Chapter 20 - A Great Mistake
Pretending that absolutely nothing embarrassing had just happened, I grabbed my backpack and walked back to the lake.
Thankfully, my backpack was waterproof.
According to the advertisement, it was guaranteed to remain waterproof for thirty minutes underwater.
"Please don’t be false advertising."
If my spare clothes got soaked.
I would be leaving Yellowstone in nothing but a pair of shorts.
Splash!
The cold water embraced me once more as I swam straight toward the hidden hatch.
Taking a deep breath, I gave the handwheel one final turn.
Click.
A deep metallic sound echoed beneath the water.
Immediately, the hatch shifted inward by a few centimeters.
Water began rushing inside as trapped air escaped through the opening in a stream of bubbles.
"Perfect."
I widened the gap just enough to shove my backpack through before squeezing inside after it.
The chamber beyond was already partially flooded.
The moment I entered, I grabbed the hatch and pulled with all my strength.
Closing it was much harder than opening it.
The pressure difference fought against every inch I moved it.
Thunk.
The hatch sealed shut.
"...Haa"
I leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
At least I wasn’t underwater anymore.
Then another realization struck me.
"Fuck, I forgot to pack a towel."
I stood there in soaking wet shorts while cold water dripped onto the metal floor.
With a sigh, I opened my backpack.
Fortunately, the spare clothes had survived.
"Thank god the marketing was true."
I turned on my flashlight.
Click.
The corridor ahead slowly revealed itself.
"Whoa."
The walls weren’t concrete.
Nor were they steel.
They were made from an unfamiliar silver alloy that reflected the flashlight with a faint blue sheen.
Thin neon strips embedded into the floor still glowed dimly despite the years that had passed.
I picked up my foldable shovel.
It wasn’t exactly a weapon.
But it was better than waving my flashlight around if something decided to jump at me.
I hadn’t brought my sword for a reason.
Walking around Yellowstone National Park with a sword tended to attract questions.
A shovel was less suspicious.
The passage remained narrow for several minutes.
Only my footsteps echoed through the metallic hallway which had now some water, thanks to me.
The space was remarkably clean.
Then, corridor suddenly widened.
"Crazy!"
A massive dome stretched above me.
Its curved ceiling was constructed almost entirely from reinforced glass, allowing faint rays of sunlight to filter through the water overhead.
It felt less like an underground bunker, and more like an underwater city.
Several branching corridors extended in different directions.
Each led toward rooms labeled in faded lettering.
Research Wing.
Prototype Storage.
Power Core.
Biological Division.
"This guy seriously built an entire laboratory beneath a lake."
Then my eyes wandered beyond the glass walls surrounding the central chamber.
"No way."
Rows upon rows of humanoid figures stood motionless.
Hundreds of them.
They were Autonomous Androids.
Each stood perfectly still, as though frozen in time.
An entire mechanical army, simply waiting for a command.
Nearby, weapon racks lined another chamber.
Rifles unlike anything sold to the public.
Compact railguns, energy pistols and futuristic swords.
"As expected, he trusted machines more than people."
From what little I remembered of his character profile, the future villain rarely relied on subordinates.
Not because he couldn’t recruit followers, but because he simply didn’t trust them.
I slowly swept my flashlight across the room.
"This place is a gold mine,"
No wonder he was also in the government’s wanted list.
Even one functioning invention from this laboratory could probably throw the country into chaos.
But I wasn’t here to rob the place blind.
I already knew what I wanted.
Ignoring the prototype weapons and dormant androids, I headed toward a room marked with a faded chemical hazard symbol.
The laboratory’s chemical research division.
The automatic door no longer had power, but after several firm pushes, it reluctantly slid open.
Grrrkk...
"That’s surprisingly easy, is it a trap?"
Because, I expected at least security in the form of passwords, and had remembered quite a lot of information about this villain.
After all, this laboratory belonged to one of the greatest scientific minds.
Someone paranoid enough to build an underwater laboratory hidden beneath an entire lake.
"Didn’t he expect anyone to find this place?"
Or had he simply believed nobody could? That could also be true because if I didn’t have the knowledge of my alternate self, I would not know such a thing existed.
The thought lingered in my mind as I stepped inside.
Unlike the rest of the facility, this room looked almost untouched by time.
Every workstation remained spotless and shelves stood perfectly organized.
Even the instruments rested exactly where they had been left.
Not a single chair was out of place.
It looked less like an abandoned laboratory and more like its owner had simply stepped out for lunch.
"It gives a bad feeling."
I slowly swept my flashlight across the room as rows of transparent containers filled the shelves.
Inside them floated liquids of every imaginable color.
Crimson.
Emerald.
Violet.
Gold.
Some gently glowed while others bubbled despite having no visible heat source.
’I am definitely not touching any of those.’
For all I knew, one wrong move and something might dissolve my arm.
I searched carefully for the thing I was looking for.
"There it is."
Hidden beneath several empty sample trays rested a small white container.
It wasn’t particularly large.
About the size of a lunchbox.
Its airtight casing was reinforced with thick polymer, while narrow glass panels along the sides revealed its contents.
Inside were two glass vials.
One filled with a brilliant sapphire-blue liquid and the other was deep crimson.
My heartbeat sped up.
Even after all these years, they remained perfectly preserved.
Without hesitation, I carefully placed the entire container into my backpack.
Mission accomplished!
Just then, something on a nearby desk caught my attention.
A pair of glasses.
Black frames reinforced with elegant gold metal.
They looked completely ordinary.
"No way, could these actually be..."
I slowly picked them up as my fingers trembled slightly.
It looked like the prototype of those glasses.
According to the game’s lore, the scientist eventually created an advanced pair of intelligent glasses capable of recording observations, storing research, displaying tactical information, and assisting him during experiments and fights.
These, looked almost identical.
Even if this prototype possessed only a fraction of the final version’s capabilities.
It would still be an invaluable asset to me.
I carefully wrapped the glasses inside my spare shirt before placing them beside the vials.
"Today’s been worth the trip."
I felt great satisfaction as the Plan E worked, and forgot the hard times the Plan A to D gave me.
I left the Chemical Research Division and returned to the enormous central dome.
Even seeing it for a second time, the place remained breathtaking.
Then my eyes stopped on a particular thing.
"..."
It was a sword displayed inside a reinforced glass case.
It resembled a traditional double-edged katana, yet its construction was unmistakably futuristic.
The blade shimmered with an almost liquid metallic finish.
Its black sheath lacked any ornamentation.
Only the hilt stood out and a single button rested near the guard.
I stared at it.
"Should I take it?"
The rational part of my brain answered immediately.
No.
Breaking the display case could activate alarms or awaken the androids.
There were, quite literally, hundreds of dormant machines surrounding me.
I slowly looked around the dome.
"Or maybe I am just acting paranoid."
I looked back at the sword.
If I walked away now, I would likely never find another chance to obtain such a weapon.
"Shusss..."
I stood there for nearly a full minute contemplating my decision.
My hand repeatedly reached toward the display wanting to take it.
"Damn it!"
I let out a long sigh.
"Fortune favors the bold."
Or so people liked to say.
Personally, I suspected fortune mainly favored people who survived their stupid decisions.
Even so, I tightened my grip around the foldable shovel and walked toward the display case.
But at that moment, I had no idea.
That this single decision would be my greatest mistake here.