BXBX NOVEL Chapter 142: Hidden Eyes in the Shadows
Perhaps we can uncover vital information outside of Mechanical Town. Venturing inside without proper intel could lead to disastrous consequences."
Once Jeremy had made his decision, the group of four divided into two pairs, each heading in opposite directions.
Naturally, Jeremy paired himself with Emma, who was the least powerful of the four. Emma was visibly delighted with Jeremy's decision.
In her mind, Jeremy's decision to pair with her indicated that she held a special place in his considerations. Determined not to be a burden, Emma resolved to give her utmost effort during their mission.
Claire and Bonnie, being slightly more adept in combat, formed the other team. Their combined strength would allow them to handle unforeseen situations more effectively.
After the group split up, Jeremy led Emma northward, towards the outskirts of Mechanical Town. Both Jeremy and Emma remained vigilant, meticulously surveying their surroundings.
However, outside of Mechanical Town, there seemed to be little else of interest.
The surroundings were merely an endless expanse of desolate wilderness.
Inside the mechanical town, the two could catch glimpses of the elusive mechanical monsters lurking about. This, however, was information they had anticipated beforehand.
"It appears we can glean no useful information from outside the mechanical town." one of them remarked. "We should reunite with Claire and the others as soon as possible."
Emma suggested, feeling that staying outside any longer would be futile. She believed it was time for them to regroup and enter Mechanical Town itself.
However, Jeremy's thoughts diverged significantly from this view.
He was convinced that they had, in fact, overlooked some critical piece of information. Consequently, he did not acquiesce to Emma's suggestion. Instead, he resolutely guided Emma, pressing on with their rapid advancement towards the north.
After advancing for approximately fifteen minutes, Jeremy and Emma came to an abrupt halt.
They had reached the location outside Mechanical Town that was closest to the central tower, a vantage point from which they hoped to gather more significant intelligence.
Here, Jeremy and Emma could see that atop the towering spire reaching into the clouds, something seemed to be observing their every move.
"Darling, do you feel like there's a pair of eyes constantly watching us?" Emma asked.
Despite not being particularly strong in combat, her healing abilities endowed her with a heightened sensitivity to other presences.
Jeremy's eyes remained steadfastly fixed on the towering structure at the center of Mechanical Town. He unequivocally agreed with Emma's observation, as he was convinced that an unseen pair of eyes was surreptitiously monitoring their every move from atop the tower.
"I believe you're absolutely right." he said. "There's indeed a pair of eyes watching our actions, and I am certain those eyes are perched atop the high tower at the heart of Mechanical Town."
Emma's anxiety spiked slightly at Jeremy's words.
"So, should we proceed directly into Mechanical Town now? Could these eyes belong to the boss of The Iron Lair instance?"
Emma, in a single breath, posed two questions, both of which were undeniably crucial.
However, Jeremy, at least for the moment, did not have the answers to either of them.
"Let's stick to our original plan. If we continue a bit further, we'll be able to rendezvous with Claire and Bonnie."
Jeremy suggested, reasoning that since he and Emma hadn't encountered any danger, it was likely that Claire and Bonnie were also safe.
During their reconnaissance, Jeremy and Emma had already circled half of Mechanical Town's perimeter.
Even if Bonnie and Claire were moving at a slower pace, they shouldn't be far off now.
Emma nodded in agreement and continued to follow Jeremy as they pressed onward.
It didn't take long for Jeremy and Emma to spot Bonnie and Claire. What surprised them, however, were the expressions of sheer urgency etched on their faces. The two seemed to be fleeing for their lives in their direction.
"Step back a few paces! It looks like there's a monster chasing them!"
Jeremy first issued a cautionary reminder to Emma, expressing his hope that she would retreat to a safer position.
Without a moment's hesitation, Emma promptly moved to a secure spot behind Jeremy.
Meanwhile, Jeremy sprinted towards Claire and Bonnie with all his might. When the distance between them had shrunk to less than a hundred meters, Jeremy suddenly noticed a massive iron centipede pursuing them.
"Don't stop for anything! The iron centipede is right behind you!"He shouted, his voice tinged with urgency.
Jeremy shouted loudly towards Claire and Bonnie.
At this moment, the iron centipede was only a few meters away from Claire, who was lagging behind. If Claire's pace slowed any further, she was likely to be caught by the iron centipede.
Though Claire heard Jeremy's warning, she found herself unable to keep going.
During their earlier escape, she had expended all her energy. Claire's speed diminished rapidly, and the iron centipede closed in on her.
Witnessing the scene unfold, Jeremy instinctively sprang into action without delay.
He dashed towards Claire at full speed while activating his [The Mechanical Puppet Technique]. Waves of high-dimensional data surged towards the iron centipede, significantly slowing its movements and seemingly confusing it about what to do next.
Seizing this moment of the iron centipede's disorientation, Jeremy concentrated all his strength into his fist and aimed a powerful punch at the creature's head.
Using his [Basic Mechanical Mastery] talent, Jeremy had already analyzed the distribution of the iron centipede's internal mechanisms as he approached.
His punch landed precisely on the computational core of the iron centipede.
With the core shattered by Jeremy's strike, the entire body of the iron centipede erupted in a violent explosion. Even Claire and Bonnie, who were not far away, were slightly affected by the blast.
Jeremy paid no heed to the explosion of the iron centipede.
What concerned him more was whether he would receive any additional rewards for eliminating the creature.
At this moment, what lay before Jeremy was the computational core of a severely damaged iron centipede, along with its data core.
The data core emitted a faint blue glow, indicating the presence of high-dimensional data.
Carefully, Jeremy extracted the high-dimensional data and stored the damaged computational core in his storage space.
Once he had completed these tasks, Jeremy turned his attention back to Claire and Bonnie.
By this time, Emma was already tending to their injuries.
"How are you holding up? Your injuries don't seem too severe. Can you continue on? If not, I can evacuate you from the instance ahead of schedule."
Although Jeremy was aware that extracting Claire and Bonnie from the instance would consume a considerable amount of time.
He was adamant about not risking their safety within the instance.
"I'm not in any significant distress. I just exhausted too much energy while evading the iron centipede's pursuit. I merely need a brief rest."
Bonnie responded calmly.
Bonnie had not been directly attacked by the iron centipede, so her injuries were relatively minor. The one who had truly sustained serious wounds was Claire.
However, under Emma's care, Claire's wounds were healing rapidly.
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Despite her injuries, Claire felt she could continue. She also understood that if she were to leave the instance prematurely, it would undoubtedly hinder Jeremy's progress.
"My injuries have mostly been healed. After a brief rest, we should be ready to proceed into the mechanical town. Furthermore, even if you were to extract me from the instance now, I can't guarantee my safety outside. There are still mechanical monsters lurking beyond the instance. You certainly can't be expected to escort me all the way back home after getting me out of here, can you?"
Claire's reasoning was undeniably sound, striking a chord of pragmatism that Jeremy couldn't ignore. After a moment of contemplative silence, Jeremy nodded in agreement.
"If you both feel up to it, then we'll adhere to our original plan. Take a breather here for about ten minutes, and after that, I'll lead you into the mechanical town.
However, before we proceed, I need to emphasize one crucial point: in the face of any danger, do not succumb to panic.
Simply follow my instructions. There is no need for you to act independently. Although your strength has improved, within the high-difficulty instance of The Iron Lair, your contributions will still be relatively limited."
Jeremy spoke with an air of stern seriousness, his tone leaving no room for misunderstanding.
He wanted to ensure that the others fully grasped the gravity of the situation—they would undoubtedly encounter numerous unforeseen dangers within the mechanical town. Should they fail to follow Jeremy's lead, their chances of survival would be perilously slim.