Gears of Eternity: The Anvil of Souls

Aiden stands at the entrance of the black market transformed from containers in the Port of Hamburg. Before he even steps in, a strong and pungent smell of rust, mixed with the smell of fish, rushes straight into his nose, almost making him stagger. He frowns and mutters, "This smell is really something. It's worse than the stench in my old, dilapidated warehouse." He looks up and sees that the containers around are stacked layer upon layer, like a complex and intricate maze, or like silent and majestic guards, enclosing this black market into a mysterious and closed small world. In the distance, the vibration emitted by the blue flame boiler has a frequency exactly the same as that when the Berlin Metro U5 line is running. The buzzing sound is endless. Aiden knows clearly that the vibration frequency of this blue flame is quite particular. Just like recorded in the operation log of the U5 line, when it is fast and when it is slow, there are hidden mysteries. This pattern seems to be predicting something, and also seems to be covering something up, making him feel uneasy for no reason.

Aiden takes a deep breath and steps into the black market. As he walks, he ponders in his heart about the Rusty Maggie he is about to meet. Thinking of the things he has dealt with Maggie before, his heart is like a storm surge, full of all kinds of tastes. The verdigris at the joints of Maggie's body emits a unique smell in this dim light. That smell is like the smell emanating from those ancient bronze statues by the Baltic Sea after years of erosion, exuding a sense of antiquity and mystery. Aiden can't help but lean in to take a closer look. His eyes are fixed on that verdigris, as if exploring a long-buried secret. He mutters in his heart, "This verdigris might hide a lot of things about Maggie." Just as he is thinking, his thoughts are suddenly interrupted by something. "Wait... The recipe of the surströmming I bought last time? Why does it pop up now? It's really strange." He shakes his head, trying to get rid of this inexplicable thought and pull his attention back to the present.

Aiden circles around the container stacks several times and finally sees Maggie. Maggie seems to have sensed his arrival earlier and turns her head, her gaze shooting straight at Aiden. As soon as Aiden meets her gaze, his heart skips a beat. The things revealed in her eyes are beyond his comprehension, like a bottomless lake or a black hole hiding countless secrets. Aiden calms himself down, steps forward, and tries to make his voice sound steady, "Hey, Maggie, let's talk about the serious business today."

Maggie snorts coldly, and her voice is as hoarse as an old bellows, "Hmph, if you want to do business with me, you have to have some real skills. You can't just fool me with anything."

Aiden is unhurried. He takes out the prepared transaction document from his bosom. The document is bound with Copenhagen mermaid scale replicas. In this black market environment full of the smell of rust and fish, it looks out of place, like a strange object from another world. "Maggie, take a look at this. I think we can make a big deal." Aiden says while paying attention to Maggie's reaction.

Maggie reaches out to take the document and flips through it casually. Aiden's eyes are not idle. He notices that the color of the verdigris on Maggie's body begins to change subtly. The process of the verdigris changing color is like those gorgeous paints at the Venice Carnival, slowly oxidizing under the action of sunlight and air, gradually transitioning from one color to another. Every trace of change seems to be telling the emotional fluctuations in Maggie's heart. Aiden guesses secretly in his heart, "Is the change in the color of this verdigris related to Maggie's mood?" Just as he is thinking, Maggie suddenly looks up, and the verdigris on her body instantly turns blood red, like a burning flame or splashing blood. Aiden is startled. He knows that this is a sign that Maggie is angry.

"Your conditions are simply insulting!" Maggie shouts at the top of her voice, and the sound echoes back and forth in this space enclosed by containers, making Aiden's ears ache a little.

Aiden quickly smiles and says, "Don't be in a hurry, Maggie. Let's discuss it again. We can always find a way that satisfies both of us." While saying this, he is quickly calculating a countermeasure in his heart. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he catches a glimpse of the gear hairpin beside him. That's his secret weapon. He thinks to himself, "Maybe this thing can come in handy."

So, Aiden and Maggie start a fierce bargaining session, with each of them talking one after another. Aiden feels like he is walking on a tightrope. Every word he says has to be carefully chosen. If he is not careful, this deal may fall through. "This bargaining is really like a Venice mask fraud case. It's really a headache." Aiden secretly groans in his heart, but he has to pretend to be calm on his face.

When the two sides reach a stalemate, Aiden decides to use his trump card. He picks up the gear hairpin and gently rubs it in his hand, silently muttering in his heart, "Don't let me down." The gear hairpin starts to change and makes a "buzzing" sound. That sound is not like an ordinary mechanical rotation sound. Instead, it's like a strange and sharp mechanical symphony played when various parts of a Swiss Army knife collide and interlock with each other as the knife is unfolded. As the hairpin deforms, the air around seems to be stirred up. The Munich beer mugs placed not far away are like being fiddled with by an invisible big hand, and they all fall to the ground, making a clear and chaotic crashing sound.

When Maggie sees this scene, a trace of surprise flashes in her eyes, but she quickly returns to her indifferent look. "Hmph, that's interesting." She says indifferently.

Aiden takes the opportunity to say, "Maggie, this thing is really powerful. With it, you'll have an extra layer of security in this black market."

Maggie doesn't respond immediately. Her pupils start to change, sometimes turning into the Euro symbol, which seems to be shining brightly, tempting people; sometimes turning into a skull, gloomy and terrifying, exuding a sense of danger. Aiden looks at the changes in Maggie's pupils, like watching a silent movie. Every frame of the picture is full of profound meaning. Maggie is weighing the pros and cons. Aiden understands this, so he is not in a hurry and waits quietly.

Just then, Aiden sees the Blazing Crystal Core, which is one of his important trading targets this time. Suddenly, the Blazing Crystal Core starts to show abnormalities without warning, and the temperature rises sharply. Aiden feels that the air around him becomes extremely hot, as if he has been put into a furnace. Then, the Blazing Crystal Core triggers the melting special effect of the graffiti on the Berlin Wall. The air around seems to be distorted, and everything becomes blurry.

"Not good!" Aiden shouts. His iris starts to change, projecting the pattern of the Libra of the Zodiac trading. At the same time, a floating pop-up window of Experiment Log #471 suddenly appears in front of him. The dense text and data on it make him even more flustered. He knows that this is a sign of a personality switch. He must control himself as soon as possible, but it feels like swimming upstream in a turbulent river, extremely difficult.

In this chaotic moment, Aiden suddenly remembers the new function of the gear hairpin — a sonic weapon. He fumbles around to adjust the hairpin, muttering in his mouth, "Come on, work!" The hairpin emits sound waves of a specific frequency, and those sound waves are like an invisible but extremely sharp blade, spreading rapidly in the air. After a while, a "buzzing" resonance sound comes. It turns out that the resonance frequency of the sonic weapon has successfully cracked the space distortion defense system (resembling M.C. Escher's impossible structures). As the matrix is cracked, the chaotic energy fluctuations around gradually stabilize.

When Maggie sees this scene, she is silent for a moment and finally nods, "Okay, let's do it as you said."

Aiden breathes a sigh of relief. He knows that this deal is finally done. He picks up the Stardust Filter. The flashing frequency of the filter is like the second hand of a Swiss watch ticking, regular and mysterious. He observes the filter carefully and finds that there are some inscriptions engraved on it. When he leans in to take a closer look, it turns out to be the Dwarvish language "Stardust Symbiosis Warning" (with Geneva Convention watermark), and there is also an electronic watermark of the Geneva Convention beside it. What does this mean? Aiden is full of doubts in his heart, but he doesn't have time to think about it now.

"Okay, the deal is done. See you later." Aiden says to Maggie and then turns around to leave.

"Wait... The recipe of the surströmming I bought last time?" Aiden's thoughts are interrupted again. He shakes his head helplessly and quickens his pace to walk out of the black market.

He pants heavily and leans against the nearby container. He feels that all the strength in his body has been drained. The feeling of exhaustion is like having just finished a difficult Amsterdam Marathon. When he wipes the sweat off his face, his sleeve accidentally catches on the scratch of the antimatter suppressor, and a sharp pain shoots through, but he doesn't care about it now. He knows that this deal with Rusty Maggie is just the beginning. In this world full of mystery and danger, there are countless challenges waiting for him. And what thrilling adventures will the coordinates of the decaying star ring (57°N, 24°E) implanted in the number of the antimatter suppressor bring to him? Aiden is both full of anticipation and a little uneasy in his heart, but the unyielding spirit in his bones tells him that he must move forward bravely to uncover the secrets hidden in the darkness...

As he walks, Aiden suddenly hears an 'Attention' warning sound in French, which he knows is the beep of a sonic weapon being activated, a constant reminder that danger is everywhere in this seemingly peaceful but hidden world, and he, for one, can only go forward.