Chapter 7: Guess What This Is About.

“Bang—”

The room echoed with the clang of metal striking metal as Su Yi delivered a sharp knock to Lolixi’s forehead, causing her to involuntarily lean back.

“Punishment’s over. No wonder you headbutt me when we fight—you’re seriously tough,” Su Yi murmured softly, withdrawing his fingers aching from the counterforce.

People often said reckless individuals had “iron heads,” but Lolixi truly had one. Whatever method was used on her forehead had made it as hard as titanium alloy steel. Though this was meant as a punishment, it left Su Yi feeling somewhat embarrassed.

“Is it over already?” Lolixi looked at him in disbelief, her eyes full of confusion. Though the red mark from the knock was visible on her forehead, as the most heavily armored part of her body, she felt no pain.

“Of course not.”

Su Yi removed the sofa cover stained by cola and held it in his arms. The exoskeleton’s machine oil had smeared onto it, and along with the dried cola, the cover was as dirty as Lolixi’s hair and cheeks, stained with grease.

“Your task now is to adapt to this world, to learn how to think for yourself rather than rely solely on the intelligent chip.”

“Follow me.” Su Yi gently patted the girl’s shoulder and led her outside the bathroom. The sky was growing dim, and the already poorly lit bathroom became pitch black.

With a click, he turned on the room’s electric light, flooding the space with bright illumination.

“Electricity… lights? Is this an important laboratory?”

Lolixi’s eyes brightened as she gazed up at the shining incandescent bulb overhead. Such bright lighting consumed a great deal of energy and was usually reserved for the laboratory of the sword wielder, Granny Ifi.

Su Yi said nothing, instead tucking the sofa cover under his arm and turning on the faucet. Crystal-clear water flowed out in abundance.

“Is this purified water?”

“Yes, 98.8% purity.”

A green glow flickered in Lolixi’s eyes.

“Strategic level?”

“Strategic level.” The girl nodded repeatedly, marveling, “So the commander is also a great inventor.”

This discovery only confirmed her belief that this was indeed the laboratory responsible for developing prosthetics and machinery. Otherwise, how could there be such a plentiful supply of purified water? Even the database had rated it with an 80% probability.

Inside were many unfamiliar machines, undoubtedly high-level equipment.

Su Yi opened the washing machine lid, stuffed in the sofa cover, and pressed the water rinse button. Lolixi’s eyes glistened as strategic-grade purified water flowed into the machine’s mechanism.

“Guess what we’re doing.”

“Yes, Commander.” Lolixi nodded, a spark of green light in her gaze.

But the next moment, Su Yi knocked her forehead once more.

His expression grave, he withdrew his hand and spoke sternly, “I told you, no searching the database. Think for yourself.”

“O-okay...” The command left Lolixi bewildered. Since childhood, she was trained to obey orders and consult her chip when uncertain.

Her eyes darted between the washing machine and Su Yi’s face. After much hesitation, she murmured, “To prevent the purified water from radiation interference.”

“Wrong. The radiation level in this world doesn’t require instruments.”

“To further purify the water and make a powerful supplement?”

“No.”

“Some kind of isolation fluid for strategic weapons!”

“That’s clearly not a weapon characteristic.”

...

After a dozen guesses—all rejected by Su Yi—Lolixi could think of nothing more and lowered her head in defeat.

“Sorry, Commander, I can’t figure it out.”

“Really can’t? Look carefully at what I put inside.”

Su Yi repeated his emphasis.

“I don’t know...”

Seeing this, Su Yi sighed helplessly but resolutely decided to change the girl’s mindset.

He unzipped Lolixi’s loose school uniform, ignoring the impact of her ample figure, and tossed the cola-stained garment into the washing machine.

Then he grabbed a bath towel hanging on the wall and wrapped the naked girl in it. Fixing his gaze on her eyes, he asked again, “Now, can you guess what we’re doing?”

“I... I...” Lolixi was not embarrassed; instead, her mind was in turmoil. She couldn’t understand why clothes would be put into purified water.

After much thought, gathering all her guesses, she quietly replied, “Is it to use water to enhance the clothes’ defense?”

After such deep reflection, that was the answer she gave.

Su Yi rubbed his temples, frustrated. The girl was clearly beginning to imagine things wildly, evading reality. Even without a database, she should know water doesn’t strengthen clothing defense.

He stood and walked to the shower, adjusting the water temperature to the most comfortable setting. Then he dipped a towel into the strategic-grade purified water.

Kneeling slightly in front of Lolixi, he asked, “Do you know what I’m going to do now?”

Lolixi’s eyes involuntarily dropped, avoiding his gaze. Her small toes, pale and delicate as lotus shoots, twisted nervously. “I’m sorry, Commander. Without the intelligent chip, I’m very stupid.”

Su Yi shook his head firmly. “It’s not stupidity. It’s cognition.”

With that, he pressed the warm, wet towel against her smooth, soft cheek, gently wiping away the remaining cola stains.

Feeling the comforting warmth and the cool touch of the towel, Lolixi’s heart fluttered. “Commander! This…”

“Shh—” Su Yi stopped her, speaking in an extremely serious tone, “See this? This kind of unsterilized, hard purified water—we use it for bathing, washing clothes, flushing toilets.”

“But…”

“No buts. I’m only washing once. Learn carefully. This is an order.”

He turned on the shower, letting warm water cascade over her oily silver hair. Squeezing nearly half a bottle of shampoo, white foam surged, carrying impurities down with it.

Lolixi’s eyes glazed over, almost dazed, staring blankly as the water trickled down her forehead.

She could distinctly feel the “strategic-grade material” flowing over her body.

Every inch of her skin seemed to sigh—soft, comfortable, warm—every beautiful word imaginable flooded her mind.

Only when shampoo residue stung her eyes did she close them and rub the corners hard.

“I... can’t see you anymore, Commander...”

Her vision blurred, she awkwardly reached out, feeling around his body to confirm his position.

“It’s okay if you can’t see. Don’t open your eyes while washing your hair.” Seeing this, Su Yi chuckled.

Lolixi nodded and stopped her movements, standing quietly as Su Yi thoroughly cleansed her silver hair until the machine oil vanished and it became soft, fluffy, and faintly fragrant.

“All done.”

The girl opened her eyes, running her fingers through her silver hair, experiencing a sensation she had never felt before.

“So this is the effect of water?” Her throat moved slightly, her voice hoarse and choked, then she lowered her head. “Commander, why do you use such precious resources to wash a soldier?”

Su Yi sighed deeply, looking at her unwillingness to accept reality. He stood and decided to repeat himself one last time.

“Don’t you understand yet?”

“In this world, water is the most abundant resource, especially for wastelanders who don’t care about water quality. It’s nothing special.”

“The most abundant resource?” Lolixi softly echoed.

“Yes.”

“If that’s so, I understand now... Commander.”

Relieved that she finally grasped it, Su Yi took a dry towel hanging nearby and placed it on her head.

“As long as you understand. I’ll help you slowly comprehend more. Now dry your hair yourself.”

“First, let’s eat.”

Stretching lazily, Su Yi headed for the door. Just as he stepped out, he felt his clothing tugged. He stopped and looked back at the somewhat timid Lolixi.

“Commander... may I ask one more question?”

She asked quietly, her eyes free of any green glow, relying solely on her own thoughts.

“Go ahead,” Su Yi answered.

“Why do you help me so much?”

Su Yi paused briefly, then replied generously, “Because you’re one of the sword wielders. Helping you is the right thing to do.”

“But I’m just a soldier, just a weapon, born to obey orders unconditionally...”

Su Yi looked at her confused face and fell silent for a moment, his gaze drifting away as if to release the exhaustion in his chest with a long sigh.

“That’s a complicated question. It might take a long time for you to understand.”

“But I can tell you this.”

“As someone forced to cross worlds, as an anomaly in this world, what I want is a companion.”

“Work hard to adapt to this world. If you can’t understand, just treat it as an order.”

Su Yi turned and left.

Lolixi stood frozen for a long while before gently tugging the towel and beginning to dry her hair.

But the girl, who rarely thought independently, fell into deep contemplation.

Su Yi’s words echoed in her ears. As he said, Lolixi simply couldn’t comprehend yet and could only mutter over and over:

“Companion, companion, companion...”

“What is a companion?”