At six in the morning, Artoria woke up at her workbench in the basement.
Morning light slanted in from the high window, illuminating the carbon fiber shell components spread across the table. She sat up, rubbing her aching neck. Over the past three days, she had finished the nervous system and begun integrating the shell, but progress was slower than expected—the precise installation of the carbon fiber shell required extreme patience, and she had completed less than a third of the forty-seven components.
She stood up and walked to the sink to wash her face with cold water. In the mirror, her blonde hair was a bit messy, and there were faint dark circles under her emerald eyes. The fatigue was real, but even more real was the sense of urgency—the completion of 2B was right before her eyes, but every step took time, and time was slipping away day by day.
"If only..." she whispered to herself in the mirror, "If only I could be a little faster."
Just then, the system interface expanded automatically.
It wasn't something she had manually called up; the system had surfaced on its own. In the center of the interface, the five projection icons refreshed today floated quietly. The first four were familiar to her: Bronya, Keqing, Rose, and Thor. But the fifth...
The fifth icon was brand new.
It was a minimalist silver hourglass pattern, with grains of sand flowing slowly and emitting a soft white light. Below the icon, a name was labeled:
[Herrscher of Truth] (Special Limited Projection)
[Duration: 12 Hours]
[Abilities: Perfect Manufacturing Intuition / Insight of Truth / Causality Fine-tuning / Creation from Nothing]
[Description: See through the essence of creation, understand the language of materials, and touch the reality of the finished product. During the duration of the projection, you will gain all the knowledge, intuition, and operational precision required to complete any "work in progress."]
[Restriction: Can only be used once per work. After use, this projection will disappear permanently.]
Artoria stared at the icon, her breathing hitching slightly.
Thank you, Mother Earth.
Perfect Manufacturing Intuition. Everything needed to complete any work in progress. This meant... she could use this projection to complete 2B within today.
But the price was the permanent disappearance of this special projection. Moreover, the "Causality Fine-tuning" mentioned in the description made her feel vaguely uneasy—the power to touch the truth usually came with hidden costs.
She walked to the workbench. In the morning light, 2B's skeleton lay quietly; the completed parts glinted with a cold silver light, while the unfinished parts exposed the complex internal structure. The carbon fiber shell components were neatly arranged, the sensor array was waiting to be installed, and the energy core pulsed quietly in its shielding box.
At her current speed, she would need at least another week. Within a week, S.H.I.E.L.D. might intervene again, other forces might take notice, and there were all sorts of unknown risks. But if she finished today...
But she didn't use it immediately. First, she had to deal with another matter—the farewell left by the luminous entity.
She walked to the terrace. The sea in the morning light was a golden red, with calm waves. Since the luminous entity left three days ago, this stretch of sea had returned to normal, but last night she had received a message from Tony: the "High-Dimensional Energy Stability Field Generator" left by the luminous entity had been manufactured and would be installed this morning.
At eight in the morning, Tony's car arrived on time. This time he drove an engineering vehicle, with a silver device two meters in diameter in the back. Four Stark Industries technicians carefully unloaded the device and moved it to the open space behind the house.
"This is the Cloaking Device." Tony patted the device's shell. "Built according to the blueprint, tests passed. Once activated, it can generate a stable energy field one hundred meters in diameter, shielding all abnormal energy signatures inside. From the outside, this place is just an ordinary seaside cottage; your core can't be detected, nor can the activity of any mechanical entities."
"What about the power source?"
"Powered by your core." Tony connected the testing equipment. "It only needs a hundred thousand joules per second, which is a drop in the bucket for that core of yours. Plus, the device itself has almost zero loss and can run permanently."
Artoria looked at the device. It was a hexagonal prism with a smooth surface, no interfaces or indicator lights, looking like a piece of modern art.
"How do I start it?"
"Voice-activated. The preset command is..." Tony paused, his expression subtle. "'Light of the Deep Sea, hide for me.' Set by the luminous entity."
Artoria spoke the command. A low hum came from inside the device, and light blue patterns emerged on the surface—exactly the kind of light unique to the luminous entity. The patterns spread rapidly, covering the entire device, then expanded outward to form a pale blue hemispherical light membrane, enveloping the cottage and the surrounding hundred-meter area.
The light membrane lasted for three seconds and then vanished. But Artoria could feel the change—there was a subtle "sense of a barrier" in the air, as if there were an extra layer of transparent shielding between her and the World.
"It's working." Tony checked the instruments. "External monitoring shows that the energy readings here are completely normal. Your core and the activities of future mechanical entities will be absorbed, transformed, and disguised as natural background fluctuations by the field."
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. It's a gift from the luminous entity; I'm just the executor." Tony packed up his instruments and looked toward the cottage. "How's your progress?"
"I can finish today."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "So fast? Yesterday you said you still needed a week."
"I have a new tool." Artoria didn't elaborate.
Tony stared at her for a few seconds and nodded. "Alright. Let me know if you need help. I have to go to New York for a meeting this afternoon and will be back tonight. Notify me when it's done; I must see the finished product."
"I will."
After Tony left, Artoria returned to the basement. She stood before the workbench, took one last look at the unfinished 2B, and then clicked on the silver hourglass icon in the system interface.
[Use Special Limited Projection: traveler of truth]
No light, no transformation. Only a kind of... understanding.
In an instant, the World in her eyes changed.
She saw that the carbon fiber shell was no longer just a "shell," but a precision structural system that bore stress, transmitted touch, and protected the interior. She saw that each line of the neural network was no longer just a "line," but a riverbed for information flow, a highway for signal transmission. She saw that the energy core was no longer just a "core," but a point of intersection for high-dimensional and three-dimensional energy, the heart and soul of the entire mechanical entity.
More importantly, she saw how these components should be combined.
Not according to the blueprints, but according to "Truth." According to the most natural way for materials to bond, the smoothest path for energy conduction, and the most stable assembly sequence for the structure. Every detail was crystal clear, as if the answer had long been written in the question, and she was only seeing it for the first time.
She raised her hand and picked up the first carbon fiber chest plate. Her fingers automatically knew how much force to use, at what angle, and in what order to connect the cables. There was no need to think; it was as natural as breathing.
The work began.
The shell components fit together under her hands as precisely as puzzle pieces. The sensor cables automatically found the optimal paths. The torque for tightening the screws was just right. The adhesive was applied evenly without bubbles. Her movements were fluid, efficient, and without hesitation, as if she had done this a thousand times before.
At ten in the morning, the torso shell was completed. The carbon fiber perfectly encased the thorax, spine, and pelvis, with a surface as smooth as a mirror, leaving flexible gaps only at the joints. The built-in tactile sensors, temperature arrays, and pressure sensors were all in place, with cables neatly converging into the spinal channel.
At eleven, the limb shells were completed. The carbon fiber shells of the arms and legs were light and tough, cooperating perfectly with the internal transmission system. The shell of the hands was the most delicate—each knuckle had an independent protective casing, and the fingertips integrated high-sensitivity tactile sensors capable of perceiving pressure changes as small as 0.1 grams.
At twelve noon, she completed the head shell. This was the final and most complex component—it needed to integrate visual sensors, auditory arrays, balance perception, and temperature monitoring, while also reserving interfaces for the future "face." Guided by her intuition of truth, she completed the precision internal wiring, perfectly connecting the head shell to the top of the spine.
Now, the mechanical entity was complete.
A silver-white humanoid figure about 1.7 meters tall lay quietly on the workbench. The carbon fiber shell had a delicate matte finish, and the joints revealed the cold luster of titanium alloy. It didn't have a "face" yet—the facial area was a smooth curved surface, awaiting final treatment. But it was already a complete mechanical body.
But it wasn't enough. There was still one last step: system integration and initial startup.
Artoria opened the shielding box and took out the energy core. The ten-centimeter sphere pulsed quietly in her palm, its pale blue glow flowing softly. She walked to the mechanical entity and opened the armor plate on its chest—where the core chamber was reserved.
According to the design, the core was to be installed in the center of the chest cavity, directly connected to the backbone neural channel of the spine to provide energy for the entire body while serving as the control center for the whole system.
She carefully placed the core into the bay. The interface aligned automatically, and the magnetic lock clicked into place, completing the fixation. She connected the main energy channel, the data bus, and the backup lines.
Then, she closed the armor plate.
Now, the mechanical entity lacked only one last thing: the initial startup command.
But Artoria didn't proceed immediately. Her intuition as the traveler of truth told her that the initial startup wasn't a simple "power on," but a ritual. It was a ritual to grant "existence" to this machine, requiring preparation, focus, and the right time.
Furthermore, she still needed to complete one more thing: the face.
According to the original design, 2B had an exquisite and cold face, short silver-white hair, and a black blindfold. But she didn't plan to copy it exactly—this wasn't 2B; it was her partner in this World and should have a unique face.
The intuition of truth surfaced again. She picked up the special composite resin material and began to construct the face of the mechanical entity. It wasn't carving, but "growing"—the material flowed like a living thing in her hands, forming contours and shaping details. Brow ridges, bridge of the nose, cheeks, jawline. Following her intuition, she shaped a neutral yet exquisite face, with soft lines but a sense of mechanical precision.
She didn't make any hair—it wasn't needed for now. Nor did she make a blindfold—the visual sensors were already integrated inside the face, and the exterior was a smooth curved surface.
Finally, in the center of the forehead, she left a small indentation—a reserved spot for future decorations or sensors.
When she finished, it was three in the afternoon.
She took two steps back and quietly looked at the mechanical entity on the workbench. Complete, exquisite, silent. The light from the high window slanted in, casting delicate shadows on the carbon fiber shell. It looked as if it were sleeping, waiting for a kiss to wake it.
There was one hour left of the traveler of truth projection. But she didn't need it anymore—the manufacturing was complete, the intuition began to fade, and the World returned to normal.
She walked to the terrace. Under the sunlight, the field generated by the Cloaking Device invisibly enveloped the cottage. The sea was calm, and seagulls circled in the distance.
She raised her hand toward the sea and, using the geometric language the luminous entity had taught her, drew one last pattern:
A perfect circle with a point inside. Then the circle became an ellipse, and the point moved to a focus. Finally, the ellipse rotated, forming a three-dimensional ellipsoid.
She was saying: "My work is finished. Thank you for your protection and your gift. Goodbye, or see you again."
The sea was calm. There was no response.
But she could feel that in a distant dimension, some existence had received this message. Then, that sense of connection completely faded, becoming a warm point of light in her memory.
The Deep Sea Line has officially ended.
She returned to the basement and sat in the chair before the workbench. Fatigue surged like a tide—using the traveler of truth was exhausting, not just physically, but in some deeper spiritual way.
But as she looked at the complete mechanical entity, her fatigue was tinged with satisfaction.
Walking up to the mechanical entity, her fingers lightly touched its smooth face. The composite material was warm, not cold like metal.
"Tomorrow," she whispered, "Tomorrow, you will wake up."
She turned off most of the lights, leaving only a small night light. The mechanical entity lay quietly in the dimness, as if sleeping, waiting for the dawn.
Outside, the sun set, and the sea was a golden red. The Cloaking Device ran quietly, isolating this place from the World.
In this hidden little World, a new life was about to begin.
And the creator needed rest, for tomorrow's awakening.
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