As Seo watched the drone hover above her domain, a sense of accomplishment washed over her. She had essentially skipped over a thousand years of civilization just by creating this single device. That fact was clearly reflected in the astonished gazes of her companions, who had witnessed the final result of her tireless week of experiments.
Seo looked at the hovering screen in front of her, which displayed a crystal-clear image of the drone's surroundings. She moved the drone around, testing its mobility. Just as she had envisioned, it worked perfectly—actually even better than the modern drones she had seen on TV in her past life.
Afterward, she tested every other function: defense systems, offensive capabilities, and the cloaking array. Each test produced flawless results.
With the testing complete, it was finally time to put the drone to work.
She activated its cloaking function and sent it beyond the borders of her domain. Occasionally she lowered it to map different areas of the Dark Forest. Because of the drone's incredible speed, the progress was astronomical.
Soon enough, Seo possessed a detailed map of her surroundings: the center of the Dark Forest, where her courtyard was, and nearly half of the entire forest itself.
Now she was sending the drone on a new expedition—to the empire's capital. Her goal was simple: find Meihua and hopefully exchange information.
_ _ _
Seo had been flying the drone for two and a half days. She wasn't simply sending it straight out of the Dark Forest; she carefully mapped special locations along the way, marking them neatly on her growing map. She organized information about the flora and fauna in each region.
As she studied the map, a smile crept across her face.
She felt like some astronomer studying weather patterns.
At night, she would attach the drone to the trunk of a massive tree and activate its cloaking system. The array masked the drone's scent, concealed the spiritual energy of the Nyxium core, and rendered the entire device invisible.
After several days, the drone finally exited the Dark Forest.
Seo immediately increased its speed and directed it toward the empire's capital—the very core of the empire. Since the chances of encountering people were now much higher, she raised the drone's altitude. Most people would probably assume it was some kind of spirit beast anyway.
The view from above was breathtaking.
It looked like scenes she had seen in historical dramas—if not even better. People bustled through the market streets, trading goods and shouting prices. Ancient carriages rolled along the roads. Performers entertained crowds. The city was alive with activity.
At the center of it all stood a massive courtyard—the imperial palace.
Seo hovered the drone high above the capital before activating the spiritual radar. Instantly, countless icons appeared across the screen. They were all gray except for one glowing green.
Meihua.
Because Meihua still carried traces of Seo's spiritual energy, the radar easily recognized her.
Seo immediately directed the drone toward the signal.
The location turned out to be another large courtyard—one Seo recognized from the original owner's memories. It was a place she frequently visited for galas and noble gatherings, the general's mansion.
Carefully maneuvering the drone around the mansion's structures, she eventually reached the exact location of the green icon.
It was an elegant pavilion surrounded by beautifully arranged gardens, a small pond reflected the sunlight while delicate trees swayed gently in the breeze.
At the center of the pavilion sat Meihua, surrounded by several young women dressed in luxurious attire. Judging by their clothing, they were likely noble ladies—probably friends visiting her. Their attendants stood nearby.
Seo immediately realized revealing the drone in front of everyone would cause trouble for Meihua.
So instead, she used the residual spiritual energy connected to Meihua and established a link.
The drone's communication array activated, transmitting Seo's voice directly into Meihua's mind.
"It's been a while… huh, Princess?" Seo said in a teasing tone.
The sudden voice startled Meihua. She quickly looked around but saw no one. Extending her spiritual sense, she tried to locate the source of the voice.
Her efforts were futile.
The cloaking array embedded within the Nyxium core was far too complex.
Noticing Meihua's unease, Seo stopped teasing her and instructed her to find somewhere private.
Although still nervous, Meihua recognized the voice. Her anxiety eased slightly.
She excused herself from the gathering and instructed the attendants to escort her guests to the tea room. After confirming they had left, she walked toward the rear of the pavilion and entered the innermost chamber—most likely her bedroom.
She sat cautiously on an expensive chair and again scanned the room with her spiritual sense.
Seo watched her reaction and couldn't help but think it was a little cute.
Leaning back in her rocking chair, Seo deactivated the drone's cloaking array.
The drone slowly revealed itself, still hovering in midair inside the room.
Meihua froze in shock.
Just like Choi and the others earlier, she was witnessing something she had never even imagined could exist. She examined the drone with her spiritual sense but could not comprehend the complex arrays embedded within it.
Seo then activated the projection function.
Particles of light gathered together, slowly forming Seo's silhouette. It resembled a high-tech hologram—an image of Seo sitting casually in her rocking chair.
Meihua was completely speechless.
Yes, projection techniques existed in this world, but they were done using expensive recording stones. Those projections appeared on dull screens with faded colors.
This… was entirely different.
The figure before her looked almost real.
Though she had countless questions, Meihua restrained herself and instead asked why Seo had contacted her without warning.
Seo maneuvered the drone around the room, briefly inspecting the decorations before stopping in front of Meihua again.
"Some annoying flies are buzzing around my territory," Seo said with clear irritation.
Meihua paused for a moment before quickly composing herself. She had already heard rumors spreading across the empire—news that the Dark Forest was being cleansed and many forces were attempting to seize rare resources.
But she hadn't expected them to move this quickly.
She asked Seo if she was somewhere near the capital.
Instead of answering directly, Seo expanded the drone's projection.
When Meihua saw the surroundings displayed before her, her expression froze.
She immediately recognized the location. She had lived there long enough to know it well. The distance between that place and the capital was enormous.
Yet here she was—speaking with Seo in real time.
Her stomach dropped.
She sat completely frozen.