bookbashuk Page 34
Page 34
It was clearly made by her own hands.
"On the contrary, desserts after a battle have a unique flavor."
He picked up the small silver fork that came with the food box.
Under the gaze of Saeko Sonozaki, a complex mix of indescribable joy and profound submission.
He elegantly forked a small piece of tiramisu, put it in his mouth, and savored it.
That composure, that ease, made it seem as if all the dangers they had just experienced were merely an appetizer before the main course.
Chapter Thirty-Three: The Depths of the Museum
The unpleasant ending of the dessert party cast a deep shadow over Sonozaki Ryuhei's heart.
That meticulously planned, self-righteous sense of control was shattered by Su Chen with a mere flick of his wrist.
He, Sonozaki Ryubei, the underground emperor of Fuuto, experienced such pure defeat for the first time.
Su Chen.
This name, like a sharp thorn, has deeply pierced his pride.
This man is completely unyielding.
This man is impervious to both soft and hard approaches.
Coercion is like punching the air—it has no leverage.
Enticement is like throwing a stone into an abyss; it leaves no trace.
What made him even more uneasy was Su Chen's endless and unbelievable technological power.
Each performance is like a subversion of our existing understanding of him.
An unprecedented sense of immense threat coiled around his heart like a venomous snake, making it hard for him to breathe.
He, Sonozaki Ryubei, could no longer tolerate such an existence.
He had to play his last, and most prized, trump card.
That was the foundation of his rule over Fengdu, the source of all his ambitions.
The next day, a cold and formal invitation was delivered to Su Chen.
The envelope was of fine quality, bearing only a few words, yet it carried an undeniable weight.
The signature at the end is that of Sonozaki Ryubei.
This time, the venue was no longer a lavish banquet hall.
It wasn't a party filled with insincere politeness either.
Rather, it is the true essence of "visiting" the Fengdu Museum.
That enormous underground factory, buried deep beneath the main building, never to see the light of day.
A forbidden place that exists only in the hearts of a very few.
Su Chen unfolded the letter, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips.
Everything was as expected.
He readily agreed.
Led by Ryubei Sonozaki, Su Chen stepped into a private elevator.
The elevator's interior space is small, but its decoration is extremely luxurious, completely different from the classical style of the museum outside, and full of cold, high-tech feel.
Ryūbei stood beside Su Chen without saying a word. His face, which usually carried a hint of a fake smile, was unusually serious at this moment, even carrying a sense of holiness.
The elevator started silently and descended smoothly and quickly.
The floor numbers on the digital display screen are rapidly turning into negative values.
-5.
-10.
-20.
It seemed to be sinking into the depths of the earth.
The air grew colder, carrying a unique smell of metal and chemicals.
Finally, with a soft click, the elevator doors slowly slid open to both sides.
A huge underground space, filled with a cold industrial atmosphere, suddenly appeared before Su Chen's eyes.
Unimaginably vast.
The dome is extremely high, with countless thick pipes and cables crisscrossing like a spider web, extending to the horizon.
The cold white light illuminated the entire space as if it were daytime, yet it offered no warmth whatsoever.
Countless staff members, dressed in uniform white research coats, were busy at their respective posts, like a sophisticated ant colony.
Their faces were mostly expressionless, showing only focus and numbness.
A giant robotic arm moves precisely, grasps, welds, and assembles on a complex assembly line.
It emitted a series of deep, rhythmic roars.
The air was filled with a pungent smell, a mixture of engine oil, ozone, and some kind of special energy particles.
"This is the heart of the 'museum'."
Ryubei Sonozaki's voice broke the silence, carrying an indescribable pride, like a king surveying his territory.
"It is also the true source of all power in Fengdu."
He opened his arms as if to embrace the steel kingdom he had created.
Su Chen's gaze swept calmly over everything.
There was neither amazement nor fear in the depths of his eyes.
There is only one kind of scholar's calm and critical approach when faced with massive amounts of experimental data.
Sonozaki Ryubei seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Su Chen's calmness, and he raised his voice.
“We can produce more than 10,000 mass-produced Gaia memory chips here every year.”
This number is enough to make anyone who knows the power of the Gaia Memory shudder.
Ten thousand means ten thousand potential admixtures, representing a terrifying force capable of overturning the order of any city.
"We have the best biologists and the best data engineers in the city."
He pointed to an area in the distance that was isolated by a special energy shield, where more critical and dangerous research seemed to be taking place.
“We even… hold the key to connecting to ‘Earth’ itself.”
He spoke these words slowly and clearly, with a sense of mystery and arrogance as if revealing an ultimate secret.
He took a step forward, leading Su Chen into the deepest part of the factory.
The scenery along the way became increasingly unsettling.
More sophisticated and larger instruments came into view.
The energy fluctuations in the air are becoming increasingly intense.
Finally, they arrived at a space that was completely different in style from the rest of the factory.
This place is no longer just cold metal and concrete.
Instead, it is a huge space, like a naturally formed underground cave.
The cave walls shimmered with a strange crystalline luster and emitted a faint fluorescence.
In the center of the space, there is a huge well with a diameter of more than ten meters and a bottomless depth.
Ancient and mysterious patterns are carved on the edge of the well.
There is no water in the well.
Only extremely concentrated green energy, slowly rotating like a nebula.
That energy seemed to have a life of its own, breathing slowly and exuding an awe-inspiring, powerful aura.
An unimaginably massive flow of information, like a tangible tide, surged forth from the wellhead.
This flow of information is so vast and complex that it contains the birth and death of all things and the mysteries of the universe.
If an ordinary person were to come into contact with even a fraction of this information flow, they would likely collapse instantly because their brain could not process it.
That is the connection point of the "Well of the Earth".
It is the true source of the legendary "memory of the earth".
"Did you see that, Su Chenjun?"
Sonozaki Ryubei suddenly opened his arms, his body trembling slightly with excitement, and his face showing an almost manic expression of ecstasy.
He greedily inhaled the energy emanating from the well, as if it were the most delicious delicacy in the world.
"This is the true power of our 'museum'! This is the heritage passed down through our family for centuries!"
His voice echoed in the empty cave, carrying a hint of frantic roar.
"Money and power are just tools in the eyes of people like you and me, just fleeting clouds!"
He turned around abruptly, his eyes flashing with intense light as he stared intently at Su Chen.
"Only this power originating from the planet itself, this purest and most primal 'Earth memory,' is eternal and immortal!"
He took a few steps forward, almost closing in on Su Chen.
He spoke to Su Chen in a tone that was almost condescending, yet carried an unquestionable air of authority:
"Now, Su Chenjun, this is the last time I'm proposing cooperation with you."
"Become the chief technology officer of my 'museum'."
"You will have access to privileges second only to mine, allowing you to explore the secrets of this place and come into contact with this great power."