Chapter 158: Found It!

The "Automatic Cruising" instruction set she built was actually prepared for the future embedding of Soul Crystals.

Because only with the coordination of a Soul Crystal could "automatic" truly live up to its name.

Beast-shaped Soul Crystals were easy to resolve; monsters were everywhere, ripe for the picking.

As for the Soul Crystals for the Humanoid Magic Puppets...

Lan Qingyou could only say that this was even easier to solve.

There were so many humanoid or demi-human monsters. While they might not be roaming every street, there were certainly plenty of them in the Abandoned Forest and the Abandoned Beach.

She could definitely find a suitable one.

The Tower: "Feels pretty good, there's nothing wrong with this line of thought."

After the Purple Knight and the Horned Lion Beast moved around for a bit, Lan Qingyou took out her Card.

The High Priestess: "Me too."

The Magician: "And me."

The Star: "+1. By the way, your cloak is finished. I've sent it over to you."

Basically, all the relevant personnel involved with instructions, magic circuits, and symbols immediately went offline after receiving Lan Qingyou's experimental results, beginning their own research.

It was no joke.

Just yesterday, they had obtained the wreckage of a Humanoid Magic Puppet and drawn a lot of inspiration from it. Now, there was another breakthrough in magic instructions.

They were busy. Everyone was incredibly busy!

Up to their necks in work.

If Lan Qingyou's topic today hadn't been genuinely fascinating, some of them wouldn't have even bothered to waste time popping into the chat.

As for Lan Qingyou?

After finishing her experiments, she returned to the Magic Tent and took out the cloak Ruan Qingyi had sent over.

The entire cloak was wine-red with golden edges, embroidered with the silhouette of an owl's head.

The clasp used a simple hook system. She just needed to hook it directly onto the shoulder armor to attach the cloak. It was simple and crude, yet it radiated a kind of fashionable beauty.

As expected of someone who specialized in making cosplay costumes; this design was truly unparalleled.

Thus, Lan Qingyou spent another half-day rewriting the magic instructions for the puppets she had on hand. She then hung the cloaks one by one onto the Power Armor of the Humanoid Magic Puppets, finally completing the upgrades for all the magic puppets in her possession.

"But why does this Purple Knight look a bit like a Crimson Knight Beast? Especially with that lance and round shield..."

After inspecting these magic puppets, Lan Qingyou muttered to herself. She then sent the six Horned Lion Beasts to The Chariot, asking him to change their paint job to a more striking orange before she finally took a bath and went to bed.

She had originally planned to spend the whole day searching, but in the end, she had only spent a little over an hour exploring.

Therefore, over the next few days, Lan Qingyou worked diligently, roaming almost the entirety of the Abandoned Mountains.

However, she still failed to scan any useful information.

She did manage to scan quite a few Shelters; some were occupied, while others had already been abandoned.

Yet, these past few days were not entirely without gains.

At the very least, the Soul Crystals for the Horned Lion Beasts had been filled with the souls of a snow wolf pack she encountered on the mountain.

Just as she had imagined, with the Soul Crystals, the movement patterns of these Horned Lion Beasts became increasingly agile, and their actions grew much more proficient.

In contrast, it made the Purple Knights riding on their backs look rather sluggish and dim-witted.

But that did not matter.

After all, Rome wasn't built in a day. Taking things slowly, everything would eventually fall into place.

Ten days later, Lan Qingyou calculated the time and realized the Mana Tide was approaching, so she prepared to return to her Shelter.

After all, the Magic Tent had not yet been tested against a Mana Tide. No one knew if it could withstand an event far more ferocious than Mana Turbulence.

She had no desire to gamble with her life.

But as the saying goes, the only certainty in life is the unexpected.

Just as Lan Qingyou turned her Magic Broom around to head back, Little Spoon began squeaking from within her embrace.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Its voice was urgent, as if it had sensed something.

Hearing this, Lan Qingyou did not hesitate. She flew directly in the direction Little Spoon was indicating, scanning her surroundings with her Card as she moved.

Eventually, she actually found the entrance to a cave at the bottom of a cliff.

Judging by the entrance, this cave appeared to be naturally formed, devoid of any traces of artificial excavation.

"Is it right in here?"

Lan Qingyou asked Little Spoon as she put on her Appraisal Glasses.

"Squeak, squeak!"

Little Spoon tapped its head with a forelimb as if delivering a salute. Its eyes were incredibly solemn, carrying a dignified expression that seemed to say, "I'm not lying to you."

Receiving an affirmative answer, Lan Qingyou turned her head to peer into the pitch-black cave.

Cliffs and caves... this really was a textbook hiding spot for treasures. No wonder so many people in stories fell off cliffs only to inherit ancient legacies or peerless secret manuals.

This place was truly perfect for hiding someone.

Then let's go!

Lan Qingyou raised an eyebrow and flew straight inside on her Magic Broom.

Who cares about the Mana Tide or returning to the Shelter? Those things could wait until after she found the treasure.

It was just a search operation anyway. She had done this countless times before; she was very familiar with this kind of work.

With this plan in mind, Lan Qingyou sped through the cave, keeping her broom shifted into second gear.

The inside of the cave was extremely dark.

It was also accompanied by the dampness and chill typical of caves, even though Lan Qingyou was wearing temperature-regulating clothing.

Yet, for some unknown reason, flying inside still made her feel a biting cold aura, causing her to involuntarily shiver.

Goosebumps even erupted across her skin.

'Has the Witch robe stopped working?'

Lan Qingyou subconsciously wondered.

The possibility couldn't be ruled out. After all, although it had a constant temperature enchantment, it was only a beginner-level one. It could handle a blizzard, but not necessarily anything else.

Of course, there was another possibility: it was purely psychological.

For Lan Qingyou at this moment, she would rather believe the latter.

Because if it was the former, it meant this place was far from simple.

At the very least, there might be something lurking here that even a beginner enchantment couldn't resist.

'Should I pray it isn't the first scenario?'

Not a chance.

Lan Qingyou did not believe in gods. Even with the so-called world will constantly buzzing in the background, she had no faith in such things.

【An Alchemist only believes in what they can see, and will never fantasize about ethereal, nonexistent things. —by Albert】

Fortunately, the Dispel Light Sphere hanging from the Magic Broom provided Lan Qingyou with illumination while also possessing a dispelling effect.

Even in this deep darkness, if she encountered any monster adept at ambushing, the light could either drive it away or give her enough time to react.

This was why Lan Qingyou hadn't taken out her Magic Carriage Lantern.

After all, the hook on the Magic Broom couldn't hold that many things anyway.