319: Do something you want to do

The leather armor still retained the unique herbal scent of elves, enough for a keen-scented search party to track them down.

After finishing all this, she pulled her black robe tight and silently vanished into the shadows.

Half a quarter-hour later, a squad of armored Bone Eaters rushed over, following the scent.

The giant leading them picked up the leather armor, his rough skin brushing against the bloodstains as he let out a muffled roar.

"Found it, it's here."

When the news reached the Spire, Mordecai was fuming at a puddle of melted flesh.

Hearing the report of "finding the elven relic," the soulfire in his eye sockets flared up, and he snatched the leather armor away.

A skeletal hand brushed over the patterns on the leather, then brought it to his nose to sniff before finally slamming it heavily onto the ground.

"Useless, a bunch of useless fools." He kicked over a nearby skeletal table, his bone claws creaking as he clenched them.

"Even in death, she won't let this seat have any peace."

Despite being full of suspicion, he couldn't find any evidence to the contrary. The aura on the leather armor couldn't be faked, and the bloodstains were indeed fresh.

In the end, he could only grit his teeth and order: "Recall the team, burn this junk."

...Inside the Meditation Room, Chen Yu was sprawled at the edge of the teleportation array, frantically messing with a crystal panel flickering with garbled code.

Hearing footsteps, she shouted without looking back: "Your Majesty, it's bad, it's bad. The teleportation coordinates seem to have drifted... Lia didn't enter the designated extraction point; she fell into the Pacific Ocean."

Shang Wan Ning walked to the table and sat down, pouring herself a cup of spiritual tea. "No matter."

"Huh?"

Chen Yu turned around, her cowlick sticking straight up. "It's 'no matter' even if she fell into the Pacific? That's the deep sea! What if she gets eaten by a shark?"

"She's a noob elf so injured she can't even use magic. Won't our 'Top-Tier Project' go down the drain?"

"I had Ling Qi contact Olexia in advance." Shang Wan Ning took a sip of tea, the steam blurring her expression beneath the hood.

"She should be nearby right now."

Chen Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief, patting her chest and muttering, "Scared the baby to death."

But then she thought of something else, and her ears drooped as she cautiously edged toward the door.

"Um... Your Majesty, if there's nothing else, can I go check the furnace? The Soul Marrow Soup I stewed last night 'should' be ready."

"Stop."

Chen Yu's steps froze in place. She turned around slowly, her face plastered with a flattering smile.

"Does Your Majesty have further instructions?"

"The bet."

Shang Wan Ning's eyes held a hint of a smile. "You lost."

Chen Yu's face instantly fell, her fingers twisting the hem of her black robe as she whispered, "You cheated, it doesn't count!!!"

"Heh, a bet is a bet."

Shang Wan Ning stood up, her thin hand resting lightly on Chen Yu's back collar as she pulled her over.

"Accompany me to a place tonight."

"To... to do what?" Chen Yu shrunk her neck, sensing something slightly off about her Majesty's tone (lewd).

"To do something you also want to 'do'."

Chen Yu's cowlick stiffened, her small face full of vigilance. "Your Majesty, my thoughts have been very pure lately. I only want to cultivate well and shine for the Underworld."

"It's better to have fewer dirty thoughts. How about I owe you first? I can even write an IOU?"

Shang Wan Ning didn't bother listening to the White-Haired Loli's nonsense. She hoisted Chen Yu by the collar like a little chick and turned to walk out of the Meditation Room.

"Follow me, and stop talking."

"I won't bully you today."

Chen Yu grabbed the doorframe with both hands and feet. "Wait! Where are we going, Your Majesty?"

"At least let me change into combat gear, this apprentice robe isn't tear-resistant~"

"The Flesh and Blood Furnace."

Shang Wan Ning didn't stop, her raspy voice ringing in Chen Yu's ears. "The core furnace of the Space Anchor, Angmar's precious treasure."

Chen Yu's struggling stopped. "Huh? Going now? It just blew up the day before yesterday; the guards will definitely be doubled."

"Doubled?"

Shang Wan Ning sneered. "Mordecai is heartbroken over his warehouse and the elf; his heart is bleeding. If we don't fleece him now, are we going to wait until they recover?"

[Crap! 'Fleecing,' I love that phrase.]

Chen Yu's eyes lit up instantly, her resistance vanishing as she grabbed Shang Wan Ning's sleeve.

"Let's go, let's go. Wanling is wise, let's fleece him bald."

Shang Wan Ning shook off her hand in disgust and performed a hand seal. Their forms distorted and blurred again, sliding out of the Meditation Room and merging into the thick shadows deep within the Spire.

The passage leading to the forge area was slicker than during the day. The meat carpet was saturated with slime, squelching underfoot.

The number of patrolling bone-armored guards had clearly increased, their compound eyes scanning vigilantly under the dim, eerie light.

Shang Wan Ning led Chen Yu like two incorporeal ghosts, staying in the blind spots of the guards' vision.

Sometimes they clung to the flesh walls, other times they slipped through the shadows of the supporting bone pillars.

Chen Yu held her breath, feeling like her heart was about to leap out of her throat. Every time a guard's bone spear swept past the edge of her robe, she wanted to scream.

[Under the nose of Sabrina's avatar, this is so thrilling.]

Finally, they reached the entrance to the forge area.

Shang Wan Ning's hand moved slightly within her sleeve.

This time she didn't use mental suggestion, but flicked out two tiny, eerie blue sparks that precisely entered the ear canals of two guards.

The guards' bodies stiffened, then slumped silently to the ground as if their bones had been removed.

A greataxe clattered onto the meat carpet, its dull thud absorbed by the fleshy walls of the passage.

[Holy crap, a one-shot? Her Majesty's dark magic is so good you can't even tell she started halfway through.]

Chen Yu's eyes nearly popped out.

Shang Wan Ning ignored Chen Yu's shock and pressed her right hand onto a throbbing dark-red flesh nodule in the center of the bone door.

Eerie blue soulfire seeped in along the patterns; the nodule twitched a few times, and the runes on its surface flashed wildly.

With a soft click, the bone door slid open, leaving a gap.

A scorching heatwave mixed with the pungent smell of molten metal hit them. Chen Yu's eyes watered from the irritation, and she quickly covered her nose and mouth.

The scene inside was even more terrifying than during the day.

The cave was reflected in a flush of crimson by the boiling blood pool in the center. Hundreds of flesh-nodule furnaces were still spewing black flames.

But most of the Insectoid Overseers were gone, and those remaining were listless, clearly exhausted by the explosion and the city-wide search.

The Flesh Artisans were mechanically busy, moving materials and hammering semi-finished products with hollow, numb expressions.

Shang Wan Ning's goal was clear, and she walked straight toward the deepest part of the cave. There, the newly repaired giant Space Anchor forge stood quietly.

The furnace fire had turned deathly white, the temperature so high it distorted the magic in the air.

A large area around the furnace was cleared, with no artisan daring to approach—this was the exclusive territory of the Shadow Eater Candidate Priest.

The two of them sneaked to the back of the forge.

"Your Majesty, how do we fleece them?" Chen Yu lowered her voice, rubbing her hands together in excitement.

"See those seven 'moles' on the Furnace Core?" Shang Wan Ning transmitted her voice directly.

Chen Yu focused her gaze, and only after a long while could she barely make them out. "They're a bit blurry; the flesh power is too strong."

"The Dark Erosion Nodes I planted." Shang Wan Ning's tone was flat, as if she were talking about adding a dish to dinner.