Linde's crystalline, angular, and "kind" smile (???) was, in Sirona's eyes, more chilling than the fangs of a deep-sea monster.
She had no doubt that if she didn't cooperate obediently, that terrifying dark rift or some other horrific thing would reappear in the next second.
So, like a kitten whose scruff of the neck had been pinched, she completely gave up resisting, curled up in the depths of the pool, only her wet head and her deep blue eyes filled with fear and grievance showing, waiting for the "interrogation".
It was less of an interrogation and more of a one-sided question-and-answer session dominated by Lind.
Under the "gentle gaze" of the crystalline avatar, Sirona answered almost every question, spilling out everything she knew like beans from a bamboo tube.
Linde quickly sketched out the full picture of this reclusive race.
The siren is completely different from the forest spirit.
They are separated from land-dwelling races by a natural, almost insurmountable divide—an absolute dependence on water.
For them, the dry, water-scarce environments on land are like the desert for fish—a forbidden zone for survival.
Their homeland lies deep within the endless sea, in that desolate realm ruled by eternal storms and raging magic.
“There… the sky and the sea seemed to be merging together,” Sirina’s voice carried a hint of awe for her homeland, and her description became slightly more vivid. “A huge storm was like a spinning wall, connecting the inky black sea and the leaden sky. The sea was swirled up to the clouds, and the clouds turned into torrential rain that pelted down… We could even ‘swim’ up in the storm and briefly touch the clouds.”
Lind understood instantly.
That's the eye of the storm! A colossal, almost tangible, magically powerful node of the magic network!
The combination of natural power and violent magic sculpted that unique, unimaginable marine spectacle.
It was in this extreme environment that the siren, a unique race capable of controlling storms and magical energy, was born.
This explains their sensitivity to magic and the nature of that ethereal singing voice—it's the ability to resonate with the nodes of the raging magic network.
"So, you can move through the storm... or rather, through those huge magic network nodes?" Lind grasped the key point.
"Um!"
Sirona nodded vigorously, her fear seemingly lessened slightly by the discussion of her racial talent.
She even subconsciously straightened her upper body, and her magnificent indigo fishtail gently slapped the water's surface, raising a string of glistening water droplets.
"Look at my tail!" She said with a touch of pride, turning slightly to show Lind her huge tail fin covered with fine scales.
Under the deep blue indicator light, the scales were not a single shade of blue, but rather, like the finest opal, they refracted a dreamlike iridescent luster as the water flowed and the light changed.
Between the scales, an extremely thin, almost transparent blue film was covering them, which was now pulsating slightly, emitting extremely faint but pure magical fluctuations.
"That's what we rely on!"
Sienna pointed to the iridescent scales and membranes on her fishtail, “These ‘iridescent scales’ and ‘magic net fin membranes’ allow us to sense the ‘water flow’ of the magic net, inside those huge nodes… well, it’s like a fish ‘swimming’ in water! But…”
Her tone became dejected again, "You can only swim inside the nodes. Once you leave the node's range, it's like a fish being thrown onto the beach; you can't move at all."
Linde's gaze was fixed on the iridescent fish scales and the slightly trembling fin membranes, and deep within his crystalline pupils, countless tiny streams of data seemed to be flashing wildly.
【Deconstructing the Halo】operating at full capacity, attempting to analyze the magical structure and energy conduction methods of this natural creation.
These are practically born magical network creatures! Their evolved organs are perfectly suited to the ability to sense, locate, and even "borrow" power from the raging energy flow! This talent has immeasurable value for any being who wants to study or utilize the magical network in depth.
“So,” Lind’s voice remained calm, but Sienna keenly sensed that the pressure from the crystalline gaze seemed to have increased, “how did you… 'swim' here? As far as I know, my ship (he deliberately used this mild word) is currently almost half a world away from your home in the Eye of the Storm.”
This is the most crucial question! How did a lost little siren end up (or rather, unluckyly) crashing headfirst into the Steel Sky, a "isolated island" floating in the open ocean and protected by powerful magic?
Sirina's face fell instantly, her previous pride vanished without a trace, replaced by deep embarrassment and grievance.
She spoke in a barely audible voice, like a child caught doing something wrong, her fingers unconsciously twisting her wet hair.
"I...I'm lost..."
"Lost?" Lind raised an eyebrow.
“Hmm…” Sienna’s voice lowered even further, “I just wanted to go play at a small node near the edge of the continent… there are lots of pretty little fish there, and the jellyfish even glow… but halfway through, it seemed… it seemed like the ‘water flow’ (referring to the flow of magic network energy) suddenly became stronger? Or maybe I got distracted? Anyway… when I came to my senses, I felt that the ‘water flow’ around me had become very strange, cold and hard… like the smell of metal? I was a little scared, so I wanted to find a place to hide as soon as possible…”
She secretly glanced at Linde's expressionless, crystalline face, then quickly lowered her head again:
"Then...then I vaguely sensed that there was...a very 'deep' and very 'stable' magical energy point nearby, like a small pond? So...I just followed my senses and crashed right in..."
She pointed to the pool beneath her, looking pitiful, "This is it. I was so tired and scared, I just wanted to take a nap first...who knew..."
Who knew that when I woke up, I would encounter you, the super demon king who can tear space apart, transform into darkness, and use crystal remains as a body!
Sirenna screamed silently in her heart, but she dared not utter the second half of the sentence aloud.
"I see!" Linde finally understood.
The Steel Sky itself is a huge source of magic, and the connection between its core engine and the Bokou Ruins forms a powerful and stable "anchor point".
When Sirona lost her way in the Magic Network node and frantically searched for a "safe haven," the Steel Sky, which was like a lighthouse in the Magic Network (although it had its own signal shielding, its very existence was a signal to certain perceptions), naturally became a "deep pool" in her eyes.
She vaguely sensed it through her racial instincts and plunged in, falling directly into the "pool"—which was actually the domestic water recycling chamber.
A blunder, a mishap, led her to Lind's side.
Crystal Lind remained silent.
Looking at the shivering little sea monster in the pool, who also possessed a kind of innocent and adorable quality, his previous murderous intent and purely manipulative mindset subtly shifted.
A creature that can freely traverse the nodes of a giant magic network, a race with such a unique talent... its value is even greater than expected.
"Sirenna," Lind's voice came through the crystal, less oppressive than before, but with a hint of...interest? "You said you were lost and couldn't find your way home?"
Sirenna nodded vigorously, her deep blue eyes instantly filling with tears, brimming with helplessness:
"Hmm! The 'water flow' here (referring to the magic network environment) is completely different from the one back home! It's cold, deathly still... I can't sense the call of the Eye of the Storm at all! I... I can't go back! Waaah..."
The thought of possibly being trapped inside this steel monster forever finally made her sob softly.
“Can’t go back…” Lind repeated slowly, the corners of his mouth, formed by crystalline remains, seemed to curve upwards in an extremely subtle, almost invisible arc.
He stepped forward, walked to the edge of the pool, and looked down at the crying little siren.
“Sirenna,” his voice carried a strange allure, like the song of a whale from the deep sea, “since we can’t go back for the time being, and you’ve damaged my property (referring to the mechs that were blown away) and disturbed my rest…”
Sirena's crying stopped abruptly, and she looked up at him in horror, thinking that a terrible punishment was about to befall her.
"...Why don't you stay and 'work' to pay off your debts?"
Lind revealed his true intentions.
Crystal Skeleton raised his arm, pointing to Sirenna's fishtail that shimmered with iridescent light, his tone carrying an unquestionable certainty, as if he had discovered a priceless treasure:
“I am very, very interested in your ‘talent’.”
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