Chapter 294: Portable Space, Fog Rising and Bell Tolling

"Have you heard of that Level 8 Machinist shop? Whether it's repairing alchemical tools or processing materials, they are incredibly fast, and most importantly, cheap. If you need anything done, you should go give them a try."

On the street, an alchemist out gathering materials chatted with an acquaintance he had bumped into, suggesting that if the other had any needs, he might try Wang Yu’s shop.

"Level 8 Machinist? Is that some kind of special professional rank? It sounds a bit like those mechanical repair job titles. Does such a shop really exist?"

The acquaintance asked, skeptical. In the Sky Mechanical City, rumors were rarely just hearsay; if something was being talked about, it was usually true. These alchemists and scholars were not lacking in intelligence and naturally possessed their own judgment.

But beyond that, "both cheap and good" was an exceptionally rare claim in the Sky Mechanical City.

"It’s true. I don’t have any needs right now, so I haven't gone, but on that street in the commercial district used for stalls, there are many alchemists lining up."

"Originally, the shopkeeper processed things so quickly that there was no need to queue, but some guilds discovered the shop and brought over piles of items from their warehouses to be repaired. Because the shopkeeper has too much to handle, a queue has formed."

The alchemist explained to his friend, proving the shop’s existence and confirming that it was indeed as affordable and high-quality as rumored.

"Then I’ll go take a look; I happen to have some things that need fixing."

Seeing the alchemist speak with such conviction, his friend no longer doubted him. After bidding farewell, he hurried toward the location of the Level 8 Machinist shop.

But just as he reached the mouth of the alley, he

saw a group of people walking out, most of them wearing expressions of slight disappointment, as if something they had hoped for had not come to pass.

Confused, he walked into the alley and immediately spotted the slightly abrupt stone house sitting by the roadside.

The sign hanging above, reading "Level 8 Machinist Shop," confirmed it was the place his friend had mentioned. However, a smaller wooden board inscribed with "Temporarily Closed" had already been hung over the sign.

"What a pity. The people leaving earlier must have been the ones queuing here."

Shaking his head, he turned and left the stall-lined street just like the others. Since this peculiar shop was closed, there was nothing else of use on this street.

"Bang!"

A crate was pulled by Wang Yu from the workshop behind the house and placed on the counter. Inside the crate, divided into small compartments, were neatly arranged potion bottles filled with red liquid. The rose-red hue shimmered under the glow of the magic crystal lamp, possessing a unique aesthetic beauty.

"Liquid Redstone, 64 portions in total. Same as before, 100 per portion."

Patting the crate, Wang Yu said with a smile to Isaac, who stood before him.

This alchemist had quite a business mind. By leveraging his acquaintance with Wang Yu, he had figured out which materials Wang Yu could process the fastest, then advertised them elsewhere with a slight markup, collecting the materials and handing them to Wang Yu to process, while he pocketed the difference.

Wang Yu didn't mind this at all; in fact, he was happy for the quick money. After all, some materials brought in by other customers took time to process.

But the materials Isaac brought were always in large batches and extremely simple for Wang Yu to handle. Finishing them all at once and getting paid was a pure win-win.

"Not planning to keep doing this?"

Isaac connected his identity card to the magic net and transferred the payment due to Wang Yu, asking with a hint of regret.

He truly couldn't fathom the other's alchemical techniques, but their power and speed were self-evident. In just this one week, he had earned more through the price difference than he might have made in a year.

When he brought materials to Wang Yu today, the other had suddenly told him he was closing up shop. Isaac felt a pang of regret, and now, as Wang Yu handed over the last batch of processed materials, he couldn't help but ask.

"For now, at least. You can never have too much money, but I’ll continue when there’s an opportunity. It’s been quite pleasant working with you. If you have more interest in the future, I’ll prioritize working with you."

Wang Yu put away his identity card and replied casually.

"Thank you, then I’ll wait."

Isaac received a satisfying answer and left the "Level 8 Machinist Shop" clutching the crate.

"Let’s see, the money really is coming in ridiculously fast. Isaac’s batch was worth about 5,000. With all the back-and-forth over these days, plus the repairs for individual customers and the processing orders from other guilds, I’ve already made 150,000."

Communicating with his identity card via mental power, Wang Yu curled his lips as he looked at the number. No matter the time, seeing money actually hitting his account always brought a sense of satisfaction.

If they kept going, their earnings would only grow faster as their reputation spread, but Wang Yu was the type of person with a very clear goal; he wouldn't forget why they came to the Sky Mechanical City just because money was pouring in.

Without hesitation, once the capital accumulation was sufficient, he temporarily abandoned this highly lucrative business to begin the next step of their plan.

Pushing aside the curtain and entering the workshop behind the house, he found the space had been remodeled to be quite compact. Workbenches, various alchemical instruments, notebooks filled with decomposition diagrams of alchemical items, and other things were all piled into this not-so-spacious room.

Not seeing Aivia and the others, Wang Yu didn't pay it much mind. He adjusted the Perfect Fractal Lens above his eyes to relay a message to the girl.

[Is the space inside the Seed of Eden organized?]

[It’s all handled. Air circulation and such have been achieved. Although there is still no gravity, using gravity magic to compensate works fine.]

Aivia’s reply arrived along with a door opening in the air. The girl walked out of the portal with Zig.

"Let’s move these things in. We won't really need a residence anymore; the space inside the Seed of Eden can serve as both our home and laboratory."

The girl gave Wang Yu a peace sign, and it was clear she was very satisfied.

Wang Yu had given the Seed of Eden to Aivia earlier. After the seed recognized its master, the space inside, which was originally only the size of a thumb joint, began to grow rapidly, expanding into a stable cubic space ten meters in length, width, and height.

As the master of the Seed of Eden, Aivia could open spatial rifts that allowed her to enter at will. After a series of studies, the girl could now use the Phase Gate spell to open portals leading to this space.

At the beginning, this space had no light source, no air, and no gravity. Following continuous modifications by Zig and Aivia, the interior had changed drastically.

Picking up a table from the workshop, Wang Yu stepped into the portal and entered the space nurtured by the Seed of Eden.

"Whoa, this is really nice."

Wang Yu scanned the surrounding environment and let out a satisfied exclamation.

The boundaries of the cubic space were lined with metal plates, and magic crystal lamps were installed at the four corners of the ceiling, casting a bright, even light throughout the area. Overall, it looked like a bright, spacious room.

Although slightly empty, a number of alchemical devices had already been placed inside. The red dragon girl, Noelle, was sitting among the equipment, studying the knowledge Zig was teaching her.

Once everything from the Level 8 Machinist shop’s workshop was moved into this space, it would gradually become their true laboratory, where matters requiring secrecy could be conducted.

"The cost to open the passage to the Undead Plane is 50,000. Once we are prepared, we can go to the Beacon Long Bridge to apply for the opening. Professor, can the coordinates Eriane left for you be used directly?"

Turning to ask Zig, who had walked through the portal, Wang Yu and his group had no intention of delaying. They wanted to reach the Undead Plane and contact the silver dragon Eriane as soon as possible; delays could lead to complications, especially given the legendary-level strength of Zig’s sister.

"The coordinates Eriane left for me can be used directly for positioning at the Beacon Long Bridge in the Sky Mechanical City. We can just go."

"But before that, we still need to make some preparations. Other planes exert suppression on us as interplanar visitors; the more powerful one’s strength, the greater the suppression. The Undead Plane is a relatively safe plane, but there could still be sudden threats."

"I remember you should have an alchemical firearm and a grimoire that allows you to cast spells, right? The Sky Mechanical City has the best alchemical equipment; take some time to craft another set. Alchemical tools will be a great help to us."

Zig was also excited about seeing his sister, whom he hadn't seen in years, but this anticipation did not cause him to lose his usual composure. Prepare first, then act.

"Understood."

Wang Yu nodded in response, stepped out of the portal, and continued moving things into the space.

…………

On the continent surrounded by the Endless Sea, at the northernmost point, the Frozen Sea north of the St. Anna Snowfield, a vast number of frozen icebergs drifted and bobbed in these waters. The eternal sea breeze blew incessantly across the freezing water, whipping up manic waves.

Whenever the seawater surged out of the waves, it would instantly turn into ice crystals, scattering with the sea breeze, either being swept onto the St. Anna Snowfield to become the eternal frozen snow that never melted, or falling onto the icebergs drifting in the Frozen Sea, replenishing the size of these icebergs as they shattered and crumbled in collisions.

Barren and uninhabited, this was the best description for this true land of extreme cold, a forbidden zone for the living.

The only things living on this frozen sea were a very small number of ice elemental lifeforms. Even predators of the bitter cold like winter wolves would only end up as unrotting ice corpses in this region, which lacked any food or warmth.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

A distant bell toll rang out somewhat abruptly in this manic sea area, even though all around...

A vast emptiness, where the roar of waves and gale never ceased; yet a bell, its tolling not particularly loud, echoed across these waters, spreading outward and strangely suppressing every other sound.

As the clamor of wind and tide was quelled by the rhythmic tolling, the colossal waves and fierce gusts of the surrounding sea fell into a synchronized hush, the Frozen Sea finding peace for the first time in centuries of ceaseless turbulence.

A faint mist rose from the surface, a gray-white vapor tinged with an inexplicable, murky darkness, which had, before one could notice, completely sealed off the entire expanse of the Frozen Sea along the coastline.

The fog was impenetrable to the naked eye, allowing only the dim, flickering shadows of icebergs to be glimpsed within when the sunlight caught them.

Between the lingering, distant chimes, another sound began to mingle—the rhythmic dip of oars in water, gentle in force, yet, like the bell, inexplicably and hauntingly clear.

"Clang... splash, clang... splash."

Strange shadows rose and fell within the mist, their forms shifting incessantly with the angle of the light, evoking an instinctive sense of unease in any who might behold them.

It seemed as though those shadows might at any moment coalesce into a threatening, chaotic vapor, lunging from the fog to drag the observer into its depths.

Yet, there was no one stationed in this desolate sea, so there was no need to suffer from such baseless, unsettling illusions.

But the question remained: in this forbidden zone of life, who could have summoned the mist, stilled the winds, and rowed a vessel through this sight-obscuring shroud?

Could it be a creature from the Endless Sea? Indeed, to this day, the exploration of the Endless Sea by the five great races remains severely limited; perhaps they know more of the Abyss than they do of the world beneath those boundless waters.

No matter how frigid the Frozen Sea may be, there are warm cradles deep beneath its surface where life might gestate, and what manner of beings dwell there remains an enigma to all intelligent races on the continent.

"Clang... splash, clang... splash."

It was no illusion; the tolling of the bell and the sound of oars slicing the water were growing steadily clearer, moving through the mist, inching ever closer to the shoreline.

"Clang, crack, shhh..."

The sound of hard objects colliding—something had struck the ice upon the shore, crushing it, then grinding against the coarse sand and gravel beneath; after a time, the friction ceased, and the object that had reached the coast came to a halt.

"Thud..."

The sound of footsteps upon the ground; judging by the number of footfalls, there was more than one person.

"The aura is fading. The aura of the seal, the power we left behind, has grown so faint. Time can erode everything left by the past, no matter how sturdy the cage or how heavy the shackles."

A hoarse voice, neither clearly male nor female, drifted from the fog, speaking slowly of things difficult to comprehend.

"Time may wear away what we left behind, but our hatred and His sins shall never perish. We believed what we had done was enough to sever that existence entirely, yet why has His power emerged once more?"

A voice of similar tone and cadence echoed again from within the mist.

"The deep night... the hatred hidden in the shadows,

No matter how many times He awakens, it shall be we who bring Him to an end..."

The voices grew fainter, as if the speakers were gradually moving away.

The thick fog dissipated, leaving behind only a dilapidated wooden skiff stranded and frozen upon the shore, while those who had crossed the Frozen Sea in this vessel had already vanished.