Ziye settled into the micro-grav vehicle used for mall transport, waiting for the infrared scan to complete while pondering Tang Wen. The moment she stepped inside, her gaze was immediately captivated, completely erasing him from her thoughts.

At the entrance stood two endless rows of display mechs, imposing and majestic, creating an immediate sense of awe. The models were the mall’s proprietary brand, classic black and white, all in bare frames. Ziye gasped, "They look so powerfully imposing, what do you think?"

Little Sprout scoffed, "A pile of junk, nothing worth looking at."

Ziye instantly found it utterly unappealing, pinched it lightly, and clipped it to her waist. "Let's go look around."

Little Sprout, however, refused to settle down. It didn't like swaying at her waist and insisted on leaping onto her head, as if that made it seem taller.

Inside the mall, aside from the countless mechs, there were immense light screens. Each screen scrolled with promotional activities from various sellers and purchase requests from buyers.

In no time, Ziye's eyes blurred, but Little Sprout grew even more energetic, looking left and right. Suddenly, it pointed to a massive light screen on the side. "Look, someone is looking to buy a Ping'an-type!"

Ziye turned her head in surprise—it was true. Not just one person, but several were seeking the Ping'an-type.

Although the term "Ping'an-type" wasn't explicitly written, the images of the mechs were there, standing pristine, though it was impossible to tell where the photos were taken. They were standing quite far away, so she couldn't make out if Little Sprout's engraved markings were visible. As for the price, the lowest was 1.2 million, and the highest reached 2.99 million.

"Wow, such high prices! If we could sell a few, we'd be rich!" Ziye was overjoyed, shaking Little Sprout. "Should we try making a few to sell?"

Little Sprout glanced at her dismissively, too lazy to speak, and returned its attention to something else that interested it.

Ziye felt slightly hurt and huffed, stuffing it back into her bag.

After taking a few more looks and calming down, she suddenly realized a very serious issue. "How would anyone know about the Ping'an-type? Could it be people from Silver Talisman Star?" If so, that would be fantastic!

Little Sprout popped the lid of the bag open and doused her with cold water. "Don't forget, the Ping'an-type performed the mech dance on Kira Star and was broadcast by 'Minute By Minute.' The entire interstellar community knows about it. It's normal for others to want to buy one. What's more, they might be using high prices as bait to see who the creator of this unique model truly is?"

Ziye paused, remembering the broadcast. Right, she didn't think her Ping'an-type was worth such an exorbitant price as 1.2 million, even if outsiders didn't know its full value. She had built that mech for a cost under 300,000.

However, on second thought, since the Ping'an-type dance on Kira Star was broadcast, if people from Silver Talisman Star saw that mech, they would surely know it was hers and come looking for her.

Ziye felt like kicking herself. At the time, she was preoccupied with matters concerning An Junlie and worried about her grades. She had only stayed at the Kira Space Station for a few days, and her mind wasn't focused on anything else. If she had stayed longer, paid more attention, perhaps she would have encountered them then.

Now, the universe seemed vast; where could she even begin to look?

Ziye stared at the flashing purchase requests on the screen and instructed Little Sprout to copy them all. She would investigate and confirm each one back home.

Little Sprout arrogantly lifted its chin, refusing to work. "Apologize to this great one."

Ziye was confused. "Apologize for what?"

Little Sprout snapped back in agitation, "You just stuffed me in your bag again, you meanie!"

Knowing she was in the wrong, Ziye could only offer an apologetic smile to smooth things over.

Glancing fleetingly at the passing sights, Ziye lost the enthusiasm for looking at mechs, focusing instead on how she might contact people from Silver Talisman Star. Perhaps she should go on 'Minute By Minute' again?

She remembered how the twins had stumbled onto 'Minute By Minute' by accident, finding it quite magical. Now, she had no idea how to access it herself. She wandered through the mall again and again, instructing Little Sprout to scan for Silver Comms signals repeatedly, but she couldn't find a single scrap of information.

Ziye sat down dejectedly in the rest area, staring blankly at the huge screen in the center of the hall. She could perfectly imagine how they must have felt trying to find her back then. Unfortunately, she had been absentminded then, and now that she was searching for them, she finally understood the hardship of being unable to locate someone.

People are often like this; only by experiencing something can they truly understand its flavor.

The news on the light screen finished playing and transitioned to advertisements—a very short, thirty-second ad for a smart robot. Displayed on the screen was a stunning woman in a short skirt, leaning slightly forward, her voice gentle and sweet: "Master, welcome back."

Ziye jumped up abruptly, pointing at the screen, unable to speak, remaining stunned even after the ad's closing line faded.

She was intimately familiar with this robot; it was the W-series intelligent store clerk she had personally built.

It must be someone from Silver Talisman!

Ziye jumped up, energized as if she had been injected with adrenaline. Then, she saw the line immediately following the closing tagline, written in Silver Talisman script: Those from Silver Talisman Star, please contact me.

Whoever made that advertisement was brilliant. To think of using such a method. Ziye excitedly turned on her optical computer, found the broadcast, and located the air time—it was the day after the Ping'an-type mech dance.

She should have watched more television and news; otherwise, even if they had appeared on 'Minute By Minute,' she wouldn't have known. Ziye found the advertiser's contact number and initiated a video call.

During the few seconds of connection time, she nervously clenched her fists. Who would it be? Old Dog? It seemed his W399 was crushed when the Silver Talisman Hotel collapsed, and he hadn't built a new one; Big Head? Big Head didn't seem to have W-series robots; was it Iron Hand? Or Little Sprout? Whoever it was, as long as someone was there to accompany her, she would be happy!

Just then, a face covered in a thick beard filled the screen. Ziye almost cried from excitement as she looked at the person on the screen—it was Black Beard!

Black Beard saw her, looked surprised for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter. "Stinky kid, you’ve certainly changed a lot, I almost didn't recognize you! Come here, Uncle gives you a hug."

Ziye, who had been intensely emotional, couldn't help but chuckle, "Stop the nonsense. Where are you? I'm at the Korai Mech Market."

Black Beard stroked his beard. "Ah, you child, why didn't you arrive a day sooner? I just left Korai yesterday; I'm in the Ersa Star System now. Let me see... I'm returning tonight. Wait for me, okay?"

Ziye nodded without hesitation. "Okay."

Black Beard laughed again, his beard shaking with the force of it. "Good kid. Finally, Uncle didn't dote on you for nothing."

Ziye twitched her eye, genuinely not wanting to comment on his words. What was this talk of 'child' and 'Uncle'? Who was it that used to call her 'Stinky Kid' every day? Now he was calling himself 'Uncle' and even calling her a 'good child'!

Was this the legendary gender difference? Ziye was speechless.

Black Beard continued, "Also, our *** will get angry otherwise. Go to the robot market, stall F32016. That's the shop I own. The store clerk will tell you where to stay tonight."

He even has a shop? Ziye happily nodded. "Good, I'm going right now."

On the way, she shook her head, thinking about how she had worried that they would be short on money when they got out. Now, they were clearly doing much better than she was. It made sense, though; every single person from Silver Talisman Star was a shrewd operator! They were all S-class prisoners!

Ziye turned to Little Sprout. "What did Black Beard do before?" Someone had mentioned it, but too much time had passed, and she had forgotten.

Little Sprout chuckled slyly. "Black Beard? He was the chairman of the Asteroid Commerce Association. He embezzled trillions through bribery and illegal sales of the asteroid belt, setting a historical record. He was known as the Giant Glutton."

Ziye broke out in a cold sweat listening to that. No wonder he was so good at business...

Black Beard's robot shop was a distinct feature in the mall. It had two sweet-looking female clerks and two smart robots—one was an intelligent clerk, W123, and the other a butler, D543, both brought from Silver Talisman Star. As Ziye stepped in, before the clerks could react, the robots rushed up to hug her.

Ziye happily pinched W123’s cheek. Her creation remembered her; what a sense of accomplishment!

The clerks looked momentarily stunned, then quickly recovered and stepped forward with a smile. "You must be the *** the manager mentioned. Please, come in and sit."

Ziye didn't stand on ceremony. She walked around the shop, picked up a currently popular female model to test it out. The robots sold in the shop were mainly divided into two categories: standard handsome males and standard beautiful females.

She poked the cheek of a female model; it didn't react. She looked closer—it hadn't been powered on yet. Ziye powered it up and tested it twice. It felt rather mediocre, so she accessed the built-in optical computer to check the system.

Little Sprout swayed from her waist, looking down in contempt. "So trashy, so trashy. If this great one took action, I could certainly make it a hundred times stronger."

Ziye thought for a moment and asked the clerk, "Do you have any repair tools here?"

The clerk smiled politely. "I apologize. We don't keep tools on hand temporarily; you'll need to go to the after-sales center."

Ziye nodded, bid farewell to the clerk, and left with Little Sprout in hand.

She had wanted tools to examine the robot's metal composition and internal structure, but even without looking, she could probably guess. Little Sprout had test data from Silver Talisman Star stored in it. She glanced at it, then headed straight to the materials market to select metals, and after choosing, she began working.

Making mechs that currently met market demands was difficult for her, but robots were no issue at all.

As for the exterior appearance of the robots, she would discuss that when Black Beard returned. She trusted that the former chairman of the Asteroid Commerce Association would find a solution.

Ziye devoted herself entirely to the robots, staying at Black Beard’s place that night. It wasn't a large residence, only three stories, but the robots were efficient and kept everything spotless, unlike what one would expect from a bachelor's dwelling.

However, it didn't quite feel like a home; it felt like temporary lodging.

The next morning, she finally saw Black Beard. His skin was very fair and smooth, but his beard was so dark, dense, and thick that it completely obscured his face, often making first-time acquaintances think he was fierce.

When they met, Ziye nearly wept with emotion.

When old friends from the same place meet, tears well up in their eyes... Ziye finally understood the essence of that saying. Because they were "old friends," for the first time, she found Black Beard unusually gentle. She eagerly grabbed him, bombarding him with questions: "How is everyone? Where are they all? Who did you come out with?"

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