Chapter 142: Hidden Eyes in the Shadows

Since Bonnie, Emma, and Claire had all expressed the same opinion, Jeremy naturally offered no objection. After all, he too wanted these people, who were of immense importance to him, to gain greater strength.

"Given the circumstances, let's proceed according to your plan and split up. For now, let's avoid entering the inner confines of Mechanical Town. Instead, let's conduct a thorough reconnaissance around its periphery.

Perhaps we can uncover vital information outside of Mechanical Town. Venturing inside without proper intel could lead to disastrous consequences."

Once Jeremy had made his decision, the group of four divided into two pairs, each heading in opposite directions.

Naturally, Jeremy paired himself with Emma, who was the least powerful of the four. Emma was visibly delighted with Jeremy's decision.

In her mind, Jeremy's decision to pair with her indicated that she held a special place in his considerations. Determined not to be a burden, Emma resolved to give her utmost effort during their mission.

Claire and Bonnie, being slightly more adept in combat, formed the other team. Their combined strength would allow them to handle unforeseen situations more effectively.

After the group split up, Jeremy led Emma northward, towards the outskirts of Mechanical Town. Both Jeremy and Emma remained vigilant, meticulously surveying their surroundings.

However, outside of Mechanical Town, there seemed to be little else of interest.

The surroundings were merely an endless expanse of desolate wilderness.

Inside the mechanical town, the two could catch glimpses of the elusive mechanical monsters lurking about. This, however, was information they had anticipated beforehand.

"It appears we can glean no useful information from outside the mechanical town." one of them remarked. "We should reunite with Claire and the others as soon as possible."

Emma suggested, feeling that staying outside any longer would be futile. She believed it was time for them to regroup and enter Mechanical Town itself.

However, Jeremy's thoughts diverged significantly from this view.

He was convinced that they had, in fact, overlooked some critical piece of information. Consequently, he did not acquiesce to Emma's suggestion. Instead, he resolutely guided Emma, pressing on with their rapid advancement towards the north.

After advancing for approximately fifteen minutes, Jeremy and Emma came to an abrupt halt.

They had reached the location outside Mechanical Town that was closest to the central tower, a vantage point from which they hoped to gather more significant intelligence.

Here, Jeremy and Emma could see that atop the towering spire reaching into the clouds, something seemed to be observing their every move.

"Darling, do you feel like there's a pair of eyes constantly watching us?" Emma asked.

Despite not being particularly strong in combat, her healing abilities endowed her with a heightened sensitivity to other presences.

Jeremy's eyes remained steadfastly fixed on the towering structure at the center of Mechanical Town. He unequivocally agreed with Emma's observation, as he was convinced that an unseen pair of eyes was surreptitiously monitoring their every move from atop the tower.

"I believe you're absolutely right." he said. "There's indeed a pair of eyes watching our actions, and I am certain those eyes are perched atop the high tower at the heart of Mechanical Town."

Emma's anxiety spiked slightly at Jeremy's words.

Jeremy paid no heed to the explosion of the iron centipede.

What concerned him more was whether he would receive any additional rewards for eliminating the creature.

At this moment, what lay before Jeremy was the computational core of a severely damaged iron centipede, along with its data core.

The data core emitted a faint blue glow, indicating the presence of high-dimensional data.

Carefully, Jeremy extracted the high-dimensional data and stored the damaged computational core in his storage space.

Once he had completed these tasks, Jeremy turned his attention back to Claire and Bonnie.

By this time, Emma was already tending to their injuries.

"How are you holding up? Your injuries don't seem too severe. Can you continue on? If not, I can evacuate you from the instance ahead of schedule."

Although Jeremy was aware that extracting Claire and Bonnie from the instance would consume a considerable amount of time.

He was adamant about not risking their safety within the instance.

"I'm not in any significant distress. I just exhausted too much energy while evading the iron centipede's pursuit. I merely need a brief rest."

Bonnie responded calmly.

Bonnie had not been directly attacked by the iron centipede, so her injuries were relatively minor. The one who had truly sustained serious wounds was Claire.

However, under Emma's care, Claire's wounds were healing rapidly.

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Despite her injuries, Claire felt she could continue. She also understood that if she were to leave the instance prematurely, it would undoubtedly hinder Jeremy's progress.

"My injuries have mostly been healed. After a brief rest, we should be ready to proceed into the mechanical town. Furthermore, even if you were to extract me from the instance now, I can't guarantee my safety outside. There are still mechanical monsters lurking beyond the instance. You certainly can't be expected to escort me all the way back home after getting me out of here, can you?"

Claire's reasoning was undeniably sound, striking a chord of pragmatism that Jeremy couldn't ignore. After a moment of contemplative silence, Jeremy nodded in agreement.

"If you both feel up to it, then we'll adhere to our original plan. Take a breather here for about ten minutes, and after that, I'll lead you into the mechanical town.

However, before we proceed, I need to emphasize one crucial point: in the face of any danger, do not succumb to panic.

Simply follow my instructions. There is no need for you to act independently. Although your strength has improved, within the high-difficulty instance of The Iron Lair, your contributions will still be relatively limited."

Jeremy spoke with an air of stern seriousness, his tone leaving no room for misunderstanding.

He wanted to ensure that the others fully grasped the gravity of the situation—they would undoubtedly encounter numerous unforeseen dangers within the mechanical town. Should they fail to follow Jeremy's lead, their chances of survival would be perilously slim.