Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon
Chapter 323 - 322: The Soul of the Machine

Chapter 323: Chapter 322: The Soul of the Machine

Right next to the VIP question and answer room, the control room was in chaos.

"Steam overload at 300%, the pipes can’t hold on much longer!"

"What about the pressure valves? Tell the people below to open all the valves!"

"But the pressure-relief fans haven’t started yet. If we open them now, all the workers below will be scalded to death—"

"Then let them be scalded! If the pressure keeps rising like this, the whole company will be fucking blasted to the sky! Do you hear me? Everyone will die!"

"Director, please proceed to the surface shelter immediately. This place could collapse at any moment," the chief engineer pleaded, his head drenched in sweat.

"Nonsense, the Panlogical Machine can never fail. I’ll stay right here, and see what kind of trick Wilson is playing!" Lucius Haifa said furiously. The malfunction of the Panlogical Machine was definitely related to Duke Longjiu. He had only entered a short while ago, and then the steam control system developed a problem. To say the two were unrelated, he wouldn’t believe it even if he were beaten to death. Moreover, he could eavesdrop on the Q&A room from here, and the other party’s strange mutterings were just like informing someone else that he had another purpose for being here.

But what on earth had Wilson Longjiu done?

This was the question that Lucius couldn’t figure out no matter how hard he thought. He was still a far distance away from the Panlogical Machine; forget the Miracle Core, he couldn’t even touch the outer shell. Could a few sentences have caused the Panlogical Machine to collapse?

However, there was one thing Lucius was certain of. Duke Longjiu would never allow the steam system to just overload and explode, even if it meant bringing down the whole Academy with it as a funeral offering, he wouldn’t commit suicide so easily.

This might just be the trick he was playing.

Have everyone here withdraw, then find an opportunity to approach the Miracle Core.

Thinking this, he walked over to the No. 2 Sonic Transmission Tube and urged again, "How is the security team doing? Hurry up and get over here!"

"Reporting to the Director, the first and second emergency teams have entered Elevator No. 4 and are expected to arrive in ten minutes!"

"What about the company’s perimeter? Has any anomaly been detected?"

"I’ve asked the guard force; there’s no movement on the perimeter for the time being!"

"Good, have them continue to stay alert!"

Lucius’s heart eased slightly... Duke Longjiu had no reinforcements and no guards. Once the emergency teams arrived, he would be as good as trapped.

Of course... even if the Duke’s troops did arrive, Glaik Academy was not an easy target. Lucius hadn’t introduced the defensive forces here to the other side, but that didn’t mean Star Peak City was defenseless. Since the entire city was built around the company headquarters, its defensive measures were said to be on par with the Royal Capital, and most of the cannons and machine gun towers were operated mechanically without the need to consider morale issues. With the advantage of the Panlogical Machine, the level of mechanization of the Academy’s weapons was definitely among the best in the Kingdom.

"Is the VIP room’s door still locked?" Lucius asked, turning his head.

"Yes! The guest has not left!"

With that, all he had to do was stay calm and wait right here.

"My God..." Suddenly someone whispered in shock.

"The shell, the shell of the Panlogical Machine!"

The shell? Lucius suddenly heard a series of booming noises! He quickly walked to the window and could hardly believe what he was seeing—the shell of the Panlogical Machine, which was a hundred times more solid than the city walls, was actually collapsing on its own!

What on earth was happening?

Those steel shells had never been considered for replacement. They were all welded together, chunk by chunk! It was like two bricks suddenly sprouted gears and began interlocking and rotating!

Could it be... the steam?

He looked incredulously at the chief engineer, "What’s the steam overload at now!?"

"350%, it hasn’t risen any further!"

"How far from the pipe’s limit?"

"The limit is this number..." the chief engineer also suddenly realized, "How could it be exactly at this point?"

"Damn it! The Panlogical Machine is using steam to destroy the protective shell... Can we stop it?" Lucius roared.

"Stop the Panlogical Machine? Sir... there’s no such mechanism in the control room!" the engineer blurted out in confusion, "Unless, unless we cut off the underground water supply and let the Panlogical Machine burn itself out!"

When the Panlogical Machine was running, it would emit a large amount of heat, so it required fresh water to cool down, and this cooling system was not controlled precisely by humans... Its pipelines spread throughout the entire body of the Panlogical Machine, and the Panlogical Machine itself managed the inflow and outflow of water and the amount of exhaust, running steadily for decades without any errors.

Internally, the company regarded it as a genius design... Humans can be lazy and make mistakes, but Miracle Constructions cannot. Letting a Miracle Construction decide the operation of its own cooling system was an ideal closed loop of machine managing machine.

No one had imagined that one day the Panlogical Machine would use steam as a tool to destroy its casing!

At this moment, the pressure release valves below the tower were fully open, but the Panlogical Machine had also increased the water intake and put itself in a highly heated state, which meant the steam pressure simply couldn’t be reduced.

What about cutting off water then?

This might lead to the complete destruction of the Panlogical Machine... What would be the difference between Glaik Academy collapsing and losing a First-Rank Miracle Construction?

Lucius couldn’t help but shiver.

No... The company must not die by my hand! I must keep it going no matter what!

"Yo-, Your Excellency, the damage to the shell has reached nearly thirty percent, should we send out a repair team?" the chief engineer stammered.

Idiot, that shell wasn’t meant to protect the Panlogical Machine!

Lucius cursed inwardly.

Its armor-like protective shell was designed to confine the core capabilities of the Miracle Construction within the tower, to protect the external users!

As the rotating chairman, Lucius did not know the specifics of the core’s workings, nor the harm it could cause when exposed, but according to the Panlogical Machine’s memo, damaging the protective shell was absolutely taboo, and all means must be employed to stop it when such a situation occurred.

However, there was a major contradiction here, what to do if the Panlogical Machine itself was doing it!?

Perhaps the root of it all lay with Duke Longjiu!

"Chairman, the emergency crew’s elevator has arrived," a control operator reported.

"You continue to hold your posts! I will lead them to break through the door!" Lucius hurried to Elevator No. 4, his body over the age of fifty never as agile as it was at this moment. He rushed to the door, waiting for the moment the bulletproof iron gate would open. However, when the doors slid apart, the hellish sight that met his eyes was one of mangled flesh and blood. The members of the heavily armed emergency crew were strewn across the floor, their bodies torn apart by gunfire, some without limbs, some with only half a head left.

Blood, brain matter, and intestinal fluid mixed together, emitting a nausea-inducing stench.

Lucius stood in shock.

And then the sound of mechanical operations clanged through the corridor.

He realized something and looked up in despair. The hidden mechanisms in the ceiling of the circular corridor had activated; the concealed covers slid open smoothly, and one machine gun after another dropped down.

This was the company’s internal defense system, designed to activate when enemies invaded. The problem was, it required authorization from the board of directors and manual operation by someone in the control room.

But Lucius had never issued such an order.

As the gun barrels pointed at him, he turned his head towards the tower in the cave, which was now half-collapsed, and from its interior, a strange glow emerged...

Is it you, Panlogical Machine?

Are you controlling all this?

This was the last thought that flashed through his mind as the guns fired.