Number 03 silently watched the rolling steam draw closer to her.
She was still within the core of the Surge Alchemist. Now, the core had been divided into two areas. The outer area was a battlefield where water and fire clashed, filled with high-temperature steam; the inner area was similar to her "Watermark" space, with a deep blue water color and a concentrated power of water, even faintly showing tangible veins of water appearing and disappearing.
It had now been one hour since the confrontation with the flaming spell ground.
During this hour, there were no signs of the Surge Alchemist’s head continuing to melt. A large amount of water power warded off the erosion of the flaming spell ground, leading Ferro outside to believe that Number 03’s situation, as she had described, was relatively stable.
But only Number 03, inside the core, knew that she was not truly safe.
The outer steam area was continuously expanding, while the inner water area was gradually shrinking.
There was nothing she could do about it. The flaming spell ground was controlled by the Fire-stepper Ferro, and Ferro himself was still guarding outside. Meanwhile, although the core of the Surge Alchemist had some power from the water veins, this Law of Veins came from the one who refined it.
One was a fire vein that could be directly controlled by someone, while the other was an indirectly controlled water vein. The difference in strength was clear at a glance.
Even though Number 03’s reserves of Water System magic power were still plentiful, her power was still somewhat distant from the strength of the veins within the Mechanist Core, and she could only barely supplement the consumption of the water veins. Her larger role was as the controller.
She could replenish consumption, but not loss. Continuous use of the Mechanist Core, no matter how precise the mechanism, would still lead to overload and wear.
According to the current situation, the outer steam area could last at most for another two or three hours. By then, when inside and outside merged, the Mechanist Core would also declare its end.
"Can they come back before that?" Number 03 sighed, turning around to walk to the center of the inner area.
Here, a bright blue crystal floated, which was the core of the Surge Alchemist.
Number 03 reached out to try and touch it.
A scorching sensation spread from her palm into Number 03’s body. This was a sign that the Mechanist Core was operating at full force. As time went on, the feedback temperature would continue to increase. It was already noticeably hot, and in another hour, the temperature might burn a scar into her palm.
She ignored the intense heat being transmitted and paused her hand for a moment, allowing a water mirror to emerge from the Mechanist Core.
In the completely sealed core space, the only way to investigate the outside situation was through the water mirror. The water mirror could project the image of the outside world, one of the many functions of the Mechanist Core.
Under normal circumstances, the water mirror could render the outside in minute detail, even magnifying pores for viewing.
But now, the view of the water mirror was obscured by the raging flames outside the flaming spell ground, and everything projected had a mist-like filter over it. Moreover, firelight permeated this mist, making it impossible to clearly see the outside situation, with only faint human figures discernible.
At this moment, the water mirror revealed an extremely blurry figure. She knew that the owner of this figure was Ferro.
She was so certain because the water mirror could also transmit the external sound, unaffected by the flaming spell ground. Hence, she could clearly hear Ferro’s continuous muttering.
Sometimes speaking calmly, sometimes threatening vehemently, sometimes seeming earnest and sincere.
In such mentally taxing ramblings, Number 03 could not fail to recognize Ferro’s voice.
"I don’t see why you have to be so stubborn. There’s not much enmity between us, especially me; I have no grievances with you and won’t harm you. All you have to do now is give me the hand of the Night Moth Witch and then tell me where Laboratory Number 2 is and who is there..."
Before Ferro could finish speaking, Number 03 coldly interrupted, "Even if you knew where Laboratory Number 2 is, could you get there? The Southern Domain is an actively marginal part of the Wizards’ Realm. With your abilities, how could you possibly reach the Western Lands?"
"The time distance between the Western Lands and the Southern Domain is boundless and endless. Are you prepared to fly for decades, even centuries, to get there? Besides, each of the four labs of the Lacey Association has its own duties. Our lab is almost done with its research. Do you think Laboratory Number 2 will continue researching for decades more? They might have already concluded their research and returned to the Origin World."
"Or do you plan to pursue them to the Origin World?"
Then, a cold laugh echoed. It was both a taunt and a statement.
Ferro showed no concern for Number 03’s ridicule. As long as she was willing to talk, there was a chance she would reveal something.
Having said her piece, Number 03 no longer listened to Ferro’s voice. Instead, she quietly observed the hazy projection in the water mirror.
One minute, two minutes... ten minutes...
When a quarter of an hour had passed, Number 03 squinted her eyes and softly spoke, "I wonder if Lord Illusion Demon is nearby?"
The haze could not reveal anything too far away, only faint silhouettes. Number 03 had been observing for this long to see if any others might appear.
But after a quarter of an hour, no others appeared besides Ferro.
This reminded Number 03 of her previous conversation with Sanders. From Sanders’ words, she had detected his interest in investigating the lab. Could it be... they had entered the lab?
Ferro chuckled, "They’re not. They’ve left, do you believe it?"
Behind the water mirror, it was difficult for Number 03 to discern whether Ferro was telling the truth or lying.
There was a high probability that Ferro was trying to lure her out, but there was also a small chance he was being truthful, gambling on a mindset.
Number 03 personally leaned toward the idea that Ferro was lying, trying to entice her into leaving.
Sanders and the others might be hiding beyond the mist... After all, infiltrating the lab isn’t easy. The Array of Mana is tightly intertwined, and without the intervention of a high-level Magic Rune Mage, it’s tough to break through in a short time.
As for "forcibly breaching," Number 03 actually hoped they would do that, even suspecting they might have been considering ways to breach. But they surely hadn’t yet, because Ferro was still here.
If they had breached, the commotion would have alerted Ferro, and there’s no way he could still be sitting here comfortably chatting with her.
After all, a breach would inevitably activate that existence...
Number 03 refrained from playing verbal games with Ferro, preparing to directly shut the water mirror, unwilling to listen to Ferro’s voice any further.
However, at the last second before shutting the water mirror, Number 03 reconsidered and ultimately put down her hand.
The Mechanist Core had already begun experiencing wear, and opening and closing the water mirror also burdened the core to some extent. Although this consumption was minimal, her past experience told Number 03 that mechanical overload typically originated from the most inconspicuous, minute energy.
Therefore, when it came to choosing between overload and enduring Ferro’s muttering, she opted for the latter.
Enduring Ferro’s continued bluster from outside, Number 03 focused her gaze on the intersection of the inner and outer regions, watching as the outer area continued its intrusion inward, her spirits continually sinking.
Once the inner and outer merge, she’s got no choice but to abandon the Mechanist Core.
If Sanders had ventured into the lab, so be it. But if they hadn’t, upon her exit, she would face an unprecedented crisis.