"Whoa, is this really the same Artisanship Commission that Master Diviner Fu Xuan showed us in the projection?"
March held her camera, her expression a bit odd.
"It was supposed to be full of technological vibes, right? So why does it feel... like we've stepped back into some primeval forest?"
"Honored guests, you mustn't judge the Artisanship Commission by its name alone and assume they're all just researchers."
Tingyun, who was following behind the group, wore a troubled look.
"While they are indeed the Luofu's department in charge of research and development, they're also the department most prone to... unconventional activities on the entire ship."
"In times of danger, the Artisanship Commission is the Luofu's sturdiest shield, producing an endless stream of weapons and techniques."
"But in peacetime... the Artisanship Commission is the Luofu's greatest danger. Eighty percent of the explosion cases handled by the Divination Commission are caused by them."
"Huh? That serious?"
Stelle sounded surprised. "But the trainees I saw outside the Commission just now... they seemed pretty normal?"
"You mean the one who wanted to 'slide-tackle' his way to the base of the Ambrosial Arbor, carve off a piece of it, and run, planning to use it as his graduation thesis, seems normal to you?"
Welt shook his head helplessly. "Oh, wait, I almost forgot. Your personality, and March's, are already a bit... eccentric."
"Hey, Uncle Yang, don't drag me into this!"
March protested, but the lively girl's attention was soon captured by another sound.
"Huh? Listen, what's that noise coming from inside the Commission?"
[Lay-Down-Your-Arms-]
[Treason-ous-Conduct-]
[Dis-o-be-di-ence- Will- Be- Pu-nished-]
"Wow, such intense electric vocals. But... does the Judgement Mode of these Aurumaton guards ever stop?"
Hearing this sound, Stelle instinctively shrank her neck.
Back when dealing with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, she'd encountered one of these Aurumatons.
Let's just say... since it was her first time and she didn't understand their mechanics, it nearly beat the lunch she'd eaten yesterday right out of her.
"In the Artisanship Commission, nothing should surprise you..."
"Hoho, Hahahaha! Mere remnants of the Plague Author! Are you even a match for my Aurumaton ingenuity?!"
"Uh..."
The corner of Tingyun's mouth twitched.
"That... that's Master Gongshu of the Artisanship Commission. Well, I must admit, this is indeed quite strange..."
"I'll go talk to him. Also, those purple patterns controlling the Aurumatons..."
Welt adjusted his glasses, leaving the sentence unfinished.
But he probably already knew whose handiwork this was.
"Hmm..."
Stelle, walking at the very back of the group, looked around boredly. You couldn't blame her for feeling uninterested.
After all, the moment they entered, she had recognized the source of the Aurumatons' enhancement. Similar situations were something she saw almost daily back in the Robot Settlement.
But just then, Stelle's gaze suddenly stopped.
She saw something that made her unable to move her feet.
A trash can! And a brand new one at that!
She glanced back. Mr. Yang was talking with that Artisanship Commission master, March was taking pictures of the Ambrosial Arbor, and that suspicious Miss Tingyun didn't seem to be looking her way either, instead watching the Arbor with keen interest.
Good, no one's paying attention. Time to rummage!
A triumphant little tune automatically playing in her mind, Stelle quickly slipped over to the trash can and lifted the lid.
"What's this... A red-quality, 'Lynelle Exclusive Photobook'?"
Stelle's eyes instantly shone. Though she didn't know why this was in a trash can, it wasn't hard to guess it probably had something to do with Lynelle.
But, since Lynelle put it there...
Then what was there to hesitate about? Just take it out and look!
Almost without a moment's hesitation, Stelle immediately plugged the memory card she'd fished out into her terminal.
[Memory card detected. Reading information...]
[Read complete. Now playing popular song 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Aethric Astley, the popular superstar from Aetherium XII:]
[THEY Never Gonna Give You Up~ Never Gonna Let You Down!]
Staring at the dancing man on the screen, Stelle pulled the memory card out with a deadpan expression. Without a doubt, she'd been tricked again.
Even though Lynelle had tricked her many times before, because Lynelle always managed to pinpoint the things that tempted her most, she kept falling for it, over and over and over again...
[You dummy, why would you need to look for my exclusive photobook? It's not like there's any part of my body you haven't seen before...]
Right then, Lynelle's voice suddenly rang out in Stelle's mind.
"?"
Stelle blinked in confusion. At the same time, the fox ears on Tingyun, who was walking not far ahead, twitched almost imperceptibly.
[Don't make a sound. I'm communicating with you telepathically right now, and taking a loop at your memories from this period... I used most of this avatar's energy to help Master Gongshu control the Aurumatons.]
[You can probably tell, that old coot is pretty excited. He should have almost cleared out the Arbor's tendrils by now. So, you guys should be able to speedrun the Artisanship Commission.]
[As for the remaining energy... it's just what little I used to slip into your body. Its purpose is to sync memories, to see what's been happening on your end.]
Stelle's expression instantly turned wary. Her eyes began scanning their surroundings, deliberately glancing over Tingyun a few times as if by accident.
[Don't be so obvious, you dummy. She can't detect me. Just walk normally.]
Up ahead, Tingyun's ears twitched even more noticeably, and in a place neither of them could see, the corner of her lips curled up slightly.
[Alright, memory sync complete...]
A moment later, Lynelle's voice sounded in Stelle's mind again.
[There's still a bit of energy left, probably enough to chat with you a little longer... Oh, right, there's something important I forgot to tell you.]
Lynelle's voice paused, then continued with a hint of awkwardness.
[Now that you're at the Artisanship Commission, you can probably tell... I've already been here once. But back when I arrived, I discovered a pretty serious problem. To be precise, a flaw in my own body.]
"How serious?"
Stelle was startled.
[It could potentially affect the battle.]
Lynelle's voice turned serious.
[I discovered... my body seems to have an extremely severe rejection reaction to the Abundance's power.]
[This might be related to the self-contained logic of my regenerative constitution. As you know, my physique is completely incompatible with the Abundance.]
[Earlier, when I made contact with the Ambrosial Arbor here, it immediately started attacking me, trying to assimilate me using the Abundance's power.]
[Luckily, my body has an automatic defense mechanism. Once my body entered a stressed, 'hissing' state, it started uncontrollably absorbing all the energy around me indiscriminately.]
[It really messed up my stomach... Over in the Commission warehouse, there should be alarm logs about the storage being attacked, and a whole bunch of Aurumaton constructs I 'drained' dry. You should be able to see them.]
[So, for the rest of this operation, you'll have to protect me with your Lance of Preservation, okay? You absolutely can't let the Arbor target me again.]
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.