Survival on the Internet: A Bizarre Start at Sea

At the bottom of the cliff, waves constantly crashed against the jagged rocks.

Based on tidal timing calculations, the tide is currently at its lowest point.

The entrance that was mentioned and hidden on the side of the cliff may have already been revealed.

Su Zhisu took a deep breath and checked her equipment one last time.

The mutated scimitar hung at his waist, the pocket watch was pressed against his chest, and the Anchor of Obsession and other items were all within easy reach.

"It's time to go."

He started walking, leaving the last crooked building shadow in the broken reef area, and descended along a steep path partially covered by weeds and garbage that led down the cliff.

The sea breeze grew fierce, carrying salty moisture and the smell of rocks.

The roar of the waves crashing against the shore below grew closer and closer.

Su Zhisu descended the steep path, her feet resting on loose gravel and slippery seaweed.

The sea breeze, carrying cold moisture, slapped against his face.

The shadow of the cliff loomed over, and the temperature suddenly dropped.

The roar of the waves crashing against the rocks below grew louder and louder, and the air was filled with a strong fishy smell and a...

It had an indescribable, strange smell, a mixture of metallic rust and some kind of stale grease.

At the end of the path was a rocky platform smoothed by the sea.

On one side of the platform is a near-vertical cliff.

As the tide receded, a damp area covered with twisted barnacles was revealed at the base of the cliff.

Right there, a roughly two-person-high, eroded, arched stone doorway was half-hidden behind several huge rocks.

Pushing aside the slippery, sticky plants, a roughly carved rock entrance, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, came into view.

"This is it... the entrance to the 'Puppet Grip' workshop."

There are faint, weathered rune marks on the edge of the cave entrance, indicating that there was once some kind of warning measure here, but it is now completely ineffective.

Su Zhisu took a deep breath, ignited a wisp of Night Watch Heart Flame, and attached it to the [Scimitar Towards the Storm]. The eerie blue light dispelled the darkness near the cave entrance, and he crouched down and crawled inside.

The moment he stepped into the cave, the familiar, emotionless notification sound from the Internet echoed in his mind.

[Network Notification]: Unusual spatial fluctuations detected... Matching in progress...

[Match Successful]: Found the dungeon [Abandoned Alchemy Workshop].

[Loading the instance... Loading complete.]

[Current Dungeon]: Abandoned Alchemy Workshop of "Puppet's Grip"

[Description]: Once the alchemy workshop of Amadeus Thorne, the "Puppet Grip," it was abandoned after a catastrophic alchemy experiment explosion years ago. The workshop's interior is severely damaged, retaining dangerous and chaotic alchemical fields, out-of-control puppet creations, and unsolved mysteries. Exploring this place may uncover the truth behind the accident and lead to unexpected dangers or opportunities.

[Current instance environment status]: Outer corridor, out-of-control reaction zone, puppet core, ??? (unknown)

Current dungeon exploration progress: 0%

[Dungeon Difficulty]: ★★★☆ (Dynamically Adjustable)

[Recommended Level]: Tier 2

[Number of Recommendations]: 1-2 people

[Mission Objective]: Explore the dungeon and find clues related to "Lelena Thea".

[Failure Penalty]: None (You can exit the instance at any time, but your exploration progress will be reset)

[Warning]: An unstable alchemical field remains within the workshop, with some areas exhibiting abnormal patterns. Be cautious of potentially activated alchemical golems and energy traps.

The eerie blue firelight illuminated a wide but badly damaged corridor that sloped downwards.

The walls were covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and many places were covered with thick, colorful alchemical stains and dried, oil-like marks.

The air was heavy, filled with a strong metallic rust smell, and an indescribable, pungent odor similar to ozone mixed with rotting plants.

The ground beneath my feet was paved with thick stone slabs, but many of them were cracked or warped, and polluted moss with a faint phosphorescent glow grew in the cracks.

Su Zhisu's feet stepped on the moss, making a sticky "tap tap" sound, causing the moss to twist and turn as if trying to grab his feet.

"This is Master Amadeus's workshop..."

Su Zhisu silently recited the mantra, cautiously moving forward.

"Is Liliana Thea really here?"

"Or is it that only some remaining traces are left here?"

Occasionally, broken wooden doors or arched entrances appear on both sides of the corridor, behind which seem to be abandoned storage rooms or small laboratories, which are in a mess, with only some broken glassware and rotten wooden shelves remaining.

After walking for about several dozen meters, a fork in the road appeared ahead.

The main corridor continued downwards, while on the left was a relatively narrow passage, at the end of which a faint, unstable light flickered.

The vibrations from Thorne's pocket watch seemed to be directed towards the depths of the main corridor.

However, Su Zhisu noticed that on the ground at the entrance of the left passage, there were some metal fragments that were not naturally formed, with sharp edges, as if they were left behind after something was forcibly destroyed.

"Are there signs of a fight?"

He crouched down, picked up a piece of shard, and examined it closely.

The fragments are made of a special material, seemingly some kind of alloy, with fine engravings on the surface, but they are already worn.

"It's not ordinary metal...it must be some kind of processed metallurgical part."

He decided to explore the side passage with unusual markings first.

The side passage was darker and damper than the main corridor, and had more cracks in the walls.

The pungent smell of ozone was even stronger here.

At the end of the passage is a small, circular hall about ten meters in diameter.

On the floor in the center of the small hall, there is an alchemical array that is severely damaged but still reveals its complex structure.

At several key nodes of the magic circle were embedded gems that had long lost their luster, while at the center of the magic circle was a pool of solidified, foul-smelling, dark green, viscous substance.

At this moment, the magic circle was glowing faintly, its energy fluctuating extremely unstablely, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, just like the light source we had seen earlier.

What's even more striking is that in the corner of the small hall, there lie two dilapidated alchemical constructs.

It was roughly humanoid, but its two arms had been modified into drills and cutters.

Both tools have now been violently destroyed, with a huge hole in the chest revealing tangled cables and broken gears inside.

The other one resembled a multi-legged spider, but more than half of its limbs were twisted off, and its body was smashed, oozing alchemical oil that emitted a pungent odor.

Their material is similar to the fragments we found before.

"The two alchemical golems... were destroyed by an even more powerful force."

Su Zhisu approached and observed that, in addition to the physical damage, the remains of these puppets also contained a cold energy fluctuation that carried a certain aura of order.

"Not some strange power... but a power closer to... the 'authority' of a great being?"