The dazzling pearl set atop the Industrial Crown.

Wu Chang had still been worrying about where to find the "pearl" in the Steam Phantom Dungeon, and hadn’t expected it to walk right up to him like this.

From the extra information unlocked by the King’s Badge, one of the pearls on Stilan’s Industrial Crown is called the Demon-Breaking Steam Press.

The reason it can be called a pearl is that the Demon-Breaking Bullets it produces can inflict massive damage on Transcendents.

Yet judging from the Demon-Breaking Bullets themselves, there is no Extraordinary Energy inside them. The built-in Item identification of the Abyssal Game didn’t pop up any prompt, which means they don’t even count as Extraordinary Items.

Through special manufacturing techniques, a purely industrial product is made to possess, to some extent, the Power of Extraordinary Items.

Being able to reach this level, the Demon-Breaking Steam Press is indeed worthy of the Title "pearl on the Industrial Crown."

Wu Chang suddenly recalled that earlier, in the carriage, Julie had said Queen Olivia convened the World Industrial Exposition in order to exhibit steam engines imbued with Extraordinary Power.

Without a doubt, the Demon-Breaking Steam Press must be one of them.

Following this line of thought, the other pearls on the Industrial Crown should all be related to Extraordinary Power.

Or rather, they use the Power of industry to reach the Extraordinary, rather than being mere symbols of advanced industry.

He sighed. It seemed pearls on the level of lighter flint pads or ballpoint pen steel balls couldn’t satisfy the Abyssal Game’s appetite.

Setting aside steam engines that possess Extraordinary Power and the effect of the Demon-Breaking Bullets themselves, the origin of these Demon-Breaking Bullets also drew his attention.

The Skill Description of the Demon-Breaking Bullets mentions that they were improved from the mechanism of the Demon-Breaking Crossbow Arrow.

He had happened to obtain a Demon-Breaking Crossbow Arrow in the Moonlight Sanatorium.

At the time, he was wearing the King’s Badge and unlocked the Special Skills of the Crossbow Arrow, whose name was also "Demon-Breaking."

However, "Demon-Breaking" on the Demon-Breaking Crossbow Arrow was far more fearsome in effect—by sacrificing the Crossbow Arrow, it could unleash tremendous Power and deal massive damage to the very root of the target, a capability sufficient to wound an Evil God.

But the Demon-Breaking Crossbow Arrow was the heirloom of the old Anderson Clan, a unique special existence, not something that could be mass-produced.

To improve based on the mechanism of the Demon-Breaking Crossbow Arrow, one had to be extremely familiar with it, even to the extent of having conducted very in-depth research.

No one understands the Demon-Breaking Crossbow Arrow better than the old Anderson Clan.

On top of that, in just five short years, Randy had leapt from a declining noble whose domain held only a single small town to becoming the Empire’s Minister of Internal Affairs, standing at the very peak of power in Stilan.

Looking at the bullet in his hand, a conjecture surfaced in Wu Chang’s mind.

Could Randy’s promotion be related to the emergence of the Extraordinary Steam Engine?

Wu Chang narrowed his eyes, recalling what had happened in the Moonlight Sanatorium.

From the intel he’d gathered after entering the Steam Phantom Dungeon, five years ago—during the time of the Moonlight Sanatorium—Queen Olivia still didn’t have the say she holds today.

Back then, the Holy Awakening Sect had not yet split from the Church, and Julie had not yet stepped into the open to hold great power in her hands.

She, like Raventon and the others, was operating the New Secret Magic Knight Order from the shadows, helping Olivia consolidate her power and become the true Queen.

And Julie was the Secret Magic Knight descendant closest to Olivia, one of the people Olivia trusted most—if not the single most trusted.

This was made very clear in how Olivia and Julie interacted.

Which brings up the question: why would Julie, who was so valued by the Queen and a core figure in the New Secret Magic Knight Order, appear alone in the Moonlight Sanatorium?

Was it to deal with the imminent second descent of the Evil God Leman, or to save the sole surviving descendant of the old Anderson Clan?

If the goal were really that simple, Julie and the others should have mobilized everyone, not sent a core figure to take such a risk alone.

For Julie to act by herself and carry the King’s Badge on her, there is only one possibility.

She was carrying out a secret mission for the Queen—one that had to remain extremely covert, to the point of being hidden even from Raventon and the others.

What she sought was the treasure that old Anderson had hidden away, once belonging to the Secret Magic Knight Order.

Cursed Gold?

Unlikely.

The true body of Cursed Gold is Leman’s eyeball. Olivia wanting to rely on the Power of Leman—setting aside whether she could do it at all—even if she could, Kristen, who stands behind the Holy Awakening Sect, would never agree.

Olivia’s real target was likely the Extraordinary Library once belonging to the Secret Magic Knight Order, hidden inside the Moonlight Sanatorium.

The Extraordinary knowledge recorded in Stilan has already been wiped out under deliberate guidance—at least on the surface.

When Randy studied abroad in Grimland, he never encountered a single Transcendent and continued to believe that science was the only Rules by which the world operates, which proves this point.

The Extraordinary knowledge preserved by old Anderson was what Olivia truly needed—something that could reshape the world in an all-encompassing way.

After the Moonlight Sanatorium, in just five years, Stilan achieved a leapfrogging lead over the rest of the world in industry, condensing the S-Level dungeon known as Steam Phantom.

Judging from the outcome, Olivia succeeded.

If that’s the case, then it’s easy to explain how Randy could rise from having no backing whatsoever to the position he holds today.

After all, the Empire’s current standing and the fact that the Queen could truly become the King were all built on the "selfless dedication" of the Randy family.

That whole string of dazzling pearls atop the Industrial Crown might well have been pried out of old Anderson’s Extraordinary Library.

"Lord Peace, what have you seen in all this?"