The ghost floating in the air was about four feet tall, emitting a faint blue glow that lit up a small area around it. It fluttered without sound, and was completely unobstructed by obstacles, and went straight through it. Muhadi wondered how the other party could shake the air and speak without a physical body.

The ghost of the halfling stopped in the air three feet in front of the Mindmancer and bowed slightly, "You're not an illusion, are you? I've been stuck here for more than a few centuries, I've been driven crazy by my own sanity, and sometimes strange visions often appear in front of my eyes. Hurry up and tell me that you're not an illusion, it's important to me. ”

He used the language of the ancient halfling, which has some roots in the language of the modern halfling, but it is very awkward, and there are many words and grammar that are no longer found in the modern era. Muhati could only guess, barely understanding the meaning of his words.

Can a dead man go crazy? It's pretty new. Muhadi thought so, and calmly replied: "I am naturally not an illusion, but it remains to be determined whether you are my illusion." It's a strange ruin, and it might disturb my mind. ”

The ghost actually laughed, and the translucent body rippled. "It seems that my years of waiting have been in vain, and perhaps the opportunity to get out of this miserable situation has finally arrived. ”

"I hope you don't have any despicable thoughts," Muhadi said, concentrating and ready to attack at any moment. "I don't mind killing a dead person. ”

"How can a dead person be killed again?" the ghost retorted with a smile. "Moreover, the idea I am thinking is not vile at all, on the contrary, it is extraordinarily noble and can benefit the whole world. ”

"A ghost with a noble heart?" the Psychic Warlock shook his head. "As long as you're not going to attack me, I don't care what you want to do. I have my own business to do. ”

"If you help me, I will help you. The ghost's face showed a sincere expression. "You must be trapped in this dead city. I tell you a secret, its system of self-defense is unrivaled, in order to resist foreign enemies - or to die with the invaders after the city is broken. ”

It seems that there was also a war between the halflings of the Teal Age, and Muhati thought to himself, as if it had not been mentioned in the ancient books.

"You can't get out of the way when you wander around, and you end up being consumed by an endless stream of ghosts, or starved to death by thirst, and finally join the ranks of the inved. The ghost's voice sounded like it was thinking about Muhadi wholeheartedly. "But I'm different, I can help you get out of this city of the dead. ”

The ghosts mentioned by the ghosts are obviously those ancient halflings who have been infected by the red mist and attacked living creatures everywhere. The psychic warlock didn't want to appear to be asking for help from the other party, so he said, "How much do you know about me? How do you know that I'm trapped here? Those ghosts don't pose any threat to me, maybe I'm just trying to find out if there are ancient relics in this ruin that are worth taking away." ”

"You're not the first big man to set foot in this dead city. The ghost said. "Even though I didn't get in touch with other intruders, I could sense that outsiders had been here. ”

"I don't know what kind of earth-shaking changes have taken place in the outside world to give birth to you big guys. But I know very well, although you have some mysterious powers that I don't know...... However, in the past, most of the big men who entered this ruin still called ghosts and traps to kill them, and there were few exceptions. ”

"And they didn't touch the city's defenses when they came in. Now that the defenses are activated, you can't escape. At least it's impossible to escape without relying on me. ”

His words made the Psychic Warlock wonder why others wouldn't touch the defense system while he would?

"If I don't have the ability to escape, you have a way. Muhathir said. "So your ability is above me, what else do you want me to help with?"

"Tut-tut, that doesn't make sense. The ghost retorted reasonably. "Everyone has their own strengths, and learning from each other's strengths is the truth of life. You won't be able to break through the Loch and Cassini cracks on your own, but if we work together, we'll be able to enter the heart of the city, where there's endless wealth and the general control room for the city's defenses. ”

"Lohi and Cassini are torturous?" Mouhati wondered. "What's that?"

"The name of the Energy Defense Wall is derived from some astronomical concept. The ghost explained. "The Loch Ring Crack surrounds the city, and the Cassini Ring envelops the core of the city. Once activated, these two defensive walls cannot be penetrated by any sapient being. Those who try it will be forcibly teleported randomly, and may be teleported into the rocks. ”

"You don't have magic," the psychic warlock was very skeptical. "How can you do teleportation?"

"What is magic?" the ghost asked. "If you're referring to some kind of miracle, then enough technology is no different from a miracle to the ignorant. ”

"Anyway," the ghost of the halfling suggested his construction. "Let's work together to enter the heart of the dead city, where you can find the priceless ancient relics you want, and you can lift the city's defenses before you can leave freely. ”

"Sounds good. Muhathir said. "So what are you going to do in the urban core?"

"I made a big mistake, big man. The ghost hesitated for a moment and said, "In the heart of this dead city, there is a door that may help me make up for my mistakes." ”

Al-Muhadi immediately realized the passage through the Gate of Time as Al Fuwad ibn Abbas spoke. What is this ghost going to do with that door?

"One door for another, an opportunity to get countless treasures and escapes, of course I will not refuse. Muhati sued the other party. "But I also want to know an answer. You say that the defensive wall can prevent intelligent life from passing through, but now that you are dead, can't you still get through?"

"It is true that the defensive wall does not hold back dead things. The ghost replied truthfully. "But I can't get too far from my bones. He pointed to the corpse of an ancient halfling on the ground with a translucent glimmering arm. "I'm afraid you'll have to carry my bones on your back. ”

"If this is some kind of trap...... the psychic warlock can't read the mind of a dead object, and it is difficult to determine whether the ghost's facial micro-movements are a reaction to a real emotion or a disguise. He could only guess as much as possible whether the other party's attitude was true and whether it was hiding the poisonous needle of betrayal.

"It's not. The ghost denied it. "Believe it or not. ”

Muhathir thought about it and decided to take the risk. He reached out and showed his powers, lifting the skeleton up and moving it to his side. Since the size of the halfling is much smaller than that of humans, it is not a difficult task to do so.

There was no red mist in this room, which resembled a control room, and there were no other traces left by the red tide. There was no sign of infection on the bones, but it looked like it had died from a knife wound - a broken piece of the vertebrae, as if it had been damaged by a sharp weapon.

The Psychic Warlock didn't have much with him, just his own scimitar, a lot of coins, a bag of water, the magic book he had carried with him since the crossing, and some food in a backpack. He poured out the food from his backpack, put it in the pocket of his robe, put it in a bulging bag, and put the bones inside.

"What is this book?" the ghost asked curiously, seeing the magic book.

"Something you don't understand. Muhadi said he was telling the truth. In fact, the Psychic Warlock had flipped through the book several times in private, and could not see anything. Those words and pictures seem to change on their own. Sometimes turning a page and turning it back again, the content of the page changes completely. I can't even tell if it's the same book I just read.

"This book looks like it's been a long time. The ghost commented that he was right. Since Muhadi wore it during several wars, the front and back covers of the book were covered with flames, lightning, acid, and low temperatures...... And so on. It's not the beautiful work of art in the desert anymore.

The subject did not continue, and after collecting the bones, Muhati asked the latter. "Now, what are we going to do?"

"This was originally a control room for the city's drainage system. "The ghost sued sù Muhadi. "There are some drainage pipes that lead to the core of the city. If we remove the defensive wall near the drain and drain the liquid inside, then we can get into the core. ”

"Then why don't you do it?" asked the Psychic Warlock.

"I can't do it. The ghost said. "When the red tide spread into the city, the inner wall of defenses kicked in and locked me out along with hundreds of thousands of other people. I rushed here, trying to open the way to the sewers without success. The people inside locked up the authority and watched their lives suffer. ”

"What then?" Muhadi asked, clasping his hands around his chest, the ghost of the ancient halfling.

"Destroy a sensor crystal first, and cut off the higher-level command in the core. The ghost said. "Then go to the power room and overload the energy. In this case, the core center of this control room will be restarted, and new orders can be issued. ”

The Psychic Warlock knew that his food and water were limited and should not be wasted, so he said, "So what are you waiting for? ”

The ghost held out a translucent arm, "Let's go here." ”

Following the guidance of the ghost of the ancient halfling, Muhadi left the chamber and headed for the unknown area of the dead city.

The Psychic Warlock had been wandering around the ruins for half a day, and according to the ghosts, they were all inhabited areas of the city. The city built by the halfling men of the Teal Age is very distinctive, and if you look down from above, the whole city presents a symmetrical geometry, and the various functional areas are clearly spaced. When the city was not dead, its inhabitants could judge their area simply by the color of the coral buildings.

Most of the buildings in the same area are connected by spiral staircases and paths. But when you cross regions, there may not be a road that can be passed. Muhadi had seen from the illusions that the buildings were not connected by dry land, but were crossed by rivers that acted as roads, just like Venice, the water city on Earth.

By now, the oceans have long since been steamed, and the rivers have dried up. The rivers that used to function as roads in the halfling city have long since run out of water, and only deep ditches remain. Muhati stood on the edge of the ditch and looked down, and saw that the ditch was at least fifty feet wide and two hundred feet deep, and he could not jump over it.

At the bottom of the ditch, the red mist gathers in patches, and Shadow can probably see many infected ghosts slowly creeping through the red mist. Thousands, perhaps more, of the Psychmancer's conservative speculation, it would be difficult to survive if they fell.

"You can see in the dark. "The ghost of Muhadi doesn't seem to need lighting. "Synaesthesia? You're a psionic manipulator, aren't you?"

The Psychic Warlock affirmed, "I heard that the psionic level of the ancient halflings was very high, do you have any abilities to help me get through this deep chasm?"

"Do I look crazy? Why do you think I'm a psyker?" said the ghost. "I may have a way to help you get through this ditch, though. ”

"What?" asked Muhadi, "find a rope?"

"The ropes are probably rotten, you know, the city has been dead for a long time. The ghost shook his head, "But I have another way, a better way." ”

Say. ”

"See that building?" the ghost raised a clenched fist hand over his shoulder and pointed behind him with his thumb.

Through the translucent body of the halfling ghost, Muhadi did see a building, but he didn't understand how it could help him cross the ditch.

"Do you see anything different about this building?" the ghost asked.

"It's high. Muhati said that it is indeed very tall, with at least twenty floors on visual inspection. But halflings are several feet shorter than humans, and their floors are much lower, so maybe they're more than thirty floors.

"Hit the nail on the head. The ghost nodded, and said in an approving tone, "It's really high, so it's not realistic to go up and down the stairs alone, and we halflings have special labor-saving facilities that can help people go up and down the stairs quickly." ”

The Psychic Warlock walked towards the building and looked up. He didn't see anything particularly noteworthy, nor did he see anything like an elevator. Rows of openings can only be seen in the outer walls, presumably windows.

"Are you sure that the facilities you speak of are still alive and working?" Muhadi asked the ghost of the ancient halfling.

"It shouldn't be bad. The ghost said. "If you're familiar with our halfling's urban architecture, you'll know that there's an organic qì inside our building that pumps seawater. The interior of high-rise buildings often has a room that runs through the upper and lower levels, and by changing the water level of this room, it is possible to lift or lower a large boat that can carry many people. ”

"I guess," the psychic mancer froze. "This organ must have been broken a long time ago. ”

"Don't worry, I'm not done yet. The ghost saw Muhadi's face and hurriedly said. "You think, this method of going up and down is too slow after all, and the degree of drainage is too slow, so we halflings understand the second amenity. ”

"Do you see those window-like holes in the walls?"

The Psychic Warlock looked up and nodded again.

"That's the window, but not all. The ghost said the first half of the sentence, looked at Muhadi's face, and quickly said the second half.

"It's a waterslide," said the ghost of the ancient halfling, "and one can ride on this waterway to slide from high to low." Originally, there should have been a long section outside the wall, leading to the opposite building, so that people could easily cross the river. ”

Isn't this a slippery slide like a child's, Muhadi thought to himself, but a halfling is about the same size as a child, so it makes sense.

"The outer part of this waterway may have collapsed, but if you go that way, you should be able to find one intact. "The ghost built yì road.

Muhadi accepted the halfling ghost and looked to the side. This time he quickly found what he was looking for—an intact waterway, set up in mid-air, sliding from his side to the building across the deep ditch. Not only did he have some reverie about the time when the halfling civilization had not yet fallen, it was quite interesting to live in such a city.

The waterway ends in a building similar to the tall one it was. There was a red mist at the entrance to the building, and a large group of ghosts wandered aimlessly.

The psychic warlock mentally assessed his chances of winning if he fought, the ghost man itself did not have much combat power, and although there were seventy or eighty infected people here, it was not too difficult to deal with.

The real problem is that this city of the dead is full of dangers, and there is no end to the number of strange ghosts to kill. With a mysterious ghost around him, it's really hard to find a chance to rest and replenish his spiritual appearance, and he can't squander his abilities unscrupulously.

Moreover, although the ghost man is easy to deal with, the red mist that erupts from the corpse of the ghost man after death is not easy to deal with. Muhadi has appeared, and that thing has an effect on him. Every time I inhale a little red mist, there is no obvious reaction at first, but then my body will involuntarily cramp slightly, and my thinking will also encounter some hindrance, and I will no longer be very fluent.

The Psychic Warlock lifted one of his hands to look at the strange vine-like parasite that the female druid Camilla had left behind. She had also hinted to Muhadi that she would manipulate the parasite to kill the psychic warlock at the slightest thought. After entering the ruins, the hand was inexplicably swollen, almost imperceptible at first, but now it was much more obvious.

The thief Amal clearly said that the toxicity of the red mist is very weak, and it only has a significant effect on halflings, so why would he be hurt by the red mist?

Could it be the influence of the parasitic creature on his hands? Muhadi speculated that the advanced and exaggerated biotechnology of the Starch Spencer Pai Druid was inherited from the ancient halfling, and that the parasitic creature may have used the technology of the halfling to create it.

Could it be that she was affected by the Red Mist for this reason? The female druid Camilla chose to stay with the manned balloon and not come to explore the ruins, is it because she knows that the Red Mist will have an effect?

There's no time to think about it now, and Muhathir thinks he'll find a chance to confront Kamila alone when he returns.

The Psychic Warlock concentrates and unleashes abilities that create a lot of noise. The ghosts heard the noise and ran around in a frenzy. Muhadi's speculation was confirmed, and the ghosts still relied mainly on hearing to search for enemies.

When the ghosts disperse, it will be much easier to clean up. Avoiding a small group of infected people who were not in the way, the Psychic made his way to the main entrance of the building, where he used a gravity-altering ability that caused the ghosts gathered in the doorway to fall into a deep ditch to the side.

Entering this building, more than twenty more ghosts were attracted by the loudness of the psychic warlock and attacked. Muhadi unleashes an ability that makes the ground sticky and sticks to the ghosts' feet. Then he drew his scimitar with lightning speed and struck it in the middle of the crowd of ghosts, slashing off the legs of four enemies with a single roll. He stood up and cut off another head with a single sword.

You will be empowered like never before, and you will walk among mortals like a lion striding among a flock. Muhadi suddenly remembered this sentence.

His movements are like dance, both graceful and deadly. Taking advantage of the fact that the ghosts could not move freely, he took advantage of the void and entered, like a hurricane, shattering the qiē that stood in front of his eyes.

With a click, almost inaudible cracking of bones, the Psychic Warlock slashed the last of his enemies, just as the first ghost with his leg severed had just fallen to the ground. Muhati took a few steps to make sure he was close to all the corpses, before he took a hard breath and was happy.

When he encounters a large group of enemies, he will bypass, and when he encounters a small group, he will kill mercilessly...... It didn't take long for Muhathir to find the location of the waterslide. The water, of course, had long since dried up, but it did not prevent him from walking along the waterway.

The halfling building was sturdy, and Muhadi stood on a waterway the size of a child's slide, squeaking and shaking, but the thousand-year-old antiquity held on. Walking over the deep dry ditch, a cold wind hit, adding a touch of eerie coldness to the ruins.

Crossing the deep ditch, the ghost continued to show Muhadi the way. There was not much disturbance along the way, and soon I came to the vicinity of the building where the sensor crystal was installed.

On the way, Muhadi asked the ghost of the ancient halfling in a nonchalant tone. "You know a lot, but who are you?

"Me?" said the ghost, floating a few feet above the ground, head level with al-Muhadi. "I'm an academic. In fact, one of the greatest scholars in the world. I am responsible for designing the ecological balance of the world, and I am also responsible for creating all kinds of amazing creatures to improve people's lives. ”

"I see. Muhadi said as he walked. "So have you ever created a shark that can swim in the sand?"

"I think there are, I've designed a lot of creatures to make them more adaptable to the environment. The ghost replied.

"No wonder there are so many ferocious monsters in the desert in Atas today. The Psychic Warlock opened a rotten door and said. "It's all a remnant of the Teal Age. ”

The sensing crystal in the mouth of the halfling ghost, housed in a metal tower-shaped building. It was arranged like a temple, and there were hundreds of steps in front of the main entrance, and the lintel was so high that even Muhadi thought it was a bit exaggerated. Entering the main hall of the building, the first thing that catches your eye is a tall statue facing it, with its feet at the level of the Psychic Warlock's head.

If intact, the statue would have been more than a hundred cubits tall. But now it was destroyed from the knee up, and all that was left was a pair of bare feet and a pair of calves. The upper body fell to the side, holding down several white bones. The surrounding walls are frescoed with mosaic mosaics, the depictions are illegible.

"What is this place?" Muhadi asked, asking the ghost of the halfling.

"Temple of Machinery. The ghost replied. "All of our halflings have to be blessed by her to work better. She will also help all the young people who help to design the machine, giving them inspiration and luck...... She's one of our most important gods, don't you big men worship her anymore?"

Muhadi shrugged and pointed to the ruined statue. "What god would make a lizard pee on his head?" The statue did have a puddle of fresh lizard urine on the head of the statue, and some weeds had grown.

"And what gods do you worship?" the ghost asked.

"The One True God. ”

"Then it must be very busy, you see, there are so many areas to manage. The ghost of the halfling commented. "There are areas where there are contradictions...... How can a god be both a god of peace and a god of war, both a creator and a destroyer, or a god of abundance, reproduction, and laughter, and a god of plague, calamity, and suffering? unless it is a schizophrenic madman, a mad god. ”

He looked at the Psychic Warlock, "But they all say that the crazier you psionics are, the more powerful they are, the more crazy they are. I guess it's understandable to fall in love with this mad god. ”

"If you don't shut up, I'll kill you right now. Muhati said coldly. "Don't talk about concepts you don't understand at all. ”

The ghost gestured, signaling that he had sewn his mouth shut and would not continue to talk more. So the psychic turned his attention to finding the sensing crystal, which the ghost had said should be on an altar or something, about the size of a man's fist.

In the mechanical temple of the goddess of machines, it is not surprising that there are many strange devices left behind by halflings in the Azure Age. Muhadi saw a black box like a chiming bell, placed next to a delicate machine, which consisted of a lot of willow nails, iron plates, hinges, pistons, frames and power arms, not knowing what the function was.

There are many shrine-like hollows in the walls, and each shrine houses an elaborate mechanical device. In front of each device, there is also a small piece of metal with some fancy ancient characters written on it. Muhadi reckoned that the goddess of machinery probably didn't want such a tribute as fruit incense, and that the believers would make excellent mechanical devices to deliver to the temple to please her. Those nameplates are presumably engraved with the author's name.

This temple is indeed full of large mechanical industrial style, which is very different from the design idea of ordinary halfling coral buildings. The interior is dotted with decorative gears and pipes, and the staircase leading to the higher floors seems automatic, and Muhathir estimates that it is probably the same as an escalator on Earth when it is not broken.

Although there are no enemies, the danger is not far away. The temple apparently experienced a chaotic process before it was abandoned, with many deadly traps activated. The telemancer made a wrong step, shooting a number of darts from both sides and in front of him, and he had to bend down in a hurry to avoid being shot.

Next, he became much more cautious, carefully observing the ground for anything strange before each step. With full certainty, there is no pressure mechanism below before settling down.

In front of the destroyed statue, a prayer was written in ancient script, and the psychic told the ghost to open his mouth and translate it:

"Ring the bell once!

Push the lever to start the piston and pump......

Ring the bell twice!

Press the button, the motive ignites, ignites the turbine, and injects life......

Ring the bell three times!

Sing in unison and praise the God of Machines!"

The latter part of the prayer is destroyed and cannot be seen clearly.

At the foot of the statue, there is a three-foot square stone table, and in the middle of the stone table there is a hole that is not deep, probably like an upside-down basin. The sensing crystal, which matched the description of the halfling ghost, was placed in the hole, emitting a faint multicolored light. However, the hole was sealed with a transparent glass-like object, and the crystal could not be removed.

"What's next?" Muhadi asked the ghost of the halfling. "Aren't you a scholar?"

"I don't believe in the Cult of the Mechanicus. The ghost said. But you can try some of the prayers you just said, and it might work. ”

The Psychic Warlock nodded, and there didn't seem to be a good way to do it at this point.

Muhadi looked up and saw that there was indeed a large bell in the middle of one wall, so he raised his hand to concentrate and showed that the ability rang it.

A bell rang.

Shi Zhuozi changed, and there were many long and short joysticks that came out from below, some of which were green on the head, and some were blue and red.

"What should I do now? Muhati asked the halfling ghost.

"Push the joystick. The ghost said. "And quickly, I feel the bell draw the ghosts in. ”

"Which one?" asked the Psychic Warlock again, and he heard the sound of dense footsteps, as large groups of infected people gathered here.

"I don't know. The ghost said irresponsibly. "Try it yourself. ”

Suppressing the urge to attack the ghost, Muhadi flicked a few joysticks. A surging wave of negative energy suddenly poured out of the pole to engulf the Psychic Warlock. For a moment, he felt so cold that his heart was about to stop. But in the end, he survived, but he felt that something in his heart was lost forever, and only killing could fill the emptiness.

He flicked a few more random levers, and this time he doubled his attention, nimbly dodging the squirt of acid and a bolt of lightning slashing overhead. With a click, something seemed to be activated, and there was a noise of pistons and air pumps running. He felt he had done the right thing.

Muhadi took a deep breath and showed his abilities again.

When, when! two bells rang.

The table changed again, this time with four palm-sized buttons, one circle, one triangular, one rectangular, and one crossed cross.

This time, Muhati is not ready to go to random random presses again. He took a closer look at the glimmer of the crystal, and saw that the surface of one of the buttons was different from the other three. Probably many generations ago, this button was often used.

The psychic warlock raised his guard and pressed the triangular button.

No trap was touched, a low buzz sounded, the ground shook slightly, and some large device woke up from its long slumber and began to show its strength.

"Better hurry, I feel the ghosts getting closer. The halfling ghost said in a worried tone.

He was right, the footsteps grew denser and deeper. The movement here is too big, and it is estimated that it has attracted infected people in a large area.

With his third ability, Muhadi rang the large bell hanging in the air three times.

When!when!

This time, three pull rods came out from under Shi Zhuozi, one thick, one thin, and one not thick or thin.

Muhadi repeated the old trick and chose to pull the thicker lever, and this time it did work without touching any traps.

The song of a rusty music box rang out, singing the hymns of the Cult of the Machine in a loud tone and overlapping words. The Psychic Warlock couldn't quite understand the lyrics, but he could feel a power in the song, a shock that hit the heart.

With a click, the crystal lid on Shi Zhuozi opened, revealing the sensing crystal.

But Muhathir didn't have the heart to get the sensor crystal anymore, and his attention was completely drawn to the intruders who broke into the temple.

A large group of ghosts, at least a hundred, were attracted by the sound of the bells and chorus. Some of them were armed with rudimentary weapons, and more were just empty-handed, forming a circle and slowly approaching Muhadi.

Four blood-red eyes glared at Muhadi in the darkness behind the ghosts, and the huge two-headed snake dragon was also attracted, and it seemed that this time it did not intend to let its prey escape.

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