Survival on the Internet: A Bizarre Start at Sea

"If Liliana Thea is still alive, and deep within the workshop... her condition is probably..."

He recalled the fluid, intelligent, yet uncommunicative alchemical golems in the workshop.

"Is she... no longer human?"

"Or...does it exist in some special form?"

These questions currently have no answers.

Su Zhisu put away the pocket watch, then thought of the [Seed of Dreams].

"My sister's gift... is indeed very suitable."

"For a city like Hydeland, situated in a strange sea and constantly threatened by strange forces, anything that can stabilize the mental environment and soothe the people's hearts is indeed of extraordinary value."

"The interest in the Queen's eyes was genuine when she accepted it."

"This is a good start."

He stopped thinking about the Seed of Dreams and began to organize his next action plan.

"Tomorrow, I'll check the files to get more information about Amadeus and Liliana."

"Then contact the Alchemists' Guild, establish closer ties, demonstrate the value of Alchemy Transformation, and in exchange for resources and support."

"At the same time, taking advantage of the Queen's influence, we began preparations for exploring the workshop again."

"With the Queen's permission this time, at least we won't be hindered by the [Initial Work] when we go deep into the workshop."

"As for how to get through the final blockade of the [Final Work]."

"The 'witness' given by the Queen may be useful, but it's probably only enough to allow me to evacuate safely."

"Last time my sister said that there's a risk of marking marine iguana eggs being left unattended..."

"Perhaps... we can combine the pocket watch and the marine iguana egg, and use the alchemical runes of puppetry to conduct a formal 'communication'..."

"If all else fails..."

Su Zhisu's eyes hardened.

"Then we can only improve our strength or find other breakthroughs."

"Fortunately, with Hydeland's support and resources, and the ability to return to Atlantis to farm 'dungeons' at any time, I should become stronger faster than before."

He walked to the window and looked out at the night view of Hydeland.

The city appeared peaceful and orderly under the cover of night, a stark contrast to the raging chaos of the Strange Sea.

But Su Zhisu knew that beneath this tranquility lay countless undercurrents and crises.

"Liliana Thea... Amadeus's workshop..."

"I'll be back soon."

At nine o'clock the next morning, Kyle Crane arrived at the guest room on time.

"Good morning, Your Excellency Su Zhisu. Let's go to the archives first."

Thank you for your trouble.

The two left the palace area and arrived at a heavily guarded tower on the side of the White Tower Palace.

This is one of Hydeland's confidential archives.

After strict identity verification and authorization checks, Kyle led Su Zhisu into a private reading room on the ground floor of the tower.

The room was small, with only a long table and two chairs. The walls were made of thick stone and there were no windows.

"Please wait a moment, I'll go get the files."

Kyle left for a moment, then returned with a thick, dark blue dossier in his hand.

He placed the file box on the long table and unlocked it.

Inside were several documents written on special paper, with slightly yellowed edges.

"These are copies of the investigation report on the incident at the 'Puppet Grip' alchemy workshop, as well as a summary of Master Amadeus Thorne's publicly available biography and research findings."

Kyle took out the documents one by one and laid them out on the table.

"More crucial information, such as the specific data from the experiment, detailed energy records from the accident site, and Liliana Thea's complete personal file... requires His Majesty's special authorization to access."

"I understand, this is already very helpful."

Su Zhisu began quickly browsing the documents.

The first is the accident investigation report.

The report's content is largely consistent with the Queen's account: the workshop's core experiment went out of control, causing a violent explosion and energy pollution; Master Amadeus was confirmed dead; the workshop's core area was destroyed; and the alchemy workshop was designated a restricted area.

The report did not mention Liliana Thea's final condition, only noting that she was "missing, presumed dead".

However, Su Zhisu noticed that in the section analyzing the cause of the accident, there was a vague description that had been repeatedly altered but ultimately retained:

"...Before the energy eruption, the Empress discovered an unusually high intensity of 'soul resonance' and 'life matrix fusion' reactions within the core laboratory..."

"There is more than one source of reaction... The test subject is suspected of exhibiting unexpected mutations..."

"Soul resonance...fusion of life essence...more than one source of reaction..."

Su Zhisu's fingers lightly traced over the line of words.

What kind of experiments was Amadeus conducting back then?

He continued looking at Amadeus's resume and a summary of his research findings.

This genius alchemist's achievements are astonishing, especially in the field of puppet alchemy.

He almost single-handedly pushed Hydeland's puppet alchemy field a giant leap forward.

He proposed the "soul fragment drive theory," which suggests that soul fragments can be purified and solidified through special alchemy, thereby endowing alchemical golems with higher intelligence and adaptability.

As for where the fragments of the soul come from... Su Zhisu shook her head.

He also developed the "Life Form Transformation Array," attempting to transform and integrate substances with different life form characteristics.

He even left behind notes speculating about the "foundation of eternity"—believing that there exists a pure, stable, and infinitely proliferating life matrix that is the key to achieving a "perfect life form" and even "eternity".

"The foundation of eternity...a pure, stable, and infinitely proliferating life-sustaining matrix..."

The image of the giant blue-black egg flashed through Su Zhixu's mind.

"Marine iguana eggs..."

He suppressed the shock in his heart and continued reading.

He saw the name "Lelena Thea" on Amadeus's list of assistants.

The label reads, "A genius apprentice, deeply trusted by Amadeus, involved in all core projects, especially with unique advantages in 'soul resonance and harmony' and 'life matrix adaptability'."

The appendix to the document also includes several abstracts of Liliana's earlier alchemical papers, which do indeed involve the harmony between soul and matter, and how to enable non-living matter to better carry life energy.

"As expected... her research direction highly overlaps with Amadeus' ultimate goal."

"And her expertise in 'soul resonance and harmony'..."

Su Zhisu looked at the pocket watch on her wrist.

"Edgar's soul's obsession resides in his pocket watch... while Liliana excels at soul resonance..."

"If she wants to do something..."

After closing the last page of the document, Su Zhisu let out a long breath.

The fragments of information in the case file, gradually pieced together with the clues he already knew, pointed to a direction that became increasingly clear, yet increasingly unsettling.

"It seems I must enter the core of the workshop as soon as possible and find Liliana Thea."

"Whether she's dead or alive, whatever she's become..."

"Whether it's fulfilling Edgar's request or acquiring a deeper understanding of the 'Puppet' alchemy tradition..."

"Only by finding her can all the mysteries be solved."