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 tightly 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 contact it, I can

Download and generate Arthur’s character card.]

I understand. Ed always feels guilty about being a thief, but since it is to survive, he should 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 transmission sound of the gears, the sacred and distant roar of the machine like a whale song, gave Ed a strange and strange feeling, as if the machine had become an artificial god.

Just as he was thinking wildly, the echo of a mechanism came from the end of the corridor. The silver disk depicting the golden apple twisted twelve and a half times, and the solemn and heavy mechanical door opened immediately.

As 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, 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".

Divine Bureau. He guessed the identity under the black robe.

Birthstone... Birthstone... He quickly browsed through every display case. Arthur 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 colored light slowly penetrated the glass, twisting and flowing, making it look like a holy object enshrined in a church.

Being kept under strict guard... I see. He understood and stepped up the steps.

The mechanical lock was equipped with a digital dial. Ed knew this classic mechanical lock. He put his ear to the safe and gently turned the dial with his hand, hoping to crack it by distinguishing the friction sound of the lever and 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 solved 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, the slightly playful girl next to him is probably his sister, and 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 the people use their birthday as the password. Similarly, nearly half of the safe theft cases are because the owner uses the 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 a number of numbers or dates that might be commemorative 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 letter of recommendation 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 as young as a jade in the rough, and he needs to be carefully studied before he can become a great weapon. I hope that you can impart your extraordinary wisdom to him in the future. The Royal Society will also do its best to cooperate with the work of the Divine Bureau in Silver Mist 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 the mentality of trying his luck...

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 sunshine 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...

【》》》Downloading character data...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 from nervousness, and his eyes stared at the shadow on the stained window until it became wider and deeper.

Hurry, hurry...

【》》》Downloading character data...Progress 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 fragments, 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 it 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 crushed 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.

What to do... what 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:

[Don’t be nervous, my dear good sir, look up and take a deep breath.]

Looking up? Ed looked up and saw a pale white flame climbing up a metal cable as thick as his arm. As if ice was 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.】
Chapter completed!