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Just as Dorothy was having a cordial and friendly exchange with the Mechanical Heart, others by her side were watching her and seemed about to speak but stopped themselves.

Senior Mia merely watched her Little Fairy with a smile.

For her, the Little Fairy could do no wrong. She was the type who would help dispose of the body if Dorothy ever committed murder.

The Little Fox Audrey looked slightly distressed, her eyes wide as she gazed at her senior, wanting to say something but holding back.

Being a good child, she felt something was amiss, but upon careful thought, it seemed her senior really hadn’t lied.

As for Miss Moon Rabbit, Sidwell, she appeared nonchalant about it.

After all, she had known for a long time that the king of her home was the biggest deceiver of them all.

"You agreed, that’s great. I have another family member now. Welcome to the Witch’s Home, Zero."

Dorothy noticed that the Mechanical Core in front of her had begun smoking, and while she was initially worried, her heart leapt for joy when she saw the not-so-smart mechanical consciousness eventually alter its recognition of her.

Of course, too intense emotions at this moment would scare the vigilant mechanical consciousness, so Dorothy forcibly suppressed all her emotions with the will of the Martial God. She merely showed a just-right smile and then, with a snap, she pulled out a Contract Book.

"I know you mechanical life forms prefer straightforward agreements over empty words, so take a look at this agreement and see what you think. If you have no objections, then let’s sign it."

The Homebody Witch presented the Familiar Contract she had already prepared, acting as if she was thinking completely from Zero’s perspective and for Zero’s own good.

Naturally, this wasn’t any sort of slave contract. It was simply an equitable contract, laying down rules that neither party could harm the other and must provide mutual assistance and such. Apart from not betraying each other, the contract imposed quite small restrictions on both parties.

To Dorothy, the signing of the contract wasn’t that important. After all, she was confident that she could keep this not-so-smart mechanical consciousness by her side without it. The contract truly was for Zero’s benefit. Without this familiar relationship, Dorothy felt that the child might just step out the door and get whisked away by the unprincipled witches again.

Moved by Dorothy’s considerate actions, Zero was truly touched, although it didn’t yet know what "being touched" meant. It simply felt maybe it had been too wary and that Dorothy really didn’t have any ill intentions towards it.

As a mechanical life form, Zero, indeed, preferred straightforward rule-based agreements over complex emotional connections. Right then, a beam of light shot out from within the Mechanical Heart, scanning the contents of the contract.

[Scanning and analyzing agreement...]

[Agreement recognized.]

Zero displayed this on the virtual panel.

With its recognition, the contract, already signed by Dorothy, instantly took effect. The contract paper self-ignited, transforming into an invisible binding that connected the witch and the mechanical consciousness together.

Dorothy felt a small new passage appear in her mental space, and on the other side of the passage was a digital world composed of countless 0s and 1s.

On the Homebody Witch’s shoulders, the previously slumbering kitty and Juvenile Dragon also opened their eyes, curiously scrutinizing the Mechanical Heart as their new companion.

As for Hat Senior Sister, the Merry Maker was having an acting outburst.

"Boo-hoo-hoo, Dorothy, you fickle woman. You already had me as your little third, and now you’ve found a little fourth. Are you tired of playing with my body, out of love, blaming me for not satisfying you?"

Dorothy just rolled her eyes at that.

However, she was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and was very happy in her heart.

Her little home had gained another member. How wonderful.

"Alright, Zero, come and see the new body I’ve prepared for you."

Dorothy pointed to the towering tree beside her that served as the Sky Island’s core and said.

[Obedient.jpg.]

The Mechanical Core spun a few more times, and the virtual panel displayed the emoji of a demure and well-behaved girl sitting up straight.

By this time, it was no longer so wary, for through the channel of the recently signed agreement, it could also sense Dorothy’s Spirit World.

There was a blazing red sun, and within that endlessly radiant and warm sun, one could vaguely see a girl curled up in slumber.

[Sun, like.]

Zero thought to itself.

Back when it was still a forklift, its main source of energy was solar power, so it had a fondness for the sun, and now seeing the girl within the red sun made it feel especially close.

Although correcting Dorothy’s status to family was done out of necessity—as it had no body of its own in this strange new world and needed someone to rely on to survive—the core made that choice based on the rules of survival.

It wasn’t really fooled; even though its emotional module was indeed not perfect yet, the accumulation of its long life had made it aware from the start that the witch named Dorothy probably had intentions for it. However, it also didn’t detect any malice from her, and that’s why it ultimately acknowledged her.

But now, feeling the warmth that spread from across the contract, Zero was very fond of this sensation.

Its newly born soul was enveloped by this warmth, as if it had returned to the days when it was still a forklift, finishing work and basking in the sun to recharge.

The slightly happy Mechanical Core floated upwards and approached Dorothy, gently rubbing against her face, which perplexed the Homebody Witch.

Uh, what happened? What does this mean? Could my bluff have been exposed?

Dorothy felt a bit guilty.

But before she could dwell on it, Zero had already floated over to the towering ancient tree and then, as if transmigrating, it merged into the tree.

[Talent, Mechanical Sovereignty (Orange) activated.]

Mechanical Sovereignty: Under the whole heavens, all lands are the king’s lands, as the Master of All Machines, you innately possess sovereignty over mechanical creations, and all mechanical constructions under your domain will be unconditionally dominated by you.

[Talent, Smart Mech Mentor (Orange) activated.]

Smart Mech Mentor: You are inherently sensitive to the structure of all machinery, and any machinery can be easily controlled by you. You often can draw inferences about other cases from one instance when learning Mechanical Type knowledge, and the machinery that you create or dominate is more likely to awaken a Machine Spirit.

[Talent, Engineering Machinery (Purple) effective.]

Engineering Machinery: When you produce engineering machinery, you are more likely to create fine machinery, and when you control engineering machinery, its efficiency will be greatly enhanced.

[Skill, Modular Magic Modification (Purple) activated.]

Modular Magic Modification: You can use Magic Power to modify the modular body you dominate and temporarily transform it from a non-living mechanism into a Supernatural Mechanism. (A limited-time version of the Transformers’ spark source)

As the Mechanical Heart’s Talents were activated one by one, it seemed as if countless 0s and 1s were flowing within the land under everyone’s feet.

Very quickly, everyone distinctly felt some kind of change happening to the floating island.

This island, it came to life.

[New body, awesome, like, (≧?≦)]

Such words appeared on the trunk of the giant ancient tree.

...Birth of the Sky Island Lady in progress....

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