"Speaking of which, it’s thanks to you, otherwise it would have been hard to see this handbook."
Seeing Angel’s confusion, Ironclad Granny explained, "All the wizard relics in Sky Mechanical City are managed by Antonio. Only the deceased’s relatives, or those who have obtained Antonio’s permission, can view the relics."
Nis also nodded and said, "Exactly, all of Mia’s relatives have passed away. I thought she would list me as a relative, but she didn’t."
Ironclad Granny gave Nis a cold look, "Your shamelessness is as consistent as ever."
Nis chuckled, "Wasn’t I just speculating reasonably? After all, Mia and I were quite close, so I’m like half a relative."
"And yet you don’t even know when she died?" Ironclad Granny sneered and no longer paid attention to Nis, turning to Angel, "Barbarian Cave also has a similar mechanism. Unclaimed wizard relics are managed by the Tree Spirit."
Nis leaned in and said, "When you die, Angel, there’s no need to worry about your affairs. The Illusion Demon faction can help sort your relics. Didn’t you have a brother too? You can also register your brother’s name with the Tree Spirit. So, when you’re gone, your brother can inherit your legacy."
Angel: "..." Although what Nis was saying was standard procedure, why did it make my fists clench tighter the more I heard?
Ironclad Granny took a deep breath, her eyes flashing coldly, with innate pressure, "Shut up, let me do the talking from now on."
Seeing Ironclad Granny seemingly ready to get angry, Nis shivered in fear, not daring to act out anymore. But this didn’t last long; within seconds, Nis muttered under his breath, "I wasn’t wrong, though..."
"Shut up!"
Nis froze and instantly fell silent.
As the air returned to calm, Ironclad Granny continued to Angel, "Mia’s handbook technically shouldn’t be available, but Antonio, knowing it was you who wanted to see it, retrieved it from the relic storage."
It was thanks to Angel’s connections this time; otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible.
"Antonio values your opinion greatly." Nis added a comment, but was immediately silenced by Ironclad Granny’s glare. He quickly made a gesture of zipping his mouth, "I won’t speak anymore, I promise."
"Antonio, it’s been a long time since I saw him." Angel was quite nostalgic for this rigid but secretly gentle divine spirit.
"Antonio misses you too." Ironclad Granny paused, "By the way, Antonio asked me to convey two messages to you."
"Please go ahead, Granny."
Ironclad Granny: "He said that the drama shadow box has become a trend in Sky Mechanical City, and your name is widely recognized in most circles. However, the shadow box is ultimately a clever trick, and he looks forward to your new work being released."
Angel nodded. As a member of the Research and Development Institute, releasing new works is his duty, and he was already prepared for it.
"Also, Antonio told me the main reason he’s anticipating your new work is because there’s news of Dong La."
"The grafting maniac, Dong La?" Angel was startled, "There’s news of her? What about Madeline?"
On Stargazing Day, Maya saw Madeline being counter-killed by Dong La. Since there’s news of Dong La now, what’s Madeline’s situation?
Ironclad Granny: "Rest assured, after Stargazing Day, we’ve already sent people to the Abyss. Although we haven’t received new information yet, Madeline should be safe."
After pausing, Ironclad Granny continued, "Although Dong La hasn’t returned to the Research and Development Institute, since there’s already news of her, she might target you once she comes back."
Dong La has always been a staunch opponent of the Research and Development Institute. She would vehemently oppose any new member of the institute. When Angel became a member, Dong La was trapped in the Abyss and didn’t participate. But if she returns, she will definitely raise her flag of opposition high.
Despite Dong La’s widely criticized character, her alchemy skills are formidable, especially her prowess in alchemical modifications, which grants her significant status within the Alchemy Circle. If she publicly questions Angel’s alchemy skills, it would surely harm Angel’s reputation.
Moreover, Angel himself has grudges with Dong La, who is also eyeing Angel’s body. Therefore, such a tense confrontation is highly likely.
In this situation, one can either retreat or strike back. Retreating is clearly not the style of a Research and Development Institute member, so Antonio’s advice to Angel is to release a work that renders all of Dong La’s words irrelevant.
"I understand." Angel nodded thoughtfully.
Seeing Angel in contemplation, Ironclad Granny mistakenly thought he was worried about the future situation, so she took a gentle sip of tea and said, "Madeline and Dong La have a deep grudge. Actually, Madeline had the chance to ’permanently’ leave Dong La in the Abyss."
Nis’s eyes widened as he looked at Ironclad Granny... Granny was about to go out of discussion territory.
Angel also understood Granny’s implication. He shook his head with a smile, "Madeline indeed wished to carve out Dong La’s flesh and blood, but I believe Madeline would rather personally take down Dong La. After all, the gap between them isn’t that wide, it’s not an impossible feat."
"Moreover, speaking of work releases... Granny, how do you find the log-in device from the Wilderness of Dreams?"
Ironclad Granny took a deep look at Angel, "The log-in device is good. So it seems you’ve already decided how to proceed."
The reason for this statement is because, according to the current situation in the Barbarian Cave, if Dong La truly intends to challenge Angel, the best opportunity would be at the tea party. Since all wizard organizations will be focusing on the tea party at that time, and the witches have an inherent talent for ’reading as information dissemination, writing as gossip,’ this powerful ability could aid Dong La in achieving her goals rapidly.
On the other hand, Angel was already planning to open the log-in device to a limited audience at the tea party. In this regard, Dong La and he happen to coincide.
As for Angel’s release of the log-in device versus Dong La’s challenge, the clash between the two, who would win and who would lose... Do we even need to ask?
Nis squinted at Angel, contemplating whether he intended to make Dong La a stepping stone.
Ironclad Granny: "Since you already have a plan, let’s set this matter aside for now. As for the main topic we haven’t addressed yet."
Ironclad Granny paused. Originally, she intended to have Nis continue discussing Mia’s handbook, but looking at Nis’s lecherous old face, she decided after a moment of thought to handle it herself.
"Mia’s handbook, retrieved from the relic storage by Antonio. After some searching, the report from those two talented ones was found." Ironclad Granny: "According to records, this event occurred in New Calendar year 7346, at Westdro Island."
These two talented ones were indigenous people from the main island of Westdro, and were actually blood brothers. They lived in a small fishing village on the northern sandy coast of Westdro Island, where they grew up fishing. If not for encountering Mia, they might have become renowned fishermen in the future.
At age fourteen, during Midsummer of New Calendar year 7346, they encountered an event that changed their worldview.
Originally, they were fishing by the sea when they suddenly saw a group of people speeding over the sea’s surface. It startled them, making them start to question their reality—how could humans run over the sea?
Hiding behind palm trees, they witnessed a group of cloaked figures with numerical tattoos on their faces chasing a short-haired man deeper into Westdro Island.
As young boys, they were both perplexed and frightened by these people flying back and forth, but curiosity won over everything, and they secretly followed. They soon witnessed a shocking sight: the cloaked figures periodically emitted flames and light beams from their hands, aimed at the short-haired man ahead, leaving a trail of smoke and fire all the way, burning several mountains and even altering some mountain tops, completely transforming the landscape.
Due to the cloaked figures’ swift speed, merely glimpsing them in flight, they couldn’t keep up and had no choice but to return helplessly.
Although there was no follow-up to this matter, it changed their worldview, creating an aspiration for the transcendent world. This was one of the reasons why Mia could easily recruit them into Sky Mechanical City later.
After Ironclad Granny finished speaking, she took a sip of tea to soothe her dry throat, while Angel pondered over the whole incident.