"Hehe, so you've arrived so quickly?"

Hermes, behind the console, glanced at the two who had entered, his hands still moving quickly.

"Hermes? You're still alive?" The smirk on the playboy's face disappeared, leaving a cold expression. He had escaped from such a powerful attack? Maybe he had underestimated this guy.

"Is this guy a ghost?" Aya's face showed a painful expression, well, joking about ghosts was just a joke. He probably used some emergency teleportation before the bombardment hit, but he still looked quite miserable.

His robe was burned and tattered, covered in soot as if he had crawled through a coal furnace. But other than that, Hermes was unexpectedly not the old man they had imagined. He looked like he was only in his thirties, but the lack of grooming due to excessive research made him appear much older... like a sleep-deprived struggling writer.

"So you escaped with your life and dare to come back?" The playboy forcefully pulled down the red handle next to the door, and the room's lights instantly turned red, but only for a moment before returning to normal.

"Don't bother trying, I've locked this place down, your people can't come in for now," Hermes said indifferently, not even looking at the playboy.

"Do you really want to die that badly?" A trace of panic appeared on the playboy's face.

"Death? It doesn't matter, as long as I can complete my work, what does death matter?" A fanatical gleam flashed in Hermes' eyes.

"Work?" Aya's brain finally started working, immediately realizing his intention. His eyes stared fixedly at Chirp, who was peacefully sleeping in the transparent container.

This perverted old man is still thinking about obtaining the alchemical core!

"Tiran! I'm at the Central Research Institute! That old bastard Hermes is trying to get to Chirp!" Aya shouted into the contract, using all his strength to activate the golden Chi and pounce towards the container. Flames burned fiercely on his right fist, forming a straight line at high speed.

Boom!

With such a powerful punch, even a wall of copper and iron should have shattered. However, the container remained unharmed—a Magic barrier blocked Aya's path and also enveloped Hermes at the console.

"You're quite interesting. I don't know how humans can achieve such a level... but I'll study you later. Now, witness the miracle of mechanical divinity," Hermes said, completing his preparations. He spread his arms wide and laughed loudly, displaying a wild arrogance.

At this moment, a mechanical arm with sharp metal probes descended from above the container where Chirp slept, slowly reaching towards the girl.

"The Magic barrier can't be easily broken. Attack the magic transmission channel on the side wall!" This was his territory after all, and the playboy was very familiar with it. He immediately reminded them.

But he also knew that it was probably too late. To prevent any accidents, there were around ten backup magic transmission channels, and by the time Aya destroyed them, those metal probes would have already pierced through Chirp's body.

"No need for that much trouble!" A golden light flickered in his wine-red pupils. With a low growl, Aya rapidly completed a dragon incantation with exceptional precision, his invisible halo of light spreading from his fists.

Annihilation of Elements!

As long as it's Magic, it shall be destroyed! Whether it's a forbidden spell or a Magic barrier, break for me!

In Hermes' astonished gaze, Aya swung his hands, creating arcs of light like a sword, tearing apart the mechanical arm reaching for Chirp. He casually plucked the child away from the container she had been separated from for several days.

The skin was a little chilly, but upon careful feeling, the body temperature was still stable, and the small heart was beating healthily... It's alright, as long as everything is fine. Aya breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your mother is really hard to find... hey, playboy, run away! Call your men to take care of him!"

While the two of them were in a daze, Aya had already carried Chirp in one hand and pulled Playboy with the other, running out of the door.

…………

"What the hell is going on? Dragon, explain it clearly!"

The princess, who was originally sitting on a bench by the street, nibbling on the pancake she had just bought, was startled by the sudden shout from the contract and quickly reacted. She threw the pancake aside and grabbed Chip and Shuma, who were also sitting next to her, running towards the entrance where they had come from.

"Hey, hey! Little princess, what's going on?"

Beinrich, who had just returned the sword to an old friend, saw the three running out and asked with a confused expression.

"There's a little trouble that needs to be solved. Whether you come or not is up to you." Tiran said without looking back, and continued running.

After a pause, Beinrich followed suit. Of course, he had to go! The promise to eliminate the wanted record and the agreed reward had not been fulfilled yet!

The magical elevator at the entrance went straight up to the old bookstore where they had entered. The old man was still leisurely organizing the old books on the shelves. When he turned around, he saw a group of people rushing out of the elevator.

"Mr. Chip? Where are you so anxious to go?"

"To save the world!" the princess answered, swaying her waist and raising her long legs, kicking open the old wooden door.

…………

"The 37th version of the universal magic-driven armor, the 7th round of testing is about to begin! All unrelated personnel exit the experimental site..."

In the Magic Gundam...magic-powered armor experimental site of the Central Research Institute, Chief Mechanic Heffy was standing on a high platform, overseeing the situation in the entire experimental site.

So far, everything had been going smoothly. He had been worried about abnormal neural currents, but they had not appeared. The weapon debugging and melee attack tests had been completed one by one, and the progress of the experiment was extremely close to success.

But he was still a little distracted. Since he had sent Chip with the princess to the underground dungeon, he had always had a sense of ominousness. Was he too hasty? And then there was the issue with Hermes...

"Sir Chief! The basic tests have all been completed, and the human-machine synchronization rate is stable at over 75%, with strong and stable neural connection signals."

The technician reported good news, and the researchers outside the site cheered and hugged each other. The progress of the experiment had been at a bottleneck for some time, almost reaching 100%, but they couldn't quite push it through. The 37th version armor had undergone over a thousand experiments...finally, it was a success.

"The test pilot has sent a message saying they are in good condition and ready for combat testing."

The magical armor was created as the ultimate weapon, and after the completion of the basic tests, combat was inevitable...but according to the normal procedure, there was usually a stagnation period after completing a major stage before continuing. Would it be too hasty to proceed directly to combat?

Heffy contemplated, and couldn't help but think of the genius who had gone astray.

"Senior, let me correct your mistake." Heffy sighed, made up his mind, and approached the microphone. "Record the data, prepare for combat testing immediately, to be completed within half an hour. Pilot, disarm and take a break."

Just as the test pilot in armor walked back to the high platform used for assembling and disassembling armor, a series of continuous vibrations suddenly hit the experimental field. The lighting system on the ceiling flickered unstably, and various equipment and instruments on the ground trembled lightly.

"Security department, explain what's causing the vibrations?"

Heffy connected to the magic communication channel of the guards and heard urgent commands from the other side. It took a while before the voice of the person in charge came through.

"Level 1 intruder alert! All non-combat personnel, proceed to the safe fortress for refuge!"

The voice of the person in charge resonated through both the communication channel and the broadcasting system of the entire research facility, while the rumbling explosions outside indicated the truth of the matter.

Even so, many researchers below still found it hard to believe when they heard the news. As the core research institution of the magitech kingdom and the manufacturer of 90% of the goods in the Magic Item Market, how many years has it been since anyone dared to invade?

Is the security of the Central Research Institute strong? Of course, it is. One-third of the kingdom's standing army is stationed here, not to mention the constant research on the latest weapons in the research center... Any intruder should be prepared to die.

But even so, the invasion had occurred.

After a short silence, the researchers in the experimental field began to take action one after another. But they didn't panic and flee. On the contrary, this group of carefree lunatics started preparing the weapon systems of the magitech armor with 120% efficiency and joy.

At this moment, most people were thinking... It's like someone bringing pillows right when you're about to go to sleep. How considerate.

Isn't this unlucky invader the perfect opportunity to test the magitech armor? Great bundles of heavy swords, spears, and heavy magitech guns specially designed for armor dangled from the ceiling, with unlimited magic supply. The goal was to beat the invaders to a pulp.

Who would dare to invade? Let them witness the pinnacle of magitech machinery!

But when the test pilot, wearing the magitech armor and carrying a full supply of magic through the passage, arrived at the platform where Aya and the others disembarked, he was dumbfounded when he saw the invader mentioned by the security department.

The main structure of the Central Research Institute resembled an underground courtyard with a cylindrical shape, and the huge space in the middle was filled with various heavy machinery and transport tracks, connected by tunnels leading to deeper research areas and testing zones.

Generally, intruders who seek technology would go directly to the warehouse or research areas, but this invader chose to directly pierce through the bottom of the courtyard, using massive iron claws to climb the protrusions on the well wall.

Moreover...

"Is... is this also a magitech armor?" the test pilot exclaimed.

At the same time, Heffy, who had arrived at the command room located at the top of the courtyard, also saw the metal giant climbing up from the bottom of the well and had a complex expression.

"Hermes?"

If there was anyone else in this world who could complete the development of magitech armor before him, it would only be that man.