Fendill took a quick glance at the mission summary and quickly turned her attention back to the road in front of her. The snowstorm seemed to have subsided a little, but the weather was still bad. The hardened road, which was temporarily built, extended into the dark distance in the snowstorm. At the end of the road, she could vaguely see something standing on top of a small hill. There were artificial lights in that direction, which should be the end of the journey.
A communications technician's voice came from behind. "Sir, who do you think would set up a frontline laboratory in this place? This place is almost close to the line of fire between us and the mutants … "
"That's why it's called a frontline laboratory," Fendill said without looking back. "I heard that the laboratory is used to study the wasteland environment and the characteristics of the mutants. Of course, it would be set up closest to the interior of the wasteland."
"… Anyway, the person in charge of this kind of laboratory must be a brave scholar. Ordinary people would not dare to stay in such a place," the soldier said with a sigh. "The higher-ups also reminded us to be respectful and calm … I can understand respect. This kind of scholar should be respected, but why do they have to remind us to be calm?"
Fendill was actually quite curious about this. At this time, he could not help but think as he listened to his men. The corner of his mouth twitched. "Who knows? This mission is mysterious … Maybe it's because the person in charge of the laboratory looks a little strange? After all, we already have a master craftsman who looks like an iron ball and a grand magus in the form of an arcane spirit … "
"Strange? Will it be ugly? "
"How would I know? Anyway, it should be strange." Fendill said perfunctorily and did not continue the meaningless conversation with his men. Instead, he continued to vigilantly watch the situation on the road.
They were already in the interior of the Gondor wasteland. Before the big hole in the Great Wall appeared, there was only a rotten wasteland and endless haze. But with the disappearance of the energy barrier, the environment in this area had changed. The air flow from the outside had caused rain and snow, and due to the drastic changes in the flow of magic, the weather here was even more unpredictable and extreme than other places.
The Empire had successfully built several propulsion bases and purification facilities in this area. In a sense, this wasteland could now be regarded as the new frontier of the civilized world. But it was not safe here. The mutant army in the south was still attacking the northern battlefield. Often, small groups of mutants would pass through the battlefield blockade and appear in this area. They were often quickly wiped out, but before that, they were a real threat to the engineers who were traveling between the frontline camps.
Fendill thought of the "frontline laboratory." It was a facility that had only recently been built. The speed of its construction was astonishing, and its location was also strange. He could understand that the Empire needed an "outpost" for research in the wasteland, but shouldn't such an outpost be properly protected? At the very least, it should be built in the propulsion base to be safe. But judging from the map issued by the higher-ups, the laboratory was completely away from all propulsion bases and frontline military stations. It was located very aggressively on the "frontline" and its location was not protected. Fendill did not want to question the judgment of the higher-ups, but he really did not understand.
At this moment, the environment outside the window suddenly changed and interrupted Fendill's thoughts. He found that he had suddenly crossed an invisible "boundary." The snowstorm outside the window stopped abruptly in front of this boundary, forming a large "calm space." A small mountain sat in the center of this area away from the snowstorm. The entire mountain was shrouded in a layer of shimmering "curtain." Countless mysterious runes flowed on the surface of the curtain like rain. Inside the curtain was the destination of his journey.
It was a … mansion. A medieval-style mansion that had nothing to do with a "research facility." It reminded Fendill of the classical courtyards favored by the northern scholars. It had a solemn gray outer wall and a dark blue roof. The outer wall was dotted with climbing vines and narrow flowerbeds. If it were not for the flag of the Cecil Empire flying above and the emblem of the Empire's Magic Technology Department hanging in front of the door, Fendill would have suspected that he had come to the wrong place. The style of the laboratory was not on the same level as the many imperial facilities that he was familiar with.
But he quickly put this doubt aside. After all, there were many strange people in the upper echelons of the Empire, and their style had always been changeable. Compared to the tree on the Sacred Plains and the clergy of the Church of Holy Light, this private laboratory was still within the realm of human understanding. But there was one thing that Fendill did not understand. How did the person who built this laboratory build such a mansion in such a short time? This thing didn't look like it was built with premade parts …
Messy thoughts flashed through Fendill's mind, but he did not delay the matter at hand. He drove the car up the ramp leading to the mansion and passed through the "curtain" with countless flowing runes. The moment the car passed through the curtain, he felt something sweep across his body. It might be some kind of defense or identification system. Then, he parked the car in the open space in front of the "laboratory" and led the two surprised and curious soldiers to the dark door.
He took a deep breath, and for some reason, he was a little nervous. Then, he put his hand on the door, but before he could pull the string marked 'Visitor Bell', a gentle and pleasant female voice came from inside. "Just come in, I've seen you. The door is not locked."
Fendill and the soldiers looked at each other. Then, with a gentle push, the heavy door opened silently.
A bright hall appeared in front of him. The next second, he felt dizzy because of the strange structure of the hall.
He saw an open space covered with a dark red carpet. Countless dazzling experiment devices and alchemy containers were arranged in a disorderly manner nearby and operated on their own. Arcane servants, who looked like spirits, shuttled back and forth between platforms and shelves, transcribing data and controlling all kinds of magic gears.
At the end of the hall, he saw a tall, spiraling staircase that led to a platform in mid-air. Above the platform, he could not see the roof at all. Instead, it was a deep space that seemed to extend infinitely upward. The overlapping and disordered staircase, layers of platforms, countless doors, and corridors that spanned across the air made him dizzy.
At the highest point of the deep space, Fendill could vaguely see some floating, dark, and chaotic silhouettes. He did not know what they were, but he had a feeling that the end of the space seemed to have broken away from this physical space-time and was even connected to a more distant, more mysterious place.
The scale and structure of the building did not match the structure of the mansion at all!
Fendill suddenly took a deep breath and broke free from the dizziness. He looked at the two technical soldiers he brought with him and saw the same shock and confusion in their eyes. But soon, a rhythmic sound of footsteps came from not far away. The footsteps seemed to have some kind of magic, calming Fendill's pounding heart instantly. He heard a very pleasant female voice behind him. "You are here to help connect the network, right? Great, I've been waiting for a long time … Ah, sorry, this place is still a bit messy … "
Fendill turned his head towards the source of the voice. His expression, which had just calmed down, suddenly stiffened. A tall figure appeared in front of him. He raised his head subconsciously and finally saw the face of the lady.
A beautiful lady with a mysterious temperament, wearing a complicated black palace dress, silk gloves, and delicate purple hair accessories — she was at least two meters tall.
"You must be Fendill? I've read the information. "The woman, who was more than two meters tall, spoke. Her voice reminded Fendill of the feeling of listening to his aunt and mother when he was a child." I'm the person in charge of this experimental facility. You can call me Ms. Mina or Miss Mina. I prefer the latter. Would you like some hot tea? The snowstorm outside is really terrible. Let's warm up. "
As they spoke, two arcane servants floated over with steaming hot tea and snacks in their hands. A small round table and a few chairs also floated over and landed in front of Fendill and the others.
"Sorry, I've just settled down here, and I haven't had time to put out the furniture yet," the tall lady, who called herself Miss Mina, said. "Have some tea and take a rest."
Fendill originally wanted to say mission first, but at this moment, he sat down in a daze. When he came to his senses, he was already holding a cup of tea in his hand. He then looked at the unusually tall lady in front of him. From the moment he entered this incredible "laboratory" to the moment he saw this tall lady, he finally understood what the mission summary reminded him to "stay calm" meant.
However, it was obviously not a gentleman's act to talk about a lady's appearance on their first meeting. Even though Fendill was usually a little careless, he knew that at this moment, so he quickly withdrew his gaze and looked around to find a more normal topic to talk about. "Miss Mina … Are you alone here?"
He hesitated for a moment and chose to address the lady in front of him as "Ms.". After all, even if he did not consider that the lady was a respectable scholar, he really could not ignore the oppressive feeling of her height of more than two meters. It would be more appropriate to address her with a more respectful and formal address.
"Ms. Mina" did not seem to care about the way Fendill addressed her. She just smiled and said casually, "Yes, there's only me and my summoned assistants here. I'm more used to working alone. "
Was this lady really the only one in this "frontline laboratory"?!
Although Fendill had already guessed, he could not help but widen his eyes in surprise. But then he forced himself to control his overly surprised reaction. He thought that the lady in front of him was most likely a powerful Legendary master, and this could be seen from the fact that she could build such an incredible magic laboratory. And most of these Legendary extraordinary masters were a little weird. Some of them liked to live in seclusion, some liked to use magic to create highly intelligent companions to accompany themselves, some liked to freeze their nephews and throw them off castles … In comparison, working alone was not so "weird".
But Fendill still could not help but ask, "Isn't this very dangerous? You set up a laboratory in this place alone … "
"Fortunately, I'm good at fighting." Ms. Mina smiled and waved her fist gently as if to show off her strength. "And if I'm alone, it's easier for me to evacuate in case of an emergency."
"Uh … alright," Fendill nodded and said. Then, he braced himself and finished the tea under the gaze of the tall lady. He stood up and said, "Thank you for your hospitality. Let's get down to business first. Where do you want to set up the magic network terminal?"
"I'll show you …"
Fendill and his two subordinates began to get busy. According to Ms. Mina's instructions, they had to set up a set of military-grade magic network terminals next to the magic focus in the center of the hall. After they got to work, Mirmina left the hall and went up a slanted staircase at the end of the hall. She walked through a corridor that was tilted at a 90 ° angle and came to a special room where the entrance could not be seen from the direction of the hall.
The room was semi-circular, but there was no normal window on one side of the arc. Instead, it was inlaid with a series of huge irregular crystals. The crystals were filled with a hazy shimmer, and there seemed to be light and shadow in them, but no one could see the specific content of each crystal.
Mirmina walked to one of the huge crystals, and the hazy shimmer in the crystal suddenly became clear. The illusion of clouds and wind dissipated in the crystal, and what appeared in it was the scenery of the interior of the wasteland.
"Start recording the observation log."
Mirmina spoke casually to the air beside her, and an arcane servant holding a recording board immediately appeared in the air.
"Chaos. It looks like endless chaos … but in fact, it should be a regular 'tremor' …" Mirmina spoke softly as if she was talking to herself. Her finger gently brushed across the surface of the crystal, and the scenery of the wasteland in the crystal began to change. A layer of translucent 'filter' formed by countless gorgeous colors covered the image. The color blocks floated in the air, constantly outlining the flow of magic and their transformation process. Many large and small 'vortexes' appeared and dissipated in the floating light and shadow.
It was as if there was an ocean of chaos that ordinary people could not see, floating on the old Gondor land.
"If the essence of the Gondor wasteland is a complete and unified 'field' that presents chaos, then any details observed in this field should help to describe the mathematical model of the field …"
"Frontline laboratory, first observation log, window number one, time …"
As Mirmina spoke softly, the arcane servant quickly wrote words and symbols on the recording board.
The truth that had been buried in this mysterious wasteland for seven centuries was finally revealed in the face of reason and logic.
(End of Chapter)
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