Chapter 478: White City

In the basement of Beckland's Steam Cathedral, several members of the Mechanical Heart Squad sat around a round wooden table.

At the head of the table sat the Mechanical Heart Squad captain of Beckland, Ikonse Bernard, whose brown hair was perennially fluffy and tangled, jutting outward stubbornly; his facial features were sharp and clear, and his expression looked somewhat complex.

He held in his hand an ancient silver mirror with strange patterns, its sides adorned with black gemstones shaped like "eyes".

Ikonse's palm brushed lightly over the surface of the silver mirror; after a brief pause, ripples appeared, and then blood‑stained Rune words began to surface on the mirror:

"What question do you have?"

"Captain, today's Arodes seems a bit sluggish?"

A Mechanical Heart member wearing gold‑rimmed glasses, seated to Ikonse's right, murmured a line.

After another ripple on the mirror's surface, new words appeared:

"Do you also want to play a Q&A game with me?"

The squad member who had raised the question shrank back and fell silent.

Ikonse gestured a silent press in the air, signaling the surrounding members to stay quiet; then he lowered his eyes to the magic mirror in his hand, inhaled deeply and said:

"Great Arodes, I wish to ask about the 'Deceiver' that appeared in Beckland—who it truly is and where it is now?"

After a ripple of water on the mirror, several blood‑stained words emerged: "These are two questions."

Ikonse gave a slight nod and, in a low voice, said:

"I understand; please give me the answer."

As his words fell, the mirror's surface instantly turned deep and dim, as if in a shadowy void; after a while, faint amber spots began to appear.

The image in the mirror gradually clarified, showing a dimly lit basement where several finely dressed youths gathered, conducting some ceremony.

Within the thick shadows they did not notice, a somewhat dazed translucent rabbit emerged from the spirit realm and tossed the gray‑brown book it held into the ceremony; the book turned into pale light points that vanished instantly.

The scene flickered briefly, as if accelerated; when the mirror's view cleared again, the youths' ceremony had received a response, a pale fire spreading across the floor, outlining Rune words.

"Who is praying to me?"

"You have disturbed a lonely soul."

"You awaken my slumber—what do you seek? Following the principle of equivalent exchange, each request you make requires a corresponding price."

On the ground before the ceremony lay scattered jewelry and paper notes ranging from a few pounds to several sules, seemingly the most valuable items the youths could cobble together.

The view quickly shifted to the richly layered spirit realm, where the dazed translucent rabbit roamed in a direction.

In its hand it still clutched a folded gray‑brown book; its cover bore an ancient, mottled twelve‑segment clock, surrounded by mysterious symbols representing mind, time, and deception.

The gray‑brown book flipped a few pages in the rabbit‑shaped spirit creature's paws, revealing deep‑red twisted Hermes words:

"Those little ones are so easy to fool, don't you think? To the watcher casting eyes from the spirit realm, I sense an omniscient aura on you—truly repulsive to the book."

The image on the silver mirror flickered a few times, then faded rapidly as if a bad signal, and after a brief silence silvery water ripples moved across the surface, outlining several silvery Rune words:

"That book possesses certain oddities; it bears traits of an audience‑pathway high‑order sequence, allowing it to sense my gaze."

"Alright, it's my turn to ask."

Ikonse inhaled deeply, staring at the magic mirror with a death‑defying resolve, awaiting the opponent's near‑verdict question.

The surrounding Mechanical Heart members were curious about what the audience‑pathway high‑order sequence trait meant and what the rabbit‑like spirit creature was, yet no one asked at that moment; everyone glanced inquisitively at the silver mirror's surface, careful not to make their gaze too obvious.

The water‑light on the silver mirror rippled for a while before crimson words began to form:

"First question: In that aspect of life, how often do you release?"

All the surrounding Mechanical Heart members bowed their heads in tacit agreement, like quails playing dead, while Ikonse's face flushed red and white.

Clenching his teeth, he stared expressionlessly at the silver mirror and, in a low voice, replied:

"Every three days; if missions are busy, it may be every four or five days."

A ripple on the silver mirror's surface produced new crimson words, flowing like fresh blood and dripping down:

"Correct answer."

"Now the second question:

When you release, do you usually imagine someone you know and can normally contact?"

Arodes, with a perverse sense of humor, deliberately enlarged the words "know" and "contact."

The surrounding Mechanical Heart members buried their heads even lower, eyes fixed on their own toes; as onlookers, they both anticipated their captain's answer and worried about the opponent's reply.

Ikonse's face flushed red for a moment, then, as if resigned, he lowered his head and said hoarsely:

"I choose to accept the punishment."

Boom!

A silvery bolt of electricity materialized out of nowhere and struck Ikonse.

When the dazzling silvery light faded, Ikonse, still seated, was covered in a layer of charred blackness; his hair stood on end, thin wisps of white smoke rose from him, carrying a burnt smell.

On the tabletop before him, an antiquely patterned silver mirror bore flowing crimson blood, outlining words:

"The Q&A game is over!"

It lasted less than half a minute before the words on the mirror dimmed, leaving an ordinary silver mirror with a faintly dark surface.

Across the round table, a relatively young Mechanical Heart member steadied his thoughts and expression, speaking earnestly about what Arodes had just shown with the magic mirror:

"Captain, that rabbit‑like spirit creature doesn't seem powerful; there is likely another extraordinary being behind it."

Ikonse exhaled, blowing a gray‑black smoke ring, and rubbed his charred face, saying:

"That spirit creature can carry that mischievous, fraud‑loving artifact through the spirit realm to appear anywhere; the scope is too vast, this incident must be handed over to the Mechanical Heart Squad that handles mobile incidents."

"Leipu, compile the information we gathered into a file; I will…"

"Understood, Captain." The gold‑rimmed glasses member to Ikonse's right nodded solemnly.

Nas, the capital of the Galgas Archipelago, known as the "White City."

Here the houses are built primarily from a local white stone; from afar the whole city appears gray‑white, which is why it is called the "White City."

As the easternmost colony of the Fusak Empire, the Fusak military and the War God Church can station only limited garrison forces here; the War God Church's bishop on the Galgas Archipelago is merely a Rank Five Guardian, accompanied by a Tribunal executioner, a Fusak brigadier general, and a royal baron—no saint presides.

The weakness of official forces also made this place a pirate paradise; as long as the pirates don't get too rowdy and disturb the main whaling industry and the "Gray Amber" trade, the authorities turn a blind eye.

In the dock district, at a relatively popular local restaurant, Lei Ke Dun sat quietly by the window, enjoying whale meat and roasted whale oil with skin, a specialty of the "White City".

He quickly ate most of the food on his plate, then took a napkin to wipe the oily corner of his mouth.

A figure in a double‑buttoned long formal coat and a half‑high silk top hat walked straight over and sat in the chair opposite the table.

Lei Ke Dun laughed lightly without raising his head and said:

"You came pretty fast; I thought you'd at least arrive at the port in the afternoon."

"Want to try the local whale meat? The people here are quite skilled at processing whales and waste no part."

Maintaining his Ger Man Si Pa Luo persona, Ke Lai En nodded lightly, then took a piece of roasted whale oil with skin, chewed it a few times and swallowed it whole.

It wasn't especially greasy; instead it had a fragrant taste, and the skin was handled well, not too tough to chew. The locals' whale‑processing craft is indeed impressive. No wonder there was a protest earlier against whaling, advocating sustainable development. With shipbuilding advancing, the whales of the Sea of White Whales are indeed in peril.

After internally evaluating the roasted whale oil he had just eaten, he finally spoke calmly:

"We set out at eight o'clock tonight."

Lei Ke Dun looked somewhat surprised at the expressionless Ger Man Si Pa Luo and chuckled:

"You've already contacted Jia De Li Ya? Looks like you've already taken a tour around here."

Ke Lai En gave a flat‑nodded reply, his tone even as he said:

"The voyage is going smoothly."

So the passenger ship arrived at White City Na Si several hours earlier than expected.

Adding that thought internally, Ke Lai En began to eat the remaining half‑eaten food on the table.

When he had eaten most of it, he asked with some puzzlement:

"You foresaw when I'd arrive and ordered a double portion of lunch for that reason?"

"No, I was just curious about every dish here, so I ordered extra. A prophet's inspiration usually isn't triggered unless one actively looks or it involves oneself."

Lei Ke Dun leaned lazily against the back of his chair, shook his head slightly and explained.

Ke Lai En fell silent briefly, restraining a rebuke about wastefulness, as that would conflict with Ger Man Si Pa Luo's character.

He took a sip of the Southwell Beer the waiter had just brought; the greasiness in his mouth instantly lessened, and he continued:

"Alright, at least it seems my luck is decent—just arriving in Na Si and getting a free, fairly lavish meal."

"I just went to a bar and met the captain of the 'Black Octopus', the 'Bone‑breaker' Luo Le, with a bounty of 150,000 pounds."

"What? You want to hunt him?"

Lei Ke Dun looked at the expressionless Ke Lai En, who had just mentioned the bounty, with a hint of curiosity. That stance indeed had the flair of a reckless adventurer.

(End of chapter)