Chapter 487 - 38. Annihilation Prototype
Chapter 487 of "Demi-human Girls Completion Manual" starts with: "Included Species: Cloud Cat Species, Sheep-man Species, Moon Rabbit Species, Ice Owl Species"Collecting...Are you playing... Continue exploring!
"Included Species: Cloud Cat Species, Sheep-man Species, Moon Rabbit Species, Ice Owl Species"
Collecting...
Are you playing some weird nurturing game?
Seeing the new eerie tag appear, Fisherâs movement stiffened slightly as he raised an eyebrow. Although he knew the Demi-human Girls Completion Manual wasnât serious, every piece of additional information it provided managed to lower his expectations again.
However, it seemed that the newly added "cotton candy" tag contained very few demi-humans, and all three were species already present within the Snow Mountain Clan. He wondered if he could collect them all to see what reward the Demi-human Girls Completion Manual would actually give.
As the pain in his body gradually subsided, Fisher shifted his attention from the Demi-human Girls Completion Manual and looked towards Blair, who was observing a map. He spoke,
"The employees from Nali Exploration Company have a very high ring number and possess unidentified Ring Magic. What trump card do you have to ensure you can take back the Ice from them?"
Blair glanced up at him and hesitated for a second before walking out from behind the counter and said to him,
"Come with me."
Watching him sway his half-bald tail towards the second floor, Fisher closed the Completion Manual and followed him up.
The second floor of the Cloud Peak Cafe wasnât larger than the first floor; generally, shops like this would use the second floor as a storage room or warehouse, which was no exception here, except the stored items were not coffee beans from South Continent or Schwali but various dangerous firearms and intelligence machinery.
"The higher-ups have sent us their most valuable intelligence machinery. With these, not to mention High Ring Magic, even if several more came, it wouldnât matter."
Fisher listened to Blairâs introduction without retorting because no one knew the horrors created by the Completion Manual better than he did. When he fought against Philone, even burning the High Ring Magic on his hand cane didnât defeat Philone.
"Old bro."
"Hmm, Bessie, Herb, howâs it going with the exploration company?"
Apart from the previously encountered Alinur and Aileen, there were two more individuals from the Cloud Cat Species in the room on the second floor, both looking younger than Alinur and Aileen, a male and a female, not dressed in the Cloud Peak Cafeâs uniforms but in traditional attire of the Northern Realm.
The Demi-human Girls Completion Manual only recognized the female Cloud Cat named Bessie and gave no indication of the male Cloud Cat named Herb.
Wait, Blair, Alinur, Aileen, plus these twoâso it turned out that a family of five Cloud Cats had all joined the Snow Cloud Special Attack Team and come here on a mission...
"The exploration company has already brought the boxes containing Ice back to the hotel. The knights of the Sardinia Female Country havenât made contact with them yet, so no one has gone out... itâs just, I donât know where the official personnel are hiding, the machines havenât detected them."
As the two spoke, their pupils seemed to flicker with beams of light, as if something in the distance was transmitting images back to them, but Fisher didnât feel any magical fluctuations.
Was this also a function of the intelligence machinery they were talking about?
Hearing their conversation, Blair nodded his head and turned to Fisher,
"Keep monitoring... come here, the stuff weâve prepared is over here."
Following Blairâs gaze, Fisher then noticed a strangely shaped mechanical device at the end of the room.
Originally, it was a spherical object made entirely of steel, with numerous tiny crevices formed from assembled parts and screws, but its surface was polished to a high degree of smoothness, such that one could even see the reflection of the ceiling light in the room.
At that time, it wasnât illuminated with the brilliance Fisher had previously seen, apparently because it hadnât been fully activated yet.
It was simply placed on a shelf in the corner of the room, like a harmless shot put, silently watching Fisher as he looked at it.
Strangely, even though the object had no eyes and the machinery was merely an inanimate object, Fisher felt an eerie sensation of being watched the moment he saw it, which heightened his alertness slightly, and his fingers silently hooked around the Handcane handle inside his sleeve.
But throughout the room, it seemed only Fisher sensed this strangeness; Blair and the others from the Cloud Cat Species showed no reaction at all. Blair, worried that Fisher might underestimate the objectâs power, started to explain,
"This is called the âAnnihilation Prototype.â I heard itâs the most expensive piece of Wisdom Machinery bought by the agency. It has helped us with two missions before, each a resounding success. Let me put it this way, magic and firearms fired at it are like tickling it. The agency tested it, and it can withstand up to Seven Ring Magic without any damage. That should give you a clear picture."
"Adding the Annihilation Prototype, we have three combat-type Wisdom Machinery. You certainly donât need to worry about the fight. As soon as Helena makes her move and distracts the Phoenix Knights, we will immediately activate the prototype, clean up everyone from the exploration company, and reclaim the Ice raw stones."
Without even blinking, Fisher walked to the window on the second floor, looking out through it at the bustling street below. The view here was quite good, situated at the intersection of two streets, allowing him to keep both streets within sight.
As he watched the scene outside, he continually pondered the current situation and complimented the other partyâs Wisdom Machinery somewhat mockingly, then asked,
"Hmm, impressive stuff. But if itâs so powerful, why donât you use it to directly storm into the trade scene between Nali and Sardinia Female Country, kill everyone, and then take the items back?"
"...There are limitations to this thing. Do you think it can be used endlessly? It can only be activated three times at most, each time working only for fifteen minutes. After that, it tends to shut down as soon as the time is up, and I suspect it will completely fall apart after this last use. Fifteen minutes isnât enough to handle both parties, even with the other two pieces of Wisdom Machinery."
Blair went to a nearby wardrobe to change into some North Realm clothes, then he picked up a medium-sized box from a shelf and struggled to fit the Annihilation Prototype inside it. After that, he handed Fisher a card-shaped item,
"What is this?"
"Itâs a smart machinery device to keep in touch with you. Donât get me wrong, itâs not a gift. Remember to return it to us when everything is finished. Helena will probably make her move against Alagina soon; we siblings are also preparing to head to the Nali people. You can use this device to contact either side; just press it, and Iâll get the alert here."
Fisher took the lightweight, thin metal card flickering with a slight flowing light, reminiscent of something produced by the Completion Manual. However, he wondered where such a small card could possibly fit something as crucial as a heart-like core.
To demonstrate, Blair pressed the card and then brought it close to his mouth to say something casually; a Wisdom Machinery device in the corner of the room mimicked his actions perfectly. Likewise, whatever Blair said into the machine also showed up on Fisherâs card.
Fisher nodded and pocketed the card. Blair and his siblings were preparing to trouble the Nali people, which was a welcome development for Fisher. He could not show his face there himself, so it was best if they could solve the Iceberg Queenâs issues for him. He might even manage to obtain the Grey Bird species seal from them.
"By the way..."
Just as Fisher was about to leave the Cloud Peak Cafe, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to remind Blair and the others,
"The Ice you guys are after might not be in the boxes that the Nali Exploration Company brought out from the market. As the saying goes, âa crafty rabbit has three burrowsâ; the most conspicuous one is often the most deceptive. Make sure to search thoroughly."
Blair was slightly startled by this, exchanged glances with his sister, then responded,
"I understand, weâll search thoroughly... Stay in contact."
"Hmm, goodbye."
As Fisher, wrapped in Ossieâs cloak, left the not-so-spacious Cloud Peak Cafe, the place returned to quiet, as if it had become an out-of-place, mechanical, ice-cold component on this noisy street.