Poverty makes me capable of anything.

"Da da da……"

Footsteps came from the stairs.

"Priest, the prayer ceremony is complete," someone said, poking out.

Tan Lu stood up: "Please wait a moment, I'll be right there."

She then turned to An Ran and said, "You continue with the assessment. I'm going upstairs to take care of something."

“Okay.” An Ran nodded.

Tan Lu left first, while An Ran continued to use the tools on the first floor to make robots.

Chapter 02 Unorthodox Methods

"Ding! You have successfully created [Cleric 001] and gained 20000 free experience points."

"It's all better now?"

Tan Lu looked at Tan Shi, who had come to find her, in surprise.

"It's done." Tan Shi scratched his head, he was also quite surprised, who could blame him for An Ran's quick work.

From receiving the blueprints to completing the finished product, it only took seven hours in total.

It is 9:47 p.m. in Surina.

Tan Lu came down from the second floor and saw An Ran and Ella strolling around on the first floor.

“It’s ready,” An Ran said.

She was examining the strange decor of the room. Based on what she had gleaned from Tan Shi, she knew that the mechanical technology of the Mechanical Church was unconventional and unorthodox.

The most basic things are solid, but because the Church worships an ancient god called "Soul of Aether" and believes that the combination of etheric power and machinery is the future of mechanical technology.

The reason for this is that Tyndall, the first pope of the Mechanicus, unearthed a treasure that is said to be the remnant of the "Soul of Aether". Tyndall tried to incorporate the extraction method of the "Power of Aether" from the treasure into his mechanical creations. The previously unknown Tyndall immediately became the "God of Machines" at that time.

Tindas's creations are excellent in all aspects, but they also have obvious drawbacks. Such technology is impossible to mass-produce. Only skilled mechanics who have mastered the power of ether can create the finished product.

Mechanical creations that cannot be mass-produced obviously cannot meet the demands of the masses; even Tindas's most prized mechs could not survive against hundreds or thousands of giant ships.

"Such a thing is difficult to use in large-scale warfare."

Like many other schools of thought, the Aether Force Mechanism eventually faded from public view.

However, Tindas was different from others. He firmly believed that this was the future of mechanics. Through his relentless pursuit and efforts, he founded the Mechanicus and made it go from obscurity to a well-known name.

Although this reputation isn't very good, with most people calling him crazy or brain-dead, he still has a good reputation.

The power of ether.

Alright, An Ran has absolutely no interest in this thing.

She wanted to become a mechanic because she felt she didn't have enough protection or stability around her.

Mechs sound cool, but if you have a huge fleet, plus countless automated humanoids and naval cannons, even the most skilled mech pilot is just a little brother, or maybe even a little sister.

Mass production is the key to success.

"The soul of ether is watching you."

A crisp sound rang out, and An Ran turned around to see Tan Lu tinkering with the robot she had made.

After adding the core modules, the clergy system runs very smoothly, allowing for speaking, movement, and operation.

"No problem, you've passed the test!" Tan Lu said with a smile. "From now on, you're a member of our Mechanical Church!"

After she finished speaking, she handed over a metal plaque.

It is disc-shaped with a hollow center and engraved with patterns in the distinctive style of the Mechanical Vatican.

“This is the Vatican’s identity verification token, which contains a very small amount of etheric power and needs to be replenished every three months,” Tan Lu said.

An Ran took the sign, looked at it, and then put it away.

"How is contribution calculated?" she asked.

Tan Lu explained, "As a priest of the branch, I issue a series of tasks every month. You can earn points by completing the tasks."

"So what are the tasks for this month?"

"The task is written in the task list on the second floor. You can go and take a look when you have time."

"Oh." Nodding, Anran said, "Thank you."

Aside from occasionally using the term "etheric soul," the people here speak logically and behave normally, yet the atmosphere here is still quite eerie.

It was 10 p.m. when I left the church.

Sarina remains in chaos.

Especially at night, the raging fire can be clearly seen, illuminating almost half the sky.

The sirens blared incessantly as career criminal Harrison turned Surina into a battlefield for his battles with the police.

"Waaah—"

"Waaah—"

Aircraft kept flying over the city, and several suspended tracks were blown up.

When An Ran finally found a place to stay, the commotion outside showed no signs of abating; in fact, it intensified.

"Damn it, these cowards at the police station, they were all bragging when they made their statement, but now that Harrison's here, they're all getting beaten up like little kids. Damn it, I have business to discuss in the East District tomorrow!"

A middle-aged man in a suit walked in from outside, cursing and swearing. His clothes were covered in dirt and dust.

"What's going on outside?"

"Don't even mention it, the police station can find a new chief to take office tomorrow."

"..."

"Dead, dead?"

"Harrison shoved him into the latrine, and he was dead as good as dead." The middle-aged man frowned, as if recalling something unpleasant.

"That's disgusting."

"These idiots, do you think it's so easy to catch a wanted criminal with a 9 million bounty?"

After getting her room key, An Ran turned around and subconsciously used her scouting skill to scan everyone outside.

There are level 29 people, level 28 people, level 31 people, level 22 people, and even level 47 people... what a load of rubbish!

I rub.

An Ran stared at the middle-aged man who was venting his anger in the crowd. Level 47, how could he be so high?

Apart from the level, Anran could not discern any other data.

"Hey, do you know that person?" An Ran nudged a young man who had been playing the role the middle-aged man was now in when she came in—the one who started the conversation.

He seems to be someone with a lot of connections.

"Ah, you're asking me?" The young man was slightly taken aback, but became excited after seeing An Ran and Ella's appearances clearly.

"You mean that man? I don't know him either. I haven't seen him in the past two days. He definitely didn't live here before."

"..."

Something just doesn't feel right.

The Azure Forest map is suitable for players between levels 20 and 50, while the earlier Rylandor Star is definitely even lower. However, a player with a level of 47 has suddenly appeared.

When An Ran looked up, she noticed that someone seemed to be watching her, but the young man was now entangled with her.

“Beautiful lady, I can say I’m the know-it-all of Sarina. You can ask me anything, I guarantee I know more than that other person.”

An Ran chuckled: "Do you know if there are any gangs or similar organizations in Surina?"

"Huh?" The young man was taken aback. Why was he asking this for no reason?

Although he was puzzled, he still pointed An Ran in a direction.

Two gangs, one big and one small.

Sarina is a rather unsafe place.

"Can I have your contact information, beautiful? You can ask me anytime if you have any questions in the future." The young man was incredibly enthusiastic.

An Ran added fuel to the fire: "Okay."

Then I provided the contact number for the Mechanic's Guild.

Despite claiming to be an expert, he failed to see the problem and remained excited even after Anran and Ella left.

"The fourth floor, but that's nothing."

As soon as she entered the room, Anran went to the window.

Sensing something was wrong, she didn't plan to stay there, and she had other things to do that night.

"Ella, I'll go down from here first. Remember to follow me," Anran instructed.

“Yes, no problem, Anran.” Ella didn’t ask Anran the reason; she supported all of Anran’s actions.

After climbing out of the window, Anran led Ella quickly toward the smaller gang's hideout.

There are two gangs, one big and one small. An Ran might not be able to beat the big one.

If An Ran hadn't overheard what that middle-aged man said, she wouldn't have planned to make money this way.

But now that Harrison has caused trouble, even the police chief has been killed by him. Robbing a gang and killing two people won't cause any stir at all. Even if the gang has connections, it won't make a difference.

The bureau chief is gone, and the people above are really busy now.

In the shadows, put on the exoskeleton armor.

When Anran and Ella rushed out, the gatekeeper still looked drowsy.

"Who...uh"

His neck was snapped.