Chapter 20: Murky Interests

"What in the many seas is that?" Kamealoha nearly shouted behind her.

Of course, the mermen followed her.

Did he want to wait alone in this dangerous and sweltering desert, his tender flesh the juicy prey of bellicose parties?

By the opaque abyss no!

"The cruelty of sentient beings over another…" Lyshisha suggested, her pitch lowering by every word.

"What can we do to save them?" Kame asked.

"Nothing, since we don't even know what these contraptions would do were they tampered with … plus I don't want to alert the scientists behind this now, so let's explore this place a bit further before we think about doing anything," the young queen said before she turned back towards the double doors.

Her narrowed eyes and the quivering fingers in her left hand didn't escape the mermen's notice as he yielded the way for her.

Even she itched to do something about it, but had to think about the bigger picture before and above all.

Kame sighed.

Was this the destiny of these rulers above them?

Always thinking about the ramifications of every action, even if it swam against their deepest feelings and personal opinions?

How could they hold their mind steady, and their thoughts clear before this picture of insanity?

At which point will their soul break, suffocated after so much restraint and forbearance sustained before this truculent injustice?

Ah, the tribulations our leaders must face … thankfully this poor Kamealoha had no intent to seeking power, else he bring about a calamity upon his citizens by actions fettered by unbridled emotions.

Dibano's Queen already left the room when the mermen emerged from his musings. He quickly followed her as they explored the hidden lab.

Soon enough, they found another double door, this time buttressed by byrintine.

This raised Dibano's queen slender eyebrows.

This ore was used to suppress the leakage of mana-based toxic fumes.

So this place most likely manufactured the mutagens injected into these poor souls.

When the door groaned open, her suspicions held true as five colossal grey vats rising on the side of each wall whose contents gurgled, popped and crackled under two glassy spheres affixed above them.

These spheres housed so much concentrated mana it almost misted its hued mixture, a portion of which fortified whatever was inside these containers. Every dozen seconds, a "pssh" sound oozed out of a black pipe jutting out of the tub's right sides, buffeting a tart gas.

"Are these spheres made of … Tamga glass?" the mermen wondered aloud.

"Unfortunately, yeah…" The young monarch sourly replied.

How could she appreciate that one of her empire exclusive exports furthered these sicko's objectives?

On the containers' left crouched donut-shaped ivory robots whose tiny arms held small beakers housing a pungent and bubbly multicolored liquid twirling within.

From it, Duala's crown princess could smell beyond the obvious tang of sulfur a faint scent of dead Paikjuan inside, a Zhònghuà Empire native plant in the Tang Kingdom.

Whose care and extraction — as well as its sales and profits—are personally handled by the Imperial family.

Lishi sighed.

Even they were unwittingly involved in this sh*t…

A whirring sound on the back of the room tore made her witness an automaton hovering above the Tamga spheres pour a slice of each beaker's contents inside a custom-sized hole, making the sphere glow for a bit before returning to its dull, but misty hue.

Mamadou and Binetta retreated from the room with a disgusted snarl, their noses already fed up by these annoying odors.

"Let's move on," she said before she followed the tiger's steps.

During their exploration, they found a few rooms with similar "attributes", but encountered no one, until they heard some muffled sounds once again, this time devoid of hurt and pain.

Silencing her crew with a motion, sticking her ear next to the door made her realize that these voices were farther away than she thought.

Great. "Stay here, you guys, got it?" she whispered, before she gingerly opened the door, which—fortunately— made no sound as she inched her way in.

The room was still filled with drudges inside their pods, except none of them uttered a sound, their harrowing silhouettes bulky but dormant.

Lyshisha nearly tiptoed across the L-shaped room to make sense of what these people were saying. When she arrived at the room's corner, she slid her back flush against a pod and listened in.

" … expect a timely order from the Zhònghuà Empire soon enough. They definitely enjoyed the 'samples' we provided so much they even proposed a good discount on Paikjuan supplies!" a male voice said.

What?

Lyshisha was shocked she almost lost her footing before she steadied herself.

The Empire was in on that?

What do they stand to gain from that?

New warriors to sweep away the planet, based on what's been shown here?

To what end?

Global Conquest?

Monetary gain?

To be able to compete on an even footing against the extraterrestrial planet sized powers in a bid of claiming dibs on the precious resources on the neighboring but dangerous solar systems?

Nah, they most certainly don't want to make themselves the world, and possibly to solar system' enemies…

Plus, this illegal organization certainly wouldn't sell their "product" to a single client…

"Perfect. Our improvements on our recent test subjects showcased a better assimilation to the FY—Formula than before. With the stabilization of mana-enhanced Paikjuan and mutagen A, we might reach our goals sooner than we thought, indeed…" another man replied with glee in his voice.

The young queen shuddered.

Who are these people?

She had to know who they are to get a clearer picture on what to do next…

Hidden behind the pod, she peered beyond her corner, revealing two humans wearing a head-to-toe immaculate light armor, while their faces hid behind a cyan mask leaving their upper face bare.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

[Cultivation level: 36] ~Personal Information~ [Next level: 82 %]

[First Name: Boluwatife] VITALITY :{100%} [Species : Human] [Middle Name(s): None] MANA : {100%} [Surname: Oluwatoke] [Sex: Male] STAMINA :{100%} [Cultivation status: Private (4) Stars] [Height: 5.8 ft] [Body Weight: 158 lbs] [Skeletal Age: 41 (Born: September 3rd 2161)] [Blood Type: O-] [Bone Frame: 5th Grade] [Epithet/Title: None] ~Status~

Normal

|__________________________________________________________________________________________|

___________________________________________________________________________________________

[Cultivation level: 12] ~Personal Information~ [Next level: 68%]

[First Name: Omobolanle] VITALITY :{100%} [Species : Human] [Middle Name(s): Olawunmi] MANA : {100%} [Surname: Olakunle] [Sex: Male] STAMINA :{100%} [Cultivation status: Private (6) Stars][Height: 6 ft] [Body Weight: 169 lbs] [Skeletal Age: 39 (Born: October 1st 2162)] [Blood Type: O+ ] [Bone Frame: 6th Grade] [Epithet/Title: None] ~Status~

Normal

|__________________________________________________________________________________________|

The duo's faces jerked towards her, who immediately shrank back towards the pod.

"There's an intruder here! Who is it?" Lishi heard one cry as a bunch of hurried footsteps crept towards her.

A blaring alarm rang all across the compound.

Sh*t!

She was found out!

She almost facepalmed the crap outta herself.

How could she forget the enhancement provided by the letter array at the entrance increased the otherwise undetectable mana fluctuations the appraisal system would beam down her head, allowing them to detect who's checking their identities?

These mofos probably never inspected themselves to prevent this very issue in the first place!

She sped towards the double door when she heard one of the man say, "Aaah, so that our crippled queen—no, a usurper queen, haha! Well, since you're here, how about becoming our new test subject, huh? We'll be able to test a new theory with your cooperation, so don't run away!"

A bunch of psssh sounds reverberated across the room as the young woman was steps away from the door.

"Your Royal Highness, be careful, behind you!" the mermen shouted as pointed beyond the monarch.

She rounded her head enough to see a group of mutated bipedal lumbering then skipping towards her before the scientists' gloating eyes.

What the hell were those pale green-brownish brutes with golden eyes void of iris and sclera?

After she tried and failed to appraise them, her Moon Core surged with might, as her hands rippled with letter power.

These fools would taste the might of a 15th tiered letter Grandmistress!

"Ooo, it seems that Dibano's Queen wasn't alone, and she even brought some powerful pets for us! Indeed, we'll see how their bodies will react if they're all infected, especially a crippled individual with a good cultivation like her! Would her core be repaired if she's fully infected, or would she be able to fight without it?" the other scientist sneered as he wondered aloud.

That infuriated Lyshisha.

A test subject! Since when a royal woman like her was treated in such manner?

Just they wait after she mows the ground with their guinea pigs and they'll remember how she treats her enemies!