Survival on the Internet: A Bizarre Start at Sea

He then immersed his mind in the connection between the two, using the puppet script he had mastered, and Su Zhixu's will became a bridge.

"Using Edgar Thorne's unwavering devotion as a starting point..."

"By the life resonance of the marine iguana's egg..."

"I, Su Zhisu, the successor, request a final dialogue with 'The Mediator' Liliana Thea..."

"Please respond to me!"

The pocket watch shone brightly, and a faint, warm, and affectionate wave of soul energy flowed along the bridge built by Su Zhisu and projected onto the figure in the furnace.

The marine iguana's egg shone with a brilliant blue light, and the pulse of life beat like a war drum against the furnace wall.

Inside the furnace, pale flames suddenly surged high!

The huddled figure slowly... raised its head.

Inside the furnace, pale flames suddenly spread out in all directions.

The huddled figure raised its head completely.

It was the outline of a woman, but her face was blurred behind the leaping pale flames and could not be clearly seen.

Only one pair of eyes slowly opened.

Those eyes had no pupils, only a pure, silvery-white color, as if polished from the finest moonstone, reflecting the pale flames in the furnace and the blue-black light of the marine iguana's egg.

"Edgar...?"

A voice rang directly in Su Zhixu's mind.

The voice was ethereal and fleeting, carrying the hazy quality of waking from a dream, yet it contained an incredibly complex range of emotions.

There was an unbelievable ecstasy, a deep-seated sorrow, a longing that transcends time, and a hint of... fragility as if about to shatter.

"Is that you... Edgar?"

"Your aura...the fluctuations of your soul..."

"You're finally... back?"

Liliana Thea's voice trembled, her silver eyes fixed on the radiant [Thorn's Pocket Watch] in Su Zhisu's hand, and the [Sea Iguana Egg] floating in front of him, resonating with it.

"It's me, Liliana."

Su Zhisu did not answer directly, but instead conveyed the purest warmth and longing in Edgar Thorne's soul through the spiritual bridge she had built.

At the same time, he also clearly conveyed his thoughts.

"I bring Edgar's longing and our unfulfilled promise."

"I have brought the 'foundation of eternity'—the egg of the marine iguana."

"I have come as a successor to complete Master Amadeus and your unfinished 'Perfect Vessel' project."

He would package the truth he learned from the files, his own speculations, and his determination to fulfill the promise into a stream of information and slowly deliver it.

"The inheritor... the foundation of eternity... the unfinished plan..."

Liliana Thea murmured repeatedly, her silver eyes flashing intensely.

The pale flames flickered wildly with her emotional fluctuations, and the entire furnace emitted a low hum.

"The teacher failed...and I failed too..."

"The timing was wrong... Edgar's obsession was too weak... the backlash from the resonance and harmony..."

"I've bound myself to the furnace, to the experimental remains, and to the phantom of this egg... maintaining the final balance with my soul and the talent of 'Harmony'... waiting..."

Her gaze fell once more on the marine iguana's egg, and a terrifying light flashed in her eyes.

"A real egg... its activity is so perfect... such immense vitality..."

"You...you really brought it..."

Her voice was filled with the terror of a desperate escape.

"But you are not Edgar... your soul is fundamentally different... although his soul's obsession resides within the pocket watch..."

Who are you? What do you want?

Su Zhisu responded frankly.

"I am Su Zhisu, the inheritor of part of the puppet alchemy of Amadeus. I have come to find you, return this pocket watch, and confirm your safety with my own eyes, entrusted by the obsession of Edgar Thorne's soul."

"I brought the key to completing the plan, and I also brought the possibility of Edgar continuing to 'exist'."

"In return, I would like to obtain your complete knowledge of puppet alchemy, and..."

"What you might be willing to share is the mystery of the transformation of the soul and life form."

silence.

The flames in the furnace slowly subsided, and Liliana's silver eyes gazed intently at Su Zhisu.

"Edgar's obsession chose to trust you... the pocket watch acknowledged you... the egg resonated with you..."

"You can even invoke a trace of the power of the 'Moon'..."

"You are indeed qualified to 'intervene'."

She seems to have made a decision.

"Successor Su Zhisu, I, Liliana Thea, hereby grant you temporary access as the designated 'Harmonizer' of the 'Perfect Vessel' project."

"Permissions: Assist me in completing the ritual that was left unfinished twenty years ago—using the egg of the marine iguana as the 'foundation of eternity,' to carry Edgar Thorne's soul obsession, in order to achieve the continuation of life and the ascension of form."

"Warning: This ritual carries extremely high risks. As the 'Harmonizer,' I will bear the primary backlash. However, as a participant in guiding the ritual and fostering core resonance, your soul will also be deeply bound to the ritual and may be affected."

"Do you accept?"

Su Zhisu could feel that the vibration of Thorne's pocket watch on her wrist was becoming less and less noticeable. Edgar's soul obsession seemed to sense what was about to happen, conveying a calm and expectant fluctuation.

The resonance between the marine iguana egg and the phantom of the egg in the furnace reached its peak, and a bluish-black life radiance illuminated half of the spherical space.

The final work behind him still stood silently, but the countdown in the single crystal eye had stopped silently.

I accept.

Su Zhisu did not hesitate at all.

"very good."

Liliana's voice regained a certain calmness and precision befitting a top alchemist.

"Time is of the essence. The aura of the fourth-tier rank and the power of 'Moon' that you're using is waning; I can feel it."

"Follow my instructions."

"The first step is to use yourself as a bridge to send the marine iguana egg into the furnace and place it next to the 'phantom' to complete the physical replacement and fusion of the life matrix."

Su Zhisu did as she was told.

He carried the marine iguana egg and walked step by step toward the floating furnace.

The pale flames around the furnace automatically parted to create a path, revealing the interior.

At the center of the furnace, the phantom of the egg had solidified into something almost tangible, and the figure of Liliana curled up beside it was much clearer.

She wore a tattered white alchemist's robe, and her exposed skin had a translucent, crystal-like texture, with faint silver energy veins flowing within it.

Her lower body appeared to have fused with the crystalline furnace wall at the bottom of the furnace.

Su Zhisu gently placed the real marine iguana egg into the furnace, placing it alongside the illusory one.

The moment the two eggs came into contact, the illusory image rippled like water and quickly merged into the solid form.

The marine iguana egg trembled violently, its blue-black light surging, and the life pulse emanating from within it roared like thunder, synchronizing with the energy pulse of the entire furnace and even the entire spherical space.

"The second step is to use the pocket watch as a medium to guide Edgar's soul obsession and inject it into the egg."

"I will simultaneously perform 'Soul Resonance Harmony' to stabilize the imprint and guide Edgar's soul obsession to merge with the life matrix of the marine iguana egg."