Fang Senyan couldn't help but look up, and he immediately noticed a hazy sheen over the keys drifting idly in the air. The Metal Mentor pondered for a moment before exclaiming in shock: "Bad! That ten-thousand-year span must have seriously damaged the mechanisms. Remember the light released by that hammer earlier? In modern terms, that light must be some kind of unknown energy, fueling the mechanisms around the hall to create the light bands we see now, which makes these hidden flying magic keys emerge!" "Meaning, once that energy is depleted, these flying magic keys will naturally be shifted to another dimension! If that happens, to get another chance to capture a key, we’ll have to wait until the war-hammer in the dwarf statue reabsorbs enough energy to activate—who knows how long this thing will take to recharge after ten millennia, or even if it can recharge!" "So, act now!" the Metal Mentor snarled without reservation. "Cherish this precious time; everyone move together!"

At the Metal Mentor’s command, even Phil had no choice but to rush forward. The room was already quite spacious, and the keys were densely packed, numbering in the thousands, making mere searching a daunting task. Deko, who trusted the Metal Mentor implicitly, and whose agility was the highest among them all, took the lead and sprinted ahead. As he passed, though he brushed against many of the keys dancing in the air, they behaved like seaweed swayed by the tide—drifting effortlessly, only flapping their wings occasionally after a long, long interval before resuming their leisurely glide. "There!" Deko suddenly shouted, his voice laced with distinct surprise.

Where Deko pointed, a key clearly distinct from the others floated quietly not far above the ground. It possessed six large, broad wings. The key’s body material looked identical to the stone door, intricately engraved with mysterious script that seemed to be ancient Hebrew. The meaning of these characters roughly corresponded to the Buddhist "Six-Syllable Mantra." This particular key appeared remarkably comfortable in the light, occasionally turning over lazily, resembling a pot-bellied gentleman basking in the sun on a beach.

Deko charged forward and leaped, grabbing the key. Although they couldn't use their special abilities here, the Contractors' superhuman physical attributes remained. With that jump, he rose a good meter or two, yanking the key down directly before sprinting toward the stone door. If Deko had been unburdened, running at full speed over the thirty-meter distance to the stone door would have taken him three to five seconds. But once he embraced the key, he discovered the resistance it exerted was shockingly immense. Forget running; even just holding it steady was a struggle. Filled with both tension and excitement, he yelled at the top of his lungs: "I need help!!"

At that moment, Phil was closest to Deko. Together, they managed to pin the massive key to the ground, painstakingly dragging it toward the stone door. The key thrashed violently on the floor, but it could only watch in despair, much like a street vendor shoved over by city enforcement officers, watching their livelihood dragged away from them. However, just then, Fang Senyan’s ears registered a strange, resonant "humming," as if millions of bees were beating their wings simultaneously. Looking up now, he saw that all the keys seemingly drifting lazily in the surrounding air had begun beating their wings at high speed, darting around in tight, agitated patterns. As the captured key was pulled closer, numerous other keys began to trace furious arcs in the air! First, a bronze key whistled past Deko’s cheek, slicing a thin line of blood. Then came two, then three, then ten! More terrifyingly, centered around them, countless flying magic keys seemed to go berserk, weaving wildly in arcs. Because the sheer number of keys was overwhelming, their flight paths overlapped, creating rings of afterimages. Fang Senyan involuntarily thought of the nascent form of a hurricane whipping up massive ocean waves! Simultaneously, even he, abandoned by the wall and ignored, was grazed by a wildly flying key, leaving a crimson scratch across the back of his hand.

In that instant, Fang Senyan received a prompt from his Nightmare Imprint: "You have been attacked by a Flying Magic Key. You will take 7 points of damage. This damage ignores all defense capabilities and possesses priority level: Domain Priority." "You have been attacked by a Flying Magic Key. Your Hidden Talent: Toughness has activated…" "Data conflict detected, prioritizing assessment…" "Data anomaly, data anomaly." "Continuous assessment in progress…" "Assessment complete: Your Hidden Talent: Toughness is effective, forcibly reducing all physical damage by 25 points." "You will only sustain 1 point of damage this instance."

Fang Senyan took a deep breath while observing this sequence of notifications. If his talent had only piqued his interest during his earlier fight with Crowbar, it now impressed upon him the sheer power of "Toughness"! It could even exempt him from damage caused by ancient Dwarven and Goblin mechanisms… and considering the concept behind this mechanism—the "Metallic Digestive System"—even a supreme figure like Dumbledore would have to learn from it! A thoughtful expression crossed his face, his eyes burning with increasing intensity as he resumed feigning unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, Phil, sensing something was terribly wrong, let go and cried out. The exposed skin on his body was already scraped bloody: "Deko! Let go quickly, or we’ll all die here!" The Metal Mentor roared from afar: "Don't let go! Have you forgotten the words on the door? Courage!!!" Deko gritted his teeth. He had always respected and trusted the Metal Mentor. Clenching his jaw, he stubbornly continued dragging the massive key for another two or three meters. Realizing his health was plummeting, he couldn't sustain it any longer and released his grip. The huge key immediately flapped its wings and swiftly retreated toward its former safe haven. Its six wings beat exceptionally slowly, making its flight look labored.

However, despite realizing the danger and abandoning the attempt to capture the key, Deko and Phil were dead! Killed utterly, without a trace left! Because even though they had released the massive flying magic key, it did not mean the frenzy of the other flying magic keys would immediately cease! The half-formed storm of flying magic keys continued to spin wildly. Sparks flew continuously as the stone walls and ground of the entire hall scraped against one another. The whole chamber was consumed by this terrifying, berserk vortex of steel. Even the agonizing screams of Deko and Phil were completely drowned out. Fortunately, the Metal Mentor and the others were attacked far less frequently than those at the epicenter, sustaining only minor injuries.

Once the massive flying magic key was back in place, the storm slowly subsided, and everything soon returned to the previous state of quiet tranquility. Only the blood spattered across the floor, and the strips of flesh, pale bone fragments, and strands of hair clinging to the surfaces of some keys testified to the preceding horror and brutality! At this point, the light in the air dimmed noticeably again, clearly indicating insufficient energy. The surfaces of the floating flying magic keys flickered in and out of sight. A fierce glint flashed in the Metal Mentor's eyes. He walked straight to Fang Senyan, seized him by the neck, and yanked him up: "Get up. I saw you wake up just now." Fang Senyan shrugged helplessly: "Boss, Deko and Phil both failed and died here. Do you really think I can succeed? Don't overestimate me!" The Metal Mentor's voice was low: "This time, the three of us go together!" A sudden thought crossed Fang Senyan’s mind, a sharp gleam in his eye: "Fine!"

Time was critical. The three of them charged forward together, seizing the enormous flying magic key and dragging it backward. This giant key was clearly displeased with the treatment it was receiving, beating its wings frantically and twisting its body with all its might. However, under the combined force of the three, it was swiftly dragged near the stone door, about to be forcefully inserted into the keyhole by six hands. It was then that the flying magic keys suspended in the air began to stir actively. "One, two, three… Insert!" The Metal Mentor’s voice held both tension and frenzied anticipation as he shouted loudly. But! Upon counting to three, all three simultaneously let go! The giant flying magic key suddenly gained its freedom and tumbled drunkenly back toward its starting position. If Nu hadn't caught it instantly, it might have flown away entirely. Whoosh! A bronze flying magic key whipped past the Metal Mentor’s face at high speed, spraying a shower of sparks against his mask. His gaze, cold as the phosphorescent fire floating over a graveyard, burned into Fang Senyan's face, seeming as if it could produce a hiss of smoke. He looked Fang Senyan dead in the eye and articulated each word: "Why did you let go?"