Chapter 66: Preventing Failure
Klaus and Clyde entered what could only be considered the house of the city’s mayor and roamed it inside out.
Seeing Klaus move without any sort of plan on his mind, Clyde asked, "What are we looking for?"
Right at that moment, Klaus halted and looked down at the ground.
He put more weight into his foot and mumbled, "This part is stronger than others."
Having him ignore his question, Clyde frowned and said, "What is it that you are looking for? We have already checked everything there is about this city. There’s nothing down there that can trouble us."
"You did, huh?" Klaus asked as he took a step back.
"Did you also study this place’s history and geology?" He asked.
Clyde’s expression turned confused, and he nodded, "Yes. Yes, I did."
"Then you must be aware that before a city, this place was a safety camp for a militia rebel force?"
"What?" Clyde muttered. He didn’t remember there being any information about what the masked man was telling him.
"Guess that wasn’t in your history books," Klaus said with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he raised his left foot and remarked inwardly, ’Exceed strength.’
The next instant, he brought his foot down on the strange floor, and it broke right through it.
The stone fell and revealed a round mouth with a metal pipe staircase for entering and leaving the place.
"Voila!" Klaus grinned behind the mask while pointing at the round staircase.
Clyde stared at it with a dumbfounded expression and stepped closer, unable to look away from it.
He glanced at Klaus and asked, "How did you know that?"
Klaus moved to the staircase and began descending it before he said, "You should stop trying to find out why and how I do this."
Clyde fell into thought for a while, and then he too began descending the stairs.
A few minutes later, they reached the bottom.
Klaus pulled his phone and turned on the flashlight, allowing himself and Clyde to see around them.
It was a wide bunker with nothing inside, and the walls had wide cracks running across them due to lack of maintenance and demolition happening on the ground.
Clyde looked around with a dark expression and mumbled, "What the hell..."
If the work above the surface continued, Clyde was sure that the walls would break and the ground itself would sink, causing all the progress to go down the drain.
According to the system, that was exactly what had happened and caused Project Dremis to be delayed for over a year. Clyde was also removed from the project and demoted from his post because he was unable to find the leakers and prevent this.
"What do you think?" Klaus asked with his arms crossed at his chest.
Clyde looked at him; in the dimly lit area, he could barely make out his figure.
"I had checked the geology maps of this place; there was nothing like this in them."
Klaus chuckled and said, "Almost as if people are trying and praying for your failure."
Clyde’s expression turned grim, and he nodded faintly. "You are right..."
"What do you think?" Klaus tilted his head. "Do you still intend to cut me off once you are done with this?"
Clyde’s eyes widened, and his heart sank. "I did think of doing that..." his voice was low and heavy.
He took a deep breath and continued, "But I don’t think so anymore... even though we have rats within ourselves, I was still trusting more than you... someone who didn’t hide what he wants from me."
He bowed down. "I apologise with all my heart, Mr. Maker."
Klaus straightened him and placed a hand on his shoulder as he said, "Apology accepted. From this moment onward, I am your master."
Clyde nodded.
A few minutes later, Clyde asked while looking at the bunker’s walls, "What should we do with this place?"
Klaus touched the wall with his fingers and said, "Reinforce them and make them strong enough that not even nukes can do much damage."
"That would cost a lot," Clyde said with a troubled smile.
"Don’t out the leakers at once. Do it one by one and with each ask for more budget, say it’s to salvage from the damage done by those maggots," Klaus suggested as he walked toward the metal pipe staircase.
"I don’t think that would be enough," Clyde stated. "TREG has only given me the budget needed for what’s above the ground, not under it."
"Change the ground plan then," Klaus muttered.
"What?"
Klaus gripped the metal pipe staircase with his right hand and said, "Don’t make this place a modern utopia; instead, turn it into a safe base that nothing can affect."
Clyde’s frown deepened. "But why...?"
"You would know in a few years," Klaus stated and began to climb the staircase.
About ten minutes later, the two of them returned to their sleek black sports car, and Clyde, still confused by Klaus’s order, asked, "I cannot help but wonder why we are doing this."
Klaus glanced at Clyde.
"You don’t have to understand why I am telling you to do this. You just have to do it."
Clyde nodded and pressed the accelerator.
The car let out a roar, and they moved toward the building they would be staying at for the night, as it was just an hour before the sun dipped below the horizon.
Klaus leaned comfortably in his seat and said, "I also want you to map out locations throughout the world where we can build more of these safe bases and maybe hire an expert."
Clyde stared at the road and answered, "I don’t think we have enough money to do that, Mr. Maker."
Klaus looked at the dipping sun and said, "That is for me to worry about."
Clyde nodded. "I will do so once I have more power in TREG."
Klaus smirked and said, "You are finally talking like someone hungry for more."
"I shall take that as a compliment."
"You shall."