https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-438-A-Door-That-Must-Not-Be-Opened/12971737/
Chapter 437: The Iron Plate Palace
Chapter 437: The Iron Plate Palace
"Help! Save me!"
"Murder! Murder!"
Joshua, the target of the "assassination," was fortunate to have opened the coach door, but his collar was grabbed from behind by Lyon, and no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free. In desperation, he struggled and screamed for help.
The coachman, of course, wasn't deaf, and with all the commotion inside the carriage, he couldn't help but react.
Hearing his passenger's cry for help, he hurriedly slowed down and stopped the coach, then opened the small window between the driver's seat and the carriage, cautiously peering inside.
"You two...what's going on?"
"It's nothing."
After covering Joshua's mouth, Lyon calmly turned back and said, "We're just playing around. You can continue driving...what happened to your face?"
Huh?
The coachman was stunned by the question, then extended his spherical metal hand and touched his slightly rusty face, looking puzzled as he said, "Sir, is there something on my face?"
"..."
It's not that there's something on your face, but what on earth are you?!!!
Looking at the small window, a strange metallic glow emanated from the iron head poking in, and the hollow eyes had turned into brown glass. The two inside the carriage couldn't help but gasp in unison.
"Waaah! Mmmmm!"
Already startled by Lyon's "assassination" attempt, and then suddenly surprised by the monster poking its head through the vent window, the freckled prince's fear meter was maxed out. His entire body went limp, and he fell to the carriage floor, staring at the iron plate coachman in horror, unable to speak for a while.
Although Lyon was also startled by the iron plate doll coachman, his two months as a purification officer had significantly strengthened his mental resilience. An anomaly of this degree was no longer enough to make him lose his composure.
After calming himself, Lyon first reached out to close the coach door, then lifted Joshua, who had gone completely limp, and placed him back in the opposite seat. He then tentatively asked the coachman, "Can you tell me what it feels like to touch your face?"
What kind of question is this?
Although Lyon's question left him a bit perplexed, the coachman, who had picked up these passengers outside the Parliament's main gate and knew their identities were not ordinary, honestly replied, "It feels similar to usual, cold and hard...Oh, right, my face might have rusted a bit recently, so I should probably apply some oil."
Recently, it's gotten a bit rusty...
After hearing this somewhat strange response, Lyon's eyes narrowed slightly.
The fact that the coachman believed he was an iron plate person and not a human with soft skin indicated that his own perception had been confused. This implied that the abnormality responsible for his transformation likely had a relatively low rank.
Should I touch his face?
Temporarily abandoning his plan to knock Joshua unconscious, Lyon looked at the iron plate head in the small window, hesitating about whether to reach out and touch it. In the end, he decided against it.
After all, if the abnormality that turned the coachman into an iron plate doll could spread through contact, touching it would be like delivering himself to the source. Without knowing the cause or type of abnormality, it was safer to minimize contact.
"Indeed."
Looking at the iron plate coachman's face, Lyon noticed some reddish-brown rust stains on his neck and jawline. He nodded kindly and said, "You do have some rust. You should take good care of yourself."
"Haha, never mind then."
Upon hearing Leon's words, the Iron Plate Coachman let out a hearty laugh, then spoke in a strange voice with a hint of metallic tone:
"Maintenance is for the likes of you, rich folks. We just rub some sesame oil to keep the rust away. Besides, no matter how well I maintain it, it'll still rust from all this rain and wind."
"That's truly a tough job."
Adhering to the principle of not alarming the other party until the source of the anomaly was confirmed, Leon chatted casually while holding Joshua's hand and pushing open the coach door. Without changing his expression, he said:
"Oh, I just remembered something. Could you please stop here for a moment? I'll get off and take a look."
"Ah, okay!"
Hearing Leon's words, the Iron Plate Coachman nodded and turned his creaky neck. His two brown glass eyes, resembling balls, stared directly at the freckled prince on the ground.
"Sir."
His chin, stained with reddish-brown rust, slightly parted, revealing a strange, stiff, and wooden smile unique to a toy doll. The Iron Plate Coachman crooked his neck, limited by the iron joints, unable to twist it too far. With a sinister expression, he asked Joshua, who was in a state of terror:
"Would you like a warm towel?"
"Waaahhhh!!!"
The Iron Plate Coachman looked like a person, but his movements were just off, triggering the uncanny valley effect and shattering Joshua's already fragile mental defenses.
After an uncontrollable wail, Joshua rushed towards the coach door, practically rolling out of the carriage. Instinctively, he wanted to get away from this eerie coach.
However, as Joshua got up from the ground, his face pale with the intention to flee, he just glanced up and plopped down on the ground.
The palace, the imperial highway, the square, the alleys... In this place he had seen countless times, there were all sorts of iron plate people everywhere! The sentries, who should have been holding weapons and guarding the palace gates, had been replaced by two tall black iron plate soldiers. Their thickened guard uniforms, originally a dark gray color, had become real dark gray iron plates, becoming a part of the guards' bodies.
On the imperial highway outside the palace, steam carriages sped by, but the horses pulling them had transformed into iron plate horses, and their joints had become ball joints like those of toys.
The originally smooth and stable movement became jerky due to the change in joints. After running a certain distance, the iron plate horses' limbs would reset, and the carriages behind them would suddenly stop.
Additionally, the guard squad in front of the square, the elegantly dressed nobles, the pedestrians in the alleys, stray dogs stealing goods, merchants shouting and chasing...
All living things had seemingly transformed into iron plate dolls. Although the surroundings of the palace remained bustling, the entire area was filled with cold, hard iron-gray colors, devoid of any warmth associated with flesh and blood.
"This... this..."
This was probably not just an ordinary anomaly...
Leon squinted and looked further away. At the end of the long street, he saw a group of children undergoing the iron plate transformation. He couldn't help but take a deep breath.
It wasn't just the coachman who had transformed; it was all the living creatures around, and the range was still expanding. Additionally...
Leon looked down at his own flesh-and-blood hands, rubbed them together, and felt the cold, hard sensation. His eyebrows furrowed.
I've become an iron plate person too?
(End of Chapter)
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