Chapter 31: A Shutter

Julien gave me a questioning gaze.

’It’s hard for me to see’, was what my look conveyed.

Embarrassed by his little-to-no-good acting, he took a shallow breath and gave a…

Smile?!

Was he hurt?

Should I have commended him?

As I was thinking of consoling Julien a bit, the land below us shook a little.

And a low rumbling could be heard from the front.

The mountain trembled as the rocky wall in front of us opened in a flashy way.

I looked to spot someone inside, but what met my eyes was another huge door.

This one was made up of metal.

I had to give credit. The door indeed looked imposing.

With a slight nod of my head, Arthur led the path to the inside of the… mountain.

As we reached some ten feet from the door, another translucent barrier appeared before us.

Show-off.

Click.

With the sound of some kind of activation, the barrier flickered for a second and then disappeared.

We didn’t move further.

The air inside felt a little hot. Might have been due to the closed space we were in.

After what felt like a minute, the mountain entrance behind us closed with a boom.

And at the same time, a dozen lights illuminated the inner walls of the… whatever we were in.

At first, it felt a little blinding for the eyes, but soon the entire view could be seen.

The gate before us extended high up, with no end in sight.

Don’t tell me it was directly connected to the mountain’s peak.

That was some…

Waste of resources!

Why make such a large door if the base is practically inside a fucking mountain?!

Haa.

It’s hard to understand the psychology of lunatics.

All of them, indeed, had a few dozen loose screws.

Suddenly, I had a bad feeling about this meeting.

My mental health was in serious trouble.

Fuu.

Jokes aside, why the hell hadn’t the gates been opened yet?

“Contact him.”

I rubbed my forehead in frustration. Wasn’t all the show-off before enough?

Do these lunatics have anything else left to show?

As the communicator buzzed, a person spoke awkwardly. And it definitely wasn’t No. 1.

“Umm… there has been a malfunction, please wait for a moment. It will be resolved soon. Haha!

Actually, we haven’t used the main entrance for a long time, so it seems to have jammed.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

I was having second thoughts of recruiting these… shitheads!

Why the hell make us come here?

I took a bottle out of my storage ring and gulped it down.

Haa… that felt good.

“Ah. It’s done. Please come in!”

Please?

Heh.

Where had that arrogance gone now?

Looks like it really was a jam.

With a thud, the gate opened before us, and inside, a mini battalion of guards could be seen ready to—

Welcome us.

I took a step and then walked inside.

Arthur and Julien gave a brief glance at the soldiers inside and then walked beside me.

Followed by a little over fifty men, I looked kinda…

Cool.

Some researchers waited for us at the entrance, having guilty expressions on their ugly faces.

Huh.

Even these lunatics had some sense of etiquette.

But the figure leading them…

This fucker!

No. 1 stood with a puffed chest, waiting for us to approach him.

I felt like puking just seeing his face. As for his appearance, there’s no need to describe him.

Let’s just keep him as No. 1.

“The boss is waiting for you. Follow me.”

Giving us a brief look, he walked without looking back.

I didn’t comment on his behaviour.

More like, I didn’t have to.

“Should I cut him off?”

Surprisingly, it was Arthur who spoke up. I had expected some reaction from Julien, but he—

Julien was just walking with slumped shoulders.

What happened to him?

Is he upset about something?

“Relax, we are the ’guests’ here.” I gave Arthur a meaningful smile.

Our walk was a long one.

This facility was like a freaking maze. We had nearly made a total of thirty-two turns and still the main base was far from us.

Didn’t these guys have some easier means of transport?

The sound of our steps echoed through the narrow hallways, making it feel like some stampede.

The guards at the entrance walked on both our sides, each of their hands on the hilts of their weapons.

They were quite professional.

Even criminals these days have a sense of duty. Truly a refreshing sight to see.

After some twenty minutes of walking, we reached what could be called the main part of this facility.

The difference was obvious.

White lights flooded the entire area, making it look like a bright sunny day.

The walls were all painted in pure white—an expected development for a research facility. The floor was made of marble with a glassy finish to it.

Everything looked premium. I felt like stepping into some billion-dollar global corporation.

“The meeting room is this way.”

No. 1 led us to a quiet corner. Upon reaching the place, he placed his hand on the wall, and a beeping sound echoed.

A scanner, perhaps.

The wall lifted itself from the ground and got attached to the ceiling like a…

Damn shutter in general stores.

These guys!

As I made my way into the room, it was filled with all sorts of equipment.

There were some beds in every corner of the room and some high-tech machines attached to them.

This…

It was creepy.

Who assigns such a place for a meeting?

As I turned to look at No. 1, the guy seemed to have vanished from thin air.

No.

I could see his back around a table.

As I made my way towards him, I was stopped mid-track as a pair of greenish-blue eyes stared at me.

A man in his forties stood before me, his frame a little shorter than mine.

Being shorter didn’t make a dent in his presence.

“Greetings! What makes you visit my humble abode?”

The man greeted us with a zero-expression face.

Alfred Symer—

The Mad Alchemist stood before us.

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