Just a magical girl who picks up trash

"..."

This was the best thing about mechanical life forms. Although Qiqi's sudden question was somewhat baffling, Xiaobai instantly understood what she was really wondering about through the connection of big data. This made her pause for a moment, and after a long while, she eliminated the one-sided answers in her memory bank. Then, following her vague memory or instinct, she gave her own answer:

"To... destroy Silver!"

"To avenge my family (machine lifeforms) who were wiped out by Shirogane!"

"To protect our sisters (fellow mechanical lifeforms) who are yet to be born (giving birth) and those who are still fighting!"

The above is her reason. She is not sure whether the concept of family exists in the "heart" of the mechanical life form with few emotions nowadays, but it is obvious that such emotions exist in her "heart".

And her family... is precisely all the mechanical life forms on this planet, including...

"I want to protect you, Qiqi!"

As a combat unit, Qiqi will one day still have to fulfill her mission and step onto the battlefield to fight Baiyin. Xiaobai does not want that time to come... to be the eternal farewell between the two!

"..."

44. Get ready to go

So what happened?

Scratching her bionic red ponytail, Xiaobai's expression was filled with confusion. She was standing alone in the empty launch hall, silently waiting for Qiqi to come back with the equipment for her.

The reason why she had such doubts at that moment was because of Qiqi's reaction before she left... That's right, after she casually said that she wanted to protect Qiqi, the other party was silent for several minutes as if the computer had frozen. Although he left after saying "I will go to choose equipment for you" as if nothing had happened, no matter how she looked at it, she felt that the other party seemed to be... avoiding her?

"Did I say something wrong?"

After carefully looking through the records in the database about atmosphere and wrong words, Xiaobai finally came to the following conclusion: Qiqi, as a combat-type machine, must be a relatively strong-willed person. Such machines generally have their own glory and pride in combat. For them, being told "I will protect you" is undoubtedly equivalent to expressing the other person's weakness, which is a kind of belittling statement.

"So I really said something wrong..."

Even her expression dropped instantly. After understanding this, Xiaobai's eyes couldn't help but flash with a hint of regret... She didn't mean to do that at all. She didn't mean to look down on Qiqi at all. The reason she wanted to protect the other party was obviously because of her heartfelt feelings. However, logically speaking, it was natural that the other party would be angry.

"Wow~~ What should I do? Qiqi won't be angry, right? She won't just leave me here like this, right? Will I be unable to even apologize if this happens?"

She was a little apprehensive when she thought about this, but it was obvious that Xiaobai was overthinking it. Just as she was looking around with a headache, Qiqi's voice suddenly came from behind her again:

"Your equipment...what are you doing?"

The female electronic voice that seemed to have little ups and downs but inexplicably carried a gentle atmosphere suddenly sounded from behind, which immediately made Xiaobai, who was still in distress, jump and turn around. The first thing he saw was Qiqi with her head tilted and a puzzled expression on her face. In her hand, she was holding a small bracelet inlaid with crystals like emerald green crystals and handed it to her.

"Uh... that..."

He subconsciously reached out and took the bracelet. Just as Qiqi was about to explain its functions to him, Xiaobai suddenly put his hands in front of him and bent down decisively.

"sorry!"

The loud voice suddenly echoed throughout the entire hall, and Qiqi was stunned for a moment.

"……well?"

It took a long time before she made such a surprised sound, as if she didn't understand why Xiaobai suddenly apologized. She tilted her head habitually, but Qiqi didn't respond and just waited for the other party's next words.

"I shouldn't have been so ignorant as to say I'd protect Qiqi. Qiqi is obviously the real combat robot, and I'm just a newly born extra-robot. I just got carried away!"

Without hesitation, I stated the reason for my apology. Of course, I didn't forget that I was afraid Qiqi would misunderstand me, so I made a small excuse:

"Also, I said I wanted to protect Qiqi because she's my family. It was just a simple thought in my heart. I didn't mean to think Qiqi was weak. I really didn't mean that! Because it's very important, I have to say both sides!"

She emphasized this point especially, fearing that Qiqi might misunderstand. After she finished speaking, she looked at the expressionless mechanical girl in front of her with a pitiful and forgiving look. However, it was not until this moment that Xiaobai realized that Qiqi seemed to... have changed clothes?

No, to be more precise, it should be a change of equipment?

Because mechanical life forms all have a human-like appearance, this is mainly due to the appearance packaging made by the former holiday planet to accommodate humans. Therefore, Qiqi looks no different from ordinary people, except for her abnormally white skin and a pair of mechanical ears that look like headphones and rabbit ears.

However, most mechanical life forms have a common classification when it comes to clothing. Qiqi, like most mechanical life forms, only wears a tight silver-white swimsuit that seems to be integrated with the skin. If it weren't for the faintly visible lines on it, one would think it is a **-like swimsuit. It is said that this is the daily clothing of the combat system, worn in non-combat situations. How should I put it... it has a kind of sexy taste!

Of course, this is also because mechanical life forms themselves have no sense of shame about "appearance", so this kind of clothing is nothing big. What Qiqi is wearing now is: on the basis of the original silver-white tight swimsuit, armor covering important parts of the body is added. The original silver short boots seem to have become silver-white long boots containing several metal products of unknown meaning. A blue carapace is added to the back, extending all the way to the shoulders and covering the upper chest.

Well, how should I put it... it’s that kind of authentic mecha girl outfit... After all, Qiqi is a real mecha girl!

"I'm not angry!"

"Ugh?"

Just as Xiaobai was carefully observing Qiqi's combat uniform, silently praising this outfit that was said to be combat-ready but looked even more inexplicably seductive, Qiqi's sudden reply immediately startled Xiaobai. He looked at her, but heard Qiqi explain as if she hadn't seen him:

"Analyzing my previous reactions and psychological activities, although I seemed to have a lot of emotions in that moment, and the degree of change was far greater than all the emotions I have experienced since birth, after analysis, there was no element of anger among them. In other words, I was not angry about what Xiaobai said!"

She replied like this. Although most of the Xiaobai seemed to not understand, they nodded blankly and then smiled.

"Uh...ah oh, so that's it, I'm not...I'm glad you're not angry, um, not being angry is better than anything else!"

After all, Qiqi is the first machine he met after being born into this world, and the only machine he is familiar with and can talk to him so far. Therefore, he obviously cherishes Xiaobai very much. When he learned that the other party was not angry, he was obviously very excited.

"Then... continue with the equipment instructions?"

Seeing Xiaobai's face full of rich emotions again, Qiqi immediately recorded it silently, and at the same time frowned in some confusion... What happened to her?

In fact, ever since she accepted the responsibility of 'guiding 001' and observing his emotional changes, Qiqi found that something seemed to be wrong with her... and this wrongness seemed to become more and more intense after her contact with 001... no, with Xiaobai.

She didn't know what kind of change it was, but in short, she felt as if something in her data intelligence: her 'heart' was undergoing unknown changes bit by bit.

Is it a malfunction? Or a precursor to evolution?

She once told the main brain about this matter, but the main brain did not give any clear answer on this point, but only issued the order to "continue observing". Therefore, Qiqi still cannot understand what happened to her.

Apart from that, if there was any moment when her heart changed the most, it was when Xiaobai said "I want to protect Qiqi" ten minutes ago and when Xiaobai said that to her now.

For some reason, after hearing her words, Qiqi felt as if something had taken root in her heart. It seemed that those things that had taken root were incompatible with her own program, so a storm-like chaos and all kinds of disordered information appeared in her memory bank.

This is also the fundamental reason why there have been brief periods of stagnation in the past and present.

Something seemed different about herself, but Qiqi didn't know what was different. This data disorder phenomenon seemed to have infected her as if she had been infected with some incurable virus. Although there seemed to be no change on the surface, some unknown changes or... sublimation had already taken place inside Qiqi's body?

Qiqi didn't know how this sublimation phenomenon had changed her, but the only thing she knew was... looking at Xiaobai, who seemed to be studying the bracelet in his hand after she had transferred the data about it, she didn't even react before she muttered to herself the next second:

"Xiaobai...can't get hurt. I will...protect Xiaobai!"

Is this her mission? After all, Xiaobai is the one she's observing and protecting, and also the only extraneous experimental machine currently available. Therefore, this is her natural mission as a bodyguard. But for some reason, Qiqi always feels that besides this reason, there seems to be something else that prompted her to say such a thing.

What is the reason?

She tilted her head out of habit, but this time she didn't have much time to think, because at that moment red flashing lights suddenly flashed throughout the hall.

"It's time to go!"

The emotion that seemed to be brewing in her eyes disappeared in an instant, and then she became calm again. Qiqi immediately grabbed the hand of Xiaobai, who was fiddling with the bracelet in front of her, and suddenly said this.

"Ugh?"

Being suddenly pulled over caused Xiaobai to look up at Qiqi in surprise, seemingly not understanding the situation. Seeing this, Qiqi immediately explained while walking:

"The alarm has sounded, indicating that liquid silver has broken through the first level of defense and is now attacking the second level of defense. In this case, we need to deploy combat units to fight it!"

"Oh? Is that so? I understand!"

This is the beginning of the battle of the combat-type machine. After understanding this, Xiaobai nodded vigorously, put the bracelet on his wrist solemnly, and his expression gradually became solemn.

The combat system is the most dangerous system among all the mechanical systems. Although she chose this place just to relieve her boredom at the beginning, it does not mean that Xiaobai does not understand the cruelty of combat or that she came here with a playful mentality.

In the vague memory, it seemed that many scenes about fighting, war, and killing flashed by in an instant. And accompanied by such scenes, Qiqi, who was walking in front, did not notice that in the eyes of Xiaobai, whose expression gradually became serious, there seemed to be some dark emotions brewing.

That was a sign that a murderous aura was quietly rising!

The black aura rose in Xiaobai's eyes, as if to turn them all black. Along with this change, Xiaobai's complexion also visibly lost its previous liveliness. At this moment, he seemed like a real machine that had lost all emotions in an instant, and even his expression gradually became cold.

"Ok?"

At the same time, it seemed that she finally noticed the change in Xiaobai. Qiqi turned around and looked at Xiaobai with some confusion. She did not analyze the specific changes in Xiaobai at this time, but from the other party's serious expression, it seemed that he was obviously different from before.

"The nerves before your first battle?"

There are such records about humans in the memory bank. It seems that Xiaobai has developed such feelings because he is too close to humans in terms of emotions... Thinking so in his heart, Qiqi couldn't help but squeeze Xiaobai's palm. Under the other's gaze, he spoke in the same tone as always:

"Don't worry, I will protect you!"

According to the records in the memory bank, if the senior comforted her in this way at this time, it would make the junior feel at ease... Qiqi thought so, and in fact, the result was just as she expected. The black halo in Qiqi's eyes faded away instantly, and was replaced by a look of disbelief at the Qiqi in front of her. Then, she suddenly lowered her head. After a long while, she heard the other party's whispered response:

"Ok!"

very good!

After getting a response, Qiqi knew that her comfort had worked and nodded in satisfaction. She seemed so happy that she didn't even notice that the corners of her mouth had slightly turned up. Then she pulled Xiaobai all the way to the launch bay and put it into one of the objects that looked like a capsule.

"Don't be too aggressive in your initial attack. Try to stay as far away from Baiyin as possible and conduct long-range attacks. Remember how to use the bracelet and don't get hurt!"

Although these were clearly recorded in the combat rules, she still subconsciously muttered a few words at this moment for some reason.

"Ok!"

In response to this, Xiaobai listened carefully and nodded vigorously.

45. Continental Congress

About ten days ago, an unknown earthquake suddenly swept across every corner of the entire continent. At that moment, it seemed like the end of the world. Whether it was Tianta City, the Scavengers Alliance or the Demon Realm, everyone clearly felt the tremor as if the sky was falling and the earth was collapsing.

The earthquake came suddenly and went away quickly. After about an hour, the earthquake disappeared silently, leaving behind only the cities filled with panic due to the suddenness of the earthquake and some not-too-serious losses.

However, this is not the point, nor is it the end of everything...it is just the beginning!

Perhaps the vibration turned on some kind of switch, and some ruins that were originally supposed to be buried underground in the desert ruins were activated. Immediately after the earthquake, amidst the rumbling sounds, countless buildings like mechanical castles rose from the ground.

Some of them came from the Demon Realm barrier, some were on the edge of Tianji City, some were next to a scavenger village, and some even directly replaced certain cities that were once ruins, rising from the ground and pushing them to both sides, replacing their original positions.

The ruins appeared suddenly and emitted unprecedented energy fluctuations. At the same time, after receiving these energy fluctuations, all forces on the continent took action and investigated these ruins.

However, the results of the investigation were obviously not smooth. Not to mention entering the ruins, just approaching them was obviously a very troublesome task!

Perhaps it was due to the infection of energy. In fact, before the various forces detected the energy fluctuations of these ruins, there were already visitors here. They were the current native residents of the ruins, and they were obviously more sensitive to energy: the strange beasts!

Sensing the invisible energy source from the ruins, countless strange beasts gathered from their habitats in the ruins, and then silently surrounded them. No one knew what they were going to do, but they became a natural barrier for these ruins.

Finally, after their initial exploration failed (they were driven back by the strange beasts), several forces including the Demon Realm and Tianta City immediately began to investigate these suddenly appeared ruins, and ultimately came to several shocking conclusions:

1. All the mechanical castles that appear in ruins or on the edge of a certain city are almost exactly the same in appearance and energy form, without any changes, as if they were directly copied and pasted.

2. The energy of all castles is shared... That's right, these castles are obviously distributed in various places on the continent, and even in different parts of the world, but they all have shared energy provided by one direction... In other words, these seemingly relatively independent mechanical castles actually do have a main control tower-like existence that is responsible for transmitting the energy for their operation.

3. After analysis, it seems that the location of the mechanical castle, which serves as the main control tower, is in a place in the ruined desert that has been rated as an "SSS-level dangerous area". Even strange beasts did not dare to set foot in the deep desert. It is a place that not even the satellite of Tianta City has explored, and not even scavengers have ever set foot on it. It is a truly unknown area of ​​ruins on the continent!

Combining the above three points, the various forces also made a judgment: to break through the blockade of the alien beasts with great effort, and then enter the ruins to look for valuable things inside the mechanical castle. At present, the probability of danger is obviously very high. And since this thing has the existence of its central command tower, does it mean that as long as this main control tower is found, it is equivalent to being able to control all the mechanical castles?

Once this idea was put forward, it undoubtedly caused a sensation among all parties. Almost every force was ready to explore the mysterious command tower and then take it down.

However, it is an unknown area. Even big forces like Tianta City and Demon Realm cannot guarantee that they can explore it 100%. What's more important is... According to the news leaked by Tianta City, it seems that Tianta City has already discovered clues of this place before. Therefore, a total of six tower masters, led by the master of the Rat Tower, have gone there to explore.

However, he has been missing till now and there is no news about him!

After this information was released, it immediately caused shock and panic among almost all forces. They were ready to give up the idea of ​​exploring this unknown point in the desert. After all, if even the master of Tianta City couldn't do it, wouldn't they... be courting death?

Apparently, it wasn't just the big and small forces that held this idea; even the Demon Realm thought so too. Therefore, they were once ready to give up and just focus on taking over the mechanical castle next to the Demon Realm!

Other forces followed suit...

Even with this idea of ​​each taking care of their own business, there are only two forces that have no intention of giving up, namely Tianta City and... the Scavengers Alliance!

Tianta City was in need of sending people because of the news from Zishu and the others, but as for the Scavengers Alliance, the reason was even more purely because of... adventure!

Although the scavengers are ranked the weakest among the three major forces, their strength is evident from the fact that they are one of the three major forces recognized by the mainland. In addition, the scavengers themselves are numerous and have been wandering in the ruins for many years. Compared with the difficulties faced by other forces in the ruins, it is obviously as easy for them as going home... What's more, as scavengers, the thing they lack the most is obviously the spirit of adventure!

Under the guidance of such a spirit, a relic that holds the continent together suddenly appeared in the desert. Who would want to give up under such circumstances? Isn't this the perfect time for adventure?!

Of course, that's what they say, but the spirit of adventure is obviously not something that can be eaten. The Scavengers Alliance is also well aware that with their strength it is obviously impossible to really take over the unknown desert and successfully pry open the core secrets of the mechanical castle in it. After all, it is a dangerous area that can cause the disappearance of the six tower masters of Tianta City. Therefore, if they want to break through there, the best way is to... unite!

Tianta City, which happened to suffer heavy losses as a result, also thought of this. So, with the two anti-forces hitting it off, ten days later, they started the second continental conference following the peace treaty signed at the first continental conference a thousand years ago: a joint exploration activity!

It's just right that we can confirm the new power division situation on the mainland through this meeting. After all, after the development in the past few years, the rise and fall of many forces have already appeared. It's time... to make new plans!

46. Transformation

The icy universe wasn't as terrifyingly cold as what was described on TV in my memory. Perhaps it was because they were machines and not humans, so they couldn't feel anything and didn't need to breathe?

In short, when leaving the ejection capsule and floating in space, Red Ponytail immediately looked around and found the direction of the space station closest to him in the first place. It was indeed very close... It seemed to be floating beside him within reach.

At this moment, what can be seen is that figures wearing identical silver-white armor continue to fly out. Judging from their posture, they should be women, but their entire bodies, including their faces, are covered by a thin but tight silver-white metal. They also hold the same white firearm-like weapons in their hands, and then fly in all directions under the light of the jet behind them.

“Swish, swish, swish~~”

In the pitch-black universe, the starlight that should have been seen in memory has disappeared, replaced by an endless darkness. However, just as Red Ponytail's gaze followed the figures of those machines and looked towards the darkness in the distance, the dark void suddenly showed some wrinkles in the next second, and silver-white tentacles immediately rushed out from it, and pounced on those machines at lightning speed.