Chapter 611: Lab 16 (1/2)

The group immediately set out, keeping a rapid pace on their way toward Inner Lab 16. They were making good time thanks to the complementary competencies of Kenzie and Laviala, but Zac was still filled with anxiety. The only thing giving him some peace of mind was Kenzie's ability to almost freely contact their forces back at the forest, allowing him to stay up to date on the situation.

The army had finished preparations for the outermost layer of defense around the base, but they doubled down on their preparations after hearing about a possible attack. They also increased the number of scouts keeping watch in all sectors under their control in case the Cartava Clan appeared somewhere other than through the gate.

An evacuation was already underway as well, with almost all non-essential personnel already having been transferred out of the Mystic Realm. Only some non-combat cultivators would stay inside the Research Base after the Dimensional Seed matured, with a skeleton crew to maintain the base while the rest set out to assist the Zhix on their crusade.

Eventually, Zac didn't have time to worry about his people though, as just passing through the corridors on the way to the Inner Layer demanded all his attention. Just as Leviala had warned, the increasingly common Spatial tears was just one of the problems facing them.

”Wait,” Kenzie suddenly said, and the group hid against a wall as they activated a series of cloaking methods.

No one still dared as much as breathe loudly as they waited steeped in silence. Half a minute later clattering sounds echoed out through the corridors as a patrol unit consisting of two spider balls and six drones moved past them. This was the sixth squad they had to hide from in just 20 minutes, a stark contrast to the abandoned outer reaches.

It wasn't that Zac didn't want to simply force his way through, and the small squads weren't a threat to his group. But getting discovered or destroying the sentries resulted in a lockdown, which would cause way more of a headache than it was worth.

”Okay, we're good,” Kenzie eventually nodded and the group set out again.

”Just how are you discovering these sentries?” Leviala asked with a frown. ”We have tried for centuries to discover their signals.”

”I told you, we got our hands on some Technocrat technology on the outside. We didn't enter this place blindly,” Zac snorted from ahead, getting a bit annoyed at Leviala's attempts to delve into his sister's secrets.

Of course, he knew that his go-to excuse was pretty weak, but Kenzie was forced to display her abilities if they wanted to get back in time. Thea was clearly also curious about what was going on, but she had never asked about it over the past weeks even after Kenzie displayed an uncharacteristic level of competence for a 20-year old without a science background.

They finally reached the spot the Werewolves had marked after slowly and methodically making progress through the minefield of guards and traps. They were getting close to the Inner Layer now, and the Spatial Expansion was getting more and more pronounced. Zac guessed the surroundings had increased around 25 times in size, making him feel like a citizen of Lilliput.

This massive transformation was what provided Zac's group with a new route. The section they had just reached was designed remarkably different compared to the much simpler corridors in the Outer Ring. The walls were still made from Memorysteel, but the design was of a lot higher quality and there were a lot of windows to the rooms inside.

Leviala explained that this section had once been the place of residence of the middle-tier workers of the base. The corridor itself reminded Zac of the living quarters of Little Bean, as it was roughly twice as wide compared to the outer hallways, and filled with lounge areas and what looked like zen gardens. There were a lot more doors as well, each of them leading to an apartment ranging from 50 to hundreds of square meters in size.

Clan Cartava had long looted these quarters of everything that wasn't destroyed during the spatial storms of the Cataclysm, with only the stronger people continuing into the Inner Layers when the base shut down for maintenance. Their group still headed into one of the larger apartments though, a living quarter that probably once had belonged to some chief scientist.

What set this place apart compared to most other rooms was that it had its own small-scale laboratory, which unsurprisingly had grown enormous along with everything else. This was what provided them with a route to the inner lab, and they reached a wall socket hidden behind a table. The socket was covered by a lid, and a gust of stale air hit their group when Zac pushed it open.

On the other side was a metallic tubing around 180 centimeters in height, just a bit too low to walk upright. Not even Leviala was sure, but they guessed it was a special tube meant to transport some sort of gas or plasma to this home lab, which was why none of the other apartments had something like this.

”And we are sure this pipe won't suddenly be filled with some Technocrat poison?” Thea hesitantly muttered as she looked into the vent.

”Uh... No?” Kenzie hesitantly said. ”But I think we should at least have noticed some remnants having leaked into this room if that was the case? That lid wasn't exactly a perfect fit after the expansion.”

”I'll go first and block up the tunnel as long as I can in case something comes crashing down on us. But hopefully it won't come to that,” Zac said before he turned to Leviala. ”Can you walk on your own from here?”

”I'll make do. My wounds are a bit better by now,” Leviala said. ”I should be able to walk the last stretch.”

Zac nodded as he entered the pipe, and the group kept walking for another hour until Kenzie told them to stop. The Werewolf maps stopped soon after the pipe entrance, but Leviala had provided them with a complimentary map. The spot Kenzie they had reached should be just a few meters from the gate leading to the Lab, and they had decided to cut their way out of the wall instead of trying to break into the Lab.

There were all kinds of alarms in the laboratories according to Leviala, so if they had to cut their way out, it was better if it was here. A few minutes later they were out, with Zac having done most of the work to get them out. Their activities had drawn the ire of the base though, and they were forced to back away for another twenty minutes before they could approach the gate.

”Let me,” Kenzie said as she floated up to the terminal in the gate, and they all breathed out in relief when the door opened without issue.

They walked inside after confirming no guards were waiting for them, but Zac quickly stopped as the world lurched for an instant. The insides had looked normal before, but Zac was shocked to realize that everything was normal-sized.