As the instigator of the sudden incident, Yvette never intended for it to escalate so dramatically. She had merely dispatched the hive lord, mistaking it for a secondary aberration on the way to the hive, inadvertently triggering the hive’s attention and retaliation, which led to the accumulation of so many aberrations—one could only say that the hive’s summoning capabilities were too strong.
Upon closer inspection, it was evident that besides the desiccated corpses, there were numerous signs of being bombarded by spells, though these were less conspicuous.
Moreover, she hadn’t expected Ice Rain to rush in the next day, venturing so far, which led to the scene being discovered prematurely.
For now, all she could do was hold her position for a while. She hoped this wouldn’t attract the attention of the Mechanical God.
Quickly, after the urgent retreat, with Gunslinger’s report, the entire mysterious event spread throughout the small mechanical kingdom like a gust of wind.
The descriptions of the incident evolved from initial objective facts into something resembling a supernatural occurrence, stirring the townsfolk and fueling discussions wherever they went.
“It must be the work of vampires! I read about them in human books!”
“How terrifying! Will we lie dead on the ground like those aberrations tomorrow morning?”
“Impossible! We aren’t human—why would they want to drain us?”
“Perhaps vampires drain machine oil instead?”The Elder took this very seriously, directly communicating with the deity in the sanctuary, only to receive the response: “Investigate on your own first.”
The Elder was understandably hesitant; this was the first mysterious event the kingdom had faced in thirty years.
Previously, significant happenings—whether conflicts over hive influences or high-tier aberrations attacking—had all left traces, but how could so many creatures die overnight? And in such horrific fashion?
Thus, the Elder could only declare a temporary lockdown, urging everyone to stay indoors and wait until the aberrant ecological situation in the Colorful Zone had stabilized before organizing another expedition.
On the other hand, unlike the Elder’s unease, Yvette felt relieved after learning that the Mechanical God had not taken notice of the event.
Through conversations with the puppet townsfolk, she discovered that the headquarters of the sanctuary on the Silver Mirror Continent housed a combat troop known as the “Blessed Ones.”
According to their accounts, the Blessed Ones were selected from those who had reached high levels in “human cultivation,” undergoing a transformation under divine blessing to gain powerful, new bodies and become elite fighters maintaining the kingdom’s peace. Each Blessed One, before the apocalypse, possessed combat capabilities on par with top-grade weapons, capable of easily vanquishing phase four or even phase five aberrations.
From this description, it was evident that the Blessed Ones must be advanced magical soldiers, not like the “Gunslinger,” which were older and less robust models, but rather cutting-edge types fresh off the assembly line.
These high-level magical soldiers typically boasted extremely potent military-grade magical shields and weaponry, resulting in superior combat capabilities. With her civilian terminal only holding 60,000 points of magical capacity, Yvette strongly suspected that in a direct conflict, her spells might struggle to breach even the enemy’s shields.
Of course, that would all change if she activated “Black Eye.”
Over the past 200 years, while the tentacles hadn’t evolved new capabilities, both their defensive and offensive powers had been steadily increasing, now far outpacing her spells and alloy blades. But since aberrant magical energy dwindled with each use, she didn’t want to waste it unnecessarily.
She also wondered whether that mysterious “Dream Mist” existed within the ruins of Agash… perhaps she should look into it later. If it did, she could venture in to procure some military-grade equipment, particularly magical terminals; she couldn’t afford to be restricted by a 60,000-point capacity any longer…
Yvette resolved to keep a low profile for a few days, focusing on planning and gathering intelligence. Once the heat of the situation died down, she would resume her hunts.
…
And so, time quietly passed, with the summer chorus of cicadas giving way to the winds of deep autumn, sweeping the golden leaves from the branches.
Yvette had spent three months in this corner of the world, and during this time, the “Colorful Zone Aberration Mass Death Incident” had taken on a life of its own, transforming into something akin to ghost stories, destined to leave a significant mark in the kingdom’s history and evolving into an enduring mystery.
Yvette periodically explored the ruins for hunting, gradually increasing her aberrant magical power from 40,000 points to 43,000, all while maintaining a low profile so as not to attract attention from the townsfolk.
Meanwhile, her long-term life in the town had allowed her to bond more with the citizens of the mechanical kingdom.
For instance, she shared insights on tea ceremonies with the Elder, teaching him how to avoid moisture damaging the leaves, the importance of cleanliness, the reasons for using boiling water, and the various postures involved.
Although these were mundane concepts to humans, the Elder took them to heart, showing utmost seriousness, almost prompting her to feel as though she were a teacher.
She assisted Lady “Film” in studying an old human civil code, helping her gain a better understanding of the historical context behind various laws.
Sadly, most of the matters requiring Judge Film were trivial, causing her distress as she grappled with the complexities of human legal texts, far removed from the powerful impact she had envisioned.
In her spare time, Yvette would watch Lavender’s work as a gardener, learning from her pruning techniques, and she would observe the training sessions of the kingdom guard, watching Gunslinger and another security puppet named Iron Fist spar, only to be pulled by Ice Rain to guess who might win.
Through days spent like this, she gradually rekindled memories of living at the estate with her students. However, the atmosphere here was livelier, and the mechanical puppets seemed truly to have simulated the bustling essence of human society, occasionally leaving her feeling slightly dazed.
…
One deep autumn morning, with golden leaves carpeting the town, Yvette received an invitation from Film and Fuzzball, two cultural researchers, to visit their imitation of human “toilets.”
Of course, mechanical puppets had no need for waste elimination, so to create a more immersive experience, the duo had meticulously designed a water tower with a hose. All one needed to do was hold the hose, let water flow, and shake it, completing the toilet ritual.
As a genuine human, Yvette desperately wanted to critique the necessity of such a design, yet she acknowledged that it did provide a certain immersive element. So, she remained silent throughout their enthusiastic demonstrations of the quirky details until she exited the bizarre place and let out a sigh of relief.
As she stepped on the thick layer of leaves and walked along the central path toward her vehicle, she spotted Ice Rain waiting for her there, raising her hand in greeting, “Hi hi! Kind lady! When do you plan to leave?”
“Soon.”
“Soon? How about we leave together?” Ice Rain asked excitedly, her eyes gleaming.
“Together?”
“Yeah! Since you’re also traveling alone, and I’m traveling alone, why not team up? Two people are definitely safer than one, right?”
“…”
Yvette didn’t want to argue with her, but she found herself in a dilemma.
She didn’t dislike the cheerful mechanical girl, but she certainly wouldn’t travel alongside her. The main problem was that Ice Rain’s presence would restrict her ability to use her tentacles to consume aberrations. She had no desire to gamble on whether Ice Rain could keep her secret safe, and who knew what means the Mechanical God might have at its disposal?
After a moment’s thought, she replied, “I prefer to be alone.”
“Eh? Why? Isn’t it better to travel together?” Ice Rain said, sounding disappointed.
“This is my path of cultivation,” Yvette offered the unimpeachable excuse.
It seemed to work like a charm; Ice Rain fell silent. In the worldview of the mechanical race, every one of them had their own path of cultivation to become more like humans, and this path might be filled with quirks beyond others’ understanding. Under this pretext, even the most unreasonable things became normalized.
“Alright,” Ice Rain said, sighing with a hint of melancholy in her tone, “then I’ll head off by myself… Kind lady, I hope we can meet again someday.”
“You’re leaving? When?” Yvette asked.
“Tomorrow morning,” Ice Rain said, looking at her with a pitiful expression. “Kind lady, make sure to get up early to see me off; don’t sleep until noon again!”
“…Got it.”
The next morning, amidst the farewells from the townsfolk, Ice Rain rode off alone on her motorcycle, bidding everyone goodbye. Although she was by herself, she was adequately equipped with defensive gear and aimed for another mechanical kingdom a few dozen kilometers away. If she maintained her speed, she should reach her destination before nightfall, so the danger wasn’t too high.
After her departure, the following days became a bit awkward for Yvette, perhaps because she had become the lone outsider or because Ice Rain’s presence had provided a social glue.
Surely, nothing lasts forever; she thought it was time for her to leave too.
But before that, she planned to visit the ruins of Agash once more, not only to carry out a final hunt but also because she had discovered a hidden “Dream Mist” there. Before she departed, she wanted to utilize it to return to the era of the origin civilization.