137. Chapter 137 – Underground Laboratory
Chapter 137 – Underground Laboratory
This hole is obviously only suitable for Dwarves, the Cornu.
Normal humans and human skeletons like Heine had problems keeping moving, not to mention answering the enemy once inside.
However, this dark thing reminded him of the “Dark Grotto” that Hui Hui had mentioned.
This place was located in the westernmost part of the southern mountains.
Judging from its location, it was very likely that this hole extended westward, connecting to the last spell formation in the lower left corner of the “X” shape.
“Has anything unusual been found in the mountains to the west?” He asked.
Tower scratched his head in bewilderment.
“West side? No. …… The east side of the forest is prone to pointy ears, and the south side won’t let us go, so we played on the west side when we were kids, and we didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. …… There is a mine, though.”
“Mining hole?”
“Yes, the mine hole that was abandoned a long time ago, collapsed seven or eight years ago …… They are dead even if they drill in.”
Heine: “Get a map and mark the location of the mine.”
Tuba busily asked, “My lord, do you want me to accompany you?”
“No, you guys stay here and guard this exit.”
……
As the sun set, the airship slowly stopped in front of a mine entrance.
They had a Cornu guide with them.
But this place was just plain evil.
It was one of those places that you often passed by when you weren’t looking for it, and then you waited until you specifically wanted to look for it and then you couldn’t quite figure out where it was.
The guide said he could find his way back, and then skipped off with a silver coin.
Heine dug in with two skeletons and a ball of soulfire.
It got darker and darker about ten meters in.
Heine had Catch the Goat remove his helmet, and the mine tunnel lit up.
The golden holy light was like a bright incandescent lamp, and it also chased away the cold.
Sheepcatcher was amazed.
He didn’t even think it was possible to save so much.
But soon, the trio was blocked by a wall.
It was left from a collapse, and there was only a fist-sized gap left in the wall, which was pitch black.
Heine released his senses out, and bizarrely it was like hitting a wall, unable to see what was behind it at all.
“Isolated perception?”
He couldn’t help but wonder.
Catching Sheep panicked, “You guys say he wouldn’t throw my soul fire in as a lighting tool, right? It’s over how he looks at me …… Grass!”
…
Since you have said so.
Immediately, Heine pulled out the soul fire of the catching sheep and condensed a bone spear for him to stand on, sticking it in as a pole.
Then he asked him with psionic magic:
“Is perception blocked in there?”
Although they were skeletal warriors, considering that none of their spiritual attributes were low, perceiving a few meters away from their bodies shouldn’t be a big problem.
Catch the Goat: “No.”
It really looked like there was something wrong with the wall.
Heine takes him back and throws Duo in.
“Fly around and see what’s going on.”
As an evil spirit, she had the ability to fly on her own when not possessed.
And as soon as she landed, she had risen to level three, with attributes on the same template as Megumi’s, and high perception in her Evil Spirit form.
…
Duo attacked Guardian Kite while flying.
“See! Old man Wei, I’m much more useful than you!”
Wei Temple Iris: “…… Ah yes yes yes, see what you can do.”
Catch the goat: “There’s one thing to say, there’s nothing wrong with her saying that now.”
Wei Temple Iris: “? Crap you also betrayed brothers?”
Suddenly, Duo let out a gasp.
“Eh? I feel like I’ve been to this place before eh!”
Guardian Iris: “What the hell?”
Duo: “The walls are perception shielding material, and I’ve seen this similar structure somewhere …… I remember, a possession factory! The underground factories built inland by the Veritas Yard are all this kind of structure!”
Catch the Goat: “Wouldn’t that be a safe passage?”
Duo: “Yes, I was looking for it …… found it! I see the emergency switch, should I notify whoever that is before I press it?”
Guardian Iris: “Just press it and be done with it, he’ll brainstorm it himself.” Duo: “Huh?”
Catch the Goat: “Indeed, he’ll think you’ve been here and been stimulated to remember, and since the persona is a businessman, it makes sense that you’ve come to inspect the factory, so don’t worry about pressing it!”
With a soft click, a buzzing vibration sounded.
The sound didn’t seem far away, but it was underfoot and difficult to discern the direction.
Heine rushed inside and shouted, “What’s wrong? Is it safe?”
Duo immediately floated back, drawing figure eights bee-like in front of him.
Heine used psionics to build a bridge, and only after some communication did he pretend to be in the clear.
“An emergency escape route …… so it leads outside, right?”
Duo: “Yes. I’ll follow that door out and fly over when I find the exit.”
“Okay, you be safe.”
“Uh-na!”
Duo left while showing off to Guardian Iris, emerging from behind the crowd a few minutes later.
Following the path she’d scouted out, they made their way out of the mine, burrowed through the shrubbery covering the lower part of the hill, and then made their way unimpeded.
Arriving at a walled-off hall, it was easy to see by the light of the catching sheep that it was a deserted laboratory.
A stone-built operating table, the instruments had all been roughly removed, with the base and connections still remaining.
Heine hadn’t seen such a contraption before, and it was different from the enchanting and alchemy tables he remembered.
“Have you ever seen an operating table like this?” He asked Duo.
Duo swayed from side to side in the air.
It was a shake of the head, and it was kinda graphic.
After a cursory turn, the trio continued deeper along a downward staircase.
Within a few steps, Heine stopped.
He saw faint streams of pitch-black air.
At the same time there was a faint sound coming from below.
Instructing the skeleton to stay here, Heine turned on sneak and sneaked down.
He was also secretly practicing sneaking when Mr. Xia couldn’t see it.
The method was something he’d stolen from the guy when he spat on Ravan.
Considering the fact that “sneaking has a flat speed from the third level”, he’s practiced to at least the third level now.
And with his level 4 Genin affinity, he was sure that he was a bit more stealthy.
After all, no one knew how to communicate with Yuan Spirits better than him!
All the way down, he didn’t release his senses, but the sounds from below were already becoming clearer.
It was a generic language with a mountain people’s accent.
“Damn, hiding in this hellhole, haven’t eaten for a day!”
“Keep your voice down, Red might eat you if he hears you.”
“I’ll eat the old man in the cage first.”
“That’s Red’s baby, how could he let it go.”
…
Turning out of the corner, ahead was a hall.
Torches were stuck in the walls, illuminating the dimly lit underground.
It looked like a workshop, with straight and empty corridors.
A number of Cornu people were standing or lying down, all leaning against the wall, maybe fifteen or sixteen of them, clustered in twos and threes.
These were probably the elite house servants Redd had brought with him.
Dark currents of air came from the closed door of the room at the other end of the hall, spreading thin enough to reach here.
Heine passed through them silently and walked to the end.
Along the way, he heard some discussion in only a few words, while the household servants could not help but look this way.
Obviously, there was someone in here.
The door was soundproofed so well that it was completely impossible to hear what was going on inside.
And with the house servants complaining and spitting uncontrollably, it was clear that the inside couldn’t hear the outside either.
Heine quietly slipped back in and informed them that they could come down.
“Make a little noise.”
He reminded Catch Sheep.
And so.
Tom-tom!
There was an unmistakable sound of descending stairs, and Heine, standing at the end of the corridor, saw the house servants in front of him rise one after the other.
Like a flock of sheep disturbed by a wild animal while foraging for food.
(End of chapter)