kscans

Chapter 403 - The Underground Research Facility

Hayato and the others stopped about a kilometer short of their destination.

Everyone got out of the cars and looked around.

For the most part, it was just a sprawling wasteland, but where the research facility was supposed to be, there was nothing but rubble. In the distance, one could faintly see mountains.

Even if they were told a place was safe, rushing in defenselessly was dangerous. It was said that when exploring the outside, it was better to be overly cautious, so Hayato and the others waited accordingly.

That said, it wasn't a contaminated zone, nor were there looters like the Hyena. All that was there was a pile of rubble that was once a building. While that rubble could be a resource, there was no reason to go to the trouble of collecting it in Earth's current state.

Perhaps because of this, it was determined that there were no life signs around the rubble, nor was there any defense system.

Parsha nodded upon receiving the report from the advance guards via communication.

"Good work. Then let's head to that location. Lunaria-san might recognize something if she goes. I believe the research facility was underground—"

"Wait a minute."

Lunaria cut Parsha off.

Lunaria had been standing on top of a car, peering through a pair of high-performance binoculars. They were equipped with a scanning function that displayed all sorts of information, and she spoke without lowering them.

"The rubble over there is a dummy. The real target is about two kilometers to the south."

"Are you certain about that?"

"I'm certain. The scenery I saw from the self-driving taxi back then… the shape of those mountains should look different from where the rubble is. The place I was picked up from was further south."

Upon hearing her words, Parsha thought for a moment before ordering her guards to investigate. Whether the command of a Foundation family member was absolute or not, a message came back immediately saying they were heading out to investigate.

For Lunaria, it might as well have been a few years ago, but even so, the scenery had changed considerably over the last century. Hayato was amazed by Lunaria's memory, as well as by Parsha who had believed her instantly.

"Lunaria-san, that's amazing. You remember even that?"

"I might have said it before, but I don't forget things I've seen once. I forgot my real-world memories when I was left in the virtual reality, but I remember everything now. Besides, that scenery is from when I went outside for the first time, so it has a high priority in my memory."

"You went outside for the first time?"

"The research facility building was there, but I was always underground. I went outside a few times, but it was just a place surrounded by the facility's high walls, so I was a little moved when I left the facility for the first time to board the spaceship."

"So that happened…"

"Don't make that face. I got three meals a day and a nap there, and I could play games every day, so I didn't hate it that much. If anything, I'm frustrated that I couldn't bring the games I hadn't cleared yet. If the data is still there, I plan to retrieve it."

"…If they’re retro games, you can play them for cheap, so even if it’s gone, you can play plenty of others."

"Yeah. Actually, I was thinking of playing fighting games with Xenobia-chan."

Having her name suddenly brought up, Xenobia looked a little surprised, but she immediately smiled and opened her mouth.

"Just so you know, I won't lose to you in a fighting game, Lunaria-chan."

"Heh, I'm looking forward to it."

As their lighthearted conversation continued, a message came from the guards.

They had detected a response that suggested a facility underground.

Furthermore, although they hadn't found an entrance, a weak signal was being emitted from underground, performing some sort of identification. There was no response like a defense system so far, but they said it would take a little longer to confirm safety.

In response to the report, Lunaria raised her hand.

"I'm just guessing, but I think that signal will react if I get close. Not me specifically, but it will react to a Genetically Enhanced Human. There were several places inside the facility that performed that kind of identification."

"React? Does that mean it’s dangerous for you to go?"

"If it’s emitting a signal that reacts to Genetically Enhanced Humans, it shouldn’t be dangerous. In fact, trying to force our way in might be more dangerous."

Hayato looked at Parsha.

Parsha, who had been holding each elbow with the opposite hand, noticed Hayato's gaze, closed her eyes, and furrowed her brow.

After about ten seconds, she opened her eyes.

"It can't be helped. Let's move Lunaria-san closer. Everyone but the guards will wait here. Lunaria-san, please wear as much equipment as possible when you approach. Safety first, please."

"Yeah, got it. I learned in the Eastern Country that if I do strange things on my own, I'll get scolded, so it's fine."

With that, Lunaria began to get ready inside the car.

Protected by the guards, Lunaria rode in the car towards the target location.

Hayato and the others could only watch. This was not virtual reality, but the real world. Everyone stared worriedly at the car Lunaria was in.

"Will Lunaria-san be alright…?"

As Maris said this while holding Siegfried, Hayato replied, "Probably, she’ll be fine."

"I don't know how much they knew, but it was Hypnos and Amanda-san who left us the information telling us to go to the research facility. If there was any danger, they should have left information about that too."

The information Ox and the others had brought was left by Hypnos and Amanda. There were still parts they didn't understand about why they did it, but he couldn't imagine those two would set a trap now.

They probably did this complicated thing to prevent interference from the AI imitating Curtis, so they must have had some grasp of the information about the research facility. But there was no information saying it was dangerous.

Hayato held onto that hope as he watched Lunaria's car through his binoculars.

(Huh? It stopped? No, it’s backing up?)

Just as Hayato thought that, the ground began to shake.

Hayato was surprised by the earthquake, something that doesn't happen in the colonies, but Parsha said, "It's alright, it's about a magnitude two."

As he wondered if it was really okay, the area where Lunaria was heading had changed slightly.

A pillar-like structure had appeared out of nowhere.

"It grew out of the ground!"

As Maris said this excitedly, it clicked for Hayato. The earthquake just now was the vibration from that thing emerging to the surface.

Immediately, a communication came through to Parsha.

According to the report, the moment Lunaria got near that area, she had said, "Get away from here immediately." Apparently, their car had been right on top of the structure, which is how they avoided being caught up in it.

After that, Lunaria was apparently saying, "There's no more danger, so it's safe to come over here," and the guards were waiting for Parsha’s instructions.

"Check the surrounding conditions just in case. Once safety is confirmed, we will proceed."

At Parsha’s words, a guard responded with "Understood," and several guards got out of the car Lunaria was in and began to investigate the surroundings.

About ten minutes later, the investigation was complete, and Hayato's group also moved closer to the emerged building. What they thought was a black, square structure, they realized upon getting closer, was something else.

"An elevator?"

Lunaria nodded at Hayato’s murmur.

"Yeah, an elevator to go underground. No doubt about it, this is the research facility where I was."

"Does it seem safe?"

"It’s fine. There was a terminal inside, so after having the guards confirm it was safe, I tinkered with it a bit. I’ve disabled the security with my access code, and I restored the power supply to its normal state, so it’s even safer now."

Hayato praised the slightly smug-looking Lunaria. Technical matters aside, he wanted to commend her for acting only after properly confirming their safety. He believed it was safe, but belief alone did not guarantee absolute safety.

"If there are no problems, let’s head underground. All guards except for Blanc will wait here. I have contacted my brother about the situation, so an investigation team should arrive shortly. Noir and the escort will wait here for them."

The guards nodded at Parsha’s words and began their preparations.

All of Hayato's group decided to head underground. For some reason, Siegfried also seemed to want to go, so Maris carried him along.

Once they were ready, Lunaria operated a terminal inside the elevator.

With a loud gakon, the elevator gradually began to descend.

(It works properly even though it’s a hundred years old… No, the Spaceship Aphrodite is still functioning properly. They must have had this level of technology back then.)

Hayato marveled at this as he waited for the elevator to stop.

Silence continued for a while, and after about two minutes, the elevator stopped.

The doors opened, and lights flickered on in the facility. A long corridor stretched out, with doors set at regular intervals.

Blanc exited the elevator first and checked the surroundings.

After confirming there were no problems, he nodded at Parsha.

"Now then, Lunaria-san. You said there is a device here that knows Amanda-san's coordinates, but do you know where it is?"

"I think it’s probably the control room. If so, it’s this way."

"Then let's head there."

Lunaria said, "Okay," and nodded, then stepped out of the elevator and began to walk. Blanc walked beside her, on guard, while Hayato and the others followed.

It was a sterile, symmetrical white corridor. The doors only had numbered plates, giving no sense of daily life, and it was much larger than he had expected. Despite this, the ventilation seemed to be working, as there were no unpleasant smells, and it even seemed to have been cleaned.

(Lunaria-san said she restored the power supply, but it was probably running on low power all this time. But why, if no one was here? And can people even live in a place like this?)

Hayato was born in a colony, so he was somewhat used to enclosed spaces. Besides, the colonies had artificial sunlight, and the parks were spacious enough to run around in, so he never felt confined.

But this place gave off an overwhelming sense of confinement.

"Lunaria-san, you were in a place like this all that time…"

"Back then I thought this was normal, so it wasn't a problem. And because I grew up in a place like this, I became a Demon Lord. I think having a tragic past is fitting for a Demon Lord."

It was debatable who was failing to read the room, him or Lunaria, but Hayato recognized that at least Lunaria didn't like a gloomy atmosphere and had the strength to laugh about her painful past.

"That's true. That's why you were such a cool Demon Lord."

"You finally get it? I'd give you a Demon Lord's Cookie, but I don't have any right now, so later."

"I'll look forward to it."

Their conversation lightened the mood a bit. Maris, Surya, and even Xenobia joined in, asking Lunaria all sorts of questions.

They walked for five minutes. After covering a considerable distance, Lunaria led them to a door at the end of a corridor.

The door's plate was blank, but being the room at the very end, it was clear it was an important location.

When Lunaria operated the terminal next to the door, the door slid open sideways.

Blanc looked inside to check, then operated a device on his arm. After a moment, he reported to Parsha, "No problems."

Parsha nodded, and Lunaria entered. At the same time, the lights in the room turned on.

The front wall was covered with a vast number of monitors, and a terminal was placed in the center of the room. The monitors were all off, as if they had no power, while on the terminal, a single button was blinking.

Lunaria approached the terminal and was about to press the blinking button, but she looked at Parsha first and asked, "Is it okay to push it?"

Parsha thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Blanc has just confirmed there is nothing dangerous in this room, so it's fine. Please press it."

Lunaria nodded and, without any particular hesitation, pressed the button.

At that moment, the entire room vibrated slightly, and a rumbling sound could be heard from far below their feet.

(It feels like a massive device has started up, but just how big is it...?)

As Hayato was thinking this, an old man appeared on the monitor before him. It was the same old man whose avatar Infinity had used in the virtual reality.

"To be able to come here, you must be Lunaria-kun or Amanda-kun, I presume? Or perhaps someone completely unrelated?"

As Hayato and the others stood there in surprise, the old man continued.

"It matters not who you are. First, allow me to introduce myself. I am Curtis. Curtis von Zodiac. I ask that you indulge this old man's story for a while."

Curtis, displayed on the monitor, smiled as he said this.