The fairy maid cheers for her deceased master today.

When I returned to the UK Pavilion, it was at least eight degrees less crowded than the Persian Pavilion.

It's not that the UK Pavilion is unpopular, but it's been temporarily closed off and visitors have been temporarily removed.

Ax pulled Angel aside and hid behind the Collins Steam Hammer booth to observe the UK Pavilion. The metal booth still smelled of engine oil from the morning's rehearsal, a pungent odor that felt both familiar and strange to Ax.

The Templars' footsteps sounded like a precise metronome—the black-robed knight was patrolling with two new knights, the reflections of their armor constantly sweeping across X's position.

"There are twelve guards in total." Angel gripped Ax's wrist, her ears twitching as she listened to the sounds and movements ahead like radar. "Three are at the entrance to the exhibition area, four are guarding the barrier, and five are around the Ethiopian booth."

Her voice was lowered to a whisper, "And the barrier is twice as thick as it was this morning, the silver markings are glowing."

Axe felt his pocket. The fragments of the fake cross were still in the inside pocket of his coat, the metal edges digging into his skin.

He needed to bring Angel within five meters of the booth, but that would inevitably be stopped by the patrolling knights.

"The mechanical doll is being adjusted," Angel reminded its master. "The gear meshing sound has changed, and the rotation speed is faster! Faster and faster!"

Getting faster and faster? Won't something bad happen sooner or later?

Ax looked up. Nearby, a steam-powered mechanical figure was slowly bowing as gears turned, its steel sword drawing a cold arc in the sunlight—it was the "tin monster" Angel had exclaimed about that morning.

At this moment, a group of engineers wearing bowler hats surrounded its base, one of whom was tapping the control box with a wrench, and steam hissed out from the seams, accumulating into white mist on the ground.

Its base... has tracks that extend deep into the British Pavilion. This is a movable steam-powered mechanical figure.

Ex immediately ripped off his bow tie, revealing his pale neck, pressed his fingertips against his clothes, and placed his other hand on Angel's little skirt.

What is equivalent exchange?

Anything that the system approves counts.

[Equivalent exchange initiated: Dark gray tailcoat + blue dress = Blue tailcoat + dark gray dress]

An equivalent exchange that requires no additional materials is indeed feasible.

X's understanding of abilities has deepened a bit more.

Now, X's clothes have become an extravagant blue tailcoat. And Angel's little skirt has turned dark gray—making her look more like a maid.

Angel immediately understood and fiddled with X's face and her own face as well.

And so, the father-daughter duo disappeared.

What is now before us is a new academic combination.

"We are now 'Royal Society Mechanical Trainees' here to check the safety devices of the mechanical dolls."

As for why the art association has mechanical engineering interns, it's because gear transmission is also art!

"good!"

The duo then appeared confidently in front of the exhibition hall.

The Templars at the entrance to the exhibition area did indeed stop them.

Axe immediately explained, "We are mechanical trainees from the Royal Society of Arts. They need our assistance with the problem with that doll."

"Please show your identification." The knight on the left held his silver spear horizontally, the tip of which reflected X's bloodless face.

"The documents are with the supervisor," Ax replied deliberately with an accent, while loosening his collar to reveal a bruise on his collarbone (the result of bumping into the haystack earlier). "The mechanical doll's safety valve malfunctioned; Prince Albert's aide only notified us ten minutes ago..."

Mentioning the name of an important figure is a crucial step in infiltrating the area.

Before the words were even finished, the mechanical doll suddenly emitted a piercing metallic scraping sound. Its brass arm swung wildly out of control, and the longsword slammed into the edge of the display stand with a clang, sparks flying onto the hats of the onlookers.

The engineers cried out and scattered, instantly drawing the attention of the other guards.

But the knight at the door remained unmoved, his gaze still fixed on the two men before him.

"Identifications." The knight's voice was as cold as ice, his silver spear held horizontally in front of Angel. "And your identifications."

Angel's blue eyes instantly filled with tears: "I...I..."

Axe suddenly laughed: "Don't scare my assistant. Her number is 734, registered with the Royal Society of Arts. I am Darwin Ayr, the Society's intern mechanic. My credentials are in the supervisor's office; shall I take you to get them now?"

The knight's gaze swept across Ex's face, then landed on Angel's: "As far as I know, the number has long exceeded 1000."

Ex's heart—or rather, his magical heart—pounded wildly.

But perhaps because he had been dead for a long time, X showed no flaws on the surface, and his expression hardly changed for even half a second.

"Because she's 'specially registered'," X said deliberately, slowing his pace. "She's a genius. Prince Albert personally approved her to come and test the compatibility of the mechanical dolls. You see—"

He suddenly grabbed Angel's hand, rushed past the knight, and placed his hand on the mechanical puppet's control box.

The problem with the mechanical doll is simple: the gears are spinning out of control.

Since we can't change the gear's rotation speed directly, we can just limit the amount of steam input to the steam doll.

Therefore, when Angel placed her hand on the control box, X's hand happened to follow suit and pressed the button as well.

【旧铸铁控制箱传动齿轮（1843年铸铁锻件）+硫化橡胶密封垫片（1845年天然橡胶硫化件）+黄铜控制杆把手（1847年黄铜锻造件）+旧铜製压力弹簧（1842年铜合金件）= 1个蒸汽管道截止阀门】

Use the parts inside the control box to manufacture new components.

Once the doll's gears returned to normal speed, its movements naturally returned to normal as well.

The blue-eyed fairy girl was still trembling—but the mechanical doll's brass arms suddenly stopped waving and instead gave an elegant bow, the steel longsword drawing a perfect arc in the sunlight.

The engineers watching exclaimed in surprise, "The compatibility debugging was successful!"

The knight held the silver whistle to his lips.

X could see his brow furrow, and he eventually put down his weapon for the time being.

"I need to check it further," X said, straightening his collar.

The Templars finally made way.

Ax breathed a sigh of relief.

But the next moment, a hand landed on Ex's shoulder.

"Sorry, we still need to see your identification first."

Ax turned around in surprise.

The black-robed knight stood behind the two with a gloomy expression.

Then the black-robed knight carefully examined the girl beside him: "Your skin is too smooth, unlike a human's. It's more like... a fairy."

Angel was completely frozen, too afraid to move.

Ax's hand was still on the control box, his voice carrying a deliberate impatience.

"She's just very well-maintained, of course she's different. Should I send a telegram to the Prince's aide to confirm now? His office is in the East Wing of the Crystal Palace, just a ten-minute walk away."

The knight's gaze shifted back and forth between the mechanical doll and Angel.

X could hear his breathing coming from inside his armor—growing heavier and heavier.

Suddenly, the mechanical doll emitted a piercing scraping sound again.

This time it's not out of control.

Some of the original parts inside the control box were consumed by X.

In addition, X continued to quietly replace the valves with equivalent exchanges, and also replaced its brass gears—with tin alloy gears that have a lower melting point. Now, the high-temperature steam is slowly deforming the gears.

"Warning! Danger! Spread out! It might be a safety valve malfunction!" The engineer's scream pierced the air. The mechanical puppet's steel longsword suddenly slipped from its grasp and flew straight towards the black-robed knight's helmet.

The knight instinctively raised his lance to parry, and the instant the silver spear clashed with the longsword, X grabbed Angel and turned to run, dashing straight into the British Pavilion. It was as if they were walking into a trap.

"Seize them!" came the knight's roar from behind.