Ironclad Group Chat: Red and Black Lists Engraved with Heroic Epics

Silver Wolf, at a loss for words, his eyes darting around, said, "...It's not a big problem, calm down first."

On March 7th (ostensibly), he was still murmuring to Gongshu, "Axiu... your... good friend..."

Master Gongshu fell into deep thought: "Ah... Xiu?"

On March 7th, his eyes suddenly regained their luster, as if his previous dullness had vanished.

Sensing something was off, her gaze darted blankly between the three of them, then around again. Finally, she shrugged and asked, bewildered, "Why are you all staring at me? How did it go? Did the spirit summoning spell succeed?"

Xing remained silent for a long while before saying, "...Could you say it was a success?"

"Huh?" March 7th was completely confused.

Why is it so ambiguous?

Silver Wolf turned to Gongshu. It was certain he was in the know!

"I don't know if what happened just now counts as a success, but it's definitely a failure now... Master Gongshu, what is [Axiu]?"

Gongshu's eyes darted around, and after a long while he sighed, "...I never expected to hear this name again."

Silver Wolf said bluntly, "Stop keeping me in suspense."

How old are you to still be so sentimental?

Gongshu explained in detail: "【Axiu】is a toy that I never finished. It has never existed in this world... Therefore, I don't know what it looks like. In other words, I don't even know what it is..."

[Star: Hmm? It's neither the [Golden Gatekeeper] nor the golden figure chosen as the vessel, but another completely unrelated one? Did the summoning spell go wrong?]

[March 7th: Seriously? An unfinished toy can have a soul? This...]

[Saifei: Isn't that a bit too unreasonable? But this actually confirms that she's truly possessed by a cybernetic demon. Even if Changye Yue intervenes, she wouldn't go looking for such unrelated memory fragments, would she?]

"What if she's lazy and just grabs whatever's handy?" Xing thought to herself.

[Screw Gum: A sigh. The soul is truly a wondrous thing.]

[Doctor Truth: Hmph, if that now-defunct branch of the Erudite Society knew this, they'd probably jump out of their graves with glee, wouldn't they?]

[March 7th: So... is it still possible to find that Ah Xiu? It seems like it really wants to see Master Gongshu one last time?]

Silver Wolf said calmly, "Since it's an unfinished toy, we'll know once it's finished, won't we?"

Gongshu shook his head: "But I can no longer make it..."

"I heard you like playing all kinds of games, don't you? Before long, you'll lose interest in games altogether because you know too much, play too much, and think too much."

"Now that things have come to this, I can no longer focus on the things that I used to be passionate about."

Silver Wolf: It's not because of those things...

[Kafka: In most cases, it's because they lost too much and bet too much, right?]

[Silver Wolf: Don't tell anyone!]

[Qingque: I'll probably love Di Yuan Qiongyu for the rest of my life.]

Xing comforted him, "Don't forget Ah Xiu, your good friend."

March 7th also said, "Regardless of the psychological resistance, isn't it simply a matter of 'doing it or not'?"

Gongshu's eyes darted away: "Even if I... managed to make it, it wouldn't be Ah Xiu..."

Silver Wolf said, "I believe people can change, but everyone also has some 'inherent nature' that's hard to change. Just now, you immediately recalled the name 'Ah Xiu,' so perhaps it's not something that's so easy to give up."

She said solemnly, "Don't forget Ah Xiu, your good friend."

The silver wolf's projection disappeared, and Master Gongshu left without a word.

[March 7th: I feel like the topic has suddenly become a bit complicated, a bit sad...]

[Star: How about... you go up and recite another prayer?]

[March 7th: Impossible! I'll never study it again in my life!]

The next day, the group met again at the Industrial Development Company.

Silver Wolf greeted them warmly, "You've finally arrived... By the way, did you notice anything unusual after you went back on March 7th?"

"No... I don't think so." March 7th scratched his head. "But lately I've been feeling like I've become one with the machines, like my thoughts, consciousness, and desires can extend, and I can even control them remotely..."

"That's enough!" Silver Wolf quickly stopped him. "This means there's nothing wrong with you."

[Star: Is this March's hallucination, or has she really obtained some cybernetic power? Will she shout "Merge!" and then the company's mechs twist and turn, forming a head, torso, limbs, and other parts, becoming a giant robot under her control?]

[Walter: Ah, that's a truly awe-inspiring ability.]

Master Gongshu, speaking in a theatrical tone, said with a sour tone like an empty-nest old man neglected by his children, "I've been standing here for half a day, but no one has noticed me!"

Xing turned her head and asked, "Master Gongshu, where is [Axiu]?"

Gongshu said, "After returning last time, I had a sudden urge and rummaged through my belongings to find Ah Xiu's design drafts."

March 7th asked curiously, "So, what exactly is Ah Xiu like?"

Gongshu smiled with a complicated expression: "When I saw the design draft, I suddenly remembered that Ah Xiu is actually a common, ingenious bird."

Silver Wolf: "All I've ever wanted to do but never got around to is a mechanical bird?"

Gongshu's face showed no trace of nostalgia: "When I was just a clueless apprentice, I wanted to make a powerful mechanical bird. At that time, I had countless wild ideas, but in the end, I did not realize them - after all, I did not want my master to see me wasting my time on frivolous things."

"Later, I got busy. At first, I suppressed the urge to make it, telling myself that I would do it after I got through this busy period... But when I actually got through this busy period, I couldn't even remember that impulse anymore."

"Later, I became a foreman and had more time. Whenever I was about to start working, a thought would quietly appear in my mind—[Do I really want to make a toy?]"

"I immediately felt bored and couldn't continue."

Xing sighed, "Life smooths out the rough edges of adults..."

[Qingque: I told you working is bad for your physical and mental health, didn't I?]

[Employee A: The cult leader is absolutely right!]

"It's something that could be made easily, but I just can't seem to make it, haha." Gongshu laughed self-deprecatingly, but fortunately, with the encouragement of these people, he rekindled his long-lost enthusiasm.

"Since you have shown me that it is absolutely impossible, I should give it another try for your sake."

Master Gongshu mysteriously produced a cleverly crafted bird.

"I put aside all other thoughts and just wanted to finish it. After many years, my Ash is finally done."