Transcendent Gene-Chapter 273: First Clue [1]

Their steps echoed loudly off the walls and tall ceilings of the lab. Their words were equally filled with volume. The new group made it abundantly clear that they were a different brand of looters than Gio’s party.

’If we don’t stop them early, they’ll start breaking things to find answers.’

He couldn’t allow that. He didn’t finish reading Leonidas’ articles, but he didn’t need more of an explanation. He could understand what was being implied.

’How many are there?’

Gio pressed his hand against the wall and asked Hekat for help. The snake released its energy into the world and subtly merged into the environment, sensing not only the four people behind the lockers but also the few in the main lab area.

’Five. That’s not bad.’

There were two scrawny men, two with regular physiques, and one who was especially large. The five of them were moving in groups of two with the biggest of them staying near the elevator to cover their backs.

’Their movements are lazy almost as if they’re drunk, but they aren’t being stupid. I can feel the alertness in their steps.’

Gio wasn’t able to "see" the enemies, but Hekat was sending signals into his mind that turned into something of an image. He could only see rough images based on vibrations in the earth, but it was enough for a short analysis.

’I don’t need to analyze strength when suppression exists.’

Gio still didn’t know exactly how it worked, but he’d been accepting it as it was. Their enemies were always at the same level as them, but wasn’t it odd that nobody felt strange when they suddenly were dropped to the strength of a Sprout?

He wasn’t sure if the suppression varied depending on the strengths of individuals who were facing each other or if it was a flat level that everyone experienced. Regardless, it was still true that they would never meet someone who wasn’t brought down to their level.

’And if the question is experience or control...’

His eyes went to his party. Serene and Shiro were looking at him and waiting for instructions. Only Neriah seemed to be as focused on the enemy as he was.

’She can sense it, too.’

She had a true ability to control earth, so he didn’t doubt that she was using the same method to watch them. Sensing his gaze, she looked over and gave a slight nod.

"I’ll move when you do."

The words were never spoken, but they were wholly understood.

Gio stayed silent after letting her know that he received the message. He waited until the five members of the opposing group put some distance between each other before motioning to Neriah.

Serene and Shiro didn’t understand what they were doing, but they decided it was best to stay in hiding. In the meantime, both Gio and Neriah moved with the shadows and snuck into the main lab area.

’I knew she came from this kind of background.’

Gio glanced at his comrade as he moved in the opposite direction of her. She might’ve been better at concealing herself than she was.

He always wondered if Neriah came from a background of assassination or espionage. He didn’t see anything that could help him prove his theory while they were at the school, but her skill set made itself abundantly clear when she needed it.

He wasn’t wrong about her.

Neriah felt more in her element than ever when they entered the shadows. Though it had been some time, she was like a fish in water.

’They were talking about groups and regions we’ve never heard of.’

They’d met a few people on their travels and they thought the maps they found gave them a decent idea of the world they were in, but that was an incorrect notion.

’Killing them is a waste. They have valuable info.’

According to the few words that were spoken before the group focused on investigating their surroundings, there were multiple groups that had already been formed. Those groups were investigating on a much greater scale than them and were much closer to the crux of the scenario than they were.

Gio and Neriah didn’t need to speak to each other to move according to the same plan.

Whoosh!

The two smallest men dropped first.

On one side, there was nothing more than a small vibration and a sound no different from some footsteps as the ground caved under the man’s feet and swallowed him whole. His voice was silenced before a single syllable could exit his mouth.

The other man walked into one of the rooms attached to the lab. He didn’t hear the door closing behind him, and his body was soon enveloped in a virtual blue light that suffocated him.

Assassination was easy for Gio.

Silently capturing people was different.

If it weren’t for Hekat, he couldn’t say he had the necessary skills. The snake was his answer.

The moment the virtual energy was exposed to the world, Hekat’s energy was also released. The floor turned into quicksand that trapped the man’s feet, and while he was immobile, Gio appeared behind him and wrapped his arm around his neck.

It was a much slower and more inefficient takedown from what Neriah accomplished, but none of that mattered as long as the job was done.

The man was forced unconscious and thrown against the wall. Before his teammates could question his disappearance, they’d be forced to join him in his plight.

Neriah did most of the heavy lifting.

While Gio was still working on his first enemy, she’d moved on to her second.

’Larger people are only harder to take down through force.’

In reality, they were the easiest to take down if one knew the right methods.

’I brought them with me, but accessing my litepack will reveal my location.’

Even her thoughts had become more mechanical when she entered this mode. She would make too much noise rummaging through her litepack, but she could make herself some replacements.

’They won’t be nearly thin enough, but I don’t have to worry about harming these enemies.’

Her eyes narrowed as she positioned herself against the ceiling and looked down at her target, her hand on the wall pulled away, bringing with it three needles made of earth and steel, and when she saw the back of the man’s neck...

Xiu!

A single needle whizzed through the air and stabbed into the man’s nape. His body abruptly straightened before falling to the ground, which rose to catch him and lighten his fall.

Neriah moved on without a hint of celebration in her gaze. She moved on to the next as Gio left the connected room. In fact, he was just in time to hear the whizzing of another needle that flashed through the air before stabbing into its target.

This time, the impact was harder. Blood went flying and a scream rang from the man’s mouth. He stumbled forward several times and grabbed the needle in his neck.

"Wh–"

He turned to look for his attacker, only to realize that there were two. A virtual needle stabbed his neck in the hole Neriah created and cut the connection between his mind and his body.

His consciousness was untouched. He could still see from his eyes and hear clearly, however, he’d been completely paralyzed from the neck down.

His only hope was their guard who was waiting at the elevator. It was impossible for him not to hear the commotion caused by the final ambush. With footsteps that sounded like the stomps of a giant, he ran into the main lab space menacingly.

The man was on the ground, forcing him to rely on sound to tell him what was happening...

...and it could be imagined what happened when Gio and Neriah didn’t need to worry about stealth anymore.

Serene and Shiro eventually heard nothing but silence, followed by a "Clear," from Gio.

When they left their hiding place, they were revealed to five men who were tied up together. Some of them were unconscious while others were barely conscious. There was one vial of healing serum on the ground that had been split between the five of them to keep them alive.

Standing before the helpless group were two people who had minds full of questions that needed answering.

It was about time for their group to properly enter the scenario.

***

An hour passed.

From Serene and Shiro’s perspective, it was an hour of nothing. Gio and Neriha sent them back into the locker room and told them to investigate the lockers for a few more minutes.

They wanted to peek, of course, but they found that the door had been blocked by a solid wall of rock the moment they closed it behind them. So, no matter what they wanted, the hour was filled with nothing but some mindless searching for clues that barely existed.

Gio and Neriah spent the same hour differently.

There was only one way to break people who were used to combat. These were random enemies that they didn’t know enough to properly threaten.

The only thing they could take that the other side valued was the concept of life itself.

The word "torture" was a bit too drastic to use. Some mild coercion along with the skillful use of healing serum revealed information that otherwise would have remained hidden.

Disregarding their methods, Gio and Neriah – mostly Neriah – did what needed to be done. In one hour, they learned much more about the world of the scenario than ever before.

And only a single hour later, they found themselves a path forward as well.