NOVEL WEB Chapter 383: The Infiltration Begins
Flutter, flutter, flutter.
In a rarely-visited forest, a flock of birds, startled by something unseen, flapped their wings and took to the sky.
The desolate forest, with its rugged and steep mountains, was overgrown with unkempt weeds, a picture of untamed wilderness.
Yet, within this wilderness, three "girls" strolled through the undergrowth, as if travelers on a spring outing who had mistakenly wandered into a primeval forest.
"If I remember correctly, it should be here." Little Senti, leading the way, was somewhat excited. After tens of thousands of years, she had finally returned to this place.
Compared to the scene in her memory, the changes here were so drastic that she almost couldn't recognize it. However, as the executor of Project EMBER, Fu Hua had some understanding of Dr. Mei's choice of location for the sanctuary plan. And before Kevin was sealed in the Sea of Quanta, she and he would occasionally communicate.
Having inherited Fu Hua's memories, Little Senti naturally retained this information.
"But there's nothing here." Bronya followed behind her, Project Bunny hovering at her side, constantly scanning the surrounding geology, but finding nothing unusual.
"It's absolutely real, I definitely wouldn't lie to you." Little Senti, her assertion challenged, was a bit unhappy. But she didn't explain to Bronya, instead hurriedly assuring Ren, afraid he wouldn't believe her.
After all, for Little Senti, although Bronya was her classmate, their relationship was far from comparable to Kiana's. Moreover, Bronya often contradicted her. Little Senti wasn't stupid; she knew Bronya still didn't see her as Fu Hua.
But [Kiana] gave her a completely different feeling. He truly recognized her as Fu Hua. Whether calling her Little Senti or Class Monitor, he gave her a sense of closeness.
Even small animals knew who was truly good to them. As the Herrscher of Sentience, Little Senti was even more sensitive to others' attitudes.
"I believe you, of course, but we still need some way to confirm."
Ren was very good at coaxing children. A few words were enough to cheer Little Senti up, even making her volunteer excitedly, clenching her fists.
"Let me do it, let me do it! It's been so many years, I really want to say hello to an old friend."
In the overgrown wilderness, Little Senti found a hard, rocky ground, took a deep breath, and raised her right fist high.
"Cun Jin, Open Heaven!"
With one punch, a powerful sonic boom erupted. The moment her fist touched the ground, the terrifying impact, like a rolling wave, blasted away the surrounding soil.
Trees within a radius of dozens of meters collapsed as if swept by some gigantic force. The jungle, once teeming with animals, became completely silent. And where her fist landed, a crater nearly ten meters deep had appeared.
At the deepest point of the crater, a smooth wall reflected a metallic sheen in the sunlight. This clearly wasn't a naturally formed mineral vein, but a man-made, mechanical metal structure.
"See? I told you this base was still here."
Little Senti was very satisfied with her results. Following the metal wiring, she led the two to an unremarkable cliff face. Another punch, and the rock wall crumbled, revealing a large metal door.
"Let's go. I'm somewhat familiar with Kevin, but that guy is quite rigid. To think he'd do something like this for Project Stigma. If you want revenge on World Serpent, I can help you hold him off."
With that, Little Senti took the lead and charged straight into the base. Ren silently noted the coordinates and followed closely behind.
Only Bronya hesitated. After all, neither Little Senti nor Ren was the real Fu Hua or Kiana. If this was a trap, it would be difficult for her to escape.
But on second thought, if the two wanted to deal with her, they could just do it directly. There was no need to set a trap. Coupled with her worry about Rozaliya, she gritted her teeth and followed them inside.
The interior of the base was completely different from the camouflaged wilderness outside, filled with a strong technological atmosphere and in constant operation.
Just on the upper levels, Bronya saw many unfamiliar structures. Her occupational habits kicking in, she immediately used the Herrscher of Reason's authority to analyze them. However, there were simply too many things. By the time she finished analyzing one, Ren had already walked far ahead.
Helpless, she could only temporarily put aside these intriguing things and chase after the two.
But as they continued deeper into the passage, the dense and intricate corridors became increasingly confusing. At first, she could still follow their tracks through the wrecked mechs left in the corridors, but gradually, she was disoriented by the maze-like corridors, unknowingly losing them.
And she didn't know that, just where she had passed, a mechanical gate slowly descended, while other gates quietly opened.
With this opening and closing, the already complex passage completely transformed into a new maze. She thought she had lost Ren, but in reality, all her movements were faithfully recorded by hidden cameras above the passage, uploaded to the underground control center.
"Bronya Zaychik, last time it was her who nearly ruined the Sovereign's departure from the Sea of Quanta. This time she actually dares to walk straight into our base." Jackal, wearing her dog-head mask, sat before the monitors, a cruel smile on his lips.
"Hey, Jackal, don't forget she's a bona fide Herrscher."
"Isn't that perfect? I've long wanted to study a Herrscher's body. Last time in ARC City, we let that Herrscher of the Void slip away. This time, hmph hmph." Jackal clearly didn't know what it meant to not jinx herself, raising flags high before the battle even began.
"Herrscher of the Void…" Raven repeated the title in a low voice, a strange look flashing in her eyes.
"Raven, you're not actually scared of Herrschers, are you? Hahahaha."
"Just assume I am." Letting out a breath, Raven's expression relaxed.
Jackal clearly hadn't expected her to say this, momentarily speechless. Opening and closing her mouth, she finally managed a soft consolation, "Don't worry, the Sovereign is here this time. None of these three will escape."
"By the way, this girl seems to be the Herrscher of the Void. How about I leave her to you to deal with personally? A chance to avenge your previous defeat." Jackal pointed at Ren on the screen. Completely immersed in his scientific research, she clearly only saw Herrschers as experimental subjects.
You want me dead, don't you? I've barely recovered!
Raven complained inwardly, eventually choosing the seemingly weaker Bronya. And while the two were talking, Ren and Little Senti had already walked into the trap prepared within the base.
The lengthy passage was exceptionally empty. Unlike the office areas above, both sides here were solid metal walls. Little Senti walked at the front, completely unafraid.
"Haha, is Kevin scared? The upper areas have so many defense robots, but there are no traps here at all?"
Ren didn't respond, his gaze inconspicuously sweeping over the cracks in the metal walls.
Sure enough, the next second, several berserk mechs suddenly surged into the passage. At the same time, the ventilation ducts above the corridor flipped open, revealing rows of specialized machine guns fixed within.
"Welcome, you two. I am Jackal, the temporary person in charge of this base. Thank you for walking into our trap."
Jackal's confident voice came from the loudspeaker in the corner of the corridor.