The bio dome covering the water fortress turns dark red.
Isabelle still didn’t show up.
“...I think something happened.”
Amber eyes glowed uneasily in the dark alley.
‘Why all of a sudden?’
When I met him yesterday, I didn’t see anything strange. Even though he went back earlier than other times, he is a slave. This is quite possible since there are restrictions on free action.
It may be that I couldn’t come out today because something came up, but for some reason, I have a bad feeling.
I’m not the only one who feels that way. Heavenly Mother and the MPS-05 in her backpack think similarly.
‘I can’t do this.’
It is pointless to continue waiting here.
[Zuzuzu zuzuzu (let’s go to the warehouse)]
Maybe he’s in an old warehouse where Coldblood slaves are hiding. I moved to the warehouse with Heavenly Mother.
When we arrived at the warehouse, the entrance to the warehouse was blocked with a barrier, just like any other time. I put my head down on the floor. This is to find traces of Isabelle using the auxiliary organ under the chin.
While scanning the fine footprints left on the floor and fingerprints near the terminal with an auxiliary device, something unusual was detected. Some traces seemed much clearer than others. This means that only those traces were created recently.
[Zuzzuzuzuzu (I have to open it)]
「Did you find something?」
[Zuzzu zuzuzuzu Zuzu (Probably. Takes out MPS-05)]
After looking around, Heavenly Mother took out MPS-05 from her backpack.
“check. check.”
It climbed up the wall using its pointed metal legs. Then, I pulled out the cable attached to my head and body and plugged it into a small terminal on the terminal.
“Password, enter. request.”
「Password?」
“Password. necessary!”
At the word password, Heavenly Mother and I looked at each other at the same time. She is thinking the same thing as me.
「’Penelope’.」
“Confirmed.”
This warehouse protects the legacy left behind by Isabel’s twin sister. There is only one password required in such a place.
When MPS-05 entered the password, the shield was lifted as expected.
When I entered the warehouse, the first thing I saw was a pad-type terminal placed on the floor.
“It’s Isabelle.”
The terminal was neatly placed on top of the door of the stairs leading down to the basement. It’s as if they are asking us to look at them.
I picked up the thin pad with my small arms near my chest. As soon as my finger touched it, it started working and displayed various information on the screen.
‘This?’
After scrolling through the screen and checking the information, I was able to guess why Isabelle didn’t come. And what are you thinking?
Isabel will no longer appear before us. Even the coldbloods hiding underground won’t come to see it.
“What is it about? “What is it?”
Instead of answering, I gave the pad to Heavenly Mother. Her eyes grew bigger each time her furry fingers brushed across the screen.
There were two main types of data contained in Isabel’s terminal.
One is personal information about the 10 high-ranking members of the cult that exist in the water fortress. Important information was well organized, such as when they came in and when they left, what position they held, how powerful they were, and what to pay attention to.
Another is a list of trading ships. We only collected things that are on the border between legal and illegal, making it difficult to receive protection from the empire. At first glance, it seemed useful for evacuating Coldblood. At the end of the list, there was a locked file. It was automatically canceled 7 days from now.
「Alshas, the captain of ‘Defender of Berzan 02’. This person is suspicious. 」
[Zuzuzu (Really? What is the basis?)]
「Compared to the people on this list, his status is ambiguous. The governor and the head of the surveillance office are key figures of power in the empire, but the captain of an imperial carrier falls short of that level.”
That’s a valid point.
Imperial Carrier Captain is a very important position in the Empire, but is slightly inferior to the other members on this list.
“There is one more reason. Doesn’t this name Alshas look familiar?”
I remember hearing those words.
Alkadi, the most influential slave trader on the Streets of Light.
I planted a parasite in its head to find a Coldblood slave. Thanks to this, I was able to find out that Isabelle had gone to the water fortress.
Although he was a useful servant, he died suddenly while participating in a meeting with his younger brother.
[Zuzuzuzu zuzuzuzuzu (Alkadi’s younger brother)]
「Yes.」
Alshas is also on the list compiled by Isabel, and was in the same position on the day Alkadi died. He was someone who could be suspected of being a ranker.
[Zuzuzuzuzzuzuzuzuzu (I’m suspicious, so let’s check first)]
“Do you have any doubts?”
In response to her question, I chose the person at the front of the list. The host of the banquet, Representative Kitsos.
“indeed. Cult players benefit the better they run their political parties.”
If I were a cult player, I would have become friends with talented people in various fields. This is because relationships and social networks can also be powerful weapons for intelligent races such as cults and humans. Especially in the real world, not a game.
When actually fighting underground, the enemy mobilized various types of units and equipment in a short period of time. This would have been impossible if he had not been connected to many powerful people.
The only position that can satisfy these conditions is Rep. Kissos, who is close to those in power in various fields.
After deciding on two people, I continued to look through the list, but I couldn’t find anyone as suspicious as these two.
「Kisos and Alshas. These two are the most suspicious.”
[Zuzzuzuzu Zuzuzu Zuzuzu Zuzu Zuzu (It could be one of the two, or maybe both)]
“One is the captain of an imperial carrier, and the other is an influential member of the Imperial Council. “Who should I aim for first?”
Both are quite difficult enemies.
After much thought about who to check first, I made a decision.
[Zuzzuzuzu zuzu (let’s start with the key sauce)]
There is a reason why they want to attack this side before Alshas. Kissos has established friendly relations with those in power in Berzan 02. If there is a problem with someone on the list, they are likely to immediately notify others.
‘Once you start attacking, you can’t stop. In that case, it’s right to hit the head first.’
Even among those in power, he functions as a kind of commanding tower. Regardless of whether you are a ranker or not, it is better to hit first.
[Zuzuzzu zuzuz (this time we’ll all move together)]
Since there is a high possibility that there are multiple enemy rankers, everyone must move together to reduce damage.
We took Isabel’s terminal and left the old warehouse.
‘I tried to leave quietly.’
I was bombarded from above my head, and a trait I used well was banned, but I persevered to achieve my desired goal.
However, just as I was trying to achieve that goal, I failed because of the annoying things the enemies did.
‘Very unpleasant.’
We still don’t know who the ranker who signed Isabelle’s contract is.
If I could hold it in my hand.
I will let you know that there is something more fearful in the world than Vortex One.
“Watch next episode”