Chapter 473: Bad Omen (1/2)

Chapter 473: Bad Omen

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was already late at night, but the city was still glowing with life. Crysound City was only an average mid-sized city in Gray Valley that did not stand out in any way. However, due to its location near the edge of Gray Valley, close to the Calamitous Asteroid Belt, it became a resupply station for people before entering the asteroid region. Mech squads and individual mech pilots would frequently enter Gray Valley through this city, and it was this influx of outsiders that drove the local economy.

Nonetheless, the recent appearance of the red-tailed beasts had ignited an all out war. Since Plant Henna was close to the front line, people began to move inwards to the inner parts of Gray Valley. The local economy was severely affected. Even so, Ye Chong still got to see the city illuminated in all its glory.

Centuria University was not far from where Ye Chong was. It was about 30 kilometers way, in fact. He chose to get there on foot to avoid being noticed. Before setting out, he also changed his clothes as Shang advised. For this, he had even made a trip to the nearby store.

Currently, Shang behaved in an honest and helpful manner, perhaps contemplative of his earlier mistake. The clothing that he chose was very common looking, but its black and gray colors made it well suited or blended in the dark at night.

30 kilometers was not too long of a distance for Ye Chong. After about 40 minutes, he arrived at the perimeter fencing of Centuria University. Ye Chong found out from the virtual world that Centuria University had stopped all classes due to the war. The spacious university grounds were now empty, and all of its buildings were closed down.

Ye Chong headed towards the mech experiment laboratory, following the route he had memorized beforehand.

The university was pitch black. Ye Chong moved quietly like a fox, slipping past the university buildings.

”Mech Experiment Laboratory” - the gold embossing stood out in the night, and Ye Chong breathed a sigh of relief as he saw them. However, his troubles were not yet over, such as the current issue of entering the lab. If it was before, he would have just withdrew Han Jia and force his way through the door. Now, however, he would not.

Since Henna was close to the front line, local security would be on high alert. It was only reasonable for a huge university's mech experiment laboratory to be guarded by security. If he triggered the alarm, the local military force, nervous from the war at hand, would definitely finish him off without hesitation. More importantly, the microphoton repair device was too large to move. The best option he had was to repair Han Jia right there without attracting any attention.

The problem now was, how could he enter the lab without triggering the alarm?

Ye Chong asked, ”Shang, got any ideas?”

”Hacking in is impossible. The calculations used here are completely different from what I know of. Besides, once I enter the virtual world, I'll be discovered. Hmm, if that's the case, let me think …” Shang was also vexed by their predicament.

Ye Chong waited quietly for Shang's answer. Mu was the expert in this field, and Shang was not so bad himself; Ye Chong himself, however, was absolutely clueless about it.

”Hmm, perhaps we can cut off its energy supply, shut down the entire security system, then we can force our way in.” Shang provided his opinion after a long moment of consideration.

”Alright! Let's do that,” Ye Chong said decisively.

”Ye, just 500 meters opposite, beneath the seventh streetlamp, there's a underground photon node. Let's check it out,” Shang provided more concrete instructions.

With Shang's directions, Ye Chong went to the seventh streetlamp. Just beside the base of the streetlamp was a light green colored manhole cover, measuring about 5 meters across. The cover was made of some kind of compound material.

The cover was firmly in place, but since there were no alarms set for it, Ye Chong forced it open. Beneath the cover was a dark hole. A flight of stairs ran down along one side of the inner wall, going downwards. Ye Chong went down the hole without delay, and put the cover back in its place on his way down.

He switched on the comms device on his arm. The holographic projection that came from it helped light his way in here.

”Hmm, this must be the photon node for the surrounding buildings,” Shang offered unsure. He was no longer as powerful as he wished to be without access to the virtual world. Now, he could rely on the knowledge in his memory archive to assess his surroundings.

Six three-meter all metal cabinets were arranged side to side to form a hexagon, and Ye Chong was now in the middle of them all. All six cabinets were locked.

”Ye, try and open the one in front of you,” Shang suggested after some thought.

The strong alloy lock was broken easily. Ye Chong threw it to the floor and opened the cabinet, and he was instantly baffled by what was inside. ”What next?”