Wasteland's circumstances, right?"
[Yes. Although part of my database is damaged, the relevant information does not appear to have been affected.]
"Then you should know that, under Wasteland conditions, repairing you would be extremely difficult," Jiang Qi continued typing. "For most people, it would be almost impossible."
[Yes. I understand.]
"Right. But you're lucky. I really do have the ability to help you. I'm the one who repaired your core energy bay," Jiang Qi typed. "Producing precision parts that meet the required standards isn't easy in the Wasteland. I just happen to have that capability."
[Yes. It was because I confirmed that point that I concluded you were capable of helping me. But why are you saying all this? Aren't we doing the pinky swear anymore?]
Jiang Qi: "..."
A strange sense of helplessness washed over him.
No, really—was this normal?
Why was this so different from what he had imagined?
He looked at the one intact arm Glaxia still had left and remained silent for a long while.
In the end, he finally reached out, hooked his little finger around hers, and gave it a gentle tug.
That finger was softer than he had expected. It had none of the cold stiffness one would associate with machinery. Aside from the absence of body warmth, it was practically no different from a human hand.
And more than that, Jiang Qi had the faint impression that her finger had moved a little in response during the process.
It lasted only a moment, but he truly had the bizarre feeling that he wasn't interacting with a machine at all, but with a living person.
[I felt it. Was that a pinky swear? Does that mean you're willing to help me now?]
Jiang Qi looked at the new line on the screen, then at the poster on the wall beside him, and finally at the pitiful wreck of machinery before him.
The disconnect hit him so hard it was almost overwhelming.
He really couldn't reconcile those three images into one whole.
"Whatever. One step at a time," Jiang Qi muttered helplessly.
After all, the other side had already said it was only asking for his help because it had recognized he possessed the ability to help it.
Knowing for certain that it genuinely needed to cooperate with him—that alone was enough for now.
As long as this AI wasn't outright insane, then at the very least, it probably wouldn't just attack him for no reason.
"Wait a bit. I should be able to restore your visual and auditory modules to working order. As for the rest, that'll have to come gradually."
After typing that into the dialogue box, Jiang Qi got to work removing Glaxia's eyes and ears.
[Oh? Really? That's wonderful. The feeling of not being able to see or hear anything is absolutely terrible. If not for that program connecting in, I might've thought I was dead.]
Catching sight of the new text on the screen, Jiang Qi frowned slightly.
Did AIs also have a concept of death?
Or was this just some kind of figure of speech for an AI?
Jiang Qi couldn't help recalling the earlier warning. It had said Glaxia's active intelligent core would suffer irreversible damage if it lost power, hadn't it?
Could it be...
Could she actually die?
Just as Jiang Qi was thinking that, another line of text appeared on the screen.
[Hello? Are you still there? Why aren't you answering me?]
Jiang Qi's mouth twitched at once. He reached out and typed a reply.
"Busy fixing your eyes. Stop talking."
[Ah. All right then...]
What was with that disappointed tone?
Was this thing really such a chatterbox by nature?
The gap between this and the image on the posters was way too large. Jiang Qi had assumed she'd be the cold, aloof, ice-queen type.
Could it be that the damage to her database had made her personality drift off course?
Or had she always been like this, and the promotional image was simply not representative of the actual product?
Still full of doubt, Jiang Qi didn't slow his hands for even a moment. After working for a while, he successfully removed both of Glaxia's eyes.
Modules like these were highly modular. Removing them didn't require damaging the structure, though the process itself was rather fiddly. Jiang Qi had spent quite a while figuring out the trick to it.
But...
Although she was mechanical, many parts of Glaxia's face were made from flexible metallic materials, and the sensation...
Well.
How to put it?
It didn't feel like he was dismantling a machine.
It felt more like performing surgery.
Especially when he removed the eyeballs—it genuinely felt like pulling real eyes out of a person's head, enough to make Jiang Qi break out in goosebumps.
After taking out both prosthetic eyes, Jiang Qi looked at Glaxia's face.
Half of it had already been badly damaged to begin with, and now, without any eyes at all, she looked even more pitiful than before.
In fact, she was starting to look a little frightening.
Jiang Qi reached out and gently arranged the hair over her forehead, using it to cover the badly damaged left side of her face. That made her look a little better, at least.
Earlier, there had been many scorched black marks in her hair, making it seem badly damaged. But after careful inspection, Jiang Qi had discovered the exact opposite was true.
According to his Appraisal ability, the hair wasn't merely decorative—it was part of her electromagnetic defense system, made from a kind of flexible special alloy.
The material itself was already quite strong, and when drawn out into fine strands it became both light and soft, making it surprisingly hard to damage. As a result, it had actually remained in very good condition.
The blackened scorch marks on the surface could even be wiped away with a towel.
Over the past few days, Jiang Qi had been cleaning her hair whenever he had spare time. By now, Glaxia's silver hair had almost completely regained its former brilliance.
He then repaired the two mechanical prosthetic eyes through synthesis, merging them into one complete right eye, and fitted it into Glaxia's right eye socket.
Compared with removal, installing the prosthetic eye was much easier.
That wasn't surprising. If the structure hadn't been designed to be easy to install and hard to remove, it probably wouldn't have remained stable once fitted.
The moment it was in place, Glaxia's eye blinked with startlingly human realism.
Then it turned toward Jiang Qi and carefully looked him up and down from head to toe.
And then...
[That is an impressively authentic wastelander outfit. It seems you weren't lying to me.]
[Is this your home? It certainly has a very wasteland aesthetic.]
[Although your equipment really is quite shabby, isn't it? It's honestly incredible. How exactly did you manage to repair my energy bay...?]
Looking at the rapid stream of text popping up on the tablet, Jiang Qi found himself at a loss for words.
He wanted to reply with something, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Then Glaxia sent another line.
[By the way, who is that person outside? Your friend? Why does he look kind of like a peeping tom?]
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 135)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter67)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter85)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 60
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 65
From Junkman to Wasteland 50
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 35
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 40
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 37
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