Once everyone left the exhibition room, Angel greeted them and buried himself in studying the Magical Energy Array to find the main control node’s position through the three control nodes.
Nis and Kanter proceeded to venture deeper into the lab.
Under Reynaud’s guidance, they quickly found the entrance to the fourth floor, still a narrow corridor, suggesting it’s an external corridor. They need to enter it, then the outside rotary arm will move the corridor to the entrance of the fourth floor.
Nis didn’t immediately enter the corridor, because until now, they hadn’t really encountered researchers from inside the laboratory.
According to Reynaud’s description of the laboratory’s internal layering, the fifth floor is the private domain of the first three sequences, researchers are basically unlikely to go there.
With no sight of researchers on the first three floors, the likelihood of them being on the fourth floor is the highest.
So, to avoid alerting the enemy, Nis decided to wait and see if Angel discovered anything before making a decision.
Ten more minutes passed quickly, after experiencing an onslaught of a wave of Law, Angel’s voice finally came through the Mind Ribbon: "I just conducted a check on the fourth and fifth floors and found that all the main trunk magic patterns of the Magical Energy Array don’t show any signs of extending downwards. Only non-core magic patterns, like those related to information transmission blocks, show tendencies of extending towards the fourth and fifth floors."
Nis: "What does this mean?"
Kanter answered Nis’s question on Angel’s behalf: "It means the main control node isn’t on the fourth or fifth floors."
Nis: "Is it really on the first floor?"
Angel: "The probability is high, comparing the sub-control nodes on the second and third floors, I’ve found quite a few main trunk magic patterns on the first floor."
Pausing briefly, Angel’s tone noticeably rose: "If it’s really on the first floor, the time to find the main control node will be greatly reduced."
Because Angel is currently on the first floor, he understands the magic patterns of the first floor better than other floors, allowing him to quickly pinpoint the locations of the main trunk magic patterns. On other floors, Angel would either have to come down personally or study through the Authority Eye, ultimately slower.
"I will now follow the main trunk magic patterns on the first floor to see if I can pinpoint the location of the main control node." Angel was a man of action and immediately prepared to shield the Mind Ribbon and began his search.
"Wait." Nis stopped Angel: "Are you sure our information hasn’t been passed along?"
Nis worried that their information might have been transmitted through the Magical Energy Array to the researchers here. If that were the case, stepping into this external corridor could lead to them being pinpointed, and not to mention going downstairs, the external corridor might be disconnected, burying them in the ground.
Being buried in the ground is actually considered a relatively good outcome; if it’s the Magical Energy Array backlash, that’s the most terrifying outcome.
Angel: "At least for now, there’s no sign of your information being transmitted in the Magical Energy Array."
"However, considering the time, we’ve been in the laboratory for quite a while. Number 03 might have already guessed our whereabouts."
Guessing our whereabouts isn’t a big deal; the only worry is whether Number 03 has any means to contact internal personnel. If she has established contact, then the situation Nis worries about could very likely occur.
Kanter: "Wizard Ferro hasn’t activated what I left him yet, which means Number 03 hasn’t come out of the Flame Law Field, so, even if she has a way to transmit information, currently nothing has been transmitted yet."
"But Angel is right, Number 03 should be suspicious now; she probably won’t take long before leaving the Mechanist Core. At that point, we must leave the laboratory quickly."
Number 03 encouraged them to enter the laboratory, indicating that she might have arranged something inside the laboratory, and even if there are no arrangements, the Magical Energy Array backlash is terrifying.
Therefore, the time left for them is running out.
Kanter: "Angel, continue searching for the main control node. Once it is found, many follow-up actions will be easier. If the main control node isn’t found, once Number 03 comes out, we’ll need to use means to leave."
Angel: "Okay, I’ll hurry."
After speaking, Angel stopped talking and directly entered research mode.
Nis and Kanter stepped into the narrow corridor, heading towards the fourth floor entrance.
...
While everyone was acting separately inside the laboratory, outside, Number 03 was caught in a dilemma.
It had been nearly over an hour.
Through the water mirror, she only saw Ferro boasting outside, while Sanders and others were completely unseen.
Being absent for so long, not even a sound, made her uneasy.
Earlier, she thought Sanders and others wouldn’t dare break into the laboratory, after all, there was a Magical Energy Array inside and unless aided by a master well-versed in the art of magic patterns, it would be impossible to enter quietly.
But now she’s uncertain; they’ve been gone so long, might they have really entered the laboratory?
Perhaps Nis or Sanders has an understanding of magic patterns? Or perhaps they have other means to bypass the Magical Energy Array... like a Mysterious Object?
If that’s the case, she needs to leave the Mechanist Core quickly, or many things can’t be done.
Especially the largest mechanism in the laboratory, she must leave the Mechanist Core, contact personnel inside the laboratory, and join forces from both inside and outside to activate it.
Then even Sanders would... well, she couldn’t kill him, but she wouldn’t be defenseless.
Moreover, once that mechanism is activated, when others return, under their joint effort, the chance of capturing Sanders would be very high.
However, the premise of all this is that they entered the laboratory and... she leaves now.
She could certainly leave now, but her worry was whether she might be overthinking, and whether Sanders and others hadn’t entered the laboratory, just lying in ambush at the depths of the Mist, waiting for her to fall into their trap.
Should she leave the Mechanist Core?
Or should she wait until everyone returns and then join forces against the enemy?
Number 03 attempted to engage Ferro in conversation through the water mirror to probe for news about Sanders and others. But Ferro was clever, revealing little, occasionally sharing information of dubious authenticity, seemingly just trying to lure her out.
If it was indeed a lure for her to leave the Mechanist Core, it implies Sanders and others are lying in wait nearby.
At this moment, Number 03 was standing at a crossroads, where her fate would be decided, and so would her ability to fulfill Seele’s legacy.
While agonizing, Number 03 gazed at the bottle in her hand.
The core of the fruit continuously emitted magic power, tempting her to swallow it.
Perhaps... she should try going out once? If Sanders is indeed lying in ambush outside, at worst, she’d swallow it.
But once she swallows it, even if she manages to deal with Sanders, the consequences for herself would be hard to predict.
Staring at the core, Number 03 gulped, and her mind grew increasingly conflicted.