Synthesis-type adventurers

Chapter 52 Stealing the Sky and Changing the Sun

The elevator on the return trip was much heavier than the one on the way down.

The winch groaned under the weight of the heavy load as it ground against the iron cables in the darkness above.

The iron cage swayed precariously against the damp well wall, each impact causing a few rusty fragments to slide off.

Rod sat on a discarded crate, his arms crossed, the black iron crate codenamed P-704 pressing heavily on his thighs.

The box was cold to the touch, and the dark red gilded seal affixed to the clasp was twisted and tangled with runes, like a malevolent eye watching anyone who tried to touch it.

"That's a blood oath seal." Chiba huddled in the shadows of the corner, his gaze fixed on the box. "Once it's broken, the alchemical reagent inside will immediately change color, and the mission will almost certainly fail. What's even more disgusting is that it sprays out a dye that can't be washed off, making the thief the most conspicuous target in the dark."

She licked her lips with a hint of regret, seemingly still feeling sorry that she couldn't take the contents out and sell them for a good price.

"What if the seal on the box had already rotted during the loss?" Avira asked, leaning over the iron bars.

"Then you can only accept your bad luck." Chiba shrugged, looking like he was used to it. "Do you think those guys from the Gear Brotherhood are the kind of people who would reason with you? These local bullies managed to carve out an independent city-state within the territory of the United Kingdom of Verian and rival the local adventurers' guild, not because they were kind."

She paused for a moment, then continued to herself, "Speaking of which, if that box of gears were brand new, it would fetch at least two hundred ormes on the black market... but now that it's sealed, we can only collect our fixed salary of fifty ormes."

"Who says you can't get any benefits if you seal it off?"

Rhodes' fingers traced the cold, rough cast iron texture on the lid of the box. His vertical pupil behind the goggles contracted slightly, and his [Analysis Vision] penetrated the thick black iron shell.

From the outside, the internal structure of the box is no secret.

A series of neatly arranged, precision gears emitting a faint blue light came into view.

They lay quietly in the shock-absorbing pads, and even after two hundred years, they remained as clean as new, with even the lubricant maintaining its optimal viscosity.

[Prototype Transmission Gear Set]

Status: Perfectly Sealed

Entry:

[Industrial-grade precision (blue, excellent)]: The pinnacle of craftsmanship from the pre-civilization Carleton Duchy, with an error rate of less than one in ten thousand.

[Resistant to Metal Fatigue (Blue Excellent)]: The special alloy formula and heat treatment process make it five times more durable than contemporary products of the same type.

[Standard bite (white)]: Universal modular design with excellent adaptability.

[High-Density Metal Construction (White)]: Possesses standard metal density and physical weight.

[......]

……

The dense white data forms the physical skeleton of this gear set, while the two blue entries are its essential soul.

"Perfect craftsmanship," Rhodes thought to himself. "It's a pity it's wasted in the hands of those monopolistic dealers."

The Brotherhood of Gears, possessing technology from a pre-existing civilization, are issuing untrustworthy "parts vouchers" in Rust Harbor, attempting to strangle the local economy and exploit the scavengers at the bottom of society.

Once these gears reach their hands, their only fate is to be loaded onto some assembly line that produces substandard firearms, continuing to exploit the blood and sweat of the poor.

In that case, they should make the most of their remaining potential.

As long as the so-called "blood oath seal" remains intact, even if the Gear Brotherhood discovers in the future that the quality of this batch of goods is questionable, they can only attribute it to the "natural aging" or "improper preservation" of the relics from the previous civilization.

After all, the seal was intact; who could accuse a Black Iron-level adventurer of stealing the metal's strength from afar?

Rhodes pressed his palm against the lid of the box, his mental energy penetrating the conceptual layer inside the box.

Opening the box is unnecessary, and breaking the seal is foolish.

The domineering nature of the "All Things" entry system lies in its direct interference with the rules.

According to the ironclad rules of the system that Rhodes has discovered over the past few months:

If all attributes are removed, the item will lose its basis for existence and turn directly into ashes.

If the "core/basic attributes" that maintain the item's form are removed, the item will physically break down and become completely unusable.

Only by stripping away the added "decoration/functional attributes" can one extract the essence of an item while preserving its material exterior.

If the [fixed physical form] or [high-density metal structure] is altered, the balance inside the box will instantly collapse, and the significant change in weight will be enough to expose everything.

But as long as these basic white entries are retained, even if the essence within them is drained, it is still a bunch of "intact" gears on a physical level.

"Stripping".

With a low shout in his heart, Rhodes's mental energy evaporated instantly, and a needle-like pain came from the depths of his brain.

In his field of vision, the deep blue [anti-metal fatigue] trembled, then, like an old label torn off, it detached from the gear set, penetrated the tightly sealed box, and snaked up Rhodes' arm, entering his consciousness space.

Then, Rod carefully bypassed the white labels that maintained the structure and landed on [Industrial-grade precision].

With a flash of blue light, the second core term was completely removed.

Using the [Analysis View] tool, the gears inside the box still gleamed, as if nothing had happened.

Supported by basic terms such as "high-density metal construction" and "standard occlusion," they falsely retain complete teeth and metallic luster.

Only Rhodes knew that the alluring luster was nothing more than an empty shell devoid of a soul.

But in essence, having lost the support of pre-civilizational craftsmanship, they have degenerated from "industrial art pieces passed down through generations" into "industrial waste that can be interlocked but heats up and wears out when running at high speeds."

The value difference between these two is at least 150 Orim.

This value had now settled deep within Rhodes's mind.

"Phew..." Rhodes withdrew his hand, pretending to have just wiped the dust off the box. "Done."

Chiba blinked, and his fox ears twitched twice.

She didn't understand what had happened at all. She only felt that, for a moment, the young boss's aura seemed to weaken, but his eyes were filled with excitement.

"Done what? You didn't even unpack it?"

"Trade secret." Rod patted the lid of the box. "Anyway, this box is still 'intact' for now. Let's go, we still have a long way to go."

The elevator roared as it continued its ascent, passing through large patches of slippery moss among the rock strata.

This is the drainage hub on the basement level.

The massive ancient water conservancy pipeline, like the artery of a giant dragon, cuts through the rock wall, and the deep sound of rushing water comes from the depths of the pipeline, vibrating the iron net underfoot.

Rhodes's gaze fell on a giant main pipe with a diameter of three meters.

On the rusted pipe wall, a set of dim runes appeared faintly in the darkness.

The illustration of the "Water Elemental Framework" on page 89 of "Basic Rune Analysis" flashed through my mind, but this set of runes was more complex and complete than the one in the book.

Especially the unique reinforced structure of the outer ring of the rune—that is the "Magic Circuit Stabilization" diagram that is cited countless times in the book, but was torn out on page 204!

"Found it... So this is the missing piece of the puzzle." Rhodes' breathing quickened slightly as he thought to himself, "It really came without any effort at all."

The reason he was unable to put the "fluid pressurization" mentioned in the book into practice was because he lacked a stable structure that could lock in the magic under high pressure.

He quickly took out his notebook and, by the dim light, traced the crucial loop line on the tube wall.

"Although I am not yet able to replicate this advanced variant, once this layer of logic is completed, I will be able to understand the remaining half of the book."

After doing all this, Rhodes put away his notebook and turned his attention back to the material world.

See through appearances to the essence.

[Ancient Alloy Water Pipes]

Entry:

[Smooth Inner Wall (Blue Premium)]: A special inner wall treatment process to reduce fluid resistance.