Mr. Death in the Steam World

At four o'clock in the afternoon, everyone gathered in Moen's room.

Arthur spread the map on the table and glanced at everyone.

"Everything ready? Let's go!"

The landlady stood at the entrance of the inn, watching the backs of the four people and a little girl disappear into the morning mist.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she just sighed, turned around and went back into the house.

......

The location marked on the map is behind a desolate rocky hill on the east side of the mine.

Moen brushed aside the dead branches and rubble covering the well opening, revealing a rusty iron plate.

"This is it," Melina said in a low voice, peeking out from behind Phils.

"I climbed up here the first time I tried to escape, and then I got caught and brought back."

Moen crouched down, gripped the gaps on the edge of the iron plate with his fingers, and used his arm strength to lift the heavy iron plate up completely.

A damp, musty smell wafted from the wellhead.

Arthur lit the holy light and shone it into the well.

The ventilation shaft was about the width of a person, with a row of rough grooves carved into its walls, extending downwards and disappearing into the darkness.

"I'll go first." Moen channeled his magic into his eyes, and the "Eye of Death" quietly lit up deep within his pupils.

The world in my field of vision turned into gray lines and dots of light, and the magical remnants at the bottom of the ventilation shaft were clearly visible, with no trace of recent activation.

He rolled into the ventilation shaft, bracing himself against the shaft wall with one hand and holding the pistol at his waist with the other, and slowly moved down.

Arthur followed closely behind, holy light rising from his palms and illuminating a small section of the ventilation shaft.

Emily and Phils came down one after the other, with Melina at the very back.

The ventilation shaft was much deeper than expected, and Moen silently counted the steps he had taken as he descended.

By the time the groove under his feet disappeared, he had climbed down about 50 steps.

He released his grip, and the sole of his boot landed on a soft patch of ground.

The bottom of the ventilation shaft is a transverse alleyway, much wider than the shaft itself, barely wide enough for two people to pass side by side.

Soon, everyone arrived one by one.

"Melina, which way do we go?"

Melina looked around and pointed to the west side of the alley.

"Over there, walk about two hundred steps and you'll see a fork in the road. The left path leads to the Stone Tower, and the right path leads deeper into the mine."

"Where is the altar?"

"Go straight ahead from the fork in the road, go through three bends, and there will be an iron gate. That's what's behind the iron gate."

Moen nodded and led the group forward.

Two hundred steps later, the fork in the road that Melina had mentioned appeared ahead.

He stopped what he was doing, raised his hand to signal the people behind him to stop, and listened carefully.

There was a deathly silence; there was no sound of guards talking, no sound of footsteps, not even the wind.

That's not right.

According to intelligence, even if the outer defenses were redeployed this afternoon, there should still be at least two or three mobile sentries patrolling this area.

"Can you feel it?" Emily asked in a low voice.

Her magical perception was more acute than anyone else's, and at this moment, a serious expression appeared on her usually smiling face.

"How does it feel?"

"The change in magic concentration." Emily pointed to the alleyway on the right.

"Look over there, the deeper you go, the higher the concentration of magic."

Moen activated his "Death Eye" to its fullest extent, and the world in his field of vision instantly transformed into something else entirely.

Deep inside the tunnel, countless magical lines intertwine to form a dense net that extends from the top of the tunnel all the way to the ground, completely sealing off the entire passage.

These are the three layers of barriers that Catherine mentioned in her letter.

He suddenly remembered the note and began to carefully observe the direction of the magical lines.

As the note stated, although they appeared unusually dense, they were not actually connected to the barrier.

They are just disguises.

The person who "didn't want to die" wasn't lying.

Moen looked away and recounted what he had seen in the simplest terms.

"Therefore, our plan needs to be adjusted," Arthur said in a deep voice.

"If the information on the note is true, then we may find more than just the barrier core below; there may be something else."

"For example?" Emily raised an eyebrow.

"For example, the person who wrote the note." Arthur's gaze swept across everyone's faces.

"An insider who knows the internal workings of the Truth Society and is willing to leak information to us."

"If this person exists, why would he help us?"

“Whatever his reasons for helping us,” Moen interrupted him, “this is not the time to discuss motives.”

"The barrier is right there; we have to dismantle it first before we can move on."

He turned to Emily.

"Miss Manluo, it's all up to you."

Emily took a monocle from the small bag at her waist and put it on her right eye.

The gears on the edge of the lens began to turn slowly under the flow of magic, making a soft clicking sound.

"OK, I understand!"

She nodded to Moen.

"Everyone, I will now block the view from here, so please be careful."

Amidst the bewildered gazes of the crowd, he took a deep breath and channeled his magic into an essence he had never used before—"Deep in the Mine".

Starting from his feet, a dense darkness spread outwards like a tide.

The holy light in Arthur's palm vanished silently in the darkness; he couldn't even see the process of the light disappearing.

It is as if the very existence of darkness is a denial of the concept of "light".

"This darkness...this is the power of the Black Moon Daughter. This kid is definitely related to the Black Moon Daughter!"

The demon roared in Arthur's mind. Since he couldn't see anything anyway, Arthur simply closed his eyes.

"So that's how it is. He's connected to the Daughter of the Black Moon. I see. If that's the case..."

Many of Arthur's long-standing questions were now answered.

Moen had no idea that his action had revealed crucial information. He grabbed Emily's hand and guided her, who was unable to see.

"Come with me."

The two left the alleyway silently and stealthily headed towards the barrier.

"Hey detective, when did you learn that magic trick? It's amazing!"

"Learned from an ancient magic book, it's nothing special."

Thanks to the sages who wrote the grimoires, whatever essence they obtained can all be reasonably attributed to the grimoires.

With Morne's verbal instructions and the answers provided on the note, the two quickly found their target.

"nailed it."

Emily sighed, feeling slightly tired.

"This is indeed the real core. Those seemingly dense magic lines are all a disguise, just as the note said."

Moen reverted the effect of "Deep in the Mine".

The darkness receded like the tide, and Emily blinked, adjusting to the sudden burst of light into her vision.

"To know such inside information," she said thoughtfully, "the other party's identity and motives are quite interesting."

Moen did not respond.

The barrier has been dismantled, but an even bigger problem has arisen.

Who exactly is this "person who doesn't want to die"? Why help them? If the person is truly an insider from the Truth Society, what is their purpose?

These questions can only be answered when the other party shows up on their own initiative.

"Let's go back," Moen said. "Arthur and the others are waiting."

Meanwhile, deep within the mine, at the altar.

The bespectacled man stood in the center of the altar, his arms hanging down and his eyes closed.

The light from the crystal shone on his face, making the thin line running vertically downwards from the center of his forehead exceptionally clear.

He suddenly opened his eyes.

The trajectory of the magical lines he perceived became disordered at this moment.

He raised his right hand, bringing his index and middle fingers together, and drew an arc in the air.

Magic gathered at his fingertips, transforming into a semi-transparent energy map.

On the map, each line represents a connection to a magical loop.

Now, those lines are disappearing one by one.

Starting from the outermost layer, it spreads inwards unimpeded, as if the dismantler knew every line of defense he had set up.

"interesting."

A cold smile appeared on the bespectacled man's lips as he gathered the energy map and placed it back into his palm.

"It seems there's a little mouse in our team."

He looked up at the darkness in the distance.

"Right, Vera?"