The intense jet of heat, capable of burning flesh to ash in an instant, dissipated by half when refracted through the Mercury Vapor before it could hit. The remaining heat couldn't even leave a mark on the armor.

Facing such a monster, the only thing Helmut could do was scream in despair like a victim in a horror movie, scrambling to flee in a panic.

Calm down, Helmut, calm down—

It's merely a momentary setback. Even if the opponent can freeze the spiritual on a large scale, just a bit of calculation can tell that such a creation consumes an incredible amount of resources, and definitely can't last long!

The most urgent task is to ensure his own safety and delay as much as possible...

But as this thought emerged, all he felt was cold despair.

Just like the tactics he designed using the Mirror's targeting mechanism, he had been locked on by the invader, and no matter how far he ran, he couldn't escape.

Now, the only thing he could do was...

At that moment, the craftsman, who had been fleeing in panic, suddenly stopped in place and let out a silent, self-deprecating sigh.

Yes, what else could he do?

At this point, struggling is already meaningless.

As a craftsman, the moment the workshop lost control, the outcome was already decided.

At this moment, the dust has settled, and the truth has emerged.

All that's left is to accept defeat gracefully!

With that, he turned around, looking at the invader walking step by step from the end of the corridor.

The armor was ferocious and violent.

But his expression gradually calmed down from its initial twitching.

"I didn't expect to encounter such a ridiculous opponent, aside from that stone."

Helmut sighed softly, raising his hand to pull off the cloak woven like a shadow around him.

In the final infusion of spiritual, the shadow transformed, crystallizing to form the outline of a sword blade, which he raised towards the enemy.

"Come—"

He solemnly invited, "Helmut, the last son of White Sail, requests your guidance!"

The armor remained silent, gazing down at the calm face.

As if it understood something, it waved its hand, discarding the anchor-shaped assault rifle and then drew a blazing red heavy sword from its scabbard, raising it to aim at his face from afar.

In the wrecked workshop, darkness and crimson intertwined, flashing by.

Amidst the roar, blood spurted.

The defeated fell with his face to the sky.

Then, everything between heaven and earth quickly dimmed, dissipated, and returned to nothingness.

The match has been decided!

.

Meanwhile, in Ji Jue's workshop, the prolonged dead silence had lasted too long.

Ever since the invader took control, there had been no sound.

As if petrified.

Helmut's mirror image stiffened in place, immobilized...

Unable to control the workshop in time, he couldn't utterly crush the opponent in front of him.

Soon, he started to spasm uncontrollably.

As if he had a sudden stroke, he convulsed violently, collapsing to the ground.

In an unconscious state, he screamed miserably, writhing, opening his mouth to vomit large amounts of black and crimson. The blessed works fell from his hands, and his limbs melted, mutated, and twisted like molten wax.

Tumors and mutant bones grew at a visible speed.

"Well done."

Ji Jue admired, sincerely suggesting, "I recommend you don't do it next time."

Well, if there is a next time.

Twenty-five evil creatures, extracting souls and brain tissue to form spiritual batteries for power.

The entire workshop comprised over sixty key devices and modules made from their bodies and tissues, while during the construction process, a total of 733 large mutant species were hunted down!

And the Mutated Pollution consumed in the process...

Countless!

Now, Ji Jue's entire workshop was practically built upon the pollution of evil creatures and mutation.

As a consequence, behind this dazzling scene lay an area with tens to hundreds of times more terrifying mutations than that of the heavily polluted outside world!

Ji Jue had invested over twenty tons of Pure Mercury in establishing isolation and filtration layers!

Now, Ji Jue was sitting on a volcano's edge, constantly maintaining the balance of pollution and purification every moment.

Any slight mistake, and the least consequence would be having no burial place...

In such a situation, to replace his identity, infiltrate his workshop, and even open up the flow of soul and spiritual – it was no different than jumping into a vortex and sticking his head into a Mutant's mouth.

"You are truly brave."

Ji Jue marveled, feeling the workshop tremor.

As the invader lost control and mutated, his image gradually returned to a blank face, until finally... a loud bang!

The invader, expanding and proliferating to the limit!

Thick black blood and pollution sprayed and diffused like a waterfall but then halted midair.

As Ji Jue waved his hand, streaks of mercury flew in, piercing the invader's body, freezing everything on the verge of collapse.

Locked!

Forcibly maintaining that dying life.

Not allowing him to die.

"Honestly, your luck is really bad."

Ji Jue sighed, "If it were anyone else, no, if it were anyone other than me, that combo would have worked, but you were just extraordinarily unlucky.

There's no helping it; the examiners this year are ridiculously difficult to please..."

After overcoming the initial shock, the calm Ji Jue carefully analyzed and roughly figured out the other's strategy—honestly, this combo that utilized mechanisms was indeed very strong.

But the key was not in the mechanisms of the match, but in Helmut's own skills and abilities.

He tried to disassemble the other's works, but the time was too short, and even reverse-engineering less than a third of it, the internal structure was so intricate and exquisite that it was awe-inspiring.

Although the craftsman was overly stubborn and single-minded, their skills were indeed exceptional, even exceeding that of many craftsmen Ji Jue had seen in You Sui.

The ruthless remnants did not spare the mundane.

By now, any apprentice who had survived the exam had surpassed an apprentice's level, reaching or even slightly exceeding ordinary craftsmen's realm. If judged by traditional standards based on the completion of their works, the outcome would still be in doubt.

The one who could reach such a level was likely only Helmut.

"Speaking of which, I'm actually just like you."

Ji Jue bent down and picked up the remaining head from the mutant remains, gently speaking, "I also have some inhumane thoughts regarding the mechanisms."

"For example..."

He paused for a moment, bowing his head, then suddenly smiled:

"Would you like to see what this world is like?"

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