Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation(Vol 5)

Vol 5/Chapter 40: Research Institute of the Base

Everything was ready. After cleaning up the site, we followed Reed in the direction she came from. Of course, we werent just walking without doing anything. We took the time to catch up with each other about what happened after leaving the Republic.

"This investigation of the Imperial Army was actually my idea first!"

Mia quickly clarified everyones assumptions, which were a bit different from what we thought. It turned out that she and Reed had met up much earlier than expected. Just when Reed was about to reach the border between the Empire and the Republic, Mia had already intercepted her.

But the reason they insisted on coming to the Empire was because Reed had heard from the Republic's army about some strange metal bugs being used to build border bases here.

Those metal bugs were the same mechanical insects we saw in the tunnels! These things weren't very strong individually, but they were great at working together, with high intelligence and efficiency! While on a mission, they didn't need to eat, drink, or even rest.

Based on our observations, these mechanical bugs seemed to draw energy directly from the surrounding elements, without needing anyone to charge them! Because of this, the base's expansion speed was incredibly fast, much faster than what could be done with human labor or even magical assistance!

This kind of high-tech "technology" appearing in this world was really unusual. Reed and Mia believed it might be connected to the origin of the "Eye of Galadra" So, after discussing it, they decided to sneak in and investigate the truth before the base was fully completed.

But unexpectedly, shortly after they sneaked in, a shield isolating elements suddenly rose around the base. They hadn't even had time to contact Edenmere before they were completely trapped inside.

"Why didn't you try to escape? And those mechanical bugs, I heard they weren't even developed by the Empire itself. They don't have the technology. So what's the point of staying here?"

I didn't quite understand. Since they had already gained legitimate internal identities, wouldn't it be easy to find an excuse to leave?

As for the identity of the mysterious man in white, I doubted that staying here, even disguised as Imperial soldiers, would reveal the truth. I even suspected that the Emperor Reider himself might not know. Of course, if he could use his so-called "System" to investigate the truth, that would be a different matter.

"There's still some value..."

Reed shook her head, denying it. But then she suddenly gave Cyra a strange look before continuing. "Although the investigation of the mechanical bugs didn't make much progress, we discovered that the Empire is researching a new type of special weapon here! The Imperial soldier we were impersonating happened to be a core researcher on this special weapon project. Using this identity, we could get a closer look at the weapon's purpose and power. Besides, this was a rare opportunity, so we didn't rush to leave..."

"Moreover, the identity of a core researcher is too important to the Imperial Army. During these rushed days, we weren't allowed to go out at all. Even if we wanted to escape and send a message, we didn't have a chance!"

Mia nodded in agreement, adding her thoughts.

"The new type of special weapon you're talking about, could it be..."

Hearing this, I immediately thought of that huge "Gundam" in the massive hangar, but I couldn't quite remember the name. "Something like Midas?"

"Yes, it's Midas! Have you seen it already?"

Mia was a bit surprised, but then she remembered that we had snuck in using invisibility, so it wasn't too surprising that we discovered this secret.

"I remember the design for Midas was provided to the Empire by a mysterious man in white. So you've probably seen the design as well, right?"