Book 6: Chapter 22: The Treasure Map

“Lord Qin Lun, your command!” Unease grew within Karu; he began feeling like he’d acted rashly.

Anlis had been managing things perfectly well. By forcefully getting involved, even though he’d made Qin Lun sign the Soul Contract, he himself wasn’t an Apostle. The contract only bound one party. Thinking back now, Qin Lun’s promises in the Soul Contract had too many loopholes. Aside from hoping he’d keep his word, there was nothing else they could do.

“I recall the Star Void Gateway is in the Main Control Room, guarded by two Apostle thieves. Do you have any way to ensure they won’t cause us significant trouble after they escape?” Qin Lun said with a smile.

“Well… we could activate the Main Control Room’s security system. Though, the system has lethal weapons; they might get injured…” Karu said bitterly. “My Lord, doing so might anger those Saints. Perhaps… better to wait and see! Our location is hidden. If they can’t find us, they’ll probably just leave!”

“No, you’re mistaken. They now know someone is inside the fortress. They won’t rest until they’ve found you! Besides, trapping those two in the Control Room has already angered them!” Qin Lun explained patiently.

“I’m an archer, and I have Night Vision Ability. If they’re injured even slightly, I’m certain I can drive them off. Then, you could leave directly using the Star Void Gateway! If the worst happens and I fail, you can just pin the blame for activating the system on me. What is there to fear!”

“My Lord, are you truly confident you can drive them off?” Karu’s expression shifted, his voice strained.

“Yes, both the Rogue and the Assassin searching this area are weaker than me one-on-one. As long as you can injure them, even if they come at me together, I’m very confident!” Qin Lun talked big without a trace of shame.

“However, you need to act quickly. If they’ve already escaped their confinement, it’ll be a problem. Alright then, head straight there and activate the Main Control Room’s security system now. Tang and I will check the surroundings. We’ll meet up later at the warehouse!”

Karu’s unease deepened. He hadn’t become Chief Priest of the Anka Tribe by being easily fooled. Though Qin Lun’s words seemed watertight and genuinely for their benefit, everything was based solely on Qin Lun’s own decisions.

It was like a math problem where the solution process and answer seemed perfectly correct and flawless. Yet, the fundamental logic of the problem itself rested only on the proposer’s subjective imagination.

But Karu had no choice left. His original goal was getting Qin Lun to protect them leaving the Holy City. Now Qin Lun made everything depend on accessing the Star Void Gateway. What reason did he have to refuse? And besides, he had no bargaining chips left. All he could do was hope Qin Lun kept his word.

This was the sorrow of the weak, the rules of the strong! Karu already regretted stepping forward to challenge Elder Anlis.

“Tang, protect Princess Mina!” Karu gave a deep look at the mech behind him, then resolutely turned and walked into the darkness.

Watching Karu’s aged, stooped back disappear, a small smile touched Qin Lun’s lips. He knew the old man was suspicious of him. Actually, back in the warehouse, Elder Anlis had grown suspicious much earlier.

So what? It still came down to the sorrow of the weak, the rules of the strong! As long as Qin Lun didn’t completely shatter their hopes, Anlis and Karu would have to keep chasing that faint glimmer of light ahead until they were exhausted.

“My Lord, where do we go now?” Tang’s voice came from behind Qin Lun. The dark-haired youth’s voice trembled slightly, suppressing his excitement. He was piloting an Apostle Mech worth a million Shattered Crystals!

A faint smile appeared on Qin Lun’s face. He’d deliberately sent Karu away, not really for the two Apostles in the Control Room. What he was about to do next couldn’t have the shrewd Karu observing him. He had to eliminate all potential surprises.

“Tang, how is this Apostle Mech?” Qin Lun turned to the tall mech behind him.

“Oh? This mech looks like a work model on the outside, but the internal functions are completely different. Seems specially made for Saints. Without saintly mana, I can only pilot it; can’t use any other functions,” Tang’s voice came, tinged with frustration.

“Of course,” Qin Lun chuckled lightly. Carelessly, he asked, “Tang, what did you do before? I mean, before the Holy City fell!”

“My Lord, Meimei and I both worked as mechanics at a mech shop. I was quite good at repairing mechs, but her skills were even better!” Tang’s spirits dipped, mentioning the past. “When the Final War started, we were piloting work mechs in the mine outside the city!”

“Then, over the past couple of years, you must be quite familiar with the fortress’s mech repair workshop?” Qin Lun’s eyes glinted, his tone casual. “Are there any mech manufacturing blueprints there?”

“Oh, the repair workshop is near the hangar where we fixed the generator. But the blueprints for high-level mechs were all taken by the elders. Probably only blueprints for the simplest work mechs are left,” Tang recalled aloud.

“That kind of Exoskeleton Mecha uses very basic electrical systems and chip processors. No mind-link interfaces or neural-wave synchronizers. It’s basically worthless. Why would you want them?”

“For that very reason!” Qin Lun smiled, tapping the Apostle Mech’s hull. “Understanding how it’s built helps use it better!”

“Oh! Right! I forgot it belongs to you now!” Tang gave a short chuckle. “Follow me, I’ll take you to the repair workshop!”

“How’s Mina?” With the light from the mech’s wrist-mounted flashlight, the two moved swiftly through the fortress corridors.

“She’s asleep in my lap!” Tang glanced down and whispered.

“I have no use for this anymore. Return it to her; it was her father’s legacy.” Qin Lun patted the mech’s canopy and tossed the triangular pendant inside.

“My Lord, you are truly a good man!” Tang caught the necklace and carefully tucked it into Mina’s clothing.

They traveled in silence, quickly arriving at a giant repair workshop next to the large hangar they’d been in earlier. Unlike the other cluttered rooms, this workshop was tidy and well-organized. Toolboxes were neatly stacked on shelves.

“Meimei always cleaned up after repairing mechs or equipment. If only we’d had enough power and materials; we could have fixed this entire fortress over the past two years!” Tang sighed, carefully shifting before jumping down. “Let me look… Meimei stored the blueprints… probably in the crates under the shelves.”

“Found it, sir! These are the work mech blueprints you wanted; all here!” Tang pulled a cardboard box from under a shelf, shook off the dust, and retrieved a thick stack of parchment.

“So many! Seems even the simplest work mech requires advanced manufacturing.” Qin Lun looked slightly troubled but still smiled up at Tang. “Tang, you’re more familiar. See if you can find me a clear, complete assembly diagram first?”

“Assembly diagram? My Lord, even if I gave you an annotated blueprint, if you don’t understand mechs…” Tang shot Qin Lun a confused look but stopped mid-sentence, shook his head, and started sorting through the stack.

“Wait, that one… yes, hand me that blueprint!” Tang flipped through the parchments as Qin Lun scanned them too. Spotting one roughly a square meter in size on thicker parchment, his eyes finally lit up. He told Tang to pull it out.

“My Lord, this is only an exploded-view diagram. Apart from showing the size of components, it’s useless!” Tang furrowed his brows, feeling compelled to explain.

“But the Exoskeleton Mecha in this blueprint resembles the overall layout of an Apostle Mech the most, doesn’t it?” Qin Lun stated flatly.

“But…” The dark-haired youth frowned, his voice trailing off. He’d be an idiot not to sense something was wrong now.

“Go ahead. I need to handle something here.” Qin Lun gave him a level look. Pulling the Adis Short Staff from his robes, he flicked his wrist. A small fireball flew into the cardboard box holding the blueprints, igniting the remaining parchments.

Tang took one last, longing glance around the repair workshop and slowly climbed back into the Apostle Mech. A strong premonition suddenly gripped him – he might never return here again.

Watching the Apostle Mech depart, Qin Lun reached into his robes with one hand and pulled out a small brown vial. He spread the saved blueprint flat on the floor, unscrewed the cap, dipped a finger into the colorless liquid inside, and flicked tiny droplets evenly across the parchment.

The liquid looked clear and transparent but was extremely volatile. The droplets landing on the paper spread outward instantly like ink spilled onto rice paper, resembling an unfolding spiderweb. With little fluid needed, Qin Lun finished quickly. He threw the empty vial into the flaming cardboard box.

After doing this, Qin Lun blew on the blueprint and moved it slightly nearer to the burning box. As the parchment dried a little in the heat, the spreading liquid slowed. The surface wetness faded, revealing nothing unusual to the naked eye.

Qin Lun held the parchment up high. His pupils instantly transformed into clock faces, the three clock hands within slowly ticking.

Seen through his Clock Eye, the areas permeated by the volatile liquid became semi-transparent. Within those areas, fine, vein-like threads suddenly became visible. Countless, evenly distributed threads covered the entire parchment, forming a bizarre, intricate pattern.

This apparently ordinary mech blueprint contained hidden within it a strange line pattern. Looking at the whole formation, anyone would think it aimless scribbling, utterly meaningless. But looking at parts individually… it looked incredibly like a section of a treasure map.

The map, however, showed no ‘X’ marking a treasure spot. So unless one possessed the entire map, deciphering whether it contained a true location was impossible.

Qin Lun carefully folded the blueprint. From the large canvas pack on his back, he grabbed some dried rations and a water canteen for his robes, then slipped the folded parchment into the outermost compartment of the pack.

“All set!” Qin Lun let out a long breath, a sliver of cold glint slowly surfacing in his eyes. “Now then… it’s time to tie up loose ends.”