Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 262: ARCHITECT CAIN

Chapter 262: ARCHITECT CAIN

One week was their deadline. One week was the time given to construct the Raman Spectroscopy. The third day came and went. In the first few hours of the fourth day...

"We’re done." David let out a sigh and plopped down. "Finally."

The Raman Spectroscopy was complete.

Chuckling, Kazi sat down beside his friend. Admittedly, he was quite relieved too. Kazi and David sat with water bottles, drinking and leaning on the wall. Laid out in front of them was a mini-factory. Fifty by fifty feet, rows of conveyor belts stood dormant, their mechanical arms and specific operations poised to spring to life at a moment’s notice. Metal mingled with the thick aroma of grease and lubricant. It was quite nasty.

"You were smart to start building in advance," David remarked. "We’re going to have so much to show."

To bring the best impression possible, they planned to bring several additional devices. That included a fully-functioning phone, a Light Detection and Ranging sensor, and the highly requested Raman Spectroscopy. Kazi flipped over the flip phone in his hand, examining it. He couldn’t believe he had done it. He and David had been working in the background whenever possible. The device boasted a slim and lightweight construction and fit comfortably in the palm of his hand. He turned it on with the side-button. Crisp clarity and vivid colours came through. The bezels were minimal too.

"A bit slow on the activation," Kazi muttered.

"Nobody is gonna notice," David said. He inhaled. "But goddammit, it’s annoying me. Here, give it to me, I’ll try and adjust it."

The tempered glass of the phone was the least trickiest part. The modern smartphone market used aluminosilicate glass which required zeolite, a naturally occurring element. On Earth, it would have been easy enough to gain. Here in the White Abyss, not as much. Kazi had to sacrifice modernity and chose to manufacture borosilicate glass instead. The primary materials were boric oxide, silica sand, soda ash, and alumina. The quality was superior to normal glass and thus had other marketable functions. In other words, even if Kazi’s idea failed, he had something to lean on: the water bottle and camera industries. After all, on the back of the phone, a polished casing housed the camera module.

As David cracked open the back to adjust the circuit, a black System window suddenly made him drop the phone. Any exasperation Kazi had was replaced by bewilderment.

[ ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL PLAYERS

GATE 13 IS CURRENTLY UNDER OBSERVATION! NO FURTHER PLAYERS MAY ENTER!

SINCERELY, ARCHITECT CAIN ]

’Architect Cain...?’

"Cain...?" David repeated in a mutter. "Wait, that’s the guy from the very start! R-right?"

"I think so. An Architect, huh? This doesn’t seem normal," Kazi said, mostly to himself. He got up.

"I’m going to the Bazaar to check things out. Be right back."

"Sure. Catch ya later."

***

"Have you heard?"

"Gate 13 is closed!"

"No, as in, no one can enter it. For some reason it’s closed off."

"Blimey, mate, yer actin’ like the players have a bowl of porridge in ’ere. No shite something happened. I bet my grandmother’s best whiskey."

"The Silent Force...freaky ass place."

Going on a stroll through the Nebulous Bazaar and picking out voices to eavesdrop on was a skill Kazi cultivated through years on the streets. When he was a servant, he often went out to gain a deeper understanding of his surroundings. He wanted to know what the people wanted, how they reacted, and why they spoke the way they did. What were their true feelings regarding the decision on a particular matter? He read their lips, grasped their body language, and tried to be attentive to their emotions.

Any carriages with passengers, he discreetly slowed down to listen to. Some worked, others didn’t. He never stayed glued to a carriage for longer than a minute.

He purposely went toward the Guild Sector. He calmly strolled through the territory of the Templars, eyes flickering and reading. He didn’t expect much from the Templars given what happened to their students. He went ahead and encroached onto the Chinese Sects. First was the Justice Sect, the white hanfus of equality fluttering. Voices of the old and new echoed everywhere.

The two tree-shaped structures facing each other belonged to the Justice Sect. Two schools of martial artists, the left school for the experienced cultivators and the right school for the newbies. Kazi drifted to the right and cast a glance at the open gate of the school. Beyond the gate, a spacious courtyard stretched out, paved with smooth stone tiles and students.

There was no barrier. Kazi could see.

He read their lips. He tried to understand. He slowed his pace by just a step. He was past the Justice Sect territory without anyone knowing and without knowing anything more. It was the same everywhere. ’Everybody is confused,’ Kazi thought. ’Gate 13 closed and no one knows why.’

Past the Justice Sect were the Orthodox Sect, Unorthodox Sect, then the smaller guilds. The Maccabees, the Holy Dynasty, the Golden Phoenix Clan, Thunderstrike Brotherhood, and everyone else. At the very, very end were the Alhambra Guardians. Kazi could relax a little here since he was Muslim. Suspicion wasn’t casted on him.

Even then, he didn’t get the information he wanted. He glanced at the Harem Palace, adjacent to the Magnificence. Fragrant flowers perfumed the air. Other than that...Kazi sensed nothing from it. For some reason, looking at it caused him a headache. Looking at it caused him to think of nothing. To go empty.

He looked away and went left. Opposing the Caliph’s Harem Palace was the largest mosque in the Nebulous Bazaar. Indeed, Kazi was able to circumvent any and all suspicion by going in there. It was Friday and he joined the crowd of people funneling into the gate. A classical Ottoman-designed structure, one massive dome stood in the center, accompanied by four smaller domes. Tall, slender minarets rose high into the sky, their elegant spires reaching toward the heavens in silent reverence. Six of them.

Kazi and a hundred worshipers found themselves in a massive courtyard. Stained glass windows were everywhere. The player got through to one of the structures topped with a semi-domes, slipping off his shoes, the floor of expensive carpet. The crowd having thinned, Kazi approached the first volunteer he encountered, who was asking for donations from everyone that entered.

"I’m new here," Kazi said, smiling. "Is there any way I can help?"

"Ah, no, no, this isn’t like the old world." The volunteer patted the golden crescent moon on the breast of his thawb. "We work for the Alhambra Guardians."

"Understood, understood. Thank you, brother."

"Anytime."

In the background, he continued to hear requests for donation. Kazi chuckled to himself. Some things never changed.