Chapter 13: First Exploration
Seven days later, on the border of Xichuan, deep in an unnamed mountain, Chu Yun and Li Ge stood at the edge of a col, gazing down at the vast ruins shrouded in mist below—the Maze of Machinery City. Even from a distance, Chu Yun could sense an unpleasant aura emanating from the ruined city. It was a vast force field composed of pure, cold, lifeless energy, enveloping the entire city like an invisible net. "Do you feel it?" Li Ge's voice came from nearby. "Yes," Chu Yun nodded, his expression solemn. "My talismans will be severely suppressed here." He fished out a basic spirit-detecting talisman from his bosom and injected a trace of power into it. The talisman paper glowed with a faint golden light, then, with a puff, spontaneously combusted into a pile of ash. Failure, unable to even perform the most basic induction. "It's not just the talismans." Chu Yun's frown deepened. "The power within me has also become much duller, as if it's been locked down by something." "This is the 'Law Field,'" Li Ge's eyes flashed with solemnity. "One of the highest achievements of the Mohist mechanical arts. They use countless sophisticated mechanical cores to construct an energy field with its own independent rules. Within this field, all external forces that don't conform to its rules are suppressed, even assimilated." "Is there a way to break it?" Chu Yun asked. "The only way is to find and destroy its core." Li Ge shook his head. "But until we find it, we can only abide by its rules." The two of them said nothing more and found a secluded cave to temporarily stay. During the day, they took turns resting and observing the abandoned city. They discovered that this so-called "abandoned city" was far from the deserted and desolate place rumored. Every hour, a team of guards in uniform, armed with strange crossbows, patrolled the city walls. Their footsteps were perfectly synchronized, without the slightest deviation, like puppets controlled by someone. Occasionally, figures could be seen moving about the city, but they were all in a hurry, with no communication between them. The entire city was filled with a dead and eerie silence. On the third night, the two decided to take action. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Li Ge asked Chu Yun, who was making preparations, for one last confirmation. "We can't wait any longer," Chu Yun's response was simple and direct. "Every day we stay here increases the risk of being exposed. Since the mastermind left clues, he must have guessed we were coming here." "The guards here..."
Seven days later, at the border of Xichuan, in an unnamed mountain.
Chu Yun and Li Ge stood at the edge of a valley, gazing down at the vast ruins shrouded in mist—the City of Mechanical Mystery. Even from a distance, Chu Yun could sense an unpleasant aura emanating from the ruined city. It was a vast force field composed of pure, cold, lifeless energy, enveloping the entire city like an invisible net.
"Do you feel it?" Li Ge's voice came from the side.
"Yes." Chu Yun nodded, his face solemn. "My talisman will be extremely suppressed here." He fished out a basic spirit-detecting talisman from his bosom and injected a trace of power into it. The talisman paper glowed with a faint golden light, then with a "puff" sound, spontaneously combusted into a pile of ash. Failed, unable to even perform the most basic induction.
"It's not just the talisman." Chu Yun frowned even more tightly, "The power in my body has also become much duller, as if it's been locked by something."
"This is the 'Law Field.'" Li Ge's eyes flashed with solemnity. "This is one of the highest achievements of the Mohist mechanical arts. They can use countless sophisticated mechanical cores to construct an energy field with independent rules. In this field, all external forces that do not conform to its rules will be suppressed or even assimilated."
"Is there any way to crack it?" Chu Yun asked.
"The only way is to find and destroy its core." Li Ge shook his head, "But before we find it, we can only abide by its rules."
The two men stopped talking and found a secluded cave to temporarily shelter in. During the day, they took turns resting and observing the abandoned city, discovering that this so-called "abandoned city" was far from deserted as the legends had it. Every hour, a team of guards in uniform, armed with strange crossbows, patrolled the city walls. Their footsteps were perfectly synchronized, without the slightest deviation, like puppets being controlled. Occasionally, figures could be seen moving through the city, but they moved in a hurry, without any communication between them. The entire city was filled with a dead and eerie silence.
On the third night, the two decided to take action.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Li Ge looked at Chu Yun who was making preparations and confirmed for the last time.
"We can't wait any longer." Chu Yun's answer was simple and direct. "Every day we stay here increases the risk of being exposed. Since the mastermind left clues, he must have guessed that we would come here."
"The security here is much stricter than we imagined," Li Ge said. "And inside the 'Law Field,' you can only exert 30% of your strength at best. Once discovered, neither of us will be able to escape."
"So we can't be discovered." Chu Yun pulled out two talismans from his pocket. These were modified versions of the "Anonymous Talismans" he had spent the past two days expending considerable effort and energy to craft. To adapt to the "law field" here, he had forcibly incorporated some structures imitating the Mohist mechanical techniques into the talismans' energy circuits. While they were a bit awkward, they were manageable.
"How long can this last?" Li Ge asked after taking the talisman.
"Half an hour." Chu Yun said, "Within half an hour, we must find a route to infiltrate and a safe place to stay, otherwise we must retreat immediately."
"Okay." Li Ge nodded. They both simultaneously slapped the invisibility talisman on themselves, and it silently turned to ashes. Their figures and auras instantly vanished from the cave.
At midnight, two nearly imperceptible shadows, cloaked in darkness, silently arrived at the base of the walls of the Maze of Mechanical Mazes. The walls stood ten feet tall, constructed from a vast, black stone of unknown origin, its surface smooth as a mirror, devoid of any sustenance for climbing. Atop the walls, a team of guards had just passed by on patrol.
"How is it?" Chu Yun asked Li Ge beside him in a very low voice.
Li Ge closed her eyes, as if sensing something. After a moment, she slowly opened them: "No, this city wall is full of energy circuits. Any contact will immediately trigger the alarm."
Chu Yun's heart sank.
"Follow me." Li Ge said nothing more, turning and moving quickly towards the other side of the city wall. Chu Yun immediately followed. The two of them walked around the city wall for about an incense stick of time, finally stopping in front of an inconspicuous drain. The drain was only half a person's height and was blocked by a fence made of fine iron.
"Here?" Chu Yun was a little confused.
"The energy circuit here is the weakest." Li Ge pointed to the lower left corner of the fence. "See that loose brick? That's the only 'blind spot' in the entire defense system."
Chu Yun looked carefully and saw that in the corner, there was a brick whose color was lighter than the surrounding ones. It could not be seen without careful observation.
"How do you know?" Chu Yun was a little surprised.
"Although I don't understand your fighting and killing techniques," Li Ge's tone was still calm, "but I am more sensitive to the flow of energy than you." She took out a silver needle as thin as an ox hair from her bosom, carefully inserted it into the gap between the loose bricks and stones, and then her fingers began to rotate the tail of the needle with an extremely small amplitude.
Chu Yun could hear a series of extremely subtle "clicking" sounds coming from within the wall, like the gears in a clock meshing with each other. This process lasted for a full cup of tea, and a layer of fine beads of sweat began to seep onto Li Ge's forehead. Finally, with a soft "click", the fine iron fence silently retreated half an inch, leaving a gap just wide enough for one person to crawl through.
"Hurry." Li Ge's voice was a little weak. "I can only temporarily disconnect the energy circuit here. It will automatically recover in ten breaths at most."
Chu Yun didn't hesitate at all. He immediately leaned over and slipped through the gap, followed closely by Li Ge. The moment she slipped through, the iron fence snapped back into place. The two of them successfully entered the city, where they found a dark, foul-smelling sewer.
"Are you okay?" Chu Yun asked Li Ge, whose face was a little pale.
"It's okay." Li Ge shook his head. "It's just that the mental drain was a bit great. The cracking just now was more tiring than saving a person."
Chu Yun was silent for a moment before he said, "Thank you."
Li Ge seemed stunned for a moment before he said "hmm" lightly.
Without another word, the two continued walking down the pitch-black sewer. After about a hundred steps, they found an upward exit. Chu Yun poked his head out to observe. Outside was a deserted alley. After confirming it was safe, the two climbed out.
"The time of the invisibility talisman is only half left." Chu Yun whispered, "We must find a place to hide as soon as possible."
"Follow me." Li Ge identified the direction and led the way deeper into the alley. The layout of this city was very strange. All the streets were exactly the same, and all the houses looked exactly the same. If it weren't for Li Ge's intuition about energy flow, they would have been lost long ago.
The two were walking through the maze-like streets. Suddenly, Li Ge, who was walking in front, stopped abruptly and pulled Chu Yun behind him into the shadow of a corner.
"Don't move." Her voice was extremely solemn.
Chu Yun immediately held his breath and looked forward, following Li Ge's gaze. He saw a tile in the middle of the street not far ahead of them, slightly higher than the surrounding tiles. It was impossible to notice it without careful observation.
"What is that?" Chu Yun asked in a very low voice.
"Pressure trap." Li Ge's answer made Chu Yun break out in a cold sweat. "Once we step on it, the ground below us will collapse instantly. There is a poisonous steel knife array underneath."
Chu Yun's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't felt any energy fluctuations at all. This was the terrifying aspect of the Mohist mechanical technique; it killed people silently.
"We have to go around it." Chu Yun said.
"It's too late." Li Ge shook her head and looked towards the other end of the street. She saw a patrol team of guards armed with crossbows, marching in an orderly manner, slowly and steadily towards them. With a trap in front and pursuers behind, they were blocked.
"The time for the invisibility talisman is almost up." Chu Yun felt the energy in his body rapidly dissipating, and his voice became more urgent. Once the invisibility talisman lost its effect, they would be immediately exposed.
Li Ge's brow furrowed tightly. She quickly scanned her surroundings, as if searching for any possible way out. Suddenly, her gaze fixed on a seemingly ordinary two-story building nearby.
"There." She pointed to the second-floor window of the small building. "The energy fluctuations there are the weakest. It might be a breakthrough point."
"How do we get up there?" Chu Yun asked. The wall was smooth and there was no leverage.
Li Ge did not answer. She took out a small, claw-like object and a roll of extremely thin black silk thread from her arms - a flying claw.
"I'll go up first." Li Ge said quickly, "If it's safe, I'll pull you up."
She finished speaking, flicking her wrist, and the claw, carrying a black silk thread, silently shot toward the second-floor window sill. The claw precisely latched onto the inside of the window sill. Li Ge tugged, confirming it was secure, then grasped the silk thread and climbed up silently like a cat. Her movements were swift and agile, and she soon reached the second-floor window. She glanced inside cautiously, then gestured to Chu Yun below, signaling safety.
Chu Yun breathed a sigh of relief. However, just as Li Ge turned over and entered the window, something strange happened!
The entire building was suddenly lit up with a dazzling red light, and a sharp and piercing alarm sounded throughout the night sky in an instant!
"Buzz—buzz—buzz—"
The patrolling guards on the street suddenly stopped and aimed their crossbows at the red-lit building. Countless hurried, dense footsteps could be heard from all directions.
They were exposed.
Chu Yun's mind went blank. He looked up and saw countless red rays of energy appearing out of thin air around the small building, shrouding the entire building in a huge, spider-web-like killing array.
And Li Ge was standing right in the center of the "spider web".
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