Synthesis-type adventurers

Chapter 50, Basement Level 1, Section C, Sunken Workshop

After passing through the tunnel filled with ice shards, the sour smell in the air subsided, and the greasy smell of old engine oil gradually filled my throat.

This is section C on the basement level, the entrance to the Sunken Workshop.

The surrounding area is a completely collapsed rubble zone, but the load-bearing columns in this area are not tilted, the walls have very few cracks, and the brass rivets are still tightly gripping the steel plates, making the structure very intact.

Two brass gates open to the sides, and beneath the oxide layer on the lintel, the gear and warhammer reliefs of the Duchy of Carlton's coat of arms are sharply defined.

No active mechanical guards were seen inside the gate.

Hundreds of copper and iron pipes are stacked along the walls and ceiling, completely covering the interior of the building.

Steam spewed out intermittently from the rusted joints, emitting a sharp exhaust sound.

"Doesn't look dangerous?"

Chiba's head peeked out from under Rod's shoulder armor.

Her amber eyes swept over the brass pipes on the wall, her gaze lingering on a few connecting valves, as if assessing whether they could be dismantled and sold for money.

Then, she raised her right foot and tentatively stretched it above the peeling paint on the warning line at the doorway.

"If you want that leg, don't move."

Rhodes did not turn around.

Chiba's movements froze for a moment, his bushy tail bristled, and his fur stood on end.

"W-What's wrong? There's not a soul on the ground..."

"It's precisely because there's not even a ghost in sight that it's dangerous enough."

Rod turned the focus knob on the goggles.

With the [Analysis View] activated, countless colorful orbs of light of varying sizes emerged in the dark and monotonous field of vision.

They adhere to those mechanical creations, marking the essential attributes of all things.

This place is still alive.

These defense mechanisms from two hundred years ago have never received an order to cease.

In old archives, the basement level, section C, was known as the "Silent Corridor".

This place does not produce civilian gears; it only handles military orders involving alchemy and gunpowder.

To prevent artisans from smuggling smuggled goods or spies, the security chief at the time designed a defense system based on total lethality logic—eliminating all unauthorized organisms.

Beneath the rough grout lines of the floor tiles near the entrance, the pressure trigger is in standby mode.

High pressure accumulates deep within the brass animal head nozzles on both sides of the wall.

[Carleton Type III Security System (Standby)]

Status: Automatic defense mode

Regional terms:

[High-Pressure Circulation (White, Normal)]: 300-degree fluid flows through the pipes. Upon triggering, high-temperature gas will fill the corridor within half a minute, cooking all organic matter.

[Vibration Sensor (White Standard)]: Embedded in the floor interlayer, it uses vibration as a fuse to connect to the high-explosive filler below.

[Aging Sensitivity (Gray Inferior)]: Time has eroded the safety device, and the sensing threshold has dropped to a critical point. Any change in quality will trigger a chain reaction.

……

"This is a meat grinder."

Rod, wearing a leather glove, pointed to a floor tile in the doorway that was only two millimeters above the ground.

"The pressure plate of the alchemical mine. The safety mechanism inside has been corroded away, making it abnormally sensitive. Even the weight of a copper coin can detonate it. And the moment the explosion sends you flying, steam at 300 degrees Celsius will erupt from both walls. Before you hit the ground, you'll be a well-done fox steak."

Chiba immediately pulled his foot back, his face drained of color, and a dry swallowing sound came from his throat.

"This is... insane! Did people two hundred years ago put bombs in their treasure vaults to keep out thieves?"

"For engineers of that era, technological patents were more valuable than their lives... You're the real information broker, I think you should know this better than I do."

Rhodes walked toward the control panel on the side wall.

It was a mechanical console covered with brass dials and control levers, the etched text on the nameplate obscured by verdigris.

The magical circuit controlling the mine's fuse shimmered red through the dust.

Alchemy Fuse Loop

Entry:

[Vibration Sensor (White)]

[Magic Link (White)]

……

"Stripping".

Rhodes issued a command in his mind, and his mental energy cut into the structural node of the circuit.

Within the consciousness space, two white orbs representing functions were forcibly torn off.

The row of flashing red lights on the control panel went out, and a short-circuit cracking sound came from behind the panel.

"Alright, the landmine's sensing mechanism has failed."

Rhodes exhaled, turned to look at Chiba, and marked a green safe path in the deadly trap within his field of vision.

"Avira, keep watch on the rear. Chiba, you need to find the main valve for this area now. Just to be safe, we need to turn off the steam."

"Where?"

"Find the red pipes in that tangled mess; they're usually laid high up."

"High up? You mean..." Chiba looked up at the crisscrossing network of pipes on the ceiling, "You want me to climb up there? Inside that bunch of pipes that could scald me to death at any moment?"

"So be careful. Grab those cold iron scaffolding supports, and whatever you do, don't touch the pipes themselves, unless you want your fox paws to get burned." Rhodes's finger pressed against a cooled copper pipe on the control panel. "Hurry up."

Chiba gritted his teeth, stared at the dense pipes above his head for a long time, and then thought about the 50 orim bounty.

"For money... I might as well die!"

She tied the hem of her cloak around her waist, revealing a leather belt on her thigh with a dagger strapped to it. She pushed off the wall with her feet, avoiding the scorching delivery pipes, and nimbly grabbed the surrounding cooling supports to climb to a higher position.

"Found it, it's over there!" Chiba's voice came from above.

She hung upside down from a rusted beam, pointing to a red cast-iron wheel in the corner.

"But that roulette wheel is rusted; I can't turn it at all!"

"Use your dagger to pry it open. Don't worry about breaking it; your weapon isn't worth much. Just smash the pin off."

A series of sharp, clanging sounds came from above.

With a muffled roar of exhaust pipes shaking the hall, the shrieking from the surrounding pipes ceased.

In Rhodes's field of vision, the entry for [High Pressure Cycle] flashed a few times before turning gray as [Pressure Release].

"here you go."

Rhodes stepped across the threshold of the workshop door, his feet treading over the pressure plates that were once deadly, but now they were unresponsive.

In the center of the hall, a pile of brick and stone fragments that had fallen from a height lay scattered on the floor, directly opposite a hole in the dome.

Amidst the pile of rubble, a black iron box was stuck at an angle. The box had obvious impact dents on its surface, but it was still properly sealed.

The box lid is marked with a white paint number: P-704.

"This is the gear set mentioned in the mission briefing."

Rod stepped forward and cleared away the rubble around the box.

This is not just a quest item, but a physical embodiment of the industrial logic of a pre-civilization.

However, just as Rod's fingers touched the handle of the box...

"Click."

The sound of heavy machinery clanging came from the shadows deep within the hall, and the ground began to tremble.

Rod quickly looked up.

In a recessed area in the wall at the far end of the workshop, a steel giant that had been dormant broke free from its restraints.

It stepped out of the shadows, its single eye shooting out a beam of red light.

[Self-Disciplined Security System]

Status: Partially disabled, defense protocol activated

Entry:

[Hard Shell (Blue Fine)]: Plate armor forged from Carlton alloy, capable of absorbing kinetic energy and immune to conventional physical attacks.

[Power Overload (White Normal)]: Core output power is forcibly increased by 30%, resulting in extremely poor machine stability.

[Core Overheating (Gray Inferior)]: The heat dissipation system is malfunctioning, and the temperature of the power furnace in the chest area has reached the critical value.

[Exposed drive shaft (white, standard)]: Leg armor is missing, key drive components are exposed.