An Junlie dismissed the righteous pronouncements of the young man speaking, recognizing him only as a high-intelligence robot, focusing instead on speculating what position this so-called Queen held within her regime of absolute authority.

Two minutes later, a beauty with voluminous, bright red, wavy hair emerged, flanked by a cohort of young men. She was truly stunning: a lush bust, a tiny waist, and long legs. Her pale purple gown featured a slit extending all the way to the upper thigh—a leader seemingly dedicated to inciting criminal desire. Standing amidst the young men, she was an overt display of seduction.

Of course, one had to disregard the weather entirely when thinking that.

An Junlie’s eyes shot wide open. Absolutely not because of her faintly teasing smile that held such captivating allure, nor because her attire was shocking—but because that beauty was Xue Ji! The notorious pirate captain, Xue Ji herself!!

How many people could stand comfortably in sub-zero temperatures while wearing flimsy summer dresses without a change in expression? That single fact alone demanded An Junlie’s utmost attention.

With Xue Ji’s appearance, today was destined to be difficult.

“Little Stinky, is this your new creation?” the beauty exclaimed, her mouth forming a perfect 'O', charming enough to make one want to simply push her down. “The lines are so beautiful, so perfect! You’ve come today just to give him to me, haven’t you? I knew you were the best!”

An Junlie couldn't suppress the involuntary twitch in his eye. Fine, even Xue Ji thought he was a robot. Was that the extent of his achievement? Did he look that much like a machine?

Ziye showed no concern for his fate and spoke, “My name is Stinky Boy.”

“You pest, Stinky Boy is almost the same as Little Stinky,” the beauty winked flirtatiously at Ziye and approached An Junlie. Her fingers, tipped with scarlet nail polish, lifted as if to hook An Junlie’s chin. An Junlie frowned slightly and deftly evaded the touch.

“Good, a fiery temper—just my type!” The beauty laughed more openly and suddenly threw a punch straight toward An Junlie’s face.

An Junlie was already prepared for combat. He stepped back diagonally, turning his head just as the punch whooshed past his cheek, fast as a clap of thunder. He turned back, and the beauty’s other fist was already coming; he could only retreat two steps to avoid the attack.

As soon as he stabilized, a neat line of robots stood behind him, their eyes flashing with envy, jealousy, and hatred—a multitude of emotions. An Junlie was slightly taken aback, only to hear one of the robots lament in a pitiful, soft voice, “Queen, how could you hit him? Don’t you love hitting people the most?”

The beauty narrowed her eyes slightly. “Scram. I favor him!”

Instantly, An Junlie felt like needles were pricking his back.

Being envied by humans was one thing; being envied by robots was far more chilling, giving him the distinct sense of a dozen blades aimed at his back.

Ziye glanced at An Junlie, conveying five words through expression: You are trouble. She explained, “In order to allow Red Hair to interact with the robots more harmoniously and naturally, all B-series robots have been implanted with emotions like jealousy and possessiveness. You don’t need to take it too seriously.”

Inside his mind, several hundred wild horses roared past. He was used to dealing with straightforward conflict; even when facing scheming or treacherous people, they were at least human. What was this business with robots?

Ziye gave him a sympathetic look and turned to Red Hair. “What about 360 and 361? I noticed you both had some physical issues a few days ago. I happened to bring 110 with me today; want him to take a look?”

“As expected, Ah Stinky, you are the best!” The beauty tossed her long hair and sighed. “They really are careless, just getting hands-on like that. They’re still lying in their quarters.”

Hearing this, Ziye pulled the small sprout out of her pocket, opened the light screen, and quickly recited six or seven entries about the B-series data. “You all have been too lazy with your routine maintenance; your systems are sluggish. Let 110 check you out too.” More than half the robots behind An Junlie immediately stepped forward, relieving the pressure.

The red-haired beauty watched Ziye without a word. Ziye waved her hand righteously. “Since I’m here today, we’ll look at them all together. It’ll be a hassle if you have to summon me next time.”

It was an obvious move to draw the robots away and help An Junlie. The red-haired beauty wasn't offended; she smiled brilliantly as she watched the robots leave. Then, she refocused her gaze entirely on An Junlie. “Name?”

An Junlie replied expressionlessly, “Alien.”

“Very good, Alien. Do you look down on me?” the red-haired woman asked sweetly.

An Junlie shook his head. “I wouldn't dare.”

Red Hair lifted her chin, a dangerous glint entering her eyes. “Why didn’t you fight back?”

An Junlie thought for a moment, then blurted out, “A friend once told me that girls who can fight are rare treasures meant to be cherished.” The moment the words left his mouth, Ziye froze, and even he was stunned. He felt regretful, yet deeply helpless. He had accidentally adopted Lan Li’s catchphrase and was now flirting with a female pirate! Where was he supposed to hide his pride?

Red Hair’s posture instantly solidified, her body tightening like a spring as she shot toward An Junlie, her fist aimed at his carotid artery. An Junlie retreated with a bold defiance, meeting her head-on; he ducked low and drove a punch toward Red Hair’s stomach. Although Lan Li might cherish fighting women, An Junlie was not Lan Li. It wasn't that he disliked cherishing women, but rather that he always dealt with the situation at hand, and since she forced him to act, he couldn't simply keep dodging.

Unexpectedly, Red Hair didn’t dodge or block, taking the full force of the blow. Her body uncontrollably fell backward onto a stone table. An Junlie paused slightly, immediately stopping the momentum of his attack. Fine beads of sweat formed on Red Hair’s forehead from the pain, and her pained expression was so convincing that even Ziye felt a twinge of sympathy. However, whether it was Red Hair or An Junlie, they were both residents of the Silver Talisman, irrelevant to her. She simply pretended not to notice, instructed a robot to place a blanket on a stone chair, sat down, and became an observer.

An Junlie showed no pity on his face. “You don’t need to fake it. I won’t hit you again.”

Red Hair blinked her beautiful eyes and immediately reverted to her sweet smile. “Is that so? How about this move?” Before she finished speaking, she sprang up from the stone table like a supple fish, swiftly closing the distance behind An Junlie, delivering a heavy strike to his waist!

An Junlie heard the rush of air. His left foot remained planted while his right foot swung in a half-circle, turning him around. He lowered his arm and managed to block the impact. A head-on collision; both were inwardly astonished. An Junlie knew her background, but he was surprised such strength came from a woman; Red Hair was genuinely shocked because, for many years, she hadn't encountered a sparring partner of this caliber.

Their eyes met, a silent understanding passed between them, and both simultaneously withdrew their hands.

Ziye was bewildered. Why did they stop? This was completely unlike Red Hair’s nature! Did she have a hidden card? Sure enough, the next second, Red Hair spoke languidly, “Spaceship or Mecha—which are you better at?”