Chapter 81: Mercury

Boom!

In the loud noise, the broken corpse fell toward the sky, and the blood splashed.

Accompanied by continuous attrition, the slaughter and competition between the two teams were about to get results. Stepping on the corpse, the bronze-skinned scarred man was surrounded by electric light, coldly looking at the last resistance: "Hand over the things, spare your life."

"Do your mother’s beautiful dream!"

The seriously injured captain sneered, holding the backpack tightly in his arms, and raised the explosives in his other hand: "One more step forward, let’s go on the road together!"

"Is that so?" The scarred man looked at him coldly, stepping forward without any hesitation: "I don't believe it."

A trace of hesitation appeared in the captain’s eyes, which was keenly captured by him, and the smile became more narrow: "Don't worry, I keep my word, hand over the things—"

Boom!!!

Another loud noise, right above their heads, as if something was speeding past.

From the suddenly opened crack, it flew out, moving against gravity on the ceiling, whistling away, leaving behind an excited shout: "Woohoo take off!!!"

Disappearing behind another suddenly appeared crack.

The crack closed.

Leaving only a dead silence.

The captain and the scarred man were stunned for a moment, the members looked at each other, hard to hide their doubts.

Was there something that just passed by?

But immediately after, the engine roar sounded again, as if it had taken the wrong road, flying out from the crack in the ceiling from another direction, moving from top to bottom along the wall, rushing to the floor, and drilling into a crack that opened rapidly: "Woohoo, I’m flying again!"

Disappearing.

"..."

In the moment of trance, everyone was stunned in place.

In the silence, the captain holding the explosives only felt a lightness in his arms, as if he faintly saw a rope flying from somewhere, hooking his bag, and dragging it away.

Leaving only a piece of awkward silence.

"Uh, that..."

The captain swallowed: "Since it’s fine now, then we... leave first?"

In the distance, the sound of explosions seemed to come faintly.

But it was not clear.

In the wild speeding, Ji Jue heard the cheers from Little An in the back seat: "Brother Ji Jue, I grabbed something!"

Ji Jue looked back blankly, seeing the backpack opened in Little An’s hand, and the shining brilliance in the bag, couldn't help but stare: "I’m smoking!"

Time sand crystal, holy crap!

Have you ever seen a time sand crystal the size of a human head?!

He saw it today!

No, it’s really a human head... vaguely able to distinguish the carved head, it seems to be Mercury’s face?

After all, it is a sage. To build a statue of yourself, you have to use hundreds of millions of time sand per ounce, and it is still such a big piece?! If it were placed outside, would the craftsmen of the Ember lineage fight for it?

"What is grabbing?"

He patted Little An’s head, and said solemnly: "This is picked up, understand?"

"Huh?" Little An was blank.

"It must be that no one wants it anymore, so it was placed on the ground and encountered by us." Ji Jue put the time sand crystal back into the bag and let Little An hang it up: "We put it in our pockets and keep it for others. If no one comes to ask for it, can’t we keep it for ourselves?"

"Right!"

Little An nodded, although he didn't understand what was going on, Brother Ji Jue must be right.

"This is what I picked up!"

Ji Jue nodded with satisfaction, teachable!

The things 'picked up' along the way had already piled up in the little cow horse’s car bucket, overflowing, thanks to Little An’s rope skills and quick packing, otherwise how many good things would have fallen.

After all, it is a sage’s workshop, any corner scraped off is a good thing.

Occasionally encountering things he didn't know, the Prophet would remind him not to forget to take them.

Learning, eating, and taking local specialties, if it weren't for the fact that he was still in the Rift, Ji Jue himself would feel that this trip was too comfortable!

Accompanied by the roar again, the faint light at the end of the rapidly changing narrow passage appeared, and they had crossed the wall again, appearing in the huge hall.

In the huge space, only dust fell, but there was no one.

A piece of desolation.

Only a lonely chair stood in the dust, the solemn white clothes once full of glory were thrown on the ground, abandoned like shoes.

For a moment, Ji Jue seemed to see the figure sitting in contemplation again from the trance, but soon, everything disappeared and was left behind.

And then, crossing the wall, after the tunnel, it seemed like he came to a strange boiler room again, and the huge furnaces were full of ashes, unable to feel the temperature and bustle of the past.

Huge pipes were all over the ceiling and ground.

Walking in it, like ants and dust.

And after passing here, Ji Jue found that he seemed to have returned to the place he had been before, in a mess, as if someone had been here, but couldn't find anyone.

He felt that he was lost, but seemed to be on the right path.

Thus, shuttling within the center, but didn't know what direction he would go next.

He was getting closer to the inner layer, but he would go astray if he wasn't careful.

Perhaps workshop exploration is like this. People who can't find the way just need to devote themselves to iron-headedness and bravely clear mines, but Ji Jue has to consider more things.

For example, where the hell is Non-Aggression?

He only felt that the more he went inside, the harder it was to walk, and if he wasn't careful, he would be thrown out by the rapidly operating workshop and returned to an earlier position.

Even, several times, if it weren't for the Prophet’s reminder, he would have been crushed by the operating workshop without mercy because he went in the wrong direction...

At this very moment, in the journey, Ji Jue only felt his brain buzzing continuously.

It was as if, it had been split!

Part of it was Ji Jue’s self-perception, but another part seemed to have really become a machine, becoming another form and appearance.

Part of it had its own joys, sorrows, and joys, but another part was cold and calm, without any fluctuations, like a machine. From the resonance of mechanical descent, Ji Jue felt that as a part, he had already participated in the operation of the entire center, constantly adjusting his own spiritual quality and controlling fluid alchemy, following the changes of the center, and hitching a ride to the inner side of the center.

Near and far.

Now, he truly became a part of the workshop, experiencing the operation of the entire Rift with his own experience, and the magnificent fluctuations that filled the entire workshop.

Vast, deep, yet... so empty.

It was like, an empty shell.

Clearly, the operation was complicated, but there was nothing inside... even mechanical descent couldn't give it spirit, and couldn't feel any records and traces.

So bizarre.

Clearly, the people who were creations had their own reason, why was the workshop itself like a vegetable, only operating based on preset underlying instructions?

Ji Jue couldn't get any response.

He was too small.

The echo of empty operation was enough to completely crush his soul.

Fortunately, he was not the only one.

There was also the universal key left by the professor, the ball brother who specialized in picking locks—after exploring along the way, it had fully explored the structure and changes of the workshop, providing him with key directions.

[Central Furnace], [Blessing Room], and [Warehouse] and other locations had been marked in Ji Jue’s sight.

In any workshop, these three places were vital parts—the central furnace was the workshop core in the conventional sense, providing space for craftsmen to create, and all layouts and furnishings had to serve this, like the soul of the workshop.

The blessing room was the place to store and keep the blessings obtained by craftsmen, like organs, indispensable. And the warehouse was more straightforward, all precious material reserves were in it...

But the problem came, these were all scattered on the periphery of the center.

So what was in the core?

Where the hell was he going?

Ji Jue couldn't help but be distracted, just for a moment, when passing through the collapsed crack, he was thrown into a mezzanine where countless mechanisms operated.

It was like walking into the inside of a machine, huge modules rose from his side, stirring up a hurricane.

"Ahead, turn left."

The Prophet pointed out indifferently: "Don't focus on the details, the key to 'looking down' is to look at the whole situation—even a temporary loss is insignificant.

Fluid alchemy, like splashing ink in water, taking marrow from stone. Once the charm is achieved, purification is self-contained. As long as the thinking and the overall situation are not problematic, the result will not have accidents.

I think, this participation in the operation of the center is also a precious opportunity for you to refine fluid alchemy."

Along the way, the Prophet never hesitated to give pointers, often hitting the nail on the head when Ji Jue was confused, or giving guidance and suggestions in a summary way.

Ji Jue couldn't help sighing: "...Prophet, are you really not acting anymore?"

"Where does this come from?"

The Prophet in the car basket seemed to laugh: "I have already made a promise, Mr. Ji Jue, as long as I know, I will say everything, absolutely no falsehood."

She said: "I said it, I am a prophet, in the Rift, I know everything."

"And then?"

Ji Jue asked straightforwardly: "Are you Mercury?"

"..."

The Prophet was silent, trying hard to look back, glancing at Ji Jue’s appearance, with a very complex and helpless expression and look, roughly translated as—do you want to see what you are saying?

"I probably know what you are worried about, Mr. Ji Jue, please rest assured."

She answered straightforwardly: "I am not."

"Say something unpleasant—I am Mercury, if I have any purpose that can't be seen, do I really need you?"

She paused, mocking and sighing: "Besides, 'Mercury' kind of thing, isn't it everywhere here?"

In that instant, in the engine sound and the roar of the center’s operation, Ji Jue couldn't help but be stunned.

Seemed to hear singing.

From a distant place, looming.

"Miss my hometown... hometown is so cute... sky is clear, wind is cool, homesickness comes in waves..."

Such a familiar sound, as if it had been heard thousands of times in a dream, but it was so empty and hoarse, making Ji Jue creepy.

When the crack opened again, he finally saw it, the scarlet blood color.

From the walls, from the ceiling, from the floor, spreading, dyeing everything he saw red.

Scattered limbs fell on the ground, the flashes of blessings and spiritual quality dissipated slowly, rising, but Ji Jue didn't feel any heartache anymore.

Only bone-chilling cold and fear.

Between one palm and another, it was torn apart, pinched and cracked, in the singing, the blood color flowed.

And among the tragic corpses of the intruders, the eerie figure of a five-footed deer head, several meters long, stood in the pool of blood, singing softly:

"Miss my hometown... miss my hometown... how are the people in my hometown... often miss and don't forget..."

The roar of the motorcycle stopped abruptly.

Ji Jue instinctively wanted to reverse, but it was too late.

It turned back...

On the broken face, it was distorted facial features, distributed without any rules, so messy, misplaced, but the eyebrows were so familiar, as if carrying eternal melancholy and loneliness.

From the corner of the slanted eye on the forehead, tears fell slowly.

The moment Ji Jue came back to his senses, the singing was already within arm's reach!

Even, didn't see when the figure came to his front.

Looking down.

Ji Jue held his breath, his pupils expanded slowly.

Just subconsciously reached out, holding Little An tightly, not allowing him to make any movements. Then, used all his strength to maintain the connection between himself and the center and the characteristics. Just hope that it could treat them as furnishings seen everywhere in the workshop and put them aside and ignore them.

A slender arm stretched out from under the tattered long clothes.

Brushed across Ji Jue’s face.

Slowly, so gentle.

The fingertips brushed across the corner of his eye, and it retracted at a touch.

Seemed to be puzzled, but soon, retracted his gaze.

Between the long hair falling down, the tearful eyes closed.

It turned around slowly, stirring up a breeze, stepping on the pool of blood, walking toward the darkness ahead, carrying the hoarse singing that seemed to never stop.

Leaving only a dead silence.

And Ji Jue, who didn't even have the strength to breathe in the silence, silently, sweating like pulp.

Little An’s tense body also relaxed, sensing his abnormality, took out a water bottle and handed it over, finally letting Ji Jue catch his breath.

Still unable to restrain the trembling.

"Prophet, what exactly is that?"

"That is Mercury."

The Prophet leaned in the car basket, staring at the direction she left, "One of the embers left behind after the furnace named Mercury cooled down..."

Compared to the sage of the past, it is like a drop in the ocean.

Small and unreachable.