Chapter 108: A Vanishing Act

Chapter One Hundred EightA Vanishing Act

Inside the exhibition hall where Roselle’s diary was stored, the two Machinery Hivemind team members suddenly heard a soft clatter.

At the same time, they turned their heads and looked toward the Sealed Artifact made from building blocks on top of the glass display case.

Inside the scaled-down model of the museum’s first floor, a gray dot was flashing continuously.

“An inanimate object has appeared in the nearest washroom,” one team member judged clearly.

The other relaxed slightly, frowned, and said in a speculative tone, “A withered leaf blown in by the wind?”

“Possible,” the first team member nodded. “We will have a passing guard check it later and confirm the situation. The captain told us to stay here. No matter what happens, we must not leave—especially not alone.”

If they encountered the most urgent circumstances, they could carry Roselle’s notebook and evacuate together.

“Good.”

His companion had no objection.

…

In the second-floor office area of the museum, Klein floated like a wandering ghost, passing through wall after wall as he flew toward the position directly above the reconstructed study.

However, he did not fly too quickly. He continuously sensed the fire seed below and calculated the distance.

When the straight-line distance between the two points neared thirty meters, he lifted his illusory, transparent right hand and snapped his fingers soundlessly.

In the first-floor washroom, that box of matches suddenly exploded, producing a small boom.

Immediately afterward, crimson flames surged up, igniting paper towels, potted plants, and the wooden partition door.

For the moment, the raging fire did not spread outward, but the commotion was sufficiently astonishing.

Security personnel nearby heard the sound and instantly hurried toward that location. Inside the exhibition hall monitoring the entire first floor, the two Machinery Hivemind team members also simultaneously saw flames appear in the “model.” Instinctively, they began rushing there, intending both to put out the fire and to capture whoever had created the disturbance.

But after running only a few steps, they stopped.

At the same time, they remembered the captain’s instruction:

No matter what happens, do not leave this exhibition hall. Do not leave Roselle’s notebook!

They exchanged a look, then turned cautiously toward the two entrances to the exhibition hall and silently drew their own Beyonder weapons.

As Beyonders of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, they were never short on equipment.

…

At that same time, Max Livermore, who was carrying a lantern while patrolling different first-floor exhibition halls, also noticed the disturbance. Without thinking, he ran in the direction of the exhibition hall where Roselle’s diary was stored.

Ensuring the safety of the items was a higher priority than catching the infiltrator!

Moreover, Max believed that no matter what the other party’s goal was, once they entered the building’s first floor—affected by that Sealed Artifact—and entered the exhibition halls, it would not be so easy to leave!

If they lacked helpers outside, the intruder might even be trapped to death here.

And even with helpers, breaking the effect would take a considerable amount of time.

“The moment they come in, they are prey that has stepped into the trap!”

Max Livermore ran swiftly, passing through exhibition hall after exhibition hall. At last, he saw his two companions.

By then, Klein, on the museum’s second floor, had already followed the layout map in his memory, passed through doors and walls, and arrived directly above the reconstructed study.

He did not hurry to begin the next step. Instead, he first looked down.

Because the stone slabs were comparatively thick, Klein could not vaguely confirm whether any auras or emotional colors existed below. He could only spread his arms, topple forward, and silently lie flat upon the floor.

His illusory…