The Ancestor's Great Furnace—the enormous, ancient machine was groaning in pain. Its surface was shrouded in darkness, with nearly all its heat vents and indicator lights dimmed, while deep, ominous noises kept coming from within, like the dying wails of some monster. Traces of the earlier explosion still remained on its weathered shell: a conspicuous crack stretched diagonally down from the top of the main reactor casing, almost splitting a third of the Ancestor's Great Furnace's main body. Smoke and small electrical sparks continued to pour from the fissure. Something inside still seemed to be running, though under the circumstances, having it shut down completely would have been more reassuring than watching it limp along. Hao Ren was deeply worried that it might cause another explosion.
"The reactor core should already be shut down." The Data Terminal quickly scanned the energy readings inside the Ancestor's Great Furnace and delivered a somewhat reassuring conclusion. "There are still some electrical surges in what appears to be the buffer layer, but it won't explode in the short term."
Hao Ren breathed a sigh of relief. He could smell a heavy burnt odor lingering in the air. At first, he had thought it was the smell of the "Steel Beast Chariot's" engine finally giving out, but then he realized it was smoke left over from the earlier explosion. Far too much gas had leaked out when the Giant Reactor malfunctioned. The severely neglected purification pumps in the nearby shelter walls were completely incapable of dealing with the incident, and the entire urban district was now filled with the acrid smell of scorched chemicals.
Led by Willy and a squad of royal city soldiers, the group arrived at the capital of the High Tower Kingdom. This royal city was indeed far more magnificent and solemn