Chapter 332: Warning, Book?

In the laboratory of the Truth Supervisory Society, now fully restored, Avia was attaching the final feather—a clear, crystalline sliver that shimmered like ice—to the cloak already dense with plumage.

"Phew, finished!"

With a sigh of relief, the girl happily lifted the cloak. It was a compact, azure-hued garment that emitted a faint, ethereal glow, its surface evenly covered in the delicate feathers, and held it up for Wang Yu, who was busy tinkering with mechanical parts using the power of the Chariot.

"Congratulations, another truly useful masterpiece of magitech. With this, you can prevent sudden ambushes or close-quarters attacks; it is absolutely superb equipment for a mage."

Pushing his mechanical components aside, Wang Yu applauded and offered a serious analysis.

The Frost Raven-Feather Cloak, another item crafted from the remains of the legendary lich of Varma, felt closer to the traditional alchemy school than the ice-heart components of the mechanical branch.

"Let's test its effects, Wang Yu. Attack me."

Avia donned the blue cloak and turned to face Wang Yu, inviting him to strike her so she could gauge the artifact's performance.

"Alright, here I come."

Without hesitation, Wang Yu stepped toward Avia and threw a swift, forceful straight punch toward her chest with his left hand. The fist tore through the air with a thunderous boom, its momentum staggering.

In truth, he held back; should the cloak fail to trigger, his right hand, poised and ready, would instantly deflect the blow.

His left fist was roughly three centimeters from the girl's chest—two centimeters shy of the point where he would have initiated an emergency stop—when the Frost Raven-Feather Cloak on her shoulders was suddenly activated.

Every crystalline feather lit up in unison, the magical structure forming a circuit that triggered the effect.

"Snap!"

Wang Yu’s fist swept through the space, the sonic boom of the displaced air echoing violently. Yet, it struck nothing solid. Where his fist passed, only a flurry of blue raven feathers drifted, wreathed in a biting, bone-chilling frost.

In the instant before the impact, the girl’s form had dissolved into a cloud of feathers; the plumage remained in place, while she had already reappeared five or six meters away.

The next moment, the cloak’s secondary effect engaged. The seemingly harmless, beautiful feathers surged with magical volatility and detonated, enveloping Wang Yu in a storm of flying plumage.

A layer of solid ice crystals coated Wang Yu’s body, locking his joints, hindering his movement, lacerating his skin, and clogging his airways—the second stage of the Raven-Feather Cloak.

"Crackle, crackle, crackle—huff!"

Trapped like a human ice sculpture, Wang Yu flexed his muscles, using brute force to shatter the stubborn ice clinging to his joints. Then, blood ignited by the flames of sorcery manifested out of thin air, melting the remaining frost on his skin entirely.

"A very timely trigger. I didn't need to hold back; this magitech artifact is capable of helping you evade that punch, and the subsequent frost-sealing effect is strong enough to create a significant hindrance."

Wang Yu critiqued the cloak. It was highly effective: first, it transformed the wearer into a flurry of icy feathers to dodge a lethal strike, then utilized those same feathers to trigger a powerful, freezing explosion at the attacker's location, catching them off guard.

"Mhm, I’m very satisfied. Oh, Mr. Icarus is back."

Avia smiled and nodded. She was pleased with the cloak's performance; even though Wang Yu had broken free of the frost-seal after only a moment, he had indeed been immobilized for several seconds.

That brief window was enough for her to accomplish many things. After all, it was an artifact crafted from the remains of a legendary lich; the erupting power of frost was no laughing matter.

As she spoke, the girl gave a soft exclamation and pulled out her identity card. A message from Icarus had arrived: he had returned.

Icarus had gone to locate the society members who were away on business, notifying them to return as soon as possible to resume research and fill the void left by Lancer, the core researcher.

"Wang Yu is here too. This is quite a headache; the members who went out have encountered some trouble and are still dealing with it. I’m afraid they won’t be able to return for some time."

"The progress of our research will be severely hindered. Let us focus our manpower on breaking through the data Lancer left behind; this should be the key to continuing."

After knocking and entering the lab, Icarus looked slightly surprised to see Wang Yu tinkering with machinery—Wang Yu was usually not there at this hour—but he didn't dwell on it, instead recounting the recent state of the Truth Supervisory Society with a weary tone.

"Regarding the data Mr. Lancer left behind, I have basically completed the analysis and supplementation. You can take a look; there shouldn't be any major issues."

Avia spoke up, picking up a neatly organized file from the lab table and handing it to Icarus, who was left momentarily stunned by her words.

Clearly, Icarus found it hard to believe that the girl had already essentially finished analyzing the data Lancer had left behind.

His trip to find the others was intended to allow for other experiments to proceed while the data was being analyzed. How could the girl have finished so quickly?

Icarus did not question her groundlessly. He opened the file briskly and began to flip through the contents that Avia and Zig had compiled. The more he read, the deeper his astonishment grew. The analysis was spot-on, the perspective on the problems was comprehensive, and she had indeed completed the interpretation of Lancer's data in a professional and unique manner.

"How did you manage this?"

Although he hadn't finished reading, Icarus was already certain that the girl’s claim was true. He asked the question without any intent to pry.

"A secret."

The girl answered with a smile.

"Very well. But since you are recognized by the Elves and that fellow Aslan, I shouldn't be surprised by anything you can do. Thank you for your contribution; with this, the Truth Supervisory Society has enough manpower to proceed to the next stage of research."

Shaking his head, Icarus’s mood improved. A major hurdle at this stage had been cleared by Avia, making things much easier.

"Wait for a moment in the conference room over there. I’m going to call the others for a meeting to arrange the next phase of tasks. I believe we will achieve success soon."

Icarus pointed toward the conference room on the other side of the lab door. He intended to gather the other members to set the next stage of tasks, informed the girl, and went off to notify the other researchers.

After putting away the Raven-Feather Cloak, Avia helped Wang Yu check the mechanical parts he was working on. Confirming that everything was in order, she headed to the conference room, leaving Wang Yu to finish his independent work.

"The effect is decent. The power core of a normal alchemical puppet uses this structure; there shouldn't be any issues using it to power other alchemical machines."

Placing a magic crystal into the power core component he had just finished, Wang Yu watched as the mechanical device successfully emitted a hum, radiating heat and light. Using the power of the Chariot to observe the internal conditions, he was certain his work was complete.

During his days in the Sky Mechanical City, he had been diligently studying the mechanical branch of the alchemy school. It was quite different from basic alchemy and didn't rely heavily on innate talent. Learning these subjects, which were similar to mechanical engineering back on Earth, was quite easy for Wang Yu.

Fed by a vast array of internal structural diagrams and hands-on practice, Wang Yu’s progress was rapid. With the aid of the Chariot's power, he hadn't spent much time learning before he could independently complete the most complex structure of an alchemical puppet: the energy core.

"Astartes?"

Wang Yu, who had just been focusing on the power core, suddenly frowned. His Chariot's power, which he kept active at all times, had detected a familiar fluctuation. Finding traces of Astartes in such a place left him both puzzled and vigilant.

"Apologies. I did not wish to meet you in this manner. According to the rules, I should not hide my sensory extensions within the architecture during the restoration process, but I must find an opportunity to warn you, and you are the only one I can speak to without being bound by the rules."

Astartes’s voice emanated from overhead. Embedded within the ceiling was a small but structurally complete alchemical machine that hadn't been there before.

Wang Yu was certain this object hadn't existed previously; he had scanned the area with the Chariot's power. In other words, Astartes had inserted it while assisting the Truth Supervisory Society in rebuilding the laboratory, solely to extend his reach and converse with him.

"A warning? What do you want to say?"

Wang Yu asked, his Chariot's power ready to crush the component to pieces at any moment. Astartes’s sudden intrusion into the lab reminded him of the strange circumstances surrounding Lancer’s death; it was hard to say whether this was similar, involving some external interference.

"You are indeed continuing that research. I hope you can stop it. Of course, I know that is unlikely, but at the very least, please do not submit the results of this experiment to the Central Council."

Astartes delivered his warning in a very serious tone.

"Terminate the research and do not submit it to the Central Council? Why? What is the reason?"

Astartes’s warning was somewhat inexplicable, but Wang Yu recalled the strange suspension of research at the Seekers' Society, and his vigilance deepened.

"I am a Machine Soul, bound by the rules. I can only speak to you because you are a very special existence. My processing core cannot comprehend the composition of your soul and has classified you as an existence akin to an alchemical puppet, which is why I can converse with you normally."

"The last time I conveyed forbidden information to you, I was exploiting a loophole in the rules, defaulting you as an information storage unit of the Sky Mechanical City rather than an intelligent individual, which allowed me to inform you of those things."

"But this time, this information is of a higher security level. Even with a loophole, I cannot speak of it."

Astartes’s tone was helpless. While he appeared to be speaking freely, in reality, he could only engage in normal conversation with Wang Yu, and even that was heavily restricted by a myriad of rules regarding the content of his speech.

"Do not let... the Central Council confirm that you are conducting this research. Besides me, there are... others who can, like me, borrow the eyes remaining throughout... the Sky Mechanical City to observe every... move in this city."

Astartes’s words were stumbling, a stark contrast to his previous rapid-fire speech. Combining this with what he said about the rules, Wang Yu guessed that the entity was testing what could and could not be said, choosing only what was permissible, which explained the hesitant, stuttering delivery.

"So, can you tell me the reason why the Central Council is doing this?"

Wang Yu posed a question that delved into the finer details.

"Wait a moment, give me some time to verify and reflect, for the next sentence may force me to commit a minor transgression, after which I shall be unable to speak for a long duration, but if you ponder it carefully, it should be enough to yield the answer."

Astartes did not immediately refuse nor answer, instead asking Wang Yu for a moment of contemplation.

Wang Yu did not press further, waiting in silence as Astartes processed the query with its mechanical soul.

"Book."

After a protracted silence, Astartes uttered only that single, clipped word before falling into a state of absolute stillness, offering no further dialogue.

"A book?"

Wang Yu murmured to himself; though phrased as a question, he knew exactly what Astartes meant—that inexplicable volume he had been reading when they first encountered one another.

Removing the Endless Pages from atop his head,

Wang Yu turned to the content he had transcribed and began to read, having been too preoccupied to continue until now.

Astartes had been "silenced" for uttering but a single word, yet that one word was sufficient to provide the answer; it seemed that Astartes had been preparing this book for a very long time indeed.