In the rapidly rising elevator, flame characters appeared in front of the elevator door, flickering and trembling due to the vibration of the machine:
[This is his palace of thought, and the birthstone must be kept closely here. The consciousness of the red-haired kid should have entered dormancy now and will not appear here. As long as you can find its location and access it, I can download and generate Arthur's character card. 】
clear. Ed always felt guilty about being a thief, but since he wanted to survive, he should just be a thief.
Boom - a heavy muffled sound, the elevator came to a standstill.
The ground beneath his feet was shaking slightly, the staircase door opened, and a dim corridor stood in front of Ed.
Click, click... boom... the rhythmic sound of gear transmission, the sacred and distant roar of the machine like a whale song, gave Ed a strange and alien feeling, as if the machine had become an artificial god.
Just as he was thinking wildly, there was an echo from the machine at the end of the corridor. The silver disk depicting the golden apple was twisted twelve and a half times, and the solemn and heavy mechanical door opened immediately.
When he walked forward, what he saw in front of him was not the magnificent golden palace as Ed had imagined, but a square marble room with display cabinets, like a private museum driven by interest.
Brilliant and gorgeous.
The round stained window stood sacredly in front of him, like a huge dial, occupying almost an entire wall, projecting a colorful phantom on the ground, giving every exhibit the color of an oil painting.
Ed saw a photo of Arthur with his family, mechanical blueprints, and a group of strangers dressed in black. They wore metal beak masks on their faces, and a shield-shaped metal coat of arms was hung on their shoulders, with drawings on it. With the pattern of "quiver and horn".
God adjusts the situation. He guessed the identity under the black burqa.
Birthstones... Birthstones... He quickly browsed through each display case, and Arthur had mentioned that his birthstone was tourmaline. Not here, not here...
After searching unsuccessfully, Ed looked up and saw a square safe sitting at the end of the steps leading to the stained glass windows. The colorful stream of light slowly penetrates the glass and flows, making it look like a sacred object enshrined in a church.
Being carefully guarded... I see. He understood and stepped up the steps.
There was a digital dial on the mechanical lock, the classic mechanical lock that Ed knew. He put his ear against the safe and gently turned the dial with his hand, trying to decipher the sound of the friction of the lever tumbler.
As a result, the password disk made no sound at all...
Ed laughed awkwardly, he actually wanted to use realistic methods to deal with the safe in his dream.
It seems that it can only be cracked through reasoning.
He returned to the display case and found Arthur's birthday photo—
The dignified men and women on both sides are obviously his parents, and the slightly playful girl next to him is probably his sister. Arthur in the center is wearing a silly birthday hat, with an exaggerated smile like a fool.
The date and place are written on the back: eighteenth birthday, May 27, 900, in Hollandburg.
Nearly half of people use their birthday as a password. Likewise, nearly half of safe deposit box thefts are caused by the owner using their birthday as the password.
Ed pushed the date forward 18 years to 882527, and the safe was not opened. Obviously Arthur is not this kind of person.
He then repeatedly tried several numbers or dates that might be meaningful to Arthur, but found nothing.
Just when Ed was thinking hard and anxious, he suddenly saw a letter covered with golden paint. The mark of the paint was the golden apple on the door.
Opening the letter, there is a recommendation letter inside:
"Dear Mr. Bernard Eaton: I have the honor to recommend a student to the Bureau of Investigation, Arthur Custer. Not only because of his outstanding talent, but also because of his kind conduct and outstanding courage.
It's just that this person is like a piece of jade at a young age and needs to be refined before he can become something great. I hope you can impart your extraordinary wisdom to him in the future, and the Royal Society will definitely do its best to cooperate with the Bureau of Divine Investigation's work in Silvermist City.
Owen Jacobs, Royal Society Mechanical Fellow. "
There is a line of small characters printed on the back: June 10, 900.
Could it be...?
Ed frowned and lost 900610 with a luck mentality...
Click.
The safe was opened, and all the light under the colored windows converged like a spotlight and pointed here.
There is a rough stone quietly blooming inside, which is clear and bright, and its brilliance is like a blazing fire.
Its color is golden in brocade, just like the golden sunlight passing through the stained glass window.
Got it...
Ed seemed to have forgotten to breathe, and slowly stretched his fingers towards the tourmaline...
【》》》Downloading character data...Progress 0%...》》》]
The familiar flame text appeared in the center of the field of vision, and it seemed that he had succeeded.
The stained glass windows are dimmed...
Something's wrong...
【》》》Character data is being downloaded...Progress 14%...》》》]
Ed was convinced of his feeling. Through the colored window, the vague shadow in the sky was approaching him.
What is that, a bird?
His fingers trembled slightly with nervousness, and his eyes stared at the shadow on the stained window until it grew wider and deeper.
Quick, quick...
【》》》Character data is being downloaded... progress is 35%...》》》]
It was too dangerous to stand here. Ed knew very well that the other party had bad intentions. He grabbed the gem and tried to run back to the elevator.
In an instant, he felt an unforgettable sting, and the metal blade rose from the ground, piercing Ed's wrist and sealing the gem in place.
【》》》Character data is being downloaded...The progress is 47%...》》》]
The huge steel beak tore into pieces the colored window, turning it into a dreamlike rain of fragments. Among the flying debris, Ed could see the red stone eye, flashing with dark red anger.
It is now hopeless to take the gem away.
He let go of the tourmaline in his palm and jerked his palm back. Blood immediately overflowed, and the pain of the blade piercing the flesh almost drove Ed crazy.
But there was no time for him to wail at this time. Ed gritted his teeth and ran towards the exit desperately.
The scattered glass shards were extremely sharp, piercing the soles of his shoes and his back. Every step was painful. Perhaps this was punishment for him as a dream thief.
The mechanical door was slowly closing, and he struggled to squeeze through, almost getting pinched into pieces. But the giant beast chasing after him easily cut through the closed door, like tearing up a piece of letter paper.
Ed ran into the elevator and poked the button hard, only to find that the button had been locked.
How to do how to do……?
At this moment, he finally saw the true face of the giant beast: a giant mechanical owl.
The metal claws and beak flashed with frightening arc light, black spliced leather formed its wings, and the steam boiler on its abdomen roared and boiled, as if venting violent rage.
Ed's breathing became more and more rapid, and he was now a bird trapped in a metal cage. He could only watch in despair as the predator approached him, and then pierced his internal organs with the slender metal beak.
The pain and pressure made him finally unable to restrain his despair, and he hit the button in vain with his bloody palm.
At this moment, pure white flame words suddenly appeared in front of Ed's eyes, like the gospel conveyed to him by heaven:
[Take it easy, my dear good sir, look up and take a deep breath. 】
look up? Ed looked up and saw an extremely pale flame climbing up the metal cable as thick as his arm. Like ice thrown into fire, the metal cable dissolved rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye——
【three. 】
The giant owl flapped its wings and rushed towards him like a ferocious fighting cock. The metal beak was about to crush the cage and split itself into two halves.
【two. 】
The hot metal flowed into the elevator, igniting the red velvet carpet. The liquid metal sprayed everywhere, and the feet suddenly turned into a sea of fire.
【one. 】
The cable fuses, and the birdcage elevator carries Ed plummeting toward the unfathomable abyss.
