Chapter 114

"Alvin?" said Fred in a puzzled voice as Alvin was standing in a daze.

"Oh, nothing. I was dreaming about finding the first-generation difference engine" said Alvin.

"Haha. That's perfectly understandable. If you do find it, I can promise you now that you can own 10 factories like the one we are currently in" said Fred.

"You mentioned that you found another exit?" said Alvin changing the subject.

"Well, I don't know if it is an exit, but there certainly is an opening to the chamber from outside underneath that pile of crates" said Fred.

Alvin memorised how the crates were placed and shifted all the crates to the side. The floor looked no different from anywhere else underneath. But after carefully looking around, they managed to find what appeared to be a small crack on the floor. Alvin slipped a wire through it, and it wholly extended in without touching the bottom.

"A false floor probably. It is a great cover-up. If it were for the loose soil at the side falling, and making a narrow passage for the wind to pass through, and the fact I had a sonar, I would have missed it" said Fred.

They both carefully ran their hands across the crack, and managed to find a spot where it could be lifted. Careful not to make any noise, they lifted up the false floor and went in.

They ended up in a tunnel, which in contrast to the other two in the factory, looked rough and crude, with clumps of loose soil and rock everywhere. But it was surprisingly long. After nearly 5 whole minutes of walking, they reached an exit lodged in a sharp turn. They walked out, to find themselves in an uncultivated plot of land, with no buildings in sight.

"Wow. That is a pretty long tunnel. Must have been quite the chore to dig it" exclaimed Alvin.

"Chore doesn't even begin to describe it" replied Fred thoughtfully. "As an expert of digging such tunnels, I can attest to the difficulty of constructing this kind of tunnel"

"Can the Machinery Hivemind's construct such a tunnel with time?" asked Alvin.

"We can finish it in half a day, but it's not a one or two person job. We would need a complete team of five, with all kinds of equipment. We need a device to calculate the distance and find our position, a device to measure vibration and detect possible locations where the tunnel might cave in, explosives to destroy any hard rocks that block our way, Sealed Artifacts to restrict the resulting sound and tremors, a method to transport all the soil away, and maybe something to block the induction of the sensitive Beyonders who may detect it" said Fred.

"There is no soil piled up near here anywhere, nor traces of it being carried away" said Alvin carefully looking around.

"And how did they get in? There were crates of explosives right on top of the opening. Based on a preliminary glace, the Beyonders hired by the factory owners, if any, did not find this tunnel. And someone had to have closed the opening, replaced the crates on top, and then left. The second entrance was well hidden, and the mechanical lock couldn't be opened from inside without causing any damage, so that was probably not it."

"Maybe the first guess I had back then is right. The intruders consisted of someone who could, by virtue of their Beyonder powers or a corresponding Sealed Artifact be able to pass through obstacles. Maybe the small opening you found was purposefully left behind, to enable the last one out to escape" said Alvin.

"That is indeed possible. These intruders are outrageous and smart. If they are targeting family members of the Machinery Hivemind for any purposes, they could kill many of them if there are lack of preparations" said Fred worriedly.

"Well then, I will go back in. You close the entrance and wipe out all traces behind me and then go back to the Hivemind under the bar and report everything to Captain Sven. Then, you should go and stay close to your nephew. You mentioned that several relatives are visiting him. They all must be protected. I will first go back the way we came, wiping all traces of us. I will also close this tunnel's opening and replace all the crates in the exact order they were. Then, I will go out of the second entrance, rearming all the traps I disarmed and ensuring no traces of our presence remains. I will also see if my informants have some more news on the matters I asked them about earlier, and also any information on this Mach Gore and the Red Knife Gang. We can then decide what to do" said Alvin.

Fred nodded. Alvin jumped back in the tunnel and walked back in the route he came. He closed the entrance and replaced the crates, closed the second passage from the factory, rearmed the tripwires and went back into what appears to be the manager's room. He glanced longingly at the safe and all the valuable artwork, but in order not to leave any traces, he did not take anything.

He rearmed all the traps outside the door, and carefully exited the factory.

After walking a distance, he hailed a carriage to the East Borough.

In the East Borough, Alvin walked into a bar. It was not peak hours yet, hence the bar was not crowded. But there were a few patrons around. Alvin ignored and walked right up to the counter and sat down on an empty chair there.

"Good morning boss" greeted Frank who was now behind the counter. He stealthily handed over a few flies and said, "These are the information on the previous matters you requested"

Alvin started browsing through the information. After a while, he put it down and said, "Very good. Keep looking into these matters. Also, a guy called Mach Gore seems to be in charge of several factories including the Tintin factory. See what information you can find put about him, and a gang called the Red Knife Gang" said Alvin.

Frank nodded. Alvin finished the glass in front of him, and left the bar. It was almost 10, and he had a meeting with Miss Judgement.