Sanctum

After finishing their tea, Bingyu seemed to remember her original purpose and requested to borrow the Sanctum here to recharge her motorcycle.

The Great Elder readily agreed and immediately got up to lead the way. Ivette had long been curious about the mysterious Sanctum, so she naturally followed along as they headed to another part of Puppet Town.

This time, it was not a Container Apartment, but a grand cathedral left behind from the era of the Origin Civilization.

The rough stone walls had accumulated a dark red, rust-like hue over the long years, yet the overall structure remained remarkably sturdy thanks to the Mechanical Puppets' meticulous maintenance. The vegetation around the church had been trimmed with utmost care. Even the iconic obsidian tiles at the entrance had been polished to a glossy black, faintly reflecting the daylight.

Upon entering the church, the spacious main hall was exceptionally quiet. Light and shadow filtered through the mostly shattered stained-glass windows, making every speck of floating dust glitter.

Above the central circular shrine stood a massive pixelated cube statue. Seeing this highly recognizable symbol, Ivette instantly understood who this former church had belonged to.

The Mind Temple!

This was a renowned religion from the era of the Origin Civilization. It had originated on Silver Mirror Continent, and one of its doctrines was, "The weakness of flesh, the ascension of machinery." After the apocalypse, it had become a Sanctum where Mechanical Puppets worshipped the Mechanical God. Stylistically, it was a perfect fit.

However, Ivette knew very little about the religions of the Origin Civilization. She only knew that the Mind Temple had an unclear relationship with Sky Dome Technology, and that the former was suspected to have been secretly funded by the latter. If she ever had another chance to enter a dream, she might search for related information.

Besides the cube statue left behind by the Mind Temple, there was also a female Mechanical Puppet inside the church, dressed in a black nun's habit. Her humanoid resemblance was extremely high. Compared to Bingyu's girlish style, this Miss Nun had a more mature temperament, and the contours of her chest beneath the habit were also more pronounced.

Although Ivette knew that beneath those contours was certainly a white base body or metal breastplate, she still could not help glancing a few more times. Such a highly humanoid, intact Mechanical Puppet definitely wasn't picked out of a junk heap like the Great Elder. How exactly had she come into being?

Could the Mechanical God possess some old puppet production line, allowing it to create new puppets with such high humanoid resemblance?

"Esteemed guests, this is Miss Sunflower, the nun of our Sanctum. Miss Sunflower, these are Miss Ivette and Miss Bingyu, two guests who have come from afar. They wish to borrow the Sanctum and ask the god to recharge their vehicle."

"No problem. The Mechanical God watches over us. I will provide you with assistance." Miss Sunflower showed a perfectly measured smile, then turned and carried a box out from a room in the corner.

Ivette took a look and found that it was a portable metal case. It glowed faintly and had obvious multifunctional ports. It was practically a giant power bank.

No wonder Bingyu said every kingdom would have a Sanctum, she thought. Besides offering all kinds of prayers to the Mechanical God, the Sanctum's most important function must be supplying energy, right? It was basically the Mechanical Puppets' cafeteria. Otherwise, towns like these could never independently obtain the energy needed for survival.

But where did the Sanctum's energy come from? Did it have an elemental reactor? Underground magic conduits? Or some other method?

As she considered this, an idea gradually formed in her mind.

She wanted to stay here for a while, observe and understand the workings of this Puppet Town in greater detail, and learn more about the mysterious Mechanical God.

After Ivette requested permission to stay here temporarily, the Great Elder happily agreed. However, it also said that it could not make the decision alone and would need to convene the other members of the Kingdom Council for a meeting.

Bingyu seized the opportunity to make the exact same request. Her reason was that she wanted to explore the ruined city of Agasha nearby. A safe and stable Puppet Kingdom would make the perfect base, and before coming to Black Tide Continent, she had already reported the matter to the gods.

Thus, after the Kingdom Council approved it, both Ivette and Bingyu were allowed to live here long-term. However, as outsiders, they could not live in the Container Apartments and had to find suitable rooms for themselves among the town's ruins.

Ivette naturally had no objection. She could simply live in her RV. Bingyu, however, bashfully asked whether she could stay in the vehicle too. After being ruthlessly rejected, she could only leave dejectedly.

By evening, the sky had turned a deep teal, not yet fully sunken into inky blue.

Ivette was observing the ruined town when she suddenly heard the roar of an engine approaching from afar, accompanied by a deep cyclonic hum.

She raised her head and saw a large flying vehicle streak across the fragmented patch of sky cut apart by ruined buildings and dense tree canopies. It descended onto a relatively flat patch of open ground near the Sanctum.

She immediately walked over and saw the vehicle's hatch open. The nun she had seen earlier was swiftly carrying several energy storage cases glowing with a faint blue light out of the aircraft, neatly stacking them by her feet. At the same time, she carefully sent several identical cases, their surfaces dim and apparently drained of energy, back inside.

Why did this look like a delivery service... Ivette walked over and said, "Let me help you."

"Thank you, Miss Ivette, but there is no need. This is my duty as a nun." Miss Sunflower declined with a smile.

Ivette nodded and said nothing more. Her gaze fell upon the enormous cargo ship, where she noticed an embossed Void Tear Group logo. Its silver-white color had now visibly yellowed.

Such a simple implementation, she thought. For now, the Mechanical God did not seem to be a god in the conventional sense—at least not a true god like those on Radiant Continent, who established divine kingdoms and possessed supreme power. It seemed more like a super AI that had survived the apocalypse.

But the Great Elder had said that the Mechanical God gave the Mechanical Puppets souls. How had it accomplished that?

Not only had it solved the source of souls, it had also solved the problem of Mind Cores being unsuitable as vessels for souls?

What if someone opened up these Mechanical Puppets' heads and found ordinary human brains inside... Well, that would be a little too horrifying, but it wasn't impossible. Still, I could observe them for a while longer here. Sooner or later, I'd have a chance to verify it... Ivette boldly speculated.

By then, Miss Sunflower had already finished moving all the energy storage cases. The transport ship was actually a non-humanoid member of the Mechanical Race that could speak. After exchanging greetings and praising the great Mechanical God together, the transport ship rose from the ground and vanished beyond the distant horizon. Miss Sunflower wiped away sweat that did not exist from her forehead, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.

Ivette observed her smiling face and noticed that, unlike the professional smile she had shown earlier, this one was more genuine. She seemed to truly enjoy fulfilling her duties as a nun.

"Miss Sunflower, you seem to really enjoy being a nun?" Ivette asked softly.

"Yes. No one would refuse the chance to serve the god." Miss Sunflower smiled and nodded.

"Can you answer a question for me?" Ivette asked again.

"What question?"

"Why do members of the Mechanical Race all hope to become human?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Ivette was somewhat surprised. She had originally thought Miss Sunflower would say it was because human civilization had been too glorious, inspiring worship, or that humans were their creators, so imitation was only natural.

"It seems to be an instinct we are born with. If you want an answer, perhaps only the great Mechanical God can tell you." Miss Sunflower said.

"Then can you ask the god?" Ivette asked again.

"Um..." Miss Sunflower revealed a troubled expression. "The god does not answer every question. You can seek the god when you encounter difficulties, but for questions like this, it would be best not to disturb it. It might not reply to you anyway... If you truly wish to know, Miss Ivette, why not try praying to the god yourself?"

"All right." Ivette sighed faintly inwardly.

She definitely would not contact the Mechanical God. Who knew what attitude it held toward human survivors... What if she exposed herself and came under fierce fire?

Moreover, she strongly suspected that the Mechanical God might have a way to revive humanity. After all, even before the apocalypse, organizations like the Civilization Preservation Society had existed. There had surely been other private and official means of surviving the catastrophe, such as human gene banks hidden underground. Yet it had done nothing. That fact alone might already reveal its attitude.