Chapter 874: Underground Space
Underground Space
"Cough, cough... so, where exactly is this place?"
Natalie lay amidst the ruins, speaking weakly.
"This is a city that was just bombed."
Lin Ye hid in the shadows behind Natalie, fine dust drifting through the air above. The white glow from before still hadn't dissipated.
"Why is there no spiritual energy here?"
The spiritual energy inside Natalie's body was being continuously drained, which made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
"Can you sense the direction the spiritual energy is flowing toward?"
Lin Ye didn't answer Natalie's question.
Because he didn't know either.
"...I have a faint feeling, but I'm not entirely sure."
It was an extremely vague sensation, and Natalie couldn't tell whether the spiritual energy was actually flowing in that direction.
"Take me there. It's fine if you're wrong."
Lin Ye wanted to find the organization's equipment for processing spiritual energy.
"Alright... and what about that deity? Didn't it follow us over?"
Natalie climbed up from the ground, carrying Lin Ye as she moved toward a certain direction.
"Who knows. Honestly, I'd prefer it if that deity got dragged over here too."
There was no spiritual energy here, and that deity's body was completely composed of spiritual energy.
Before long, Natalie's spiritual energy was completely drained. She stopped beside the ruins of a factory building.
"It seems to be down below."
"Go in and take a look. Be careful."
Lin Ye had a feeling there might be an organization base down there.
Natalie slipped through the broken walls and entered the factory interior.
It looked like nothing more than an ordinary stretch of ruins, nothing worth paying attention to.
"Can you use your mental energy to sense what's down below?"
Even for Lin Ye, finding an entrance in a sprawling ruin was no easy task.
It would take some time.
"No, I can't. There's no spiritual energy left in my body."
Spiritual energy was the foundation of Alienation. Natalie hadn't even fully adapted to her Alienated Body before being dragged to a place like this. If it weren't for the fact that Octopus was exceptionally good at adapting to new environments, she would have long since collapsed.
"Then we'll just have to search for the entrance."
Lin Ye studied the overall structure of the factory. Fortunately, the building wasn't very large in area, otherwise it would have wasted a lot of time.
"Can I ask what exactly we're doing?"
Natalie didn't follow Lin Ye's instructions to search for the entrance. Having been suddenly thrown into a place like this, she still hadn't gotten a handle on the situation.
"There's a faction in this Plane called the organization. This city is the organization's territory. Not long ago, some unknown abnormal incident occurred in this city. I'm an investigator sent to handle the incident. Ending up on your side was a result of the abnormal incident's effects. I believe there's an organization base beneath here, which would be the source of the abnormal incident. I want to go in and resolve this incident."
Lin Ye answered Natalie's question truthfully.
"Aren't you an investigator for the organization? How come you don't know where the base entrance is?"
Natalie spotted something problematic.
"To be precise, I'm only an outer member of the organization, a third-party affiliate."
If the organization were willing to share intelligence with D-Class personnel, Lin Ye would have solved the problem here long ago.
But the organization's control over information was extremely strict, and only personnel of higher clearance levels could access relevant intel.
"Fine. So if we solve the problem, will the organization send me back?"
That was what Natalie actually cared about.
"No. The organization will lock you up as an anomalous creature and study you."
Lin Ye didn't think the organization would bother communicating with Natalie, at least not before she was placed under containment.
"Then why should I help the organization solve their problem?"
Natalie raised a perfectly reasonable question.
"Because you have to leave this Plane before the incident is over. There might be a way to get you back down there."
Lin Ye replied calmly.
"...I understand."
Natalie let out a sigh. She hadn't expected this war to be so grueling, nor that she'd have to seek a way out at the very source of the abnormal incident.
"You can check over there. I think there might be a passage into the organization's base down below."
Lin Ye had already identified a few suspicious spots within the abandoned factory.
"Alright."
Following Lin Ye's directions, Natalie moved aside the clutter on the ground. When she cleared the third spot, she discovered a passage leading underground.
"This should be it. Go down and take a look. Be careful."
For something like this to be happening right on the organization's turf, Lin Ye didn't think whatever was down there would be safe.
Natalie cautiously stepped into the passage. It was constructed of stone, with a row of glowing stone slabs running along the ceiling.
"Wait... this doesn't seem like an organization base."
This kind of passage wasn't the organization's style at all. Lin Ye realized something was off, and his earlier assumptions might not have been accurate.
"Huh? Then should we turn back?"
Natalie didn't really want to keep going deeper. Something about this place felt wrong to her.
"...It's your call. If we go back... well, things won't be so simple after that."
Lin Ye wasn't sure whether they should go down either.
𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
If this wasn't an organization base, then his earlier deductions were wrong, and the situation here was far more complicated.
"Did you think of something? If I don't go down, what's going to happen?"
Natalie felt this was something important.
"I don't know."
Lin Ye truly didn't know what would happen. The opening of this simulation mission was deeply problematic. If this really was the organization's city, then why had they been sent to the middle of the city?
Where were the overseers?
If this really was an abnormal incident, and the organization knew it was about to happen in the city, why hadn't they dealt with it in advance? At the very least, shouldn't they have evacuated the citizens?
But if this wasn't the organization's city, then why was there no spiritual energy here?
That was what Lin Ye found strange. Until he figured that out, he couldn't make a correct deduction.
"Then I'll keep going down."
Seeing the look on Lin Ye's face, Natalie suddenly felt a very ominous premonition. Unconsciously, she quickened her pace, as if something were chasing her from behind.
"Very well."
Lin Ye could only stay on Natalie's body for now. At his current size, even climbing a few steps was a struggle.
Natalie ran through the passage. Even without spiritual energy, her body could sustain prolonged intense activity.
The passage descended continuously, with occasional twists and turns. After about half an hour of running, they finally reached the deepest point. The end of the passage connected to an extremely vast stone underground space, with several rows of glowing stone slabs lining the ceiling above.
"...What is this place? Why is there nothing here at all?"
Natalie surveyed the cavernous underground space. It was incredibly empty, like a massive warehouse that had been completely cleared out.