I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

The fog downstream of the Blackwater River is much thicker than that in the upper urban area.

The mixture of the sour stench of industrial wastewater and the fishy smell of rotting river mud forms a natural barrier, separating the abandoned shipyard from the surrounding slums.

Rhodes put away the map he had taken from the steam infantryman, pulled his hat brim down low, and silently walked along the slippery stone path on the riverbank.

According to the map, the so-called beacon source is located in a dry dock about 300 meters ahead.

It was very quiet around. There was no coughing from homeless people, no barking from stray dogs, and even the sound of the river water lapping against the bank seemed unusually dull.

This deathly silence was unnatural; it was more like the result of a high-level predator occupying its territory and driving away all the lower creatures.

Rhodes stopped behind a pile of abandoned shipping containers and focused his magic into his eyes.

The colors in the field of vision faded, leaving only black, white, and gray lines and color blocks representing spiritual radiance.

The huge tin factory ahead was shrouded in a hazy gray curtain, the spiritual residue left behind by the large-scale array of runes that banished mortals.

In the four corners of the factory, there stood four dark red pillars of light, which were high-intensity life reactions.

"Four sentries."

Rhodes narrowed his eyes and dispelled the magic.

Those four locations appeared empty to an ordinary person, but in his perception, something dangerous lurked there.

He did not approach rashly, but instead activated the genetic ability of the Moonlight Butterfly.

A faint glow appeared on Rhodes' skin, and then the light refracted around him.

His figure quickly faded, eventually blending into the surrounding shadows.

In his [Moonlight Mimicry] state, Rhodes, like a ghost, slid along the wall past the first warning line.

As he passed the location of the dark red pillar of light, he saw the so-called sentry.

That was neither human nor a conventional construct.

It was a lump of meat stuffed into a rusty iron barrel.

The iron barrel had rudimentary mechanical limbs welded to its surface, and a huge eyeball with its eyelids removed was mounted on top. Behind the eyeball were several tubes filled with green liquid that extended all the way into the ground.

This thing had no breath, no heartbeat; only its eyeballs were mechanically rotating, scanning its surroundings.

"A crude combination of bioengineering and machinery."

Rhodes made his judgment in his mind.

This style reminded him of the deceased Mortimer, but compared to Mortimer's crazy aesthetic of pursuing racial ascension, the creation before him was full of the military's cold-blooded pursuit of practicality and low cost.

He held his breath and carefully bypassed the eyeball guard, arriving at a ventilation window on the side of the factory building.

The windows were welded shut with iron bars, but that didn't stop Rod.

He extended his left hand, and the fingertips secreted the corrosive toxin of the [Poisonous Vine Demon].

The soft hissing sound was masked by the wind as the base of the iron fence quickly softened and broke.

Rod gently removed the fence and slipped inside like a cat.

It landed silently.

The interior space of the factory is much larger than it appears from the outside.

The dry dock, originally used to moor ships, has been transformed into a huge sunken workshop.

Dozens of high-powered gas lamps illuminated the place as bright as day, and huge exhaust fans roared overhead, drawing the pungent smell of blood and engine oil into the air.

Rod crouched on the crossbeam of the train track, looking down at the scene below.

This is an assembly line.

On the left-hand conveyor belt, naked human bodies are being transported.

These people were mostly strong men, and their physical characteristics suggested they were missing persons from the slums or prisoners of war.

They were in a deep coma, their scalps were shaved off, and black cutting lines were drawn on them.

On the central workbench, a dozen technicians wearing white rubber aprons were busy at work.

They skillfully cut open the recipient's chest cavity and skull, but instead of removing organs, they inserted intricate brass parts into the flesh.

Rod watched as a technician removed a still-beating heart, placed it in a glass jar filled with nutrient solution, and then implanted a fist-sized miniature steam pump into the chest cavity, connecting it to a blood vessel.

"The steam core replaces the heart, providing stronger blood pumping ability and explosive power."

Rhodes watched all of this with indifference.

On another operating table, the recipient's frontal lobe was removed from his brain, and a control chip covered in runes was implanted.

"Eliminate emotions and pain, retain fighting instincts, and implant the command of absolute obedience."

This is the plan of the military radicals.

They are reclaiming Mortimer's scattered legacy of bioengineering and combining it with the steam technology that the Empire is so proud of.

They don't need uncontrollable deep-sea monsters like Mortimer; what they need are mass-producible, inexpensive, absolutely obedient, and tireless super soldiers.

The three steam infantrymen we encountered outside were just the initial products of this technology.

Here, they are attempting a deeper integration.

Rhodes's gaze followed the assembly line to the right.

At the far end of that place stood a huge circular water tank.

The tank is over ten meters in diameter and filled with a murky, dark red liquid.

In the center of the liquid, a colossal object was submerged.

It was a heavy steam-powered mech that stood five meters tall, but instead of gears and pistons, its armor gaps were filled with constantly writhing dark red muscle fibers.

Countless thick cables were inserted into the back of the mech, connecting it to the surrounding control consoles.

The dark blue crystal in Rhodes's arms suddenly became scalding hot at that moment.

"Beacon response source?"

Rhodes confirmed the target.

That big thing is not just a prototype; it has some kind of biological tissue integrated into its body, and it is continuously emitting a certain frequency.

This frequency is remarkably similar to the whispers of the Valen family, but far more violent and chaotic.

Just then, a quarrel broke out in front of the control panel below.

"The seventeenth fusion experiment failed! The rejection reaction was too strong; the recipient's nervous system was burned out the instant it came into contact with the source blood!"

An elderly man wearing gold-rimmed glasses angrily smashed the record board in his hand.

Opposite him stood a high-ranking officer in a black military uniform.

The officer's shoulder insignia featured a sword and gear, signifying the commander of the Third Special Operations Team.

"I don't care how many test subjects die." The officer's voice was cold and hard as iron: "What the Duke wants is results. Since the nervous system can't handle it, then sever the nerves and use runes to directly control the muscles."

"They're like walking corpses! They can't possibly perform complex tactical maneuvers!" the old man roared. "What we need is perfect integration! We need that stabilizer! Mortimer's manuscript mentioned that only the spiritual frequency of the Valen family can neutralize this rejection!"

"We're looking," the officer interrupted impatiently. "The special operations team has sealed off the lower city; that woman can't escape. Until then, continue the experiments. Even if it's just piling up corpses, get me some living data."

Rhodes heard everything clearly from the beam.

The military was indeed looking for Cassandra.

They need the Warren family's expertise to perfect this project.

The large object in the tank was clearly the core prototype they created using some kind of high-level biological material, most likely the source blood they mentioned.

This thing is both a weapon and a huge signal amplifier.

It is constantly broadcasting that violent frequency, trying to find a medium that can resonate with it.

Rhodes touched the crystal in his arms.

The crystal in his hand contained Cassandra's frequency, the very stabilizer the military had been longing for.

If you throw this crystal into that sink...

Rhodes did not do that.

He wasn't there to help the military complete their experiments, nor was he there to act as a righteous messenger and destroy this place.

He was a scholar, a wizard, and an explorer.

What he needs is knowledge, materials, and resources that can make him stronger.

Rhodes took a refining runestone from his pouch.

This is a photo stone he made himself, capable of recording short-term images and sounds.

He documented the entire scene below, including the assembly line, the modification process, and the huge prototype.

This evidence may, at some point in the future, become his bargaining chip in a power struggle between the royal family, the church, or other forces.

Having done all this, Rhodes turned his gaze back to the enormous water tank.

He could sense that the thing in the sink was alive.

Inside that mech was a huge, slowly beating heart.

The aura emanating from that heart caused a faint resonance within Rhode's [Abyssal Dragon] skeleton.

"Sub-dragon species... no, it might be an even more ancient dragon-like organism."

Rhodes's eyes burned with intensity.

The military actually managed to obtain materials of this caliber.

No wonder they dared to conduct such taboo experiments.

If we could get our hands on that original blood sample...

Suddenly, a piercing alarm blared inside the factory.

The red warning lights flashed wildly, turning the entire workshop a blood-red hue.

"Warning! Unidentified spiritual fluctuations detected! Area: C-4 beam!"

Mechanical, electronically synthesized sounds echoed in the air.

Rhodes was startled.

He looked down and saw the giant mech in the tank. Suddenly, its single-eyed searchlight lit up, and a red beam shot straight toward Rhodes' hiding place.

That prototype... it sensed the crystal in Rhodes's arms!

"Damn it, resonance reaction."

Rhodes cursed under his breath and stopped hiding.

He suddenly leaped from the crossbeam and unfurled his Lightwing Glide in mid-air.

The translucent wings of light revealed their outlines under the red light, and Rhodes, like a giant bat, glided toward the ventilation opening on the other side of the factory.

"Intruders!"

The officer below drew his sidearm and fired three shots into the air.

boom! boom! boom!

The alchemical bullet grazed the hem of Rhodes's clothes, struck the tin roof, and sent sparks flying.

"Activate the guards! Seize him!"

As the officer roared, the unfinished cyborgs beside the assembly line suddenly opened their eyes.

The tubes inserted into their bodies came off automatically, and blood flowed from their unstitched wounds, but they felt no pain and roared as they charged toward Rhodes's landing point.

At the same time, the prototype in the tank also started moving.

"Buzz—"

A tremendous roar of steam rose up, and the liquid in the tank churned violently.

A giant hand covered in heavy armor, with sharp bone claws at its fingertips, slammed down on the wall of the water tank.

The specially made reinforced glass was instantly covered with cracks.

A terrifying mental shockwave swept outwards from the water tank.

Rhodes felt a sharp pain in his head, as if someone were drilling into his temple.

This is a form of mental pollution resulting from the combination of high-level biological pressure and mechanical noise.

If it weren't for his resistance to dragons, this attack would have knocked him unconscious.

Rhodes gritted his teeth and forcibly adjusted his posture in mid-air.

He did not choose to fight head-on.

This is the military's headquarters. If he gets bogged down here and faces a constant stream of reinforcements, he will surely die.

Rhodes pulled out two bottles of [Highly Corrosive Liquid] and one bottle of [Smoke Agent] from his pocket and threw them at the assembly line and control panel below.

"boom!"

The smoke agent exploded, and thick black smoke instantly filled the entire space, obscuring visibility.

Then came the sound of the corrosive solution bottle shattering, as the strong acid spilled onto the precision instruments, emitting a sizzling corrosion sound, accompanied by the screams of the technicians.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Rod smashed through the louvers of the ventilation shaft and rushed out of the factory.

The night wind outside, mixed with raindrops, rushed towards my face.

Rhodes didn't stop. He ran across the rooftops, using [Moonlight Mimicry] to conceal himself again, disappearing into the vast night.

Inside the abandoned shipyard behind them, the alarms still blared, and the roar of steam and the howls of monsters mingled together, breaking the deathly silence along the Blackwater River.

Rhodes silently memorized the coordinates.

He will come back.

but not now.