Chapter 360: Probing, Setting Sail

"Is it possible? I suppose you're right; it’s convenient enough to just ask and find out."

Upon hearing Wang Yu’s suggestion, Zig felt it wasn't entirely out of the question. After all, if it didn't work, they could simply look for another way.

"Then I'll leave it to you two to ask the librarian of the Midnight Library."

Wang Yu, who had proposed the idea, had no way to enter the Midnight Library himself; the task fell squarely on Zig and Avia.

Zig did not hesitate. He whispered a prayer, his consciousness sinking deep until he arrived within the Lady of Night’s Midnight Library.

It was far livelier here than when it had first been established. Numerous humanoid silhouettes wandered the aisles, searching for the books they required or conducting transactions with other followers of the Church of Night in the paid sectors.

"Eniac, are you there?"

Zig didn't step into the library proper, but stood at the entrance, calling out into the void. No sooner had the words left his lips than the shadows on the floor coalesced into a human shape.

A female figure, her body composed of shifting shadows and significantly smaller than the Lady of Night, appeared before him. This was Eniac, the librarian of the Midnight Library, who now also served as the humanoid Tree of the Night Sky.

"What is it?"

Large, bold characters in the common tongue manifested above Eniac’s head. The librarian lacked the faculty of speech; to communicate with her, one had to read the floating text. Incidentally, this rather literal name had been bestowed upon her by Wang Yu, the master of naming.

"Help me check: are there any Merfolk followers in the Church of Night?"

Zig explained his purpose, asking the librarian to see if any such believers existed.

"No problem. Please wait a moment."

The characters above Eniac’s head replied, and she transformed into a massive, swirling vortex—a visual representation of loading.

"Confirmed. There are indeed Merfolk among the current congregation. Here is their distribution on the continental map. Please read."

The swirling vortex vanished, and Eniac produced a book from nowhere, handing it to Zig.

"Many thanks."

Zig offered a casual word of gratitude and opened the volume. It appeared small, but upon unfolding, it revealed a complete map of the continent, with red dots marking the locations of the Merfolk followers.

"How fortunate. It’s almost exactly as Wang Yu suspected. Beyond the Endless Sea past the Saint Anna Snow Peaks, there really are Merfolk believers. Then again, that region of Seuintan should be considered Alastair’s territory by now..."

Zig studied the map closely, surprised to find that the Lady of Night’s followers had, unbeknownst to everyone, spread across the entire continent. Even the Merfolk, who were few in number among the general congregation, had a presence along nearly every coastline where the continent met the Endless Sea.

"It makes sense. Whether it’s the prayer communication network, the Void chat rooms, or the Midnight Library, these are divine arts with astonishing utility. To gain access to such things through simple faith is far too good a deal for those who previously held no belief."

Zig did not linger in the Lady of Night’s "Divine Kingdom." Once his consciousness returned to the material world, he relayed the general situation to Wang Yu and the others.

"So, we really can contact the Merfolk followers across the Saint Anna Snowfields and have them help us navigate the Tidal Barrier?"

Wang Yu hadn't expected results so quickly, but it was welcome news regardless.

"I’ll go make contact. If they agree, we’ll make the journey—straight from the Saint Anna Snowfields to the Endless Sea, then circle around past the Frozen Ocean to the west to reach the passage. It’s a tight schedule, but if we push, it shouldn't be a problem."

After a moment’s thought, Wang Yu decided to have the Lady of Night act as a bridge, intending to speak with the Merfolk followers himself to see if they would do a favor for their absentee Archbishop.

"Well, time is running short. I won't optimize the Weaver’s Book in the Sky Mechanical City anymore. The Seed of Eden has grown significantly; the twenty-meter cubic space is enough for us to set up everything we need. Give me three days, and I’ll have the alchemy workshop moved inside."

Upon learning the situation, the girl changed her plans. She had originally intended to spend half a month optimizing the Weaver’s Book, but now, she would have to set up the alchemy workshop within the Seed of Eden first, leaving the rest of the work for the road.

The Seed of Eden had been in a constant state of growth. After the messy business with the Central Council, Wang Yu and his team had been scouring the Sky Mechanical City’s material repositories for anything that could expand the Seed’s internal space.

By now, the Seed of Eden’s space was quite substantial; a fully equipped alchemy workshop could be installed without feeling cramped.

"Then I’ll leave the contact to you, Wang Yu. Avia and I will go set up the workshop in the Seed of Eden."

The task of contacting the Merfolk was assigned to Wang Yu. After he gave them an "OK" gesture, everyone began their work.

Zig and Avia were responsible for gathering materials and building the workshop, while Wang Yu remained within the Seed of Eden, coordinating the contact while occasionally lending a hand with the power of his Chariot.

Noel had her own role to play. The young red dragon’s breath was absurdly powerful—far stronger than her physical strength without magic—and the only dragon-fire furnace in the Seed of Eden relied entirely on her.

The group’s efficiency was remarkable. Wang Yu saw results quickly; the Merfolk followers near the Saint Anna Snowfields were more than happy to help their Archbishop.

Some of these believers were veterans from the days of the Shadow of the Royal City, having left with the evacuation team and settled in a nearby region.

Wang Yu hadn't noticed any Merfolk among the shadows of the Royal City at the time, but that was understandable. Unlike Goblins, who were conspicuously distinct, Merfolk looked no different from ordinary humans once they stepped ashore and took on their humanoid form.

The contact was settled in less than half a day. Wang Yu immediately hurried to the library of the Sky Mechanical City to get to work. Because his clearance was exceptionally high, every library—whether it required a specific rank or none at all—was open to him, save for that one small study that remained barred.

Utilizing the Perfect Fractal spell, Wang Yu entered the library and began sweeping through the books on a massive scale. With the Chariot’s power combined with the Perfect Fractal, his efficiency was staggering. Other patrons in the library simply watched as he walked past the shelves, watching as copies of books flew out, only to be immediately tucked back into place.

Some were tempted to stop him from disrupting the library’s order, but they noticed he worked in total silence, and none of the alchemical golems serving as librarians stepped in to intervene. In the end, they gave up.

Half a library per hour. Wang Yu spent the entire day scouring every library in the Sky Mechanical City clean. Every book captured by the Perfect Fractal was uploaded to the Midnight Library, and after a screening process, they were released in batches to all believers.

"What exactly are you doing..."

When Wang Yu was performing the same operation in the library that required the highest level of clearance—a place so exclusive that he was the only person there—Astart finally couldn't help but emerge to ask what he was up to.

"Copying useful information so I can read it on the road."

Wang Yu didn't shy away from his actions, telling Astart directly that he was moving the knowledge of the Sky Mechanical City.

"Is it really okay to be so blunt? Aren't you being a bit excessive... So, you’re planning to leave the Sky Mechanical City? I thought you’d stay a while longer. Logically speaking, with your level of clearance here, you could have achieved great things."

Astart was left speechless by Wang Yu’s audacity in stealing knowledge right under his nose.

"Oh, it’s too time-consuming. Look, I have the clearance to read these books, right? If I memorized them all and taught them to others, it would be the same as what I’m doing now. The problem is I don't have that much time, so I have no choice. Just turn a blind eye to it."

Wang Yu waved his hand, defending his actions with a logic that was, in its own way, sound.

"Sigh... haven't I been turning a blind eye the whole time? If I didn't want you to see them, I couldn't throw you out, but I could certainly hide the books."

Astart realized he couldn't refute Wang Yu, as the issue was indeed one of time.

"What? You have hidden books? Bring them out for me to see, quickly!"

Wang Yu seemed to have focused on the wrong point.

"You!"

Astart was incensed.

"Alright, I’m just joking. I certainly won't spread these books around lightly, so don't worry. I’m not willing to part with them myself; it was hard enough to get my hands on such precious things. I can't just give them away. After all, my reach is still far from that of Mr. Samuel Hayden."

Stopping the banter, Wang Yu finished recording the last book in the library and used the Chariot’s power to shove them all back into place.

"There are matters that must be handled. If they aren't resolved, it might affect many existences. So, I’m off. I might return someday."

"If you’re interested, you might want to look into the Church of Night. The Midnight Library within it should be able to enrich the Sky Mechanical City’s knowledge base quite well. Consider it a return gift."

Without dwelling on his destination, Wang Yu mentioned the Midnight Library once more—partly a routine act of proselytizing, and partly a genuinely useful gift. With that, he turned and left.

"Church of Night...? Midnight Library...? Samuel Hayden... why would he know that name?"

Astart, now silent, chewed over the information Wang Yu had left behind, turning it over and over in his mind.

...

"Crunch! Gulp!"

Walking the path back, Wang Yu fished out a piece of alchemical alloy, chewed it thoroughly, and swallowed; with his muscles reinforced, consuming these peculiar supplements had become a far easier task.

"It seems Astartes is indeed problematic. I knew no AI could possibly possess such vast authority, and that Machine God must have been tailor-made for it. Still, I sense no malice, so for now, I shall count it as an ally."

As he signaled Avia that the data transfer was complete, he pondered in silence. Dropping the name Samuel Hayden had been a calculated move; if the entity didn't know it, no harm done, but if it did, it would be difficult not to reveal a flaw.

Before uttering those words, Wang Yu had already entered a state of focused convergence, pushing the reach of his Chariot’s power to its limit to capture every subtle tremor in the mechanical structures beyond the library walls.

Samuel knew Roland, and anyone acquainted with Roland was no mere nobody. Thus, Astartes was at least linked to that era. As for the true reason and purpose behind this "Machine Spirit," Wang Yu remained in the dark.

He hoped the entity would accept his return gift, for that would allow him to observe it through the eyes of the Lady of Night.

This was Wang Yu’s advantage: no matter how others probed or dug into his origins, they would only find a man who had appeared from nowhere, a man whose strength grew with unnatural speed, an archbishop of some burgeoning faith. If they could actually uncover where he truly came from, Wang Yu would be the first to celebrate.

Yet, if Wang Yu desired to uncover the identity of another, with the right maneuvers, he could learn a great deal indeed.

"Wang Yu, the alchemy workshop is complete."

The message arrived from Avia.

"Very well, no time to waste. Let us depart."