By noon, I had completely taken a liking to the adorable little Raindrop sister; through the morning's interaction, our relationship had grown increasingly harmonious. Although Raindrop was intellectually leagues beyond me, she seemed to enjoy depending on me, and I, in turn, cherished that feeling of reliance, much like how Zhao Fen and Zhao Fang depended on me. Speaking of them, I wondered how they were doing now—I sincerely hoped they were safe and sound.

"Brother, shall I take you on a tour of our base?" Raindrop asked after we finished a lunch of what was supposedly a completely nutritious synthetic meal that tasted quite odd.

I felt a bit confused. "Isn't this the base already? Where else is there to go?" I'd spent the entire morning wandering around this hall, assuming this was the extent of the facility she'd mentioned.

Raindrop giggled, covering her mouth, and pulled my hand. "Come on, Brother, you'll see when we get there."

When I stepped out of the hall I thought was vast, I was stunned into silence. Outside was an even larger chamber—it was hard to call it a hall; perhaps "colossal cavern" was a more fitting description. It was so immense that standing there, I couldn't even discern where the cavern walls were, and not a single pillar was visible supporting this enormous space.

After walking a considerable distance, I turned back to look at where we had emerged. It resembled a structure with an extremely short stalk, like a mushroom: a stalk about twice a man's height at the bottom, topped by a huge cap, upon which sat a structure resembling a massive skylight.

Raindrop explained, "This is the Hope spaceship. Actually, it’s completely different from the original Hope now. The original wasn't this large, and the Big Bang cost it a lot of **metal. So, this new Hope only has a fraction of the original **metal; most of it is ultra-strength alloy plating I added later. To repair it, Xiao Hui and I even had to build a hundred-thousand-ton hydraulic press."

An open-topped, four-seater vehicle automatically stopped beside us. Raindrop tugged my hand, cradled the cat, and we settled into the vehicle. The car started moving on its own. Raindrop announced, "I'll take Brother to see the automated ore separator."

On the way, I finally voiced the question that had been weighing on my mind. "Raindrop, didn't you say you were living here all alone? How did you manage to complete such massive engineering projects?"

"The Engineer Ants," Raindrop replied. "I manufactured three different models of mechanical engineer ants: Giant Engineer Ants for large-scale construction; standard Engineer Ants for general engineering tasks; and Small Engineer Ants for minor construction, like excavating ventilation shafts."

As she spoke, a machine resembling an ant, yet as tall as two people, passed by us. Raindrop pointed. "Look, Brother, that’s a standard Engineer Ant. Currently, the three types of ants operating number 80,000 in total: ten thousand Giant Engineer Ants, ten thousand Small Engineer Ants, and sixty thousand standard Engineer Ants. Most of these sixty thousand are busy mining ore most of the time. Furthermore, the base has ten thousand robotic soldiers, the same kind you saw inside the Hope this morning. Then there are ten thousand logistics robots; most of them are out at the minefields maintaining and servicing the Engineer Ants, while a portion handles general base logistics. Finally, we have ten thousand production robots responsible for ore sorting, refinement, and manufacturing specialized machinery components and integrated chips."

I held out my arm toward Raindrop. "Pinch me, Brother."

Raindrop looked puzzled. "Why? I wouldn't bear to! I waited over three hundred years to finally meet you; why would I pinch you?"

"I'm afraid I'm dreaming, or perhaps I somehow stumbled into an alternate dimension of Star Wars while unconscious."

"Hehe, Brother, you are so funny. Alright, I won't pinch you. Once I get the ship’s power system sorted out, we'll leave here. From then on, we’ll go wherever you say. When we get to a world you recognize, you’ll know it wasn't a dream."

"You’re leaving here too? Then what happens to this place?" I felt both surprised and overjoyed. I was thrilled to have such a lovely, sweet young sister by my side—I wouldn't trade her for an immortal god. But I was worried: abandoning this vast base and 110,000 robots that had been managed for over three centuries?

Raindrop looked at me with deep affection. "As long as I can be by Brother's side, I’m willing to give up everything. Of course, we’ll leave on the Hope, and Xiao Hui will be with us too. As for this place, I will input the shutdown password and permanently seal all equipment and robots."

The vehicle moved at a leisurely pace; Raindrop clearly intended for me to see the facility properly. As we drove, we passed various types of robotic engineer ants. A sudden wave of reluctance washed over me. Even though they were machines, they had worked tirelessly here for hundreds of years; if not for merit, they certainly deserved credit for their toil.

"Little Raindrop sister, perhaps we shouldn't abandon this base. Maybe it will be useful someday. If it’s too much trouble for you, I can help you manage it. I trust these robots will be quite obedient and won't take up too much of my attention."

"That’s fine, Brother, I’ll do whatever you say. I’ll tell you the management system password when we get back. From now on, it's your responsibility to worry about them."

"No worries, no worries! Brother is so excited! I finally get to be the Commander!" I was ecstatic. As a child, the greatest desire was to command legions of soldiers. In games, I often fought tooth and nail with Zhu Da just to snatch the commander title. Even though these were robotic soldiers, they were still troops! Hahaha.

Raindrop opened the door to another massive chamber. Before us stood a fully enclosed, colossal piece of equipment, many times larger than the Hope spaceship itself. At the top of the device was a huge funnel, the opening of which extended past the chamber walls to an unseen endpoint. Dozens of thick pipes branched out from the machine’s body, some leading into adjacent rooms and others plunging underground.

"This is the automated ore separator, developed by Xiao Hui and me using the little data we managed to salvage. The upper part of the funnel is an intricate network of passages. After the engineer ants excavate the ore, they transport it back here to dump it. This machine automatically crushes and sorts the ore, sending it through the conduits to the respective smelting workshops. The production robots inside the smelting and various manufacturing workshops carry out refining and production based on the commands I issue through the management system."

Amazing! A fully automated system! I’m rich! This machine must be worth hundreds of millions, easy. Does throwing in a rock turn it into gold? People ten million years from now are incredible—no, Raindrop is incredible.

"Brother, do you want to see other places?" Raindrop asked, seeking my input.

"Yes, let's go to the manufacturing workshop."

The scale of this workshop further astounded me. It seemed large enough to build an aircraft carrier inside. Despite the immense space, every area we passed was impeccably organized. A few robots were flowing along, maintaining the fully automated production lines.

Raindrop explained, "This area mainly produces robots. Another workshop produces the machine ants. There are two more manufacturing bases here, even larger than this one; they primarily build various large-scale equipment and highly integrated chips. We have a massive surplus of robot soldiers and machine ants. A few months ago, the resource storage kept reporting full capacity, so I ordered a frenzy of production. Now, we have an inventory overflow of robots! I was actually planning to shut down the production workshops today, but since they’re under Brother’s command now, you decide."

I had forgotten how to be surprised. After a long pause, I managed to blurt out, "Raindrop, can this place produce warships, submarines, or airplanes?"

Raindrop looked utterly bewildered. "Warships? Submarines? Airplanes? What are those? Are they types of interstellar flying vehicles?"

No way, these things don't exist in ten million years?

"In your era, what weapons did the two nations use when they went to war? And what means of transport did you use over the ocean?"

Raindrop frowned in confusion. "Two nations? Based on what I learned in school, the Earth Federation doesn't have two nations. There were some rebel factions, but they were quickly suppressed by the Federation Fleet; they never reached the status of a nation. As for weapons? The most common are various types of laser cannons—standard equipment for most warships. Unfortunately, I don't have the manufacturing data for them, so I could only use a sliver of memory and Xiao Hui's help to produce a miniature, low-power laser pistol. As for sea transport, we use amphibious shuttle craft. The concept of 'airplane' you mentioned is vague; are all flying machines in the sky called airplanes? If so, then all our transportation vehicles could be called airplanes..."

I was speechless. It seemed there was indeed a generational gap between us, and quite a large one at that.

"Brother, Brother, what are you thinking about? Where should we go next?"

"...Oh, Brother was just thinking about why you speak the Chinese of our Great Dragon Country. It’s very strange. And let me ask you one more thing: If you have the manufacturing blueprints and technical data, can this base produce any mechanical equipment?"

"Chinese? I don't know. The Earth Federation doesn't have a second universal language; we have always spoken like this. As for your question, absolutely. The manufacturing data for the production robots was not lost in the explosion. I have truly replicated the highest technological level of the Earth Federation from ten million years in the future. With the production schematics and blueprints, they can manufacture anything, from interstellar warships down to nano-integrated chips."

My heart pounded uncontrollably. If I had the complete blueprints for submarines, airplanes, and warships, and input them into the management system, these robots would perfectly replicate those weapons!

When I was in the military, I envied the Navy's submarine crews the most, especially those operating the newest nuclear attack submarines—they were so imposing! Even the Star Nation's aircraft carriers regarded them with respect. The Bird Nation always caused trouble at sea, but the moment they saw a Great Dragon Country nuclear attack submarine, they dared not utter a word.

My regret was that the Great Dragon Country’s nuclear attack submarines were too few. In the last year or so, their deterrent effect on the Star Nation and the Bird Nation was weakening. If I could steal the blueprints for advanced model submarines from the Star Nation and have the base work overtime to mass-produce them—say, ten or eight a year—wouldn't that scare them witless?

Heh heh. By then, I wouldn't even need nuclear weapons. If I built a thousand or so, loaded them with torpedoes and missiles, and deployed them across the ocean, damn it, let’s see who dares to act aggressively on the high seas! If I launch torpedoes from a hundred submarines simultaneously, how many aircraft carriers would you have before they all sink!

Raindrop noticed my secret smile and tugged at the corner of my shirt. "Brother, where else do you want to visit?"

"Brother is a bit tired. Let's go nowhere else; let's return to the Hope."

In my excitement, I lost the desire to see any more. In any case, I now knew that this little sister, nearing four hundred years old, was incredibly capable, and the power she wielded was immense. If she were to become displeased one day and decide to blast out of the base with her current forces, the entire Earth might tremble. I, a helpful and capable young man who always assists others, absolutely must look after her well-being for the sake of humanity, guard her closely, preferably without letting her out of my sight.

But then, a rather vulgar concern about appearances surfaced. With my current level, could I really be her "Brother"? Even if my physical fitness occasionally tested at a high 'D', it might drop back to a low 'C' at any moment. Raindrop was practically a queen now. Was I just clinging to her because of some strange prophecy from her father, pretending to be her brother? Wouldn't an incompetent brother like me become a laughingstock to the entire world?

Effort! Yes, I must strive harder. What she can achieve, I can achieve too. Peach said she wanted me to earn all the wealth in the world; I’ll quit my job and focus vigorously on economic development when I get back. Developing the economy... well, I’m not familiar with high technology, but I'm decent at business and making money.