He hadn't expected that finding a workshop could be so difficult.

After stepping out of the living room to the left into the courtyard, he recalled robotic footprints leading from the northwest corner—the same direction Ziyee had taken earlier. But beyond those walls there were only more walls now, and when he finally found a door it merely bore the label "Storage Unit 1."

He passed by Storage Unit 1, Missile Assembly Room 1, and even the G-series Robotics Lab before realizing with growing frustration—he hadn't found Workshop 1 yet.

An Junlie had initially assumed this entire complex of "factories" housed a whole village's worth of inhabitants. Now he saw it was all Ziyee's workspace, an impressively professional operation. The thought made him feel even more ashamed of his rude behavior the previous day.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, another door loomed ahead. Six crooked characters scrawled on its right side read: "Stupid humans!"

Anger flared in An Junlie's temples—was this a mockery directed at him? The door stood open enough for him to peer inside when suddenly a small spherical object shot out and collided with the doorframe above his head. It clung there unflinchingly as if it had made its home among the metal beams.

Dongdou emerged next—the plant was undoubtedly Ziyee's invention within.

The sprout chirped in its high-pitched voice, waving two tiny leaves to mock An Junlie who stood frozen at the threshold: "Stupid human! Can't find Workshop 1? Well it's right here!" It spun gleefully in midair with a 360-degree rotation. "How is my genius concept?"

An Junlie nodded.

—Not because he agreed, but simply to maintain some semblance of conversation.

Dongdou immediately bounced up and down with pure joy. Its idol had validated its creation! What greater satisfaction could there be?

Beyond the overenthusiastic sprout, An Junlie noted this entire "factory" complex was surprisingly organized without walls between workshops, assembly lines and storage areas. Instead massive four-meter diameter support pillars created an unbroken expanse stretching into infinity.

On one side of the workshop area stood four or five robots in various forms—mechanical constructs, humanoid models, even some biologically engineered units—all moving methodically with purpose.

Opposite them extended interconnected workstations forming a high-tech production line. Each station was manned by attentive robots while Ziyee herself worked at the far end reading metal data from her terminal.

She wore blue-gray protective gear and matching face mask. Whether due to color contrast or simply oversized equipment, she looked even tinier than before. An Junlie observed quietly from beyond her personal safety radius—the invisible boundary that triggered unease in anyone who crossed it uninvited. He respected such boundaries instinctively; this was something he'd always guarded for himself unless with intimate companions or flirtatious strangers.

Now standing closer, he realized the blue-gray wasn't solid after all but actually a dynamic floral pattern on her protective suit. The girl's slender neck and serene profile were visible as she leaned slightly forward over her work.

He couldn't help thinking this "boy" looked suspiciously androgynous. Noticing those spikes of unruly hair, he mused if letting them grow into pigtails might actually pass for authentic femininity after all.

"Atsumaranai, alien—what were you thinking about?"

Ziyee's sudden question jolted him back to reality. He hurriedly corrected himself when she stared at him expectantly: "I'm not an alien—I'm An Junlie."

She responded with a flat tone, "Oh, Ziyee." After a pause, added casually, "Don't mention your real name in Yinfu. If anyone asks, you're just... an alien."

Wait—what?

"Are you stupid!" Dongdou zipped over to land triumphantly on her head with starry-eyed adoration. "Ziyee's alias here is 'Stupid Boy.'"

"Stupid Boy?" An Junlie asked, quickly adapting as always: "Oh hello Stupid Boy! I was just wondering how to apologize..."

Ziyee rolled her eyes dramatically. "What apology?"

Her piercing gaze made him feel even more guilty about his previous rudeness. "I was... unkind toward you before—"

"Already told you, it's fine." She cut him off mid-sentence and left An Junlie with a lump of unresolved guilt choking in his throat like an awkward teenager caught trespassing.

Want to punch myself! Ziyee crushed Dongdou between her palms repeatedly until the poor sprout lost all shape but no voice. Finally she exhaled softly: "Your headache better now?"

The tension finally broke and An Junlie perked up immediately, "Much better after breakfast!"

Ziyee eyed him sideways with a sour expression. "I thought your race was weak—guess you're not half bad even against gamma radiation." After all, it had taken her an entire week to adjust initially. Sometimes comparison really did kill.

An Junlie choked on that one. Well at least she's picking fights like a real woman now, he concluded with resignation. "Can I help with anything?" He tried changing the subject. "I could assist you..."

"Unnecessary." Ziyee rejected him flatly and An Junlie froze with dejection written all over his face—an expression so pitiful it made her stomach clench involuntarily. With a reluctant sigh, she suggested, "You can explore Yinfu if you want to get familiar."

He nodded silently then turned away slowly like an abandoned puppy.

Dongdou watched their exchange with wide eyes full of drama. When An Junlie disappeared completely, it burst out: "Ziyee! How could you be so cruel? You ruined your idol's perfect image!"

The mighty An Junlie who had once intimidated entire galaxies was now reduced to a pitiful little mutt standing there helplessly—this betrayal felt like a personal apocalypse.

Grabbing the chattering sprout, Ziyee cut off its complaints mid-sentence and declared: "Silence. Next phase—the metal cutting process."

Dongdou pouted sulkily at her retreating back but she no longer acknowledged it anyway. In protest, it stretched out a tiny green shoot to jab her arm with an accusing "swoosh".

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