Passing through layers of guarded passages, manipulating the mechanisms inside the vault, they finally opened the protective door leading to the interior.
"The door is open, Tall Chestnut... hey, Tall Chestnut?"
There was no response from Noah in the earpiece; instead, chaotic noise came through.
A piercing alarm bell suddenly rang out, and the entire room lit up with glaring, flashing red lights.
Not good!
Carlotta's heart tightened.
From the moment the protective door was opened, it had triggered some regional alarm mechanism, and the signal here was jammed.
Her expression grew solemn. Just as she was about to quickly leave the area, the floor beneath her feet suddenly gave way, and she lost her balance, falling into the vault's trap.
Amid the massive rumbling sound, this death maze—condensing the ingenuity and effort of countless craftsmen—suddenly manifested before Carlotta.
Extremely scorching high-frequency moving lasers, paths abruptly severed by meshing gears, deadly purple gas rapidly spraying from behind...
The slightest carelessness would lead to certain doom.
"Damn it, I still ended up falling in carelessly."
Carlotta gritted her teeth slightly, her heart racing intensely:
"I have to hurry through here before the passage fully closes; otherwise, not only will I fail to catch those rats, but I'll end up trapping myself in here too..."
Suppressing her panic, she no longer hesitated and dashed at full speed toward the end of the passage.
Though the path was dangerous, it could also count as a shortcut—she could only comfort herself this way.
===
At the end of the mechanism passage, Noah released his perception, remotely taking in Carlotta's performance from afar.
"As expected. Good thing I prepared in advance."
Noah shook his head slightly and vigorously activated his time ability. The speed of all those mechanisms—poured with the blood and sweat of countless ingenious craftsmen—instantly slowed to one-tenth of their original pace.
The difficulty of the mechanisms Carlotta faced instantly dropped from certain death to something anyone could handle.
In his perception, that slender figure navigated through dangers with thrilling close calls, rapidly approaching the end of the passage. Then, she leaped out from the high point at the end, and Noah timely extended his hands.
In the next instant, a warm, fragrant, soft jade entered his embrace. He lowered his head, catching the unique perfume scent on the woman, and as his gaze shifted upward, he met a delicate face as if meticulously carved by God.
"Nice to see you again, Little Potato."
Hearing the familiar nickname, Carlotta's flustered heart calmed slightly. She forced a composed and relaxed smile on her face, giving Noah a thumbs up, though the back of her hand still trembled faintly:
"The timing was perfect. As expected of you—I didn't trust the wrong person."
"Haha, are you praising me or your own judgment?"
Setting down the princess-carried Carlotta, Noah asked:
"How was the experience crossing the vault?"
"Very thrilling!"
Carlotta clutched her chest with lingering fear:
"Actually, all the mechanisms seemed sluggish and slow, but that made me even more nervous."
"These mechanisms might be dawdling one second, then suddenly accelerate the next to take my life. This fast-slow knife design style is very popular in Montelli."
"I felt like every step I took could trigger various mechanisms, so I could only desperately escape outward."
This was the Averardo Vault, the core of the Montelli Family.
To successfully escape from such an extremely perilous mechanism passage—even though she didn't follow the Order, at this moment she couldn't help but feel that it was truly the Sentinel's blessing.
"My heart is beating especially fast right now; I'm a bit short of breath, and my condition isn't great."
"Relax."
Noah remained calm and composed as he comforted her:
"Drink more water, get some sun, and do some photosynthesis."
"Huh?!"
Carlotta's eyes widened, then she let out a puff of laughter:
"Are all people from Jinzhou as interesting as you? Even the way you coax someone to relax is so unique."
After teasing for a moment, Carlotta took a deep breath, turned her head, and her gaze sharpened:
"Let's go. We took such a big risk; we can't let those rats escape."
===
Time passed minute by minute.
Cathedral of Mercury.
"Noah, origin in Jinzhou, came to Rinascita for tourism, an ordinary Resonator with no background."
Alessio held a piece of paper, his voice slowing as he read, finally lifting his eyes with a cold gaze toward Phoebe:
"Acolyte Phoebe, is this the intelligence you investigated? Anything else to add?"
Across from him, Phoebe nodded nervously, her hands twisting in front of her:
"There's nothing else to add, Priest Alessio. Is there any deficiency in this intelligence?"
"Yes! Plenty!"
Alessio slammed the table heavily, his face darkening:
"According to reports from other clergy, you were clearly with that heretic all day today—how is this all the intelligence you have?"
"Then let me ask you—"
"What is his Resonance ability? What does he believe in? What relationship does he have with Bishop Fenrico? What is his purpose in coming to Rinascita? Why did he damage the cathedral door?"
A barrage of questions left Phoebe bewildered; she tightly clutched her hem and shook her head:
"I... don't know, but... I think he's a good person. He even gave me 50,000 Shell Credits, saying it was an offering to the Order."
"You think he's a good person, so he is—wait, where are the 50,000 Shell Credits?"
"In my Terminal. I came straight to see you upon returning to the church; I haven't had time to submit it yet."
Hearing this, Alessio instantly became kind and benevolent again.
"Devout Acolyte Phoebe, please transfer those 50,000 Shell Credits to me first. I'll submit it on your behalf later."
After the transaction, Alessio's Shell Credit balance +50k.
In the face of money, even the Order's doctrines must bow.
Handling criminals is the Order's affair, but taking the money is truly his own.
"Since he sincerely offered it, let's consider that he genuinely recognized his mistake. This matter will pass just like that."
It couldn't possibly pass just like that, but this little acolyte probably truly had nothing more to say.
Alessio grumbled inwardly, but on his face, he smiled and nodded:
"Acolyte Phoebe, you've completed your task outstandingly. You may go now."
"Yes, thank you, Priest Alessio."
Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief and obediently left.
As soon as she stepped out, another male clergy member entered:
"Priest Alessio, there's bad news."
The clergy member bowed and slowly spoke:
"According to the latest intelligence, the insiders we and the Fisalia Family placed in the Montelli Family have been captured together by that decisive second lady and Noah."
"Previously, we had instructed those insiders to try destroying evidence related to the Echo runaway incident. Clearly, they failed."
"Now, the Montelli Family will surely interrogate these insiders and obtain more intelligence unfavorable to the Order from their mouths. What do you think we should do?"
After patiently listening to the clergy's report, Alessio tapped his fingers lightly, his expression unchanged.
"No problem."
A faint smile slowly appeared on Alessio's face:
"I admit that the ice-cold clever second lady indeed has impressive methods, but the insiders she captured are just small fry."
"Our greatest and most powerful insider—she would never suspect."
"Moreover, we can even use this insider to force Carlotta to give up publicizing the truth of the Echo runaway case."
Saying this, Alessio leisurely turned his head, speaking pointedly:
"What do you think, Mr. Capollo, future head of the Montelli Family."
Not far away, the elegantly dressed middle-aged man respectfully bowed his head and responded:
"You're right, Priest Alessio. I'm willing to cooperate with all the Order's arrangements. I only hope that after I succeed, the Order can protect the Montelli Family."
"Hehe, of course. As long as you obediently hand over the private Terminal technology, the Sentinel will naturally bestow glory upon you generously."
Alessio let out a meaningful cold laugh, turning to gaze at the sunset about to descend in the west:
"But this matter can't just end here. We must give that ignorant second lady a lesson."
"How about..."
"Making her personally kill that heretic—as a small punishment for offending the Order's authority."
On the other side.
Noah connected to a Terminal call from Bishop Fenrico of the Order of the Deep:
"The above is the full plan of the traitor Alessio..."
"The Shell Credits he embezzled, I'll reward back to Acolyte Phoebe in another way. As for Alessio, I've already prepared a pilgrimage ship for him."
"Righteous One, are you satisfied with this handling?"