Chapter 23: The Psychic Science Research Institute
“This is…” Medea instinctively tried to read his mind, but found his spirituality was so vast and astonishing that she couldn’t even see his mental body, let alone read his mind.
“Richard Tennar,” Asker introduced. “A Swordsman Group leader.”
The swordsmen outside were speechless. Master is a physical demigod, okay? Don’t casually introduce him as some Swordsman Group leader, it’s too demeaning!
“Chief Asker, these two are…” Nuremberg asked politely.
“Girls from my team,” Asker said.
Well, I just complained about him being too casual when introducing the master, now he doesn’t even bother with names… Nuremberg was speechless.
“Chief?” Medea used mind reading on Nuremberg and immediately understood the situation.
A Swordsman Group led by a physical demigod? And Asker was an honorary chief among them?
She immediately opened a mental link and whispered to a bewildered Nuo.
“Chief Asker, do you think there’s something wrong with this passage?” Nuremberg asked curiously.
“It’s worth investigating,” Asker said. “The old man also thinks there’s something wrong, right?”
Old man… The swordsmen were speechless. This guy showed no respect to a demigod!
“Something feels amiss,” Richard Tennar said.
Well, since Master said so… Nuremberg took the lead, jumping down into the pit and waving for the swordsmen to follow.
“Asker, I’m a little scared,” Nuo whispered, clinging to his arm. She really didn’t want to go back to that creepy place.
“Don’t be afraid, there are more of us this time,” Asker comforted her. “And we have a physical demigod leading the way.”
“Yes.” Medea also wanted to say something, but her gaze fell on Nuo’s hand holding Asker’s arm, and she immediately felt a pang of jealousy.
Why do you always pull away when I hug you, but don’t react when she hugs you?!
“Asker, I’m scared too,” Medea said, feigning fear, and clung to his other arm.
The other swordsmen, staring straight ahead, followed the Sword Saint and Nuremberg into the passage, their peripheral vision constantly glancing back. Hans was the last to jump down into the pit. He looked at Asker and said with a smile:
“Chief Asker, are these two really mercenaries from your group? Not Witch Hunters here to arrest you?”
The three of them: …
Medea and Nuo, each clinging tightly to one of Asker’s arms, did look a bit like “police arresting a criminal.”
“Can you let go of me first? I don’t have any free hands to draw my sword,” Asker said with a wry smile.
“We can let go,” Medea said, looking at Nuo provocatively. “You let go first.”
“Why should I let go first?” Nuo said, a bit annoyed. “You let go of the captain first.”
“You’re holding his right arm,” Medea said, “The captain draws his sword with his right hand.”
“But the captain also needs his left hand to hold his gun,” Nuo retorted.
“Why don’t you two fight?” Hans said with an amused expression. “Whoever wins can be his arm accessory.”
Arm accessory… The two girls glared at Hans and let go of Asker, speechless.
The group continued down the passage. They noticed that the walls, ceiling, and floor gradually transitioned from concrete to steel plates. The swordsmen were amazed.
This latter half of the passage was made entirely of steel? How much steel did that require?!
Nuo and Medea followed Asker at the rear, while Hans brought up the rear, constantly glancing back at them with an amused expression, as if curious about their relationship, making Nuo both embarrassed and annoyed.
She knew she shouldn’t be jealous of Medea in front of outsiders, but seeing Medea lean intimately towards the captain, she couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed.
However, returning to the tunnel, she felt a sense of security, perhaps because of Asker’s presence.
Just as she was lost in her thoughts, Medea suddenly spoke.
“We’re here, this is where we woke up.”
They were at the end of the passage, blocked by a massive steel door.
A line of letters was spray-painted on the steel gate in white paint, which translated to:
Solomon Empire, Pannonia Province, No. 327 Psychic Science Research Institute.
Ancient Solomon Empire? The swordsmen stared at the massive steel gate, frozen in place.
So, behind this steel gate were the ruins of the ancient Solomon Empire?
As expected, it’s them again… Seeing the familiar lettering, Asker couldn’t help but sigh.
The biggest scapegoat in the game, the ancient Solomon Empire, a superpower that once ruled the entire continent during the Fourth Age.
During the Five Good Emperors period, the ancient Solomon Empire reached its peak. For nearly a hundred years, the five Solomon emperors built countless supernatural research institutes across the continent, trying to unravel the mysteries of the various supernatural powers on this planet.
However, after the Five Good Emperors came the famous “Century of Crisis.” The ancient Solomon Empire experienced economic crises, the Great Depression, and political turmoil, leading to the abandonment of most of these secret research institutes.
Because the empire’s descent into chaos was sudden, there was no orderly closure or evacuation of these secret research institutes. Most researchers were conducting experiments as usual when, one day, they suddenly learned: “There’s no more funding.”
The next day: “The person in charge has run away.”
The third day: “The institute has run out of food.”
Those with a sense of responsibility would seal the dangerous specimens before leaving, but most people wouldn’t bother. You haven’t even paid my salary, why should I care?
Therefore, most of these unknown secret research institutes were suddenly abandoned after everyone inside had fled, falling into a long period of neglect. With equipment failures leading to power outages, the protective facilities inside gradually ceased to function.
It was fine before the magic tide rose. But once the magic tide arrived, these supernatural research institutes, without any protective measures and filled with dangerous things, immediately became the sources of various anomalies.
There were even statistics on the forums that 75% of anomaly dungeons were related to the sudden collapse of the ancient Solomon Empire. Calling it the king of scapegoats was definitely not an exaggeration.
“The source of the anomaly is most likely inside,” Asker said.
“Hmm, I think so too.” Nuremberg pondered. With such a large steel gate here, what was sealed inside was definitely not something harmless.
The question was, how to open this gate?
“Please, Master,” Nuremberg bowed and said.
As soon as he finished speaking, the other swordsmen quickly retreated, afraid that the master would draw his sword before they could get far enough away.
“Hmm.” Richard Tennar stroked his beard, looking at the massive steel gate. “This will require brute force.”
So the swordsmen quickly retreated further, even Nuremberg hid far behind.
Of course, Asker was the fastest to retreat. After all, they were originally at the back of the group and had already run nearly a hundred meters away with Nuo and Medea.
Is the power of a physical demigod really that great? Seeing everyone’s nervous expressions, as if avoiding a tiger, Nuo looked at Richard Tennar standing alone in the distance, a little curious.
Suddenly, a very faint sword hum reached her ears.
Before she could react, she saw the swordsmen breathe a sigh of relief and walk forward again.
Asker and the two girls walked at the back of the group and saw Richard Tennar standing by the gate. The massive steel gate, five meters in diameter, was now split in two from top to bottom, revealing a narrow gap just wide enough for a person to pass through sideways.
“This is…” Nuo stared at the split gate in shock, noticing that it was almost 1 meter thick. To be able to split a steel gate of this thickness with bare hands…
“This is the power of Law,” Asker also looked ahead and said lightly.
Law… The two girls looked at each other, their hearts pounding.
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