Collection Room

The Collection Room was located beneath the Property Management Department, protected by a heavy iron door.

Unlike the architectural style of the Property Management Department, the iron door had no ornate embellishments, no exquisite carvings, and even patches of rust in some places.

Somlai took out a brass key the length of his palm, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it several times. The iron door gave a crisp "click," then suddenly shuddered.

Tap, tap-tap, clack... What followed was a series of gears turning from behind the door.

Then the iron door slowly opened outward.

Somlai took a few steps back and signaled for the others to retreat to a safe distance as well.

Lacy frowned. "That sound is awful, Somlai. Your Property Management Department has such ample funding. Can't you replace it with better security measures?"

"Better?" Somlai scoffed. "This iron gate was specially commissioned by the former director. Its internal name is Prism."

"Lacy, as a captain of the Investigation Department, you can't be this lacking in common sense."

"You're saying I lack common sense?" Lacy narrowed her eyes.

"Ahem, don't you? I mean, the defensive runes on this iron door are extremely powerful. It's a rune formation called Prism. Look over there."

Somlai hurriedly pointed overhead. "Those are the formation patterns. All the nodes are inside this iron door."

Wei En looked in the direction he indicated, and sure enough, he saw faint black lines on the ceiling, more complicated than the Despair Cult's sacrificial ritual he had seen before.

They were densely packed yet very orderly, and at the same time, every line was connected to that iron door.

As the iron door opened, two very obvious nodes could be seen on the inside, embedded with gemstones.

At the same time, some exposed mechanical gears were turning inside the door panels.

Wei En looked at those gears and rune nodes. The perfect combination of machinery and runes?

It seemed the transcendent beings of this world had very broad thinking and plenty of ideas.

"What does this Prism formation do?"

Somlai said proudly, "Prism has two main effects. First, it can reflect attacks. Second, when a major situation arises, it can protect the things inside in a special space, unaffected by the outside world."

Hearing this, Marco said thoughtfully, "I think I've heard of this formation somewhere. Supposedly, in the previous era, it was widely used in certain secret laboratories."

"Marco, you have a good eye." Somlai gave him an approving look, then looked at Lacy. "Do you understand now, Captain Lacy?"

Lacy reached out and summoned her two-handed axe, looking at him with eager anticipation. "Is it that powerful?"

"I said you lacked comm— You may go in now. Like I said, don't touch anything at random."

Somlai hurried into the Collection Room. All she knew was violence. Couldn't the Secret Investigation Bureau recruit some people with normal brains?

Lacy curled her lip and followed him in, with Wei En and Marco close behind.

As they entered, the sealed Collection Room seemed to come alive. Gas lamps lit one after another, illuminating the entire space in a bright orange glow.

"Welcome to the Collection Room."

Somlai seemed to become a different person, bowing and gesturing elegantly, like a well-mannered butler.

But the others ignored him. They were all drawn in by the dazzling, fantastical, and eerie lights before them.

The room, only about the size of a soccer field, had been divided into several areas of equal size.

Complex and exquisite defensive formations were drawn on the floor. Strange runes and geometric shapes wove together, forming protective barriers one after another.

The most eye-catching thing was the set of alchemy equipment placed in the center.

A waist-high alchemy furnace stood on an oak base. Its body was inlaid with dense runes, ring after ring, like an upright compass.

Beside the alchemy furnace were items such as crucibles, workbenches, grinding instruments, and measuring equipment.

On the display shelves to the left were all sorts of books and parchment scrolls, very much like the Era Relic from the Eternal Life Society.

These relics that had survived the turn of eras occasionally poked strangely shaped things out from within the rune formations—bleached-white bone claws, or bizarre faces.

All around them were bottles and jars. From the labels on the bottles, it could be seen that these were all kinds of rare potions, such as invisibility potions, berserk potions, Dawn Radiance Potions, and so on.

The area on the right was a bit larger, displaying dozens of oddly shaped suits of armor, weapons, and equipment.

Among them was a staff the length of an arm, made entirely of white bone, placed separately within a rune formation.

Aside from these Era Relics, equipment, and strange tools and materials, the Collection Room also contained some steam-powered mechanical creations.

There was a mechanical cannon made of copper gears and mechanical components, dozens of mechanical puppets, and some mechanical weapons similar to firearms.

The entire Collection Room perfectly merged rune formations with steam machinery, presenting a strange kind of beauty.

"Well? Shocked, aren't you?"

Somlai held his head high and walked in front of everyone, blocking their line of sight. "There are many things here, but according to the rules, you may only choose three ordinary items, or one precious item."

Wei En came back to himself and asked modestly, "May I ask which are ordinary and which are precious?"

"It's very simple. Anything stored separately is a precious item."

Somlai was very satisfied with their expressions—or rather, everyone who entered the Collection Room always showed that same bumpkin expression.

"See that bone staff? It's a precious item, an ancient staff left behind from the Third Era—Touch of the Dead."

As he spoke, Somlai looked at him with wicked amusement. "But it's not something a rookie like you can control..."

Bang!

Lacy smashed a fist down on his head. "Cut the useless talk and hurry up and help him find something he can use."

Somlai clutched his head and glared at her. "Lacy, has no one ever told you that when you ask someone for help, you're supposed to be a little more polite?"

"Have they?"

Lacy clenched her fist. "All I know is that anything that pisses me off gets smashed to pieces, whether it's a person or an Aberration."

That punch had landed, and honestly... it felt refreshing from head to toe.

Marco grinned as he helped him up. "Somlai, in my experience, it's better to just work honestly at times like this. What do you think?"

"If I say no, will you agree?"

Somlai irritably shook off his hand, then looked coldly at Wei En. "Lucky kid, what's your transcendent profession?"

Wei En hesitated, but still answered honestly, "Wizard."

"Wizard?"

All three of them looked at him in surprise. Lacy frowned slightly. "You said that day your transcendent profession was wizard? A school wizard, or a family one?"

"...Both, I guess."

Wei En rubbed his nose and followed that line of thought, saying in a muffled voice, "Two generations ago, our Loft Family had a wizard who returned after studying at the Specter School."

He had originally wanted to keep it hidden a while longer—at least until he learned how to make potions, made a bit of money, and then talked about it.

Unfortunately, plans couldn't keep up with change...