Chapter : 695

Laxmi punched her open palm. A tiny orange spark popped in the air. "Someone is running that giant machine! Someone is doing secret stuff out here! Let us go smash it!"

Princess Iris narrowed her violet eyes. She gripped her silver rapier. She realized the massive scale of the conspiracy. The Emperor was right. Someone inside the empire was funding an illegal operation in the middle of a lethal poison swamp.

Ken Eliot stood at the back of the group. He held his bag of potato chips. He did not pop a chip into his mouth.

He stared at the massive, active mining rig.

Ken dropped his slacker posture for a single split second. He stood perfectly straight. His sleepy dark eyes turned sharp. He stopped looking at the rusted metal. He looked past the physical machine.

Ken used his god-like, perception. He expanded his magical senses across the wasteland. He felt the flow of the environment. He tasted the ambient mana in the air.

He felt the toxic radiation. He felt the dead earth. But he also felt something else.

He felt a very strange, highly organized magical frequency pulsing from the mining rig. It did not feel like a normal mechanical engine. It felt twisted. It felt deliberate. It felt like a massive, hidden trap waiting to be sprung.

Ken knew instantly. This was not just a leftover ghost machine. This was not a simple group of rogue scavengers turning on an old engine.

Someone powerful was running this facility. The magical footprint was huge. The operation was deeply funded. The person in charge knew what they were doing.

"Something is off," Ken thought casually to himself. He narrowed his sharp eyes. "The energy here is wrong. This is a massive, heavily guarded dungeon. The boss is definitely waiting inside. And they are doing some very weird science experiments."

Ken sagged his shoulders again immediately. He slid his hands deep into his pockets. He put his goofy, lazy smile right back onto his face. He reverted to his harmless background character disguise. The terrifying Sovereign of the shadows vanished as quickly as he appeared.

"Well," Ken mumbled lazily. He let out a loud, dramatic yawn. He grabbed a potato chip. "That looks like a lot of stairs. I hate climbing stairs. I hope they have a working elevator inside that giant metal death trap."

The 13th Unit stood together in the toxic mist. They stared at the active, glowing mining rig. The mysterious facility loomed over them. The investigation into the empire's darkest secret was officially starting. They were ready to uncover the truth, unaware of the horrors waiting for them deep underground.

Unauthorised repost. Search for the title to read the story in its proper home, where the author put it.

---

The giant mining rig towered over the cracked earth. Massive iron gears turned in circles. The metal screeched loudly. A huge engine hummed with a constant, thumping sound. The 13th Unit stood in the toxic yellow mist. They stared at the active machine in shock.

Princess Iris gripped the handle of her silver rapier. Her violet eyes searched the metal scaffolding. She looked very confused. The empire abandoned this entire region ten years ago. The Solurius disaster destroyed the land. The government ordered a complete shutdown. This machine was supposed to be a pile of rusted, dead metal.

Instead, the mining rig was fully operational. Bright industrial lights shined through the toxic fog. Black smoke puffed from a tall exhaust pipe.

Ken Eliot stood at the back of the group. He slouched his shoulders as far as they could possibly go. He wore his baggy navy blue sweatpants. His white dress shirt hung completely untucked. He reached into his canvas bag. He pulled out a blue gummy worm. He tossed the candy into his mouth. He chewed it slowly.

"This is predictable," Ken announced lazily. He pointed a finger at the giant iron structure. "This is a classic evil villain base. The bad guys always build their secret hideouts in poison swamps. The toxic environment acts as a natural barrier. It keeps the low-level players away."

Naomi turned her head. She looked at Ken. She wore her dark combat pants and a sleek green shirt. She did not yell at him for eating candy. She smiled a very soft, warm smile. Her green eyes looked very fond.

"You are probably right, Ken," Naomi agreed gently. She spun one of her silver daggers in her hand. The metal clicked. "But we do not see any doors. We do not see any guards. Where do we go?"

Ken swallowed his gummy worm. He let out a loud, dramatic yawn. He stretched his arms high above his head.

"The giant tower is just a distraction," Ken explained casually. He used his flawless anime logic. "In every single stealth video game, the real dungeon is always under the floor. The bad guys build massive underground bunkers. They hide all their cool science experiments down there. We just need to find a suspicious rock. Or a giant red button. Or a fake waterfall."

Zinia crossed her muscular arms. The strong earth mage looked at the flat, cracked dirt around the mining rig.

"There are no waterfalls here, Ken," Zinia stated bluntly. "But your logic makes sense. The real facility must be buried. We need to find the entrance."

Laxmi punched her open palm. The fire user grinned a wide, excited grin. A bright orange spark popped between her fingers.

"Let us just smash the ground!" Laxmi cheered loudly. "I can melt a hole right through the dirt! We can jump down!"

Sayma pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. The intelligent Vice-Captain opened her neat notebook. She clicked her silver pen rapidly. Click. Click. Click.

"We cannot melt the ground, Laxmi," Sayma instructed politely. "A sudden thermal explosion will trigger their security alarms. We must maintain stealth. We are currently infiltrating an unknown enemy stronghold. We need to find the mechanical access point."

Luna lay down on a flat piece of dry dirt. She rested her head on her arms. She rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"Can someone else find the door?" Luna mumbled lazily. She closed her eyes. "I am very tired. Walking through the fog requires too much energy. Please wake me up when we find a comfortable sofa."

"We will find the door," Princess Iris promised kindly. She looked at her vanguard. "Spread out. Search the perimeter of the mining rig. Look for anything unusual. Stay inside your purification bubbles. Do not touch the yellow mist."

The elite girls nodded in perfect unison. They moved quickly. They formed a wide circle around the base of the massive iron tower. The glowing white fragments of the Core of Luminus protected them perfectly. The holy energy pushed the deadly toxic fog away.

Ken did not join the search party. He just stood in his spot. He popped another blue gummy worm into his mouth. He watched Zinia stomp her boots on the ground. He watched Sayma scan the metal pipes.