Chapter 58

Touching The Edge of the Aircraft!

Gripping the handles, Juan skillfully extended his spiritual threads, letting them sink into the metal upon contact. Guided by a long thread, they eventually connected with an underwater mining machine.

But it wasn’t just any mining machine; this one had its claw in a clamped position, and clamped within it was not a chunk of ore, but a… fishing rod.

So, they really were going fishing.

Juan took a closer “look” at the fishing rod in the machine’s claw, extending his spiritual thread through the handle down to the fishing line and all the way to the hook. He discovered, however, that it was baitless.

“Do you think you can catch anything with that line alone?” came the old master’s voice from behind him, as though reading Juan’s thoughts.

And the answer was—yes, he could!

So, when a large, black fish slowly swam into view from the depths, Juan waited patiently. Then, when it got close to the line, the line shot up like a thin snake, wrapping the fish tightly in a series of quick loops.

Following the mining machine’s usual operations, Juan maneuvered the giant fish into a bucket meant for ore collection. Retracting his spiritual thread, he looked back at the old master.

Raising an eyebrow, the old man asked, “Is this how you were mining yesterday as well?”

Juan nodded slightly. Seeing this, the old man also nodded, giving him a pat on the back to signal him to follow. He led Juan to the other end of the room.

There, the old man, sitting by the window, picked up a remote and pressed a button. The curtains slowly pulled back, revealing the full view of the undersea landscape. Unlike Scott’s room, which had only a single glass pane for the view, this was a 360-degree underwater panorama.

They had entered through a central door via a vertical lift in the middle of the room.

As the curtains opened fully, Juan saw the full extent of the seabed outside.

Indeed, it was an abandoned underwater mine.

Old mining frames were still standing, now covered in seaweed, and the large excavation equipment was also overgrown with seaweed. It seemed like various marine creatures had made these structures their home, as Juan saw a fish tail disappearing into one of the machines just as the curtain opened.

But the most eye-catching feature was a towering humanoid machine, which only came into view last.

It was vaguely humanoid because it had “hands,” each with five thick mechanical fingers and visible joints. But beyond that, it bore little resemblance to a human.

It was enormous, about 30 meters tall, with a cylindrical head and torso, giving it a solid, robust appearance.

Its body had the same circuitry as the mining machines he’d used before.

Could it be… another mining machine?

Juan had the thought, but Scott couldn’t answer him—this was his first time in the room, and he seemed genuinely intimidated by the old man, remaining silent since they had entered.

“I… I saw a mining machine for the first time the same day as you—yesterday. Ahem, in my past life, I didn’t grow up here, so I never saw one. In this life, even though I grew up here, my poor health kept me from ever going outside…” Scott’s voice grew softer, but suddenly he raised it, adding, “But I heard the old master’s special ability is control! They say he awakened it while mining, which not only saved his life but helped him build his fortune!”

“If this robot-like giant is really a mining machine, could it be the one the old master used when he first awakened his ability?”

“I read about Grandpa’s story in his biography. It said that the latest mining machines back then were large humanoid machines, though they weren’t automated—they required manual control. Grandpa was operating one of them when an undersea volcano erupted! The violent quake trapped his cockpit under volcanic rocks, and as his oxygen dwindled and the cockpit began to collapse, his ability awakened. His body couldn’t move, but the mining machine beside him, with no one operating it, came to life. It dug out the cockpit and carried it directly to the ocean surface…”

“My grandfather is a powerful control-type ability user!” Scott said proudly.

Not long after, the old man, Blicher, spoke again:

“This is the mining machine I used in my younger days.”

“Though it looks worn out and clunky now, back in the day, this was the latest model.”

“I put everything I had on the treasures beneath this sea. I even took out big loans from the bank and commissioned this new mining machine.”

“Heh, thanks to it, I managed to survive—and even built a fortune.”

“Did you know? This family’s first fortune was carried up from the ocean floor, trip after trip, by this old machine. Not only did it establish the Blicher family, but in time, it also built the entire city of Blicher. You could say this machine laid the foundation of Blicher City.”

“But—” He paused, his gaze fixed on the decaying, humanoid mining machine beyond the glass. “Can you operate it?”

Seeing Juan seemingly looking for a control panel, the old man continued, “You don’t need a control panel, do you? For you, it doesn’t matter. Keep it simple, give it a try.”

Meeting the old man’s sharp gaze, Juan stood still, gazing at him, while part of his spirit threads flowed out like silk.

The vast threads passed through the glass, through the cold, heavy seawater, and filled the giant mining machine. Once his spirit threads had fully extended within the metal shell, Juan tried moving it.

He didn’t move, but the machine’s fingers did.

To the old man in the room, it seemed as though the fingers of the humanoid mining machine he once piloted had moved, then its “foot” shifted, and finally, with a sweep of its massive hand across the seaweed-covered ocean floor, it stood up!

The old man’s dull eyes widened slightly, and his hands gripped the armrests of his wheelchair, veins bulging as he held on tightly.

Then, he laughed.

A hearty laugh echoed throughout the undersea room, lingering for a long time before he stopped.

“Hungry? Let’s go up and eat.” He said nothing about what had just happened, turning to Juan.

Juan looked over at the fish in the mining machine’s bucket on the other side of the room…

That fish…well…maybe it’s edible? Possibly…?

“The fish you caught—leave it as a gift for me. I’ll treat you to fish that I caught, and don’t worry, it’s from a different sea, and it’s delicious,” said the old man, waving his hand as he noticed Juan’s hesitation.

He then wheeled himself to the only door in the room, where a butler stood and opened the elevator. Once Juan was inside, the butler pressed a button, and the three of them ascended to the ocean’s surface.

When the elevator opened, they were greeted by blue skies and white clouds—a complete contrast to the darkness below. In front of the elevator was a white bridge over the blue sea, leading to a white dining table with two matching chairs.

The table was already set, and as the elevator doors opened, a server placed the final dish, while another poured wine in their glasses, timing their arrival perfectly.

After seating them, the servers left, leaving only the butler, who stood quietly as if invisible.

Gesturing for Juan to start eating, the old man laid a napkin on his lap, took a bite of fish with his fork, and began to eat.

Following his example, Juan placed the napkin in his lap and finally began his breakfast.

The two ate heartily, savoring the food.

Watching them, Scott remarked, “Good thing it’s you sitting here. If it were me, I’d be too scared to eat more than a few bites.”

“Actually, in my previous life, I never had a one-on-one meal with Grandpa. The only times I ate with him were in a group, and even then, I never ate my fill.”

The first time, he didn’t understand dining etiquette and barely touched the food.

The second time, he didn’t understand how to eat what was on the table and didn’t dare to try.

By the third time, his health had deteriorated, and he couldn’t eat even if he wanted to.

Eat if you want to—Juan couldn’t understand why he hadn’t had his fill.

But maybe that’s just how people are, missing out on meals when they have the chance—like the person across from him.

After only a few bites of fish, the old man set down his knife and fork, took a sip of wine, and fixed his gaze on Juan’s focused face.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, “You’ve got quite a bit of patience, holding back until you were fully ready to show your abilities.”

Looking up from his plate, Juan met the old man’s gaze, confused.

The old man’s mind lingered on the sight of Juan operating the old mining machine. He then recalled the drawing the butler had placed on his desk yesterday.

Drumming his fingers on the table, he said, “You did well. You did everything I asked, so it’s only fair I give you a reward. Tell me, what would you like?”

Meeting the old man’s similarly blue eyes, Juan responded without hesitation, “Money.”

What he needed most right now was money—to buy a plane ticket, to go find Peter. Money was the only thing he needed.

The old man raised an eyebrow, his expression becoming more amused. Drumming his fingers on the table, he said, “Everyone wants my money, but you’re the most straightforward about it.”

However—

Looking into the young man’s clear blue eyes, the old man saw…nothing.

No greed, no desire—none of the things he’d seen in others, again and again. This youth simply answered him plainly.

With his expression completely unchanged, the old man continued to ask, “Alright, money is the one thing I have in abundance. I can give you as much as you want, but before that, would you accompany me somewhere?”

Meanwhile, as the Brownie father and son anxiously waited in the dining room where they were eating grilled fish, they received a new notice.

The notice had two points:

1. Scott wouldn’t be returning today, so they didn’t need to wait for him.

2. He also wouldn’t be back for the next few days, as he’d be accompanying the old man to the western city of Moriqiu to attend an auction.

They would be traveling by airship.