03:00 PM.

For the mole, the rest of the day went surprisingly well, despite the intense task in the morning.

[Your shift for today is over—]

[Adam's] real-time voice freed the mole on duty from his work, and then a crisp voice familiar and unusual sounded from the side.

The sound was vibrant, like a spring breeze, with a cheerful rhythm.

"Senior, it's a shift !!"

The owner of the voice was a small girl who was only 1.4 meters tall. She was waving her little hands, and she was running towards the mole with enthusiasm and vigor on her face.

The girl's outfit is predominantly white, supplemented by orange and blue stripes, and her outfit looks modern and tactical, neatly dressed, functional and stylish. Her long hair was soft and slightly curly, pale brown in color, two long rabbit ears stood on top of her head, and a white headband adorned her forehead, adding a bit of liveliness.

A small tool bag hangs from her waist, which appears to contain some small necessary items. She is armed with a high-tech piece of equipment that looks like an advanced tool that combines mechanical and electronic elements.

"It's a shift, senior!" The girl ran up to the mole in high spirits and waved at him.

The mole's gaze quietly looked at the other's wrist, and her wrist shimmered with subtle light, with a crystalline sheenness that was characteristic of the ore disease.

"Hmm." He nodded as usual, and then he subconsciously looked at the opponent's combat uniform.

"Adam's personal design?" Mole asked casually.

"Hmm." Mina, who is also a grassroots worker, nodded happily at the mole, "Yes, Adam is a very amazing and human think tank! ”

[Adam's] greatness wasn't because of his clothing design and loose management......

The mole said inwardly.

The Authority's requirements for standardized uniforms are not strict, and the Authority's think tank [Adam] also offers personalized clothing designs.

Some people say that this is because the Fourth Sword Bearer of Heaven took an anomalous art design class when he was studying abroad in the Deer Academy, so he gave him more design powers when he wrote the basic personality module of [Adam].

The mole doesn't know if this rumor is true, but there is no doubt that [Adam's] performance is the embodiment of some kind of will of the adult, and its underlying behavior module was written by the adult himself.

"I'll leave it to you here, I'll be pending first, and something will call me through the console." The mole said at Mina.

"Leave it to me." The little girl of 1.4 meters raised the staff in her hand and assured.

Then she turned her gaze to the mole and said expectantly:

"By the way, senior, do you want to have a party in the evening, I invite you to drink No. 150 super gasoline.

"......" The mole looked at the little rabbit in front of him a little speechlessly.

He didn't know how to explain to him the difference between [Maxwellists] and [Geared Orthodox], they rarely used internal combustion engines and vapor devices, and they didn't rely on gasoline as much as Gears Orthodox.

Most of the mechanical modifications of the [Gear Orthodox Church] rely on steam installations, so they have high requirements for gasoline.

The main difference between 95 and 98 gasoline on the market today is their octane number, which is a measure of gasoline's ability to resist deflagration.

The higher the octane number, the better the gasoline's anti-knock properties, which means that the gasoline is able to withstand higher pressures in the cylinder without spontaneous ignition (deflagration).

The octane number is a measure of the knock resistance of gasoline, and the octane number of commercially available gasoline generally does not exceed 100, because this has been able to meet the needs of most engines and provide sufficient knock resistance.

Special-purpose fuels, such as racing fuels, may have an octane rating higher than 100; This type of fuel is designed for engines that operate at high pressures and temperatures, which are often used in racing cars or high-performance vehicles.

The No. 150 gasoline in Mina's mouth is an ultra-high-performance fuel, and its existence is the joint force of science and thaumaturgy, which is also an important strategic material for the countries of Terra.

"No need."

The mole rejected the little rabbit's kindness, and kindly reminded him, "Although the Authority's salary is high, the price of 150 gasoline is also ridiculously high now. The raw material of No. 150 gasoline has always been the main product of the Oretin Empire and the Daevite Empire, and now the Addison Federation is playing financial sanctions with them, so the current oil price is not something you can ask for. ”

Hearing this, Mina subconsciously inquired about the current No. 150 gasoline through [Adam].

"Shhhh

"So, the current era is a new era in which electricity is lower than oil." Mole said in a disdainful tone, "The old supporters of the Gear Orthodox Church, who completely believe in the internal combustion engine, can't keep up with the times. These old guys can't even accept the new prosthetic body of hybrid oil and electricity, and they are destined to go into the garbage heap of history. ”

***********

After handing over the work, it was noon.

The mole decided to slow down for a moment and do some necessary personal maintenance work.

He went to a shop that specialized in advanced maintenance supplies and spent a significant amount of Authority Foundation MPF points to buy some [CCC-lubricants].

Due to its unique chemical composition that can be abused for illegal modification and weapons production, the production, sale, and use of [CCC-lubricants] are strictly regulated by the Federation.

Only certain agencies and certified individuals can purchase and use them, while Authority Operators only need to purchase them at cost price.

After buying the lube, the mole found an inaccessible staircase and sat down.

Start carefully maintaining your metal prosthesis.

He opened the package of [CCC-lubricating oil] and carefully applied the oil to the joints and moving parts of the prosthesis.

As the lubricating oil penetrates, the metal surface begins to emit a faint sheen.

The metal crystals on it also fell with the lubricating oil, and he was able to suppress the [ore disease] on his body, and the lubricating oil contributed to it.

[Maxwellists] are one of the three major churches of the original machine.

In the canon history of the Church of the Machines, the oldest surviving denomination, the "Broken Church", worships machines and believes that life or flesh is inherently evil or "broken".

The doctrine of the Church claims that its existence predates the emergence of life on earth.

At the heart of the theory is that their gods were destroyed, scattered, etc., and ceased to be active.

[Work but respond to God, and restore God's body for his hands.] —It is a doctrine.

While the sect continued its efforts to rebuild the gods, it suffered a great schism at an unspecified time (some say that it was when the Sarkic Empire defeated the Daevites and shattered the continent of Orettin after Ion's "Black Sea preaching").

Two important offshoot movements of the original church entered into a major theoretical conflict.

One is the "Orthodox Church of Cogears", which mass-produces simulated, steam- and clockwork-powered machinery as a form of prayer.

The dogma of Orthodoxy is highly centralized and regulated by an unknown group of members known as the "senators". These individuals issued detailed production orders and design documents—the group's widely known core form of the Bible.

The Orthodox faith condemns the use of electronic and digital devices, and believes that distributed information sharing and dissemination is tantamount to the collapse of sacred knowledge.

They believe in machines, call themselves machine servants, and from the belief in machines they have refined - [Machine Soul/Fire].

[Cast according to the design of God, we are full of faith. It is a doctrine of principle.

At the same time, they also embraced the doctrine of the [Broken Church], and later the Orthodox Church declared its submission to the Hanged King and began the initial expansion of Orthodoxy by deposing the Hundred Schools of Thought and exalting the Orthodox Church.

All seekers in the Daevite Empire who walk on the path of mechanical ascension must follow the rules of the Orthodox Church, they must believe in the [blueprint of thought], and they must follow the teachings of the Orthodox saints.

McCann is the true god of all machines.

And the other church that split from the original church is naturally the Maxwellist Church.

Maxwellists are in favor of small-scale body modifications with the help of high technology.

Although artificial limbs or strengthened bones have been observed, Maxwellist implants have focused primarily on information communication, data storage, network connectivity, and sensory enhancement.

Maxwellist dogma interprets the Broken God as a scattered god that exists as disparate data and emerges in connected technologies and cultural currents in the digital age.

Believers approach God by accepting each other's unique qualities and sharing their knowledge and abilities for the good of the collective church.

By connecting their minds with a network of computers, they believed that their gods could be "recompiled" into the collective will of humanity.

[Personality is the file system that my master is compiling.] —It is a doctrine.

Since the genealogical think tank flourished in Terra, Maxwellism held high the banner of reform and tried to launch a bottom-up reform of the Orthodox Church.

They demanded that the think tank [McCann] be improved, and that the Orthodox Church should practice "the way of open source technology".

Orthodoxy, on the other hand, regards Maxwellism as the way of inviolability, and Maxwellists as arrogant and disobedient.

Since the time of the Orthodox submission to the Hanged King, the Daevite had only one voice; Since the rise of the [City That Never Sleeps], the Atlas has not been open source to the parasites in any form.

[Maxwellists] are mechanical believers and heretics doomed to persecution.

The mole is one of those persecuted.

Whoa, whoa, whoa—

In the afternoon sun, the mole immersed himself in his own world, the [CCC-lube] in his hand slowly dripping onto his [thaumaturgical-mechanized mod].

His movements were meticulous and focused, as if the whole world had stood still in this moment, leaving only him and his machine.

But in the midst of this quiet scene, his mind was engaged in a grand secret attempt—a challenge unknown to even his closest companions.

This secret is the forbidden fruit of his lonely exploration.

This secret, he will never let anyone know, absolutely not......

"You're trying to decipher Adam, and you're really daring."

As he was engrossed in the forbidden technical challenge, a warm voice swept through his ears like a spring breeze, but to a mole in the midst of a covert operation, it was as sharp as a blade in the cold wind.

This sudden sound, like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, pierced all the mole's defenses.

His heart tightened suddenly, the hairs on his body stood up instantly, and a fear that he had never felt before rose from the soles of his feet and quickly spread throughout his body.

He jerked his head back, his gaze on the source of the voice.

The sun shone through the cracks in the clouds, and the golden light fell on the young man standing at the top of the steps, making his blonde hair sparkle in the light.

The golden pupils looked particularly deep in the sunlight, the young man's head was wearing a top hat, the black fabric shone softly in the sunlight, and the end of the silver cane he held in his hand shone slightly.

Boom –

In this moment, the mole's heart swelled with an unprecedented impulse.

His instincts, the instincts that were deeply rooted in the marrow, were quicker than any rational thought.

It's not his day-to-day calmness or calculation, but a primitive survival instinct — one that tells him to strike first when he senses a potential threat.

His body reacted surprisingly quickly, and almost as soon as his consciousness formed a command, his [Mechanized Module] was activated with a low humming sound.

In this movement, he almost turned into a bolt of lightning, a shockwave of machine and will, heading straight for the blonde youth.

The metal prosthetic body in the mole's left hand, a weapon smelted with state-of-the-art technology and thaumaturgy, unleashed all of its destructive power at this moment, blasting towards the youth with a force field like a storm.

In this instant, time seems to freeze.

The mole's attack drew a trajectory in the air that was difficult to catch with the naked eye, and the force field tore a visible crack in the air, spreading relentlessly in the direction of the youth.

Everything around seemed to pause its breath, waiting for the impending collision.

"Hum—"

A roar seemed to come from the depths of the clock, mixed with the power of lightning splitting the sky, deafening.

The sound of "buzzing" echoed in the mole's ears, as if time itself was roaring in his ears.

He felt an irresistible force pulling him, invisibly controlling everything around him.

His heart seemed to pause for a moment.

When he came to his senses again, he found himself unbelievably back to the beginning, standing on the familiar steps as if nothing had ever happened.

But the energy fluctuations on the mechanical arm, and the buzzing sound that was still echoing in his ears, told him that everything just now had really happened.

"I'm going to repeat it again, you're very bold."

Xia Xiu had a playful look in his eyes, he looked at himself as he had found the commander of the second task force, admiring the fear brought by the other party's gradual return of sanity.

A flash of panic flashed in the mole's eyes, an unspeakable fear in his heart from an experience that transcended common sense.

He tried to take another step, a few steps upwards.

"Hum—"

When he looked down at him again, his heart was beating faster, he could feel his heart almost jumping out of his chest, his palms were wet, the hairs all over his body stood up, and a sense of panic that had never been felt before spread throughout his body.

It's back to square one.

The mole's face was filled with disbelief and fear, and his eyes widened.

How could it be......

Thaumaturgy?

Authority?

Why is it that at this critical moment, the robotic arm that I am proud of is silent?

Even in the face of [Crowner] level power, [Iron Will Arm] should respond. But now, it's like a dead piece of iron.

Just when the mole's heart was surging with endless doubts and panic, Xia Xiu's voice sounded again, carrying a kind of warmth that made people feel at ease.

"Are you wondering why your mechanical way isn't responding?"

His words were like a key that opened the door to confusion in the mole's heart.

The mole looked up, and its gaze fell on the blonde youth again.

"Then take a closer look and see what the real way of machinery is."

What he saw was Xia Xiu's slowly raised right hand, and what was displayed there was a power he had never seen before—a blazing azure data flame, which was made up of countless data cubes superimposed, jumping as if it had life.

What shocked the mole even more was that when he looked down at his left hand, the same data flame had already covered his mechanical arm.

Under the light of the azure flames, his left hand became unusually heavy, as if it was firmly bound by an invisible chain.

He tried to move his left hand, only to find that he had completely lost control of it.

The mole's gaze was locked deep into the dancing data flames on his metal prosthesis.

The azure squares were layered on top of each other, each made up of countless zeros and 1s, and the numbers jumped and swirled before his eyes, like a silent symphony, playing the mysteries of the digital world.

Illuminated by this flame of data, the mole feels his consciousness drawn to an invisible force, and his mind is drawn into an endless ocean of numbers.

Here, time and space seem to lose their meaning, and only endless codes and symbols remain, forming complex and profound images before his eyes.

His mouth unconsciously uttered the only words that could be deciphered from the complex data.

"Ohm...... Messiah ......"

Poof—

Then, his eyes went dark and he fainted.