Chapter 244 Volume IV - Chapter 89: Among the Enemy
Along the way, I kept glancing out of the window as if something was going to happen. The dwarves on either side of me were annoyed by my movements, but I didn't care. They didn't seem to mind as they seemed to be a bit used to it anyway.
Some things seemed unnecessary, but the better I acted, the fewer problems I would encounter.
So, after a short while, I turned my eyes to the windshield, and as I did so, the car suddenly swerved off the road.
"W- what's happening?!"
I shouted, but none of the dwarves inside the car reacted to the situation. On the contrary, they seemed relaxed.
"We're goin' t' the base, sir."
"O- oh..."
The vehicle continued to drive through the trees, and the road behind us, although crushed by the tires, was quickly straightening out, so that it was next to impossible to detect a vehicle turning here.
We kept moving forward, through the forest for about three minutes and finally slowed down as we were about to pass over a hill that curved slightly upward.
Once over this hill, the vehicle came to a halt. The dwarf who was driving pressed a button on the screen in the front console and suddenly the ground in front of the car began to rise.
The ground sloped and rose higher and higher, finally reaching the height of the vehicle, and after continuing to rise for a while, it stopped. Suddenly the earth began to fall away, revealing that what was rising was not the ground at all, but a garage door.
The door opened downward, revealing a really long corridor behind it, and once it was open enough for the vehicle to pass through, we started moving again.
It was similar to the tunnels in the traffic, of course, much wider than those, but... it looked like them. Especially the fact that it was so long, combined with the dim lighting of the lamps along this 'tunnel' we were traveling through, made me feel like I was on a long journey in my previous world.
However, this thought did not last long. Because as we were approaching the end of the tunnel, the environment started to change. The tunnel widened even more, slowly opening up into a huge space that... looked like a laboratory from a science fiction movie.
All the walls were white, it was like a huge parking lot. Inside there were countless armed guards and a lot of employees who I'm not sure what they were doing. In addition, there were a lot of dwarves on the ground a little higher than the floor, looking specifically toward our vehicle.
Half of the people waiting were wearing long white lab coats. The other half... I could easily tell that they were high-ranking people in the military.
Our vehicle came closer and closer toward them, finally slowed down, and came to a calm halt just in front of them.
"We've arrived."
With that short sentence, the driver opened the door and got out, followed by the other dwarves, leaving the door open so that I, on my right side, could get out.
I stepped out with a nervous expression, shook off the lab coat I was wearing, and looked at my 'colleagues' standing on the railing above me.
They were offering me both fake smiles and visible respect. No matter how much of a coward I was or how bad a personality I had, they took into account my achievements, at least the achievements and status of this body.
My bodyguards got out of the vehicle and moved toward them, so I had to follow them up the short stairs. Then I reached the same height as those waiting for me.
"Professor Frederick Owell! Welcome to our base, sir."
One of the military-clad dwarves standing in the front row approached me with a big smile on his face and extended his hand.
He had almost invisibly short hair, probably black, but I couldn't tell what color it was because it was so short. His beard was also very short. His eyes were blue, a beautiful shade. The only extra thing was that I could tell that he was quite advanced in age.
He must have been at least sixty. Considering that the life span of dwarves, even with their technology, maxes out at ninety... he's already two-thirds of the way through.
I shook the old dwarf's hand in my usual nervous manner, but I also tried to remain calm, not wanting to compromise myself too much in front of him. The dwarf must have sensed this as he nodded, then his eyes shifted behind me and finally his brows furrowed.
"It seems ye've run into some unpleasant situations."
I suddenly frowned and grimaced, as if remembering what had happened just now.
"Those damn wolves! There were creatures in the forest, even if they weren't very strong! Oh, how annoying!"
Frederick was a coward as well as a man with anger problems. When he knew he was safe, he would think about the past, get angry, and not think much about what he said. He was even known to be abusive. He had a very... contrasting personality.
"Oh, I see... We did a clean sweep in the forest not too long ago, but it seems a few stragglers got away. We apologize for the inconvenience ye've faced..."
The old dwarf put his smile back on and turned to the soldiers behind me.
"I be wantin' a report on what happened, and I be needin' it urgently."
"Understood!"
"Good, now... Come with me if ye like, Professor, ye must be weary from yer journey... Ye have a right to rest this night."
All the other dwarves waiting behind him were actually there to be there. Maybe there were some who wanted to see me, but they were not allowed to speak, and even if they were, they had nothing to do with me.
It suits me, of course. The fewer people I have to communicate with, the better for me. After all, even if I am acting well, I am 'acting'.
"Exactly!"
I ignored all the other dwarves in the back, giving the old dwarf an expression as if I wanted us to be quick.
And so began my walk through the corridors of this enemy base, with a high-ranking person whose name I had no idea what it was...
*******
"This here be the room assigned to ye. Please enjoy yer stay."
After almost half an hour of touring the base and seeing the important places, I was now in front of my 'room'. In that half hour, I learned that this dwarf named Houdran, a major, and I was finally parting ways. At least for a short time.
I smiled broadly, squared my shoulders, and turned to the major.
"Thank you, Major Houdran! I'll be sure to start solving your problem as soon as I get some sleep."
The major's smile widened and he bowed his head slightly, pleased with my demeanor. He looked as if he really wanted the problem to be solved.
"Then I be wishin' ye a fine night's rest, Professor."
With that, he straightened himself up again, calmly turned around, and began to walk away. I quickly entered my 'room' without compromising myself at all. Frankly, I didn't give a damn about the old dwarf.
The room I was given was a large one. It was surrounded by white walls, almost like the whole base. It contained a bathroom, a desk, an average-sized armchair, a closet with what I assumed to be clothes in my size, and a bed that looked quite comfortable.
I threw myself on the bed, not caring about anything else.
I may be being watched, but I don't care about that either. It's not like what I'm doing is contrary to who I'm pretending to be. I just want to clear my head a bit, to think about what I have done so far and what I am going to do from now on, without any other thoughts in my mind.
We started the operation, I've come this far. Now all I have to do is simply plant a bomb there when I go to fix the gate. And since I'm the only one who should know about the gates, no one will be able to understand exactly what I'm doing.
Of course, I know about the condition of the gate, and I have at least learned the things I need to check to look like I'm actually doing my job. So I can say that even if I can't fix it, I can at least identify what the problem is and make 'preparations' accordingly. That way I will save even more time.
After I finish my side of things, we will meet with Rulhan and the others. Then we will leave with the device on him, and the operation will be completed.
That's all I have to do. Of course, that's all for this operation only.
There's another thing I personally need to do, which is to go into the archive room of this base and get 'information'. The things that happened during this period in the game are so unclear that even though I have a cursory idea of what happened, I don't want to act randomly. So I really need to go into that archive room...
It doesn't seem like such a difficult thing to do when you put it in words like that, but... I'm sure I will have difficulties. Just like Durvan said, there is always a problem and I have to be prepared for it.
Nevertheless...
"Haaaah..."
I took a deep breath in and out, then closed my eyes and tried to surrender myself to a short sleep.
I really should rest before we start the real thing, right? That's what the guy I was imitating would do anyway... so it shouldn't be a problem.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel