The entrance leading inside the armory was destroyed beyond repair. It didn't resemble its past self anymore. Nothing was orderly; half of the weapons and armors were scattered on the floor like dead moths, due to the vibrations caused by the previous battle.
Stains of blood could be seen here and there; the large room resembled more a heap of metals than a military placement.
Hilda immediately noticed Leo lying on the floor. Her mind went into panic immediately. Is he… dead? His body was covered in scratches and black marks as if he took an explosion head-on. Regardless, he looked like he needed immediate attention. She rushed past where Robert was just standing at the entrance with a poker face, his eyes widened.
'So, the commander lost?' he thought in shock. That was a hard pill to swallow. He wanted to check this place since this was where the commander was last seen and pick up some weapons for safety. But he wasn't prepared for this. But… how? How can an intimidating man like him lose to a criminal? Or did he underestimate Zeff too much?
His thoughts were interrupted when Hilda called him. Leo needed to be treated immediately, she figured, looking at all the injuries he sustained.
Robert helped her move him to the infirmary. Even then, it would take months for Leo to recover.
***
After placing Leo in bed, Robert became all the more determined in his revenge against Zeff. It was all going just fine before he showed up. He came to the main hall along with all the remaining soldiers.
There were 23 scientists of different age groups who, in the past, worked for the government. They were all bickering about what they should do next. When Robert came in with all the assistant researchers and 37 trainee elites, the large hall fell silent.
The hall wasn't anything fancy. It looked like a large dorm made out of iron, with two large doors placed on each side as exits and one table, capable of accommodating nine, according to their position, the most distinguished scientists among MB 35. All of them were older than forty.
"I heard the commander is safe, is that true?" Stalin, the oldest of them all, commanded power second only in the hierarchy to generals. With no contact outside of Area Six and Leo out of the picture, others made him, as much as he was reluctant, the leader.
"The doctors examined him and reported that it will take at least five days for his consciousness to return." He paused before continuing, "Other than that, his injuries are self-healing."
This revelation shocked everyone. Silence followed. But Robert wasn't done; he waited until the weight of his words settled down.
"I suggest an expedition outside to know what's outside."
Since the criminal broke through the entrance, that only means he went through the other areas. Knowing how dangerous he is and their current predicament, they couldn't last longer. With communications offline, they wouldn't last longer than four days before suffocating underground.
Currently, as Robert came to realize, Zeff destroyed the main power line running through. The backup had its limitations. Some of them suggested an expedition before, but without proper knowledge of their remaining strength, they couldn't foolishly spend it.
"Fine," Stalin replied, "but is it possible?"
He was still worried about losing so many men in one swoop. Even more so, since most of them didn't have real field experience, let alone fighting monsters.
Worst-case scenario, the base was exposed to the outside environment, making it uninhabitable without proper equipment. No one was worried about their family in Area Four; it was the most secure, next to the commander's office.
"It is," Robert replied, "if you give me the command."
The brazen reply made more than one of them squint their eyebrows. What is this boy up to? Everyone wondered.
Everyone knew Robert, his talent in sniping was hard to ignore on the billboard of test results, which provided an accurate description of how well everyone did in their training. And strangely, this boy always managed to keep the top score. No one questioned how great his future prospects would be, but a greenhorn he still was; he didn't have much authority yet. It came from the person in front of him.
"Very well," Stalin replied in a monotone, "but I have a condition."
"…?"
"You have to use the weapons I prepared," he said.
This shocked everyone even more. It never happened before; the old man was a perfectionist. He couldn't let anyone touch his things without the commander ordering him. He only helped others because he had no choice. Even working on equipment he wouldn't let others see or disturb him, let alone have others use it. What does this mean?
Leaving everyone else to figure out the implications, Robert agreed.
***
"Why should we wait anymore?" Koul objected. He did not understand why Crimson was adamant about not making his move. They were wasting precious time, and they still haven't found their target.
For the last eight minutes since they arrived in Area Four, while hiding in the shadows and after everyone locked themselves in their homes, Crimson ordered them to form a team of two and place explosives throughout the area.
It was in their original plan to use this tactic to smoke out Zeff as a last resort. But it was considered pointless since they could destroy this place with just their powers. Even more, since Crimson enjoyed destroying his targets with his own hands. He let Taryn explain to everyone.
Mr. Taryn was closest and most loyal to Crimson. He would execute his orders without so much as asking what they were. The old man watched out for Crimson for a long time since his days as a butler to his house.
His teammates needed to know their next plan, now that Kala has jinxed their mission. It happened rarely, but every time she was right. Even worse, it was a matter of life and death if Crimson didn't tread carefully. It was his responsibility.
"The 'danger' is a person who is not our target," he said, "the half-team waiting outside the hatch for us didn't inform us if anyone got out, which means 'he' is still inside. And since we have no choice but to cross paths with 'danger', we need to be prepared."
"Prepared how?" Koul asked.
"Like always, what do we do when we face superior opponents?"
"Take hostages?"
"Exactly. And this place is civilian quarters."
"Okay, but we don't even know who 'danger' is. Who are we gonna take hostage?"
"All of them," he continued, "Do you see the use of explosives now?"
One of the awakened in their team, Yelena, with her lightning speed, just returned after placing explosives at every corner she could find.
"Is it done?" Crimson asked, coming out of the shadows.
"Ready and loaded." She handed the detonator.
What they didn't know, however, at that time, was Area Four acting as structural support for the whole establishment. If they blew it up, not only would a lot of people die, it would create a domino effect. Collapsing with other areas stretching to the rest of the ground, making the whole place around 25 kilometers cave in and form a crater. With the nearby buildings breaking down with an earthquake.
***
Meanwhile, Zeff was sure that Salmon would be glad to help him out - if he valued his life, of course. With a smiling face, this man sent shivers down his spine more than his glares ever could.
'Did I remember him differently, or was he always like this?' Salmon thought. And the answer did not please him much.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked, trying to get to the point and end this nightmare before he regrets it.
"I saw the blueprints of this whole place, and I saw something peculiar in Area Four."
He was talking about the way they were built. It was too large and too detached from the rest of the base. As if the initial purpose of its establishment was not just hosting a bunker for civilian hiding. It was capable of much more; based on its peculiar boundaries and shape, it could host twelve submarines side by side.
"Yes," Salmon replied, "when I found out about it the day I joined, uncle told me only half of the whole place is modified to the present. They conducted experiments there in the past; it's just a dead zone now. Dangerous to go there, even for you."
"And you believed him?" Zeff started walking towards one of the walls of the data center, where wired circuits and processor devices blocked his view. "You know that's not all there is to it, right? This place was built at least half a century ago…"
Salmon already knew the answer to what was there. But he didn't want to let Zeff know that information. "Tsk," he clicked his tongue audibly.
"Gee, and you wonder why you're such a bad liar." Zeff smiled slightly.
"Atomic bombs they were hiding since the Second World War." Salmon said.
"…?"
"The president at the time feared a third war would happen and wanted to be prepared, so he allowed their continuous manufacture along with all the others who came after him until the Cold War ended."
The revelation was quite shocking, but Zeff got over it. Humans are greedy for power by nature. They fear the unknown and prepare dangerous weapons they don't even know if they'll use.
"Don't even think about it!" Salmon said seriously.
"Oh, I'm quite thinking about it."
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