My days as a Simulation Herrscher since the Honkai Impact

Looking up, they couldn't see the end of the stairs at all, let alone their destination, Sky Island.

"It would be better to just open the space and jump over there."

Kiana stretched her hand out of the staircase and muttered to herself when she found it enveloped by an invisible barrier. This was a spatial passage solidified by some kind of force, with each step situated at a different spatial node. Once inside, one could only move forward; there was no way to go back.

"Even I couldn't find a target lost in space in a short time. There's too much space, and it's too vast. Moreover, the space near Sky Island has special characteristics; there are no clear coordinates, and it would take far too long."

Bai Chen casually replied, then continued climbing the steps.

The silver-white metal steps are engraved with different patterns. Judging from the engraving techniques, these patterns are not original hand-carved but mass-produced using mechanical tools.

Furthermore, the carved patterns themselves are highly regular, but they are not abstract pictures; rather, they are even more difficult to understand than abstract pictures—a kind of unintelligible script.

These characters undoubtedly come from a highly developed and complete civilization, and judging from the time that Sky Island has existed, these characters are probably records left behind by extraterrestrial visitors who created the laws of nature.

Unfortunately, the text was far too complex; otherwise, Bai Chen and his group might have been able to glean some unexpected information from it.

After walking up the stairs for an unknown amount of time, a large platform suddenly appeared at the end of the stairs, and at the other end of the platform was a large door made of the same silver-white metal.

The group arrived at the center of the platform in front of the door, and only then did they see something on the ground that didn't seem to belong there.

It was a relic machine with a distinctly Kanria style. Unlike all other relic artifacts, this relic machine was nearly the same size as a human, much like the bionic T3 robots in Bai Chen's mechanical legion. Yet, even after hundreds of years, its construction remained incredibly precise; even a single finger had an internal structure so intricate it was dizzying.

Without a doubt, at its peak it was the pinnacle of human creation in the world, and perhaps even the ultimate strategic weapon comparable to a nuclear bomb.

However, it had long since lost all power, and a large hole had been torn in its chest cavity, where its core should have been located. In the robot's hand, it gripped a key firmly; it was a completely black key with an octahedral shape on its head.

Bai Chen and Otto approached the abandoned machine and crouched down to examine it. Otto pried open its hand, picked up the key, and examined it closely, finally confirming that the key's shape was almost identical to the regular octahedron he had found in the Abyss Kanria Palace.

On the white gate to the side, there was a large black padlock with a keyhole at the bottom.

"I see." Bai Chen couldn't help but sigh.

Although they couldn't witness the past, the abandoned machinery that appeared here speaks volumes.

Sometimes the truth of history is simpler than people imagine. Regardless of the purpose of the ancient Kanria civilization or where they found the key, they opened this long-sealed door with their own hands, and at the same time, they created their own destruction.

Bai Chen and his companions were not the first travelers to visit Sky Island. Hundreds of years ago, a brother and sister from another world had already set foot on that island in the sky.

From the first day Bai Chen arrived in Teyvat, he retrieved this memory from his pre-transmigration memories. However, subsequent events kept him busy, so he was unable to go to the Abyss to ask Prince Kong about the reasons for what happened back then.

Later, when Kong was defeated by Otto, Bai Chen was left with no time to question him.

Hundreds of years ago, the Kanreia civilization may have pooled the resources of the entire nation, using the most sophisticated technology and the most expensive materials, to create the pinnacle of mechanical creation they could achieve.

Their purpose in creating this machine was not to defeat any enemy nation on the ground, but to set their sights on the distant sky, on the Sky Island that seemed to have existed since the beginning of time.

That team might have had many people, or it might have had only a few. In any case, besides the ultimate mechanical weapon responsible for keeping the key, there was also a brother and sister traveling from outside the world who participated in this expedition to Sky Island.

The expedition resulted in the destruction of the Kanria civilization and the return of Ying, a traveler who has lost all her memories and is now a friendly neighbor to everyone.

"It must be admitted that, judging from the remains of these mechanical weapons alone, the ancient kingdom of Kanria may have surpassed the current Honkai world in terms of its peak technology. Even if it could not catch up with the previous civilization, it was at least on the right path of development."

After careful examination, Otto finally came to this conclusion. The great inventor was unusually regretful; if the Kanria civilization had survived to this day, they would probably have gained an extremely powerful ally, instead of finding only a piece of farmland to be cultivated.

Kevin lowered his head slightly, seemingly mourning the destruction of Kyria: "Greed is the driving force of civilization's progress, but also the source of its destruction. As early as 50,000 years ago, we proved this statement at the cost of our entire civilization."

"Open the door, Bai Chen. Whatever lies behind it, I will sweep away that lofty threat for them. Consider it a rehearsal for the end."

A raging fire erupted in Kevin's hand, and the Divine Key, Celestial Judgment, appeared. He supported the massive, sun-like sword of flames with one hand and spoke in a low voice.

The others were also ready. Behind the Herrscher of Knowledge appeared her favorite weapon case, and she reached into it to pick and choose, seemingly considering which weapon she should use to beat up the enemies that were about to appear.

“Be careful, Kevin. We need to leave one alive. Don’t go too far, or we’ll have a problem if we accidentally damage Sky Island.”

Bai Chen muttered something, took the key, and directly inserted it into the lock on the door.

The moment the key was put back in place, the entire padlock detached from the door and fell to the ground, while the silver-white metal door bounced open as if it had been hit by a cannonball!