Chapter 210

They continued walking forward, and soon they arrived at the so-called "exit"—a heavy metal door.

But it was clear that someone had visited this place before. The hydraulic valve was twisted and broken, and the metal door was forcibly pried open to the sides, just big enough for one person to pass through. The roots of vines stretched out along the door cracks, but the outside was still pitch black. Obviously, this door did not lead directly to the outside.

Lapith and Trilice exchanged a glance.

"Let me do it."

She stretched and bent her fingers, her fingernails making a crisp, hard rubbing sound as they pierced through the flesh.

Trilice and Lynn followed closely behind, and nothing happened.

They arrived at the bottom of a well-like place, where they could see a faint light when they looked up. Instead of using a ladder, Lapith leaped straight up, and in an instant, a silver light flashed beneath her feet as she jumped out of the well.

Once back on solid ground, Lapith cautiously glanced around, but saw no enemies; instead, she was surrounded by all sorts of experimental equipment.

"Here it is..."

"ICS Research Institute."

Trilice arrived on the surface a step later, her pretty brows slightly furrowed as she checked the location information on her bracelet—it had received a communication signal again since they left the underground.

A hint of suspicion flashed in her eyes.

Why did we come here?

109. Meeting

Deep underground, an unknown subterranean space--

Efnir stood motionless at the junction of the tunnel and the underground space, staring at the huge cylinder at the center of the space.

The "dust" floating in the air moved slowly, but nothing strange happened. Efnir observed for a long time but found no clues.

She turned to look at Anilas and the others.

"Can you find the location?"

"Yes, you can take a look."

Efnir crouched down beside Anilas clicked a few times on the electronic combat map. Several arcs, centered on a few nodes, gradually expanded and then stopped. The intersections of the arcs connected to enclose an area.

We're probably around here.

Efnir took the electronic tactical board from Anilas.

"Looking at the map, we are currently in an area a few hundred meters northeast of the Boundary Stele Administration Office. There are no special buildings on the ground, just a water tower, wheat fields, and a planting and management base."

"Water tower?"

"This is it."

There was a small triangle marked on the map. Anilas her finger, and the water tower information was immediately displayed.

"This water tower appears to have been completed during the war years of the old century. It was an important water storage facility and continued to exist here as a remnant of the war years. It was reused after the establishment of the Maesakagawa Garrison District."

"War...?"

Efnir pursed her lips and remained silent.

The events of the Old Era are too far removed from the present. The brilliant civilization of that era has vanished into dust with the arrival of the White Hole Erosion. The books left behind by the Old Era only contain scattered records of a corner of the magnificent map of human civilization at that time. Efnir cannot know the whole picture from them, but when Efnir is carrying out combat missions Beyond the Boundary, she often stops in the "Dead City" left behind by the Old Era. Everywhere you look, you can see those old buildings. Even though they are completely abandoned and dilapidated, they still stubbornly tell Efnir the story of that distant era.

The wars of the Old Era... they probably never imagined that humanity would be forced to this point by a sudden crisis.

No, perhaps not entirely.

This era is no different; filth and darkness breed in the dilapidated corners of the city, and outlaws have always been active on the city's dark side. Besides them, aren't there also groups like the "Apostle"?

War is something that may be unavoidable.

"Is there anything special about these nearby wheat fields?"

"These plantations were built on the site of demolished residential areas, which I think might explain the existence of the tunnel."

"Perhaps... Anyway, let's mark this location, and once we get out, have someone search it thoroughly. If we're lucky, we might find something new."

"Then we..."

"Let's retreat first." Efnir pursed her lips, then shook her head. "This place is too strange. Now is not the time to investigate. Besides, it's almost time to meet up with Lapith and the others. We can exchange information with them and maybe we'll make some new discoveries."

Although Efnir seemed unaffected by the strange phenomenon, she couldn't abandon Anilas and the others, who had lost most of their power, to explore alone. Otherwise, if Anilas were attacked by the Mutated Entity, they would be in danger.

"I'll send you away from here to the surface and request support—I believe there's a special method here to block out that phenomenon. At the very least, we've seen that this place was originally a huge Underground Research Institute. In other words, there were people here before, so you must have a way to get in."

"Perhaps that kind of thing only works on agents?"

Lan made a bold guess.

"You see, we are affected when we are in Exile Form, but the feeling disappears immediately once we break the Synchronization. Could this be a method?"

"Perhaps... but we cannot conduct rigorous verification."

This conjecture is indeed plausible, but Efnir is unwilling to take them on the risk— Anilas and the others' combat strength has declined significantly, and they would not have enough power to protect themselves should they encounter any danger.

The best approach is for the unaffected Efnir to investigate alone; that's Efnir's plan.

Therefore, it is necessary to send Anilas and the others back before conducting the investigation, and then mobilize manpower as support.

It's always better to be cautious.

Moreover, Efnir was very concerned about the suspicious Trace she found on the side of the cylindrical building, which suggested that someone had visited the place before, and that the visitor was likely a member of the Apostle. This was also the main reason why Efnir was hesitant to take Anilas and the others on the risk.

"Let's go, don't keep Lapith and the others waiting. Are you still able to move?"

"Hmm... there's nothing wrong with the operation itself."

"Follow me, I'll clear the way."

Efnir took the lead and walked ahead.

They retreated back into the tunnel and continued forward. When they returned to the original meeting point, only Trilice was waiting there. Trilice seemed to have been waiting for a while, listlessly twirling her hair into a bun. Upon seeing Efnir, she immediately waved to Efnir.

"Hey, you've arrived!"

She immediately noticed that something was wrong with Anilas and the others.

"Wait, what's wrong with you guys? Why did you cancel the Synchronization?"

"This is a bit troublesome," Efnir glanced at Anilas and the others, "Let's talk about it outside."

"Hmm," Trilice nodded, "Lapith also has something she wants to say to you in person."

"Shiomi- san, your sister is back!"

In the makeshift hospital room, Kanade Kotone put down the fruit she was peeling for Yukina and happily told Yukina the news.

Yukina sat up in bed, but the pain all over her body still made it very difficult for her.

"... Where is my sister?"

"It's at headquarters right now. I just found out from Miss Nishiki."

--In fact, after the Boundary Stele System in the Maesakagawa area was repaired and restarted, the Boundary Stele System in the Maesakagawa Garrison District and the central urban area of Xijing City was reconnected. The Resonance the Boundary Stele in the Maesakagawa Garrison District and the Xijing City North-Line Garrison District began to show results. So, some brief instructions were immediately sent back to Xijing City, and a number of engineers and soldiers were allocated.

Immediately afterwards, a large force, including numerous engineering teams, heavy weapon combat units, and Research Department, was dispatched from the Xijing City to the Maesakagawa Garrison District to assist in the reconstruction and investigation work in Maesakagawa. As one of the most authoritative researchers and heads of the medical department in Xijing City, Nishizaki Yuki naturally came with the large force, and she also brought along her only assistant, Kanade Kotone.

110. Discussion

The deployment of follow-up support troops was part of the original plan.

Because the mobile shielding system on the "train" could not cover a large area to support large-scale military operations, whether the number of troops was too small or the troop formations were too dense, it was not conducive to the troops' operations Beyond the Boundary. Therefore, only the initially selected advance troops joined the early missions of the operations Beyond the Boundary.

During the attacks by the Apostle and Angel and the subsequent city cleanup and combat against the Erosion Entity, these troops had lost nearly 40 percent of their strength, a devastating loss. Therefore, once the situation was under control, Kusei Maki immediately assigned deployment tasks. An hour after Efnir and the others left the temporary base, the main force had already entered the urban area of Maesakagawa Garrison District and joined up with the original combat troops, setting up camp near the temporary base.

Nishizaki Yuki and Kanade Kotone are among them.

As researchers and medical workers, the first thing they did upon arriving was to conduct physical examinations on all the injured agents, followed by some treatments. Afterward, Kanade Kotone was instructed to stay in Yukina's ward to take care of Yukina.

As for Nishizaki Yuki, he arrived at the detention area inside the train early, met with the imprisoned "Apostle," and then received some samples of the Mutated Entity and a "Sacred Relic" from the adjutant.

Compared to her medical work, Nishizaki Yuki's more important task here is dealing with Mutated Entity and Sacred Relic.

The Sacred Relic used by the Apostle this time were different from those seized before, and to some extent, they were all very valuable intelligence resources. Not to mention the "Mutated Entity," as rare and special life forms, every threatening "Mutated Entity" is a special intelligence source that researchers must pay attention to.

At this time, Nishizaki Yuki received a notification from Kusei Maki — Efnir, Anilas, and others had returned, bringing back more Mutated Entity samples.

Nishizaki Yuki told Kanade Kotone the news.

At this time, the temporary command headquarters --

Nishizaki Yuki pushed open the door, and several people were already waiting in the makeshift command room. In addition to a few researchers, there were Anilas, Efnir, Lapith, and other agents who had participated in the tunnel investigation.

Kusei Maki stood in front of the big screen with her hands behind her back, deep in thought, before turning around when she noticed Nishizaki Yuki.

"Commander."

"You've arrived, earlier than I expected. I've heard about your abilities from Masaki Hina before, you young and promising researcher, Ms. Nishizaki Yuki," Kusei Maki nodded to her, gesturing for her to sit down. "There are some things here that require your help, and I hope you won't refuse."

"Of course, this is my job, but Lieutenant General Masaki's evaluation of me is too high. I am just doing my best, and perhaps I cannot meet your expectations."

Nishizaki Yuki was once a distinctive new generation of researchers in Central Province and was well-known in the medical field. However, her voice faded away again. Later, she came to Xijing City as a support researcher and continued her research.

Although she has been out of the public eye for more than two years, and not many people in the Central Province know her now, as a once-famous young researcher, she is certainly not just a name. Given the right conditions, she can do a lot of research that others cannot, and she is also the absolute chief researcher in Xijing City.

Because they belong to different systems, Nishizaki Yuki and Kusei Maki are not in a strict superior-subordinate relationship, so their attitudes are relatively casual.

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries with Kusei Maki, Nishizaki Yuki took her seat.

"Hello," Nishizaki Yuki, extending her hand to Yuki Lapith as soon as she sat down. "I am Asakura Mei, codename Lapith, captain of the Suzuda City Funeral Bird Squad."

"I've long admired your name. Thank you so much for your assistance in Suzuda City this time. You can call me Nishizaki Yuki, the chief researcher and head of the medical department here."

"Haha, it's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Nishiki. Actually, we've met before."

"Us?"

"It's not just you; I've known about Efnir for a long time, but only today, having finally met her, have I realized that Xijing City is full of hidden talents."

Seeing that Nishizaki Yuki still looked confused, Lapith smiled and didn't say anything more. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the two became acquainted.

Then Nishizaki Yuki greeted Efnir and the others, and only breathed a sigh of relief when Efnir saw that they were all alright.

"Alright, let's get down to business."

"Kusei Maki said."

"... You mean, the entire underground tunnel area, including that strange space, belongs to the 'ICS Research Institute'?"

Nishizaki Yuki frowned, his face full of suspicion. "They concealed the existence of underground tunnels and subterranean spaces... That's unbelievable. Although I haven't had much contact with 'ICS,' in my impression they should be capable of doing something like this."

Her words reflected the sentiments of everyone else present, including the usually expressionless Kusei Maki, who showed a hint of seriousness. Immediately after Efnir and Lapith left the underground tunnel and reunited, they exchanged information and discovered a startling fact: the entire underground tunnel area, including the huge underground cavity that Efnir and Anilas had visited, was a subordinate institution of the ICS Research Institute.

Or rather, it is a secret research institution unknown to the public.

"ICS... the Comprehensive Institute for Subtropical Plant and Ecological Sciences...?"

Kusei Maki flipped through the documents in her hand, her eyes narrowing slightly. She looked up at Efnir, Anilas, and Lapith.

"Is there any error in this intelligence?"

"We can't be sure, but this information was extracted from internal documents of the 'ICS Research Institute,' so it shouldn't be too far off."

The speaker was Lapith. After separating from Efnir, they explored their way out of the tunnel, which turned out to be the hidden passage at the bottom of the "ICS Research Institute". Simply put, from the headquarters of the ICS Research Institute, one could directly access the underground space discovered by Efnir, Anilas and the others through the underground tunnel.

Furthermore, the wrecked train carriages and tracks that Efnir and his team discovered in the underground tunnels confirm this.

"And that strange underground space, it seems to strip the Second-Generation Agent of their power—we haven't yet determined the mechanism of this phenomenon, nor can we verify whether it has the same effect on the First-Generation Agent. So far, I'm the only one who hasn't been affected."