Thanks to the information overload yesterday, I woke up the next day with a splitting headache, my mind cluttered with those surreal so-called instruction sets, making me so dizzy that I felt like banging my head against the wall while walking. The symptoms were identical to those of a hangover, so much so that this morning my sister thought I had been drinking pure alcohol all night long.

"If I had known it would be like this, I might as well have skipped class," I thought regretfully on my way to school. At that moment, I couldn't help but envy those students whose homes were out of town and had to live in the dormitory. At least they could skip class without much trouble, just curl up in their dorm room, lock the door, and be done with it. But me... My sister's intuition was superhero-level accurate, and I didn't have the guts to skip class in front of her. Moreover, I was already a senior in high school, and my grades weren't that great to begin with. If I skipped class again... It really didn't look promising.

Of course, I could also look at it from another angle: with my current grades, it didn't seem like skipping class would make much of a difference anyway... Alright, forget I said that.

I walked along, somewhat groggily, occasionally shaking my head vigorously to try to clear it a bit. Although this rather secluded path didn't have much traffic, the potential for an accident would be quite a spectacle if it happened. But after all, the head isn't a dustpan; no matter how hard you shake it, you can't shake out the jumbled mess inside.

Suddenly, I felt something unusual, as if someone was watching me. This sensation jolted me awake, clearing my foggy brain considerably.

I looked up and scanned around, then spotted a little girl at the entrance of a small alley not far to my right, looking in my direction.

She appeared to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, dressed in a white coat-like dress, with long, black, shoulder-length hair, looking very cute. Her pink lips were slightly pursed, with a curve that wasn't quite a smile but still pleasing to the eye. Her small nose was slightly upturned, giving her a playful look, which, combined with her demure temperament, made her a beautiful little lolita. However, her eyes made me feel a bit out of place. Her large, dark eyes should have been very expressive, but they seemed completely unfocused, just turned in this direction. If it weren't for the feeling that her gaze was on me, I would have almost suspected that this little lolita was actually blind.

I straightened my expression and put on what I thought was my friendliest smile, then approached and said, "Little girl, is there something you need?"

... Why do I feel as if someone is secretly referring to themselves as a perverted uncle who abducts lolitas? Could it be just a hallucination? The adorable lolita opposite me slightly raised her head, her eyes, which lacked any focus, seemed not to turn towards any part of my body, yet I immediately felt that every move I made was completely grasped by this little girl in front of me—this is truly a strange sensation, making it completely impossible to describe. This is an unusual lolita! I made a judgment the moment I saw her. But how many of the things that have happened to me recently have been normal? My spiritual world has inexplicably become connected with some kind of Xiling Empire, so what is there left to surprise me? The lolita in front of me observed me expressionlessly for a while, then seemed to confirm something, nodded slightly, and bowed to me. I don't know if it's a hallucination, but I seem to feel that something in my brain resonated with the little girl in front of me. "It's an honor to meet you, Emperor," the expressionless lolita spoke, startling me, "My name is Pandora-zero, a Xiling General." "Huh?" This shocking self-introduction immediately put me into a daze, leaving me only able to utter such a meaningless sound. What did this little lolita just call me? Emperor?

And her identity, General Xi Ling? Is this little girl's appearance meant to endow the dreams I have with the ability to connect the context? The loli in front of me didn't seem to intend to answer my doubts. After introducing herself, she just stood there quietly, tilting her head slightly, her unfocused eyes showing no fluctuation of emotion. Faced with this scene, I finally had to seriously analyze: If this little loli isn't deceiving me (she probably wouldn't deceive me anyway, as I've never mentioned anything about the Xi Ling Empire to anyone else), then she is a member of that mysterious Xi Ling Empire. The fairy sister in my previous dreams also mentioned going somewhere or other, but at that time I didn't pay attention. Now it seems that they have genuinely sent someone over.

So, judging by the nature of that world, this little girl is actually a robot? A world that originally existed only in dreams suddenly became increasingly real, and even a living "person" emerged from that world, which made me feel that my brain was somewhat insufficient. Thus, as if possessed, I reached out my hand and gently pinched the cheek of the little lolita opposite me. ...I'm not a lolita fetishist, I really am not, it was just a slip of the hand, I truly just slipped! Suddenly realizing what I had done, I immediately withdrew my hand, but the soft touch of that moment made me deny the idea that the other party was a robot. "The Xiling Apostle is a semi-energy construct organism," the little lolita opposite me seemed not to care about my abruptness at all, she just actively spoke in her voice that lacked any emotional fluctuation, "We are not robots, and Xiling technology is also vastly different from the natural technology of your world. Although it looks similar to natural technology, it is actually a combination of surreal energy and mysticism. With the existing technology of this world, it might be completely inexplicable. Strictly speaking, the nature and structure of my current body are very close to the carbon-based life of this world, and I can even replenish energy by eating like ordinary carbon-based life. This is because construct technology allows us to freely change the material form of our bodies. In a non-combat state, you can consider the Xiling Apostle as a normal human."

It's really tough on her, to introduce such a long passage to me with such a mechanical voice. After replaying the other party's words back and forth in my mind many times, I finally roughly understood their meaning. There was no way around it, the situation was just too surreal. The fact that I could listen calmly and analyze it instead of running away screaming that it was impossible and joking was already a sign of mental fortitude. However, due to my limited intelligence, I was still a bit dizzy... "So, first, the Shining Empire is very powerful, but Earthlings can't understand it so there's no need for much explanation, and second, I can treat you as human?" "Yes," the little girl replied succinctly. Alright, that question is passed. After all, with my level of expertise, I'm still at the stage where I see chemical equations as alien languages. There's definitely no common technological topic with an alien, so whatever she says goes. "Then I have a question, just answer if you can. It seems that the Shining Empire really exists, so why does it connect with the dreams I have? And why do I become your emperor? The title of emperor shouldn't be easily given to an ordinary person, right?"

"This question must be asked. Although being called an emperor by an empire that seems very powerful is quite thrilling, this title is not so easy to claim. It could very well be a misunderstanding, and if so, I could be in for a great deal of trouble. Moreover, according to that instruction set, which is 99.999... percent unusable, this empire, which has been in slumber for an unknown number of years, may not necessarily bring me any benefits. Troubles, on the other hand, are certainly assured.

"Thousands of years ago... time error... an unknown number of years ago, the Xiling Empire underwent a great upheaval, and the entire empire fell into a deep sleep. It wasn't until recently that the empire's only operational external information collection system detected a thought fluctuation from deep within this plane. According to the information comparison, this thought fluctuation perfectly matches the soul imprint of the empire's emperor. As a result, the empire awoke, and I was sent to assist you. Other data has been destroyed due to unknown reasons and cannot be verified. However, one thing is certain: you are one of the emperors of the empire, a fact that has been confirmed by all the currently awakened Xiling Apostles."

"Wait, did you say one of the emperors?" I sensitively noticed this term. Does it mean that emperors are mass-produced in the Xiling Empire?

"Yes, individuals with NT-level authority in the Xiling Empire are called emperors. According to the last updated database, there are a total of 135 emperors in the Xiling Empire, distributed across various ruling regions of the entire void. Each emperor has equal authority, and you are not among these 135 emperors. The specific reason cannot be analyzed."

"Good heavens, the Emperor's Council! "Um... can I not be this emperor?" I said cautiously, jokingly. There are 135 genuine emperors, and undoubtedly each one of them is more formidable than me. Even with a brick in hand, I would most likely be no match for them. If another Xiling Emperor awakens and discovers me, this impostor emperor, any one of them could easily take me down with a single blow, a situation that I, a novice with a '99.999999...' percent instruction inoperability rate, could not handle! In the most optimistic estimate, I would be beaten into dust and then evenly scattered across 9.6 million square kilometers of land... "According to Xiling law, an individual who relinquishes NT-level authority is considered to have renounced their own existence. Do you confirm to execute this choice? This confirmation will be conducted three times." ...Returning the product curses the entire family?! My scalp immediately went numb, and I quickly waved my hands: "Alright, alright, I was just joking. I'll be the emperor, but let me make it clear, you are the ones who actively wanted me to be this, and if I can't handle it later, don't expect any after-sales compensation—you couldn't afford it even if you sold me!"