BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Time passed slowly for Amber and the others in the underground shelter as December rolled forward. From the seventeenth to the last day of the month, Amber and the Chimaeric Demons started exploring the network of tunnels and caves under their base.

As the shelter became safer and construction work inside the base decreased, more clones joined the search efforts, since fewer of them were needed to complete the structure.

Their numbers allowed them to venture deeper into the underground cave's heart, explore more tunnels, and kill more bugs.

The various groups of clones found and took care of many nests. Most of the times they were the same Amber and the others faced, but there were also other species more aggressive than those they found at the entrance of the tunnels' system, which seemed unrelated to the first they fought at the entrance.

However, they were in tunnels not easy to access, as if they were hiding or were allowed to stay there by the other bugs. At least so it seemed, which was weird to say the least.

The Chimaeric Demons were stronger than the bugs, and not just a few times, but if they weren't careful, they could die, and if that happened, there was no way to refill their numbers.

Aside from this, the clones estimated the bugs strength points ranged from 100 to 200. It was tens of times higher than the same kind of bug on Mannard. Mur was truly a terrifying continent.

While individual creatures posed little threat, their massive swarms made them dangerous opponents.

Despite their thorough exploration, they had found no facility, just things made by the bugs. However, what they found so far suggested the Silver Line Corporation had used this place for their research; they just hadn't found it.

"We must be close," Emily said. "But I don't understand…"

Mira was sitting on the ground. The group had to stop to rest after a particularly complicated battle. The number of bugs there ranged in the hundreds. It wasn't hard for the group to kill them singularly; it was that there were many of them, which made the fight more complicated.

Besides, they couldn't even use many destructive powers. The clones used vibration bursts, but that at best could be used in the mid-range. Starlight Fireball had been off-limits since the fire would burn the oxygen in the cave, leaving them with nothing to breathe.

"The vision showed me this place. Yet I can't link it with anything."

She was referring to the cleared chamber, not the cave system. What Emily saw was not clear, but she recognized this place because of the many ancient equipment and items scattered everywhere.

Based on the ancient equipment and signs they found scattered around, Emily believed this chamber must be connected to the main facility. The worn metal panels, damaged computer terminals, and abandoned research equipment suggested this was an important staging area or checkpoint.

Mira nodded, examining the remnants of an old sign. The metal plate had been violently torn from the wall, leaving only mounting brackets and fragments of text.

Similar signs littered their path through the tunnels they went through to reach the chamber, but most had been ruined by the passage of time and whatever event took place in these caves, making it impossible to understand which passage they originally marked.

And that was the problem. The group needed to find out which of the many tunnels they had to take.

The human skeletons scattered across the floor were another sign they were on the right path but didn't give any kind of clue about the right path to their target.

The only thing they did was give them the creeps.

Some bodies were smashed against the walls and remained stuck there for who knew how long, while others were on the ground, seemingly giving their backs to some of the tunnels. The problem was that there were many of them.

However, it was clear they died while trying to run away from something. The bones were badly damaged—with broken ribs, arms and legs ripped apart, and deep cuts in the skulls.

"This place is giving me the creeps," Mira said.

"Yeah. Something scary happened here…"

It wasn't like the group wasn't used to death. Thaids were normal for them, and people dying to their claws and maws was a daily occurrence. However, it was different for these people. They were helpless; they didn't know about thaids and how scary they were.

The bodies were scattered everywhere, meaning that the people hadn't died fighting or hiding together in safe places. Instead, their bodies lay randomly across the tunnels and rooms, suggesting that something fast had killed them before they could realize.

"I don't even know if I should pity them or be mad at them," Amber said. These were the very same people who created thaids, after all. Of course, if this was really one of the Silver Line Corporation's secret labs.

Everything suggested it was, but based on what they knew, this place could have been something else. Like a secret military base. Even in that case, there would be scientists and guards.

Amber and her group examined the skeletons. Some of them had lab coats, whose remnants were barely there; some others looked like security guards as they had the remnants of their uniforms still clinging to their bones, though their name badges were too rusted to read.

"It looks like they were running from something. Something fast enough to catch them before they could reach safety. I'm pretty sure it was a thaid that escaped containment."

"As I said, we should avoid making assumptions before we are absolutely certain of what we found," June said. "However, the signs confirm something's down here, or at least that it was. The point is, should we really risk it?"

The beast could have come from the outside and made a nest here. There was no proof this was an ancient thaid.

"If whatever is here is not an ancient thaid, a proto thaid, or whatever, maybe it's not that strong," Amber said.

"Or maybe it is much stronger than today's monsters," Mira countered. That was something they couldn't avoid taking into account. "Based on the level difference between the human abomination Erik found on Mannard and the thaids there, I would say that if this is really one of the Silver Line Corporation's labs, then whatever is lurking here is stronger than the average Mur's thaid."

"You make a good point," June said. "But even if an ancient thaid killed these people, there's no guarantee it's still here."

The Chimaeric Demons remained alert as they walked through the caves. They had to take a random tunnel since they didn't know what to take, and all those assumptions and questions made them edgy.

The tunnels were dangerous; that much was clear. There was no guarantee that whatever lived here wasn't stronger than them. The bugs weren't the only dwellers in this place, after all.

As they walked, the tunnel they took opened into an enormous cave. It stretched so far that their lights couldn't pierce the darkness at its edges. Blue-glowing mushrooms dotted the walls, illuminating a sight that left them speechless.

Below them lay an old underground city in ruins. Old buildings stuck out of the ground like ancient bones. Between the buildings were metal walkways, now all broken and bent. Huge pillars went from the floor all the way to the ceiling, covered in old writing that had faded over time.

"Now I understand how Erik felt when he found Liberty Watch," Amber said, her voice filled with awe. However, this place was much bigger compared to Liberty Watch.

The city bore signs of violence. Many structures had collapsed, their walls bearing massive claw marks and signs of powerful impacts. Others showed blast damage. Whoever lived or worked here must have put up some resistance.

"This must be where it started," June said, studying the ruins.

"The signs make sense now," Emily said. "They weren't just marking paths—they were directing people through a living, working city. This place must have housed hundreds, maybe thousands, of researchers and support staff."

"We should wait for backup before going down there," Mira said, scanning the ruins. "This place is too big to explore safely with just our group."

"Agreed," June nodded. "We've seen what the thaids can do in the tunnels. In a space this large, we could easily get surrounded and swarmed, and we don't even know what's down here."

"I'll send word back to the other search parties," Amber said. "They should be able to reach us within a few hours. We can use that time to plan our approach."

Emily studied the ruins. "We should map out the major structures first. That building in the center looks like it could have been this place's main facility. It's the most fortified and has the most defensive positions around it."

"Good point," Mira said. "Once we have enough numbers, we can secure a path to it. But we'll need to be careful—there are too many places for enemies to hide in a place this size."

The group found a vantage point overlooking the ruined city. The devastation below was clear—massive claw marks scarred the metal and stone walls, with buildings torn apart from within and scattered evidence of desperate last stands against the attackers.