Fantasy Game: Infinite City

"You arrived a little earlier than I expected, but it doesn't matter. You were going to come sooner or later anyway."

As the other person's voice clearly reached Han Zu's ears, he could finally confirm that the guy standing just a few steps in front of him was the one he had seen before, the one who looked a lot like an elf. The other person's tone of voice was exactly the same as he remembered, devoid of emotion, somewhat similar to those contractors who hadn't loaded their emotion modules, but there were still some differences.

"So this place really is a creation engine?"

"Ah."

"How did you know I would definitely come here? Do you have some connection with the Ferdinand family?"

“I am not so desperate that I need to rely on humans. The reason you came to this place is simply because of the attraction between people of the same kind. It has nothing to do with those humans.”

"But the reason I was able to find this place is actually not unrelated to humans."

"Very good. It seems you have come to terms with your identity. You no longer consider yourself human. I didn't expect that."

After a brief exchange, there was a silence that lasted for more than two hours. During this time, apart from Han Zu walking up to the other person to confirm that the other person was indeed the one he had in mind, neither of them said a word. However, neither of them seemed to react to this situation; they both appeared to be deep in thought.

The little mouse perched on Han Zu's head remained silent as well. Although it couldn't understand what its "guardian" beneath it and the pointed-eared creature opposite it were saying, the tense atmosphere still made it somewhat uncomfortable. Its four little paws gripped a few strands of Han Zu's hair tightly, and its long golden tail swayed restlessly. Occasionally, it would strike Han Zu's muscular body with excessive force, making a sound. However, neither Han Zu nor the pointed-eared creature opposite it paid attention to the little mouse's movements, and even the mouse itself was unaware of them.

"So it was your voice before?"

"Correct."

Perhaps Han Zuxian had sorted out his thoughts, for he broke the silence and began to inquire about the earlier sound. The other party did not deny it and directly admitted that he was the source of the sound.

"What's the reason?"

"Now that you're here, there's no need to waste too much time finding your way. Besides, I don't want you to cause any major damage because you're getting impatient while looking for the way."

"But when I passed through one of the areas earlier, there had already been large-scale destruction in that area, but that wasn't..."

"I know that's just a routine activity of the Creation Engine. The damaged areas will repair themselves automatically soon, so there's no need to worry about it."

"so...."

"I need your help, or rather, the creation engine here needs your help."

"Help? Help with what? Everything seems normal here."

"Everything is indeed normal here, but you need to absorb the core here."

"Why? Isn't it working perfectly fine here? This is the first creation engine I've encountered that's functioning properly... Or am I thinking something's wrong?"

Pointy Ears shook his head, denying Han Zu's guess.

“There is indeed nothing wrong with this place. Although it faces a lack of ‘raw materials,’ what you think is correct: the creation engine is indeed complete. But that’s precisely why you need to destroy this place.”

"Putting aside whether I can do it, even if I can, I need at least a reason."

"Those humans... the Ferdinand family you mentioned, some of them have found a way to access the Creation Engine. Although they don't yet understand how the Creation Engine works, they are very close, and they have found a way to steal the power generated by the Creation Engine."

The pointed-eared creature opposite him didn't seem hostile, but Han Zu wasn't entirely sure. So, with a hint of provocation, he put his arm around the creature's shoulder, taking the opportunity to observe its expression and movements. Unexpectedly, the creature didn't react at all. Perhaps the creature truly meant no harm, or perhaps his low-level provocation had no effect. So Han Zu continued to ask.

"So you still haven't explained the reason. Don't tell me it's some bullshit like 'humans are not worthy of this power'."

"That's not the case. As long as they can gain recognition, any life form can use the power of the Creation Engine, but the premise is that they cannot use the power of the Creation Engine to bring about their own destruction."

"what?"

Judging from Sharp Ears' words, the reason he wanted him to destroy the Creation Engine wasn't because the Ferdinand family had stolen its power, but because using its power might lead to their own destruction. This was precisely why Han Zu was somewhat confused.

"Since they're going to destroy themselves, why are you asking me to destroy this place? Even if those guys do steal the power, they're just hastening their own demise, aren't they?"

This time, however, Pointy Ears did not answer Han Zu's question directly, but changed the subject and talked about other things.

Have you figured out who you are?

"Philosophically and sociologically, I am a human being, but biologically and ethically, I certainly am not... Now that you mention it, I haven't really thought about it carefully... Do you know something?"

Pointy Ears neither answered nor denied. Although the other party said nothing, and didn't even make any gestures or facial expressions, Han Zu felt that the other party might actually know the answer. But it was clear that he didn't want to tell him.

In Han Zu's perception, the pointed-eared creature was unlike any other life form he had encountered before. However, Han Zu was certain of one thing, and the only thing he was sure of: its strength was definitely greater than his own. Since that was the case, if the creature didn't want to talk, he figured he wouldn't be able to get any information out of it. Nevertheless, Han Zu decided to give it a try and subtly inquired about it.

"So, what am I, and is it related to what we talked about before?"

"Yes."

"So, this relationship...?"

Pointy Ears fell silent again; clearly, the other party didn't want to tell him. Han Zu could only purse his lips and temporarily shelve the idea.

Can I ask you some questions?

"Yes, but I may not answer all the questions, or I may not answer any of them. It depends on you..."

"I know, it depends on what I ask. Let me think about it..."

However, after thinking about it for a long time, Han Zu actually only wanted to ask two things: one was about the relationship between the Ferdinand family and the Creation Engine, and the other was what he was now. However, the pointed-eared man obviously wouldn't answer the latter, and as for the former, Han Zu thought that the other party probably wouldn't tell him any detailed information either. However, Han Zu still decided to give it a try.

"How did the Ferdinand family get involved with the Creation Engine?"

"They were unaware of the existence of the Creation Engine."

"Didn't you say those guys stole the power created by the Creation Engine?"

"Correct."

"How did they manage to steal the power generated by the Creation Engine without knowing it existed?"

"I do not know."

"You don't know..."

If it weren't for Han Zu present, but someone else, they would immediately assume that this pointy-eared creature was a low-level life form with an intelligence below human standards. But Han Zu knew very well that wasn't the case, although the pointy-eared creature did indeed appear to be quite dim-witted.

"So what can you tell me?"

"You need to find a way to destroy, or at least shut down, this creation engine."

"That's all you know?"

"No."

"So you don't want to talk about it?"

"No."

"...Would you mind if I beat you up?"

"I don't mind, because you can't effectively harm me, at least not at this stage. But you can try as much as you want."

This attitude, even more repulsive than the riddle-teller's, yet unintentional, truly stirred Han Zu's murderous intent. In fact, he really wanted to beat up Sharp-Eared Man, but as the other party said, in his current unstable state, he certainly couldn't cause him any harm. So Han Zu could only patiently continue trying to talk to him.

"I have to go now."

"No, you haven't said anything at all, have you? Even if you want me to deal with this creation engine, even if I agree to do as you say, you still have to tell me how to destroy it, or at least how to stop the creation engine, right? And what about the creatures created by the creation engine? Just leave them here? Or do I have to kill them? And with my current strength, I don't think I can necessarily eliminate them, right?"

"The core area of ​​the creation engine."

"Then what???"

After leaving only a location, Pointy Ears vanished without a trace, showing no energy fluctuations or interaction with the Creation Engine. Han Zu had no idea how it left or even if it had truly left. But since it had already left, cursing Pointy Ears now would be completely pointless.

Of course, this didn't stop Han Zu from swearing out all the swear words he had learned over the past thirty years.

Although Pointy Ears was a wicked riddle-maker (even worse), he had still left some clues. Having no other choice, Han Zu could only begin to deduce and speculate using the few clues available. Han Zu felt strange about his attitude towards Pointy Ears; although the two "people" had only met no more than five times, trust inexplicably existed between them. Intuition told Han Zu he should listen to Pointy Ears, but reason told him he needed to find a way to stop or destroy the creation engine before making a decision.

However, all of this hinges on first finding the method mentioned by Pointy Ear from the few clues he left behind. Based on his statement about "the core area of ​​the creation engine," we can confirm the following information.

First, although his current location does resemble the core of the Creation Engine, if that were truly the case, the pointed ears wouldn't have said "the core area of ​​the Creation Engine." Instead, they would have directly pointed out the location of the core. This means that Han Zu's current location is not the true core area of ​​the Creation Engine, and the enormous "heart" behind him is naturally not the true core either.

Secondly, there's the method of shutting down or destroying the creation engine. The entire creation engine, including the previous outer perimeter, the maze area, the factory area, and the current false core area, is composed of flesh and bones—a massive structure that can be summarized as a complete living organism. Therefore, the true core area, or even the core itself, of the creation engine should also be composed of flesh and bones. Shutting down or destroying the creation engine would mean damaging this true core. Just like destroying the heart or life core of a living organism, if the heart stops, the entire system will cease functioning or die.

Third, although not obvious, based on what Pointy Ears said earlier, the Ferdinand family found a way to steal the power of the Creation Engine. While the working principle is unknown, Pointy Ears also mentioned that they found a way to access the Creation Engine. This suggests that near the Creation Engine, or in a not-too-distant location, there should be some kind of passage left by the Ferdinand family. This means that if I can find this passage, or a similar location, I can leave this strange place and return to the real world, or at least back to Bastienburg. Once back in Bastienburg, I can teleport back using the contractor's equipment. If this is correct, or only slightly off, it will save me the time I might otherwise spend returning the way I came, avoiding any unexpected problems along the way.

"We still need to find the real core location first before we can think about what comes next."

Finding the true core area of ​​the Creation Engine wasn't difficult for Han Zu. Using his perception and ability to absorb living organisms, he could pinpoint the location of the core area by observing the flow of energy and life within the Creation Engine. Although the unique influence of the Creation Engine, coupled with Han Zu's current unstable state, prevented him from pinpointing the exact location of the core area, allowing him to determine its general direction, this was sufficient.

"Squeak?"

Han Zu stood there in thought for several tens of minutes without saying a word. The little mouse perched on his head, acting on its biological instincts, assumed Han Zu might be asleep, so it climbed up his neck to his shoulder and chirped twice in his ear. But Han Zu was engrossed in thought and didn't hear the mouse's chirping, or rather, he was so focused that even if he had heard it, he automatically filtered it out.

Although the creation engine was full of eeriness, the little mouse had become accustomed to the strange flesh and blood products around it, as well as the secondary creatures they produced. It was not afraid, but rather full of curiosity.

"Squeak."

As the little mouse looked around, Han Zu patted its head with his finger, bringing it back to its senses. Han Zu then began to move. Although the little mouse did not know where Han Zu was going, in its mind, it didn't matter where it went, since with Han Zu's protection, it should be safe wherever it was.