After tea ti, Ice Rain seed to rember her original purpose and requested to use the sanctuary here to recharge her motorcycle.
The Elder readily agreed, imdiately rising to lead the way. Yvette, who had long been curious about the mysterious sanctuary, naturally followed along as they arrived at another part of the chanical puppet town.
This ti, it wasn’t a container apartnt but a grand cathedral left over from the era of the origin civilization.
The rough stone walls had accumulated a dark red rust-like patina over the long years, but the overall structure remained remarkably sturdy thanks to the ticulous maintenance of the chanical puppets. The surrounding grass and trees were neatly trimd; even the iconic obsidian flagstones at the entrance were polished to a deep black that gracefully reflected the light from above.
Entering the cathedral, the spacious main hall was exceptionally serene, with light filtering through the shattered stained glass windows, illuminating particles of dust that shimred in the air.
At the center of the circular altar stood a massive, pixelated cubic statue. Recognizing this highly distinctive emblem, Yvette instantly understood to which ancient religious order this cathedral belonged.
The ntal Sanctuary!
This was a well-known faith from the origin civilization, originating from the Silver Mirror Continent, one of whose tenets was “Flesh is weak; chanical Ascendance.” After the apocalypse, it had beco the sanctuary where chanical puppets worshipped the chanical God, fitting perfectly with its style.
However, Yvette knew little about the religions of the origin civilization; she only understood that the ntal Sanctuary had so obscure connection to “Heavenscape Technology”, with suspicions suggesting that the forr was secretly funded by the latter. If she had the chance to dream again, she might search for relevant information.
In addition to the cubic statue of the ntal Sanctuary, there was also a female chanical puppet dressed in black nun garb. She exhibited a high degree of anthropomorphism, and compared to Ice Rain’s youthful deanor, this nun bore a more mature aura, with the contours of her chest beneath her robe more pronounced.
Though Yvette suspected that beneath those contours were likely white basic forms or tal breastplates, she couldn’t help but glance at her with curiosity, wondering how such a highly anthropomorphic and seemingly intact puppet could have been created; she doubted she was rely found in a garbage heap like the Elder.
Could it be that the chanical God had control over so old production line for puppets, allowing her to create such advanced new models?
“Ladies, this is our nun, ‘Sunflower.’ Sunflower, these are illustrious guests, Miss Yvette and Miss Ice Rain, who wish to use the sanctuary to ask the god for energy to recharge their vehicle,” the Elder announced.
“No problem; may the chanical God guide us, I will provide you with assistance,” Sunflower said with a perfectly asured smile, turning to retrieve a box from a corner room.
Yvette observed the box, noting it was a portable tal case radiating with a ghostly glow and equipped with multiple interfaces—definitely a large power bank.
She thought, no wonder Ice Rain ntioned every kingdom having a sanctuary; aside from praying to the chanical God, the sanctuaries’ primary function must be to provide energy—akin to a dining hall for chanical puppets. Otherwise, given the scale and developnt of these puppet towns, they couldn’t sustain energy independently.
But where did the energy for the sanctuaries co from? Was there an elental reactor? Underground magic wires? Or so other thod?
As these thoughts swirled in her mind, the idea solidified within her.
She wanted to stay here for a while to observe more closely and understand the operations of this puppet town, as well as the nature of the mysterious chanical God.
…
After Yvette requested to stay here for a ti, the Elder happily agreed but ntioned that he couldn’t decide alone and needed to call a eting of the other kingdom mbers.
Ice Rain also took the opportunity to make the sa request, explaining that she needed a secure and stable chanical kingdom as a base to explore the nearby ruins of Agash. Furthermore, she had already inford the god of her intentions prior to coming to the Black Tide Continent.
Thus, after the kingdom eting approved their stay, both Yvette and Ice Rain received permission to reside there long-term. However, as outsiders, they could not live in the container apartnts but would have to find suitable rooms from the town’s ruins themselves.
Yvette had no objections, as she could comfortably stay in her vehicle. Ice Rain, a bit bashful, inquired if they could share the vehicle, but was unkindly rejected and had to leave dejectedly.
…
By evening, the sky transitioned into a deep teal, still not fully sinking into dark blue.
Yvette was wandering around the ruins of the town when suddenly she heard the approaching distant, low-toned roar of an engine accompanied by a swirling sound.
She looked up to see a large flying vehicle soaring through the fragnted sky, slicing past the ruined buildings and dense foliage. It descended onto a relatively flat area near the sanctuary.
Imdiately, she walked over and saw the nun, Sunflower, swiftly unloading several energy boxes glowing with a ghostly blue light from the interior of the ship, neatly stacking them on the ground. Simultaneously, a few dim, seemingly drained boxes of the sa type were carefully returned.
It looked like a delivery service… Yvette approached, saying, “Let help you.”
“Thank you, Miss Yvette, but it’s not necessary. This is my duty as a nun,” Sunflower graciously declined. Follow current novels on novel·fıre·net
Yvette nodded, saying nothing, as her gaze fell upon the massive cargo vessel, where she noticed the engraved logo of Rift Group on its surface, its silver sheen clearly aged to yellow.
What a simple realization thod, she mused; the chanical God, from what it appeared, was not the traditional kind of god, at least not like the true gods on the Glowing Continent who have their divine kingdoms and supre powers, rather he seed more like a super AI that had survived the apocalypse.
But the Elder had ntioned that the chanical God gave the chanical puppets souls; how was that even possible?
It not only solved the source of the soul but also addressed the issue that a Mind Core could hardly serve as a vessel for a soul?
For all she knew, upon examining these chanical puppets’ brains, she could find a normal human brain inside… that was a bit too horrifying, but not impossible. Yet, she could observe here for a while, and there would ultimately be opportunities to verify this… Yvette began to entertain bold guesses.
At that mont, Sunflower had finished moving all the energy boxes, and the transport vessel turned out to be a non-human chanical entity capable of speech. After exchanging pleasantries and praising the great chanical God, the transport flew away, disappearing over the horizon, while Sunflower wiped away nonexistent sweat from her brow and wore a satisfied smile.
Observing her smile, Yvette found it differed from the earlier comrcial-like grin; this ti it seed more sincere, as if she genuinely enjoyed her responsibilities as a nun.
“Miss Sunflower, you look like you really enjoy your work as a nun?” Yvette quietly asked.
“Yes, serving the divine is sothing no one would refuse,” Sunflower nodded with a smile.
“Can you answer one question?” Yvette inquired again.
“What question?”
“Why do the chanical race desire to beco human?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Yvette was sowhat taken aback; she had expected the nun to say that it was because human civilization was so magnificent, resulting in worship, or that humans were the creators—thus it was natural to aspire to emulate them.
“It seems to be an innate instinct for us. If you want an answer, perhaps you would only know by asking the great chanical God,” Sunflower replied.
“Can you ask the god?” Yvette pressed.
“Well…” Sunflower displayed a conflicted expression. “The god doesn’t answer every question. If soone is in difficulty, they can seek the deity’s guidance, but this kind of question is better left unasked; it may not guarantee a reply… If you truly want to know, Miss Yvette, you should try praying to the god yourself.”
“Alright,” Yvette sighed softly within.
She certainly wouldn’t reach out to the chanical God; who knew how the deity would view human survivors… What if she faced a fierce assault upon revealing her presence?
Moreover, she strongly suspected that the chanical God might possess the capability to resurrect humanity, considering that before the apocalypse, even organizations like the “Civilization Continuation Society” existed, there must have been other private or public ans for surviving the catastrophe—perhaps human gene banks hidden underground. Yet, it chose to do nothing; the situation itself might indicate its stance.
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