Chapter 83 – Ah, That Wet Banana Again
Hearing the instruction, Mia stopped his questioning and proceeded with the plan.
Mia secured the perimeter and entered Brim's room. Inside, two surgeons were sitting in the corner of the room, trembling.
Ignored the harmless scientists, Mia approached Brim to check his condition.
Upon seeing his blood, injured wrists, and the wounded ankles, Mia pointed his rifle muzzle at the two people at the corner.
*BANG*
*BANG*
After venting his anger, Mia turned to Brim, "Can you hear me, Brim? I'm from the base 88. Crystal and Dolphin asked me to take you back home."
It took Brim a few seconds to digest Mia words. While Brim was thinking, Tama and Mia untied him. However, he could not pull the cover off for some reason.
"This mask seems different from what I wore."
*Mew* (The metal is not the same. My skin burns when I touch it!)
Listening to their conversation, Brim finally came back to his sense.
"You there. Was it you that sent me a telepathy?"
Mia frowned, "What are you talking about?"
"You told me not to give up earlier! I thought you sent a message that helps will arrive."
"I can't use telepathy."
"Was it a person in your team?"
"I'm here alone. Did you mistake someone else's voice?"
"Huh?"
Brim was confused. Had it not for the faint telepathy he would have given up his life.
Yet, it was not from Mia.
'Then, who?'
While Brim was puzzled, Mia and Tama already unlocked the mask.
Brim immediately stopped them, "Wait! This mask embedded crooked nails on it, and they are in my eyes. If you pull it out, they will dig my eyeballs out!"
Mia stopped his hands. Then he gazed at Brim's injuries.
"Can you use regen in that condition?"
"Err, no."
"Is there an AR bullet in your body?"
"No, I only have these nails in my eyes."
"Then, we'll have to take this mask and those nails out of your system. You'll lose your eyes, but you can regrow them back. Isn't that right?"
"Wait, isn't there a better way?"
Brim had no time to ready his heart as Mia yanked the sealed mask off from his face.
The nails with the anti-regeneration property were pulled out along with Brim's eyes from his eye sockets.
"ARGH!!"
Brim's two yellowish eyeballs were in terrible shape as the nails, and the substances from the metal already corroded their inside.
Mia severed the nerves and small blood vessels from the destroyed eyes. He grabbed a clean cloth from a counter within this surgery room and wrapped it around his head, covering his eyes.
"We'll get you out of here. For now, regenerate yourself. Tama, carry him for me."
*Mya Mya* (Aye Aye!)
Tama used all of her tentacles to coil around Brim's body, lifting him from the bed.
"Ouch! Be gentle, please!"
"Well, we want to, but we can't. A two-headed hydra is about to raid this city, and we'll have to get out of here ASAP."
"Wait, WHAT!? There's a two-headed hydra!?"
Mia ignored noisy Brim and ran toward the direction of the nearest working elevator.
Using his 3D map in his mind, Mia located one, but he was not sure where this would lead them.
Upon getting to the elevator, he was greeted by two automatic defensive gun turrets. These turrets were the last line of defense in the case any prisoner broke out to this point.
"Force Field!"
*TATATATATA*
Hundreds of bullets barraged at Mia, but all of them slowed down and floated before him.
The electric shield slowed down the bullet, pausing them in mid-air. Although the bulletheads were still rotating and moving slightly forward, they had lost their momentum.
Mia had to stand and endure the endless machine gun for two minutes before they ran out of ammo. Five thousand bullet heads dropped from the electric shield.
*TINK*
*TINK*
While thousands of small metals rolled on the ground and clinking, Mia disregarded the useless turrets and reached the elevator.
The five-meter door of this lone elevator had a marking "E-1" on it. Without hesitation, Mia pressed the [UP] button.
*Pong*
The elevator opened in an instant.
Inside this elevator room, it was wide enough to bring an entire truck inside. Another five-meter tall door of this elevator also located on the opposite side from the door Mia had entered.
'This should be their cargo lift. I hope this can take us to the surface.'
Mia scanned the elevator shaft with his sense. Unfortunately, this cargo elevator could only bring him and Brim to B2, which should connect to the underground parking lot area.
The lift brought them up at a gradual pace. As the elevator was moving up, Mia did not stop scanning the floors above.
When the elevator got to B4, Mia's face grimaced. He used all of his strength to stomp the elevator's floor and used his [Blast] skill on it.
The floor dent and cracked. If Mia used his eye skill on the ground again, the floor would break into pieces.
*Mew Mya!* (Are your banana brain acting up!? What are you doing!?)
Mia did not listen to Tama. He blasted the elevator floor back.
This time, he dug a hole under the elevator floor, revealing the hollow shaft below.
*Pong*
The elevator reached B2, but Mia immediately activated his fireball, preparing a meteorite ball before him.
The large five-meter door slowly opened, revealing the underground floor. It was not the parking lot that Mia had predicted. Instead, it was a military hangar.
A hundred soldiers and three tanks aimed their weapons at the elevator door, waiting for Mia.
The fireball launched at the soldiers before the elevator door completely opened.
*BOOM*
Without waiting for a retaliation, Mia jumped down into the elevator shaft along with Brim.
*BANG*
*BOOM*
*TATATATA*
Tanks and surviving soldiers unleashed their bullets to the opened room, trying to turn Mia into mincemeat. One of the soldiers aimed their rocket launcher and pulled the trigger, sending an anti-tank rocket into the elevator.
*BOOM*
While everyone was focusing on shooting, Mia had already fallen to B3. He grabbed one of the traveling cables under the lift, trying to stop the fall.
Elevator traveling cables were designed for wires, using for transmitting information about the power and signals. Their flexibility was not intended to be used as a rope for climbing.
As a result, the cables were not stable enough for hanging on for a long time. Fortunately, Mia held on to the wire, and it brought his body and Brim toward the wall of the elevator shaft.
Mia kicked the wall and sent himself along with Brim toward a ladder on the other side of the wall. His right arm hung onto the ladder rung, and his right leg coiled on the ladder rail.
However, the weight from his exoskeleton and Brim pulled him downward. Tama managed to keep Brim safe from the fall, but she was also at her limit.
*Mew* (It's heavy.)
"Tama, let Brim hold on to the ladder!"
*Mew* (Aye!)
"Brim, have you recovered? Can you at least hold yourself on the ladder?"
Brim, who had already healed his neck and his nervous system, shouted back, "I still can't use my hands and feet!"
"Use your arms and elbow. Hang on the ladder for now, or both of us will fall!"
"I'll try!"
Though Brim could not see and was confused, he noticed the battle sounds and followed Mia's instruction.
Brim flickered his tongue to sense his surroundings and pinpointed the ladder. He extended both arms to hang on to it. As his feet were still numb, he slid his legs into one of the ladder space and sat on a rung.
At this moment, the elevator above Mia was so damaged that it fell.
The lift floor was falling onto Mia.
*SCREECH*
The emergency brake was at work, but it would crush Mia and Brim if they did not do something.
*MYA!* (INCOMING!)
Mia activated his [Blast] at the falling floor and erected a force field shield to protect himself and Brim.
*BOOM*
The broken floor was pushed back, and the kinetic shield redirected its falling direction. The debris tilted and went down into the shaft without touching Brim and Mia.
The sounds of metallic clanking echoed throughout the tunnel as Mia sighed a relief.
But another familiar sound from B2 alarmed Mia.
"Uriel Mia, I know you are still alive! Surrender, or I'll trap you in this world forever!"
It was the voice of Joan.
"Ah, that wet banana again."
*Mew* (That wet banana is back.)
The blind Brim got more confused, "Huh? What banana?"