Zane's expression twisted in bewilderment. "What the hell is this?! How are we supposed to do anything in this state!?" exclaimed Zane, his voice filled with outrage.

Both tried, unsuccessfully, to move their nonexistent limbs, resulting in a ridiculous scene of chaotic flailing.

Zane's frustration reached its peak, and he unleashed a string of curses, questioning the sanity of the universe and his own existence. "Who comes up with this stuff? Is the system really trying to save itself or completely screw us over?"

Gael, while trying to cope with the situation, couldn't help but nervously laugh, his strange laughter echoing as he spoke. "Just look at us! From a giant whale to skeletons, and now... vacuum cleaners. This is pathetic!"

Unable to contain his anger, Zane sarcastically remarked, "Is the mission to vacuum the galaxy? Gael, are you ready to be the hero of universal cleaning?"

[Main mission initiated]

[Create the apocalypse of machines and overthrow the queen's control.]

[Main Reward: Foundation Establishment Cultivation Unlocked]

[Extra Reward 01: 40 upgrade points]

[Extra Reward 02: Bonus chest of a level equal to performance.]

"Queen's control? Are we supposed to kill a universe in this state?" Zane spat.

Gael then sighed and tried to think objectively. "We know nothing about this place, but machines... there are a lot of important details missing in this mission. It would be nice if there were some summary or explanation..."

Gael was cut off when a new green screen opened:

[Read details? Yes / No]

Both paused in a strange silence of disbelief. Then, mentally, Gael responded affirmatively.

[The entire central zone of this universe is sealed by a gigantic cosmic force field. The heroes trapped the demon army of the Demon Lord in this place after defeating him.]

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

[Unknown to all other life forms, who believed all heroes except one were dead. Three of the heroes who defeated the Demon Lord are still alive, maintaining the force field.]

[The queen has completely dominated the common life forms. This universe possesses a peculiarity desired by her: a mysterious gem that can absorb Qi and laws and create consciousness and life. This gem, known as the soul gem, is the central origin of the machines in this unique universe.]

[Due to the unique circumstances, now the machines are the last 'life' not controlled by the queen. Be the sovereign emperor and lead the revolution against the infiltrated evil and bring glory to Heaven's Will!]

Zane read everything, still incredulous. "Why the hell didn't this shit help us before? It's still screwing with us and putting us in shit..."

Gael cut off Zane; he had already accepted his fate. "Maybe this has always been available. But when the mission came up before, we were being chased by the necromancer and his army. We didn't have time to think much and look for details. Do you remember? We never asked it."

After those quick and logical words, a slight feeling made Gael doubt what he had just said. It was as if the system had responded negatively, but it was just a subtle feeling. So Gael just ignored it.

Zane snorted, still exasperated, before Gael continued. "If the system put us here, it must have a reason. Stop complaining, and let's analyze these robots around and find this so-called soul gem. It must be where our souls are trapped."

After a few minutes of standing still, a small circular robot a few inches wide moved around the space. Its chromed body displayed some dents and scratches, evidence of a life dedicated to tireless cleaning.

Suddenly, a shrill and almost laughable sound emanated from the small automaton. It sounded like a mix between an off-key whistle and a mechanical hiss, prompting an incredulous look from Zane.

Then, at the bottom of the robot, circular brushes emerged and began to spin, like robotic appendages in action. The little cosmic vacuum cleaner started to wheeze and sweep the dirty floor, executing its cleaning functions methodically.

Gael then exclaimed in happiness. "I managed to activate the mechanisms; now we can work properly!" While the robot continued its robotic cleaning dance, Zane's mental curses blended with the shrill sound of the mechanical sneezes.

After 'calmly' analyzing the environment, they couldn't find the so-called soul gem. That place was a junkyard filled with loose robot parts with dangling wires; the only conclusion was that these robots were mostly rustic humanoids, like the stylized movies they remembered from Earth.

They then focused on that small piece of tin they were in. They could feel every wire, circuit, and metal plate as if they were part of them. They soon understood something intriguing: there was no electrical power, and the wires didn't have conductive metals. The source powering this body was something they knew well: it was Qi.

Within the wires of the surrounding tin, they saw or felt nothing; probably, these components had been removed. However, in their own wires, there was a void, and within it existed some kind of liquid... or at least it seemed at first. After a closer look, they realized it wasn't liquid but Qi itself, converted into this peculiar physical state.

All the Qi converged to one place: a small stone pulsating gently. "So, this is the soul gem. Intriguing..." Gael commented.

"That gem can passively absorb the Qi around and convert it into a pure state. It functions like an energy source that can be directly integrated into a cultivator's body, similar to how our Yin and Yang tattoos work," analyzed Zane, impressed. "No wonder the queen has her eyes on this... it truly is something valuable."

Gael added, "This must exist only here due to the unique circumstances of this universe. Over time, these gems should function like celestial weapons; they accumulate a lot of Qi and laws, then a soul takes possession, creating consciousness."

"Indeed, our soul is linked to this small stone, not the robotic body."

"Great, the laws of this universe must be completely different from what we know, so it would be impossible to manipulate them easily. But this Qi coming from the gem is pure and easily moldable," said Zane, turning his gaze to all the pieces around and starting to get excited. "Having a mechanical body has its advantages. We can swap, modify, and upgrade it using other robots."

Gael nodded in understanding. "Maybe not just that. This soul gem may have other functions. We'll find out over time."

The small cleaning robot began to move slowly as Gael got excited. "Maybe that's the system's intention. Let's create a fabulous intergalactic mechanical chimera! We shall call ourselves... Alexander Version 2.0!"

Zane just pretended he didn't even hear that last comment.