Chapter 422: Bountiful Harvest
Grayson stepped out of the mecha simulation room with the ghost of a smile still tugging at the corner of his mouth. The quick kiss barely left its trace on his lips, but it was enough to make him feel full.
As his gaze swept across the room, his smile died.
Grayson took a few slow, unhurried steps away from the door so that the sightlines of the seaside estate’s first floor opened up to him properly.
It was a deliberately designed space, the sort of place where everything was arranged so that a host could see the whole floor with one lazy turn of the head.
The ballroom area to his left, where the modular parquet had been retracted into the walls.
Meanwhile, the gaming room was left empty after everyone moved to the living area.
The bar along the far wall, its back-lit shelves stacked three deep with crystal decanters, enzyme liquors, and the luminous greens and violets of synthesized nebula wines.
Enormous sofas curled around the oval table in the living area. The firepit, where low blue flames crackled inside an alloy basin that threw no real heat but plenty of atmosphere.
Above the table was a hovering holographic screen that showed a real-time stream of Neville and Lilianna’s game.
In the grounds outside, one could see the silhouettes of the plants from the rooftop garden illuminated by the moonlight.
Narrowing one’s eyes to see the horizon, one could see that the barriers were up and running. Beyond that, you could see Insectoids trying to tear it into shreds with whatever means possible.
However, thanks to the design of the barriers, no sound from outside the barriers could be heard inside the premises. Everyone who wasn’t told about the Insectoids remained oblivious, happily watching the game.
Grayson silently counted the people in the room again and accounted for those who weren’t, but he knew where they were.
Not too far from his right, Chronos and Colonel Vane were about to meet each other halfway on the corridor from where they came. They seamlessly moved to the pot of silver fern.
Already halfway across the floor, Julius came over straight to the direction of Chronos and Colonel Vane.
Bryan and Iris were sitting on a sofa.
Ciel, Sarah, and Thiago were seated on the long sofa, their back facing him.
Pete was left alone on another separate sofa that could fit another person beside him.
No matter how much he counted, even if he added Neville and Lilianna to his count, someone was still missing.
Helena.
Grayson pursed his lips and had a bad feeling. He wasted no time and quickly approached Chronos and Colonel Vane. He acted naturally, like he was just casually talking to them.
"Where’s Helena?" he asked in a serious tone.
Chronos’s eyes did a lightning-quick sweep of the room like what Grayson did earlier. As soon as he realized that Helena wasn’t there, he became a little flustered, distressed even.
"I—" Chronos stopped and forcibly calmed himself down. "Damn I—I-I’m sorry."
Chronos had no reason to say sorry because he had no obligation to check on Helena. But since he did, there must be something wrong with Helena after all.
Grayson narrowed his eyes, as if to ask if Chronos knew something they didn’t.
Chronos bit his lips in shame and felt like there was something stuck on his throat that was hard to swallow.
In the end, he lightly shook his head and asked, "Sir, is there something wrong?"
Meaning: Has Helena finally done something wrong now?
Grayson didn’t get to answer because Julius had finally reached them. He acted naturally and bent his head a little to prevent his voice being heard from beyond them.
"Is Helena up here yet? I saw her earlier sneaking away," Julius murmured. "She told me she was heading down to the basement early. She wanted to sober up a little before going into the fight. She promised to prepare our gear for us to save time."
"How long ago was that?"
Julius blinked his eyes, surprised by Chronos’s serious tone. But he still seriously thought about it and said, "While you were walking Neville into the simulation room. Yeah, around that."
Grayson’s lips fell flat and tightened.
Chronos even made a sound, not quite a word. His hand drifted instinctively toward the slim case, compact mono-edge blade that he had been hiding on his waist all this time.
Colonel Vane also didn’t have a good look on his face.
Because it was long enough to do anything untoward to the supplies in the basement.
Julius seemed to believe that Helena was just one of the victims of Lilianna’s acting.
But Grayson highly doubted that, especially now.
Grayson didn’t need to say it out loud, as Julius’ expression also darkened as he quickly realized his mistake.
After all, the basement wasn’t actually a typical basement. In establishments like this, Seaside Estate in the High Society Club had a confidential mandatory law to adhere to.
It was one of the quiet, almost unheard of laws by the public. It was to ensure that the citizens of the Empire experience peace and live their ordinary lives despite the ongoing wars that never seemed to see an end.
It was to ensure the citizens feel safe and stay loyal to the crown. Meanwhile, they were oblivious to the gravity of the situation beyond the safe places.
After all, the Imperial Galaxy was in constant threat not only by external enemies like the Zergs and the threats of other neighboring galaxies. But also, the internal enemies like Star Pirates.
In short, the inner planets were relatively safe. The thing that politicians, nobles, and the royals loved to boast about.
However, it wasn’t the same for the soldiers and their families.
Therefore, to offset that fear in them, the confidential mandatory law was passed and implemented.
Imperial Military Code No. 2344. For every venue, for every number of guests that was advertised, was equivalent to the life pod hidden in the basement for Emergency.
Not only were life pods there, but also human suits fitted for exoskeleton frames. There were military-grade weapons stashed in there with a wide variety. There were also self-defense weapons, emergency kits, etc., hidden in plain sight.
If Helena were down there, she would know where those were located. Even if she didn’t, she had enough time to search for them.
If Helena were innocent and they were just overly suspicious, Helena would explain and really help them. However, there was still a chance that she was a fake, and Helena was just faking the help.
But if it really wasn’t the real Helena...
Grayson closed his eyes tightly. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. There was no time for it either.
"Colonel," he said. "Stay here. Keep the room relaxed. Make sure whoever’s left the room doesn’t go too far, as they might be one of them and trying to escape. If Neville comes out of the pod earlier for whatever reason before we’re back—don’t tell him and keep Lilianna sight."
"Understood, sir."
"Chronos, with me. Julius, go to the service stairs in case she escapes. Also looked out for the state of the barrier."
"Sir." Julius acted naturally as he sprinted down the hallway.
They quickly made their way.
✦ ✦ ✦
The corridor leading down to the basement, which had velvet runners, gave way to bare alloy plating. The lighting was that of cold white diodes that buzzed faintly overhead.
There was dust everywhere and a faint tang of recycled air. It looked like it had been sitting undisturbed for at least thirty days.
’Helena’ pressed her palm against the biometric lock. The scanner flicked green, and the reinforced door slid apart with a tired hiss, releasing a breath of stale air that she frantically waved away.
"Ugh, they really don’t clean down here." Helena complained out loud as she stepped inside, "Haven’t any of you people thought about cleaning the air down here?"
The door sighed shut behind her, and the moment the seal locked, the expression on Helena’s face changed.
"Do you want them to know that I’m here?" A voice was heard out of the shadows behind the weapons racks.
A figure peered from between two supply crates, brushing off the sleeve of a camouflage suit.
Ethan Goelet pulled the stolen cap off his head and let it hang from his fingers as he stepped into the weak pool of light.
"Don’t be stupid, Keres." He flicked a particle of lint from his sleeve. "A little dust won’t kill you, Keres."
"Ugh." Keres, wearing Helena’s face and body, ruffled his hair hard to shake off his irritation, "Then have you done what the master told you to do?"
Ethan had the nerve to look pleased with himself. The corners of his mouth tilted up.
"It was a bountiful harvest," he said.
A bountiful harvest? Looks like the master is going to be in a good mood tonight.
What Ethan meant was that the injection had gone in cleanly. The
Meaning the research was a success.
Keres whistled under his breath, humming as he began moving over the weapons rack.
