Outside Sumeru City.
On the lush, green grassland lay a muddy path that became difficult to traverse on rainy days.
Trees lined both sides of the trail, and sunlight filtered through the branches, casting a mosaic of light and shadow—like stepping into a dreamscape made of glass.
Nolan had already gotten the exact location of the "Workshop"—the place where the Doctor and his team conducted their experiments—from the Grand Sage.
Now, he and Nahida were on their way there.
To avoid triggering any detection methods the Doctor might've set up around the workshop, both Nolan and Nahida went under stealth.
And to be extra safe, Nolan even used the spatial traits of the "Abysswalker" domain to pull Nahida into the "Shallow Layer Space" with him.
By adding a layer of spatial separation, even Nahida couldn't detect them—let alone the Doctor. The chances of being discovered were incredibly low.
That was already showing plenty of caution toward a full-powered Doctor. If they _still_ got spotted, well… then it'd just come down to situational judgment—if they could fight, they'd fight. If not, they'd retreat.
As for calling Ei out to lend a hand? That wasn't an option.
After all, her Electro Gnosis had been traded through official channels with Yae Miko. If Ei showed up now and snatched it back, it would be a breach of contract—and the consequences would tarnish her reputation.
Plus, if Nolan planned to act, he couldn't directly aim for the Electro Gnosis. He had to frame it as an effort to save Sumeru and help the Dandro Archon.
After all, he had been present during the trade at the Grand Narukami Shrine, technically making him a witness to the deal.
If he came off as having ill intent toward the Electro Gnosis and word got out, it could also damage his own reputation.
Before gaining the "Spiritual Core" specialization, he wouldn't have cared too much about reputation… well, maybe _a little_.
But now, a good reputation was important. The stronger his Spiritual Core specialty, the more people who knew him, the easier it was to gather an endless stream of "Spirituality."
Sure, bad fame could also get his name out there, but he had no intention of becoming a villain.
So, if he were going to do "bad things," it had to be from the moral high ground—tied to noble causes like helping Nahida or saving Sumeru.
With that in mind, all the concerns above would disappear.
He could not only achieve his goal but also walk away with a good reputation. _Now that's a win-win... and by win-win, I mean I win twice,_ he mused.
It didn't take long before Nolan and Nahida arrived deep within the forest.
The area was densely wooded and unremarkable. Even if an adventurer happened to pass through, they likely wouldn't realize a secret domain conducting god-making experiments was hidden here.
"The place the Grand Sage mentioned should be right here. Do you have any way of getting into this domain?" Nahida asked, tilting her head slightly to look at Nolan.
Natural domains typically had a "door" of sorts—like a spatial rift—allowing access.
Those who specialized in spatial manipulation could sometimes "close" these doors or even move them.
According to the Grand Sage's intel, the entrance to the Workshop was hidden with an elemental array, and even locked with a kind of elemental "key."
Only with the right key could one enter.
What's more, any disturbance in the array would alert the Doctor inside. He'd instantly know _who_ was coming.
If it was the Grand Sage or one of his subordinates, they'd be let through.
If not… anyone who stumbled upon the domain would be swiftly "sent to rest in the earth," so as not to interfere with the god-making research.
Since Nolan and Nahida were here just to scope out the situation, they _definitely_ didn't want to be detected.
So getting in completely unnoticed was the only option.
"Easy. We'll just 'sneak' in," Nolan said with a confident grin that made Nahida feel a little more at ease.
Others might have no way around the problem.
But for Nolan, it was a piece of cake. Based on his prior analysis, places like beast realms and secret domains were all tucked away in the deeper layers of the world's spatial structure.
If someone tried to look for a domain inside the pitch-black, lightless Deep Layer Space—like drifting alone in the cosmic abyss—it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
But now that they _knew_ where the domain was on the surface…
All Nolan had to do was pull Nahida with him from the Shallow Layer Space down into the Deep Layer Space. No searching necessary—the domain would most likely be right in front of them.
He had already figured this out earlier.
The "Surface Layer," meaning the real world, existed in relation to the Shallow and Deep Layers much like the ocean's surface to its shallow and deep waters.
If an iceberg's tip was sticking out above water, then its body had to be located directly beneath it along the same vertical axis.
So, that makes it easier to understand.
The secret domain entrance discovered in the "Surface Layer Space" is like the tip of an iceberg—meaning the domain's true form should be located in the "Deep Layer Space" directly beneath it, aligned along the same vertical axis.
As a result, when Nolan descended into the Deep Layer Space, he would, in all likelihood, encounter the core of the domain—at which point he could use spatial traversal to slip inside.
In this way, they could bypass the official entrance and successfully "sneak in."
That said, this was all just a theory based on what he currently knew. The likelihood was high, sure—but whether it was actually true or not…
Nolan had never gone out of his way to test it by finding a domain before. So now, this was the perfect opportunity!
"'Sneak in'?"
Nahida looked confused. She wasn't sure why Nolan used that term—based on her knowledge, it didn't sound like something… positive.
"Well, here's the thing—"
Nolan chuckled, and without keeping her guessing, explained his plan in full.
"…I see," Nahida nodded thoughtfully after hearing him out.
As for the "Shallow Layer" and "Deep Layer" spaces—those concepts related to the structural layers of Teyvat's world.
And as a five-hundred-year-old young god, the knowledge passed down from the Great Lord Rukkhadevata had been stored in the Akasha System.
But she hadn't yet studied the part about the spatial structure of the world.
"Well then, I'm about to start descending. If the Drandro Archon is afraid of the dark, you can close your eyes in advance~"
Nolan said with a teasing smile.
"…"
Nahida went quiet for a moment, then replied calmly, "Please don't treat me like a human child. As a god, I am _not_ afraid of the dark."
"Haha, just kidding."
The moment Nolan finished his words, he took Nahida and together they descended into the Deep Layer Space.
Despite what she said, Nahida—perhaps subconsciously—closed her eyes in advance when he wasn't paying attention.
Dark as an abyss. Still as the cosmos.
Nolan once again arrived in that breathless, weightless void of darkness.
He released his spiritual power outward to scan the area, and just as he expected—this time, the space ahead wasn't an empty void like before.
Instead, there was a massive spherical space in front of him, roughly a kilometer in diameter based on a rough estimate.
For a domain, that wasn't particularly large—but for a research workshop, it was more than enough.
Without hesitation, Nolan used spatial traversal and brought Nahida with him across the domain's spatial boundary, entering the space within.
At first, everything around them was pitch black—they couldn't see a thing. That was because they were still inside the Deep Layer Space.
Even inside the domain, the view remained the same.
But soon, they ascended into the Shallow Layer Space—and with that, the domain's internal environment came into view.
It looked exactly as Nolan remembered from the game.
The entire domain had been transformed into a massive workshop. The floors and walls bore the distinctive style of Sumeru architecture, with a fresh, green aesthetic throughout.
No surprise there—this was likely the handiwork of the Grand Sage.
He had probably provided the materials, labor, and Mora to build the workshop, while the Doctor focused entirely on the main research for the "God-Making Project."
After all, the Grand Sage had a whole Akademiya to run and likely didn't have the time to co-research with the Doctor.
"Let's take a look around. Which way do you think we should go?"
Nolan glanced around. They were currently standing in a corridor with paths leading both left and right.
He wasn't sure which direction led to where the Doctor conducted his experiments.
"Anywhere is fine," Nahida replied calmly.
Since she had no preference, Nolan followed his instincts and chose to go left.
Either way, it would lead somewhere. And the entire workshop was only about one kilometer in diameter.
Even if they went the wrong way, it wouldn't take much time to backtrack.
The two walked down the corridor for a while. Perhaps by luck, they chose the right direction—because after passing through a square-shaped doorway…
They were suddenly struck speechless by the sight before them.
They now stood on a protruding circular balcony—and directly facing them was the enormous face of a massive purple mech.
Hisss…! The God of Pure Mechanization—he finally saw _It_ with his own eyes!
Perhaps because it was still unfinished, or lacked an operator, its eyes were currently dark and unlit…
"What an immense creation… Even just looking at it gives me a crushing sense of pressure,"
Nahida exclaimed in astonishment.
Truthfully, within the Shallow Layer Space, what they were seeing was only a projection of the Surface Layer Space.
Any real sense of "pressure" wouldn't be able to transmit here.
Just like how releasing spiritual energy from here wouldn't be able to probe things in the Surface Layer—since they weren't on the same spatial level.
Nahida's feeling of pressure must've simply been a psychological response to the visual impact alone.
Nolan was just as affected—
Even though he had already seen the awe-inspiring image of the "God of Pure Mechanization" in the game before, seeing it up close in person was an entirely different experience.
Truly overwhelming.
The "Doctor" really was a genius when it came to research—he could even create gods. That was downright terrifying.
If he had access to enough _Gnosis_ cores, Nolan couldn't help but wonder… would he be able to mass-produce gods? If so, helping the Tsaritsa conquer all of Teyvat wouldn't even be a challenge.
After all, a god-level army of soldiers? Who on this continent could possibly resist that?
Even if material constraints prevented the creation of _true_ gods in large quantities, if they could be slightly downgraded—say, producing a batch of Level 90-grade war machines…
Forget ruling Teyvat—just wiping out the Abyss Order would already be a walk in the park!
A bold idea suddenly sparked in Nolan's mind—what if he could acquire the technology behind these "Artificial Gods"? Then, if he ever got the chance to explore the universe in a spaceship one day…
Bringing a few weakened versions of the "God of Pure Mechanization" as armed escorts wouldn't be a bad plan at all…
"Since the Doctor's Artificial God is here, then he himself must be nearby too. Let's look around,"
Nahida's voice brought Nolan back from his wild sci-fi fantasies.
Alright… mass-producing gods and such—just something fun to imagine for now. Realistically speaking, that was still a long shot.
He took a moment, shook off the dream, then stepped forward toward the edge of the circular balcony closer to the mech's massive outer frame.
Then he looked down.
Just as expected—dozens of thick cables were connected to the "God of Pure Mechanization" below, and around the various machines and devices near the base, he could faintly make out two human figures.
"They're down there. Let's go."
Nolan turned to Nahida.
"Mm, alright." Nahida nodded.
The two of them stepped off the platform through the gaps between the God of Pure Mechanization's massive body, and used their spiritual power to control their descent.
The "Shallow Layer Space" functioned much like the Deep Layer Space. Aside from being able to occasionally see projections from the real world, it had no gravity and was completely non-breathable.
So technically, they weren't _walking_—they were flying by controlling their own movements with spirit power. The ground wasn't real and couldn't be touched.
If they wanted to, they could even walk "underground"—since everything here was just a projection of the real world and had no physical form.
Soon, Nolan and Nahida landed near the base.
All around them were complex pieces of experimental machinery, countless wires, and pipeline connections. But Nolan wasn't a researcher.
He didn't know what any of it was, nor did he care to.
His attention was entirely on the two figures ahead who seemed to be in deep discussion. They were, of course—the "Doctor" and "Scaramouche."
But in the Shallow Layer Space, sound didn't transmit, so even though visually it looked like they were only two or three meters away, he couldn't hear a thing they were saying.
"You need to be patient. The God of Pure Mechanization can only be completed once the Grand Sage delivers the 'Divine Knowledge',"
"Otherwise, even if you fuse with it, you'll only be a 'pilot' at best. Still far from perfection."
Nahida tilted her head slightly, eyes fixed on the Doctor's exposed mouth beneath his dark mask, and repeated his words almost in perfect sync.
"Huh? Was that… lip reading?"
Nolan turned to her, surprised.
"That's right," Nahida nodded lightly. "Back when I was imprisoned in the Sanctuary of Surasthana, I often projected my consciousness outward to observe the world. Over time, I naturally picked up the skill."
She especially liked observing through the body of Katherine at the Adventurers' Guild—since she frequently dealt with commissions and adventurers.
By interacting with all kinds of people, Nahida had managed to learn a great deal.
"That's really impressive. In that case, I'll leave it to you—help me relay what they're saying."
"Mm."
Nahida shifted her gaze to Scaramouche and began interpreting:
"Dottore, cut the crap. That thing can come later. For now, just let me begin the synchronization process with the 'God of Pure Mechanization'!"
(End of Chapter)
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