Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon

"Why?" Ailuodi sped up with a few strokes, catching up from behind, "Don’t all Evil Gods want to erode this world? Even if it was trapped by the Mist God, you have dispersed the mist fifteen years later, which essentially set it free. Theoretically, it could either leave or invade this world instead of specifically troubling us..."

"You’re right, and that’s also something I temporarily haven’t figured out. But I believe, once we meet Franwick Yuss, the answer will naturally reveal itself."

As they spoke, a new steep slope appeared in front of the pool, indicating they had crossed the waterlogged area and reached the other end of the cave. Climbing up the slope, Chaoyang couldn’t help frowning.

Many people had died here too, and judging by their physical features, they belonged to the Haiwei Clan. Many of the bodies were swollen, and pus was oozing from their mouths and noses, emitting a pungent stench.

"They were killed by the planted monsters." Ailuodi covered her nose and whispered, "The one who planted the seeds likely wasn’t Franwick; Li Qiang must have been active here for quite some time."

"Look over there." Kokomoqi floated between the two, pointing towards the darkness ahead on the right.

Even without torches, the three of them could see in the dark, and the pitch-black cave couldn’t obstruct their sight—the direction the Magic Goddess was pointing to was the extension of the metallic wall to the north, except the originally indestructible wall now had a neat gap.

"Let’s go have a look."

"Stay behind me." Ailuodi stopped him and took the lead towards the gap. "Be conscious of the fact that you’re a demon."

"Demon?" Kokomoqi tilted her head.

"That’s his nickname."

"Oh, the kind that can summon wind and call for rain in games, right." The girl nodded seriously.

It was only when Chaoyang got closer that he realized this was not a gap but a passage meant to go through the wall all along. Its surroundings had no signs of damage and were as smooth as if they had been polished.

"It looks like we’ve all underestimated Franwick."

He had known from the start how to enter these underground ruins.

"There couldn’t be traps inside, could there..." The Angel wore a worried expression.

"Shouldn’t be." Chaoyang pointed with his mouth towards the ground, "Look, there are arrows printed underneath, seemingly telling us how to navigate once we’re inside. A ruin that keeps people out wouldn’t be this considerate."

Just as he had said, not far into the passage, they encountered the first fork in the road, and each path had text markers on the ground reading "Airtight Chamber", "Disinfection Room", and "Number One Storage Warehouse". Only the path marked with the storage warehouse had dirty, muddy footprints, while the others were covered with even layers of dust.

Even a fool would know which way to go now.

"They must have used a lot of iron to construct this place." Kokomoqi marveled.

"According to the fishermen, this ruin existed when this place was still a village."

The trio walked on for dozens of meters, and Chaoyang suddenly exclaimed.

There was light up ahead!

It wasn’t the flickering light of candles or oil lamps, but an extremely steady light source that cast a soft yellow on the metallic walls—it was almost like... incandescent light!

He quickened his pace and reached the corner, only to see embedded light sources appearing on the wall at his feet! An incandescent light was one thing, but a tubular light band? Had they evolved straight to LED fixtures? But the problem was that there was no electricity in this world, so what was the principle behind this light source?

"Wow... how beautiful." Kokomoqi couldn’t help squatting down, reaching out to touch the glowing spot, "Previously, I only saw such light sources in your Sanctuary."

The light illuminated the entire corridor, and not much further ahead was a metal door.

Chaoyang suddenly remembered Bariff’s work log... They were looking for a new type of energy source...

Could this be their target?

Even after centuries, an energy device capable of steadily powering lights. If it really exists, it would indeed devastate the steam construct market.

Chaoyang walked to the door and saw a nameplate above it that read "Number One Storage Facility."

He looked at Ailuodi, who nodded, then gathered a fierce wind in her right hand and pressed her left hand against the door, pushing slowly—unexpectedly, the metal door wasn’t locked. Although heavy, it was slowly pushed open by her.

"Kokomoqi, please."

"Yu understands." The Magic Goddess immediately cast the Invisibility Technique, rendering all three of them invisible. Once everything was ready, they stepped over the threshold.

"My goodness... what are these things..." Ailuodi was flabbergasted.

Even Kokomoqi inhaled sharply.

Inside was a vast storage space filled with glass containers about half the height of a person. Metal sealed both ends of the containers, which were filled with liquid, numbering in the tens of thousands. It would be one thing if the containers only held liquid, but they were also immersed with brains... and there were as many as three or four brains in each container. These completely naked brain tissues seemed like specimens in a laboratory, except they were covered with filaments and emitted strings of blue light. The combined glow of tens of thousands of containers almost turned the entire dome of Number One Storage Facility into a pale blue!

Is this the work of a heretical cult?

The bronze syringes used by the Causal Sect to inject seeds bore some resemblance to these bottles and jars. However, to emphasize mystery, those bronze tubes were etched with insane patterns and characters, making it evident that they were anything but normal.

But what about these glass containers? 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Chaoyang even saw clear labels on the top such as "This Side Up" and "Handle With Care." Astonishingly, there were also production dates and instructions for opening on the metal cap! They were designed with simplicity and proper warnings, exuding an industrial product’s unique beauty... if one disregarded the brains.

It was precisely because it was unrelated to any heretical cult that it felt even more chilling.

"This is the new energy source Ransu Company was looking for..." he whispered, "An energy device completely capable of replacing the steam construct..."

"Chaoyang, in front!" Ailuodi suddenly called out in a low voice, "That’s Franwick Yuss!

They indeed found Franwick, who stood at the end of the warehouse, holding a beating heart high in one hand, while his other hand had turned into a black cloth strip, entangled in a struggle with another petite woman.

Despite her small stature, the woman was astonishingly strong, managing to grab the cloth strip and attempt to seize the heart at the same time.

Who could it be if not Sweet Potato’s "sister"?

All three of them rushed toward Franwick, not expecting two potted plant monsters to suddenly drop from the ceiling, blocking their way, and the invisibility was forcibly dispelled.

"Yu’s power has actually failed..." Kokomoqi said in surprise.

"Your Excellency the Divine Envoy, you have finally come," Franwick glanced at them, without a trace of surprise in his voice, "What, does the Paradise Sect, which prides itself on equality and justice, also stand against me?"

"Don’t believe any word he says, he’s now a puppet of the Evil God! He can no longer be considered a normal person!" The Envoy of Mist, seeing three more people suddenly in the warehouse, couldn’t help but be invigorated, "Take that heart, or this city will be destroyed... no, all of humanity will suffer a catastrophic fate!"