Chapter 805 - 679: Divine Country

Just as in Japanese anime, residents of the Otherworld have to speak Japanese, and in Hollywood movies, aliens have to speak English, the Broken Land speaks Universal Chinese—

Perhaps because the Broken Land draws people from various historical periods, and Chinese has the largest number of native speakers.

"Xiansong, don’t shoot,"

Dylan, in his half-mechanical human form, stumbled out of the car, raised his hands, and shouted, "It’s me!"

"Heavenly above. Dylan, what happened to you?!"

The White-robed Wizard, startled by Dylan, who had Sister Dong’s portrait on his chest, quickly drew a cross on his chest.

"Our team was attacked by the Horror Maggot Beast while searching for Zhu Youdong, and it was these passing heroes who saved us."

Dylan explained, and Li Cheng also showed Zhu Youdong’s bones and his last letter.

"Hmm..." The White-robed Wizard squinted slightly, still leaning on his Magic Wand and not lifting the Magic Shield.

"We are travelers from the Otherworld, and received orders from our superiors to come and assist you." Gouchen stepped forward half a step and said, "Your side should have also received related instructions, right?"

After pondering for a moment, the White-robed Wizard finally nodded and lifted the shield, "Please come in."

Click, click, click—

As the winch turned, the gate slowly rose, and everyone filed through the gate, under cautious gazes.

The interior decor of the castle is very... diverse,

Under the ceiling of the long corridor hung a string of incandescent lamps. The windows included paper windows, blue-green glass windows, and modern double-pane energy-saving glass.

At regular intervals, there were radiators and air conditioning installed. In the corners, some armored guards sat in ergonomic chairs, playing Little Tyrant consoles on what was colloquially known as big-bottom CRT TVs.

"This castle... doesn’t feel like a castle at all."

Mei Wenyi glanced around in disappointment, silently complaining into her communication earpiece.

(The communication earpiece is the fifth-generation flagship product from Prometheus, with built-in brainwave translation functions, converting brainwaves into audio for silent communication on the channel)

"If you were looking for the kind of spacious, bright, comfortable-living castle with princess bedrooms that come with a balcony, as seen in Disney fairy tales, I’m sorry, that has never existed in history."

Maxwell remarked coldly, "In essence, castles were war facilities essential for survival for medieval European nobles, designed to increase the difficulty of enemy attacks.

They intentionally designed low and narrow passageways, maze-like corridors, and steep twisting staircases—to restrict right-handed sword-wielding enemies.

The air was always filled with a complex scent, mixed with sweat, animal musk, grain mold, and urine feces.

Princess bedrooms with balconies in fairy tales are basically vulnerabilities ideal for enemies to set up siege ladders."

"Indeed."

Don Juan nodded in agreement, sighing, "When I first got the big contract with European Heavy Industry, I was thrilled about fulfilling my childhood dream of buying a French Bordeaux chateau with a vineyard and over a hundred rooms.

But after buying it, I was informed that according to French law, I couldn’t renovate it myself; I had to use 17th-century craftsmanship and materials for house repairs and 17th-century paint formulas for restoring ancient paintings.

The castle that cost one million euros required three million euros in maintenance fees, with an additional 200,000 euros needed annually for its upkeep. Not maintaining it leads to legal action from the local court.

Government officials would visit for inspection every other day.

Frustrated, I priced it at 1 euro and resold it to an Asian businessman from Australia."

The remaining medieval castles in Europe are comparable to classic scams like the Nigerian prince or Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s messages,

with different European governments packaging castles requiring exorbitant repair fees as historical cultural heritage, tricking out-of-towners into taking over with prices as low as tens of thousands, ten thousand, or even 1 euro.

Then, using legal excuses, they make the out-of-towners pay for the repairs.

First, they trick a wave of Americans who romanticize aristocracy; after those Americans leave in a rage, they trick Arabs, Japanese, and Russians.

As the saying goes, "Every time they fall for it, it’s never the same,"

A few years ago, it was finally the turn of Chinese businessmen, with many getting burned and crying out in distress.

According to economic trends, the next wave should be Indian tycoons. It’s intriguing to see whether European bureaucrats or Indian tycoons will play the rogue.

The players were quite relaxed, for although there were traces of Transcendent presence in the castle, it was at most at Level 10 or Level 15, which wasn’t much of a threat.

"Please follow me."

The White-robed Wizard led the group to a basement.

The room was sparsely furnished, with just a table and chair, a bookshelf, a cot, a weapon rack,

and a large device akin to early computers like the ENIAC, with neon tubes inserted all over it. It came with a tape recorder and a DV camcorder.

Beside the device hung the flag of the Execution Committee—a group of stern-faced men and women standing before a blue Mobius band, their right fists pressed against their chests.

"Let me introduce myself, I’m Zhu Xiansong. I’m the person in charge of this Civil Engineering Castle base."

The White-robed Wizard removed his hood, revealing a face marked by burn scars.

Oh, from his name, it was clear this gentleman, like Zhu Youdong, was also an orphan adopted by the Execution Committee, and a cycle older than Zhu Youdong.

"Civil Engineering Castle?"

Gray Rain subconsciously asked, "Isn’t that name a bit inauspicious?"

"This ’civil’ is not the one from Zhu Qizhen’s defeat at Wala, it’s from civil engineering."

Zhu Xiansong casually explained, "The scientific system of the Broken Land is incomplete, heavily reliant on newly arrived researchers and Engineers.

For some reason, there’s a large number of talent from civil engineering compared to other fields. Thus, it’s named Civil Engineering Castle."

Why? Surely because the civil industry is booming with limitless potential...

Li Cheng chuckled awkwardly and asked, "Before us, there were already travelers from the Otherworld who contacted you, right?"

"Yes."

Zhu Xiansong pulled the switch to start the large device.

The neon tubes lit up one by one, emitting a warm glow, revealing a human-shaped outline.

At the bottom of the device, the tape recorder slowly turned, emitting a steady voice, "Hello, I am [Matrix]."

Bang!

Everyone instantly stood at attention; shouting "Brother Sima" online was one thing, but meeting the real "Brother Matrix" in person was another.

"Gouchen, Maxwell, Mei Wenyi..."

Matrix listed several names, calmly saying, "To cut a long story short, my main body has been forcibly ascended along with other Level 40s to the top layer of the Four Realms Mountain,

and the me here is a personality model recreated using the local residents’ [Super Space Communication Device].

I’ve already agreed to terms with the Execution Committee. The stars needed for players to level up, known locally as Tiberium Crystals, are used to convert energy and activate Extraordinary Power.

Coincidentally, the Execution Committee is investigating the cause of recent earthquakes. Help investigate, and you’ll receive crystals as a reward.

Once you’ve gathered enough crystals and leveled up to the next layer of the Four Realms Mountain, don’t hesitate; exit immediately."

"Why?"

Gouchen frowned somewhat defiantly, knowing the final stages were the domain of those above Level 35. Still, as a swordsmanship genius,

he had invested most of his family’s savings into this event, buying a warehouse full of Magic Potions, scrolls, and tools.

Withdrawing just as he’d reached the second stage was truly unsatisfying.

Matrix took a deep breath, saying, "Because..."

The sound stretched as all players and Zhu Xiansong held their breath, concentrating on the continuation.

"For——"

Matrix continued to drag out the sound for a long moment, before suddenly raising his volume, "TOKEN insufficient, switched from [Whale Song xhigh Strong Inference Mode] to Dou Bao, Universal Thousand Questions, and Wenxin Yiyan Desktop Version."

Damn it...

Everyone slapped their foreheads; Li Cheng even started wondering if the tape was stuck and was about to have Gray Rain check it with the [Crown of All Machines].

"Oops, accidentally disconnected, now I’m giving you the most real, straight-to-the-point, correct answer."

Matrix switched to Dou Bao AI’s voice, "Because the moment I was forcibly ascended to the top of the Four Realms Mountain, I sensed a foreign Divine Country aura of Level 40.

Not one, not two, but a total of five hundred."