Coppelia had originally intended to take Suleiman and set out for the desert overnight. But upon second thought, considering that the upcoming operation would likely involve combat, she realized she needed to maintain absolute focus. Trudging through the night might compromise her condition and lead to unnecessary errors. She ultimately decided to get a good night's rest.
The next day, just as the sky began to turn the pale white of a fish's belly and the morning light had not yet fully dispelled the chill of the night, Coppelia was already awake. She walked to the door of Suleiman's bedroom and knocked.
The door opened quickly. Suleiman had already changed into a new outfit: long robes that were primarily red with white accents. The fabric was light and thin, the cut loose—an attire clearly breathable and suited for operations in the scorching heat of the desert.
Coppelia held the ancient bronze mirror in her hand. She had already summoned a "utility Moon Spirit" responsible for transport and guidance, which now floated beside her.
"Do you need to make any other preparations?" Coppelia asked.
"We should bring Kelvin; we might need him to point the way," Suleiman said.
"No need," Coppelia raised her hand and pointed to the Moon Spirit hovering quietly nearby. "This little guy knows the way. It flew out from there, after all."
Suleiman looked at the faintly glowing Moon Spirit and nodded. "Then let Kelvin stay here. I'll call someone over to take him away and keep him under strict guard."
"Good," Coppelia said. "Then hurry up."
Suleiman walked toward the door. Coppelia stood in the living room, unconsciously tossing the bronze mirror in her hand. The mirror's surface reflected the faint morning light filtering in through the window, tracing an arc of light in the air. This action suddenly reminded her of something.
"Wait!" she hurriedly called out to Suleiman, who had already reached the door. "There's another person here!"
As she spoke, she shook the bronze mirror. A light flashed, and the slightly chubby Khaenri'ahn researcher, stripped of his black robes, appeared on the living room floor. His hands and feet were still bound by vines, his posture awkward. Having gone without food or water for a long time, he was currently unconscious, his breathing so weak it was almost inaudible, and his face completely drained of blood.
Coppelia raised a hand to her forehead. "I was in too much of a rush last night and forgot about this guy! Call a few more people over."
Suleiman nodded, asking no further questions, and pushed the door open to leave. A short while later, he returned with several men of strong build.
The men filed in, their movements efficient. Without any superfluous conversation, they took away Kelvin—who wore a look of slight reluctance but did not resist—and the dying researcher on the floor.
The two humans and one Moon Spirit exited the room and locked the door. The Moon Spirit floated between Coppelia and Suleiman, aiming the bronze mirror held in its braids at them, and stored them inside the mirror.
Carrying the bronze mirror, the Moon Spirit transformed into a streak of faint light, leaving the house and heading all the way west, deep into the heart of the desert. The Moon Spirit could not fly too fast, so the entire journey took four or five hours.
When it released the two of them again, they were standing amidst a boundless sea of sand.
The scorching sun hung high, and heat waves rose from the ground. Suleiman narrowed his eyes, relying on the silhouettes of several white pyramid-shaped structures in the distance and the unique wind-eroded landforms around them to quickly determine their approximate location. He pointed out a more specific direction of travel to the Moon Spirit floating beside him.
The Moon Spirit stored the two of them once more and continued flying. Finally, it released them at the foot of a massive mountain massif.
The mountain had been eroded by wind and sand over the years, forming a peculiar shape that protruded at the top and concave at the bottom. Scattered in the distance were many isolated giant rocks carved by the wind into mushroom shapes. In a recessed shadow at the base of the mountain stood a tall gateway built from heavy stones.
Suleiman asked Coppelia to wait under a Date Palm far from the stone gate, while he walked toward the gate alone, his figure disappearing into it.
The waiting time became drawn out. The silence and intense heat of the desert amplified the sensation of passing time. Coppelia released the other three Moon Spirits from the bronze mirror to let them get some air.
She said to the four Moon Spirits gathering around her, "Go play."
The Moon Spirits scattered, finding their own amusement in this barren yet novel environment.
They chased tumbleweeds rolling across the ground in the wind, used their braids to catch Dendro Crystalflies, and even curiously used their bodies to burrow into the sand, searching for the hard-shelled Scarabs underneath.
Coppelia had no interest in these desert things. She simply sat with her back against the rough trunk of the Date Palm, her gaze unfocused, watching them play to kill time.
Finally, Suleiman walked out from that stone gate.
Coppelia immediately recalled the four Moon Spirits to her side, stored them in the bronze mirror, and walked quickly to meet Suleiman.
"It's settled," Suleiman said concisely. "An old friend of mine, Seth, is willing to help. He has already brought the Primal Construct array out. I'll take you to find him."
Suleiman led Coppelia through the sand dunes for a distance until they found a small-scale oasis. A few drought-resistant trees surrounded a small patch of murky water.
A man wearing half-body metal armor and loose desert trousers was already waiting there, his arms crossed over his chest. His skin was dark, and his face held little expression. When he saw Coppelia, he merely gave a very slight nod as a greeting.
Coppelia cut straight to the chase. "No need for small talk. We leave immediately."
She released the Moon Spirit responsible for leading the way again. She explained to the man named Seth, "It will use this mirror to take us underground. We all need to be stored inside."
"I have already told him about the function of this item," Suleiman added from the side.
" The plan?" Seth asked.
"It's quite spacious inside the bronze mirror; we can discuss it while the Moon Spirit travels," Coppelia said no more, but her gaze subconsciously scanned the surroundings. Inside the oasis, and on the sandy ground at its periphery, apart from the three of them, there was nothing. She saw no figures resembling mechanical creations, nor even any traces left by machines.
Even when she switched to Elemental Sight to observe, her field of vision showed only flowing Wind and stable Geo; she could not discern any abnormal energy gatherings or mechanical structures.
"Uh... let me just confirm," she couldn't help but speak up, looking at Seth. "The autonomous machines you brought... where are they?"
Seth's answer was simple, just two words: "All around."
As soon as his voice fell, a dense, soft rustling sound suddenly rose from the sandy ground surrounding the three of them. It sounded like countless tiny metal components rapidly piecing themselves together.
Coppelia immediately looked toward a relatively flat patch of sand on the periphery.
Above the originally empty sand, dozens—no, hundreds, perhaps even thousands—of rotating blue energy vortexes emerged. These vortexes quickly stabilized, turning into bright core points of light.
Immediately afterward, from every point of light, regular patterns composed of pale blue lines rapidly "grew" outward.
These patterns interwove and expanded. In almost the blink of an eye, they coalesced into mechanical entities composed of multiple pyramidal structures, solidifying from a near-transparent, incorporeal state into cold, hard metal existences.
They floated silently above the sand, packed densely together, utterly noiseless.
"They are called Primal Constructs. Although it's only a small squad," Suleiman said, looking at this suddenly appearing mechanical array, "it should be enough to deal with the experimental base underground."
—A "small" squad...
Coppelia gazed at this mechanical ocean, enough to make anyone with trypophobia pass away instantly, and for a moment, she was speechless.
She finally understood why Suleiman hadn't been the least bit anxious when Kelvin vaguely rattled off those troop numbers last night.
Coppelia asked no further questions. She turned to the Moon Spirit holding the bronze mirror and explained roughly where to release the three of them and this swarm of machines.
The Moon Spirit aimed the mirror surface at the three people present, as well as the boundless array of Primal Constructs surrounding them. In moments, both figures and machines vanished completely.
The Moon Spirit put away the bronze mirror, identified the direction, and following the path it knew, dove once again toward the deep underground.
____
👻🔥Walnut-chan ;)🔥👻
🔥 New history: Group chat of the Dead
✅ Jump 40 chapters ahead of the public release!
✅ Get access to special perks and news!
Help smash these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter (for everyone)
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters (for all stories)!
👻 P - Walnut-chan