Chapter 163: Life in a Rock

Chapter 163: Life in a Rock

After completing the tests Dr. Chen had given to test out my capabilities, he simply retrieved the handheld terminal and left.

That was three days ago.

I hadn’t heard from anyone since and spent my days stuck in my ‘complimentary room’. While the terminal here wasn’t connected to the internet, at least it had a vast catalog of shows and movies to consume.

However, thanks to their lax inspection of me, I still had my own terminal hidden within my body. I used that to kill time, working on the designs for the set of cybernetics that complimented the Jaden cyber legs I made for the volleyball team. There was a limit to how much I could do on just an internal terminal, but it was better than making no progress at all.

Is this what jail is like? No, from what I heard back in the days, they at least had other inmates and could do things like work out or basketball. I, on the other hand...

My entire being snapped to attention at the sound of the door opening.

“Mr. Halls, come with me,” a man’s voice came out of the power armor by the doorway.

The helmet was opaque so I couldn’t get a view of the face behind it, but from the voice, I believe it was the same guard who had led that interrogator to me last time.

I complied and swiftly followed him out into the cold metal hallways of whatever facility I was in.

During our walk, I tried glancing around for any hints, particularly for a window of some sort or markings. I wanted to find some clues about where I was because just knowing I was in space didn’t cut it.

Even if my guardian angel came to save me, I doubt it would happen diplomatically. I needed to be prepared if anything went down.

“Keep walking,” the cold voice resounded from the power armor.

“Okay, okay. I got it. I was just curious about this place after holding up in my room for days. What is your name, anyway?” I replied as I tried to gain information from chatting up the guard.

He didn’t reply and wordlessly urged me forward.

“Come on, I haven’t talked to anyone for some time. You can at least humor me with your name, right?”

“...It’s Poltrix.” He replied in a tone that was half speaking and half sighing.

“So, Poltrix, how long have you worked for this Nova Tech?”

“...”

Again, no reply came, so I pressed on.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re new? I thought this was a secure base and they let rookies guard it?”

“I am the commander of the garrison here... Rest assured, we will protect you from any threats.”

“Oh, so it’s Commander Poltrix! What an honor to be escorted by you in person.”

“...”

The commander’s acting ability was horrible, to say the least. His attempt at reassuring me that he was here to protect me was laughable, at best. Still, I humored him as we continued walking down the empty white corridors.

“Anyway, Commander. Do you eat the same stuff they have been feeding me? All this synthetic shit is making me go insane. Not that I don’t understand how much harder it is to get real food with the logistics of being in space.”

“...Spacer standards are higher than planetside. It’s just this facility emphasizes efficiency rather than luxury. No more talking, we’re almost there.”

We arrived at an elevator and after going up several floors; we found ourselves outside a set of reinforced blast doors that was basically two large chunks of metal. We stood still for several dozen seconds before it opened.

We went into an airlock where we were soaked in some kind of gas before we got through to the other side.

When the second set of blast doors opened, I found a spacious and neatly organized lab. It had all the equipment you could ask for when performing R&D. There was even a large room enclosed in glass that was actually a 3D printer.

I saw dozens of people in the same lab coat Dr. Chen had worn, operating the equipment in the room or rushing around to attend to their own affairs. One of them stood out as she simply stood there by the entrance, looking our way.

She had long brown hair tied into a ponytail and wore a set of glasses, which was a rare sight in this world.

“Welcome to laboratory number three. I am Junior Researcher Cora, and you will be working under me as per the instructions of Dr. Chen.” She glanced over at Commander Poltrix and bowed politely to him. “Thank you, Commander Poltrix. I can take over from here.”

The man in the power armor wordlessly strode out of the room, and Cora immediately pulled me along.

“Let us be quick, Mr. Halls. We have quite a few things on schedule today. I’ve been told if you hinder us in any way, you’d be kicked out. I’ll try my best to help you get started, but I’ve got my own work to deal with, so just try to keep up.”

If the role was reversed, could I infiltrate this facility myself? I didn’t have any resources off-planet, and would likely have to spend quite some time coming up with various solutions to avoid detection...

I opened my status screen, and I mulled over how much I could shorten that time if I upgraded stealth tech or other enhancements.

Status

Level:

25

EXP:

1720/2500

Musculoskeletal:

211

Neural Reflex:

65

Visuomotor Coordination:

87

Endurance:

59

Sensory Perception:

127

Upgrade Points:

0

Upgrades:

Stealth +7Hacking +5Cybernetic Engineering +10Stealth Technology +10Software Engineering +11Electrical Engineering +10

Enhancements:

SAID: Zenitech Sebastien v2

Bio-Coprocessor: SocialCorp Lightning II

Optics: Mirage Tech Clear-Sights mk.12

Cyberarm (Left): Nova Tech Heracle Mk. 3

Cyberarm (Right): Nova Tech Heracle Mk. 3

Auditory: SocialCorp Echo IV

Vocal: SocialCorp Orator III

Cardiovascular: BioGen Lifepump 5

Sensory: Halls Corp Argus Elite Custom

Additional Processing: Halls Corp Custom ST

Miscellaneous: Halls Corp HSU Custom Shade

Come to think of it...Can I somehow gain experience points while I’m here? I might be able to solve the survival problem during a rescue mission if I level up my oldest skill, stealth, or even something else...

With that, I couldn’t help but glance over at Cora and her fellow assistants.