BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM - Chapter 921: The Resistance's headquarters

Erik hurried down the path towards the city. It had been some time since he walked these roads, but the familiar territory brought a strange comfort even in this situation.

Erik felt a surge of mixed emotions as the train station came into view.

He remembered every time he had to take the train just to reach Mr. Fox’s farm or leaving it.

The place was different from what he remembered, but it was many times better than the last time he had been here.

While there weren’t as many people as when he lived in New Alexandria, there were still more than when he came to destroy the Crystal Cross Gang.

Some of the flying tracks were still destroyed, but new ones were being built.

Erik slowed his pace as he approached, eyeing the travelers coming and going.

His eyes scanned the various shopfronts. Some reopened, and people looked at the goods from outside.

Contrary to what happened in the past, now there were many more people eyeing the weapon section, especially because, since Volkov arrived in New Alexandria, brain crystal weapons became somewhat more common within the nation.

Besides, since people learned how to make them, through time, the number of weapons flooding the market increased, lowering the price as there were many more crafters around.

Some of the shops had changed, but others were just as he remembered, albeit with new windows.

Erik shifted his gaze. A group of workers came into view, repairing part of the tracks that led to another part of the city.

Erik watched their progress as he waited, but then he thought about something.

<System, make me a ticket. I don’t want people to ask questions. Also, check if the permit is still required to get out, in case you make some for me and the others. Also, create fake identities for them. >

[Wouldn’t it be useless since many people know their faces?]

<Yes. I just want to be sure that if we are forced to get out together, they won’t have the same problems I had the last time. If we are lucky, whoever asks us for a permit won’t recognize her.>

[All right.]

He made his way through the concourse and waited for the train to arrive. After that, he boarded it.

It took little for Erik to arrive in the western district. The man then left the train station and started walking, keeping his head down.

The atmosphere in the district was charged with a sense of… surrender and urgency.

The townsfolk moved with a briskness that bordered on panic, their faces full of lines of worry and resignation to their fate, whatever it may be.

It was as if the very air they breathed was full of some miasma that made them on edge, as if they knew there was a poison around that would kill them but were unable not to breathe it.

Erik navigated through the streets, his keen eyes noting the hastily patched fissures that marred the facades of the aging brick buildings.

These were the silent testaments to the chaos that had reigned not too long ago.

As he moved, Erik’s gaze fell upon a child’s doll. It lay abandoned. Above, the sky loomed heavy; the clouds mirroring the somber mood below.

Erik turned into an alley and activated his Chameleon Veil, feeling his body ripple as the partial invisibility brain crystal power started taking effect.

He checked his invisibility in a puddle on the ground, confirming its effectiveness.

It wasn’t really that much, but at least seeing him was going to be much harder.

Erik made his way across alleyways and side streets. After some time, the Red Palace came into view in the distance, still standing tall despite the damage from the parasite attack.

Erik saw construction crews working on repairs and scaffolding covering parts of the outer walls. It wasn’t simple nor quick to fix such a massive building, but it looked like most of the repairs were done. Not like in the rest of the city.

Volkov was focused on spending the tax money to fund the military rather than reconstruction, but Erik couldn’t really blame him. Thaids were migrating west, because of the Blackguards, and rebels hid within the city.

“If nothing else, he can justify his decisions to the citizens. I wonder what kind of propaganda bullshit that piece of shit is spewing around.”

The Red Palace’s walls appeared partially rebuilt, and new windows replaced cracked panes. People from the institution patrolled the gates, and some stood watch from the windows. However, Erik noticed these people were younger than usual. Some were students, or likely people, that graduated from the institution.

“So… even the mighty Red Palace suffered because of the parasites… uh?”

Despite these thoughts, Erik didn’t linger or stop to observe the Red Palace. Though, as he got closer to the massive red building, he also got closer to the resistance headquarters.

The sooner he reached the place, the better. He kept walking, taking side streets and alleyways until he reached his destination-an inconspicuous ten-story brick edifice that

looked run down compared to the grandeur of the surrounding buildings.

Erik approached the front door, relieved to see no one else around, or better, to not see Volkov’s people around.

“It looks like the resistance is still operating. That’s good news.”

However, Erik had to be careful. The last thing the resistance needed was members being seen

coming in and out, drawing Volkov’s attention to their headquarters.

He paused in front of the door, ensuring his Chameleon Veil cloaking was still fully operational, before turning his attention to the biological supercomputer.

<Can you open the door? >

[Yes.]

<Make it so the others will know it opened. >

The door clicked open. Given that the security system allowed those inside to see the door was ajar, he was certain that someone would arrive shortly.

In the meantime, Erik observed the place. Like the last time, the entrance was bare, save for a few chairs and a small table.

Fischer chose this as he wanted to make it look like the place had been abandoned after the parasite’s attack.

Erik made his way over to a chair and sat, dismissing the Chameleon Veil.

“Now, we wait.”

However, after ten minutes, there was no sight of people. No one came to greet him, or just to see who entered the building, or to apprehend a potential intruder. There was nothing but

silence and dust here.

“This is weird…”

Indeed, it was. This place should be teeming with people, those he saved from the prison, and those who decided to join the resistance after that event.

Erik rose from the chair and began searching the building for any signs of people.

As he climbed each of the ten flights of stairs, he found evidence that the resistance had occupied the building recently-half-eaten food, rumpled blankets, maps with markings-

but he did not find a single living soul.

“I don’t like this…”

A sense of foreboding filled Erik. Becker had assured him the resistance was still active just weeks ago, yet there was no one to be found here now.

Had they come under attack after that period? Had they been forced to move in haste? Regardless, the problem was that this meant he had to search for them too, and he didn’t have this much time available.

Erik made his way to the top floor, his footsteps echoing in the empty stairwell. The top two floors appeared to be where the resistance had focused their activities, with a makeshift workroom and meeting area set up.

Papers and notebooks were strewn across tables, and chairs were pushed back at odd angles.

But still, nothing was there. Even rats weren’t inside the building.

He stood in the middle of the room, hands clenched into fists. Something had gone wrong; the resistance had vanished without a trace or warning.

However, it was then that a light in the room was illuminated.

The light on top of the wall was big and red. It looked like the kind of light in emergency

rooms.

When it turned on, it filled the room with a red light that blinked on and off.

It was made to be strong and to get your attention fast, telling you that something important

was happening.

He knew well what it was, and what it did.

It was a light signifying the building’s front door had been opened. The same one Erik hoped

people saw when he arrived.

“Someone arrived… I wonder who it is.”

But for sure, it had to be someone from the resistance, right? Who else could know about this

place? Well, that was if Volkov didn’t eradicate them.

“I better should go take a look.”

Erik then turned on his Chameleon Veil brain crystal power and descended the stairs. It was

better to be safe than sorry. When he arrived at the ground floor, he found someone-a woman, and he knew who she was.