A huge propeller stretched across the middle of the waterway, each blade more than thirty feet long and a foot thick. It's like a giant's windmill, which makes people feel small when they see it. Once upon a time, the raging water would pass through it every day, back and forth, like the heart of the city, sending a steady stream of power.

Now, the great city is dead, and with it its mighty heart is withering.

Muhadi reached out and touched the blades of the propeller, which had a pitted and uneven surface. Like many half-body objects, it has a touch of non-gold and stone, and it is unknown what metal it is made of.

The ancient halfling ghost was right, it was a lot safer to take this path. There are no ghosts, no mutated two-headed snake dragons, no deadly ancient traps or guarded traps.

But that doesn't mean that the Psychic Warlock is now safe, as the underground waterway connecting the man-made lake to the open sea was once filled with red tides. Although the red tide no longer exists, it is still filled with a red mist. Muhadi prayed that he would not be affected as much as he could, as he tried not to inhale too much of the gas.

In addition, the terrain here is also very difficult to navigate, with a lot of sand leaking from above to bury the bottom of the waterway. There were places where the sand was so much that it almost filled the waterways that the psychic mancer had to crawl on his feet. However, in the end, he managed to reach the location of the power room as described by the halfling ghost.

Once upon a time, countless servants and technocrats who fanatically believed in the goddess of machines built this place and built this technological marvel. Rather than a power room, it's better to say that it's a mechanical city under a city.

Thousands of feet below the city, surrounded by an artificial lake, a ring of steel is formed by huge and intricate metal machinery, and countless technical workshops are scattered in it. In the past, they worked day and night, producing all kinds of mechanical parts to repair all kinds of failures in the power core.

On a door leading into the power room, Muhadi saw a line of writing from an ancient halfling. The same words he had seen many times in the dead city. Driven by curiosity, he asked the halfling's ghost what it meant.

"The past is wet, the future is rusty. "This is part of a sonnet, the author of which is one of the great tragic poets of our civilization." When I was still walking the world in the flesh, many people used this poem to express their despair of the world. ”

Muhadi walked among the big machines and silently recited this poem. "Tragic poetry, so say," the psychic told the ghosts of the ancient halflings. "Within your halfling civilization in the blue age, there are also contradictions and disputes?"

The ghost's translucent face raised an eyebrow, "Isn't this obvious? What kind of civilization has no contradictions and disputes within it? Is there no history in the world of Atas now? Isn't it because social contradictions are irreconcilable, what are we doing with such things as red tides?"

As he walked along the deserted road to the core of the power room, Muhathir replied: "I really don't know much about the history of the Teal Age. Most of the known fragments are also sung through the fire songs of the Guò tribe. So, tell me, what's wrong with your civilization?"

"Do you really want to hear it?"

"What?" Mouhadi asked rhetorically. "Don't you want to say it?"

"Of course not, of course not. The halfling ghost denied it repeatedly. "Alone in this dead city for thousands of years, of course I'd like to talk. ”

"Then you can say it. ”

"Hmm. Let me think about where I started. "The ghost grabs his own head with a transparent hand. "By the way, you know we have very advanced biotechnology. ”

Most of the creatures in this dead city are finished, but judging by the red mist, the monsters left behind by the ancient halflings, and the skill shown by the Starch Spencer Pai. The biotechnology of ancient halflings was indeed very advanced, and it may even have passed over the earth.

Seeing Muhadi nod, the halfling ghost continued. "We can transform life, from small creatures that are invisible to the naked eye, to large enough to cover the sky and the sun. Manipulating the lifeblood of living beings - cutting, copying, deleting, fuseing. We can create synthetic organisms that match our expectations, or give existing organisms specific traits. ”

"For example, chickens with a lot of wings and legs...... By the way, there don't seem to be chickens left in modern Atas. So let's take an example that you can understand, a plant that bears fruit on its branches and has tubers on its roots. The halfling said. "We also used whales to create giant monsters that could roam the seven seas, flying manta rays that roamed the clouds, and so on. ”

"We can even reinvent ourselves. The ghost continued. "With guò biotechnology, we can make ourselves prettier, stronger, or smarter. ”

"That sounds good, but what went wrong in the end?" Muhathir asked.

"The problem is that retrofitting itself is expensive. The ghost said wistfully. "Not every halfling can afford it. Only the most powerful and wealthy halflings can transform themselves or their descendants. ”

"Do you have a problem with that?" the halfling ghost asked the Psychomancer.

"Obviously," Mohathir said. "What you do will make some rich people above others, not only wealth, but even innate attributes, and such a society will inevitably have a strong class stratification. But I don't think it's a big problem, today's Atas, the difference between the upper Witch King and the lower slaves is also like a world of mud. However, modern society is very stable. ”

Of course, Tyr was an exception, thought the Psychic Warlock.

"I don't know what your Atas society is like right now," the halfling ghost said. "But in our social formation, this gap between the rich and the poor and the class divide is a big problem. ”

"The rich and the descendants of the rich, through guò to transform themselves, are inherently more evolutionarily advantageous. It becomes easier for them to accumulate wealth, and their higher intelligence allows them to prescribe more advanced bio-modification technologies to further consolidate this advantage. ”

"I'm starting to understand a little bit about your social problems. Muhathir said. "The class is solidified and loses its vitality, isn't it?"

"So to speak," the halfling ghost agreed. "The conditions for more advanced biomodification technologies are more demanding, so even the original rich cannot fully afford it, only the richest can. Fewer and fewer people have been transformed, but the accumulation of wealth has become faster and faster, and once 20 percent of the people controlled 80 percent of the wealth. Then there is 10 percent of the wealth, and finally 10 percent of the wealth, and finally 99 percent of the wealth. ”

"Alone?!" Muhati was a little surprised.

"Yes, just one person. The halfling ghost affirmed. "A person who has undergone countless transformations to enhance his physique and intelligence, and has amassed the vast majority of the world's wealth. Now you should know why so many people in my day are desperate for the world. ”

"Look, this is the statue of that man. "As I passed by a badly worn statue, the ghost pointed it out to the Psychic Warlock. "His name is Ileas, which can also be read as Elijah. ”

Even though the statue was so badly worn, Muhati recognized a familiar shadow on its vaguely recognizable face. He had seen this face not long ago.

It was seen in an ancient image of the Miracle Evoke, two thousand-foot-tall statues holding hands, standing on either side of a river, their arms forming a bridge in the air. One of the two statues was a man, just like the one in front of him. The other was a woman, and it seemed to resemble the one on the fountain when I first entered the ruins.

"In fact, the city is his. The ghost said. He lived in the heart of the city, and the wealth he had amassed was there. ”

It is a statue of a middle-aged halfling, with a square chin and no beard, deep eye sockets, and a bit of a leader. "Then why don't you overthrow this man, kill him, rob him of his wealth and a qiē? Is he so strong that he is invincible?"

A strange expression appeared on the halfling's face, as if it was approval, but fleeting. Muhadi had to think that he had inhaled too much red mist and had delusions.

"Overthrow him and rob him of his wealth?!" the halfling ghost said in a shocked tone. "How can this be done? It's so violent and cruel. You're blatantly talking about killing another intelligent being. ”

"Now that he's been transformed so much, I don't think he's the same species as you anymore. So you can put aside your moral concerns. Muhati shrugged, "But I'm just casually saying that you don't accept this Jianyì casually." Anyway, your civilization has long been ruined. ”

"Our civilization ......" the halfling's ghost's tone became muffled. “...... That's right. ”

“...... But at the time, the idea was not to kill that person, but to make life better for all the poor. The ghost spoke again, "The purpose of creating the red tide is to make food so easy to get that everyone never needs to worry about filling their stomachs. ”

"You've failed. ”

"yes, we failed. ”

At the heart of the power room was an empty lobby, and the telemancer walked up to the console at one end of the hall, and the echo of his footsteps traveled far, far away. He pulled a lever at the ghost's prompt, praying that the ancient machine wouldn't break.

With a click, the machine, which had been dormant for thousands of years, was activated again, and a low hum sounded from all corners.

"Good luck," Muhathir said. "Actually, I think I'm too lucky. There are countless dead people in this dead city, but you are the only ghost, and I happened to encounter it. If there was no one to guide me, I would definitely not be able to operate these machines, let alone understand their purpose, and I am still trapped...... I couldn't believe it. ”

"I guess you're hinting at something...... the ghost shrugged, "I can only answer to that, and I don't understand why I'm the only one who has become a ghost and the others aren't." ”

The psychic warlock couldn't help but wonder how much truth and how false there was in the other party's words.

Following the ghost's instructions, the control platform of Muhadi Tong Guò gave instructions to the power room for power overload. There was a loud muffled sound, and there was a slight shock all around. Then there was a strange noise, like a ball-like weight rolling on a hard floor, and then fading away. The buzz of the machine's running is gone.

"Okay, the powerhouse part is also done. "The ghost of the ancient halfling told the psychic warlock," Now that the sensing crystal has been pulled out, the power has been cut off. Let's go to the place where we started and disarm the city's defenses. ”

"Good. Muhati told the ghost. "I'm glad to see that this qiē is almost over. ”

Once the defenses of the dead city were lifted, the psychic thought to himself that he would be able to get out of the ruins. At the very least, you should meet up with the rest of the adventuring party before you think about your next move.

Muhadi returned down another waterway, this time with experience, and was careful not to make any noise as much as possible. Sure enough, I didn't encounter many ghosts along the way, but there were only three or five scattered ghosts, and you could easily get rid of them.

"Now," the ghost of the ancient halfling commanded, "we are close to completion. You follow my instructions and pull those joysticks. ”

Muhadi did as he was told, pulling first a short and thick joystick, then three slender ones, pressing a button that emerged from under the panel, and then pressing several buttons in a certain combination order in succession, finally completing the operation of disarming the defense system.

The next qiē can only be described as spectacular.

The ceiling above the Psychic Mancer's head suddenly parted, and the walls on either side were removed. Gears, hinges and levers come out of the sound of Kerakara. Next, the control platform on which he stood rose under the drive of the machine, and the degree became faster and faster. Muhadi barely stood still, clinging to the iron fence beside him.

The platform kept rising, the ceiling was opened layer by layer, the gravel and gravel fell, the air was full of dust, and it was difficult for people who were choking to breathe.

Muhati saw that it was surrounded by layers of coral buildings, several of which looked like residences, with furniture and bits and pieces of pottery. There were several layers of ancient machinery of unknown purpose, and there was a tooth-aching sound of huge, rusty, strange parts. There are also many floors that I can't see what they are used for, and there are skeletons, red mist, and inexplicable debris.

After passing through dozens or even hundreds of floors, the Psychic Warlock ascended to the top floor of the building with the platform under his feet. All around, the view is cheerful.

Originally, the underground dead city was dark, with very little light, except for the occasional blink of red light that walked through the deserted alleys - the eyes of ghosts. Having been underground for a long time, Muhadi has adapted to this darkness and relies entirely on psionic synaesthesia to feel the things around him.

But now, the situation is completely different, and the previously dark ruins have become brighter. First, in the distance, there were dots of blue light. Muhati had thought it was an oil lamp or something like that. But then he knew he was wrong, and he was wrong.

The blue bright spots suddenly increased at first, and then the bright area suddenly expanded, turning from dots to patches. Then pieces of light connected together, like a blue ocean, lit up the dead city.

The light spread to the Psychic Warlock, and the ground beneath his feet and the railing in his hands lit up. Even the gravel that fell around him, the dust that floated in the air, all had a faint blue glow at this time. Muhadi stooped down to pick up a piece of rubble and looked at it in front of him.

Stones are stones, nothing special, and you don't feel the fluctuations of magic or psionics.

Muhati frowned slightly, then stretched out. He understood that this light was biological light, coming from the microorganisms in this ruin. Most of the ancient halfling buildings were coral, and these buildings were not strictly built, but grown. Tiny polyps can be found throughout the city, and their bones left over from generation to generation make up magnificent structures that are hundreds or thousands of miles high.

When the city died, the polyps also fell into suspended animation. Now, thanks to Muhadi's actions, these long-dormant ancient creatures have come back to life, emitting a faint blue light.

The sight is breathtaking, the light outlines the dead city, illuminates the alleys and deep ravines, and the tall buildings and magnificent statues emerge from the darkness, silently telling the greatness and strength of the lost civilization.

The best years of this dead city seem to be presented to the psychic man. Muhadi imagined that in ancient times, halflings at night were covered with a faint blue light, like living creatures. The waterways between the cities reflect the stars and the moon and the coral high-rises with a faint blue light, and the residents come and go in gondora, a poetic scene.

At the heart of the city, the light is especially bright. There are several dome-shaped buildings connected together, as well as towers with sharp spears. The buildings were surrounded by a ravine.

Muhadi could clearly hear the sound of glass breaking, as if something had shrouded the city's core and disappeared, and the light became brighter.

If the halfling ghost is right, then the walls of the dead city have been lifted by this time. With the barrier out of the way, it's time for the rest of the adventuring team to come to the Psychic Warlock.

Muhadi stood still and waited, thirty heartbeats passed, and nothing came to life.

This was strange, he thought, Coral Witch was a legendary mage, and if it weren't for the halfling ruins, her magic would have been able to teleport her in an instant.

"What's going on?" Muhadi asked, puzzled, about the ghost of the ancient halfling. "Why haven't my friends come in yet?"

No one answered.

The psychic warlock had a bad premonition, and he looked around, and there was nothing around him.

The ghost mysteriously disappeared, and no matter how much he called, he didn't respond.

Muhadi unfastened his backpack, and the bones were still there. What the hell is going on? The Psychic Magician thought, "Am I being tricked?"

He threw down the useless bones and lightened his load. It's better to go out first, thought the Psychic Warlock, to meet up with the others first, and then figure out what was going on.

With this in mind, Muhadi circled around trying to find a safer route out of the dead city, and then he saw a sight that would terrify anyone.

Red mist, a red mist of unprecedented scale suddenly poured up from the base of the city. The fog, which had been seen only in a few buildings and at the bottom of the ditch, was rising rapidly, and had now submerged the bottom one-third of most of the buildings.

With the movement of the red mist, the ghosts seemed to have suddenly fallen into a rage, and they were climbing along the outer walls of the buildings. Their eyes shone with a chilling red light, which was the hunger and thirst of the living**.

Fear is like the wind, the wind passes without a trace, and I stand majestically. Muhadi said silently, he did not panic, and acted quickly.

He saw a coral tall building not far away, just over twenty feet away from the Kongzhì platform where he was standing. The Psychic Warlock looked at it for a moment, thinking he could jump over.

Muhadi took a dozen steps back to make room for a run, then took a deep breath and sprinted.

He leaped forward, and immediately unleashed his abilities, reducing his own weight. The jump reached more than 30 feet and landed on the top of a tall building not far away.

The Psychic Warlock rolls on the spot to unload the momentum of the collision. It left him with a lot of abrasions, but he didn't care.

Muhadi looked up and saw that the red mist had risen higher, and the ghosts had climbed higher and higher, almost reaching the top of the coral building. The building I'm in now has a little fewer ghosts climbing up, but it's not a place to stay for long.

He had too little spirit left to squander it, thought the Psychic Warlock. He looked sideways, found the spiral staircase down the building, and began to run down.

Some of the ghosts had already rushed forward, and Muhadi took a dagger and plunged it into the eye of one of them, then lifted it upwards and lifted his skull. Another ghost man tried to hold his leg and was kicked away by him. The Psychic Warlock then dodged through the three flanking ghosts.

Muhadi is looking for a bridge, and luckily it's still there. Connected to two tall coral buildings, suspended high in the air. He hurried to the bridge and rushed to the building in front of him. At this time, he had already seen that although the red fog was rising everywhere in this dead city, the general trend was that the edges were fast and the core parts were slow. If you run away to the core, you can still buy a certain amount of time.

Several ghost men climbed onto the bridge and tried to stop Muhadi, but the latter kicked him down. The Psimancer rushed to the next building, then climbed up, found another bridge, and continued towards the core.

Passing through several buildings in a row, there were fewer and fewer ghosts, but the red mist was already filling up. Muhadi insisted on not breathing, and finally it became more and more unbearable, and his heart beat faster and faster until it was about to explode.

Maybe he should transform into the form of an undead creature, thought the psychic mancer, so that he would not have to breathe.

No, he himself vetoed the idea. The fact that the ghost had been trapped in the ruins for so long and now disappeared suggests that there may be something that restricts the necromancy. I don't want to be trapped in this dead city all the time.

Muhadi took a deep breath, and a large amount of red mist poured into his lungs, leaving him, he thought, to hold on a little longer.

Finally, he stormed the interior of a dome building in the core area. The huge steel door three feet behind closed automatically as soon as he entered, isolating the ghosts, the red mist, and the rest of the world from the outside world.

Only Muhadi himself was left to face this novel place.

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