Chapter 82

Boom!

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

Accompanied by continuous attrition, the killing and competition between the two teams were about to reach a result. Stepping on the corpse, the bronze-skinned scarred man was surrounded by electric light, looking coldly at the final resistance: "Hand over the things, and I'll spare your lives."

"Dream your mother's 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, and we'll all go on the road together!"

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

A trace of wavering appeared in the captain's eyes, which was keenly captured by him, and his 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 had sped past.

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

Disappearing behind another suddenly appeared crack.

The crack closed.

Leaving only deathly silence.

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

Did something just pass by?

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

Disappearing without a trace.

"..."

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

In the silence, the captain holding the explosives only felt his arms lighten, as if he vaguely saw a rope fly over from somewhere, hook his bag, and drag it away.

Leaving only an awkward deathly silence.

"Uh, that..."

The captain swallowed his saliva: "Since it's okay now, then we... leave first?"

In the distance, the sound of an explosion seemed to come vaguely.

But it wasn't 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 Little An opened, and the shining brilliance in the bag, couldn't help but stare: "Holy crap!"

Time Sand Crystal, holy crap!

Have you ever seen a Time Sand Crystal as big as a human head?!

He saw it today!

No, it's really a human head... one could vaguely distinguish the carved head, it seems to be Mercury's face?

After all, it's a sage. Even if she wants to build a statue of herself, she has to use millions of Time Sand per ounce, and it's such a big whole piece?! If this were placed outside, wouldn't the craftsmen of the Ember lineage fight for it until their dog brains came out?

"What do you mean by grab?"

He patted Little An's head and said solemnly: "This is picked up, do you know?"

"Ah?" Little An was blank.

"It must be that no one wants it anymore, so it was placed on the ground and we encountered it." Ji Jue stuffed 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?"

"Oh yeah!"

Little An nodded, not understanding, but Brother Ji Jue must be right.

"I picked this up!"

Ji Jue nodded with satisfaction, a child who can be taught!

The things 'picked up' along the way had already piled up in the Little Niu Ma's bucket, sticking out, thanks to Little An's skillful rope work and quick packing, otherwise how many good things would have been dropped.

After all, it's a sage's workshop. Any corner scraped off is a good thing.

Occasionally encountering things he didn't recognize, 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 Realm, Ji Jue himself would feel that this trip was too comfortable!

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

There was only dust falling in the vast space, but no one was there.

A piece of desolation.

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

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

And then, passing through the wall, after the tunnel, it seemed like he came to a strange boiler room again. The huge furnaces were full of ashes, and he could no longer feel the temperature and liveliness of the past.

Huge pipes were all over the ceiling and floor.

Walking in it, like ants and dust.

And after passing through 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 there, but he couldn't find anyone.

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

Thus, shuttling within the hub, but not knowing what direction he would go next.

He was constantly approaching the inner layer, but 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 being iron-headed and bravely clear mines, but Ji Jue has too many things to consider.

For example, where the hell is Non-Aggression?

He only felt that the further inward he went, 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 to death by the operating workshop without mercy because he went in the wrong direction...

At this very moment, while moving forward, Ji Jue only felt his brain buzzing constantly.

It was as if, it had been split!

One part was Ji Jue's self-perception, but the other part seemed to have really become a machine, becoming another form and appearance.

One part had its own joys, anger, sorrows, and joys, but the other part was cold and calm, without any fluctuations, like a machine. From the resonance of the deus ex machina, Ji Jue felt that as a part, he had already participated in the operation of the entire hub, constantly adjusting his own spiritual quality and fluid alchemy control, following the changes of the hub, and hitching a ride to get closer to the inner side of the hub.

Near and far.

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

Vast, deep, but... so empty.

It's like, an empty shell.

Clearly operating in a complex and complicated way, but there was nothing inside... even the deus ex machina couldn't endow it with spirit, and couldn't feel any records or traces.

So bizarre.

Clearly, those people who were creations possessed their own reason, why did the workshop itself seem like a vegetable, only operating based on preset underlying commands?

Ji Jue couldn't get any response.

He was too small.

The echoes of the empty operation were enough to completely destroy his soul.

Fortunately, he wasn't the only one.

There was also the master key left by the professor, the professional door-prying Qiu Ge—after analysis and exploration along the way, it had completely explored the structure and changes of the workshop, providing him with key pointers.

【Central Furnace】, 【Blessing Room】, and 【Warehouse】, etc., had been marked in Ji Jue's line of sight.

In any workshop, these three places are vital parts—the Central Furnace is the workshop core in the conventional sense, providing space for craftsmen to create, and all layouts and furnishings must serve this, like the soul of the workshop.

The Blessing Room is where the blessings obtained by craftsmen are stored and kept, like organs, indispensable. And the warehouse is more straightforward, all precious material reserves are in it...

But the problem is, these are all scattered on the periphery of the hub.

So what is in the core?

Where the hell is he walking?

Ji Jue couldn't help but be distracted. Just for a moment, when passing through the crack that closed with a bang, he was thrown into an interlayer where countless mechanisms operated.

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

"Ahead, turn left."

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

"Fluid alchemy, like splashing ink in water, taking marrow from stone. Once the spirit is achieved, purification is self-made. As long as the thinking and the overall situation are not problematic, the result will not be unexpected."

"I think this participation in the hub's operation is also a valuable opportunity for you to refine fluid alchemy."

Along the way, the Prophet was never stingy with guidance, often hitting the nail on the head in a few words when Ji Jue was confused, unraveling his confusion about details, or giving guidance and suggestions in a summary way.

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

"Where does this come from?"

The Prophet in the vehicle 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 the Prophet, within the Rift Realm, all-knowing."

"And then?"

Ji Jue asked straightforwardly: "Are you Mercury?"

"..."

The Prophet was silent, trying hard to turn her head, glancing at Ji Jue, using a very complex and helpless expression and look, translating roughly—do you want to see what kind of pig talk you are saying?

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

She answered straightforwardly: "I am not."

"To say something unpleasant—if I were Mercury, and had some unspeakable purpose, would I really need you?"

She paused and sighed mockingly: "Besides, isn't that kind of thing 'Mercury' everywhere here?"

At that moment, in the engine roar and the hub's operational roar, Ji Jue couldn't help but be stunned.

He seemed to hear singing.

From a distant place, elusive.

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

Such a familiar sound, as if he had heard it thousands of times in his dreams, but it was so empty and hoarse, making Ji Jue's hair stand on end.

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

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

Scattered limbs were scattered on the ground, the flashes of blessings and spiritual quality were slowly dissipating, rising, but Ji Jue no longer felt any heartache.

Only bone-chilling cold and fear.

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

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

"Thinking of my hometown... thinking of my hometown... how are the people in my hometown... I often think of them and can't forget..."

The roar of the motorcycle stopped abruptly.

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

It turned its head...

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

From above the crooked corner of the forehead, teardrops fell slowly.

The moment Ji Jue came back to his senses, the singing was already close at hand!

He didn't even see clearly when the figure came before him.

Overlooking.

Ji Jue held his breath, his pupils slowly dilated.

He just instinctively reached out, pulling Little An tightly, not allowing him to make any movements. Then, with all his strength, he maintained the connection and characteristics between himself and the hub. He only hoped that it would treat them as common furnishings in the workshop and leave them aside.

A slender arm snaked out from under the tattered long coat.

It brushed across Ji Jue's face.

Slowly, so gently.

The fingertips brushed across the corner of his eye, touching and then withdrawing.

It seemed puzzled, but soon, it withdrew its gaze.

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

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

Leaving only deathly silence.

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

Little An's tense body also relaxed. Noticing his abnormality, he 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 vehicle basket, staring at the direction she left, "One of the embers left behind by the furnace named Mercury after it cooled down..."

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

Small and unreachable.