Chapter 2401 Vision Extension <TOC> Chapter 2403 The Song
Translator: SumTLMan
In this world of runes, similar to a trap brimming with temptations, the more one gazes upon it, the easier it is to fall into its depths. This is especially true for someone like Canter, who is only partially versed in the rudiments of rune magic.
Continued exploration can lead to a descent into the dazzling allure, mistaking oneself for being enlightened, when in reality, nothing is gained, and one’s mind and spirit might even be attacked.
With Canter’s insight, he naturally understood that this was a problem stemming from insufficient talent and foundational knowledge. Therefore, he quickly diverted his gaze, no longer focusing on the projection of the runes.
“What should we do next?” Canter inquired.
“For now, there’s nothing else to do but to carefully examine these runes,” Angel replied swiftly.
Canter nodded, allowing the Authority Eye to float in mid-air, and imbued it with a bit of magical power, enabling it to freely rotate its perspective.
Canter dared not look at the projection of the runes, fearing his mind and spirit would be ensnared. Instead, he began to observe his surroundings, and eventually, his gaze settled on a transparent cabin that resembled a coffin.
Inside the cabin was a tall mechanical puppet. From the patterns inscribed on its face, Canter immediately recognized its identity.
“The Hunt and Kill Numbers, Number 4… I didn’t expect the early Numbers of the Hunt and Kill Numbers to be located at the nodes of the magic formation…”
Not long ago, after encountering Numbers 18 and 19 of the Hunt and Kill Numbers, Reynolds had explained to them the status of the Hunt and Kill Numbers in the laboratory.
According to Reynolds and some of the lower-numbered personnel, the Hunt and Kill Numbers were recognized as ruthless enforcers, exterminating anyone who violated the laboratory’s norms. Since their deployment inevitably resulted in dire outcomes, they were prefixed with “ruthless.”
However, Reynolds also mentioned something else: the enforcers were merely a title they were given. Among the higher-ranked personnel in the laboratory, the Hunt and Kill Numbers was referred to as——the Scavengers.
As for why, even Reynolds was unsure.
Another matter related to the Hunt and Kill Numbers was that there were said to be 20 members, with higher numbers indicating stronger abilities. However, the Hunt and Kill Numbers members active within the laboratory ranged only from 6 to 20, with the first 5 never having appeared since the establishment of the laboratory.
Reynolds even speculated that the first 5 members might not exist or were not located in the laboratory in the Southern Region.
Unexpectedly, the first 5 members of the Hunt and Kill Numbers were actually hidden within the control nodes of the magic formation. Their mechanisms were connected to the formation’s trigger points, serving as guardians of all control nodes. Anyone intruding would inevitably face their merciless assault.
Unfortunately for them, they encountered Angel, who was exceptionally proficient in runes… Not only did he avoid the trigger points, but he also critically assessed the intruders.
The Number 4 of the Hunt and Kill Numbers, a creation of mechanical alchemy, also had some runes inscribed on it. However, compared to the runes on the wall, the runes on its body were far more benign.
Even Canter could understand a thing or two about them.
Thus, Angel delved into the study of the sub-control nodes on the wall, while Canter began to investigate the Hunt and Kill Numbers.
Roughly a quarter of an hour later, Canter regained his focus. From the runes on the shell of the mechanical puppet, Canter had roughly discerned the puppet’s realm… It was at the wizard level.
Previously, they had thought that the laboratory only had three formal wizard level combatants, but now it seemed otherwise. The Hunt and Kill Numbers, Number 4 was already at the wizard level.
Estimating higher numbers, they too were of wizard level combat power.
In other words, the laboratory had at least seven wizard level combatants. This indicated that the laboratory had a quite profound foundation, truly worthy of being from the Source World.
As for the other parts of this mechanical puppet, such as what its capabilities were, Canter could not discern.
But just a mechanical puppet with wizard level combat power alone was already of great value. It was a pity that it was connected to a magic formation; otherwise, Canter really wanted to pry it away and take it back.
Having roughly finished examining the mechanical puppet, Canter withdrew his gaze and turned back to look at Angel again.
He noticed that Angel, through the Authority Eye, was still engrossed in the runes, occasionally moving closer to them. Normally, the runes would repel any approach, but they showed no reaction to the approach of the Authority Eye. This indicated that Angel had complete mastery over the internal energy flow of the runes, able to move within the projection of the runes without triggering them.
To Canter, this was incredible.
Knowing that Canter himself did not even have the qualification to continuously observe the runes, while Angel, through an Authority Eye, could achieve such a feat.
It could only be said… the younger generation is to be feared.
A recognized alchemy master by the Research Institute was not to be underestimated.
“Number 03 probably hasn’t realized yet… what kind of person has entered their laboratory…” Canter silently lit a candle for Number 03 in his heart. Number 03 had no idea that Angel had also arrived. If she knew Angel’s identity, she probably wouldn’t have stayed so calmly inside the skull of the Wave Mechanism.
While Canter was silently musing, Angel finally made a move.
“I knew it! Just as I thought!” Angel conveyed through the mental connection.
Before Canter could inquire, Nisi, who was waiting outside in the corridor, spoke first: “What’s the situation inside? What is exactly as you imagined?”
Angel: “I can’t control the sub-control node on the second level right now, but I’ve found an important clue within this sub-control node.”
“What clue?”
Angel: “A clue pointing towards the Main Control Node!”
Angel’s intention in using the vision of the Authority Eye to examine the second level’s sub-control node was actually to verify an idea in his mind.
——Whether it was possible to find the main control node.
The magic formation can exist with multiple sub-control nodes, but there inevitably exists a main control node that can manipulate the overall situation. Generally, there is some form of interconnection and interaction between the sub-control nodes and the main control node.
However, Angel only saw the sub-control nodes of the first level and was completely unable to determine which runes pointed towards the main control node. Therefore, he needed more evidence.
And this evidence came from other sub-control nodes.
Now, within the sub-control nodes of the second level, Angel obtained what he wanted; here, he indeed saw the direction of the runes associated with the Hunt and Kill Numbers nodes of the first level.
It can be confirmed that these rune directions are connected to the main control node.
Angel said, “I can now confirm that it is feasible to find the location of the main control node through the sub-control nodes.”
Nisi asked, “Now that you have seen the sub-control nodes of the second level, can you find the main control node?”
Angel replied, “With only two sets of data, it’s not easy to calculate the position of the main control node; the amount of computation would be very large. If I could see the sub-control nodes of the third level, I would be more confident.”
Angel’s intention was clear: to find the main control node, they needed to continue with the Authority Eye to the third level and examine the sub-control nodes there.
To do or not to do? Nisi and Canter had no hesitation whatsoever, the answer was definitely: to do.
As long as they found the main control node, the secrets hidden in this laboratory would be essentially laid bare.
Their safety would also be greatly ensured.
Angel might even be able to control the magic formation in reverse…
“Alright, we’ll go to the sub-control nodes of the third level! Will the vision be blocked after going to the third level with this Authority Eye?” Nisi made a decision and then asked.
Angel replied, “No.”
Nisi said, “Then let’s go now.”
Angel agreed, “We can, but before we leave, I need Lord Canter to do something.”
Canter was startled, “What’s that?”
“Suppress the information isolation block between the second and third levels…” If not suppressed, even if Angel could see the environment of the third level through the Authority Eye, he wouldn’t be able to communicate with them.
Canter looked at the dazzling projection of runes on the wall and swallowed hard.
After a long while, Canter hesitantly said, “Then I’ll try.”
Eventually, when Canter successfully suppressed the information isolation block and walked out of the corridor, his face was pale, and his wrinkled forehead was dotted with sweat stains.
Although Canter said nothing, the details alone told Nisi that Canter’s suppression of the information isolation block must have been a tremendous ordeal.
Nisi was now immensely relieved, thankful that it wasn’t him who had entered the sub-control node. Even Canter, a pinnacle true knowledge wizard, turned pale; had it been him, he would have emerged with at least wobbly legs. If he had actually come out unable to walk due to trembling legs, it would have been a massive embarrassment.
The journey that followed was enveloped in silence.
Angel was attempting to decipher the main control node’s location with two pieces of evidence, while Nisi felt too embarrassed to speak, fearing he might provoke Canter… Normally, he could be unrestrained, but now, Canter’s pallor was too severe.
Thus, they continued on their way until they reached a path even narrower than the corridor leading to the sub-control node.
This path was winding, with a turn not far ahead.
Nisi probed with his mental power and discovered that just around the corner, no more than ten meters away, there was a wall. In other words, this path was a dead end.
“Going to the third level, are you sure it’s this way?” Nisi asked Reynolds.
Reynolds nodded affirmatively: “I’m sure.”
Nisi opened his mouth to say something but, recalling the situation from the first to the second level, ultimately chose to remain silent. After all, Reynolds was the local expert, and following him was the best course of action.
The path was short, and soon they turned the corner to reach the dead end.
“Wait here for ten seconds,” Reynolds instructed.
After ten seconds, Reynolds led them back to the entrance of the path, where they waited another ten seconds.
Then, as they moved forward again and turned the corner, instead of a wall, they found a long, descending staircase leading downward.
Nisi remarked, “It’s exactly like the situation from the first to the second level… I didn’t expect that to go downstairs, you’d have to backtrack. Is this some kind of mechanism?”
Reynolds scratched his head: “I don’t know if it’s a mechanism, probably? To get to the next level, you have to do this every time, and it’s the same from the third to the fourth level.”
At this moment, Angel, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up: “Actually, there are no direct stairways connecting each level of the laboratory.”
“Eh, what do you mean?”
Angel explained, “The first to the second level, and the second to the third level, are all independently existing; there’s no direct path connecting them.”
“So, what’s the deal with this path we’re on now?”
Angel described, “I refer to this path as a tendril, a tendril of the enormous entity that is the laboratory. Or, it could also be called an external corridor.”
Angel’s explanation made both Canter and Nisi recall something.
Before they had entered the laboratory, they had used their mental power to sense the overall shape of the laboratory. At that time, they noticed that the laboratory was surrounded by square ‘tendrils’.
Now it seemed, the path they were currently on was indeed one of these ‘tendrils’.
The reason they had to double back and wait twenty seconds before the entrance to the third level appeared was because the tendrils were moving. They shifted from being an independent entity on the second level to an entrance that could lead to the third level.
“So that’s how it is… But if someone discovers us within these tendrils, couldn’t they just cut off the tendrils, burying us underground?” Nisi wondered.
“Can you not jinx us?” Canter retorted.
Angel seriously said, “The scenario Wizard Nisi described is highly probable. The laboratory must have designed it this way for safety reasons. If anything goes awry, they can simply cut off the tendrils, isolating the levels from each other completely.”
This meant that they were actually not safe.
Should anyone discover their intrusion, they could sever the tendrils between each level, leaving them no choice but to confront the laboratory head-on, inevitably facing the full backlash of the entire magical energy formation.
Considering this, Nisi felt a slight sense of foreboding.
“The person who built this laboratory must have been paranoid, to make it so stringent,” Nisi said, unable to hold back a curse.
To prevent his premonition from coming true, they now had to find the main control node for Angel as soon as possible. Only by locating the main control node and gaining certain permissions of the magical energy formation could they avoid being hindered.
With this thought, Nisi quickly stepped onto the stairs leading to the third level.
The others followed suit.
Upon reaching the third level, Angel immediately used the vision of the Authority Eye to observe the surrounding magical runes, guiding Nisi and the others towards the third level’s sub-control node.
As for the exhibition room, that was not a priority… With a crisis looming, personal gains and losses could be set aside.
The group hurriedly moved through the three levels, ignoring the rooms they encountered along the way. Their only target was the sub-control node.
However, an unexpected event occurred on their path.
They encountered obstructors.
Since entering the laboratory, this was the first time they had encountered people.
And it wasn’t just one person; three individuals appeared. Moreover, Reynolds recognized these three.
“Tooth, Rin, and… Scythe,” Reynolds said, staring blankly at the newcomers, softly uttering their names.
However, the trio clearly did not agree with these names, their gazes cold, showing no reaction whatsoever.
These three individuals, from their appearance, were all male, dressed in silver-white combat attire, standing tall with a certain presence.
On their faces, there were numerical symbols, but their numerical tattoos were different from those marked with “03” or the Hunt and Kill Numbers; instead, they were similar to Reynolds’.
On the left was an “x,” and on the right was a number.
From left to right, they were x5, x9, and x2.
Upon seeing this “x,” everyone understood that those appearing before them were experimental subjects like Reynolds.
Reynolds had mentioned before that nine of such experimental subjects ultimately survived. During their missions of executing tasks, gathering intelligence, and assassinations, four had died, leaving aside Reynolds, now only four remained.
The three they encountered were among these remaining individuals.