The Master of the Strange Realm

The darkness here makes it look a bit like a scene from a horror story. Coupled with the cold air, the humid room and the sound of rain outside the window, even if the evil spirit Jenkins suddenly appeared now, he would not be surprised.

He looked around, following the auras densely distributed throughout the space, trying to find the location with the strongest aura on this layer. Finally, his eyes fell on the desk in the study room. A 14-year-old girl wearing a skirt and a butterfly hairpin appeared there at some point.

No matter how you look at it, the young girl doesn't look like a living person. The part of her right hand that exposed the sleeve was completely made of copper-colored metal. The left half of her face was like a metal plate, densely covered with small scratches. The right half of her face was still flesh, but as pale as a corpse.

And when Jenkins' eyes met her normal profile, Jenkins didn't see anything human in those eyes, he only saw a void.

Feini is also thirteen or fourteen years old, but due to long-term malnutrition, she is much shorter than the girl in front of her. Jenkins looked at the girl sitting behind the desk with some sadness, knowing that he could not save her.

"My father's books gave me the wisdom and enlightenment in my childhood."

The girl opened her mouth to speak, but the voice was no longer human. The sound came from her belly, and Jenkins didn't want to think about how it made the sound.

"I am also interested in my father's books. Those rigorous knowledge, exquisite designs, and the brilliance of wisdom that I could not imagine at a young age all inspired me."

The girl rose into the sky out of thin air. To be more precise, the steam ejected from under her skirt brought her to a high altitude and was able to look into Jenkins' eyes. It was like an exquisite puppet, so exquisite that it made Jenkins angry.

"That day, my father saw wisdom... That day, I followed my father's guidance and I also saw wisdom."

Defying the laws of physics, a book floated out from behind her and stopped in front of Jenkins. Jenkins took the book called "Mechanical Principles and Mechanical Design (Volume 1)" in his hands, but did not open it.

"Stranger, do you have the courage to pry into wisdom? Do you have the talent to gain wisdom?"

The girl asked Jenkins. The corners of Jenkins' mouth trembled and he shook his head slightly:

"I don't know what you mean by wisdom."

"Then open this book. If you can see the wisdom in it, then you can move on. Otherwise, please stay here with me and feel the crystallization of wisdom that you have no talent to touch."

This book was influenced by the Mystery Lock, resulting in a certain degree of alienation. When you hold it in your hand, you can feel that the weight is wrong. After trying to open it, you find that a considerable part of the pages inside have turned into a mixture of ordinary paper and thin metal sheets.

There is nothing unusual in the content of the book. Although Jenkins is not very interested in this kind of book, he can still tell that there is no knowledge in it that exceeds the level of steam technology of this era.

Just after opening it, the power of the mystery lock acted on Jenkins' body. He felt that a malicious force was trying to turn his skin into metal. This is a bit like the metal black tower transforming humans, but much weaker. Even if Jenkins did nothing, the power of the mythos would not be able to transform him into something else.

The book has about 100 pages in total and is quite heavy. Coupled with the numbers and explanatory text that frequently appear in the illustrations for annotation, if you want to read it carefully, you will definitely not be able to do it without a day or two of sleepless concentration.

So Jenkins just looked at the table of contents, read the preface and introduction, flipped through two pages, and then put the book on the table.

"Do you see the wisdom?"

"I saw it."

Jenkins nodded, wondering whether the girl in front of him should be regarded as a brainwashed mechanical transformation, or a mechanized corpse that appeared after death. But no matter which one it is, it is cruel enough.

"Then explain the wisdom you see."

As she spoke, the girl stretched out her metal right hand and pressed it on the right side of her face. The right side of her face was the part covered by a copper sheet.

The slow exertion of his hand made Jenkins hear a "squeak~" sound. As the hand moved outward little by little, the metal "face" on the right was lifted open, exposing the inside of the face.

The inside is not bright red flesh and blood with muscle texture, but is similar to the interior of a high-end mechanical watch. Large and small densely packed gears bite together, and the chain drives the rotation.

The inside of the right half of her face is a hollow, which is filled with miniaturized machinery in operation. Some gears are even smaller than those produced by Jenkins using [Mechanical Light].

"Show me the wisdom you see and fix this half of my face."

"What's wrong with your face?"

"It can't make any expressions."

Upon hearing this request, Jenkins looked down at the book "Mechanical Principles and Mechanical Design (Volume 1)", and then looked at the complex mechanical structure in the lower half of the girl's head:

"I know the knowledge in this book is useful, but..."

He hesitantly picked up the book again, suppressed his anger at the scene in front of him, pretended to open it, and tried to think calmly:

"Those cultists definitely don't use the maze for fun. Even Alexia needs to set up a large ceremony like the maze for a long time before it can be activated. Now it seems that although this place does endanger the lives of those who enter, the real purpose does not seem to be to kill all the entrants, otherwise there would be no need for these tests. Making a few more corpses into gear men would be enough to cause more trouble, so what is it for?"

Jenkins did not carry the wrench that could repair the machinery with him at all times, but hid it in the basement of his home. After all, the wrench might be useful in repairing the differential engine. Jenkins had no reason to carry it around, and it might be discovered by others that he had a relationship with the believers of lies.

"So, if I want to repair it, I can only rely on myself."

He looked at the girl's face, and after about a few dozen seconds, he realized that it was absolutely impossible to repair it by himself. His current situation is somewhat similar to the two women in the witch's house who broke into Alexia's apartment and were trapped outside the door by math problems.

But those witches can get answers by praying to the so-called "Shadow of the Mother Goddess", but Jenkins cannot pray to the sage for answers, because the Church of the Sage advocates that knowledge must be acquired by oneself.

"So we can only force our way in?"

He finally came to this conclusion, but before he did it, he looked at the mechanical structure inside the girl's cheek again. He thought of the unique feeling he got from repairing the ancient machine when he went underground with Alexia yesterday. So he suddenly raised his hand and knocked on the girl's cheek.

The bent fingers turned completely copper-colored when they touched the other person's cheek. At the same time, the change was trying to spread to the wrist, but soon it returned to its original appearance with the green light emitted by the arm.

Jenkins narrowed his eyes. In the not-so-loud vibration just now, the mechanical structure of the girl's face, including the flesh and blood in the middle of the cheek and the entanglement of the machine, were all clearly reflected in his mind.

Although such a mechanical structure is very complicated, for Jenkins, it is not much more complicated than a small circuit, at least that is the part he has observed so far. For a living person with a mechanized body, the most critical technology is power and the algorithm that maintains the body's activity and intelligence, rather than those minor structures, so this is not something that Jenkins cannot understand.

"Maybe..."

The feeling of wanting to sneeze but not being able to do it appeared in his heart again. Jenkins suppressed this feeling, emptied his mind and listened to the sound of rain outside. After a long time, he said:

"I know, I will use my wisdom to fix you."

He took the white paper on the table and used [Reading] to list the decomposition diagram of the mechanical structure he had just seen on the paper. Finally, he pointed out that the size of one set of gears was not appropriate, causing the failure of facial expression. Finally, he accurately drew the specific appearance of the gears of the correct size.

Chapter 1877 Chapter 1848 Steam Code

"That's it, can I continue to move up?"

Jenkins put down the paper full of mechanical structures and asked.

The girl looked at the paper on the table, and stood still for a few seconds as if the machine had frozen. Then she returned to her seat from the air and nodded:

"Since you have seen wisdom, you can continue to move forward. You are a talented person. Maybe you can be enlightened by great wisdom like me and witness the true crystallization of wisdom."

"Great wisdom?"

Jenkins repeated.

"Yes, although you come from an ignorant organization like the Orthodox Church, your talent has not diminished. Keep moving forward. I think you are qualified to reach the attic on the top floor. I will bless you and wish you eternal like a machine."

Jenkins nodded, stood up and prepared to go upstairs, but turned to the girl and said:

"I will liberate you."

"I don't understand."

"You really don't understand now."

So they came to the third floor of the apartment. There were no disappeared companions here either. There were only heavy steam pipes all over the room.

The original purpose of the third floor was unknown. Now it was filled with white hot steam, but the steam only wandered on the third floor and had no effect on the downstairs.

"The father is on the first floor, the daughter is on the second floor, so the third floor is..."

He looked up at the figure behind the white steam mist. Even with a monocle, he couldn't see the full picture hidden behind the steam.

He didn't speak, but observed the other party carefully. Unsurprisingly, the original family of three had all died here, and the woman behind the steam had probably become a desecrated corpse.

"My husband is a very outstanding mechanical factory engineer."

Some unclear voices came into his ears, and Jenkins understood that the characteristics of the maze lock on this floor began to appear.

"My daughter is a very talented child."

The black shadow behind the white mist began to move, not approaching Jenkins, but circling around the wall.

"They often talk about some topics related to machinery, and I, an ordinary housewife who knows simple words, never understand what they are talking about."

"It's okay if I don't understand. I don't understand what every member of the family is saying."

He was referring to his cat, but the other party didn't stop because of this sentence:

"I would be on the third floor looking at the books I had brought out of the study when no one was looking. It was interesting, but I couldn't understand it. Until one day, my husband came into contact with the great wise man, This also gave me the opportunity to enlighten myself.”

The husband on the first floor is an existence similar to an evil spirit, and the daughter on the second floor retains her physical form, but is severely mechanized. According to Jenkins' observation, the housewife on the third floor seemed to have lost her body and turned into a black mist, so he could not see her through the steam.

"That great wisdom~"

The woman sighed, and the white steam mist on the entire third floor rose and fell with the sound. As the white mist rose, the crisscrossing steam pipes lying quietly in the room became clear. The lengths and thicknesses of the pipes are different, and they are connected to each other, forming a very beautiful picture on the floor.

"Stranger, since you can walk up to the third floor, you must be recognized by my husband and daughter. Then, I also want to give you a test. Please answer my questions and prove your knowledge."

Jenkins nodded, indicating she could begin.

"I gained wisdom, and because I saw more, I had more doubts. Steam machinery is almost omnipotent in this era, but people still have not found a suitable method for long-distance communication."

The corners of Jenkins' mouth moved, but he didn't speak.

"But I have an idea, maybe we can use steam pipes to transmit information. Assuming that there is no steam as the number 0, and there is steam as the number 1, then simple digital communication can be achieved. If a specific combination of 01 is used to form a codebook , you can achieve remote communication, what do you think?”

"It is very inconvenient. The steam transmission process is lossy, and relay stations need to be frequently set up to manually pass on the on-off status of the steam. Moreover, the transmission speed of steam is very slow, even with the newly invented near-vacuum doped special iron alloy Pipes cannot transmit steam at high speed and low consumption, so although your idea is valuable, it is not very feasible.”

Jenkins seriously commented that he had had similar ideas and considered whether to apply for a patent to make some money, but ultimately gave up because of the reasons mentioned above.

"My problem is not with practicality, but with the design of the codebook. Maybe you can give me suggestions on how to use steam to effectively convey information other than numbers."

The black shadow has been floating in the steam mist, and the sound seems to be coming from all directions.

Jenkins put his hand in his pocket and touched the small bottle, and answered without thinking:

"This is not simple. Since you don't consider practicality at all and only consider password issues, then why don't you use more steam states to express the meaning of numbers? The two states of the steam switch can be expressed, the pressure of the steam can be expressed, and even The composition of steam can also be expressed. Putting together so many states is enough to correspond to all letters, then passing steam is equivalent to passing state, and passing state is equivalent to passing letters. This is not better than the 0 and 1 you mentioned. Are the numbers more efficient?"

Of course, the practicality is also lower. With the level of contemporary steam technology, it is almost impossible to achieve.

In fact, it is probably a better answer to talk about binary language at this time and then explain simple mechanical language. But Jenkins didn't know what was behind it controlling the mythos, and he didn't want to tell this group of people the knowledge from another world.

"Are you satisfied with my answer?"

Seeing that the dark figure didn't speak or comment, Jenkins took the initiative to ask.

"You are indeed a very talented person, and you are qualified to continue on."

There was a sound from the ceiling, and then, the hinged trap door and stairs slowly fell from above to the floor of the third floor:

"Go ahead and you'll face the honors you deserve in the attic."

Jenkins shook his head:

"But before I move on, can I see you? I admire you very much for a progressive woman who is thirsty for knowledge. Before I move on, do I have the honor to see you in person?"

Chapter 1878 Chapter 1849 Strange Recruitment

"Yes, it's my honor for you to see me."

The black figure floated slowly from the depths of the steamy white mist. Just as Jenkins expected, the woman had lost her body, and her soul had merged with the mist. This is not a ghost, nor a mechanized corpse, but a brand new form of existence.

Although Jenkins couldn't understand how this was done, he also understood that such a deformed soul would probably collapse soon.

The shadows were getting closer, and Jenkins could see more details. Although it is still roughly human-shaped, the body and face made of black mist have no details, and are only bound by black dust. On the chest, a woman's face is looming.

As Jenkins stared at it, the woman also asked a question that was not related to the mystery lock:

"I have seen wisdom, have basic mechanical knowledge, and even have my own ideas about the application of machinery. I think my husband and daughter will also call me to join them next time they have a discussion. Right?"

Jenkins nodded, and a smile appeared on the face of the woman in the black mist body.

Leaving the third floor and going up to the attic, there was no light in the attic either. Only the light from the skylight on the roof could barely allow Jenkins to see the surroundings clearly. This is the highest floor of the building. The roof above transmits the sound and force of the heavy rain in summer. When Jenkins climbed up to the attic, the stairs and trapdoor connecting the attic and the third floor were closed again. Although he did not try, Jenkins knew that it must be in a state that it could not be opened now.

Probably because of the hard work of the hostess, the attic looked very clean. There was no dust on the ground and not too much debris. Only old furniture was placed against the wall, and some cardboard boxes were stacked in the corner. On the floor, a huge ritual base array wrapped around the entire attic was carved out with blue chalk with a special fluorescent color. Jenkins looked at it and knew that this was the core position of the puzzle lock. But from the moment they entered the door, everyone separated. This puzzle lock has certain spatial characteristics. It is hard to say whether the ritual core in front of him is the real ritual core.

In addition to him, there were three men in black coats sitting on chairs in the attic. The three of them sat in the dark in a triangle, right at the center of the ceremony. The vertex of the equilateral triangle drawn with chalk on the ground faced the center of the chair.

"You can choose to be silent or not, because no matter what, I will teach you a lesson."

Jenkins said and was about to start.

"Demigod of the Orthodox Church, maybe you can wait a few minutes and listen to us finish a brief speech."

The one closest to Jenkins among the three men said.

"We felt that someone broke into the maze, so we already knew the identities of you and your companions. Since you can come here so quickly, it means that you do have a talent for mechanics. May I ask which demigod of the Mechanic Church you are?"

"It doesn't matter."

Jenkins shook his head:

"If you still talk nonsense like this, then don't continue. I don't have the habit of buying time for the enemy to ask for help."

"No, no, no, of course it's not nonsense. Since you can also understand the mysteries of machinery, and have your own ideas about the content that the church does not focus on, why don't you join us?"