The detail discovered by Prinz Eugen made Lin Lan take a sharp breath.
This was a Mirror Sea created by the Sirens, clearly set against the backdrop of the war between the Orlan Federation and the Natlan Empire over a century ago.
Since entering this Mirror Sea, everything they had seen—the architectural style of Huaiwu City, the fleets of both nations on the sea, and the battles between the Extremes and the Overlord Mechs—had all perfectly matched this grand historical setting.
Except…
For the machine-girl scout, Sui Qiong, flying in the sky—a presence that was completely out of place in this Mirror Sea's historical context.
What's more, Lieyun had previously told him that their captain, "Qiong Ying," had undergone a physical transformation.
So why was the one appearing before them now the machine-girl Sui Qiong instead?
The more Lin Lan thought about it, the more unsettling it became. Eugen's words had triggered a cascade of dissonant questions in his mind.
By all logic, the Sirens had only descended upon this world a little over a decade ago, bringing about the Siren Calamity.
Even if the Sirens could simulate any scene within the Mirror Sea, how could they, having only arrived in this world recently, recreate a war from over two centuries ago with such astonishing accuracy?
It simply defied common sense.
But Lin Lan knew that for the Sirens, pulling this off wasn't impossible.
All they would need was someone who had personally experienced that war. By extracting their memory data, the Sirens could use the Mirror Sea to simulate the battlefield.
However, the Orlan veterans who had survived that war were ordinary humans. After so many years, they would all have passed away.
This left the Sirens with only two possibilities for obtaining the war's memory data:
Either they had captured a long-lived Extreme from the Natlan Empire who had participated in the war and extracted their memories to reconstruct the battlefield.
Or…
The owner of this battlefield's memories was never human to begin with.
As this thought struck him, a chill ran down Lin Lan's spine.
He suddenly recalled something that Hodai, the captain of the Battleaxe Industrial pilots, had told him before:
"It all started when our general representative was threatened by the Sirens."
"But then, that massive, unrepaired Overlord Mech vanished without a trace from our underground mech research lab."
Hodai's words echoed in his ears, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Before he could think further, Agir leaned in close and whispered in his ear, honestly sharing what she had sensed from Sui Qiong—something that felt remarkably similar to shipgirls.
"Commander, have you noticed? That girl named Sui Qiong… She's incredibly similar to us. She feels like our kind."
Surrounded on both sides by the affectionate presence of two tall, silver-haired girls with red highlights, Lin Lan had no time for jokes.
He understood what Agil was implying. She was suggesting that Sui Qiong was not a mere Pawn, but rather, like the shipgirls of his port, a creation of Wisdom Cubes.
And in this foreign world, aside from his port, the only other known users of Wisdom Cube technology were…
The Sirens.
Lin Lan suddenly realized that at some point, his fists had clenched tightly.
In his right hand, he could still feel the lingering warmth from when Sui Qiong had held it, and he had to take several deep breaths to calm himself.
"We'll wait for Sui Qiong to come down, then ask her directly."
"Everyone… stay on guard around her."
Lin Lan's voice was bitter. He truly did not want to believe this.
But he also knew that only by destroying this Mirror Sea could they return to Huaiwu City.
And right now, every contradiction, every anomaly, revolved around the petite, white-haired machine-girl, Sui Qiong.
…
After nearly ten minutes of flight, Sui Qiong finally returned, landing steadily before Lin Lan and the others.
"Reporting to the Commander: Sui Qiong has completed the aerial reconnaissance mission successfully. Unfortunately, no noteworthy targets were found."
Lin Lan gazed at the white-haired machine-girl saluting him, his expression complex. Slowly, he asked:
"Sui Qiong, you are an Overlord Mech. Do you remember how you ended up in this form?"
The white-haired machine-girl lowered her arm, her blue eyes meeting his as she answered in a calm tone:
"Reporting to the Commander: Sui Qiong is identical in specifications to all other Overlord Mechs of her generation, with no special modifications to the unit."
"Generation?"
Lin Lan caught onto that word immediately.
The first wave of Overlord Mechs deployed at the start of the war would have been different from those introduced in its later stages.
The newer the Overlord Mech, the stronger its combat capabilities, designed to better adapt to the evolving battlefield.
"Then, Sui Qiong, which generation of Overlord Mech are you?"
Lin Lan had figured out a way to verify Sui Qiong's identity. He pressed forward with his questioning.
"Reporting to the Commander: Sui Qiong is a ninth-generation Overlord Mech."
"Compared to the previous generation, our overall performance has been comprehensively upgraded."
"Our wing propulsion cores and engines feature the latest prototype designs, improving efficiency by 30% over the previous generation's wing system."
"The primary role of ninth-generation Overlord Mechs is to compete with the Natlan Empire's Extremes for aerial dominance and provide prolonged, non-stop aerial support for friendly combat zones…"
As Lin Lan listened to the petite machine-girl introduce herself in detail, his heart turned ice cold.
"Sui Qiong…"
Lin Lan interrupted, his voice heavy with bitterness.
The Iron Blood shipgirls around him had already positioned their rigging to shield him.
"Commander, Sui Qiong awaits your orders at any time."
Upon hearing Lin Lan speak, Sui Qiong stopped her introduction.
A hint of confusion appeared on her face as she tried to step closer to him, only to be blocked by the Iron Blood's massive rigging dragon.
"You say you're a ninth-generation Overlord Mech, right? Then look around you."
Lin Lan pointed to the burning sea of flames, the collapsing Natlan Empire buildings, and the countless corpses scattered across the ground. His voice trembled.
"Everything about Huaiwu City reflects the architectural style unique to the Natlan Empire's territory."
"During the mid-to-late stages of the war, the primary battleground between Orlan Federation and Natlan Empire had shifted to the seas and islands!"
"It was only in the early stages of the war that Orlan carried out military operations to evacuate civilians from Natlan's territories!"
Lin Lan stared at the petite machine-girl, whose blue eyes had widened in confusion. His tone was filled with sorrow as he delivered his conclusion:
"As a ninth-generation Overlord Mech, designed for aerial combat and prolonged airborne support…"
"How did you end up in Huaiwu City—a battlefield from the early stages of the war?"
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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