Passing through the long tunnel for coal transport, one reached the base of the Energy Tower. The sky outside was hazy, but the interior was as bright as day. Countless engineers worked here day and night, just to earn their own tiny space in the Inner Ring.
Li Yue stood in the distance, gazing at it all. Her body merged with the shadows. She watched coldly; everything seemed orderly, yet everything also seemed like a runaway horse galloping across a pitch-black wilderness.
Every choice laid before her led to death; only the victims and the methods differed. It seemed stories never had perfect endings. Even a happy ending was merely the sacrifice of a few to ensure the survival of the many.
Wasn't this also a form of hypocrisy?
Helen had given her two methods. One was to reach a cooperation if she couldn't kill Reinhardt, which had to be done before the cold wave. The other was to kill Reinhardt and destroy the Energy Tower, trapping everyone in the same boat.
A rapid evacuation was nearly impossible now. If they abandoned everything just to survive, their dream of a comeback on the Western Continent would become a pipe dream.
If neither method worked, they could only hide and wait for the cold wave to pass before conducting a deeper exploration. If Reinhardt remained alive, repairing the damage to the Energy Tower would likely take him only a few breaths.
As for where to find Reinhardt, it was the Florodis factory. Thirty percent of the Energy Tower's heat was directed there, and it was where Reinhardt usually stayed.
No one knew what was inside, except that during the operation with Lane that day, they had discovered a machine named Florodis hidden within. Although its purpose was unknown, it consumed an immense amount of heat.
This was the goal of her trip.
When night truly fell, the sky turned completely black, and the lighting provided by the heat source flickered on. At that moment, Li Yue bypassed the first layer of obstacles and entered the industrial park where the Florodis factory, the Energy Tower, and numerous coal-transporting machines were located.
Dense networks of pipes were distributed throughout the area. Guards armed with blades patrolled their designated routes in groups of three to five.
Li Yue took a long breath. Though her surroundings were tense, she felt relatively calm. She took out a blood crystal she had kept for a long time. Since arriving in Yakutsk, the frequency and quantity of blood crystals she consumed had significantly decreased.
She wasn't sure if her heart resisted the gradual change or if there was simply no need for rapid power growth.
Moving through the shadows of obstacles and weaving through the gaps between pipes, she slowly advanced toward the factory. There were fewer guards here than at the Energy Tower; one could even say patrols rarely reached this area.
A few scattered guards stood around, their lines of sight failing to overlap. They occasionally yawned; compared to the solemn atmosphere of the Energy Tower, this place was quite lax.
She silently approached a guard from behind and choked him. He quickly lost consciousness. She panted slightly, suppressing the urge to snap his neck. She dealt with the second and third guards in the same manner...
A person seemed to be hiding in the distant sentry tower. Li Yue frowned. Although she had hidden the bodies well, there was still a risk of exposure if the lack of guards was noticed.
She condensed a blood crystal at her fingertip, intending to blow the person's head off, but she saw the guard collapse directly, seemingly knocked unconscious by a heavy blow.
A black figure, ghost-like, moved through the shadows, seemingly heading in Li Yue's direction as well.
“Is someone else trying to kill Reinhardt?” Li Yue listened to the heartbeats, slowing her own breathing and heart rate as she waited for the person to approach.
She struck quickly. Taking advantage of the moment the person froze upon seeing the unconscious guard, she reached out and grabbed their neck, slamming them to the ground. She tore off the person's mask; the individual clearly hadn't reacted in time and was momentarily dazed by the sudden strike.
In the dim night, Li Yue recognized the newcomer. With slightly greying hair and blue eyes, it was Lane.
A small spark of fire lit up at her fingertip, illuminating her face. Lane, who had been about to counterattack, froze in a daze.
“What are you doing here?” Lane asked first, his voice hushed.
“I'm here to talk to Reinhardt,” Li Yue paused. “I need the approximate location of the Death Abyss, and I want to persuade him to change the direction of his magic research.”
Lane was silent for a moment, then gave a bitter smile, as if remembering something pleasant.
“My purpose is similar to yours. I've come to persuade him to return from his stray path.” Lane stared into the distance, wanting to say more but holding back.
“How interesting. Why would someone like you, with no power or influence, confront him in person?” Li Yue wasn't in a hurry to move forward; she needed to know Lane's exact motive.
“Reinhardt... he used to be a kind child,” Lane's eyes lowered. “I remember in our small village, water was extremely scarce. Every time we fetched water, many people had to crowd around a single well, dropping dozens of meters of rope to get one bucket.”
“He was a genius. His first invention was a wooden water pump. Just by turning it forcefully, water would surge up through the pipes.” Lane smiled. “I had joined the church then and could bring home bread and milk every week.”
“At that time, my mind was filled with my family and the Divine Lord. I spent every day in useless prayer, praying for a great rain.” Lane took out a piece of bread and took two bites.
“He and I studied magic at the church. I chose the Divine Lord's magic without hesitation, while he poured magic into his little mechanical devices.”
“He excavated water sources hidden deep underground. Using his pipe transport technology, he used magic to pour water into the parched fields.”
“It was in the autumn of that year that we welcomed our first bountiful harvest.”
“Later, he went to a southern academy to further his magic studies, while I climbed the ranks of the church. When we met again, it was at his mechanical exhibition. He was showing off his new weapons, steam engines, and even the steamships that were then criticized for desecrating the sky.”
“The academy made great use of these things, but due to the church's influence, they weren't developed on a large scale.”
“Because of our differing views, we eventually parted on bad terms. Even so, we maintained a correspondence for many years.” Lane smiled. “After all, no matter how much our views clashed, we were brothers.”
“What truly caused our final falling out was the last experiment he showed me—his first experiment after becoming a Great Mage.” Lane took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“He cut out the organs of living people and tried to replace them entirely with machinery.” Lane frowned slightly, his eyes narrowing. “I remember him excitedly telling me that he was going to become a Creator like the one I believed in.”
“I had a furious argument with him and stormed out. Later, I even had the Mages' Association intervene.” Lane looked toward the dark factory. “After that, I traveled the world as a doctor. I thought he had given up until I came to Yakutsk to see him one last time.”
“During that operation with you, I saw those monsters that were neither human nor ghost. They were definitely his handiwork.”
Li Yue nodded, offering no opinion on the story. She pulled Lane up from the ground. The wind had made his hair messy, making him look somewhat disheveled.
“Let's go.”
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