Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

"Mr. Qi, shouldn't we tell your teacher?"

"The teacher is an immortal being; a hundred years or so is but a drop in the ocean of her life. In her long life, I am just an insignificant passerby. Besides... she doesn't like to be disturbed."

"..." Clarisse showed no surprise.

That's what Mr. Qi would say.

Even on the verge of death, he did not want to disturb his teacher.

Perhaps to Mr. Qi's teacher, he was indeed just an insignificant passerby.

But for him, his teacher was the most important person in his life.

He lived a secluded life in the mountains, never married, had no children, and did most of his work related to his teacher.

I regularly cleaned the teacher's house, trimmed the path leading to it, and tended the plum grove year after year to brew fine wine, which I then sent to the teacher.

Apart from that, I never bother you.

All of this shows that the teacher held a place in his heart that was more important than anything else.

If even news of a death is considered a disturbance, isn't that a form of cruelty?

Is it too heartless?

Clarice couldn't help but think that.

"Is there anything else you haven't finished...? I can help you, Mr. Qi."

"...There's a bottle of medicine in the hidden pocket of my white coat. Could you please pour out four pills for me to take? Thank you."

Clarice looked at the white coat hanging not far away. When she went to get the medicine, she found a small plum blossom embroidered in the hidden pocket.

She paused for a few seconds, then took out a medicine bottle from her hidden pocket, returned to the bedside, carefully poured out four pills, and fed them to Qi Zhimu.

The medicine takes effect very quickly.

In less than two minutes, Qi Zhimu regained his youth under Clarice's gaze.

However, he could only smile helplessly.

It used to take less than half a minute...

Looking at the incredibly familiar Mr. Qi, Clarice couldn't stop her tears.

Unable to contain her impulse, she threw herself into his arms and burst into tears.

Qi Zhimu raised his hand, wanting to gently hug her back, but his arm stopped in mid-air and fell silently.

Now that things have come to this, how could he not see the girl's feelings?

If you can't make any promises or offer a future, it's better to choose never to start at all.

Dandelion seeds will not take root and sprout if they never fall into the soil, and will eventually be carried away by the wind.

Qi Zhimu remained motionless, letting Clarice's tears soak his clothes.

Sadness is a girl's right and freedom, and he has no right to stop her.

Qi Zhimu turned his head to look out the window.

It's snowing again, quite heavily.

Looking at the time again, I realized I had been unconscious for almost a day.

After an unknown amount of time, Clarice gradually stopped crying and held Qi Zhimu in silence.

"I'll take you home later. You haven't come home all night, and Ms. Durand will be worried about you," Qi Zhimu said gently.

"...Mother has already returned to her hometown..."

"so."

"Mr. Qi, please let me stay with you until the end. Please, don't refuse me."

Because... this is the only thing I can hope for...

The girl dared not lift her face, afraid to see eyes that read rejection, and even more afraid to hear those tactful words.

"...Okay." Qi Zhimu replied softly with just one word.

……

[Remaining lifespan: 1 day, 02 hours, 24 minutes, and 41 seconds]

Within the folded space, in the assembly area in front of Qi Zhimu, a humanoid machine floats silently.

His fingers flew across the console, the afterimages almost blending together, as he prepared to perfect the final program.

It implants a partial digital backup of its memory into the core and sets inviolable meta-instructions.

Clarice stood aside, silently watching all of this.

She knew the purpose of the machine and that it wasn't purchased from the company.

Within the assembly area, light flowed, and the mechanical body rapidly generated tissue on its surface, as if growing bone and flesh, quickly transforming into Qi Zhimu's appearance.

Qi Zhimu stopped what he was doing, his fingertip hovering above the confirmation button.

"Mr. Qi... can you change its appearance?" Clarice suddenly asked.

Even if this was Mr. Qi's creation, she didn't want to see another face with the same features.

"Using other people's data is not good, as it infringes on their portrait rights. Using your own data is the most convenient and risk-free option."

Qi Zhimu rarely makes a joke.

I reached out and pinched the skin of the mechanical doll; the texture was almost indistinguishable from that of a real person.

His face was expressionless and lifeless, his eyes vacant, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Qi Zhimu doesn't need it to have emotions.

As long as it faithfully executes the meta-instructions.

Should the language module be deleted or kept? He hesitated.

Clarisse sighed inwardly and said nothing more.

The next second, she saw the phantom of the past again.

That was the process by which Qi Zhimu created this mechanical doll.

In that instant, she deeply understood her mother's words—

Life is a winding labyrinth; we have nothing but memories.

Then, she recalled Qi Zhimu's interpretation of the sentence and the cruel short story he had told her.

She remembered... the answer she received when she asked Mr. Qi if he would like to remember her.

He said: Of course I'm willing, and I don't need a reason.

Now, she also wants to remember Mr. Qi, and everything about him.

No reason is needed either.

Clarisse understood everything.

If even she has forgotten Mr. Qi, then he is truly dead.

Whenever she thinks of him, he feels as if he has been reborn because of her, as if he had never died.

"Self-check complete, let's begin."

Qi Zhimu lightly pressed the confirmation button, his voice pulling Clarice back to reality.

He retained the language module.

The mechanical doll's eyes gradually began to glow faintly.

It slowly turned its neck and moved its limbs, its movements initially stiff and lacking any natural human feel.

However, as time went on, its movements became increasingly fluid and natural.

All the pre-set simple actions passed the test perfectly.

A steady synthesized sound rang out, gradually approaching Qi Zhimu's timbre.

"Meta-instruction confirmed, protocol complete. Please specify the content for the first test."

Qi Zhimu nodded slightly, moved the mechanical doll from the assembly area to the ground, and pulled Clarice back a few steps.

"Within three seconds, it completely mimics my behavior pattern."

The mechanical doll's gaze followed Qi Zhimu intently.

The next moment, its posture, movements, and even the habitual slight bend in its fingertips were exactly the same as Qi Zhimu's.

If it weren't for the fact that the face remained expressionless, it would be almost impossible to tell the two apart.

Qi Zhimu issued the second test command: "Switch attack mode, target: virtual target in front."

As soon as he finished speaking, several targets popped up instantly from the folded space.

The puppet moved suddenly, its right arm whipping out like a whip, bringing with it a sharp gust of wind.

Each of his consecutive dodges shattered the bullseye; his movements were crisp, clean, precise, and elegant.

Qi Zhimu stared intently at the data screen, where various indicators were rapidly fluctuating.

The attack mode's action logic is stable, and its reaction time is better than the preset time, thus meeting the requirements in many aspects.

Dolls without high levels of autonomy and intelligence naturally cannot lack the ability to protect themselves.

"Next, we'll test our energy attack methods. We can't use them here, so come with me."

Qi Zhimu turned around, and another "him" faithfully followed.

Clarice followed silently.

On the quiet, empty snowfield, the puppet fired an energy cannon, blasting a crater fifty meters in diameter, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Qi Zhimu was quite satisfied with this level of destructive power.

It's enough to deal with ordinary thieves.

After all, its original purpose was not for killing.

"It's cold, let's go back."

"Mr. Qi... there's only one day left, right..." Clarice was extremely depressed.

Qi Zhimu paused for a moment, then chuckled softly.

"right."