Chapter 1107 (1/2)

After the unrecognized Order’s representative left, the negotiations began in earnest.

Theodora Greyman started off the ‘issues’ by bringing up the three disasters that came out of the Epic Dungeon. Instantly Warlord brightened, but that only made Mrs. Hamilton increasingly weary. After even a few minutes of spending time with Theodora Greyman, it was clear that this woman was not a normal sort of leader. If she had been, Mrs. Hamilton wouldn’t have been so impressed with her.

She wasn’t the direct, blunt type like Donny was, or the rather cruel and whimsical brand of leadership that Phirun ascribed to. She also didn’t possess the calculating mind of either Mrs. Hamilton and Han Yazhu.

No, Theodora Greyman was more dangerous than that. She was the unpredictable, charismatic type. She accomplished what she wanted by paying attention and valuing different things than the average person. And until Mrs. Hamilton had pinned down what this woman wanted, she wouldn’t let down her guard.

Still, it was not nothing that the Zone 1 representative brought up the issue of the three disasters. It also allowed Warlord to stand and explain that it appeared that the most active of the three was dealt with. Then the Orders thawed enough from their companion being ejected to join in the discussion and talk what actions could be taken now to reduce the power of monsters streaming out of Zone Eleven.

Very soon, everyone offered opinions. And with the persuasive arguments of Theodora Greyman and Warlord, sentiment slowly shifted toward an agreement.

Although Han Yazhu was quite scathing in his comments, the discussion proceeded smoothly. Even if no one particularly wanted to waste their forces helping Zone Eleven, there was an elephant in the room which made them unwilling to not participate. Everyone was particularly sensitive to the modifier ‘Epic’ that was associated with this Dungeon. Perhaps the reward for clearing it wouldn’t be as significant for those that could be obtained from a Danger Zone, but all the Danger Zones thus far had ended up being connected with other worlds once cleared. If the Dungeon was controlled and could be used as a high-Level training ground without the risk of a whole world waiting on the other side.

In the end, it was agreed that the three disasters needed to be dealt with before they seriously attempted to assault the Epic Dungeon.

Theodora clapped her hands together. “Took a while for everyone to agree…” She shot Han Yazhu a look. The man didn’t even blink. Mrs. Hamilton smirked. Tough bastard.

As Theodora turned back froward she continued to speak. “...but the goal for my issue is settled: we will work together to destroy the remaining two disasters. I’m slightly sad that one has already been dealt with… but part of the reason I wanted to bring everyone here was to show you all something. Something that our research team has been working on for quite a while. This can be unveiling of Zone 1’s most dazzling scientific accomplishment to date.”

Theodora gestured and a rumble rippled through the room. Then the floating sphere descended slowly to sit in the middle area of the table. As it was still translucent, it was possible to see the other representatives through it. But as Theodora gestured again, the translucent streams of water began to gather and spiral together. Very soon, brushstrokes of color appeared on the sphere.

Then those brushstrokes resolved themselves into visions of a faraway place. Two images to be exact, reflected on three sides of the orb so everyone could see clearly.

The first was East Providence, showing a relatively undeveloped field South of the city. While some of the high roofed buildings of the science complex could be seen in the background, it was a completely unremarkable vista.

Meanwhile, the other image displayed was a dense swamp populated by Level 70 Basilisks that were dozing in the water. Mrs. Hamilton blinked several times, finally realizing what she was looking at. The marshes seemed to stretch for miles, seeming filled with infinite Basilisks. And of course, seething in the middle was the vast body of murky water was the Level 80 Bog Hydra.

Once she had identified the subject of the pictures, Mrs. Hamilton admired the strange display sphere. Certainly an interesting bit of science. Does it work like scrying, or are we receiving a feed from something on-site? If this really is a mass scrying device though...

“In order to protect the Earth, we need to work together,” Theodora continued as the representatives around her stared in confusion at the images. “Which is why I’m showing you all these two almost divine ‘tools’ that Zone 1 has created. The first is this viewing orb, inspired by the Champion of Zone 32. With it, it is possible to track or view almost anything in the world. Right now, we are relying on the information given to us by Zone 19 to try and find the culprit in the heinous bloodless murders. Which is just one of many anti-terrorism functions this orb can fulfill.”

While also putting quite a bit of power into your hands, Mrs. Hamilton thought with a twist of her mouth. But it wasn’t like Donnyton didn’t also closely monitor its subordinates.

“And the second divine tool…”

As she waited to speak, Theodora Greyman licked her lips. There were pink and fleshy, and Mrs. Hamilton sensed something monstrous from the woman. Which was usually the problem with the charismatic sort of leader. They generally used logic, but they were not bound by it like a true rhetorician was. And generally, those few slightly off-kilter believes were exactly the reason why this type of leader was so dangerous.

“...is Mjolnir.”

The ground in the picture of East Providence began to shift. The grassy field crumbled and ripped as metal panels slid backward, revealing a dark opening in the rather idyllic field. However, as the image continued to roll, Mrs. Hamilton’s eyes widened. She could clearly sense the vast, catastrophic danger roiling upward from this opening. The viewpoint drifted closer, giving a better angle of sight down into the opening.

Energy gathered, slowly illuminating the interior of the silo. For a second, Mrs. Hamilton worried that Zone 1 had reclaimed and was about to use a nuclear warhead. Setting aside the issue of radiation poisoning, Mrs. Hamilton had some serious concerns about the ecological consequences of using nuclear weapons within the closed area the System had created on Earth.

But as the gathering energy illuminated the silo, it was clear that wasn’t quite the case. There was a tall form within the dark silo, but it was a seething mass of movement. It looked less like a missile and more like a misshapen blob that was constantly trying to sculpt itself into something presentable.

With the energy came light, but there was only a brief moment where that light crossed the threshold from dim to blinding and they were similarly isolated from the information. Yet for a hair-thin split second, Mrs. Hamilton witnessed a portion of the operations at the core of this Mjolnir. And what she saw was actually vaguely familiar.

Like the floating orb that Zone 1 had created to display pictures of a faraway place, what Mrs. Hamilton saw was a towering pillar of thin, slug-like… somethings. The wriggled and spun, gathering energy to themselves.

And then as that light became completely blinding, the viewpoint began to back away from the opening. A split second later, whatever that thing was blasted its incandescent energy into the sky. The perspective that had previously shown East Providence shifted and suddenly they could see a brilliant beam of light shoot upward into the sky and then curve Northward. Only a few short seconds later, that beam arrived at the view of the swamp.

Instantly, that blinding energy severed the view that the representatives had. The display went immediately black the second after that energy arrived. Everyone was deathly silent.