BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM-Chapter 1064: Harder than usual mission (2)

With a sweep of his gaze across the deserted tunnel, the guard suppressed a yawn. The echoing silence of the passageway amplified his growing restlessness.

Despite his training, boredom crept in, causing his mind to wander. Of course, it was all Erik's doing, but he didn't know that.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his boots scraping against the rough stone floor while his eyes darted to the bend in the tunnel, longing for some sign of activity to break the monotony.

As the minutes ticked by, he found himself fighting the urge to pace. He started some time

ago already, and he paced so much that he was starting to feel tired.

"Fuck, I'm outta here!"

It was at that point that the guard turned on his heels and strode out.

Erik observed the scene with an amused smile, trying his best not to laugh out loud.

His plan had worked perfectly, and he couldn't help but feel a bit smug about it.

<HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. GREAT!>

Erik waited until he couldn't see the guard anymore. Soon after, he felt the guards he was affecting were unable to take the wait anymore and most likely leaving their post.

Erik's influence extended beyond just one guard. He affected most guards in the second half of the tunnel, making sure no one would be close enough to hear any noise when he opened the door to the armory, the same one they were tasked to protect.

When he was certain the coast was clear, he turned his attention back to the stone wall.

<Now the easiest part...>

Using his connection to the roots that had penetrated the walls, Erik searched for the mechanism to open the secret door.

He guided the tendrils along the room on the other side and probed around. The roots, like ghostly fingers, traced the contours of the chamber on the other side of the wall.

In truth, as Erik's roots explored further, he discovered a short tunnel between the hidden door and the armory. This passage was most likely an extra security measure, thought to make it harder for intruders to get in quickly into the armory if they found the secret entrance.

<Well... At least in theory...>

The roots moved through this connecting tunnel, feeling its smooth walls. When they reached the end, Erik could tell they were close to the actual armory. Then they rushed in. Erik found out because he felt rectangular and squared shapes, most likely belonging to crates of various sizes.

<I'm finally in...>

Erik knew he had to search for a secret level within the room. It was a classic setup, but he wouldn't judge their lack of creativity.

Erik carefully searched the room using the roots which moved across the floor and walls, feeling for anything unusual.

He made them check every small space and crack, looking for hidden switches or levers. The roots could sense tiny changes in how things felt or how warm they were.

This let Erik 'feel' the room in a way normal people couldn't.

After minutes of exploration, the young man felt one of the roots brush against something that didn't belong to the rough stone walls-a smooth metallic protrusion. Its texture stood out amidst the coarse surface belonging to the wall.

<Gotcha! C'mon babies. You can do this!>

Erik used the root to push the switch, and then the tunnel filled with a deep rumbling sound as -old gears turned.

<Fuck... this is not good.>

However, despite Erik's worries, it looked like no one heard the door opening. For once, Erik got lucky.

A section of the wall slid aside, revealing the hidden passage beyond. A grin spread across the young man's face.

Erik waited for the door to stop moving. Before rushing in, he gave one last look around, then behind him. The tunnel behind him was still empty, as the guards were still under Erik's brain crystal power's effects.

Then he went through the opening. The secret door closed behind him. The same deep rumbling sound appeared, but again, no one was close enough to hear it. Besides, no one expected it. He was now inside the fortress.

<June, I'm in.>

<You are?> the clone asked his master. June waited for Erik to give him news about his ordeal for a while and started to get worried. He didn't find a way to open the secret entrance.

<Yes...? Why are you so surprised?>

<Ah... Nothing, master...>

There was a brief silence.

<Anyway... I'll search around for a bit. Keep yourself close to the fortress. I will let you know

for how long I have to stay...>

<All right, master. Be safe.>

With that, Erik and June closed their mental connection.

<Let's find out what these mother fuckers know...>

Erik went along the tunnel, and after some minutes of sneaking in, he reached a room that differed from the tunnel he'd left.

The walls were smooth, with bright lights that made everything look harsh. The air felt dry and smelled a bit like metal. Erik smelled this from the tunnel, but now that he was in the room itself, he understood why the smell was so strong.

<I'm at the armory.>

The room was vast and filled with equipment of all kinds.

<This marks another thing on my ever-growing list of things to do. Take control of this place.>

If he really got a hold of this place, his Chimaeric Demons might use these weapons. They might not really need them, but a few trinkets or two were going to be useful. Hor speaking, leaving all these goodies here would be pretty stupid.

There was a lot of interesting stuff, weapons whose form Erik had never seen. Armors of the most interesting shapes and form. Regardless, everything here looked powerful and precious.

<And most importantly, free...>

Erik gave a better look at the place, but not so long after he was suddenly jolted out of his reverie when he heard voices in the distance, along with machine noises and the sound of

boots falling on the ground in rhythm.

<People are coming here...>

Then Erik left the armory. He passed many locked doors with official symbols and security keypads. He needed to find people with the information he wanted, but the fortress was huge, and the people were many. Besides, he didn't even know who to actually search for. That was something else he had to find out.

Plus, he had to figure out how to get this information without talking to anyone or pretending

to be someone else.

<This is going to take a while...>

As Erik thought about what to do next, he noticed people rushing around.

<This doesn't promise a happy ending...>

He decided to follow them, hoping they might lead him to something important.

The crowd led Erik to a big, open area.

<What the fuck is this?>

Many hallways met here, and there was a huge holographic image in the middle. Lots of

people were busy working on different screens and controls, but most of the people were

looking at the images projected in the air.

There was the image of his ship on it.

"A ship had been found not that far from our shores. After an inspection, we found out it was

the ship that got stolen in Frant. Those who did it are in our lands..."

Erik's heart started beating faster. <Fuck, it happened too soon...>

The young man had no doubt Hin would find the ship sooner or later, but not so fast. As he

thought this, murmurs and indignant voices surged.

"Mother fuckers!" said someone.

"We will make them pay for having dared to come on our shores again!"

Erik sneaked his way closer to a group of officers talking near one of the screens, but as he did,

a man walked in from a side entrance on the other side of the room.

<This guy looks important...>

He was right. It took Erik a glance to see that, and he based this on the way the man carried

himself, but that everyone treated him with respect, confirmed to the young man this guy

must have been a high-ranking officer.

The officer walked under the holographic depiction of the ship Erik stole and stood in silence

in the middle of the room, at least for a handful of seconds.

"Put everyone on alert," he suddenly said.

"Send twice as many patrols out and check the tunnel. If someone has arrived on our shores, it will not take much before they find this place. I want to know where these fuckers are right

away."

<I'm pretty sure this is the guy I must keep an eye on if I want to learn what the blackguards

know.>

Of course, Erik still wasn't ruling out the chance that they kept talking through secure online methods. There was electricity here. After all, the barrier would not sustain itself without it and people replenishing it with mana and brain crystals. But if that wasn't true, he really had to find a way to extract information from this guy.

<But somehow, I'm sure I won't be that lucky... >

The man kept talking about Erik's ship for a while and then about plans and contingency in

case there was a small team in the area. The man giving orders not only started preparing in case someone was inside the base, but he also prepared teams to go check outside the base. <Good thing June remained outside. The Chimaeric demons will need to be prepared in case they get found out.>