Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 289 Fragments!

The free market is located on a relatively open area where the ground has been trampled down to an extremely firm level.

There are no fixed shops here, only densely packed stalls and a constant flow of people.

The sounds of hawking, haggling, arguing, and even the occasional shoving mingled together, the air thick with the stench of sweat.

A pungent mixture of body odor, herbs, rotten food, and cheap spices.

Rowling and Ellie blended into the crowd, moving slowly, their ears picking up snippets of conversation around them.

"Things have been acting strangely at the Blackwater Pool to the north lately. It seems something crawled out of the deep water and dragged away two people who were collecting drowned algae—"

"There was another explosion at the Skinner's lair last night. Damn it, the moss on the roofs of several nearby houses was blown off—"

"I heard that the old dwarf of rust and sparks is currently buying [active star-patterned steel], and the price he's offering isn't low. I wonder which lucky person will stumble upon it —"

"A few days ago, someone saw a golden light flash through the multicolored mist at the edge of the Poisonous Valley in the west. I wonder if some ancient artifact has been unearthed again."

"The Secret Council's supply ship is arriving next month. I wonder what good stuff they'll bring this time—"

The information is fragmented, chaotic, and difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Luo Lin patiently screened the samples.

Regarding Glenn the Skinner, regarding Bruno's needs, regarding the visions of the Poison Valley, regarding the Council of Secrets—each one may have value.

He stopped at a stall selling various dried swamp insects and plant roots, pretending to select goods, while listening to two men wrapped in waterproof tarpaulins, who looked like herb gatherers, talking in hushed tones next to him.

"It's absolutely true, I saw it with my own eyes." One of the herb gatherers, who had a scar on his face, said confidently, "Right there, on that rocky slope east of the wreckage, a crack suddenly appeared in the ground, and blue-white light shot out from it, accompanied by a hissing sound, like thunder."

"The surfaces of the rocks that were too close together have all melted."

"How long did it spray?" another asked.

"It only took a few hits, then it stopped. I didn't dare stay any longer, I ran away as fast as I could." Scarface said with lingering fear, "That place is eerie; usually, you can only find tough guys there."

"I suspect it might be some ancient artifact buried underground that's been there for so long that it became unstable and exploded."

"The Sinking Grounds—" another herb gatherer clicked his tongue. "That awful place, it's near the edge of the Ash Belt, isn't it? Tsk, nobody dares to go there anymore."

After whispering a few more words, the two changed the subject.

Rowling noted down the place names: Sinking Site and Rocky Slope.

It emitted a blue-white light, accompanied by energy melting phenomena—this certainly sounds like the characteristics of some kind of high-energy ancient device or energy node that is abnormally active or even out of control.

It might be worth investigating.

But the Sinkhole doesn't sound like a good place, and its proximity to the Ash Belt only adds to the danger.

He quietly bought some common hemostatic herbs and left the stall.

As I continued wandering through the market, I heard a few more scattered rumors about abnormal energy or suspected ancient creation activities in different areas.

Some of these descriptions are clearly exaggerated and based on hearsay, while others sound somewhat credible.

Before they knew it, they had been strolling through the market for almost an hour.

Just as Luo Lin felt he had gathered enough information and was about to return, a commotion and exclamations suddenly arose from the crowd ahead.

Several people tumbled and crawled out of the depths of the market, their faces filled with extreme terror. They kept looking back as they ran, as if something terrible was chasing them.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way now!"

"That thing is alive! It's moving!"

The crowd hurriedly parted to the sides. Rowling pulled Ellie aside, his sharp gaze fixed on the source of the commotion.

Deep within the market, beside a stall that had originally been displaying various sundries, lay quietly on the ground a metal arm, about half a meter long, as thick as an arm, dark gold in color, and covered with intricate patterns.

The metal arm had a sleek design, with its five fingers slightly spread, the joints clearly visible, and the broken edges jagged, as if it had been forcibly torn off by a tremendous force.

At this moment, it lies quietly on the muddy ground, without making any noise.

But the people who had just fled were clearly frightened by it.

The stall owner, a gaunt old goblin, was also terrified and hid behind his stall, peeking out half his head and shrieking, "It's not my fault! It was dead when I bought it! From a pile of fragments! It suddenly moved! Just once!"

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, staring at the severed metal arm with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. Some of the bolder ones moved closer, yet dared not get too intimate.

Rolin's pupils contracted slightly.

The material and texture of that metal arm—and the markings on his wrist—were exactly the same as those of the lesser adjudicators!

It just looks older, the dark gold luster is somewhat dim, and the patterns are somewhat worn.

And it just moved?

Just as everyone was filled with doubt and uncertainty, the metal arm lying quietly on the ground suddenly emitted a very faint but clearly audible "click" sound from the index finger joint.

Then, very slowly, the index finger bent slightly.

The crowd erupted in chaos!

"It really moved!"

"Damn it! They're the remains of an ancient construct!"

"Run! Will it attack?"

Amid gasps of alarm, more people retreated, but a few burly men with greedy eyes pushed forward, pulling out weapons and ropes, clearly eyeing the "living" limb.

If this thing is still active, it would be of great research value!

Luo Lin, however, stood still.

His gaze was fixed on the metal arm, and [Quiet Dust Star]'s perception was heightened to its limit.

There were no strong energy fluctuations, and no hostility or intention to attack.

That slight bend was more like some kind of residual nerve reflex, or—an extremely slight disruption of the internal energy circuit caused by some external stimulus?

He recalled Bruno's words, "active fragments of the same kind of creation."

The arm in front of me seems to perfectly fit the criteria of being a fragment and having weak activity!

Although the activity was pitifully low, almost negligible, it did move after all.

Just as a few daring adventurers were preparing to use their lassos to hook the severed arm, another unexpected event occurred!

Without warning, a small burst of dazzling dark golden sparks suddenly erupted from the severed metal arm!

"Crack!"

A flash of lightning startled the adventurers, who retreated hastily.

Immediately afterwards, a fine and rapid buzzing sound came from inside the arm, as if countless tiny gears and springs were running wildly!

The dark gold patterns started from the break, like a lit fuse, lighting up one by one and spreading towards the fingertips!

A faint yet exceptionally clear fluctuation of cold order, accompanied by a distinct intention that carried the meaning of scanning and positioning, spread out from that severed arm like ripples on water!

The wave swept across the crowd, and most people only felt a strange chill.

But when it swept across Rolin—

The mark on his left wrist instantly sent a burning pain through him!

The pale blue dot of light appeared uncontrollably, flashing wildly, and its color rapidly changed to dark gold!

Almost simultaneously, all the illuminated patterns on the metal arm suddenly converged, pointing towards the direction where Rolin was. The broken section even lifted slightly off the ground, its fingertips aimed directly at Rolin!

"Detected — Carrier of higher-order instructions of the same protocol —"

Signal strength — low —

"Attempt — Connect — Request Command —"

A fragment of thought, discontinuous, cold, rigid, and seemingly stuck, crashed directly into Rolin's consciousness!

All eyes instantly turned to Roland!