Casper burst outside the file room. That woman had ruined all his plans, there was nothing that he could do to fix that mess.
What he needed to do now was to get out of there as fast as he could. He had the information he was wanting to get, the mission would succeed if he could escape from that local.
When he got out of the room, he was expecting to see a fuss through the corridors, with lots of scientists running back and forth, letting papers fly in the air, throwing their equipment aside, and even crying from despair.
However, when he got there, almost breaking down the door of the file room, he found nothing but silence. A strange silence… And no one to be seeing.
Casper would think that the laboratory was abandoned if that was the first time he walked around there.
The corridors were so quiet that his footsteps echoed through. It was an inconvenient thing. Each step resonated like a clap of thunder, and what Casper did not need at that moment was to make any noise.
He tried to tip-toe or even slip his feet through the ground, but it had the same effect.
It was strange, very strange. Casper was supposed to be especially skillful in stealth abilities, such as sneak around, assassinate and infiltrate. In truth, those were the tasks he most did at the Yanke Forces.
In every mission, he would serve as a spy, scout, assassin, or infiltrator. There were exceptions for when he would go directly to the battlefield, or when a mission turned to investigative matters was ordered.
Anyway, among all other people, he was the one that should be able to pass through those corridors like a ninja.
"I passed through a situation a long time ago in which the security system also would activate loudspeakers that would serve as a tool to grasp and reproduce the sounds around three or four times louder. It's pretty efficient to find people like me sneaking around…"
While thinking about those things, Casper heard something far away. There were footsteps a bit far from where he was, but approaching at an alarming speed.
Soon, he was hearing a lot of other footsteps and different noises. They seemed to be surrounding him. He could hear something from every direction.
For a moment, Casper just stayed still, concentrating on the noises.
"The Ridire surely already heard me. They are not chasing after me, not yet at least. What they are doing is surrounding me like wolves would do with their prey, making them have nowhere to run.
"They have the territorial advantage here, since they know this part of the complex way better than me…"
Casper knew that it was pointless to try to run. Now that they were aware of his position and their plan to surround him was ongoing, he could do nothing.
Nonetheless, it was just as bad to be quiet in the same place and do not try to counterattack.
Casper was puzzled as to what to do there, but the worst thing was surely the first one.
"I can't stay here waiting for divine intervention. I need to change things by myself, even if It looks like I can't do it."
Casper then woke up from his stupor and started to walk hastily again. His footsteps still echoed through the corridors, but he did not pay attention to that matter anymore.
"Now it's a situation where I run if I can, defend if I need, and fight when there are no outs anymore."
Casper got into section 42 of the 42nd researching group of the laboratory.
If he kept walking through the corridors he would just trap himself even more. He had way more benefits entering the sections, principally because there were resources he could take advantage of inside there.
As he ran inside that room, he spotted the other scientists crouched in the edges of that place, curling up against the walls and spread all over the room. They were not even breathing, trying to keep quiet.
"Man… These people are well organized, huh? Indeed, it's more beneficial and helpful to the Ridires if they avoid panicking and just be quiet at the same local. What amazed me the most is that every single scientist obeyed the protocol."
Casper was not expecting such organization and intelligence coming from them in that aspect. He was hoping that at least 42 people would succumb to anxiety and start a mess. Maybe the masks could have something to do with that.
Once he stepped in there in a rush, the scientists got more restless, whispering among them.
That protocol was a way to identify the enemy as well. The first to stand up and react would be considered suspect. As Casper was the only person walking through the corridors, it was obvious that he was the infiltrator. Besides, the sound of his footwear was very different from the Ridire's.
Casper ignored them, going straight to the first weapon he could find.
He took a knife with a blade that had about 4 centimeters of width, which was thin, and 20 centimeters of length. It was not the best knife but would serve.
He also could find a prototype of a shotgun. It was heavy, and it had not bullets, but energy capsules instead. Its barrel was not so long. That gun was a short-barreled, robust shotgun, with its ammunition probably based on energy discharge.
It seemed that he had 42 shots, which was a pretty low number but any help was welcomed at that moment.
The shotgun also had a power controller, and Casper modified it to be non-lethal. Above all, he was not willing to kill anyone there.
After one month or so without touching a fire gun, Casper needed to admit that he was getting excited. The anxiety and fright due to that dangerous situation got replaced by a certain… will. Will of testing those two babies and see what it had to show to him.
He gave a slight smile to those weapons.
The White warrior took off the mask, which frightened even more the scientists, making them lost their breath on that sight.
They started to mumbling even more, their breaths now could be heard clearly. Everyone there was on the verge of broke and start a fuss.
Casper had worn off all the scientist outfit he had used as a disguise and now was just with his black clothes.
He prepared his shotgun, kneeling beside the entrance of that section, very near to the edge of it; a position where no one could see him without entering the local first.
Soon, someone really came, Casper could hear even more clearly the footsteps. Of course, they were trained warriors. They would not enter recklessly in a room where the enemy was.
He heard that the movements decreased in speed until it became a steady walk. Now that it was so close, Casper could say that there were 4 enemies on the right and 2 on the left.
He gave a brief look to the scientists, and they were doing exactly what he thought they were: warning the Ridire that Casper was there, waiting for them.
But, there was a huge misunderstanding there… because the White warrior would not wait.
Casper gave a short somersault and stopped, still kneeling, in front of the entrance.
Both the Ridires and the scientists got surprised enough to freeze for a moment.
The next moment, exactly 4 and 2 shots were shooted towards the enemies.
As Casper had thought, it was a weapon with a low fire rate, but with decent power and based on energy discharge.
The Ridire almost got time enough to shot on him as well, particularly the last two, but Casper did that action hoping that the gun's fire rate would be even lower. He was 100% prepared for the variables, and that was what it meant to be a complete soldier for Casper.
He substituted the energy capsules of the shotgun quickly and then got out of the room, rushing into the corridor.
There were Ridire already positioned there, and waiting for the right timing to act. No one was expecting that the White warrior would act so boldly.
The shots started to resonate. Ridire after Ridire got wiped by Casper's rush.
The White warrior did not stop even to take his breath, running crazily forward and shooting in everything that appeared in his sight.
"Damn it! Being down here I can't use the explosives I set into the electrical system of the laboratory. I need to get to the superior levels at least!"
He was nearly getting to the spherical room, where he could enter the elevator to go to a better spot of the complex and use his trump card to run away from that fuss.
Once he stepped into the room, a bullet pierced the air and scratched his cheek.
Out of instinct, he aimed the shotgun towards the person who had shot at him. When he pulled the trigger, nothing happened. He was out of ammunition.
Then, the person showed, appearing from a corridor.
"Crap… Why him of all people?"
"I would advise you to surrender, White warrior. Or, if you are crazy to do it, stay reacting and die. Which will be your answer?" The Aesir calmly walked until a safe distance from him, giving an eager look towards Casper.
"Hmmm… 42…?" Casper drew the knife on his waist, doing a fighting instance, without letting go of the shotgun.
"Well, then, let's get started." The man drew his other pistol and pointed both at him simultaneously.