Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Zoe looked at Hughes, who suddenly lowered his head, a bit confused. A moment later, Hughes raised his head again, his expression solemn.

“Is it that serious? Quickly, tell me in detail.”

“I, um… some time ago—well, a long time ago—one day I suddenly linked with someone, and I could communicate with others!”

“Is it a Mind Link similar to the Banshees’?”

“Yes yes yes! That kind, but it seems like there is no distance limit!”

“What a miraculous ability. And then?”

“And then, uh… then I linked with a few strangers, they…” Zoe bit her lip. “Sorry, I cannot say their names. They gave me a lot of help, and they never harmed Castel. I hope you can allow me to keep their information secret!”

Hughes looked at Zoe with some surprise. She was quite loyal to her friends.

“It’s fine. Continue.”

“Ah, you—you agree? Then I’ll continue…”

Zoe briefly recounted the things she had talked about with those people. Hughes naturally already knew the content. She spoke earnestly and hid nothing.

Listening to her, Hughes suddenly felt a bit emotional. To him, this was just a lighthearted, amusing farce, but for Zoe it was very different.

This strange, inexplicable link was something she had never heard of. The people inside were powerful and were even willing to share information.

If the roles were reversed—if he, as a Mortal, suddenly joined a chat group of Transcendents—would he be willing to report this sudden golden finger to his Lord?

Thinking of this, Hughes’ gaze softened somewhat. Zoe always gave the impression of being timid and cowardly, but the decision she made was unexpectedly bold.

Who knew how much courage she had mustered.

Hughes patiently listened to Zoe without interrupting.

“…In short, I felt that the lady was a Transcendent, but the two men should not be.”

Hughes nodded, stood up, and spoke solemnly: “Miss Zoe, thank you for telling me these things. This is all valuable information. I will help you keep it secret. Whether you are a Transcendent or not, Richard will do an examination for you later.”

Seeing Zoe’s worried expression, Hughes paused, then comforted her: “You don’t have to worry too much. If it is only this type of link, you should not have become a Transcendent. Look, I can perform Mind Links with the Banshees, but I am still just an ordinary person, right?”

Zoe’s worry deepened. She hesitated and said, “L-Lord… I seem… not to only have this one abnormality…”

“Huh?”

Zoe looked around, then picked up a plate of pastries from the table and bit into it.

She bit off a chunk of pastry—and the silver plate along with it.

Hughes stared blankly as she chewed the plate together with the pastry.

“Um… One time, when I was eating in the cafeteria, I accidentally bit into a Steel Plate stamping tray, and… you saw it. I… I don’t think someone who can bite through trays is a normal person…”

Hughes froze for a moment, then suddenly reacted: “That explains why the school kept reporting malicious destruction of trays recently. I thought some cultists were conducting some evil ritual.”

Zoe’s face flushed red. She lowered her head and said softly, “I—I was scared at the time… so I did a lot of experiments…”

“You… have you been in contact with anything extraordinary recently? Or read any strange books, participated in any strange Rituals?”

“Seems like no? As for books, does Nini’s newspaper count? I think no book is stranger than what she writes.”

Hughes frowned. Something felt wrong.

Could his pulling her into the link have exposed Zoe to something extraordinary?

It shouldn’t be. Jeremiah and Kenn also joined the link, but nothing happened to them. And this had been investigated by Richard before—at least at that time, none of them showed abnormalities.

So why did she suddenly gain Extraordinary Power?

Hughes remembered Chloe saying that contacting the Sea of Unawareness was not difficult—one only needed to cause enough turbulence in reality—but gaining Extraordinary Power was not easy.

The orthodox Church needed to pile up massive resources to produce a Transcendent, while cultists, though able to take shortcuts and use fewer resources, required strict Ritual conditions.

Previously, Mira, the Mother Priestess of the Life Mother Church, had sacrificed almost half of the Blood Harbor Lower District yet produced only a few Transcendents in total.

So how did Zoe obtain part of an Extraordinary Power so effortlessly?

tap tap tap.

The door was suddenly knocked.

Hughes glanced at Zoe across the table and gave her a nod.

Zoe walked to the door and opened the locked room door.

“Gaia?”

It was Gaia who was knocking. She wore a hood that completely covered her face and cautiously peeked inside.

“What happened? Do you need something?”

“Um… I have something, but…” She glanced at Zoe, gritted her teeth.

“But I must report it to you alone!”

“You can speak. Zoe is trustworthy.” Hughes did not tell Zoe to leave. She had voluntarily revealed such an important matter, proving her loyalty. Hughes also knew her character well. Although she tended to hesitate, she was not truly cowardly—she had her own courage and resolve.

“This…” Gaia hesitated—something Hughes had not seen from her in a long time.

He was surprised. Zoe was indeed the hesitant type, but Gaia was not.

After Chloe became half-dead, Gaia’s personality had become much tougher. She also became quieter, no longer the naïve little girl she once was.

Later, when she took charge of the explosives production line and even the armament factory, she matured rapidly.

Hughes had not seen her so hesitant for a long time, and his expression also grew serious.

“What happened? Is there trouble?”

Gaia took a deep breath, then finally spoke as if biting down:

“It’s like this. I… became a Transcendent.”

“Oh, Granny told me about that. Congratulations.” Hughes let out a breath of relief. It was important, but it was within plan.

Gaia was extremely gifted in learning and loved exploring knowledge. She had been chosen by Chloe long ago and taken into the Moths Chasing Fire.

Preparations for her Transcendent Ritual had been underway for a long time. Because the required materials were many, they had not been fully gathered until they obtained the Pirate King’s treasure. Even then, some things were still missing. With Gaia busy as well, the Ritual had never been performed.

He did not expect it to be completed so soon—and without informing them.

Wait.

Would Gaia really become a Transcendent without notifying her Lord?

A bad feeling hit Hughes.

Gaia lifted her head. She looked at him, her expression complex, and spoke:

“I did not perform the Ritual. I became a Transcendent… for no reason…”