Everyone followed Qingque to the side door of the Divination Commission. Seeing how skilled Qingque was, March 7th suspected this girl slacked off here often.
Why did every Xianzhou native she met give off a vibe of slacking off, inside and out?
Yesterday, when they went to the Sky-Faring Commission to meet Yukong, the General of the Seat of Divine Foresight wasn't even willing to show up in person, using a holographic projection instead.
Even that Lord Ravager named Phantylia... was too lazy to act today, simply stating she had matters to attend to and couldn't come.
Talk about not committing to the act. Is this how Yukong asked you to entertain guests? Phantylia must be the laziest Lord Ravager March 7th had ever seen.
"I see you know the way well. You must sneak out this way often when slacking off."
"Miss, your eyes are sharp. Those working at the Divination Commission call this the [Gate of Leisure]. When we have nothing to do, we often sneak out here to enjoy ourselves for a few hours."
"A few... hours? I didn't want to know that useless information at all."
"Then how about telling Miss March something useful?" Adrian suggested.
"Sigh~ Forget it, getting down to business is more important."
Unsurprisingly, the side door of the Divination Commission wouldn't open, earning a strong complaint from Qingque: "What is all this mess caused by that blasted Stellaron corrosion?"
"We're doomed. This door won't open either. If we make the Master Diviner wait too long, she'll definitely think 'Unreliable Qingque' has messed up the errand again..."
March 7th raised her hand to volunteer: "I know this! It's everyone's familiar puzzle-solving segment again! No need to trouble Mr. Yang; this lady wants to try this time!"
"Are you going to say some nonsensical command like 'Open Sesame'?"
"Hey, don't mention such embarrassing things! What if the Divination Commission's gate is voice-controlled?" March 7th huffed.
"Eh? That's not good, right? The Divination Commission doesn't seem to have voice-controlled doors... Hey~ I was just being polite. Actually, there's nothing wrong with it. Miss March, please."
Qingque stepped aside. "Do you need me to teach you?"
"No! Just watch this lady perform!" March 7th walked up to the side door. "Open Sesame!"
"I told you there's no voice control system!"
Just as the words fell, a thread of black and gold silently drilled into the switch mechanism.
Accompanied by a "creak," the tightly closed side door responded, and the sound of gears turning inside could be faintly heard.
"No way... it really has voice control?" Stelle's eyes widened. Thinking back, perhaps Jarilo-VI's technology was just too backward.
"Hiya! Miss March is amazing! An outsider took down this door with ease. Cough! I formally hand over the title of [Head of the Gate of Leisure] to you!"
"Hiss... do I really have the ability to speak the law?" March 7th was also confused. She just said it; how did it actually open?
"Miss March, confidence is a good thing! You must believe in yourself."
Under the gaze of Dan Heng and Welt, Adrian withdrew the thread, pretending nothing had happened.
At a time like this, it was better not to have complicated puzzle segments.
...
Matrix of Prescience
The path was unimpeded, with absolutely no attacks from Fragmentum creations. Qingque led everyone to this place at full speed.
"Great, no encounter battles to waste time!"
March 7th celebrated. It seemed the crisis at the Divination Commission had been quelled; they really went to a lot of trouble to interrogate Kafka.
"Ahead is the large-scale Jade Abacus terminal the Divination Commission is proud of—the Matrix of Prescience."
"Walking all this way, I've heard people mention the term [Jade Abacus] from time to time. Miss Qingque, what is a Jade Abacus?" Welt asked.
"A Jade Abacus... is a Jade Abacus. Good question, Mr. Yang. I can't answer it right away; let me think... The book Glimpsing the Mysteries of the Yi Mirror says: [Engraving runes into living jade, divining to know the mysteries]."
"Just like carving a seal, the craftsmen of the Artisanship Commission engrave billions of talismans invisible to the naked eye into the jade lattice, and then embed them into various mechanisms according to requirements, allowing them to operate according to the designed intent."
"Some Jade Abacuses are small enough to be kept in bracelets and jewelry. The big ones are installed in arrays, used to deduce variables and know the future by examining the past."
Qingque looked at the Matrix of Prescience behind her; this was a perfect example. "Just like this Matrix of Prescience. Whether it's the evolution of celestial principles or metabolic processes. As long as there is enough information, it can answer any question."
"It is said that the talismans and principles within asked of [The Wisdomwalker] Nous. As for its profundity, perhaps only the Master Diviner in the entire Divination Commission can claim to know it like the back of her hand."
Associating it with the Aeon of [Erudition], Nous, Stelle understood. "So this thing is a supercomputer?"
"Seems so, but the name [Jade Abacus] sounds much nicer. Besides, how can ordinary computers have such a mysterious origin? Technology personally guided by Nous..."
Such technology might not even exist on Herta's Space Station. March 7th had never seen anything related to Nous.
"Anyway, don't get hung up on the names. As long as the mechanism operates, what's the difference between [Jade Abacus] and [Computer]?"
"Just like today, as long as someone guides you here, whether it's Qingque or Whiteque, it doesn't matter at all."
"Well said."
Adrian agreed with this statement very much. The children of the Church achieved this point: regardless of [Identity], things are as they are.
Recalling that experience at the Church... Back then, he went to help as a volunteer. Tired from moving things, he planned to look at the overall layout of the chapel. Walking in front of his own statue, he happened to see the fruit plate placed there.
Seeing no one around, Adrian took a piece of apple. Just as he took a bite, he was caught by the acting blonde priestess.
"Hey, what are you doing!" The priestess walked over angrily. When she saw Adrian holding the fruit for the Aeon of [Eternity], her eyes went straight.
"This, this, this... stealing offerings? What is this behavior?!"
"Cough, it's like this. Please listen to my explanation." Adrian cleared his throat. After all, HE is a reasonable God, so at this moment, HE chose to show his hand directly.
"Phew... there's no helping it. I can no longer hide it."
"Rejoice, my devout believer! Standing before you is none other than the Aeon of [Eternity] HIMSELF, Ite!"
"How about it? Are you shocked? Shocked enough to cry? Moved to finally see the God you worship?" Adrian spread his arms, a holy light even brighter than Pontiff Blake's shining there.
Acting Priestess: ...
Impersonating a God, that's an extra crime!
"Mr. Volunteer, are you so hungry that you're talking nonsense? It seems the work pressure we assigned is too great..." The priestess reflected on herself first, deciding to report the situation to Pontiff Blake later.
"Is there anything else? If not, I'm going back to process documents. Remember! Don't just eat Lord Ite's food randomly!" Given that it was Adrian's first offense, she had to punish him properly so he would learn his lesson.
"Hmm, I sentence you to copy the Doctrine of Eternity once."
"Sigh..."
Adrian sighed helplessly. These days, no one believed the truth.
Pulling his thoughts back to the present, Qingque continued to speak to everyone:
"We're almost at the core of the Matrix of Prescience. The Master Diviner should be waiting for us there."