Chapter 61: The Door-Opening Magic

Outside Alice's Manor.

Without even needing to step inside, one could tell that the place had long been abandoned. Weeds grew wildly, and vegetation was lush. The walls of the buildings were covered in creeping ivy, having been left to ruin for at least three to four years.

Moyu and Iris, who was disguised as a boy, stood at the front gates, observing.

Iris still asked anxiously, "Is she really not home?"

"Don't worry, she's definitely not here anymore," Moyu declared with absolute certainty, his tone resolute.

Iris was not yet familiar with his abilities, so trust had to be cultivated gradually. After watching him manifest his words into reality a few times, trust would naturally develop, and then he could use her like a tool.

"Let's go, we're heading in."

Moyu took the lead.

Alpha followed closely behind.

Though filled with apprehension, Iris gritted her teeth and followed.

The manor was abandoned, and the barrier that once enveloped the entire estate had vanished.

Relying on his previous memories, Moyu quickly located the entrance to the underground facility.

A metal door had been added here.

A quick inspection of the surroundings revealed no switches. To get inside, they either had to breach the door or find another way.

Iris suggested, "Let me try forcing it open."

Moyu raised an index finger and wagged it from side to side. "Nonono~ This is a one-meter-thick alloy door. Using brute force would take far too much effort."

"One meter thick... Do you have a good idea then?" Iris asked, puzzled.

Moyu placed his right index finger against his lips, offering a cryptic and mysterious smile. "I know the Open Sesame magic."

"?"

"Come here, I'll teach you."

Moyu beckoned to Iris, who stepped forward with a puzzled look. Seizing the opportunity, he wrapped his arm around her slender waist, pulled her into his embrace, and guided her small hand toward the metal door, whispering in her ear:

"Now, repeat after me: Open Sesame."

"What kind of nonsense is this? How could that possibly open it?"

"Never mind that, just say it quickly. Remember, sincerity is everything."

Urged on by Moyu, Iris reluctantly called out:

"Open Sesame."

Nothing happened.

Iris's cheeks flushed slightly as a sense of shame washed over her. She silently scolded herself for falling for Moyu's ridiculous talk.

Just as she was about to speak,

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

Amidst a low-pitched sound, the heavy metal door slowly swung open.

"Huh?!"

Iris gasped, her sapphire-like eyes widening. She looked from the open doorway to Moyu, her gaze shifting back and forth, her pretty eyes filled with utter bewilderment.

"Why?"

"I told you, it's open-door magic."

Moyu chuckled and kissed the back of Iris's small hand, bringing a deep blush to the young girl's face before saying, "Alright, let's keep moving."

Of course, there was no such thing as open-door magic.

That door was simply far too thick.

Even for Iris, forcing it open would have taken immense effort.

Moyu had actually had Alpha blast it open using an ion cannon. Two football-sized red ion spheres had melted a hole straight through the one-meter-thick metal door.

Once inside, they discovered that there was a control switch right behind the door, allowing anyone to easily open it from the inside. The passageway was devoid of guards or traps.

And so, Moyu had operated the switch to open the door, activated Rewind, deployed a mirror image one second before pulling the switch, and then used rewind deviation to continue heading back in time right before breaking the door.

The mirror image would appear precisely behind the door, operate the switch, and open it from the inside.

Timing it all perfectly, he had made Iris shout "Open Sesame."

And just like that, the door opened as if by magic.

A flawless open-door magic trick.

While rewind deviation was exceptionally useful, it had one drawback: the mirror image could not carry anything else.

Normally, when the main body and the mirror image separated, he could choose to transfer items on his person to the other, freely distributing key items. However, the mirror image generated by rewind deviation was purely a duplicate, and all uncopyable items remained with the original body.

Moyu walked forward, stealing a glance back over his shoulder.

Iris was staring down at her fingers, her expression one of profound existential doubt.

They walked through a long, narrow corridor, leading to yet another metal door.

This was the original inner door, which was relatively easy to break through. Just as Moyu was considering how to open it, Iris stepped forward, pointed at the iron door, and declared:

"Open Sesame!~"

"Pfft..."

Moyu tried desperately to hold back his laughter, but a sound still slipped out.

Iris's expression froze.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Did I laugh?"

"Yes, you did!"

"You must have heard wrong."

"I did not hear wrong! You laughed just now! I heard it loud and clear with both ears!!"

"I generally don't laugh, unless I really can't help it... Ha..."

"You... You're playing with me!"

Realizing she had been fooled, Iris's face flushed bright red.

Moyu dropped the act and burst out laughing.

Indignant, Iris grabbed his arm, exposed four sharp little canine teeth, and bit down hard, refusing to let go.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

Moyu cried out, feigning intense pain.

Only then did Iris release her bite. She leaned over to lick his wound, healing it instantly, though she still couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked, "How on earth did you pull that off just now?"

"I told you, it's open-door magic." Moyu pointed at the door before them. "This door is disobedient. Go ahead and use brute force."

"You... Hmph! If you won't tell me, fine."

Unhappy, Iris summoned her Blood Brambles, stabbing them through the gaps in the metal door and tearing it apart with sheer physical force. Amidst a screech of harsh metallic scraping, the metal door was violently ripped open.

Moyu warned, "Get ready for a fight. This might be a tough battle."

According to Alice's intelligence, she had designated the Metallic Abomination as the base's guardian.

It was a very peculiar parasitic lifeform. Its spawn propagated within living hosts, fusing metal and organic matter to create a bizarre metallic life form.

Following Alice's modifications, this monster grew stronger by consuming its own spawn, incorporating various creatures to enhance itself. Resembling a lump of slime, it could freely deform, split, and fuse with metal.

In a metallic environment, it was exceptionally difficult to deal with.

The majority of the base's structure consisted of metal walls, making it the ideal environment for the Metallic Abomination to fight in. Twenty years ago, the creature was already formidable; after two decades of evolution, it was at least a tertiary-level mutated entity.

The good news was that Alice had a very particular habit.

Whenever she created various monsters, she always factored in the possibility of them losing control. Consequently, she always prepared some antidotes—essentially akin to induction agents.

According to Alice's notes, dealing with the Metallic Abomination required a drug called RX-2 Solvent, which could dissolve the creature.

To find this item...

The underground base extended hundreds of meters downward, divided into three distinct sections, each varying in thickness.

The first section was the defense layer and temporary storage area. Although it had a fully functional base structure, it was merely a facade, a deception; the truly vital assets lay deep underground.

The second section housed the experimental zone, residential quarters, incubation chambers, and the extraction site for demonic agents.

The third section was the breeding zone, where a massive quantity of monsters was imprisoned, with ongoing excavation continuing even deeper.

The doorway ahead was pitch black.

"Alpha, light."

At Moyu's command, Alpha released several ping-pong-ball-sized hovering drones that emitted a soft white glow, illuminating the entire passageway.

"Let's head to the warehouse first."

Moyu's memory of the place remained crystal clear. In the past, he had run the route to the warehouse countless times while trying to steal the induction agent.

He took the lead, plunging deep into the facility.

Alpha and Iris followed closely behind.