Chapter 161 The Library Ghost

Having soaked in the hot springs and washed away the dust, Su Lun returned to the Beast Forest with Mirror.

Negotiations were ultimately better suited to his senior apprentice-sister, especially since she was also the leader of Dawn.

She met with the Dwarf King, Beao the Keg, and carefully explained the advantages, disadvantages, and the future of civilization. In any case, the Mountain Dwarf clan agreed to restart the alliance without much hesitation.

However, the Dwarves only agreed to ally with the Dawn Alliance and didn't trust other humans.

Fortunately, Su Lun's Little Void Realm had recently expanded dramatically, so he temporarily settled them inside.

Apart from the lack of mines to dig, everything else was pretty good.

These dwarves, who didn't like war, hammered away in the Little Void Realm, still living their isolated lives.

Of course, they also helped Su Lun forge gargoyles.

As for the treasures accumulated by the dwarves over countless years, they were all temporarily stored in Su Lun's Little Void Realm.

Various ores, treasures, forging tools, magic equipment, and even a mountain-sized forge were moved inside.

It couldn't be said that it all belonged to Su Lun, but if he really needed it, he could borrow it.

He also thought it was good; the Little Void Realm became more lively.

…

The dwarves had too many things to move, and it took them two full days to pack.

Qiantiao went to the seaside to gather the Dawn group, preparing sufficient supplies for an adventure to Dragon Island. Mirror returned to the vicinity of the Zambra Ironfall Province's planar passage.

On the third day, Su Lun teleported back to the Mafa imperial capital, Kabeteron.

Su Lun originally planned to ask Dora about the alchemical manuscript, buy some large mechanical factories, and recruit some machinists.

But when he went to ask, he learned that the hostage lady was also at the front line and wouldn't be back for two days.

Su Lun didn't have any other acquaintances in Mafa. Buying large equipment and recruiting machinists himself was not as good as waiting for an acquaintance to introduce him, which would save a lot of trouble.

Moreover, not only did he lack acquaintances, but both his "Death" and "Fick" identities were important wanted criminals by the Mafa royal family.

Being too high-profile wasn't a good idea.

He followed Number Nineteen, frequenting various material markets to purchase some scarce materials.

Kabeteron was the city of mechanics, and various materials were countless. Almost every district had a large mechanical market, the scale of which was a hundred or a thousand times that of Luying. As long as one could afford the price, almost all materials could be bought.

After waiting for a few days, Miss Dora finally sent a message saying she would soon return to the imperial capital.

…

On this day, Su Lun and Number Nineteen were strolling around the Mafa Royal Mechanical Academy.

They had arranged to meet with the hostage lady here.

The two walked on campus, which was also a bustling place.

Because of the planar war, the students on campus were all passionate. Some Mafa pacifist machinists were unwilling to fight Luying before, but now, with the planar invasion, almost everyone was mobilized. Everywhere could be seen conscription slogans and parades mobilizing alumni to join the front line.

Unlike the students of the Luying Royal Academy, who were either rich or noble, the machinists here couldn't be distinguished by their wealth, but their eyes all shone with the light of mechanical alchemy.

The campus had a long, tree-lined avenue, flanked by giant steel sculptures.

Luying's sculptures invariably commemorated some "great" noble lord.

The sculptures in the Mafa campus, however, were invariably top machinists in a certain field.

Inscribed under the sculptures were the machinists' lives and important patented inventions.

Su Lun was quite moved as he walked down this road.

No wonder Mafa's rise to power through mechanics had only been a little over a hundred years, yet it was so strong. In comparison, the previous Luying was truly corrupt. He wondered what the future would be like under Ekaterina's sweeping reforms…

As the two walked, Number Nineteen also introduced some information about the Mechanical Academy.

She had been here all these years.

Thinking of something, she casually asked, "Su Lun, do you have a disciple at the Royal Mechanical Academy?"

Su Lun nodded. "Yes. Gike is a genius demolitions expert. There were no conditions for learning and growth in Luying, so I sent him to Mafa."

He didn't plan to disturb his disciple's studies, nor did he plan to let anyone know that Gike was his disciple.

Unexpectedly, when Number Nineteen heard this, her expression changed slightly. "Gike James? The genius freshman in the munitions department?"

Su Lun was slightly surprised when he heard this. "You've heard of him?"

"Of course."

Number Nineteen seemed to remember something, and her expression was somewhat emotional. "As long as a genius machinist appears in the academy, they'll be treated like a star. When I was studying munitions, I heard people talk about a very powerful freshman who had come to the academy, who had created many amazing explosives in just a few months. Of course, his most famous incident was when he created a special explosive that blew up the academy's explosion-proof laboratory… Then the whole school knew about such a newcomer."

Su Lun smiled when he heard this.

Gike had blown up the laboratory several times in Luying, and he was treated as an oddity at that time.

He didn't expect that here, he had become a star student.

The two walked and chatted, and before long, they arrived at the Mafa Library.

This was a very large building. The above-ground part was a structure of all-steel frames and glass, which shone brightly in the sun and looked very beautiful.

The academic atmosphere of the library was excellent, and there were many students borrowing books.

Almost every corner of the bookshelves was filled with people.

Su Lun and the two walked in and sat down in an inconspicuous place, chatting and waiting for Dora to arrive.

Number Nineteen continued to introduce, "The academy library was established by Grand Master Lucien Pepys. After he founded the 'Mechanical Alchemist Guild' that year, he spent the rest of his life founding the Royal Academy. The library is also his life's work. So for hundreds of years, there has been a legend that studying in the library will occasionally receive the soul blessing of Master Lucien when encountering problems, and one will be enlightened…"

Su Lun asked, "Soul blessing?"

Number Nineteen said, "Yes. It is said that more than one person has encountered it. Many of the accomplished great machinists of the Mafa Empire today had similar experiences when they were studying at the academy when they were young. The students all say that this is a library blessed by the mechanical predecessors, and only the top genius students will receive the blessing of the 'library ghost'… Of course, because of this legend, there are many pretentious guys who say they have had a blessed experience."

"Oh?"

When Su Lun heard this, he took it seriously.

For alchemists, there must be a reason hidden beneath every phenomenon.

This inexplicable "soul blessing," if it was true, must have a cause.

And coincidentally, he himself was an expert in the field of souls.

Quietly, he held the black umbrella in his hand and sensed it slightly, but he didn't find any soul fluctuations.

However, the structure of the library was indeed quite complex.

In addition to the vast surface building, there were spaces hundreds of meters underground, which were some of the academy's laboratories.

…

The two waited for a while, and the time was exactly two o'clock as agreed.

At this time, a girl in casual clothes appeared at the entrance of the library on time.

Although her appearance had changed, Su Lun recognized this was the hostage lady at first glance.

Dora also saw Su Lun and walked straight over.

Su Lun didn't pretend not to know her and greeted, "Colonel Dora, long time no see."

Dora, however, seemed to be carrying a hint of anger, and in a business-like manner, she first said, "On behalf of the Mafa Military Department, I thank you for the information you provided."

Su Lun was stunned by her expression.

Although the two weren't too familiar, they shouldn't be so distant.

"Please sit down."

After greeting, he sensed something and asked directly, "Colonel Dora, we… there's no misunderstanding between us, is there?"

Dora didn't want to say it originally, but seeing this hateful guy still pretending to be innocent, she was furious.

She said coldly, "Your Excellency's methods are clever enough. Now that your wife has become the Empress of Luying, there are voices in our Mafa immediately calling for us to abandon our hatred and unite against external enemies. Some people even say they want to welcome the Regardi royal family back to the country… Although I think it's right to do this politically, can we do less of these political tactics and unite against the outside world when the planar invasion is imminent?"

"???"

When Su Lun heard this, he understood why this hostage lady was carrying a hint of anger.

It turned out that he was taking the blame for Ekaterina's claim to the throne.

Su Lun had thought before that Ekaterina's choice of the Regardi family as a springboard meant that her eyes were not just on Luying.

The Regardi family's status was very special because it was once a Mafa royal family that had fallen on hard times.

The Mafa and Luying empires had been fighting for hundreds of years, and the authorities on both sides would never reconcile. Even if they were willing, the families of those soldiers who died in battle would never be willing.

But it was very subtle to have a royal family from a hundred years ago to mediate.

A former Mafa royal family became the new Emperor of Luying, so the people of the Mafa Empire could also accept that it was their emperor on an emotional level.

From this point of view, Ekaterina's goal from the beginning of the layout included the Mafa Empire.

Perhaps she wanted to become the only monarch to unify the two empires?

It's just… a planar invasion broke out.

But this layout was before the invasion. As far as Su Lun knew, it wasn't necessarily Ekaterina's intention. A person as proud as her would never do such a despicable thing, even if she had calculations.

It was likely that the old fogeys of the Regardi family were eager to restore their country. After all, they hadn't done nothing in the past one or two hundred years, and they had left many remnants of the old era in the Mafa Empire. Now that there was hope, they would naturally take a big step.

But everything was just speculation.

It didn't matter to him what the truth was.

Su Lun smiled and defended himself, "Whether you believe it or not, this has nothing to do with me. I have no interest in politics. Moreover, I am Su Lun of Dawn, and 'Fick' of Regardi will never appear again."

"…"

Dora frowned when she heard this.

Hearing this, she carefully examined Su Lun with scrutinizing eyes, as if using some method to confirm that he wasn't lying. The anger between her brows dissipated a little.

But she still complained, "There's never anything good when I meet you…"

Su Lun didn't care at all, the sequelae of the kidnapping hadn't completely disappeared.

He directly changed the subject and asked, "How is the battle situation at the front line?"

Dora's face had returned to normal, and she replied, "The battle situation is very tragic. But for now, it's still controllable. But it's impossible to completely solve the problem. The defense barrier set up by the ninth-level magic tower hasn't found a way to break it yet. And as time goes by, the planar passage is becoming more and more stable, and the enemy's top mages will also descend…"

As she spoke, the worry on her face didn't diminish.

Su Lun knew this situation before, and it was indeed not optimistic.

After all, the God Realm was many times higher than the broken Alchemy Plane in terms of combat power.

Just like an elephant to an ant, it had the ability to crush them.

It seemed that there was really no way to stop it.

After Mirror calculated, he found that the hope of solving the problem might only be found when the people of the Alchemy Plane were qualified to leave the plane.

"But thanks to your organization for providing combat support. Especially Mirror, the military also hopes to cooperate with your Dawn…"

Speaking of the war, a trace of fatigue reappeared on Dora's face.

She didn't say more on this painful topic, but instead said, "But don't think about that Isaac manuscript for the time being. After your wife claimed the throne… all kinds of old-era rebels have emerged recently, and now His Majesty the Emperor suspects your motives. Even if I'm willing to trust you, it's impossible to get it in a short time."

"Yes."

When Su Lun heard this, there was nothing unusual on his face.

He was currently planning to go to Dragon Island, and getting this notebook from the Mafa royal family wasn't too urgent.

He thought about it and said, "There's also one more thing. I need some machinists to help me make some mechanical castle parts."

Dora remembered that the two had mentioned this verbally before, so she directly asked, "Where are the blueprints?"

Su Lun took out a part of the blueprints for the [Sky Fortress].

Dora's gaze was immediately attracted by the exquisite design drawings. As a mechanical master, she recognized it after looking at it for a while and exclaimed, "Luying's Gusmao airship blueprints? You actually have this?!"

As she spoke, she suddenly seemed to think of something and changed her words, "Oh, I almost forgot. The Empress of Luying is your wife."

Su Lun felt a little helpless when he heard this, which was obviously sarcasm.

The airship was indeed given by Ekaterina, but the blueprints were his own.

He didn't explain much, but just asked, "Can Mafa currently manufacture these mechanical castle parts?"

Although he had the [Goblin Sky Fortress's Energy Core] in his hand, Luying's mechanical technology had no way to restore the ultra-high-pressure steam power boiler of the sky castle on the blueprints.

Dora didn't rush to answer, but carefully looked at a few blueprints before saying, "Most of them are no problem."

After she finished looking at the blueprints, her eyes turned, and she seemed to think of something. She looked at Su Lun again and said, "These blueprints should be a very old goblin mechanical castle… If I'm not mistaken, Luying's Gusmao airship was copied based on these blueprints. But to drive such a huge mechanical city to fly in the sky, the power required is terrifying. The current technology can't support it at all… so Luying only copied some crude airships."

As she spoke, she saw Su Lun and seemed to guess that he had the key parts in his hand.

But she deliberately didn't mention it.

How smart!

Su Lun also saw her thoughts from her eyes.

Mr. Black had also asserted before that this hostage lady was extremely talented. Except for a slight lack of age and experience, she would inevitably stand at the top of the pyramid in this world in the future.

Dora pondered for a moment and then said, "Can you sell me these blueprints? Any conditions can be discussed."

Speaking of this, she also knew that her words seemed a little abrupt, and she quickly explained, "My meaning is that even if we can't build a sky fortress, we can transform the blueprints into land-based or sea-based mechanical castles! This is definitely a great weapon to resist those planar invaders."

Su Lun was not surprised when he heard this and replied, "Okay! But I only have one request. These blueprints must never be used in the war between the Mafa and Luying empires. If you can guarantee this, I can give you the blueprints."

"…"

Hearing this, Dora immediately fell silent.

She couldn't guarantee it.

Even if the military came forward, they couldn't guarantee it.

Although Mafa didn't have traditional nobles, the internal situation was no better than Luying's.

With years of war, the major arms dealers already had the absolute right to influence politics, which was a behemoth that their military often had no choice but to endure.

They were greedy, ignorant, selfish, and monopolized technology… and often only cared about their own interests and wouldn't take the overall situation into consideration.

If they could, arms dealers would want the world to be in a state of war forever.

Dora sometimes hated those arms dealers.

Su Lun looked at Dora's troubled expression.

But at this time, a strange color flashed across his eyes, because… he had just noticed a very slight soul fluctuation.

It was discovered and then disappeared immediately.

"Huh… there really is a spirit in this library?"

Su Lun murmured softly in his heart, and his mind also fell into thought.

The way this spirit appeared was very special, unlike any other he had ever seen. It gave the feeling that… the entire library was it?

He knew that Dora couldn't guarantee it, so this blueprint transaction would definitely have no results.

Unsurprisingly, Dora replied with a regretful expression, "Sorry, I can't guarantee it."

Su Lun also felt that he could skip this topic.

But unexpectedly, Dora changed the subject and raised a new question, "But… can I participate in the construction of this mechanical city in a private capacity?"

When Su Lun heard this, his eyes froze.

What he was thinking about was not the words of the hostage lady, but something else.

Could it be that the spirit just communicated something to her?

So that spirit had a subjective consciousness?

Su Lun looked at Dora without showing any emotion and asked, "What do you think, Colonel Dora?"

Dora also knew that it was not very convincing for her, a Mafa colonel, to say this, especially since she had a "criminal record" as a spy, so she said, "If you don't trust me, I can have some conditions for exchange, such as signing a contract. Don't worry, my mechanical technology is definitely not bad, and I also need these blueprints."

She was sure that the guy in front of her had complete blueprints and some key parts.

So even if it was copied, it wouldn't be as good as the one in his hand.

Su Lun didn't rush to refuse when he heard this, but asked meaningfully, "Can I ask, why?"

Dora hesitated, as if she wanted to explain, but after pondering for a moment, she shook her head and said, "Sorry, I can't tell you the reason for the time being. I can only guarantee that I have no malice."

"Then I'll think about it."

Su Lun didn't force her when he heard this, but just said, "Why don't you help me find a group of machinists who can forge first? Of course, I'll pay the full amount."

Dora didn't know what to say for a while, and just said, "Okay."

…

The two talked for a while, asking questions and gathering information.

Su Lun asked about the library ghost and some questions about the Isaac notebook… but didn't get any results.

Dora also asked about Number Nineteen's mechanical limbs and Su Lun's talent…

After all, she was a professional spy, and every sentence was probing for information without talking about it directly.

The atmosphere of the conversation was not too pleasant, but it could be considered that each had gained something.

During the chat, Su Lun always kept his hand on the rune black umbrella, and he wanted to sense what kind of existence the "library ghost" was.

But this move didn't escape the sharp eyes of the hostage lady.

Dora was not polite to Su Lun and couldn't help but complain when she saw that he always kept his hand on the umbrella, "Your Excellency Su Lun, do you want me to help you hang up your umbrella? Holding an umbrella indoors, the students will think you're a weirdo."

Su Lun knew that he always carried a black umbrella wherever he went, and others would definitely not think it was an ordinary umbrella.

He listened to the obvious teasing tone and didn't hide it. He smiled and said, "It's best to be careful when meeting Colonel Dora."

When Dora heard this, it seemed to arouse some unpleasant memories, and she retorted, "Hmph! I suspect you have some special 'bad luck' talent. There's never anything good when I meet you!"

"Heh…"

Su Lun recalled the previous two encounters, and it seemed that they were not very pleasant for her.

But for him, it was a great opportunity with good gains.

They teased each other a few times, and the atmosphere of the negotiations was not bad.

However, at this time, Su Lun's eyes suddenly sharpened.

Dora looked at his suddenly serious expression and thought that he had discovered the secret of the library. She asked a little cautiously, "What's wrong?"

The solemnity in Su Lun's eyes grew stronger and stronger, as if he was afraid of being discovered by someone. He didn't even dare to turn his head to look directly at what he had discovered and said slowly, "You may be right this time… big trouble is coming."

Number Nineteen, who was on the side, also had a serious expression and was ready for battle.

Dora was also very cautious when she heard this. She suddenly guessed something and asked, "Enemies?"

There were not many things that could be called "big trouble" by the person in front of her.

Thinking about it, it must be someone from the God Realm.

"Yes."

Su Lun himself didn't expect that he didn't find the ghost of the library when he fully released his soul perception, but he found another person.

It was none other than Frank McAdam, the "Holy Son" of the God Race, who had been cut off an arm by him in Lingdun!

Dora had never seen Su Lun's face so serious, not even in that "T-class" cursed space.

She asked, "How strong are the enemies?"

Su Lun said directly, "Very strong! Last time, even if I joined hands with the leader of our group, we couldn't keep him. Now… even ninth-level professionals may not be able to do it."

He sensed the fluctuations of Frank's soul.

He wasn't so strong when he saw him a few months ago, but now he was so strong that he was faintly palpitating.

He had teamed up with Mirror and Qiantiao before to sneak attack and cut off one of his arms, so one could imagine how strong he was now.

This guy was definitely a "heavy bomb" in the planar invasion.

Su Lun took a deep breath in his heart and said, "At ten o'clock, one hundred and fifty meters. Don't look directly at him, and don't try to peek. He has the protection of the gods on his body, and any hostility and peeking will be discovered. If you have any means, quickly notify the top experts to come."

These words were not only for the hostage lady opposite, but also for the ghost of the library.

When Dora heard this, she immediately guessed that it was the wanted Holy Son.

She didn't dare to say the name, and her lips moved slightly, as if she had sent out some signal.

Su Lun recognized this guy, but after thinking for a moment, he suddenly relaxed.

It was not surprising that this guy came to Mafa, after all, the planar passage was here.

But… what was he doing in the Mechanical Academy Library?

In any case, he wasn't here to seek revenge on him.

Dora's mentality was naturally not bad to become a professional spy.

He looked at the change in Su Lun's expression and guessed what he was thinking as if he had mind-reading skills. He couldn't help but complain, "Hey hey hey… even if he's not here for you, are you really not planning to help?"

Su Lun shrugged, "I'll help if I can. But now… I may not be able to help much."

The revenge for cutting off his arm last time was not small, and Su Lun didn't think that showing his face was a good choice.

Being targeted by a guy who was always protected by a god, he could guarantee that this Frank might not kill others, but he would definitely kill him, Su Lun!

Su Lun didn't care about the contemptuous look of the hostage lady, but just reminded, "Have you considered why he came to the library?"

"…"

Dora obviously guessed something, and her expression changed.

But it seemed to involve some secrets, and she didn't dare to make a decision.

It was not surprising that a great empire had some secrets, and Su Lun didn't really want to explore them.

However, at this time, a mysterious and distant voice suddenly came from Su Lun's mind: "Little friend, your soul is very special. If possible, I would like to get to know you. I'm sorry I can't show myself, so I can only ask you and your friend to come over. Please also bring my disciple down."

Mental communication?

In an instant, Su Lun knew that it was the "library ghost" who was speaking.

And what surprised him was that it was actually Dora's teacher?

So that was why she made an appointment to meet in the library.

ps. Ask for guaranteed monthly tickets for the new month, please everyone.