novelraw Chapter 262: Annihilation Prototype
Chapter 262: Annihilation Prototype
On the street, Blair cast a glance at Fisher beside him and said so.
But the main person didn't respond to him. The one speaking instead was the book constantly blinking its eye on his shoulder.
"Don't mind it, he's worrying about another romantic debt, the kind that's ten thousand times more terrifying than Alajina."
"..."
Hearing this, both Blair and Arinur beside him couldn't help but take an extra glance at Fisher, who was draped in Aoxi's cloak, revealing a trace of peculiarity in their gazes.
Aoxi had left directly, so the personal cloak she took off and didn't take away had to be kept by Fisher. To avoid exposing his identity as a Naris wanted criminal, he also imitated Aoxi by draping the cloak over his body and turning up the collar to conceal his face.
Aoxi seemed to wash this cloak frequently; it didn't leave any odor behind, only a fresh wood fragrance. It was unknown what Aoxi and the others used to wash their clothes at sea.
After Aoxi left, Fisher didn't continue staying in the room with Blair and the others. Instead, he returned with them to their lurking stronghold, the Cloudtop Cafe.
According to what they said, they had already been lurking here for almost a month. They originally wanted to intercept the goods from the middlemen before Naris arrived, but unexpectedly, just as the goods landed on shore, the Nazarene Development Company arrived.
They talked as they walked towards the direction of the Cloudtop Cafe, while Arinur confirmed whether anyone was monitoring them, but there seemed to be no discoveries.As mentioned before, the Cloudtop Cafe was not far from the hotel Alajina booked, roughly half a street's distance away. Therefore, this cafe naturally wouldn't be a venue providing high-end services. Moreover, since they had only rented this house here a month ago, the interior decoration here was even less flattering.
Anyway, when Fisher walked to the doorway, he saw that the decoration inside appeared extremely simple, roughly just a few tables and chairs paired with an ordering counter, even inferior to the open-air cafe he and Raphaela drank at in Pherone City on the Southern Continent back then.
A simple environment combined with demi-human management; a cafe like this probably wouldn't have many people truly visiting to drink coffee. So when Fisher came, there wasn't anyone inside.
But even so, after pushing the door and entering, he still immediately heard a cute and enthusiastic welcome.
"Welcome to Cloudtop Cafe, what would the guest like to... hey, it's you?"
Yes, the one appearing before Fisher was precisely the Cloud Cat-kin maid buying bread he saw on the street in the morning. She very quickly recognized Fisher, whom she had met before. She looked at him for a moment, then looked at Blair behind him, who had just entered the door but was covering his tail.
"Brother, weren't you going to talk to Alajina, why did you bring him back? Wait, what's wrong with your tail again?"
"Cough cough, don't mention my tail... the situation changed. Alajina wasn't in the room, she went out... fuck, heaven knows when she'll return. Her Second Mate already went to find her. While at it, put the remaining monitoring machine on Alajina's side. There's no guarantee when Heliana will seek out Alajina; at that time, we must also make our move."
"Awoo, awoo, I'll go right now."
Ellen turned and left. Arinur, whose clothes had been strangled to tatters by Fisher, also covered her body and ran up to the second floor of the cafe. Blair came behind the ordering counter. Placed on that counter wasn't any coffee menu, but rather a detailed map of Patlusion Island.
Fisher leaned against the table inside the shop. While listening to their conversation, he took out the Demi-Human Completion Handbook from his coat. Because it sensed the aura of the Cloud Cat-kin, a line of golden text gradually surfaced on it.
【Cloud Cat-kin】
Anyway, opportunities are rare. Let's bind this rare research quota for the Snow Mountain Familiars first.
【Please select research individual, available individuals 0/1】
【Arinur, Adult Female Cloud Cat-kin】
【Ellen, Adult Female Cloud Cat-kin】
【Bessie, Adult Female Cloud Cat-kin】
Hm?
There's another kitty in this cafe?
Fisher cast a glance upstairs in the Cloudtop Cafe. The Demi-Human Completion Handbook could only detect demi-human girls, turning a blind eye to male demi-humans, so he couldn't judge exactly how many Cloud Cat-kin were here.
Currently binding a Cloud Cat-kin was mainly to complete the sequence of the Snow Mountain Familiars. As for biological research or whatever, he could talk about it when there was an opportunity. Even if they were unwilling, Fisher wouldn't lose out much. Anyway, he had Eimhart; he could still obtain the 20% stage reward for social research.
Thinking of this, Fisher casually selected a Cloud Cat-kin, Arinur, to bind. As that familiar pain pierced into his body, several detailed tags suddenly appeared beside the Cloud Cat-kin on the Completion Handbook.
【Northern Border Species】, 【Beast Species】, 【Cotton Candy】, 【Snow Mountain Familiars】
【Cotton Candy: Their soft white fur is a gift from heaven, just reaching out to touch it will make one feel joyful... Wait, I mean, what are you still waiting for, why aren't you hurrying to collect these cute demi-human species?】
【Included Populations: Cloud Cat-kin, Sheep-kin, Moon Rabbit-kin, Owl-kin】
Collect...
Are you playing some strange raising game?
Seeing that newly added bizarre tag, Fisher raised his eyebrows with somewhat stiff movements. Although he knew the Demi-Human Completion Handbook was not serious, every time it provided extra information, it could repeatedly refresh Fisher's lower limit of understanding it.
However, it seemed the demi-humans included in this newly added [Cotton Candy] tag were extremely few, and three of them were already existing races among the Snow Mountain Familiars. He wondered if he could successfully collect them all to see exactly what reward the Demi-Human Completion Handbook would give.
Waiting for the pain in his body to recede bit by bit, Fisher also shifted his attention away from the Demi-Human Completion Handbook, looking towards Blair who was observing the map, and spoke.
"The employees of the Nazarene Development Company who came have magic with a very high ring count and an unknown circle head on them. What trump cards do you have to ensure you can snatch back the True Ice from their hands?"
Blair raised his head and cast a glance at him. After hesitating for a second, he walked out from behind the front desk and said to him.
"Come with me."
Watching him stagger with his half-bald tail toward the second floor, Fisher closed the Completion Handbook and followed along.
The area of the second floor of the Cloudtop Cafe wasn't larger than the first floor. Generally, shops like this used the second floor as a utility room or warehouse, and this place was no exception. It was just that the stored items weren't coffee beans from the Southern Continent or Schwari, but rather various dangerous muskets and Wisdom Machines.
"The higher-ups issued us all their bottom-of-the-box Wisdom Machines. As long as it's here, let alone high-ring magic, even if a few more come, it doesn't matter."
Fisher listened to Blair's introduction without refuting it, because no one understood the terror of the Completion Handbook's creations better than him. Previously, when battling Pherone, he had burned out the high-ring magic on his walking stick entirely and still failed to defeat Pherone.
"Brother."
"Mhm, Bessie, Herb, how are things on the Development Company's side?"
Aside from Arinur and Ellen encountered previously, there were two more Cloud Cat-kin in the room on the second floor. They looked slightly younger than Arinur and Ellen. One male and one female, neither wearing the work attire of the Cloudtop Cafe, but rather traditional Northern Border clothing.
The Demi-Human Completion Handbook only recognized the female Cloud Cat-kin named Bessie, and didn't prompt Fisher that there was another male Cloud Cat-kin named Herb here.
Wait, Blair, Arinur, Ellen, plus these two. That means this is a family of five Cloud Cat-kin who all joined the Snow Cloud Commandos and ran here to execute a mission...
"The Development Company has already brought the box containing the True Ice back to the hotel. The knights of the Sardin Matriarchy haven't contacted them yet, so no one has gone out... I just don't know where the official people are hiding, the machines haven't discovered them."
As the two of them spoke, faintly flickering light seemed to continuously flash across their pupils, as if something from afar was transmitting images back. But Fisher completely didn't feel any fluctuations of magic.
Is this also a function of the Wisdom Machines they spoke of?
Hearing their words, Blair nodded and turned his head to look at Fisher.
"You guys continue to monitor... come over, the thing we prepared is here."
Following Blair's line of sight, Fisher finally saw a bizarrely shaped mechanical item at the end of the room.
It turned out to be a spherical item completely composed of steel. On its surface were quite a few tiny gaps produced by piecing together parts and screws, but the whole thing was polished quite smoothly; he could even see the reflection of the room's ceiling lights on it.
At this moment, the light Fisher had seen previously hadn't lit up on it, seemingly because it hadn't been fully activated yet.
It was simply placed like this on a shelf in the corner of the room, like a harmless sports shot put, quietly watching Fisher currently looking at it from within the room.
Obviously that item had no eyes, obviously that machine was just a dead object, yet Fisher produced a bizarre feeling of being watched when he saw that thing. This made him heighten his vigilance a bit, and his fingers silently hooked onto the hilt of the Fluid Sword inside his sleeve.
But in the entire room, it seemed only Fisher alone detected that strange feeling. Blair and the other Cloud Cat-kin had absolutely no reaction. Blair was even deeply afraid Fisher would doubt the power of this thing, so he opened his mouth to explain for him.
"This thing is called the [Annihilation Prototype]. I heard it's the most expensive Wisdom Machine the agency purchased. It helped us execute missions twice before, and every time was a resounding victory... Let me put it this way: magic, muskets, or whatever hitting it is just like a tickle. The agency has tested it; at most, it can withstand seven-ring magic without taking damage. Saying it like this, you should understand, right?"
"Counting the Annihilation Prototype, we have three combat-type Wisdom Machines; you naturally don't need to worry about the combat aspect. As long as Heliana's side begins to make a move and the Phoenix Knights' attention is drawn over, we will immediately activate the prototype, sweep the people from the Development Company clean, and bring back the True Ice Rough Stone."
Fisher's eyelids didn't even twitch. He walked to the window on the second floor and looked through the second-floor window at the clamorous street outside. The view here was very good, standing exactly at the intersection of two streets; standing here, he could take the situation of both streets into his eyes simultaneously.
He looked at the situation outside the window, continuously pondering the current situation. With a somewhat monotonous tone, he praised their Wisdom Machine, then asked.
"Mhm, a very formidable thing... If I say so, since this thing is so formidable, why don't you directly use it to charge into the transaction scene between Naris and the Sardin Matriarchy, kill all of them, and then bring the thing back?"
"...This thing has limitations. Did you think you could use it endlessly? This thing can only be awakened three times at most, and each time it can only work for fifteen minutes. Once the time is up, it will shut down. I estimate that after finishing this use, it will directly fall apart. And fifteen minutes of time, even adding the other two Wisdom Machines, is completely insufficient for us to process both groups of people simultaneously."
Blair went to the wardrobe beside him, took out a replacement Northern Border outfit, and put it on. Subsequently, he took a reasonably sized box from the shelf next to it, brought it before the Annihilation Prototype, and stuffed it in with difficulty. After that, he picked up a card-shaped item and handed it to Fisher.
"What is this?"
"A Wisdom Machine to keep in contact with you. Don't misunderstand, it's not a gift for you. When things are done, remember to return it to us... Heliana will definitely make a move against Alajina before long. Our siblings are also going to the Naris people's side to prepare. Whichever side resolves their problem first can use this thing to contact the other party. Pressing it once will display it on my end."
Fisher took the metal card he handed over. That card was extremely lightweight and forged very thin. It also flickered with bits of flowing light; it seemed all creations manufactured by the Completion Handbook possessed such properties. It was just unknown where a card this small placed that heart-like core.
To demonstrate to Fisher, Blair reached out and pressed that card, then brought the card near his mouth and casually said something. A Wisdom Machine in the corner of the room opened its mouth as if replicating it. Similarly, speaking to that machine would also display on Fisher's card.
Fisher nodded and pocketed that card. Blair and his group were preparing to go find trouble with the Naris people; this was exactly what he wished for. It wasn't fitting for him to show his face over there. It was best if they could resolve the Iceberg Queen's troubles in his stead. Moreover, he might even be able to obtain the sigil of the Cangniao-kin from their hands.
"Right..."
Preparing to leave the Cloudtop Cafe, Fisher suddenly thought of something, turned back, and reminded Blair and his group.
"The True Ice you are looking for is very likely not in the boxes the Nazarene Development Company brought out from the market. A crafty rabbit has three burrows; the one that is most brazenly open is often fake. Remember to search carefully again."
Upon hearing this, Blair was slightly stunned. He exchanged a glance with his sister, and then said.
"I understand. I will search carefully. Keep in touch."
"Mhm, farewell."
As Fisher draped in Aoxi's cloak left this not-so-spacious Cloudtop Cafe, it once again returned to quietude inside, as if becoming an out-of-place, cold, machine-like component on this clamorous street.