NOVEL WEB Chapter 110: Benson
"Thanks," Lukas said, and he glanced over at Dr. Uwe sitting not far away.
Dr. Uwe was looking at the report from the spectrometer, mumbling to himself as he went through all the different hypotheses he had in his mind.
Looks like there would be no breakthrough from Dr. Uwe until he gets the research lab, Lukas thought.
"Good morning, Lukas," Riley said and patted Lukas on his back as Riley entered the building.
"Morning," Rex came over and did the same thing.
Emma and Harianto also came and did the same.
"What's the happy occasion?" Lukas asked, pretending not to know.
Rex shrugged his shoulders and said, "Nothing. Just glad to be back."
"Too bad we'll be leaving soon, huh," Lukas said.
"Don't remind us," they replied in unison with a smile.
Now that they were at Expert Level of Mastery, they had more confidence in handling whatever came for them.
After breakfast, it was time for them to get to the airbase.
Rodney was already waiting for them when they arrived.
He was still briefing his secretary and staff on what to do when he was not around.
"Good morning," Rodney greeted them when he saw them.
He took a puff of his cigar and said, "When we get there, be prepared to face some adversity from the Secretary for the West Battle Administration Area.
"Ignore him and let me handle it."
Lukas and the other team members nodded.
With that in mind, they got onto the plane and headed off for the Center Battle Administration.
After the plane lifted off, it took a hard steer to the right and headed toward the north.
That blue glow engulfed the plane when it got high up into the clouds.
Huge demonic beasts flew by occasionally.
But with the cover of the blue glow, they couldn't sense the plane and didn't discover it.
The journey to the Center Battle Administration took around the same time as the journey to the West Battle Administration Area, which was half a day.
Over the air, Lukas took a glimpse at the Center Battle Administration.
It looked like a huge industrial area; factories with towering chimneys gave out pillars of dark smoke.
The buildings were all orderly, neatly built in rows.
Even the residential areas were orderly and painted in a shade of gray.
The Center Battle Administration Area was the beating heart of the country, supplying essentials to the other four battle administration areas.
When they landed at the airbase and got out of the plane, Lukas immediately felt the stark contrast.
Everyone they saw had a stern look and was wearing military uniforms.
It seemed like even though the Center Battle Administration was protected and surrounded by the other four battle administration areas, it was the most militarized out of them.
"Order. Queue one by one," the soldiers at the checkpoint shouted when they saw Lukas and the others approach.
They got to a checkpoint each and presented their ID to the soldier.
Lukas watched closely as the soldier attending to him looked at his ID and frowned.
He saw the soldier typing into the computer, and the soldier stopped moving for a moment when the screen flashed the result.
The soldier took a deep breath and turned over to Lukas.
"Computer says no. I might have to get the IT guys," the soldier said, and he glanced over at his colleagues at the other counters.
They nodded at him.
Lukas figured something was up, so he glanced over at Rodney.
Rodney wouldn't ask them to come if he didn't have something up his sleeve.
And he was right as he saw Rodney talking to someone on his phone.
The soldiers didn't wait, and they pressed a button hidden below their counters.
Ring!
Alarms went off, and guards in the surrounding area got into action.
They rushed in with their weapons aimed at Lukas and the rest.
The checkpoint counter had thick steel plates rising from the ground, protecting the soldiers inside it.
Rex got angry, and he wanted to unleash his spiky rock whip at the guards, but Riley stopped him.
Pong.
One of the guards fired a smoke grenade at them.
Lukas used his shadow and hurled it back at the guards.
Cough.
The guards didn't know what happened, but they quickly took out their face masks and put them on as the smoke was choking them.
Lukas then used his shadow and yanked all the guards' legs.
Thud.
They fell backward onto the ground.
Some shot their rifles into the ceiling in anxiety.
"What the hell?!" they exclaimed with fear as they didn't know what was happening.
Sirens sounded from afar, and soon, men wearing uniforms that were blue with an insignia of a scale rushed in.
They were the security forces of the Center Battle Administration Area.
"Everyone stop whatever you are doing," a man dressed in a gray coat, with a thin mustache above his lips, shouted.
His voice rang in everyone's ears.
Lukas felt a pulse of energy enter into his head, and all that he could think of was to stop whatever he was doing.
He stared at the man in the gray coat.
This man was an awakened, and his ability somehow coaxed him to do what he commanded.
Lukas shook his head, trying to clear his mind.
The other team members were also trying to break free, but they were all struggling.
Lukas hit his chest with his fist, and it made his mind clear for a moment.
"So that's how you welcome your classmate?" Rodney's voice boomed in the air, and the man in the gray coat gave out a smile.
"Then how do you suppose I stop these guards?" The man in the gray coat walked over toward Rodney with a badge in his hand.
The guards and soldiers saw the badge, and they lowered their rifles.
"As the assistant head of the security forces, I will be taking over custody of these men and women for investigation."
The man in the gray coat glanced over at his subordinate, and one of them handed over some documents to the commander of the guards.
The commander of the guards read the documents and waved his hands.
All the guards left with the commander shortly after.
The checkpoints returned to their normal state, and the soldiers processed the entry of Lukas and the others.
"Welcome, Rodney."
"Nice to see you again, Benson."
Rodney and Benson greeted each other.
"I want you to meet..." Rodney wanted to introduce Lukas and the others to Benson, but Benson stopped him.
"We have to go before the Secretary tries something funny."
And as he was saying this, armored cars were on their way approaching the airbase.