Shrouded Seascape

"How is that even possible?!" Anna exclaimed. She turned to the absolutely loyal Fhtagnists and proceeded to ask them about Luvlyn.

Everyone unanimously shook their heads at her, and a certain idea popped up in Anna's mind. She realized just then that the woman who had claimed to be a psychologist was fake.

Site 66 had no one like her, and perhaps even her name was just an alias.

Upon recalling the questions she had asked at the time, Luvlyn's identity and motives became apparent to Anna.

She wasn't from the IMF. She was from another organization, and she had somehow found Anna's whereabouts and had ambushed her.

This was bad news for Anna, as it meant having another enemy on the surface world.

"Hmph! I must be quite the hot commodity… to think that so many people are interested in me," Anna muttered to herself. The only thing she could be thankful for was that Luvlyn probably couldn't report to her superiors.

Her chances of survival weren't that high, after all.

"Were you saying something, Miss Anna?" Aisha asked, leaning over to Anna.

"It's nothing. Let's keep moving. Time is of the essence," Anna said. She stepped over the weeds and continued walking forward. Regardless of Luvlyn's affiliation, there was no way she could have left Site 66 unscathed.

Realizing that there was another organization keeping tabs on her, Anna resolved to be extra careful in the future.

Anna thought that the so-called Shattered God was just somewhere in the forest, but the environment slowly transformed the farther they walked. The plants withered, becoming yellow in color, and the smell of engine oil hung in the air.

Clang, clang, clang!

The thunderous clanging of machine presses echoed from afar. After a few minutes, a large factory appeared before everyone. The noises were coming from the factory, so it was undoubtedly still in operation.

The vegetation around the massive factory was dead, and armed soldiers surrounded it. There were several snipers on the roof, peering through their scopes as they scanned the perimeter.

There were also heavy weapons around the factory. Judging by their absurd numbers and the shine on them, Anna was convinced that the factory was manufacturing those weapons.

"Are you sure we're dealing with a cult here rather than some warlord? These weapons are enough to wage a small-scale war," Wang Jianshe asked. His eyes twitched as he swept his gaze across the mountain of automatic rifles ahead of them.

"Before we go in, remember to just watch and listen; don't talk," Anna remarked. Her expression was grim as she observed the factory.

Aisha showed her credentials to the guard riding a tank at the factory gates. She was then allowed entry, and she led everyone into the factory.

Upon entering the factory, Anna discovered that she was correct. There were assembly lines producing ammunition and firearms nonstop. The followers of the Shattered Good stood at the end of the assembly lines, collecting the end product.

It was like they were preparing for a major battle.

"Come on in; God is waiting for you. He's at the very back," Aisha said, leading the others along the assembly lines.

The massive factory was a huge steel maze composed of machinery and some more assembly lines. It hadn't even been that long since they entered the factory, but they were already feeling dizzy.

However, Anna knew that she was getting closer to the target, as the surrounding temperatures were rising steadily the farther they walked into the factory.

After the seventeenth right turn, Anna finally saw the so-called "Shattered God."

It was a bunch of exposed bronze steam machinery. The densely packed gears, pistons, and steam pipes were more reminiscent of the style of the Albion Isles in the Subterranean Sea rather than of the modern world.

A burning flame hovered in the middle of the machinery, and it gleamed fiercely like the sun. The heat billowing out of the machinery made Anna's hair curl slightly.

The door to it was constantly opening and closing, generating incessant clanging noises. Clearly, every single piece of machinery in the factory was connected to this bronze steam machinery the size of a hill, and it seemed to be powering the entire factory as well.

Just then, Aisha took out a piece of paper and approached it. She tiptoed and hurled the piece of paper into the flames.

Every single piece of machinery in the factory came to an abrupt halt, but in the next second, they moved once again and emitted piercing noises that were even more jarring than earlier.

The items on the nearby assembly lines changed. The firearms and ammunition vanished, replaced by complex mechanical parts. Aisha gathered those mechanical parts and pieced them together before hanging them in front of the furnace.

Just like that, a hollow, incomplete bronze doll was revealed before Anna.

The constant opening and closing of the furnace door cast intermittent shadows on the doll's face.

Soon, the furnace door was closed, but the bronze doll remained unmoving. A few moments later, the furnace door opened once again, and its eyes—made out of bronze gears—stared straight at the group of people in front of it.

Wang Jianshe was startled. He had lived for so long and had mentally prepared himself for what was to come, but he still ended up getting startled. It couldn't be helped, as he had never encountered such a bizarre entity.

"Just watch and listen; don't talk," Anna warned. She then walked up to the humanoid bronze doll.

The bronze doll was terrifying, but Anna's heart didn't waver in the slightest at the sight of it. She was from the Subterranean Sea, after all. There were too many terrifying and far more bizarre things in the Subterranean Sea.

Even Anna herself used to be scarier than the bronze doll.

"Are you planning to play a staring contest with me? Don't you have anything to say, great Shattered God?" Anna asked the humanoid bronze doll.

When the bronze doll opened its mouth, jarring noises reverberated from it, similar to the noises of an old tape recorder.

"I sense that you are in great trouble. Perhaps we can cooperate and get what we need."

"So, a deal? Another deal." Anna glanced at Wang Jianshe. The news of Luvlyn's nonexistence was far more shocking than this. Anna also couldn't care less about what exactly the bronze doll was before her.

All she cared about was that it had decided to invite her here, and there had to be a reason behind that invitation.

Wang Jianshe could only provide financial support, but Anna needed the help of someone with tangible strength.

"First of all, I need something capable of altering memories, preferably a controllable Anomaly, but other things are acceptable as well.

"Secondly, I need to know how you've been evading the IMF. I need your experience and support when it comes to that."

"Finally, I need powerful Anomalies, at least ten of them. Can you meet these three conditions of mine?"

A controllable Anomaly capable of altering memories was for Gao Zhiming, and a way to evade the IMF was to ensure Gao Zhiming's life wouldn't be disturbed until he fell into the Subterranean Sea.

As for the powerful Anomalies, Anna needed them to become even stronger. There was a limit to how many Anomalies she could absorb, but she could give the rest to her followers.

Since there was clearly more than just one organization at play here, Anna knew that she had to become stronger as soon as possible. If she were too weak, she'd die before that fateful day.

The Shattered God was surprisingly straightforward as it replied, "We can help. Your conditions are very difficult, but they are doable. However, deals are done with equivalent exchange in mind. If you want us to fulfill those three conditions of yours, then you need to help us with an endeavor of equal value."

"Speak. I've been waiting for you to say that."

"I need you to help me raid the IMF's headquarters. A piece of myself is sealed there," the bronze doll replied.

Anna stared deeply at the bronze doll for a good while. Finally, she shook her head and replied, "It's too dangerous. I'm not going to go there and die."