When the three desecrated Mechanical Wraiths raised their heads, the crystal lenses in their eyes, glowing with an eerie red light, locked onto Lin Jie and William, the two uninvited guests.
A chill more unsettling than the one they felt facing a pure UMA crept up their spines.
These things were creations of a UMA, yet they also bore human souls.
They were abominations, amalgamations of technology and resentment.
"Tick... tick... tick..."
As they moved stiffly, the clockwork parts crammed into their chests began to make a chaotic clattering sound.
There was no pattern to it, as if it reflected their shattered, deranged minds. Every tick stabbed viciously at the listener's nerves.
A look of unprecedented gravity crossed Sergeant William's face.
His extensive combat experience told him that these three things might be more dangerous than their "Caution Rank" suggested.
The anomalous energy radiating from them was far stronger and more chaotic than that of ordinary Gremlins.
"Prepare to fight." William's voice was low and firm. He held his Colt Revolver steady, aiming at the Wraith in the middle. "I'll take the one in the middle. It looks like the core. You handle the one on the left. If you get the chance, smash the clockwork in its chest!"
But Lin Jie gently pressed down on the barrel of the gun William was about to raise.
"Wait, Sergeant William." Lin Jie's voice was remarkably calm. His gaze didn't linger on the three Wraiths; instead, it swept quickly over their surroundings.
The mechanical "totems" the Gremlins had built resembled heaps of garbage, and beyond them lay a pitch-black passage leading to the heart of the nest.
"We don't know how they attack, so we can't afford to fight them here," Lin Jie said, quickly assessing the situation. "Besides, our target is the Gremlin nest and its Artisan Leader. Getting tangled up with these modified guards will only waste our precious ammunition and energy. It might even draw more Gremlins."
William furrowed his brow. He wasn't happy about it, but he had to admit the young man was right.
Their mission wasn't to clear out these poor "sacrifices." Starting a fight without thinking it through would invite too many complications.
"Then what's your plan?" William asked quietly.
"We need to get around them. Or rather..." A glint of intelligence flashed in Lin Jie's eyes. "Make them clear a path for us."
He didn't have time to explain further.
He swiftly pulled a finely crafted secondhand mechanical pocket watch from the inner pocket of his hunting jacket.
The pocket watch, a symbol of order and stability, was about to become the deadliest weapon in his hands.
Lin Jie expertly wound the crown, tightening the watch's spring to its limit.
Then he backed away a few steps, taking cover with William behind a barricade made of discarded steam pipes.
"Sergeant William, help me get their attention," Lin Jie whispered.
William didn't understand what he was planning, but trusting him, he fired without hesitation at the ground beneath the Mechanical Wraiths.
"Bang!"
The gunshot echoed deafeningly through the enclosed sewer.
The three Mechanical Wraiths were enraged by the sudden provocation. The clattering of the parts in their chests grew more frantic, rising to a piercing shriek, and they charged toward the sound on stiff legs!
The instant they moved away from the Throne, Lin Jie sprang into action.
He hurled the fully wound pocket watch with all his might toward the passage behind the Throne, which led deeper into the nest!
The brass watch landed with a clack at the entrance, then spun and rolled deeper into the darkness.
Its crisp, steady ticking sounded utterly out of place amid all the chaos and resentment.
The sound might not have meant much to the three Mechanical Wraiths.
But to the true masters of this nest—the Gremlins, who loved chaos and hated order—it was like a "blasphemous melody" being played right in their temple!
Sure enough, the instant the watch hit the ground and began to tick, a sudden change swept over the scene!
A high-pitched buzzing, like an electric current, burst from deep within the pitch-black passage.
Then several crystal lenses glowing with faint red light spilled out of the darkness!
A whole nest of Gremlins—at least dozens of them—had been thoroughly enraged by the "blasphemous" pocket watch!
They weren't after Lin Jie and William at all. They were going after the accursed little brass thing making that harmonious sound!
"Bzzzz—!"
The frenzied Gremlins ignored the three Mechanical Wraiths in their way and surged toward the passage.
The three Mechanical Wraiths seemed stunned by the sudden onslaught.
They stood stiffly in place, at a loss in the face of the very creatures they were supposed to "guard," now rushing toward them like a tidal wave.
Chaos. Utter chaos.
And that was exactly what Lin Jie had wanted!
"Now!" Lin Jie barked. "Stay close!"
He stopped hiding and darted from behind the barricade while the three half-mechanical creatures and the Gremlin swarm disrupted one another.
He didn't charge at the Wraiths. Instead, he followed the edge of the passage and launched a dash along the route the Gremlins had "cleared."
Sergeant William reacted just as swiftly. He stayed close behind Lin Jie, repeatedly pointing the copper pipe he had just picked up at their surroundings, providing the two of them with reliable covering fire.
The three Mechanical Wraiths finally snapped out of their stupor. With roars, they swung their weaponized arms, trying to intercept the two audacious intruders.
But the surging Gremlin swarm became their greatest obstacle. Gremlins kept crashing into them, greatly slowing their movements.
"Quick! They're coming!" Lin Jie shouted. He could feel the icy killing intent closing in rapidly behind him.
Just as one Wraith's mechanical hand was about to seize the back of Lin Jie's neck, the two of them finally made it through the chaos and plunged into the wider passage behind the Throne.
Behind them, the enraged Gremlins continued to pour toward the pocket watch, which was about to be torn to pieces.
Blocked from reaching their targets, the three Mechanical Wraiths pounded the walls in fury.
"Pant... pant..."
Lin Jie and William leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.
Their hair-raising dash through the gauntlet had lasted less than thirty seconds, yet it had taken more out of them than an hour-long siege.
William looked at the young man beside him. Though exhausted, Lin Jie's eyes were still bright, and genuine admiration appeared on William's face.
He had thought he'd already given the young man enough credit. He thought he'd seen his intelligence, his composure, and his ability to see the bigger picture.
But only now did he truly understand.
The young man's intelligence wasn't limited to wargames and logical analysis.
He had a far more formidable—and far more valuable—ability: on a rapidly changing battlefield, he could use anything at his disposal, including the enemy's traits, the surroundings, and even the enemy's enemies, to create the most favorable momentum for himself.
He had exploited the Gremlins' hatred of "orderly sounds" to ignite chaos among the enemy ranks.
He had used that chaos to carve out a way through an "impregnable defense" and escape.
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