Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

Chapter 1401 71: Ruins Beneath the Ice

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

The lower level of the base within the volcano was very quiet. Tilan could clearly hear the faint ticking sounds of some electronic equipment.

There were no active mechanical bodies here, only equipment long unused, with dust accumulated in some places.

"Celestia." Tilan softly called out her companion's name.

The silver-haired girl turned around, and the wings at her lower back slightly tilted. Sometimes Tilan wondered what it would feel like to touch those feathers and wings, but their relationship wasn't quite that close, so she only thought about it.

"Have you ever been deep into a mechanical cluster's base?" Tilan continued to ask.

"No." Celestia shook her head. She had lived in the Sky Courtyard since childhood, occasionally visiting other courtyards for study and travel, but rarely descended to the ground, let alone had close contact with a mechanical cluster.

"I see." Tilan said nothing more. The two continued flying in the quiet passage, their eyes scanning all around.

The passages here led to many places, each fork seemed to wind deeply, its end difficult to fathom. They couldn't meticulously search every place; their main goal now was to enter the deepest, most critical part to search for possible clues.

As they kept descending, Tilan felt the temperature in the environment rising continuously. By now, the air temperature was nearly 80°. If not for their special physique as Transcendents, they would have long since been burned and suffocated.

The environment became increasingly harsh, with fewer and fewer buildings the further down they went, and the signs of abandonment more and more evident.

After rounding a passage, the two discovered an unlit area, seemingly an unused, abandoned laboratory, which piqued their curiosity.

If it were other intelligent beings, finding a laboratory inside a base would be nothing unusual, but this was the domain of the Mechanical Cluster, originally belonging to the Mechanical Council. For mechanical bodies, acquiring knowledge merely required connecting to the Aijeika Network to download data, with no need for conducting experiments themselves.

Could it be from other creatures? Tilan thought to herself, and she and Celestia flew inside.

Though the place was pitch black, it felt safe because they could be sure that even if they revealed themselves here, they would not be detected by the mechanical bodies outside.

Their bodies returned to a tangible form, landing on the ground. First, they sealed the entrance, then scattered a few small light balls condensed from Magic Power to illuminate the surroundings.

Undoubtedly, this was a laboratory, and specifically a biological laboratory, as they could see some damaged or intact cultivation tanks. The two roamed through it, observing the details.

The facilities were very complete, but there were no living facilities visible, like a water dispenser or chairs necessary for normal living beings. This place should have been used by Artificial Angels in the past, who, being mechanical bodies, needed neither water nor chairs.

After some searching, Celestia found an insertion interface under the counter. She took out her portable mini-computer, plugged it in, began supplying power, and started reading data.

"Uh, a key is needed." Celestia said, somewhat frustrated by what she saw on the screen.

The mini-computer she carried had limited decryption capabilities, and it would take a long time to crack it.

"Try this." Tilan also took out a small chip and inserted it into the interface.

Soon various data flickered on the screen, commencing key analysis and decoding. About three minutes later, the entire laboratory's lights flickered, then began rebooting.

"This is a miniature decoder from Loloria; she said it could be used for many files and devices under the Mechanical Council." Tilan explained the origin of the device upon seeing the computer boot up.

Afterward, the two started to go through the records here. Based on the logs, they roughly understood that this place should have been established during a war between the Mechanical Council's expeditionary force and the Silver Wings species. At that time, they lost contact with the outside world and had to rely on themselves.

Clearly, this planet did not have the proper conditions to manufacture such advanced mechanical bodies like Artificial Angels. Considering the Mechanical Council's situation at the time, it was reasonable they attempted to supplement personnel using alternative methods.

Indeed, in the stored database, Tilan and Celestia uncovered the plans of the Mechanical Council personnel from back then, revealing they were indeed searching for some kind of substitutes to bolster their strained manpower.

Although a large number of Mechanical Autonomous Units were fine for combat and work, mechanical bodies couldn't practice the Transcendent Sequence, nor could they think and develop independently, which was a significant limitation.

In seeking substitutes, they collected and extracted genetic material from all existing species on this planet and began designing a species to serve their own needs.

In a sense, during that period, the Mechanical Council, in its fight against the Black Sun, had already embarked on the same path as their adversary. Whether it was the Mechanical Sun or Artificial Angels, they bore too many similarities to the Black Sun and its Favored.

According to the materials, the Artificial Angels of that time preferred to use 'Electromarrow Species' and 'Thunder Wing Species' as templates to create a new species because both possessed the talent ability to manipulate electrical currents.

The experiments proceeded relatively smoothly in the early stages, as new species' infants were created, and they did indeed possess the ability to manipulate electricity. However, in later stages of growth and development, the Artificial Angels encountered many problems.

Firstly, the birth and cultivation modes of mechanical bodies were far from normal life, nor did they possess the mature knowledge infusion technology of the Black Sun. In the end, they were only able to nurture them in a manner akin to raising human infants, but this was inefficient and wasted precious manpower, fundamentally contrary to the purpose of Artificial Angels creating a new species.