Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 307: Have you been fooled?
it's dark.

Wade Locke looked up and saw the gloomy and gray sky. Dark clouds rolled in from the edge of the horizon, like a shadowy monster moving towards here, gradually engulfing the roofs and glass windows of the tall buildings, and then gradually engulfing the streets and the figures of pedestrians, causing every river to fall into a temperature below zero, freezing cold to the bone.

He realized that a snowstorm would come soon. Judging from the size of the clouds, it might be the worst snowstorm in Nimscher, which would bury the streets, freeze the water, and drown the flocks of starlings and gulls in the square. In the worst case, there might even be casualties, forcing the ongoing 11th Nimscher World Expo to be suspended.

However, it is impossible for clouds of this size to gather without warning. Why didn't the colleagues of the Natural Disaster Detection Bureau issue a warning in advance, nor did they inform the relevant departments to prepare for snowstorms? This is a serious dereliction of duty, and Her Majesty Eve will criticize it in the mid-year performance review.

Wade Locke thought silently, and for some reason he had a very bad premonition. He slowly withdrew his gaze from the gloomy sky and looked at Agil who was concentrating on controlling the clockwork fairy. He asked, "Agil, how is Professor David doing now?"

"He is in the museum, introducing a certain artifact to the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Roggeburg... There doesn't seem to be anything unusual." Agil replied quickly.

Really? Am I just overthinking it?
Wade breathed a sigh of relief. He heard Sally asking "Is it going to snow tonight?" and Michelle's casual hum. They were not caught by the city's night watchmen to deal with various supernatural cases. They were relatively free now. One was replacing the core metal of his "Gray Eagle X-type Individual Magic Cannon", and the other was holding a handkerchief and carefully wiping his favorite weapon: the Magic King V-type Magic Sword.

Occasionally, you can hear Sally mocking Michelle for her love of sleeping with the old antique in her arms.

The association follows a simple rule for naming the models of magic devices. They are named in ascending order according to a set of mathematical symbols called "Roman numerals". The later the number, the more advanced the model, the more outstanding the specifications, and the more powerful the performance. So, the Grey Eagle X-type, which symbolizes the tenth generation, is naturally much more advanced than the Magic King V-type, which is only the fifth generation. The gap is a full five generations.

However, Michel is such a person. He seems indifferent, rigid and unkind, but he has an artist-like retro romance. Compared with the meaning of things themselves, he values ​​the feelings they embody in history more. That's why he holds on to this magic sword from five eras and refuses to replace it. According to colleagues in the structural management agency, the first magic device invented eight centuries ago was called "Magic Sword - Magic King".

It is said that the most advanced magic device in the scientific research field of the association headquarters has been updated to the fifteenth generation XV model. This was a record 26 years ago. What is the current progress? In any case, the update and iteration speed of magic devices is always faster than the so-called magic potions and seemingly rigorous magic, so they can adapt to the rhythm of this world better than them.

His pupils contracted instantly, and he instinctively realized that something was wrong.

Associations are always ahead of the times, and this is inseparable from the contributions of the Philosopher Council, the Supreme Council and the great leader. I hope that one day I can also get my own Philosopher code, enter the Council, and use my power for this world and a new era... Wade Locke thought about his own future from the quarrels of his companions, and his thoughts were a little far away.

"team leader!"

This is definitely not natural weather.

In fact, if we must be fussy about the model, the "Sky Eye II Detection Instrument" that Aegir is currently using has only been updated to the second generation. Of course, this is also because the research on small precision magic instruments has not been given much attention, so the progress is slow and product iteration is difficult.

A thick shadow like ink suddenly passed through his peripheral vision, instantly pulling him back to his thoughts. He subconsciously looked up and saw a large, twisted black cloud slowly falling, like a heavy, dark block of lead, about to touch the tallest building. Further away, the clouds rolled, and red lightning flashed in the depths of the vortex. The world fell into a pitch-black darkness, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Aegir's panicked voice woke him up and attracted the attention of the other two companions. This young man from Milhail, the "Sycamore City" of the White City Republic, who always maintained an optimistic attitude and a cheerful smile, was now as pale as paint. He was holding a small magic instrument similar to a dial in his hand - a magic concentration detection device. Wade noticed that his hands were shaking, and the pointer on the dial moved rapidly and the value rose instantly.

"Based on the current position, in the northwest direction... the magic concentration within the observable range is constantly rising... the current rising speed is 1202 O'S per second, 1455 O'S, 1789 O'S... and it is still rising, and is about to break through the threshold, Captain! Now... now, the magic concentration within the abnormal area has exceeded 10 O'S!"

He turned his head in disbelief, his eyes fixed on Wade Locke, who had an unpleasant expression on his face, and swallowed hard: "This concentration of magic power has... basically met the requirements for imagining the arrival of gods." "This is impossible!" It was not Wade who objected, but Michel, a tall and thin man with long black hair. He was staring at the value displayed on the magic power concentration detection device with a gloomy expression: "Even if the magic content concentration meets the requirements, without a sufficient amount of spiritual gathering, the summoning ceremony cannot be completed-in the entire city of Nimsher, only the Lubeon Museum meets the requirements, and Professor David has not shown any abnormal movements so far!"

"If I remember correctly," Sally added, "the northwest suburb of Nimsher City should be the location of the famous Eternal Summer Palace?"

Aegir did not answer the doubts of his two companions, but looked at Wade with a pale face, waiting for his order. The captain was silent for half a second and immediately made a decision: "Michelle, you go in with me to capture Hansen David; Aegir, you stay here and continue to observe the abnormal state of magic concentration and prepare to activate the emergency communication device; Sally, you find a place with a better view and use the sight distance auxiliary plug-in to observe the movements of Yongxia Palace."

The order was given, and no one raised any objections. They immediately split up and took action. Wade led Michelle and climbed the long steps of Mount Seschel at a very fast speed, heading towards the Lubeon Museum. There were many tourists nearby, most of whom were attracted by the abnormal astronomical phenomenon. They were talking about it and worried about the coming blizzard. No one noticed the two hurried figures.

They walked through the main entrance of the museum and entered the hall. They ignored the noisy voices, looked around, and soon found Professor David who was having a passionate conversation with the Grand Duke and Duchess of Roggeburg. They immediately separated and surrounded them from two directions. Because they were too anxious, they bumped into nearby tourists and did not even have time to apologize.

Unexpectedly, Professor David had a very sharp intuition, and he spotted the two people just as they were approaching. He glanced over here, and then without hesitation, he left the stunned Grand Duke and his wife of Roggeburg behind, turned around, pushed aside the nearby tourists, and ran away, completely lacking the demeanor and temperament that a professor should have.

"Want to escape?"

Wade Locke stopped and pulled out a bright silver magic revolver from his belt holster. Ignoring the panicked shouts of the people around him, he calmly aimed at Professor David's back and pulled the trigger steadily.

An intricate and detailed circular magic array appeared at the muzzle of the gun, which mainly played the role of eliminating interference, stabilizing the trajectory and amplifying the bullet speed. The magic circuit highly contracted the magic power in the core metal and then exploded it instantly, forming a magic bullet with a strong penetrating effect. With an extremely slight whistling sound of wind that was inaudible to human ears, it burst out of the barrel, passed through the magic array, and flashed continuously in the void. It found the only way out of all the chaotic and noisy crowds, shot through, drew a straight trajectory, and finally pierced Professor David's chest accurately.

There was a dull thud, but no blood splashed out. Professor David's back shook weakly for a few times, and he seemed to be about to fall to the ground. At this time, Michelle, who had gone around from the side, had already caught up with him. To save trouble, he flipped over a glass display case and leaped over Professor David. He stretched out his hand to strangle him by the neck, and pushed him to the ground, saying in a cold tone: "You are under arrest, Mr. Hansen David..."

Before he could finish his words, something unexpected happened: Professor David, who was pinned to the ground by him, let out a scream that seemed both unwilling and shrill, and his entire body, along with the clothes on his body, shrank rapidly, as if all the fillings had been lost. In the end, only a thin human skin mask was left, with a tiny bullet hole piercing the surface.

Michelle's face suddenly turned very ugly. Wade Locke, who followed closely, instantly understood the truth of the matter and subconsciously clenched his fists.

"It's a seal." Michelle almost squeezed out these words from between her teeth: "We've been fooled, Captain!"

He clenched the human skin in his hand angrily; the thin weight seemed to mock their carelessness and arrogance.

Wade Locke had no time to get angry, nor did he have time to pay attention to the tourists who were running around in the museum after being frightened, including the distinguished Archduke and his wife. He turned around and said in a firm tone: "We will investigate the whereabouts of Hansen David later."

"Time to go, Michelle."

More important and more difficult challenges are still ahead.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)