Chapter 200: The Document
The silence turned uncomfortable as they were faced with an unsolved mystery and the possibility that they might end up just like the missing members of the Eagle Union.
Jace was the first to break it. "Well, our priority now is to find the document about those three people. Let’s search for it first and try not to make too much noise."
Otis and Arthur nodded before splitting up. Arthur headed for the bookshelves while Otis searched the General’s desk.
Jace looked everywhere else, knocking on the walls and checking every corner. If the document really existed, it was probably hidden in an unexpected place since the matter itself was highly sensitive.
If the Eagle Union had indeed sent armed men into Freebound territory without any notice or explanation, it would be a direct violation of their peace agreement.
"Damn, I don’t think it’s in the desk," Otis muttered as he pulled every drawer out and emptied their contents onto the floor.
Most of them contained records of the Eagle Union’s supplies, expenses, income, and daily necessities, but there wasn’t a single report about military missions.
"Let’s think about it," Arthur said while taking books off the shelves one by one and checking every page.
"The Eagle Union sent us the SOS more than a month ago, almost two months even. That means they were still conscious enough to realize something extremely dangerous was happening inside their headquarters."
"But they sent another message three days later saying it was a false alarm," Jace continued while knocking on the wall panels one by one. "Which means they probably weren’t in control anymore by that point."
Arthur nodded slowly. "Exactly. They watched everyone around them descend into madness, yet they still managed to continue their daily routine and even sent three people into our territory. Do you think someone completely controlled by a parasite could still do that?"
None of them answered.
Maybe there had never been any document to begin with. If the orders came from the parasite itself, there would be no need for a General to approve anything, meaning nothing had to be recorded.
"Hey guys, check this out."
Otis’ voice immediately drew their attention. He was lying on the floor with his head tucked beneath the desk, staring at a small metal sphere embedded into the back panel that looked almost identical to a door handle.
The three of them exchanged a glance before Arthur reached over and twisted it.
With a soft click, a hidden compartment opened and a notebook fell onto the floor.
Arthur picked it up and flipped through the pages.
Inside was nothing but names, locations, and dates written in neat handwriting. It looked completely different from the desperate blood-covered messages covering the walls, making him wonder if whoever wrote this had never been infected in the first place.
"Look." Otis pointed at one of the entries. "Deliric Desert and Climber Rift."
Arthur followed his finger. "There were ten people assigned to those two locations."
Jace frowned. "But didn’t Elaine only kill six?"
The question immediately made all three of them break into a cold sweat.
That meant four more people were still unaccounted for and had probably already entered Climber Rift, blending in without anyone noticing.
"Shit... but even if they were infected, based on what I heard happened in the bunker, they still acted conscious and sane. They talked, fought back, and even joked around," Otis said.
"And they disguised themselves as Skull Fang members," Jace added. "Is there really a parasite sophisticated enough to do that?"
Arthur stared at the notebook for a long moment before closing it.
"Maybe they aren’t infected," he finally said. "Or maybe they’re just carriers. And if that’s true, then the people sent outside weren’t escaping at all. They were sent to infect another area."
Jace immediately stood up. "We need to leave. We’ve finished our mission, and we need to return to Climber Rift as soon as possible."
Neither Arthur nor Otis objected.
Arthur’s conclusion was still nothing more than a theory, but at the moment it was the only explanation that made any sense.
When they opened the door, five Major ants were already waiting outside.
Jace reacted immediately and slammed the door shut again before dragging a cabinet in front of it.
"They found us."
The three of them quickly drew their rifles and pistols while Arthur stepped back and forced himself to stay calm.
"They’re controlled by the parasite, which means they won’t stop even if they’re injured. Our priority isn’t killing them. It’s getting out of this place."
Arthur immediately moved to the window behind them and began cutting away the vines that had covered it.
Thick green strands fell to the floor one after another, but before he could even clear an opening, new vines crawled over the frame and sealed it again as if they were regenerating at full speed.
"Shit... we only have one way out."
Otis nodded while attaching another block of C4 on the wall.
Jace had already pulled out a hand grenade, his eyes fixed on the entrance as the heavy impacts grew louder.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The entire office shook. Shrieks echoed through the hallway as more ants gathered outside, their mandibles scraping against the metal until sparks flew.
Then one of the giant mandibles pierced straight through the iron door. The Major forced its head forward and shook violently, ripping the entire door from the wall.
Jace didn’t hesitate. He pulled the safety pin and threw the grenade directly into the middle of the swarm before dragging both Arthur and Otis behind the overturned desk.
The explosion shook the room. A violent shockwave swept across the office, sending shattered wood, metal fragments, and burning debris flying everywhere.
When the smoke finally cleared, flames danced across the broken hallway while the five Majors lay motionless on the ground.
The silence only lasted for a second.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed. The legs of the nearest Major twitched. Its antennae slowly lifted from the floor.
"They’re still alive," he shouted. "Move! Right now!"
Neither Otis nor Jace wasted another second.
The three of them sprinted past the fallen Majors just as the giant insects began forcing themselves back onto their feet, their broken limbs dragging across the ground while the shrieks of the approaching colony echoed from every direction.
