"That's redirecting anger, absolutely redirecting anger!" Little Sprout cried out, genuinely aggrieved. "An Junlie hasn't returned at all; K020 made that cup of tea."

"How is that possible?" Ziye asked in disbelief. "How could a robot brew tea that tastes exactly the same?"

Little Sprout shook the leaves on its head and projected a screen in front of her, baring its teeth. "Look, this entire program is dedicated to cooking. Any dish you want to eat, K020 can whip it up for you. Even if the flavor is slightly inferior to an alien's cooking, it definitely won't be far off."

Ziye looked bewildered. "What is going on?"

Little Sprout, for once, mocked her without reservation, laughing loudly. "The alien said you have no talent for the kitchen; you should just let the robot prepare things for you from now on."

Ziye’s mouth opened and closed, a torrent of words welling up, her heart a confusing mix of emotions. Yet, she fell silent for a long time, finally letting out a dejected sigh. "Fine, I get it."

Little Sprout observed her lifeless expression. Although it couldn't truly grasp human emotions, having spent so much time with Ziye, it could generally read her joys, anger, sorrow, and pleasure from her face. It instantly devised a brilliant tactic to distract her and ingratiate itself. "Master, I just created a new training system. Why don't you try it out? I promise this one won't be grueling, and it’s actually fun."

Ziye felt a pang of sadness but also wanted a distraction. She nodded. "Okay, I'll eat first. We'll start in a bit."

Little Sprout grinned in satisfaction. Oh yeah!

Ziye rolled her eyes at it, grabbed her utensils, and began eating. It was right; with An Junlie's cooking program installed, the robot couldn't replicate his exact flavor, but it could imitate it to about sixty or seventy percent. No matter what, the results were infinitely better than her gnawing on steamed buns. It was just that... the person who cooked was gone...

The closer the taste came to the original, the deeper the pain in her heart became.

The robot stood opposite her at the table, keeping her company.

The feeling was almost exactly like the period after An Junlie hadn't arrived and Teacher Tangshan had passed away. During meals, she would either hastily munch on a couple of buns in her studio or have the robot keep her company, unwilling to feel the agony of being utterly alone.

Time seemed to rewind two years, but Ziye was no longer the Ziye of two years ago.

Eating the familiar-tasting food, she gripped her chopsticks tightly: An Junlie, I don't care if you're dead or alive—I will find you.

—Simply because you prepared this cooking program for me!

After the meal, she and Little Sprout headed to the gym and re-entered Little Sprout’s training space.

This was the first time she had entered training so willingly, the first time she trained like a maniac, wanting only to become stronger, and stronger still.

Only by becoming stronger could she exit Silver Charm and live long enough to search for An Junlie.

After running through all the drills in the familiar environment, Little Sprout mischievously blinked, adopting the guise of a stern teacher, complete with round spectacles and a pointer tapping against a virtual blackboard. The board immediately displayed six characters: System Loading...

Ziye couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. In the next instant, her vision blurred, and she was instantly transported into a primeval forest. The landscape bore a striking resemblance to the Death Zone she had just fled days before. The only difference was that, besides the fauna, even the flora appeared terrifying, gigantic, and distorted—like monsters.

Visually, it was even more lifelike and frightening than the real Death Zone.

"Welcome to the Mythical Primeval Forest," Little Sprout's form materialized in the air, its voice cheerful. "As soon as you exit the Death Zone, you clear the level. Come on, Master, be brave!"

Humans automatically record their past experiences in certain locales. If one had acted triumphantly in a place the first time, they would likely return with high spirits. Conversely, if one had fled in panic the first time, they would carry lingering dread upon their second encounter.

Ziye still harbored the residual fear from her previous encounter with the Death Zone, but this time, she would not flee!

Just then, a ferocious beast burst from the forest, trailing a foul wind, and lunged at her! Ziye instinctively leaped away, dodging the attack, and shouted, "Little Sprout, you little scamp, at least give me a weapon!"

Bare-handed, she had only one outcome: death.

Little Sprout's giggles echoed from mid-air. Moments later, a sharp Aurora Sword plummeted from above the forest canopy. Little Sprout's voice followed: "Go get it yourself; I'll wait at the exit, hehehe."

Before the sword arrived, the aurora preceded it. The sudden flash of light in the air startled the beast, causing it to pause. But as the light vanished, its boldness returned, and it lunged at Ziye once more.

Ziye was utterly vexed because, for some inexplicable reason, the Aurora Sword was suspended mid-air, refusing to fall to the ground, making it impossible for her to retrieve. The damnable Little Sprout was clearly gambling with her life.

She spotted a massive tree nearby, retreated a few steps, dashed forward, and leaped! Her hands shot out in time, gripping a horizontal branch overhead. With a powerful swing, her body spun 180 degrees, landing her above the branch. She gauged the sword's position, jumped upward, and seized the hilt of the Aurora Sword with precision.

The sword was light, and upon grasping it, she lost control and plummeted downward. Coincidentally, the beast opened its maw wide to receive her. A jolt of panic hit her, and she brought the Aurora Sword down with force. A terrible shriek split the air as the light cleaved the beast in two, instantly drenching her head and face in blood.

The stench of blood was so thick it was nearly suffocating.

Ziye fought down the nausea, ripped off her jacket, turned it inside out, and swiftly wiped the blood from her hands and face. Then she ran, sprinting several hundred meters before scrambling up a tree and leaping away among the massive boughs. Old Dog's jungle rules dictated that in a forest, one must never remain stained with blood, or it would attract hordes of carnivorous predators.

She knew she couldn't completely clean off the gore now. Her only recourse was to hide higher up, reducing the chance of an attack. The beasts, catching that intense scent of blood, would likely ignore such an insignificant little human for the time being.

However, she hadn't anticipated that the very tree she landed on would begin to bend automatically, its branches and leaves stretching out like demonic claws, intent on enveloping her.

Holy hell, a tree spirit!

Ziye hastily jumped down, but the tree spirit was faster. Long, thorny branches whipped toward her face. Ziye saw clearly that the tips of the branches were covered densely with barbs.

Being struck would, at best, cause disfigurement; at worst, it would leave her body a mess of shredded flesh.

Horrified, Ziye executed a backward somersault to evade the tree spirit's attack. She gripped the Aurora Sword firmly and swung wildly, backing away as she fought. Purple plant sap sprayed everywhere, and where it hit the ground, clouds of thick smoke erupted.

No way, this is practically concentrated sulfuric acid! Ziye’s entire body instantly drenched in sweat. Had her reflexes been slower, she would currently be smoking herself.