Chapter 352. 3521-1
Hunched next to a giant machinery that resembled a supercomputer, Charles's gaze was on the tablet in his hand as he pressed an index finger on the charging port to power the battery.
The dark green screen lit up, and Charles' eyes brightened in excitement as well. But as he browsed the contents within the tablet, the traces of hope in his eyes gradually faded.
The tablet held nothing of his interest, just all sorts of obscure data and photos of a couple.
Charles turned around and scanned the various intricate machinery in the room. The cables of these rectangular-shaped devices snaked around the area like vines. Meanwhile, his team members were holding up their fire torches and navigating the area to conduct a thorough search.
Unlike the other rooms that were used for confinement, this two hundred square meter space was the only one creamed with unfamiliar equipment. Though Charles had no idea what its purpose was within the Foundation, he felt that this area had the highest possibility of holding what he sought.
As Charles furrowed his brows, deep in thought over the success rate of this voyage, he saw Lily rushing toward him with her mice in tow.
"Mr. Charles, we've discovered a hidden door"! Lily reported excitedly, her tail wagging as her big eyes looked up at Charles.
"A hidden door?" Charles' spirits were significantly lifted. Usually, important things would be stored in hidden chambers.
"Where is it?" Charles asked.
He followed the mice toward the southeast corner. Lily pointed a furry paw at an area on the nondescript white wall and said, "Right here."
A hint of skepticism flashed across Charles' eyes. He took a step forward and placed a hand on the area Lily pointed out and felt around; he found it indistinguishable from the other parts of the wall.
"Are you sure this is it?"
"Yes! We have a keen sense of smell. There's a distinct metallic scent here, and it's unlike anywhere else!" Lily insisted, to which her fellow mice nodded in agreement.
Charles cast a quick, wary glance at the motionless, giant tree beyond the window before gesturing to his crew in the distance.
"Linda!"
Hisssssss.
The corrosive green acid began to dissolve the wall before them and soon revealed a robust steel door hidden beneath.
There really is a hidden door. What does the Foundation have that needs to be kept in such secrecy? Or could this be the door that the Pope was talking about? Charles pondered to himself out of curiosity as he watched the steel door slowly corroding away.
With the steel door completely dissolved, a small diary with a red cover that was about the size of a palm appeared before Charles.
Charles reached out and held the diary in his hand. Only then did he realize that the diary was not made of paper; its texture felt like plastic instead.
Opening the diary to the first page, a massive warning written in crimson text appeared before Charles.
Warning: This document is of the highest security level. Any personnel without the O5 security clearance caught viewing this document will be executed immediately.
The stern warning only served to pique Charles' curiosity further. Just what could be so secretive to warrant such extreme measures?
His fingers trembled slightly as he reached out to flip a page but managed to hold himself back. Tossing the diary to the mice, he ordered them to quickly scan through the diary.
After the mice had swiftly flipped through the pages and reported that there were only written records without any presence of traps, Charles took it back and continued reading.
Following extensive research conducted by Dr. O5, we have gained a partial understanding of Entity 3521—1 (Appendix A). Dr. O5's initial hypothesis has been proven. These entities possess physical forms, but their corporeal existence is beyond our chromatic spectrum. They are, in essence, embodiments of color itself, existing in a dimension of hues beyond our perception.
Humanity has long relied on tools for observation, yet no instrument can fully substitute the human eye. Our visual capacity is limited to discerning approximately 165 different colors, and this range is insufficient for humans to detect these entities. This limitation parallels their inability to perceive us, indicating mutual invisibility due to the constraints of our respective visual spectra.
However, by examining Painting 12 from Project 612 (refer to page 3), we can transcend the limits of human color perception. This breakthrough allows us to observe these entities, and it must be noted that their aesthetic is remarkably captivating.
Yet another experimental log after going through all that? Charles grumbled in his mind. Feeling somewhat impatient, he turned directly to the third page. The page was blank, apart from a coin-sized black stain in the middle of the page.
Charles found his gaze irresistibly drawn to the black mark on the page. Under his watchful eyes, the black stain started to move. It dispersed and morphed into a vibrant display of unfamiliar colors before flowing directly into Charles' eyes.
If he had to describe the sensation, it would be an intense, unprecedented shade of purple that seemed to transcend mere color and carried a scent. Just by looking at this purple hue, Charles could smell the fragrance of lilies. However, the fragrance intensified with each passing second until it reached an overwhelming degree where Charles felt nauseous.
Abruptly, Charles closed the diary, held his right hand against the wall, and began to vomit. He felt the unsettling churn in his stomach, and his eyes burned from the involuntary projectile of his stomach's contents.
Thankfully, the discomfort was short-lived and subsided just as he felt he might retch bile.
"Captain, are you alright?" Dipp asked as he assisted Charles to take a seat by the side.
"There's something amiss with the book; don't look at it first," Charles said.
After Charles drank a few gulps of water from the water pouch Dipp gave him, Linda stepped forward and handed him a worn, folded piece of paper.
"Captain, take a look. Is this what you are looking for?" Linda asked with a hint of hesitation in her voice.
"What is it? A nautical chart?" Charles asked as he took the paper from her.
He quickly unfolded the paper to see that it was indeed a nautical chart. It didn't cover an extensive area, only mapping the islands within a 300-mile radius, but it was extremely detailed. The names and navigational routes between the islands were all recorded.
However, Charles disregarded all of that information. His attention was completely drawn by a particular coordinate on the chart.
With a trembling finger, he pointed at a marked dot on the chart. It was labeled with the place he had longed for: Surface Exit (East Gate)
"We found it? Just like that? We really found it? Where did you find it?" Charles was overflowing with excitement that he was starting to sound incoherent.
Linda pointed at the massive tree trunk beyond the windows and said, "Let's leave first. That thing makes me uncomfortable."
Charles nodded vigorously. He wanted to suppress the overwhelming exhilaration in him, but to no avail. He felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest from excitement.
With a noticeable flush on his face, Charles carefully tucked the nautical chart into his inner coat pocket and gestured, "Move out! Back to the shop! We are departing this island immediately."
Everything was proceeding normally, as it ought to be.
Yet, as he was walking out of the room with his crew, Charles couldn't help but cast a fleeting glance through the clear window.
The tree was the same giant tree, but the space around it was no longer empty.
Charles saw them—the indescribable colors that lay beyond the visual spectrum of the human eye. They twisted and turned as they hovered around the colossal tree.
"They are so beautiful..." Charles muttered in an almost entranced state. "They... are they the 3521—1 mentioned in the diary?"
Swish!
In a sudden shift, the nebulous clouds of colors came to a halt. Tens of thousands of eyes turned onto Charles in unison.
It was then that Charles saw them, and they saw him, too.
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