On Station 13, viewers watched the iconic pale-blue eyes on the screen. The comments flooded in like a tide.
'Wow! I knew Ink Wash was suspicious. It really is Tendo!'
'The one above is a classic Monday-morning quarterback, right?'
'Ink Wash has a pink-haired girl by his side, and the mysterious masked man has a green-haired girl by his side. It's a simple math equation.'
While the comments were still pouring in, the aura that Tendo had been deliberately suppressing was instantly unleashed. As a result, Chen Kong and the others, who were already at their limit, were all pressed to the ground, unable to move under the pressure.
Tendo floated high in the sky like a god enthroned in heaven, looking down at everyone prostrate on the ground. His moon-white captain's robe fluttered in the air. Now that the plan had reached this stage, he no longer cared if his identity was exposed. He had already fulfilled all the conditions of the plan. The only thing left was for him to decide how to conclude it.
Thus, even though he saw many Fifth Squad members contacting other Association Star-Envoys from Steam City, Tendo didn't try to stop them. After all, to him, no matter how many ants gathered, they were still just ants.
He stood above everyone and stated the reason for his presence in a condescending manner.
"Kong, you just asked me why I'm doing this, right?"
Chen Kong was prostrate on the ground, his gaze fixed on the familiar yet strange figure in the sky. He was still clearly in a state of shock that Tendo was the mastermind behind everything. Seeing his reaction, Tendo calmly gave his answer.
"It's simple. It's because I want to pursue a higher realm."
"A higher realm?"
Hearing this, Chen Kong, who thought he understood Tendo, couldn't help but question him, his voice filled with confusion and pain. "Why did you have to use this method and hurt so many people... Brother Tendo, have you also fallen? Have you fallen to a point where you will stop at nothing to pursue power?!"
Chen Kong couldn't understand. The Tendo he remembered was clearly a gentle and powerful person. But now, he had chosen a path of hurting others to pursue his so-called higher realm. Wasn't there a better way?
In response, Tendo's voice was filled with a detached indifference that was almost pitying. "Kong, you're too naive."
As he spoke, Tendo raised his hand. He pinched the black-rimmed glasses he used to blur his presence and gently took them off with his slender fingers.
"...Naïve enough to think that there is a 'success' in this world that can be easily obtained without bloodshed."
Without the "NPC Glasses" to reduce his presence, everyone was surprised to find that Ink Wash and Tendo looked exactly alike. Especially when Tendo revealed his iconic pale-blue eyes. The only difference between them was the black, spiky hair.
Tendo stood high in the sky, looking down at Chen Kong, who was clenching his fists in an unwilling rage. "Kong, your vision and strength determine that the scene you can see is completely different from the scene I see."
"You think I've been standing in heaven from the very beginning, but that's just what you think. After all, the true scene that exists high above... isn't what it looks like to you."
Tendo paused, then ran a hand through his hair. "Kong, there has been no one in this heaven from the very beginning, but the throne of heaven will soon be vacant no more."
The moment Tendo's words fell, his hair instantly shed its black color and turned into a snowy white, with each strand seeming to be intertwined with a faint glimmer. At the same time, a detached look, as if a god was looking down on ants, appeared in Tendo's eyes—a look Chen Kong had never seen before.
"...Because from now on, I will stand at the peak of heaven."
With that, Tendo turned to Vivian, who was next to him. Vivian was trying to break free from Tendo's hand on her shoulder, but her so-called resistance was ultimately in vain.
Ignoring Vivian's futile struggle, Tendo said calmly, "A key to opening the way to the realm of miracles. I've put a lot of thought into her."
As he spoke, a semi-transparent quantum cube with a light green data pattern suddenly appeared behind Tendo. Under the influence of the cube, the distant Brass Path suddenly let out a strained groaning sound, and the entire bridge shook violently. Then, a black quantum space rift that tore the boundary between reality and illusion slowly opened behind Tendo.
Through this special quantum space rift, everyone quickly saw a "Brass Path" inside the rift that was completely paved with quantum data. This path was the one that truly led to the inside of the "Steam Forge" and to the "Gear Core."
As Chen Kong and the others watched with unwilling eyes, Tendo held the pale-faced and resistant Vivian and turned to walk into the special rift.
Just a moment before their figures were about to be absorbed into the data stream, Tendo stopped and looked down at Chen Kong, who was unable to move due to his pressure. He gave a rare compliment.
"Kong, you've actually done pretty well for a normal person."
"But with just this, you can't change my mind."
A meaningful smile seemed to form on Tendo's lips. He said, "If you think what I'm doing is wrong, then try to get up and chase me, and find a way to stop me."
"Of course, that's under the premise that... you can meet me again."
"After all, the path to the high heavens is much more difficult than you imagine, and I'm not the only one on this path."
With that, Tendo forcibly took Vivian and completely merged into the unknown data stream, disappearing. At the same time, without the quantum cube and the complete "quantum key" to maintain the connection with the Gear Core, the quantum space rift that tore the boundary between reality and illusion in front of everyone instantly closed with a whoosh. Along with this rift, the terrifying pressure Tendo had put on everyone also disappeared.
[Inside the Steam Forge, outside the Gear Core]
In the illusory quantum space, Chen Xing looked at the gigantic, floating gear not far away and asked curiously, "Tendo, is that what you've always wanted?"
Tendo smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's an important piece of the puzzle to stand at the peak of heaven."
"And to get that piece, besides using the Lady Knight by my side, we'll also need our smart Danica."
Hearing Tendo mention her, little Danica immediately puffed out her chest, and her digitized green hair showed off as it curled up. Although she didn't know what made her so smart, since Mr. Tendo said so, she must be!
"Alright, Xing, it's time for you to play with your brother and the Steam Branch people."
"After all, the entire Steam Branch should have been mobilized by now."
As he spoke, Tendo unfolded the quantum cube in his hand. In the next second, ripples suddenly appeared on the outer edge of the entire quantum space. Then, the once-continuous quantum space was as if a knife had cut it, instantly splitting into countless independent rooms. The walls and ceilings were flowing data light membranes, and the room numbers on the doors were constantly changing.
Viewers from a god's perspective quickly found that the quantum rooms in front of them were constantly changing their positions at an astonishing speed every second. This made it easy for those who entered to get completely lost. They had seen a similar scene before. In the first season of Stars, Tendo had activated a similar defense mode in the Ember base—the "Infinite Maze."
"Alright, Xing, I'll share the specific location of the quantum space infinite maze with you. You can freely decide the position of every person who enters here."
"And I only have one request for you: don't have too much fun."
With that, Tendo took Vivian and little Danica and stepped onto the path that was similar to brass and paved with quantum data, walking toward the giant illusory gear not far away.
At the same time, not long after Tendo stepped onto the "Brass Path," a large number of Association Star-Envoys from the Steam Branch gathered at the top of the Brass Tower. It was also at this time that they received a shocking piece of news: all the twelve Brass Nobles, except for Layton, had died in the conference hall.
"President..."
"I know, Yuchen. This has nothing to do with you. That kid is just too bizarre."
Liam looked at the Steam Forge not far away and said with a grim face, "All Association Star-Envoys, listen up. I want you to go into this damned forge at all costs and capture the guy who dared to play with our Steam Association!"
"I want him to kneel under the flag of our branch and loudly confess everything he has done."
"Yes!"
Just as everyone went in, Liu Ma looked at Liam, who was staying behind alone, and asked naively, "That's strange. Old man, why aren't you going in?"
Hearing this, Liam didn't hesitate to punch the idiot on the head. "Me? Are you trying to destroy our Steam City and the priceless First-Generation Forge that is so valuable to the entire New Federation?!"
"Do you even know what the words 'natural disaster' mean?!"
Liu Ma raised his arm, which he could barely move, and awkwardly rubbed his head. To be honest, he really didn't know what the words "natural disaster" meant. Was that embarrassing?