Star Forge Titan

Abnormal! Abnormal!

[Warning*@&#…warning—I must inform my friends immediately ()#%& immediately*#@]

Abnormal…@＃异*＃常…strange, strange ...

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A sharp alarm sounded, and Little Q, whose body heat exceeded a certain threshold, began to tremble all over. Multiple pieces of armor on his body automatically opened in an emergency, and the surrounding air showed signs of distortion and fluctuation due to the rapidly dissipating high temperature.

Then, a voice sounded again in the chaotic consciousness.

That was not the electronic eye that Xiao Q was familiar with, but a familiar male voice, a voice that it could not name.

"No abnormality."

Thus, passersby were baffled to see the mechanical dog, which usually scurried about, freeze in place for a moment before releasing a puff of hot air and starting to move again. Its lithe body, cast from weathered copper alloy, swiftly disappeared at the end of the corridor in just a few leaps.

It is puzzling, but the other party is not a human, so when you think about it this way, it doesn’t seem strange.

When Little Q disappeared at the end of the corridor, Ivan, who had already finished class, was heading to the security department with Diana.

On the other hand, Kayon and Limore planned to go to the Materials Department. In name, they were going to ask questions about the course, but in fact they were secretly planning to investigate the interpersonal relationships of the deceased Gena Cohen.

Although he had no hope for this, Alvin still maintained his secret investigation, mainly to use this method to confuse the possible mastermind, and also hoped to find out some information.

As for why he and Diana went to the security department, it was mainly to visit Meni Kaye who was being held under house arrest by MI7.

This assistant researcher was truly unfortunate. Clearly an uninformed individual, she was linked to two consecutive victims, leading to a seemingly inexplicable level of suspicion. Add to that the control and protection of those with knowledge of the incident, and it's hard to say which factor played a greater role.

All in all, poor Miss Maynie is now confined to the security department's confinement room.

Although there is no prison in the underground space of Truth Rock, the solitary confinement rooms are surrounded by metal walls and are not much different from the cages in the prison.

In reality, for the underground headquarters, where most of the staff were researchers and support staff, the confinement room was rarely used. Therefore, the interior space was built to be extremely narrow, only about 6 to 8 square meters. After putting down a narrow single bed, there was almost no room for anything else.

Coupled with the dim internal environment, if the person is confined for too long, there is a high probability that he will go crazy.

"Who is it?" Before they reached the confinement room, Alvin and Diana were stopped by security guards.

Perhaps because of the vicious incident that happened not long ago, the guards standing on both sides of the entrance like door gods are all fully armed.

They all wore special 34 type power armor and carried large-caliber steam guns. Unlike the first-level extraordinary people who were regarded as apprentices and novices, the sergeant leading the team was a mature and experienced second-level extraordinary person.

Therefore, apart from the occasional white mist emitted from the small steam engine behind him, he also exuded undisguised magical fluctuations.

Generally speaking, aside from newly promoted novices, experienced and experienced transcendents would be interested in controlling the release of their own magical energy. This person before him was clearly not a novice, otherwise he wouldn't be here as a non-commissioned officer. His purpose for this behavior was very clear.

Just like a gray wolf in nature would intimidate its opponent by opening its mouth wide and showing its sharp canine teeth, the opponent's behavior of emitting magical fluctuations not only demonstrates his own status as a transcendent, but also has the purpose of deterring the opponent.

"We are here to visit someone who is in solitary confinement..."

Alvin frowned, not because of the intimidation of the strange extraordinary person in front of him. He never cared about such things, just like the terrifying upright ape holding a spear and thinking would not care about the presence of other animals around him.

The main reason was that Alvin was not sure what identity would be appropriate for the visit.

"Friend." Diana suddenly said:

She didn't think much about it. Although she had only interacted with Miss Menie a few times, the short-haired girl, who was born with super intuition, could clearly feel the kindness and closeness of the other party.

For her, this was enough to consider the other person as a friend.

She believed that anyone who made her feel kindness would never do something as cruel as killing a friend.

What's more, when she first came to Vulcan, Meni, who happened to know that Diana was born in the lower town of Lutetia, not only did not look down on her, but instead, as a slightly older sister, taught Diana a lot of knowledge that girls needed, and even helped her choose daily clothes.

Although the short-haired girl still prefers a more neutral look...

"No one is allowed to contact the suspect without permission." His thoughts were interrupted by the guard's stern words.

Well, to be honest, there is no expression on that head covered by the power armor helmet. It is indeed an iron face, in the literal sense.

"Permission." Ivan paused and took out a piece of paper with a red seal from his pocket. The complex emblem had an iris pattern on it.

Then he heard the guards gasp, contributing to the acceleration of global warming.

As a young foreign alchemist who ostensibly came from Genoa and had just become a Linde citizen for a few months, he naturally did not have the authority to sign a permit casually.

but--

Both he and Diana knew someone who had the authority to do it.

For example, a certain blond, drill-headed duchess.

Chapter 75: Secret Selection

"Honestly, I think this is a bit of a waste of your time."

A few minutes ago, Catherine looked up at the two of them while signing the consent decree and said:

"We have to try. I don't believe Miss Maynie is that kind of person."

Diana spoke calmly, but the light in her eyes was sincere, like a bright flame burning in it.

Through the experiences during this period, whether it was the Youth Magic Competition or the training courses for more than half a month, Diana, who was originally just a girl from the downtown area, has now become more and more confident. Her temperament is also different from the stubbornness she showed before. Instead, she reveals an unpretentious frankness and even a bit of majesty.

At the same time, Teresa's silent teachings since she was a child have made her appear very sincere and without any hypocrisy when interacting with anyone, even though she usually does not express her emotions in an exaggerated way.

This made her more popular among the students, and she subtly revealed an aura of a leader respected by everyone.

Seeing Diana like this, Catherine subconsciously held her breath, but her hands did not stop moving. With a "snap!", she pressed the noble seal symbolizing the Duke of Loire onto the permission order.

As a ducal family with royal blood, her coat of arms also has the iris pattern that symbolizes the Carolingian royal family, which is the best proof.

Ivan raised his eyebrows and took the permission slip from her hand. He felt that there seemed to be a subtle sense of disharmony in the surrounding environment, or something else.

Considering that there was still a lot to do, they did not stay here for too long. They exchanged a few words with Catherine and prepared to leave.

"Although I don't intend to stop you from continuing to investigate this matter, you must also pay attention to your own safety." As he was leaving, Catherine's whispered reminder suddenly came from behind him.

Ivan and Diana both turned slightly to the side. The handsome boy, who looked like a god, and the heroic and exceptionally dashing girl smiled at each other, then said in unison:

"no problem."

Catherine covered her face and lowered her head, waving her hand to indicate that they could leave.

Hearing the sound of the office door closing, the Duchess raised her head with a blushing face, and then she heard an unexpected voice coming from beside her.

"Oh, little Catherine, I didn't expect you to be the type to play both sides. I am really surprised by your aunt~"

With the sound of a folding fan opening, Ms. Christina, wearing a purple robe decorated with lace and covering the lower half of her face with the fan, appeared in the office.

"No!" Catherine stood up quickly and made a loud noise to deny or cover up her previous behavior.

"Hahaha." Ms. Christina smiled evilly and floated in the air, circling around her junior.

If a spellcaster does not choose to be promoted to a special profession, he usually has to reach the third level before he can break free from gravity and continue flying without relying on any props.

As for the warriors, not many of them can learn to use their own magic power to perform a double jump after reaching the third level. Most warriors of ordinary professions need to fully awaken their soul power at least to the fourth level before they can fly by their own strength.

But for a Crown Mage like Ms. Christina, even the advanced flying technique that can fly to extremely high altitudes is just a permanent ability that can be activated at will.

Even so, using this ability to tease one's own juniors would often be a waste of time, causing the mages who saw it to stare in amazement.

Although, for the Crown Mages, the magic power consumed by flying was nothing. In addition, the folding fan that looked like an ordinary folding fan was actually a staff that Christina had changed its appearance with the Transfiguration spell, which had the effect of reducing the magic power consumption of casting spells.

"Okay, aunt, if you don't have anything else to do, please don't disturb me from working. As a duke, I have other work to deal with besides studying. After the accident of tutor Joseph, the job of managing the students has temporarily fallen to me. I'm very busy now!" Catherine coughed lightly with forced calmness and deliberately put on a serious look.

"How unlovable! When she was six years old, she would follow people around and call them sister, but now she only knows how to call them aunt with a stern face, and she keeps chasing people away and crying."

The Archmage, who looked like a twelve-year-old girl, but whose age was such that anyone who revealed the truth would be killed, pretended to sob and said:

She even pulled out an imported silk handkerchief from the Great Wilderness Forest from her pocket, held it in front of her face, and made a loud nasal sound.

Seeing this scene, Catherine felt a headache and all the blood in her body seemed to be rushing up.

With a snap, the pencil in her hand was broken subconsciously, and anger mixed with the urge to roar after suppressing herself rushed into the Duchess's head.

Oh, damn it! They're all like this, from that lazy brother to this pretentious aunt. Am I the only one in the entire Carolingian family with common sense? Am I the only normal person?

The duchess with the golden drill-like hair looked up at the ceiling in silence. Although there was no mold on it, her mood at the moment was as depressed as the damp pine wood covered with mushrooms.

"Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore." Just before Catherine was about to explode, Ms. Christina skillfully stopped teasing, coughed lightly, and then put on a serious look.

"I need you to sort out the information of all the students and select the seven best candidates in all aspects."

"Why?" Catherine asked subconsciously:

"The specific purpose cannot be disclosed for the time being. All you need to know is that this is a personnel pre-selection for a top-secret project." Christina said mysteriously.

"Even I can't know?" Catherine narrowed her eyes. As the Duke of the Empire, she was also a nobleman with royal blood and even the right of succession to the throne of the emperor.

If even she had no right to know, then the significance of this plan could be imagined. It must be significant enough to have an impact on the entire country and even the international situation in the world of Palladia.

"In the short term, that's true." Christina nodded heavily in the affirmative.

"You should know that our neighboring country Elrond held a grand military parade at the beginning of the year." As if recalling something, this member of the Carolingian royal family and scholar of the New Era Institute couldn't help but sigh.

"Thousands of new mystical monsters, plus new, unheard-of enhanced mysteries. I even received some intelligence that they have overcome the shortened lifespan of the recipients caused by traditional Elrond mysteries and have also reduced the restrictions placed on the recipients' future development."

Although she looked like a little girl in terms of height and appearance, when Christina said this, the expression on her face was so serious that she didn't look like a child at all.

"Our neighboring country is growing stronger at an incredible speed, it's almost like..." Christina paused and smiled bitterly.

“It’s like cheating.”

Chapter 76: Thick Fog

It turns out there's more to blonde hair than just looks good on a blonde drill head.

The permission signed by the Duchess had sufficient access rights. After showing it, Alvin and Diana finally saw Menie Kaye, who had been imprisoned until now.

It was clear that she had been doing okay recently, and aside from looking a little pale, she hadn't shown any other problems. It was clear that she was only under house arrest, and hadn't been subjected to any more brutal treatment.

But the narrow and sealed environment of the solitary confinement cell still makes people feel weak uncontrollably.

It was not entirely physical weakness, but more of a mental one, so that Miss Meny looked thinner, like a flower cut from a branch. Even if it did not wither immediately, it would quickly wither over time.

However, although it didn't look good, Miss Maynie still tried to force a smile at Ivan and Diana when she saw them.

"Fifteen minutes." The guard said and left.

Hearing this, Alvin frowned but said nothing.

In a heavily guarded and important facility like the Truth Rock Underground Headquarters, the relevant disciplinary rules were often more strictly enforced than elsewhere. Therefore, even if the two of them had a visitation permit signed by Catherine, the time they could spend together was still very limited.

Because of this, after greeting Meni, they immediately got down to business.

"Miss Mayni, time is limited, so let's be brief. I'd like to know if the deceased researcher Joseph was proficient in other types of spells besides illusion spells?"

"As far as I know, not." Meni shook his head and denied it.

After hearing this answer, Alvin was silent for a moment and did not immediately ask other questions.

Then, Diana and Meni next to them began to chat about Joseph's daily life, trying to find some clues worth exploring.

Meanwhile, Alvin was pondering the difference between illusion spells and hallucination spells. These two types of spells seemed to have similar meanings in their names, but they were actually two completely different spells.

The former mainly uses spell effects to form various images that did not originally exist in the air or on the surface of objects. The specific operation methods vary depending on the different schools. There are low-level spells that operate by manipulating suspended liquids in the air to reflect nearby images, as well as advanced types that directly interfere with light.

The latter, that is, hallucinogenic spells, are spells that use magical manipulation, mental interference, and even soul adjustments to change the recipient's spirit, memory, and other brain information, causing them to have various hallucinations.

Normally, while the names and even the performance of some low-level spells were somewhat similar, the two factions were actually heading in completely different directions. However, the pattern on the letter gave Ivan some new ideas, and Meni had mentioned some theories he had seen in Joseph's laboratory.

What a hidden guy.

But he is dead now.

Ivan sighed, feeling that the whole matter was becoming increasingly confusing.

All the clues and logical reasonings obtained before vaguely pointed to Joseph Kerr, but this man died in public. Now even his body has been pushed into the incinerator and burned. Even if his death was fake before, he should be dead now.

What's more, there is a necromancer who is most sensitive to death by his side.

Others might be easily fooled by someone faking their own death, but Kayon was not so easily fooled. He even tried to summon Joseph's remaining spirit, but to no avail.

Generally speaking, although the spirits of the dead in the world of Palladia will dissipate in nature after a period of time, some residues will still be left behind. In particular, the souls of extraordinary people can persist for a longer time before completely dissipating under the influence of external factors.

As for the complete lack of reaction, it most likely means that the murderer has completely destroyed the other person's soul along with holy water containing positive energy or other means when killing the other person.

In this way, the necromancy spell that summons the remaining spirit of the deceased will naturally not work, because the summoned object does not exist at all, just like calling a cancelled number with a mobile phone.

At this time, Alvin heard Diana and Menie talking about something different next to him, which immediately attracted his attention.

"Mr. Joseph, I'm sorry, I'm more accustomed to calling that person that." Meni paused and looked apologetic.