Chapter 214 - Mind Your Step (2/2)

All it'd take for that nightmare to become reality is for this technology to fall into the hands of two opposing Ancient Mulian groups.

It'd create an endless war since neither side would be able to die, and it'd eventually grow bigger as these two groups recruited more people onto their sides. They'd siphon this reality dry of its resources before that war would ever conclude...

This technology can NEVER leave our hands. Though I am sure that Ka'an has designed contingencies to prevent its misuse and theft, I will not feel comfortable until I inspect and review every detail of his plans myself.

Neither the Royal Family nor the Council can ever learn about its existence, either. They'll never stop trying to obtain it if they do discover that we possess it...

Lu'um internally sighed. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if they learned that we resurrected the Emperor, either...

The ruins of Talfano City were littered with dormant Infested as far as they could see, ancient remnants of a battle that occurred long ago.

It was once a bustling city filled with sun-tanned folk and gorgeous living buildings made of living cactus-like trees, giant hybrids of natural succulents that once existed across the desert.

At present, though, it was little more than a cratered, desolate wasteland. There was barely anything left of the place, giving credence to the idea that the city had been the site of a particularly violent battle. Only a couple of large, dead tree-buildings still stood, a somber tombstone of the beautiful jewel that once existed here.

Lu'um silently gestured to Reed and pointed a large hole in one of the remaining tree-buildings. Reed nodded in agreement, and he slowly brought their ship a couple of hundred meters above the building.

According to the information that Uncle Bernard gave to Reed, the hidden inheritance the Emperor had left for Reed was located deep beneath the city, in a hidden stash room.

Below Talfano City's surface existed a large root network that served as an undercity.  This undercity housed the necessary infrastructure to support the millions of people who once lived in this desert oasis...

Once again, we have to deal with the consequences of the Ancient Mulian doctrine of living with nature in the literal sense. Just look at this goddamned mess...

Were it not for the environmental suits they were wearing, the toxicity present in the area would have killed Lu'um in a matter of minutes. Reed did not require a suit as he was more than capable of transforming into something that could survive in this contaminated environment, but he wore a suit nevertheless.

He didn't want to change into a monstrosity in front of Lu'um just for the sake of convenience. But more than that, he didn't want to be reminded about his inhuman nature. He didn't want to ever grow accustomed to not being human. He was determined to hold onto his remaining humanity no matter the cost he would have to pay...

Everything seemed rather tame in the beginning when they entered the building. Still, once they started to descend further into the heart of the undercity, it became apparent that the situation beneath Talfano City was anything but normal.

Contrary to their ship's initial scans, they discovered that beneath the surface layer of the city, the undercity was... still very much active.

How did we miss all of THIS? Have we not been scanning nearly deep enough? Is this how they've been hiding their forces from us?

I should have considered this possibility, but I didn't think the Infestation would actually repurpose old infrastructure for their own benefit like this. This is... I've never heard of them doing something like this...

The undercity had been transformed into a grotesque base of some kind. Anchor-Root had spread across every single inch of the place, to the point the undercity had lost all semblance of its former structure. Because of this, the maps of the undercity Reed and Lu'um had brought with them proved to be of little help.

Thick, fetid flesh-roots filled with processed organic matter took up and blocked passageways that would have easily led them to the heart of the undercity that they needed to reach.

The more Reed saw, the more he became certain that they had finally found their answer to their missing numbers problem.

F.u.c.k.

As far as Reed understood, the Infestation had never shown that they could strategize in preparation for the future. Even under the command of higher-ranking Infested form such as a Pupa that possessed intelligence, the Infestation had always followed a doctrine of pure destruction.

They were reactionary at their core, instinctively exterminating life wherever it was detected. And although it was known that they could strategize, not once had the Ancient Mulians seen the Infestation use their own foe's tools against them for their benefit.

It was completely unheard of... until now.

Though Reed and Lu'um could not speak with each other and share their thoughts, they still arrived at the same conclusion.

There's something out there, something new.

A creature that is not only intelligent but also capable of making complex decisions. And it's a highly-ranked being to boot, capable of forcing lesser Infested to obey its will.

An administrator-type Infested.

...And it has been preparing for its prey's eventual return.