Mo'er Was Still Below

You just said he told you not to wait.

Lin Qi placed the underground structure diagram next to the oil lamp. Water dripped from the edge of the Iron Plate down the table, while the person inside the door still pressed their palm against the door panel.

The water stains reappeared.

I didn't wait for him.

Makino crouched beside the door, her line of sight at the same height as the hand.

"Are you guarding the people below?"

There was a sound from inside the door.

Robin wrote the two sentences down in his notebook.

"Before Mo'er left, he told him not to wait. He didn't define staying there as waiting; he was protecting Mo'er, who was on a lower level."

Vegapunk converted the underground structure diagram into a cross-section; at the end of the stairs, there were no room markings, only an inverted cup-shaped symbol.

"This isn't an ordinary underground level; it's more like an Echo Node."

The Old Carpenter held up his plane and compared it to the Tavern floor.

"I've repaired this place many times, and I've never heard that it's hollow underneath."

Lin Qi pointed to the table in the picture.

"The metal box was always propping up the table legs; perhaps it was sealing the entrance."

The sound from behind the Black Gate fell from the remaining Sky Screen.

"The underground sealed items belong to the missing assets of the Throne; any attempt to open them is considered theft."

Nami stuck the Clima-Tact into the deck.

"The more you resist moving aside, the more people will be below."

Akainu looked at the naval engineering team.

"Assess remote support; no one may enter without the target's consent."

Long added, "First, confirm Mo'er's condition; the rescue methods differ for living individuals and those with disabilities."

The person inside the door stretched out two fingers and drew a cup on the water's surface. Then they turned the cup over, leaving a curved line at the bottom.

Mia and Naji both looked down at the codebook, Naji found the corresponding record first.

"Inverted Cup is not death, it's hiding one's voice."

Luo Ya looked at him.

Whose voice is being hidden?

Naji held up old medical records.

"When Echo Maintainer defectes, he can project his voice into the node, making it inaudible to the Throne. The cost is that he himself cannot leave."

Makino looked into the room through the door.

"Mo'er locked himself downstairs, leaving you upstairs to guard the entrance?"

The fingers behind the door retracted, and the sound of a cup rolling on the floor came from inside; it rolled a few times before stopping.

Mia said, "He said that Mo'er originally wanted him to leave."

"Then why did you stay?"

This time, the watermarks were written slowly, and the person inside the door withdrew their hand halfway through, only continuing after a while.

[They can hear it outside]

Robin understood what he meant.

"If he leaves, the Human Lock will fail, and the Throne will hear Mo'er's voice hidden in the lower levels."

Lin Qi looked at the hand that was bracing against the door.

"That's why you won't let us open the door all the way."

A response.

"But now you're asking us to save the people below, which means the situation has changed."

There was no immediate answer from inside the door, but a dull thud came from beneath the Tavern floor, the flame in the oil lamp veered to one side, and a black ring emerged from the ground where the iron box was located.

Vegapunk quickly shut down several Terminal modules that could amplify the vibrations.

"The Throne is being retrieved Inverted Cup; Mo'er can't hide any longer."

The voice from behind the Black Gate said, "The Defector Maintainer has lost vital signs; recovery only involves the equipment."

For the first time, the person inside the door made a sound that wasn't transmitted through the cup; their voice was dry and hoarse, and each word had to be uttered while holding onto the door panel.

"It will hurt."

Lumi her hand on the Blank on the Protection List.

"If you can feel pain, apply life support immediately."

"No proof of life."

Your certificate has not been verified.

Lumi didn't raise her voice. She wrote Mo'er's name in the Blank and added a note after it that it needed confirmation.

"No one can classify it as a device before confirmation."

Another impact came from underground. The rust on the back of the person's hand inside the door tightened into the flesh. Makino folded the cloth and placed it by the door.

Your hand is bleeding; you can bandage it first.

"Don't open the door."

"No, I'll leave the cloth here; you can take it yourself."

The hand hesitated before moving the door panel aside; the gap didn't widen, and the cloth was quickly pulled inside.

Lin Qi laid out the underground map.

"We don't need to go in through the door. The table is on the other side of the Tavern's basement. Once the outer door is open, we can get to the table as long as we don't touch the inner door you're guarding."

A short, curt refusal came from inside the door.

"Why?"

[Identifying People with Tin Boxes]

Lin Qi pointed to himself.

"Recognize me?"

A sound.

"Because I touched it."

Another sound.

Makino looked at Lin Qi.

You can't go down.

Lin Qi didn't refute it; he looked through the blueprints on the Iron Plate.

"The fact that the metal box recognizes me means that having someone else move it might trigger it to search for the original contact. First, remove the weight of the table from the metal box, then isolate the metal box."

The Old Carpenter immediately chimed in.

"The table has four legs; the one against the wall is broken. A support can be built on top to hold the tabletop up so it doesn't touch the metal box."

Vegapunk converted the plan into a simplified diagram.

"The support structure was made from existing timber in the Tavern to avoid it being identified as a new takeover device. The construction team consisted of villagers, and Lin Qi remained in the counter area throughout the process."

Genzo rolled up his sleeves.

"I'll go move the wood."

Makino picked up the Tavern's toolbox.

"The tools are in the backyard; the Old Carpenter is in charge, and everyone else listens to him."

The voice from behind the Black Gate said, "Commoners who tamper with the Throne node will bear the consequences of Terminal collapse."

The Village Chief planted his cane on the ground.

"This is the village Tavern. The table is broken, and the villagers are fixing it; they don't need the Throne's approval."

Buggy patted the railing of the delivery boat and laughed.

"That's a good reason. From now on, when I dismantle the Throne, I'll say I'm repairing the chair."

Shanks pulled his outstretched hand back.

"Don't make things worse."

"I'm just trying to liven things up."

"Those inside don't need it."

Buggy glanced at the crack in the door, swallowed his words, and instead ordered the dispatch ship to keep the lifeline of the drifting ships stable.

The people of Foosha Village quickly delivered the timber to the Tavern. The Old Carpenter lay on the ground to examine the direction of the force, and then had Genzo whittle off an extra piece of wood.

"Don't bang on the table. First, lower a rope from the beam to suspend the tabletop."

Genzo tightened the rope.

Is this enough?

"Stop tightening it any further or you'll crack the tabletop. Stop."

Makino stood guard outside the basement door, the key still in the lock. She didn't go in, but instead told the person inside about each step of the progress.

The tabletop is already supported; no one has touched the metal box.

There was a sound from inside.

"The Old Carpenter will use wooden wedges to secure the rope; it will make a little noise."

A sound.

The wooden wedge was slowly pushed into the gap in the beam. Without hammering, the weight of the table leg gradually shifted away from the iron box, and the black ring on Lin Qi's computer also lifted up.

Vegapunk stared at the data.

"The connection between the metal box and the Terminal is becoming apparent."

A Black Line ran from underground through the floor and connected to the back of Lin Qi's computer. Countless tiny Cup Shadows hung on the line, each Cup Shadow corresponding to a dark spot in the East Blue Index.

Nami looked towards the Central Rescued Target.

"He wrote 'there's more' before, referring to these."

The central government responded by using water.

[Below is the Total Echo]

East Tax Nine flipped through all the ledger pages on his chest, and the old name was only missing the last layer of Black Line. He looked at the line connecting the iron box and finally recognized the structure.

"Mo'er hid all the unreported distress calls from the East Blue inside the Inverted Cup. He didn't escape; he stayed down there to cover their voices."

Akainu asked, "Why has it taken so long to retrieve the Throne?"

East Tax Nine turned to Lin Qi's computer.

"Because the Terminal generated the question sent the Echo to the whole world, the distress call hidden by Mo'er was also traveling outward with the Sky Screen. The Throne thought it had found the Terminal, but in reality, it had also exposed the Total Echo."

Lin Qi looked at the screen, which was mostly dark.

"The system didn't randomly select me, and Mo'er didn't select me either. I touched the metal box, and then I turned on the live stream."

The person inside the door spoke with difficulty.

"Mo'er said someone would hear it."

Makino moved the oil lamp to the center of the crack in the door.

"Now the whole world has heard it."

After the metal box lost the weight of the table legs, the lid opened slightly on its own. Inside, there was no rotten old paper, only a wooden Coaster that Lin Qi had casually stuffed back in years ago.

The Coaster was engraved with a dense array of names, with Mo'er at the very top, and the names below extending along the Cup Shadow, covering every dark spot in the East Blue.

For the first time, the sound from behind the Black Gate transcended the Sky Screen and came directly from Lin Qi's turned-off computer.

"The Coasters have been destroyed, the live stream has resumed, and the Protection List remains in effect."

Lin Qi didn't approach the computer; instead, he pulled his chair back to give Makino and the villagers more space.

"You've threatened me with others too many times; changing your approach this time won't work."

Suddenly, the Coaster inside the tin box burst into flames. The person inside the door shoved open the crack with their shoulder, and their rusty arm reached into the basement, but couldn't reach the table.

At the same time, an elderly voice came from below the Inverted Cup, calling out the name of the person inside the door through the floor and the well that had not been opened for many years.

"A Hui, stop guarding the gate."

The hand behind the door stopped in the light, and the half-wrapped cloth fell from the wrist.

The voice called out again.

"This time, I'll wait for you to leave."