Translator: AnubisTL
"Have you discovered anything?" Chen Mang asked, taking the tablet Xiao Ai handed him. The screen displayed the Nami Civilization's research on the Heavenly Palace over the years—information, of course, obtained by Little Fatty's Father. Besides his father's extraordinary connections, the main reason for this access was that there was little to keep secret.
In essence, nothing had been discovered.
The only thing they had learned was the Heavenly Palace's inherent functions.
For example, it could generate clouds.
Thanks to its towering height, the palace could create artificial clouds, suns, winds, and more at its apex, completely eliminating any sense of being inside a building.
Each zone could simulate different weather conditions, including extreme phenomena like hailstorms, typhoons, and torrential rain.
Xiao Ai explained, "When Doba designed the Heavenly Palace, one of his core principles was to avoid creating a sense of confinement. He wanted humans to possess the structure, not be imprisoned within it."
"..."
Chen Mang didn't elaborate further. It was clear that Doba was deeply invested in the Heavenly Palace, considering it their top priority. The energy drive remained a mystery; neither Chen Mang nor the Nami Civilization had cracked it yet. Doba's team had reported that a critical hurdle remained, but they expected to overcome it within a month.
For now, the exact nature of the Heavenly Palace's energy drive remained unclear.
After blending into the crowd, wearing a white lab coat like a researcher, Chen Mang made his way to the center of the Hall of Kings District. There, he gazed at the safe, now cordoned off with caution tape.
A perfect cube, each side measuring exactly one meter.
The Heavenly Palace was almost entirely empty, devoid of any objects except for this peculiar safe.
Chen Mang retrieved the bronze key left by Little Fatty's Father from his pocket and examined the safe. There was no visible keyhole. He tried placing the key on top of the safe, but there was no reaction.
The safe was surprisingly heavy, but Biaozi's enhanced physique allowed him to lift it with relative ease.
He carefully inspected the bottom of the safe, finding nothing.
Its edges were sharp and distinct.
"Did I leave this behind?"
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes, staring at the safe before him, and began to ponder why he would have created such a device.
First, one thing was certain: according to the predetermined future, the Heavenly Palace was thrown into the temporal rift after he returned to the Niya Star System from the Nami Civilization. The safe must have been created during that period, within just a few months.
It was unlikely that the train would have experienced any major technological breakthroughs in such a short time, especially since, in the Future timeline, he hadn't yet received the resources from Little Fatty's Father.
Therefore, it was highly probable that the safe was built using the train's existing technology.
Thinking from this angle, the answer quickly became clear.
He lowered his head in thought, scrolling through the tablet to examine the overpowered effects of each accessory. Yet, he couldn't find any connection between a specific accessory and the safe's lock.
Could it be another refrigerator?
The refrigerator's inner lining?
But that couldn't be right. The Nami Civilization had conducted experiments showing that even the Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon couldn't shatter the refrigerator. He didn't know what Tier of refrigerator they had used, so he reviewed the Nami Civilization research data left to him by Little Fatty's Father.
The tablet clearly displayed the Tier 200 Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon, a standard weapon of the Nami Civilization.
If it could withstand a Tier 200 Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon unscathed, what about a Tier 500 version?
But...
He doubted his past self would have been foolish enough to leave a safe requiring such a complex unlocking method. Besides, if he accidentally blasted it open, the contents would be destroyed, making the situation even worse.
Chen Mang frowned deeply, pulling up Doba's Heavenly Palace blueprint from their previous encounter on the tablet. He scrutinized it meticulously, searching for any anomalies.
Suddenly, Xiao Ai spoke up beside him.
"Train Conductor, Doba has made some subtle modifications to the Heavenly Palace blueprint over the years. I just obtained the latest version from him. Would you like to see it?"
"Yes."
Soon, Chen Mang was once again studying the three-dimensional blueprint on the tablet. The intricate lines and countless numerical annotations made his head spin, but upon closer inspection, he could discern that the entire Heavenly Palace was divided into 99 zones.
According to Doba's design philosophy, all future residents of the Heavenly Palace would hold positions of high authority and power. Consequently, the palace was divided into numerous residential zones, each serving distinct functions. The Heavenly Palace would replace the train as the center of power, while the train would focus solely on military operations.
A rather profound concept.
But just then—
"Hmm?"
Chen Mang's eyebrows twitched slightly as he glanced at the blueprint on the tablet. He seemed to have spotted an additional zone, Zone 100, located not on the surface but on the underground level.
This was the only underground zone.
According to the Heavenly Palace's design, the entire subterranean space was intended to house energy propulsion systems, armed defense mechanisms, weather Conversion Devices, and various other technological installations. Only one area had been excavated and repurposed for a different purpose.
This zone was situated directly beneath Zone 99.
"What's Zone 100 for?" Chen Mang asked.
Xiao Ai didn't respond immediately. After several seconds, he replied, "I just consulted Doba. He said he plans to make it a special area, like a basement in a villa, serving unique functions."
"As for its specific purpose, it will serve whatever function Lord Mang desires for the zone."
"How do I access this zone?"
Chen Mang tapped the Heavenly Palace floor with his Hell Staff.
The Heavenly Palace was exceptionally sturdy, its floor and outer shell capable of withstanding Tier 200 Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannon fire without a scratch. The exact damage threshold remained unknown, as the Nami Civilization had only ever used Tier 200 Arcanon Light Energy Main Cannons.
"We haven't finalized the access method yet," Xiao Ai said, sounding slightly exasperated. "While the Heavenly Palace is structurally complete, many minor details are still being refined. Doba's vision is to ensure Zone 100, designated as such, remains extremely concealed and uniquely accessible only to Lord Mang himself."
"We haven't yet devised a perfect solution for entry."
"..."
Chen Mang frowned slightly, gazing at the floor beneath his feet. Zone 100 lay directly beneath him. It seemed he might need to make a grander move—taking the entire Heavenly Palace with him for later study.
First, he needed to erase the Civilization Imprint of the Nami Civilization from the planet below. Then, he could bring both the planet and the Heavenly Palace into the space gate.
The space gate had one prerequisite for absorbing large objects: they must be located on a planet.
He could also eject a discarded mining star.
But the distance was too short.
It would cause a catastrophe.
After pondering for a long while, Chen Mang gazed at the "complete blueprint" of the Heavenly Palace beneath his feet, as revealed by Doppler Radar. He examined it closely again, noting that the Heavenly Palace's materials could actually block radar detection.
Completely sealed areas were invisible.
For example, the radar couldn't detect the devices beneath the Heavenly Palace's surface, nor could it see Zone 100.
According to the complete blueprint, he suddenly noticed a rather peculiar feature.
In a corner of Zone 99, there was a jumble of rocks, some tall and some short, arranged like an artwork reminiscent of the stone sculptures on Easter Island. From a frontal view, nothing seemed amiss, but from high above...
He discovered that all the shorter stone pillars formed a character within the rock pile:
"莽" (Mang).
No, it wasn't quite right.
It was more like half a character, an incomplete word, because Lord Mang's name lacked the dot above the "犬" radical.
"Could it be...?"
Chen Mang's lips twitched slightly. He hadn't expected the decryption method to be so simple.
It was a classic case of looking right under the nose!
The Nami Civilization had thoroughly explored the Heavenly Palace long ago. How could they have missed the anomaly in Zone 99's rocky maze—the way the short stone pillars seemed to form a unique, independent arrangement?
Of course, they hadn't missed it.
Even now, numerous personnel in white lab coats were probing the rocky maze with detection instruments.
The reason they hadn't cracked the code was simple:
The character "Mang" was a Chinese character. The Nami Civilization used Cosmic Language, so the language barrier prevented them from recognizing the pattern.
With that, Chen Mang waved his hand. A swarm of armed robots swiftly exited the train, securing all the researchers in Zone 99 to prevent any leaks. Then, he strode toward the rocky maze in the distance.
Biaozi, lugging the cubic safe, hurried close behind.
When they reached the rocky maze...
Under Xiao Ai's guidance, they constantly adjusted the angle until the cubic safe was pushed into a specific position. Suddenly, a clank echoed from beneath the ground, followed by the whirring of countless gears.
The tall stone pillars gradually retracted into the ground, forming steps within the revealed black hole.
Quite an ingenious design, Chen Mang thought with a chuckle. It was now clear that the safe contained nothing at all. It wasn't a safe at all, but a solid block of stone serving merely as a key.
The real treasure lay hidden in Zone 100, located underground.
He stepped forward first.
As his foot landed on the first step, the pitch-black walls of the cave suddenly blazed with light. The narrow passage, barely wide enough for four people to walk abreast, was a stark contrast to the grandeur of the Heavenly Palace.
Soon—
He beheld the entirety of Zone 100.
It wasn't large, roughly the size of a basketball court, with nine-meter-high walls. The floor was paved with gray stone, and a wooden storage box stood at the center.
Chen Mang stepped forward, took a deep breath, and slowly opened the storage box before him.
It wasn't locked.
The bronze lock remained unused, not meant for this purpose.
The storage box opened.
Inside, there wasn't the vast trove of resources he had imagined, nor a chip containing detailed records of the disaster to transmit information to him, nor anything that could immediately enhance his combat prowess.
There was only one thing.
A bracelet.
A solitary bracelet.
A special item called the "Hell Bracelet."
"..."
Chen Mang stood frozen, his expression complex, as he picked up the bracelet from the box and stared at it in silence. He had never imagined he would acquire the Hell Bracelet through such means.
The Hell Set.
The only set in the entire universe, possessing absolute uniqueness—only one person could ever possess it.
It consisted of seven components:
Hell Staff, Hell Hat, Hell Shades, Hellfire Stone, Hell Garments, Hell Sandals, and Hell Bracelet.
The first three components could only be obtained in the First Universe.
The next three could only be obtained in the Second Universe.
The method of obtaining the final component remained a mystery. No one knew how to acquire it, and even its name remained hidden until all six other components were collected.
The only known fact was this:
While the first six components existed in multiple copies, giving everyone a chance to obtain them, the Hell Bracelet was unique throughout the entire cosmos. Once someone acquired this bracelet and collected the remaining six components, they would obtain the unique Hell Set.
No one knew the effects of this set.
No one had ever possessed it.
Only a handful of people had even heard of its existence.
He lowered his gaze to the Hell Bracelet in his hand, examining its special item effect. The effect was remarkably simple, even rudimentary, utterly unworthy of its unique status. Yet this special item was the only one of its kind in the entire universe.
[Special Effect: The wearer of the Hell Bracelet enjoys perfect health, free from illness and pain.]
Rather than a special effect, it seemed more like a blessing.
While the effect was decent, it was utterly underwhelming compared to its unique status.
He immediately returned to the train.
Looking at the control panel screen, as expected, a panel slowly materialized on the display.
[You have collected all components of the Hell Set. The Hell Set will now be officially unlocked.]
[The Hell Set is the only set within the First and Second Universes.]
[There are no other sets.]
[No one else will have the opportunity to obtain this set. You will be its sole owner. Upon your death, the set will follow you to the Second Universe. If your soul is annihilated, resulting in true death, the set will be completely destroyed along with you.]
[There will never be another user.]
[The set's effects will be officially unlocked in 24 hours.]
Chen Mang let out a soft sigh. He hadn't expected his future self to give him such a grand gift. This "Hell Bracelet" accessory, according to the predetermined future, would be obtained within the next three months.
Now, he was pondering one question:
Does this thing count as a Cosmic Forbidden Item right now?
Will I ever encounter another one?
(End of the Chapter)
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