Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 524 - 522: Rebuilding Eden

Chapter 524: Chapter 522: Rebuilding Eden

Muse glanced at Franklin and spoke out, "Tsk, not bad, it seems you have learned how to handle my affairs."

At the next moment, Muse nodded with satisfaction, then waved a hand, "Since that’s the case, you go and get busy. Unless it’s something major, don’t disturb me, understood?"

"Yes, understood," Franklin responded with utmost respect, bowing as he stepped to the side. He had retreated several meters and was just about to straighten up when something caught the corner of his eye at the hall entrance: someone gesturing vigorously at him, looking very anxious.

Franklin pursed his lips and, without a change in expression, walked toward the hall entrance.

It was his subordinate "Fire Spirit" Promi beckoning him. He quickly exited the hall and was completely shed of the timidity he had shown in front of Muse, instead adopting a very serious demeanor. He addressed "Fire Spirit" Promi, "What’s the matter, why the panic? Didn’t you see that the Muse Housekeeper is here today? If you upset her, you’ll regret it!"

"Wait! Captain!" Promi hastily explained, "It wasn’t deliberate. The reason I came to find you is that something big has happened— it’s the Earth Demon!"

"Earth Demon?" Franklin frowned deeply at Promi’s incoherent words. "What happened to ’Earth Demon’ Art? Make yourself clear!"

"Yes, yes." Promi took a deep breath and said, "Captain, you don’t know, but recently Earth Demon has been acting strange, as if he found some information he didn’t want to share, thinking to make a name for himself, always acting alone."

"Hmph." Franklin snorted dismissively and said to Promi, "You’re not here just to bad-mouth Art, are you? As far as I know, it’s not just him in the organization who acts alone— you’ve done it plenty, too."

"But, but..." Promi became more anxious, "I’ve always been very careful about my safety, unlike the Earth Demon who— up to now, we’ve completely lost contact with him. I fear the worst."

"Hmm?" Franklin’s brow furrowed as he stared into Promi’s eyes. "What do you mean? Are you saying that the Earth Demon went off by himself and then... encountered danger?"

"Captain, I fear it’s worse than that." Promi swallowed hard and, after finishing his speech, he pulled out an apple-sized crystal ball from his chest and handed it to Franklin.

Franklin took the crystal ball and upon looking at it, he saw that the normally clear and luminous crystal ball now had a large number of blood-red veins within, which was very eerie, especially at the core, which was pitch black, dark and frightening.

This!

After taking in the sight, Franklin squinted his eyes and his hand involuntarily tightened, creating several cracks in the crystal... He was very clear about what the state of the crystal ball signified. The next moment, he gritted his teeth, fighting an urge to lash out, but then he took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He looked at Promi and asked in a low voice, "Besides you, does anyone else know about this?"

"No one else." Promi shook his head earnestly, "I know the gravity of the situation, so for now I’ve only told you, Captain."

"That’s for the best." Franklin patted Promi’s shoulder lightly, "The fewer people who know about this, the better. Especially don’t let the Muse Housekeeper find out— she despises such... nuisances. Yes, nuisances; to the Muse Housekeeper, everything is a minor issue. So, if she finds out, you and I, as well as everybody else, are in for a rough time. Understand?"

"Understood." Promi nodded rapidly, then looked up and asked, "So, Captain, how do we handle this?"

"Sigh—"

Franklin took a deep breath and replied, "I’ll have the others handle it privately. We’ll try to investigate and clarify exactly what happened to Art. Of course, we can’t neglect the tasks assigned by the Muse Housekeeper; we must complete those with all our effort. As for you, keep this information to yourself for now, and be careful in your future tasks, so you don’t end up the next Art."

"Yes," said Promi.

Franklin watched Promi’s demeanor and still felt somewhat uneasy. Only after giving instructions for a long time and making sure that Promi truly grasped his deeper meaning did he walk into the hall.

Upon entering the hall, he saw that half of the honey petal water on Muse’s table had been drunk. Franklin quietly picked it up, brewed a fresh honey water, and carried it back to the table.

The Muse Housekeeper, sitting behind the table with her eyes closed in meditation, suddenly opened her eyes and seemingly casually asked Franklin, "Just now, that red-haired person, called you out, was there something?"

"Uh—" Franklin’s body jolted, but his expression remained completely unchanged, full of respect as he said, "Reporting to the Muse Housekeeper, it was some sudden minor issues, which I have already dealt with properly. There’s no need for the Muse Housekeeper to worry."

"That’s good, as you know, I detest being bothered by tedious affairs," Muse said. "Keep up the good work, do well, and I will remember you for it, Franklin."

"Yes." Franklin nodded, gently put down the cup of honey water, and quietly walked to one side.

Muse tasted the new honey water, first nodding her head, then closed her eyes again, it was unclear whether she was thinking or taking a brief rest.

...

The following days were quite busy for Richard.

He first seriously studied the materials obtained from the members of the Mysterious Organization, which could confirm a connection to the secrets of the Black Spirit King.

This was relatively easy to explain, after all, the Mysterious Organization had always been impersonating the Black Spirit Empire and clearly had some understanding of the secrets of the Black Spirit King. However, their interest did not lie in deciphering the secrets of the Black Spirit King, but in attempting to destroy all avenues for decryption, making the secrets of the Black Spirit King highly confidential.

In other words, the Mysterious Organization did not care for the Black Spirit King’s secrets, but they did not want the secrets to be uncovered by others. So, whoever dared to decrypt in broad daylight and was not afraid of death would be wiped out.

Out of prudence, he did not want to oppose the Mysterious Organization but merely thought that if it were possible, to obtain some clues from the hands of the Mysterious Organization and quietly unravel the secrets of the Black Spirit King. It would be sufficient to resolve his doubts and then completely bury the secrets of the Black Spirit King so that both parties would be pleased.

However, while imagination was full, reality was skeletal.

The information from the members of the Mysterious Organization, although related to the secrets of the Black Spirit King, was very fragmented on the documents, and could even be described as bits and pieces. Without more information, it was very difficult to successfully uncover the real clues to the secrets of the Black Spirit King based on these fragments.

Richard had no choice but to give up the idea, keeping the data safe in the hopes that it would be useful in the future. He then began the comprehensive reconstruction of Eden.

Reconstructing Eden was a massive project. Although Eden’s destruction had been instant, the construction time, when calculated from the start, adding up all the tasks, was almost half a year.

Even with the foundation laid out previously, and even with the ability to exploit Pandora as a labor force, it still took a great deal of effort to build the basic framework and restore the general functions of Eden.

The details were next.

The details might not seem troublesome, but they were extremely tedious. Just the materials and instruments needed could not be listed on a simple inventory.

Richard found this headache-inducing. Considering that Mu’en had gone into hiding and couldn’t even help with procurement, he couldn’t help but start thinking about how to save some trouble.