"I was merely surprised that Mr. Li Ye's situation was far more complicated than I had imagined—"
Holmes shook his head with a smile, then walked into the room.
"That complicated, is it? Mr. Holmes, are you interested?"
The room was not large, and Li Ye quickly made a circuit of it.
"If Mr. Li Ye is willing to tell me, I would be more than happy to listen."
"Before that, let's take a look at this room. Mr. Holmes, do you see anything unusual about it?"
Li Ye did not take the bait, instead stiffly changing the subject.
"This does not appear to be a workshop, merely an ordinary room. Have you discovered something, Mr. Li Ye?"
Holmes, who had entered last, watched Li Ye's busy back without rushing to search the room himself.
"I have—"
With his back to Holmes, Li Ye casually picked up a notebook.
"Year 2017—"
Li Ye slowly read out the date recorded in the notebook. It was a full 745 years from the present, a span of time so distant it lay beyond all reach.
"Mr. Holmes, what do you make of this year, 2017?"
Li Ye turned and leaned against the wall, casually tossing the notebook to Holmes.
"2017—the year the Incineration of Humanity occurred. It seems this Atlas Institute functioned normally from before the Common Era until 2017, only ending up in this Singularity after the Incineration of Humanity."
Holmes quickly flipped through the notebook, pinching his pipe as he spoke slowly.
"2017... Mr. Holmes, do you know Chaldea?"
Sighing over the sheer distance of time, Li Ye spoke casually. "The Chaldea Security Organization—an organization saving humanity. They came from 2017 as well, did they not?"
Now that they had reached the Atlas Institute, Li Ye's last reservations toward Holmes had vanished.
During their time together, Li Ye had confirmed that Holmes truly was in poor condition and incapable of serving as combat power.
From Li Ye's current perspective, the presently weakened Holmes was no match for him, neither in strength nor speed. And if he used the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Holmes would certainly die by his hand.
The advantage is mine!
Given how things were progressing, Li Ye felt it was necessary to build a good relationship with Holmes. After all, the greatest mind was truly formidable.
Before Chaldea arrived, he had to strengthen himself as much as possible.
No matter the cost.
"Mr. Li Ye has heard of Chaldea as well? It seems you are ready to confide in me?"
Holmes raised his pipe with a smile, his gaze profound.
With Holmes's intellect, it was not difficult to see that Li Ye wished to speak from the heart.
"Of course. However, I would prefer that Mr. Holmes treat me as you treat Chaldea. Our positions are similar, after all. We both seek humanity's salvation, both seek to resolve this Incineration of Humanity."
Li Ye pressed a hand to his chest, his expression sincere. The earnestness in his voice only made Holmes smile more broadly.
"Just how much do you know about Chaldea and me, Mr. Li Ye?"
"Not much. Just a little—"
Li Ye pinched his thumb and index finger together, smiling as he met Holmes's gaze.
"For example, which Singularity Chaldea is currently in. Since Mr. Holmes has already come here, they must have resolved the London Singularity."
"Or rather, the Demon God Pillar that appeared in London has already been dealt with by Chaldea!"
Since he had decided to establish good relations with Holmes, Li Ye could only be candid and let Holmes confirm where he stood.
Only once their positions were clear could they truly speak from the heart.
"..."
Holmes said nothing. He bit down on his pipe, his brow lifting unconsciously.
Li Ye knew far too much—an abnormal amount.
"Then—Mr. Li Ye, how much do you know about the Magus King? Someone like you should know quite a great deal about him, should you not?"
After pondering for a moment, Holmes slowly spoke.
"The Magus King—Solomon, the king who incinerated humanity. Mr. Holmes, I cannot provide you with any information about that king. I have never confronted the Magus King directly, so it would be of no use to your deductions."
Li Ye shook his head. "Why not wait until Chaldea arrives, Mr. Holmes, and confirm the Magus King's information then—"
"What are you two secretly talking about behind the pharaoh's back?"
At that moment, an incongruous voice interrupted the atmosphere between them.
Nitocris tilted her head as she examined Li Ye and Holmes. In just a short while, the two had begun discussing things she could no longer understand.
"Miss Nitocris can ask King Ozymandias later. After all, he must have had his own reasons for not granting you that knowledge."
Li Ye smiled.
With the conversation interrupted, Li Ye said no more and allowed Holmes time to think on his own.
After spending some more time confirming there was no other information, Li Ye and the others left the room.
More than ten minutes later—
Upon encountering another fork in the road, Li Ye could not help scratching his head. "After we move forward, the path behind us changes. There are two paths ahead, but three paths behind.
It is practically a maze. Was this maze specifically designed for uninvited outsiders like us, Mr. Holmes?"
"Precisely. This maze-like structure is composed of mechanisms that cause outsiders to lose their way. It is easy to enter, but difficult to leave."
Holmes nodded, confirming Li Ye's suspicions.
Nitocris, standing nearby, could not help feeling puzzled. "With such a structure, it cannot prevent thieves from entering, can it?"
Holmes lit his pipe and took a deep drag. "Because they feared insiders leaving more than outsiders entering.
The Atlas Institute is an academy of geniuses. Each of them buries themselves in research within their own independent workshop.
There are no taboos here. No matter what inhuman creations they make, no one condemns them."
"But there is one condition: they must never take the creations made here outside—
This is also the Atlas Institute's great principle, one it has strictly upheld for two thousand years. If there were any exceptions, they would be the seven Contract Documents created at the founding of the Atlas Institute."
"Only to those who possess a Contract Document will the Atlas Institute promise exceptional assistance.
That must have been quite a headache for every successive director. After all, it was a contract their ancestors signed without permission. As of the year 2000, four Contract Documents had been recovered, but the whereabouts of the remaining three were still unknown."
"How extensive is the authority of these Contract Documents?"
Li Ye asked, rubbing his chin.
"Everything. The utmost limit of what the Atlas Institute can accomplish—"
Holmes's airy words fell into Li Ye's heart and lingered there for a long time.
"There is no one left now, so the Contract Documents are not much use, are they? Or can they avoid the Incineration of Humanity?"
After being tempted by the Contract Documents, Li Ye suddenly realized that the Atlas Institute was now completely deserted. Even if he possessed one, it would be useless.
"They may prove useful in the future." Holmes looked at Li Ye meaningfully.
A sudden alarm interrupted Holmes. He smiled helplessly. "It seems we have accidentally triggered the Automatic Defense Device again."
"This one will be easy to deal with—"
Li Ye turned and glanced at the Automatic Defense Device charging out from the depths. It was no different from the model he had encountered the first time.
After quickly dealing with the Automatic Defense Device, Li Ye and the others finally escaped the maze of tangled tunnels.
A massive door appeared before them.
When the door opened—
In this alchemical academy buried at an unknown depth underground, Li Ye saw the sky once more.
An obelisk stood beneath the vast blue sky.
Pseudo-Singularity Computational Unit Hermes!
Before you continue