I have a long-lived pawn shop.

The ultimate weapon of the Black Cross Legion was indeed far superior to any mechanical soldier Wei Xi had ever seen before.

The eight-meter-tall monster was covered with a layer of metal scales, with sharp edges, like some kind of polished gemstone, with a cold gradient in the light. The scales were like the sepals of a plant, closing and locking layer by layer, wrapping the vital parts under protection. Wei Xi could see the incredibly delicate patterns on each scale. Even people who had no preference for art would be amazed by this exhaustive and complex beauty. Its craftsmanship could only be described as "exquisite workmanship". The hideous and ancient shape seemed to refer to some creature from the Age of Gods... It was like a giant bathed in dragon blood, with dragon scales on its skin, and protruding bone spurs all over the joints that drilled out of the gaps in the scales, like sharp blades, with a sinister beauty in its weirdness.

Wei Xi had seen earlier models in the information. Compared with those "armor-like" things, today's steam soldiers were taller and more complex. The ancient brass pipes and steam backpacks were perfectly hidden, as if a layer of mithril and red-grained steel was added to the heels of the hero Siegfried. Without the fatal weakness, its structure became more and more integrated.

"This is Gabi's work. She spent two full years polishing each scale, carving each psychic matrix, and installing each component. All the mechanics at the headquarters came to appreciate this work and unanimously concluded that Gabi had surpassed themselves." Deputy Director Buster said with regret: "However, this most outstanding work cannot be put into actual combat. It is too perfect, so the requirements for the driver are extremely harsh - the physical, mental, and psychic reserves must reach the top level. Otherwise, the physical strength and energy will be drained the moment they are connected to the mechanical core. In severe cases, they will even become like the living dead: their souls seem to be crushed by a millstone, and every inch of their body and mind suffers from the pain of collapse before they lose consciousness. The reason is unknown. After destroying four experimental subjects, Gabi decided to seal it up, because 'works that cannot be used in practice are equivalent to scrap metal', and she always believes this."

"Isn't it loaded with vitality crystals?" Wei Xi's voice suddenly became lighter, as if she had received a satisfying answer, but her eyes became more intense and focused, like the pervasive and all-pervasive osmotic pressure of the dark deep sea on fish. "If Gabia completed it, then the vitality crystal engraved with the psychic matrix should be a matching item."

Deputy Director Buster turned around because of her tone and gave her a strange look. It was the first time he heard such a special tone from Abigail's mouth. The girl in military uniform kept a calm and intense gaze on the soldier, looking extremely serious. Buster intuitively felt that there seemed to be some clear intention here.

As expected, she spoke—

"Can I see those vitality crystals? I have never seen the real thing called 'God's Bones', Mr. Bast."

This was not a thoughtful request, because even in the headquarters, "God's Bone" was an extremely precious thing, and only people with a high enough level could allocate such resources, and they also had to have a letter of commission from Emperor Odin. But if it was just to take a look, the restriction would not be particularly large, and Abigail's status could make it accommodating.

Bast weighed it in his mind for a moment, and finally nodded and said, "Then please follow me, Count."

I don't know what mechanism he fiddled with, but suddenly a piece of the smooth mirror collapsed, revealing a dark hole.

The passage to the room that sealed the vitality crystal was actually right here. It was strange yet reasonable, but there was no sign of splicing on the mirror at all. It was as if a black vortex suddenly appeared on the surface of the mercury lake, trying to suck people in.

Wei Xi followed Buster and walked downstairs. After climbing a dozen steps, a strange smell of wax hit him in the face, followed by a cold air current rushing in from every dark corner.

After walking for a few minutes, passing through at least five secret doors, and being checked by layers of soldiers, an elevator appeared in front of them. Buster took out a brass key, inserted the key into the keyhole of the elevator console, and opened the console.

The elevator started, making a heavy creaking sound, and the ornately decorated elevator platform began to slowly descend, taking them to the destination on the bottom floor. The lower they went, the lower the temperature became. There were no soldiers around, and naturally no exhibits could be found. Wei Xi seemed to no longer consider her purpose, as if she was just a simple tourist, taking a quick look at the building.

In the darkness, human senses were infinitely stretched. After an unknown amount of time, the elevator stopped with a "click". As the brass curved door opened, a new dark space awaited the visitors... Wei Xi was a little surprised. She had acquired a strong physical fitness through the "gift from the generous". After two months of continuous nourishment of the Vatican's secret medicine, her hearing was incomparable to that of ordinary people. And this was the core of the core department of the empire. She thought this should be the most heavily defended place, just like the "Snowden Giant" above, with countless checkpoints emitting the symphony of gears running. But to her surprise, it was as quiet as an ancient cave.

A faint chill swept through the space, and Wei Xi seemed to have suddenly entered a thick fog with no end in sight. Buster took out an item from his pocket - it was a small and exquisite pocket lantern, not much bigger than a coin. The faint light emanated from the lantern, illuminating only a small section of the path in front of him. Sometimes the path pointed straight ahead, and sometimes it would suddenly turn to his left and right sides.

"Please follow me closely, Miss Abigail. Without a light to guide you, you will be lost in the darkness and fog and will not be able to get out no matter what." The old man reminded seriously.

"I know." Wei Xi replied softly. She knew it was a "ritual", but she didn't know how it was constructed. Occasionally, she could see some intertwined lines extending in all directions from the fog, winding and meandering towards the end of the darkness, stretching all over the sky and the ground, like vast waves gushing out from the cracks in the earth, or like a sea of ​​stars.

After so many years, even though humans have created a "science" that is like magic, when they finally place the relics of the gods, they still have to rely on the knowledge left by the gods. Wei Xi silently felt all this, his face gradually turned pale due to the cold, until the lantern guided them out of the darkness, the fire surged, illuminating everything, Wei Xi realized that the ground they were standing on was just a shallow depression, and the space around them was extremely vast and deep. It was really a huge natural cave. The cold air flowed over their skin and merged into the depths of the cave.

"Here we are, miss."

Wei Xi hummed softly.

From the moment she entered the underground space, she had a strange feeling, as if the air here was rich in some substance that attracted her. During the ceremony, the cave was as quiet as a dead place. Various items were displayed on the platforms on both sides of the passage, including crystals of different colors, bracelets with delicate patterns engraved on the surface, and withered limbs in a frozen state... Wei Xi also saw an ancient copper urn, with strange patterns all over its surface. The top should have been an opening, but it was tightly sealed. Instead, the widest middle waist was embedded with several strange heads that looked like nothing, which was obviously the work of the Tree-Born Sect...

"This is the absolute secret of the Empire. If you leak even a little information, you will be sent to a special military prison. Once you enter, few people will come out of that iron door... It is the place closest to hell, full of blood and wailing. The law enforcers in hell are the only department in this country that is not recorded on paper, so their power is almost unlimited." Bast made a cross on his chest, and it can be seen that he really didn't like the place. "They can use any means to find out any secrets, so we must be careful in what we say and do."

Even after leaving the Silver Moon Church, Bast did not completely change his years of habits. He walked in the cemetery-like cave with a lantern, like a devout believer holding an ancient relic and walking across the sea.

Wei Xi looked up at the old man.

The Countess's smooth short hair naturally fell slightly, casting shadows on her cheeks. Her dark eyes penetrated the shadows and fell on Buster, as if she was examining him carefully, or as if she was simply thanking him for his reminder. Then her eyes moved to the platforms on both sides.

Only when he got here did Wei Xi realize how superficial his pride in the number of Monti's collections was. Those things that could be bought with money were nothing but dregs that slipped through the fingers of the powerful in the empire. The real treasures would never be seen by outsiders. They were all hidden under layers of protection, such as under the tower of the Vatican and in the cave of the headquarters.

If there are collectors who are interested in this and are lucky enough to visit the tower or the cave, they will probably cry and kneel on the ground, asking with tears in their eyes if they can be buried next to their favorites after they die...

But the girl in military uniform looked at them with eyes that were between clear and empty, with a little sadness only for this desolate and bone-like desolation. Someone was humming an ancient ballad in her ear, and the melody and the mist spread together, as if guiding her to the long-awaited foreign land. It seemed that someone was calling her, but the voice was too far away, and when it reached her ears, only the shouting like a raving was left.

It's so sad. They once held the power to rule the world, but their final destination is to become tools for humans to fight each other.

They walked all the way to the deepest part of the cave. The surrounding decorations gradually changed and became extremely ancient. The top and side walls were engraved with the holy emblem and holy words of the Church, exuding a solemn atmosphere. But in the darkness that the holy words could not cover, it seemed that all kinds of incredible things were flashing, until the light of the lantern passed by, and all the movements in the darkness seemed to disappear again, leaving only slight footsteps, like rustling rain.

Wei Xi saw a huge bronze door at the end of the light. It was decorated with vines and crosses, with a silver crescent in the middle of the cross. It looked leaden due to its age. The Caffa family crest carved on the front was simple but lifelike, with a brighter metallic color in the lines. The representative pattern was obviously newly carved... All signs indicated that this door, along with the things behind it, were transferred from the Vatican, so it had such a strong religious atmosphere, and so it was so similar in style to the Vatican's underground tower.

This door actually uses the most primitive bronze lock.

The old man, who used to be a cardinal, did not open the door immediately. He held the golden cross in his hand and bowed his head to pray: "God! Please have mercy on me according to your love and blot out my transgressions according to your abundant mercy. Please cleanse my transgressions and eliminate my sins. I confess to you that I have done evil before you..."

It seems that even though Buster left the Silver Moon Church, he did not completely abandon his beliefs, which is different from those "Black Crows".

After finishing the prayer, the old man took out the bronze key from his body. This key should not have been on him, but was temporarily given to him by Gabia. It was obvious that the director of the Perpetual Motion Institute had a full understanding of how long he could fight.

The door lock opened with a "click", just like a finger gently plucking a string deep in Wei Xi's body.

There was still no unnecessary expression on Abigail de Monty's face. She looked very calm, the kind of calmness that comes without any ups and downs in one's mood, not the kind of calmness that is a bit abnormal and unpredictable.

Buster pushed the heavy bronze door open a crack, and light seemed to shine out from inside. However, the temperature was getting lower and lower. The breath Wei Xi exhaled condensed into ice crystals, hanging on his eyelashes, contrasting with Deputy Director Buster's icy white beard.

Wei Xi looked up and saw a little bit of snow-like light floating out of the door. The empty cave was filled with a diamond-like brilliance. She followed Buster and walked in.

The first thing that caught Wei Xi's eyes was a palace-like building. It was so big and so quiet, as if there was always a sad wind blowing between its ground and dome. Then there was a huge bronze tree. Starting from the bronze trunk that looked like a ginseng tree, the bronze branches spread upward to the slender and luxurious fan-shaped arch. The branches and leaves were coiled and drooped. There was a red coffin at the intersection of each branch. Their red was as bright as late-ripening apples. The giant eagles cast in gold were at the four corners of the coffin, protecting it with their wings spread out. A cross relief lay on the cover of the coffin. The dense mithril nails sealed the coffin, and the lock was engraved with the time of closure. They were exquisite like works of art, but surprisingly small. The largest one looked like it could only hold a baby under one year old, and the smallest one was only the size of a palm, like a girl's rouge box.