The fourth floor of the technology experimental center.
“As long as we can successfully bring these blueprints back, we're going to strike it rich!”
The dwarf said excitedly as he walked, his steps practically bouncing.
“How rich?” Rosie asked.
The dwarf thought about it and scratched his head. “Uh... anyway, a lot.”
“The people in the Craftsmen's Association will definitely go crazy when they see these blueprints...”
Rosie was about to reply when her gaze suddenly froze.
“Wait!” she said suddenly, stopping in her tracks.
The dwarf immediately stopped. “What's wrong?”
He followed Rosie's gaze, and then he froze completely.
In the corner at the end of the corridor, a massive entity stood silently.
It was a war machine about three meters tall.
Its left arm was a metal pincer, and its right arm was a circular metal saw.
“A War Golem!” the dwarf exclaimed, instinctively raising his axe.
“No, it's not a War Golem,” Rosie said, walking straight toward the war machine.
The dwarf blinked in surprise and followed her.
Although this war machine was quite large, it was a full size smaller than a War Golem.
More importantly, right in the center of its torso was a clear cockpit.
The hatch was half-open, revealing a seat, control levers, and a cluster of complex panels inside.
Clearly, this was a manned vehicle.
Rosie stepped onto a protruding metal crossbar to climb up and poked her head into the cockpit.
The control levers were rusted solid to their bases, and almost all the buttons on the panel were broken.
Beside the pilot's seat, she felt a nameplate with several characters in Ancient Gnomish: Experimental Infantry Mech.
“A pity. I thought I'd be able to pilot it.”
Rosie jumped down from the cockpit, a trace of regret in her tone.
The dwarf looked up at the mech and said with a sigh, “This thing looks really nice.”
“Let's keep moving. Maybe there are other discoveries,” Rosie said, taking the lead and walking forward.
The fourth floor was like an exhibition hall of achievements.
There were various exhibition rooms of different sizes, each containing different types of mechanical creations.
There were machine skeletons of various shapes, spider-like mechanical chassis, and oddly designed vehicles.
But due to the lack of dedicated preservation measures, they were all severely damaged.
“All the machines here are broken.”
The dwarf squatted next to some mechanical wreckage, speaking with a hint of disappointment.
“If there were even just one intact, we could study it properly.”
“Yeah, a pity,” Rosie said, her gaze still scanning the exhibition room.
Then, her gaze locked onto something.
“Huh?”
It was a shelf. The metal frame was slightly deformed, but on it lay a metal creation that looked familiar to her.
It was about the size of a palm, and its shape was almost exactly like a water gun.
But Rosie was absolutely certain that the ancient gnomes wouldn't be bored enough to make a water gun for fun.
She walked over and picked up the gun.
The gun felt heavy in her hand, thick and sturdy, with a clear heat-dissipating structure around the barrel.
She looked down, and indeed, a line of small characters was engraved beneath the shelf: “Prototype Ray Gun”.
Below it was a more detailed description:
Experimental weapon. After charging for one day, it can fire three consecutive high-temperature rays. Development shelved due to high production costs.
As a weapon, needing a whole day of charging just to be used three times—no wonder it had been shelved.
“What's this?” The dwarf came over, looking curiously at the item in her hand.
“This thing is equivalent to a small repeating crossbow, but it can only be used three times a day,” Rosie summarized briefly.
“Only three times? That's so garbage,” the dwarf couldn't help but complain.
Rosie carefully observed the mechanism of the ray gun.
The mechanism was very simple: flip the safety off, and pull the trigger.
She switched off the safety, aimed the barrel at the corner, and pulled the trigger.
There was no reaction.
She pulled it again, and the trigger fell straight to the ground.
Rosie handed the ray gun to the dwarf. “Want to bring it back? It might be worth some money.”
The dwarf took it, looked it over, and placed the gun back on the shelf.
“How much can a broken piece of junk be worth?”
Rosie pouted and continued her search.
“Hey, girl, come over here. You might be able to use this.”
Not long after, the dwarf's voice came from nearby, his tone carrying a hint of excitement.
Rosie quickly walked over.
The dwarf was holding a small round shield, about the size of a washbasin, with a matte finish that gave off a highly durable impression.
The back of the shield didn't have a traditional grip, but rather a metal buckle used to secure it to the arm.
Rosie took the round shield. It felt heavy in her hand. Unlike other easily damaged items, this shield had no complex mechanisms and was almost completely intact.
She looked down at the description on the display rack next to it:
Eman Alloy Test Shield: Made of an alloy material developed by Chief Engineer Eman. Not only is it incredibly tough, but it can also effectively resist magic.
Below it was a line of small text: This shield is only for displaying the alloy material and serves no other purpose.
Rosie's eyes lit up.
This was great. It was practically tailor-made for her.
Without standing on ceremony, she slipped her left arm into the buckle on the back of the round shield, adjusted the angle, and with a click, secured the shield to her arm.
It fit snugly, without any uncomfortable hindrance.
She moved her left hand and swung her arm a few times; it didn't get in the way at all.
She was currently wearing full light gear, and this shield perfectly made up for some of her defensive shortcomings.
“It suits you quite well,” the dwarf agreed.
Rosie nodded without saying much, but the slight upward curve of her lips betrayed her mood.
The two continued searching and stopped at the door of the innermost room on the fourth floor.
The nameplate above the door read: Chief Engineer's Office.
A broad desk occupied most of the office space.
Rosie immediately spotted a cabinet against the wall—it was a combination cabinet.
Rosie walked over quickly and wiped away the dust, revealing what was inside:
A small, circular metal disc with many complex patterns engraved on its surface.
And next to the metal disc lay a thin booklet.
On the cover was written: 《Work Summary》.
There was also a line of scribbled small writing: “The password is my happiest day.”
Rosie looked at the combination lock, then pulled out the diary from her backpack and flipped through it.
She turned the diary to the pages about his promotions and checked the dates.
Then she inputted “962”.
Click. The combination lock popped open.
Rosie opened the cabinet and took out the circular metal disc.
The material of the metal disc was unknown, and it was very light.
On the back, a line of Ancient Gnomish characters was engraved: Chief Engineer Identity Card.
“What's this?” The dwarf peered over.
“The head's identity card. With this, we should be able to unlock most of the door locks.” Rosie held the metal disc in her hand.
The dwarf sighed with regret. “Too bad we're about to leave.”
“Maybe we'll have a use for it in the future.”
Rosie put away the metal disc and picked up the booklet.
She opened it to the first page. The front was still a work summary, its content similar to the diary.
It was almost entirely boasting about how hard he worked, how heavy his responsibilities were, and how the entire technology center wouldn't be able to run without him...
Rosie flipped through it rapidly.
Then, in the subsequent pages, the tone abruptly changed:
“Those idiots actually think they can control God...”
“Infinite energy is nothing but a delusion...”
“Our civilization is about to perish...”
The handwriting was noticeably messier than before, with even some strokes traced over repeatedly.
Rosie turned to the next page.
“The infinite energy device has been sealed in the underground vault. It can be reached by taking a secret lift. The vault's opening code is 955. I don't know who will eventually obtain this information, but good luck to you.”
This line of text was the very last sentence in the entire booklet.
In the next second, a new prompt surfaced at the edge of Rosie's vision.
【Optional Adventure Quest: Oh, There Seems to Be Something There】
【Quest Objective: Discover the hidden secret 2/3】
【Optional Quest: Find the infinite energy vessel, use Holy Light to purify it, and eliminate the radiation here】
【Optional Quest: Find the infinite energy vessel, destroy the energy vessel, and envelop the underground world in heavy radiation】
Rosie's brow furrowed slightly.
What the hell was this?
There wasn't even a reward?
“What's written inside?” the dwarf's voice came from the side.
“...Nothing, just a work summary...”
Rosie closed the booklet and put it into her backpack.
“Let's go. There's nothing else good here.”
Rate on N.U.
