Chapter 2190: Chapter 2190

"These conditions are far too difficult. Even if I'd known them in advance, I might not have been able to complete them."

Jenkins shook his head with a sigh, though he wasn't particularly worried about the situation.

"But for the Mysterious Realm's completion requirements to be this complex... did you change the rules again?"

"Not at all. These conditions are indeed quite difficult, which is why you could also have waited for the clues that appear after the ship docks. After all, just as you said, no Mysterious Realm is impossible to clear. This one is divided into two phases: before docking and after. You were simply in too much of a hurry. Securing all the clues before the ship reaches the shore is like finding the exit halfway through the trial, so naturally, the requirements are incredibly stringent."

"Before docking, time is tight and you have to constantly manage the fog, which makes gathering intelligence harder and requires completing complex conditions. After docking, intelligence is easy to come by, but you face far greater dangers. I'm guessing that was the fundamental design of this Mysterious Realm?"

"Yes, you are indeed worthy of your title, Savior Williams, for having reached the eighth floor of the tower. You're absolutely right. There was only half an hour before docking. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to maintain the light, guard against danger, and complete all three tasks. So, waiting until after the ship docks is not a bad choice at all."

Ahead of the ship, the edge of the island with the enormous tree had already come into view.

Islands that appear in rivers are usually formed by the accumulation of sediment, or in rare cases, due to unique topography.

There had to be some kind of spatial anomaly around it, allowing an island too large for the river to exist within it as naturally as a rock jutting out of the water.

Considering the backstory of this Mysterious Realm, the island and the steel World Tree were likely designed and built by the Enchanters of this world. Since it was meant to be a sanctuary during a great calamity, it was bound to be extraordinary.

As the ship drew closer, the tree on the island became visible. It was a plant of silvery-gray steel alloy, the same color as the "Mind-Blocking Metal" that existed in the real world. The tree's trunk and the portions of its root system that broke through the ground took up the entire surface of the island.

As a result, there were no other structures on the ground; it was a barren landscape, marked only by the undulating roots. But Jenkins wasn't curious about where the refugees lived. After all, the trunk's exaggerated diameter alone was enough to build apartments inside. To say nothing of the towering steel canopy spreading outwards, its dense metallic branches clearly concealing buildings and rooms invisible from the outside.

"Only by taking this specific ship can you see the tree as you approach."

The metal head on the chair explained. Jenkins glanced at it.

"So, you're saying that in this Mysterious Realm's backstory, the Difference Engine already knew about this sanctuary's existence?"

"Of course. My Lord is omnipotent."

The head replied in a calm, even tone.

"Impressive. To think it could infiltrate a Mysterious Realm to this extent."

Even Jenkins had to marvel at his enemy's apparent omnipotence.

"The higher the floor, the more meticulously it has been designed by my Lord. This is His power. Savior, you have talent and ability. Why will you not accept my Lord's goodwill?"

The head attempted to persuade him again, but this time Jenkins didn't answer. The ship had begun to slow down.

As they slowly approached the dock at the island's edge, the refugees on board realized they were about to reach their destination. Though they were still huddled and unable to move freely, they could at least turn their heads to try and see the bow.

Jenkins shouldered his pack, gave Chocolate a reassuring pat, and, with the magic sword in his left hand, walked over to the old man.

"We're about to dock. You're sure that once I get you off the ship, you'll give me the information I need, right?"

He took the pipe from his mouth and exhaled another puff of smoke.

"I'm a man of my word."

"But I can't leave the ship."

"That's fine. Just get me to the ladder and lower me down with a rope."

Jenkins nodded. That sounded reasonable enough.

So, using the last few moments before the ship docked, he found some rope and a plank on deck and fashioned a makeshift swing. The old man might be missing a leg, but both of his hands were fine. He could sit on the plank, hold the ropes to keep his balance, and land safely.

There was someone on the river island's dock to meet the ship, but it was just one person, holding a kerosene lamp and swinging it back and forth, as if guiding the vessel in.

Behind the thick fog, the person's features were impossible to make out. Jenkins peered into the distance and confirmed that the fog was just as dense on the island.

"Is this your first time here?"

He asked the pipe-smoking old man, hoping to glean any other available information.

"No, I was here two years ago."

"Was there fog on the island back then?"

"Of course. There's fog everywhere in this world."

"Don't you know that this fog is..."

The old man nodded, looking up at Jenkins.

"I know what you're going to say, but so what? Whatever the reason, that *thing* allows this island and this tree to exist, and it allows everyone who sets foot here to survive. That's enough."

It seemed the old man knew even more than Jenkins had expected.

"When I first came to this island, there were only a handful of people. All these years, I've been out there, trying to save more people, to bring more of them here. So it doesn't matter why this place exists. As long as it can shelter people for one more day, I will love it with all my heart."

"So, this so-called sanctuary isn't a safe haven at all. It's just a corner of the world that exists through a tacit agreement between the survivors and the Difference Engine?"

"Yes. We don't have your strength. As long as we can stay alive, people don't care why they're able to."

This island had to be a stage set by the Difference Engine for Jenkins. The fact that humanity wasn't wiped out, that this island was preserved, that this very ship existed—it was all to ensure that, within the narrative, Jenkins could arrive here without a hitch. And though these events might have been entirely fabricated, to the people on this ship, they were real. Their entire existence was nothing more than a backdrop for a game between the Calamity that had befallen their world and the outsider who had arrived to face it.

Thinking about it that way, the people in this Mysterious Realm were truly pitiable. But even Jenkins couldn't be certain whether these mortals were real or fake.

"Besides the tree and the people, what else is on the island?"

"There are many other living things, both sentient and not. We are all survivors of this world."

With that, he held out a hand for Jenkins to help him up. The ship rocked gently. It had docked.

As if some restriction had been lifted, the people who had been huddled together all began to move. They spontaneously found a ladder on deck, set it up with the help of the person on the dock, and then began to line up to disembark.

Because of the old man's leg, he and Jenkins waited at the back of the line.

"Since I've waited until the ship docked, can you give me the first piece of information now?"

"So how much information can you provide?"

"Two pieces. You can learn the name of the most dangerous enemy on the island, or you can learn where the control core of that indescribable thing is."

"How do you know all this?"

Jenkins asked. The information people knew always matched their identity, and this man clearly knew far too much.

"Because I've lived long enough. As I said, I was one of the first refugees to arrive here. No one on this ship knows more than I do."

"Alright then. I choose the second option."

Choosing the first might have directly revealed the way out, but it was more likely he'd just get the name "Great Wisdom."

"The control core is that metal head."

Jenkins raised an eyebrow.

"Just as I thought. This is only a part of its combat body. The true core is still hiding deep within the ninth floor."

The old man couldn't understand.

Jenkins shook his head, then turned slightly to address the metal head.

"What's the point of this? You know perfectly well that a mere portion of your body can't stop me. Wouldn't it be better to save all your combat strength for a final confrontation with me on the ninth floor?"

"Of course there's a point. I simply wanted to show you what my ideal world looks like."

The head replied, still chuckling.

"If you don't see it, you'll never understand the world I desire."

"You desire this kind of deathly silent world? I saw the cities behind the fog. The skyscrapers and riverside houses are quite impressive, but it's too quiet."

"Deathly silent? No. What you've seen is just this ship and the shadows on the riverbank. Once they've all disembarked, I'll let you see what's really happening here. Williams, welcome to my world. I left my core on the ninth floor, fused the steam engine prototype with the Mechanical Heart, and sent my colossal combat body to invade this entire world, all just to show you this.

"The world is so boring. In tens of thousands of years, you are perhaps the only one who might understand my ideas. So before I kill you, it is necessary that you see all of this. That is the meaning of the eighth floor."

"I don't believe the eighth floor is just for show. What was the thing that originally existed in this Mysterious Realm?"

Even if the Difference Engine could make itself part of the Mysterious Realm, it certainly couldn't change the fundamental rules. Otherwise, it would have already become a complete Beast of Calamity. In other words, without the Difference Engine, this Mysterious Realm originally had its own background calamity. That thing was the true key preventing Jenkins from leaving.