Chapter 78: Like Heaven

Boom!!!

The sound of vibration from a distant place came from overhead again.

In the narrow tunnel, dust fell, startling the little cow horse to stop in place, looking left and right in horror. The high beams were turned on brighter than anyone else's, for fear of it getting any darker.

It's ridiculous that a broken motorcycle is afraid of the dark!

Ji Jue was so angry that he went up and kicked its wheel, walk faster, scout the road ahead!

"The earthquake seems to be getting more frequent." Little An reached out and pressed the wall, feeling the vibration from afar: "The Rift seems to be collapsing."

"A complete and sound system must have its own update mechanism. In addition to repairing when errors occur, when the accumulation is too heavy to return, it must destroy everything and then create a new one."

The Prophet said faintly: "According to calculations, the original restart should have been in eighty years. The appearance of outsiders has accelerated the distortion that appeared in the workshop.

It seems we must be a little faster."

Once the words were spoken, the team fell silent.

Even the little cow horse froze in place.

Only Ji Jue coughed twice awkwardly: "Well, Prophet, everyone knows that explanations are important at this time, but can you please say a little less."

"Huh?" The Prophet was puzzled: "Did I say something wrong?"

On the head of the little cow horse, the head in the basket turned in a direction, and the pitch-black eyes like glass beads looked toward the back.

It's even scarier, okay!

It's getting more and more underworld!

After the two sides initially reached a cooperation intention, the common 'character recruitment mission' in RPG games was completed. If there was any prompt box, it would pop up at this time to tell you: The Prophet joined the team.

If it were a mobile game, it might be a dirty routine to let you experience a powerful character first and then trick you into paying for it. But the reality is more complicated.

The problem is... the Prophet’s body is already very old, so old that she drops parts everywhere when she moves a little, and shatters into pieces when touched.

She is basically a high-paraplegic ICU patient who can't walk at all!

But others have no way to lead the way either.

There is already one person in the team, Little An, who has inconvenient legs and feet. If there is one more, Ji Jue feels that his trip to the Rift is about to become a disabled person's outing.

To this, the Prophet said calmly: "Don't you have a car? Just cut off my head and hang it on the front of the car. Anyway, for an old model like me, besides navigating and leading the way, there is no other function."

It was as crisp and neat as if she were cutting someone else’s head.

But Ji Jue is not a pervert who has nothing to do and cuts heads for fun. Although they are not familiar, they are at least teammates, so he couldn't do it!

As a result, the Prophet shook her shoulders slightly, and her head rolled down by itself.

Just like that, two people, one car, and one head, with such a bizarre lineup configuration, the team set off again.

Downward!

Through the intricate sewers like spider webs, they reached the deepest part of the town, and then took the elevator, as if on a spring outing, and ran to the bottom floor.

All the way, unimpeded!

There wasn't even a guard.

Isn't it too skilled for a local to lead the way?

[Do you think we are a bit too relaxed?] He asked the ball brother in his arms quietly.

[Otherwise? If I wanted to rebel, you would definitely find it easier to visit the master’s workshop than to visit a park.]

The ghost work ball replied indifferently: [Just now, at several intersections, if you took one wrong step, you would have turned into ashes by now. Don't be ungrateful for the blessings you have, okay?]

Boom!!!

Before the words fell, a loud noise suddenly came from the deepest part of the underground, shaking violently, and faint gunshots and wailing could be heard, making Ji Jue slightly stunned.

Little An reached out and pressed against the wall, as if listening intently: "About two kilometers, four people, and one guy who doesn't know what it is, very big, very scary."

"Someone triggered the alarm, the external protection program was activated, and the guardian woke up." The Prophet’s eyelids lifted slightly, not caring at all: "Don't worry, the maintenance passage is not within the isolation range, you have permission, those rigid tools won't stop you."

The moment the words fell, on the ceiling, something as agile as a small spider crawled past.

When passing them, it seemed to scan with its compound eyes. But Ji Jue himself had the furnace’s permission, and Little An had the Prophet’s shielding while sitting on the little cow horse, so it didn't find any clues and left indifferently.

Ji Jue breathed a sigh of relief, hearing the ghost work ball’s voice.

[Be careful, the more beautiful the heavenly work, the more it will deceive people.]

The ghost work ball said: [This woman definitely has a problem, you be careful, don't flip the boat.]

[Is she a heavenly work?]

[Possessing thinking and reason, able to violate underlying instructions and spiritual quality circuits, and still able to survive and grow independently after leaving the user—meeting these points is already the basis of heavenly work.

Others can still be said to be puppets given consciousness, but she alone has a degree of completion that is much higher than other puppets. The alchemy history class I gave you earlier, you didn't forget it all, did you?]

He was talking about the hearty competition of the ancient quality world, Ji Jue almost engraved it into his bones, God knows how lively the tools left by Mercury would be.

The more things look like people, the more bad water they have.

Although it is not good to say this to the Prophet who is still supporting herself with all her strength, defense is indispensable. The more things look like people, the more they should be guarded against.

Now the Prophet is just a head, hanging on the vegetable basket at the mouth of the little cow horse. Ji Jue doesn't even need to give instructions, the little cow horse will have a meal if there is a little wind and grass.

If it wasn't time to turn against each other, Ji Jue didn't want to rashly use his ability to control.

Deus ex machina is not omnipotent.

At least not right now.

And just as they moved forward in silence, the passage finally came to an end, with only a sealed door that looked like it came from some ship's cabin blocking their view.

"We are almost there."

The Prophet said: "After opening this, it should be the core."

As she spoke, she looked back at Ji Jue, not hiding her intentions at all, and didn't say anything more.

Xiao An tried to get off the vehicle with her crutches, but was held down by Ji Jue.

"Is there a password?"

Ji Jue bent down, examining the rust-covered sealed door before him, and knocked, hearing a hollow sound. The moment he touched it, relying on the resonance of the deus ex machina, he felt its entire structure. There were no traps worth guarding against or being wary of, just an ordinary door, nothing more.

He reached out, gripped the handle tightly, and used all his strength to turn it.

Harsh sounds erupted in bursts.

Carrying a long distance in the darkness.

Rust flakes fell from the ship-wheel-like handle, and with the dry rotation, it finally opened a crack.

Brilliant waves of light fell from that narrow gap, shining into Ji Jue's eyes.

He subconsciously held his breath.

There were no ambushes or mechanisms, only shimmering light like ocean tides, gorgeous and colorful, silently rippling in the air... that was spiritual essence.

Real, liquid spiritual essence like the sea, surging endlessly from the vast space behind the door that was so large its end couldn't be seen.

Following the gap, it poured in, washing over their feet.

Stirring up countless ripple-like fragments of light.

That was a genuine ocean.

The little cow-horse turned its tires, curiously leaning forward, looking at the deep, bottomless sea of spiritual essence on both sides of the road, and even the straight road that was shallowly submerged by the liquid spiritual essence.

It stretched all the way to the very center of the underground world, to that solemn palace that was as exaggerated as half a city.

"Welcome to the deepest level of the Mercury Workshop, the spiritual essence operation zone."

The Prophet in the vehicle basket sighed softly, gazing at the massive building shrouded in rainbow light and dazzling colors: "Ahead, is the core of the workshop."

"Have you been here?" Ji Jue asked curiously.

"Yes, I have, many times." The Prophet laughed softly, glancing at the deep sea of spiritual essence beside them: "In the workshop, everyone has been here, more than once."

She said: "This is where we were born."

Amidst the surging sound of the tide, a massive vortex suddenly appeared above the sea surface...

It was like boiling!

A massive amount of scarlet spiritual essence spilled down from the dome like a rainstorm, falling into the ocean, rendering it into patches of shocking blood color.

Those broken spiritual essences were still filled with fleeting glimpses of memories, gradually dissipating outward.

In the wind blowing toward them, it seemed as if wailing was permeated.

But immediately after, in the void, one spiritual essence circuit after another emerged, causing the vortex to rise from the sea, turning into a violent tornado, swallowing all the spiritual essence fragments.

Those fake souls were torn apart in an instant, stirred into powder, and all the madness and pain swirled, gradually falling into the massive vortex beneath the sanctuary, disappearing without a trace.

And then, there were severed limbs and remains.

Heads, arms, legs, torsos, internal organs...

Fragments like hail, and even the shells of mutated monsters, tilted down as the huge gap in the dome opened.

Just like that, they fell into the boiling sea of spiritual essence, rapidly decomposing, and in the end, only ash-like dust remained, silently sinking to the deepest part of the sea, piling up into stretching mountain ranges.

With no end in sight.

The rainbow light remained, as gorgeous as ever.

One couldn't tell at all how many corpses and remains were deposited in this world that looked like a fairyland, nor could one hear the wailing and lamenting.

Ji Jue only felt his whole body go cold.

"Those broken tools, out-of-control puppets, after being recycled, are sent here. The spiritual essence is crushed, filtered, and purified into its purest state.

After the shells are decomposed, only unusable remains are left."

The Prophet said slowly: "Soon, along the production line below, new empty shells will be produced, first the bones, then attached with flesh and blood, finally enlightened with spiritual essence, and then infused with memories, and a brand-new tool will walk out from the conveyor belt to continue completing its new mission.

Until it discovers once again what it actually is..."

She chuckled, mocking like this: "If there is an afterlife for tools, then this is our hell."

Hell is right before their eyes.

Just like heaven.

Crack!

Crack crack...

Amidst one shock after another, a fissure suddenly emerged from the dome above.

Dust fell down like rain.

Earthquake.

"Get ready, Mr. Ji Jue."

The Prophet said finally: "The extent of my ability can only reach here. If you still want to get what you wish for next, I'm afraid a bitter battle awaits you..."

Ding—

It was as if a crisp sound rang out from the void.