Suspicion

Daniel was actually surprised by how tasty the food was. Considering the fact that this place was a classified zone that would not give the chef any fame even if he or she went above and beyond, as everything he did he will become classified by Minerva sooner or later, any famous chef looking to increase their reputation would have chosen to find any other job, at least in Daniel's opinion.

Seeing how Daniel looked, Uncle Eric gave a meaningful smile and joked about how he actually 'coerced' the chef to come work here part-time after finishing with his job. It seemed that the chef owed Eric after the latter saved his life in the war more than 10 years ago.

"Mr. Wong, our chef, immigrated here with my help after the decimation of the Far East as a result of the war. He was lucky enough to be dispatched and sent to space to protect the Eastern Orbital Elevator during July 22. Though, his family wasn't as lucky and perished along with most other civilians when the artificial satellite impacted the Southeastern Sea." Uncle Eric shook his head and gave a look of sorrow when he recalled the events of his past. However, he got over it after a few seconds, somehow managing to cheer himself up as he said, "Since he still owed me a favor, I thought he could pay me off by cooking for me here for the next few weeks. I also wanted to check up on how he was doing after all."

Daniel nodded as he looked at the multiple plats of dim sum in front of him. Since there were too many to choose from, he had a hard time trying to pick out which one of the many dishes to fill his stomach with.

Eric saw the difficulty within Daniel's eyes and smiled. "Why don't you try the barbecued pork bun. It's a signature dish passed down through the generations within Wong's family. I'm sure you're going to like it."

Daniel nodded and took the bun from a plate placed on the side of the table. After a bite, he couldn't help but widen his eyes. "Delicious!" He thought to himself.

The two men enjoyed their dinner by themselves at a private table located at the corner of the tent, as Daniel waited for the opportunity to raise the question that he had been meaning to ask his uncle all this time. When he finally found the right situation, he casually slipped a remark in as though it was completely unintentional.

"Right, it would be great if I can get a tour of the laboratory this time. As you know, my last 'tour' was cut short quite abruptly and I didn't even get the chance to observe how the lead scientists of the Federation operates before being sent away. Would it be alright if I visit this laboratory?"

Uncle Eric gave a sympathetic look towards Daniel when he thought of what the latter had gone through the past month. However, in the end, he still reluctantly shook his head and answered, "I'm afraid that's not possible, Daniel. After the previous attack, Minerva and the higher-ups within the military have been quite paranoid in keeping the quarantine zones as air-tight as possible. Though, I can still send an application to Minerva if you want."

Daniel nodded, going with Eric's suggestion. However, with Minerva controlling the reigns of the operation, he knew it would be near impossible for him to access the laboratory through legal means. Even if he managed to convince Uncle Eric through their mutual connection, affection doesn't work with a highly logical artificial intelligence after all.

****

After finishing their dinner, to both Eric and Daniel's surprise, they had suddenly gotten a notification from Minerva stating that Daniel's visit to the secret laboratory located deep within the quaratine zone has been approved.

Although Daniel did want to get into the laboratory and scout it out before sneaking inside at night, he still felt somewhat unnerved and uneasy when something seemingly impossible had happened right before his eyes.

Hiding his emotions, Daniel feigned a look of curiosity as he tilted his head towards Eric and asked, "I thought Minerva wouldn't approve my visit at the laboratory. How come a civilian, not to mention a minor like me somehow managed to get a visit pass without doing anything? Did you pull some strings from behind the scenes without me knowing, Uncle?"

Eric's face turned ugly the instant he saw the notification in front of his smart glasses, being sent into a stupor by Minerva until Daniel's question finally knocked him back into reality. Turning his body to face Daniel, he gave a heavy retort, "That's not possible. We're living in the Artificial Era, not the Information Era anymore. With the advent of Minerva, it had become almost impossible for people to take advantage of their positions to do shady stuff that is not conducive to the development of the Federation. Even if I wanted, I couldn't as Minerva is the one solely responsible for delegating access to sensitive information for all citizens within the Federation. Without a supermajority vote by the Representative Council and the approval of the Secretary-General, nobody can override Minerva's decisions."

"Then why do you think Minerva allowed me in?" Daniel asked again.

Uncle Eric shook his head and replied with a negative answer. "I don't know. But Minerva must have its own reasons for letting you into the laboratory." He then gave a sigh before giving a helpless smile towards Daniel.

"I thought I could rest for the night after taking you to dinner, but now I'm forced to escort you into the laboratory and give you a tour of the place. You really can be a handful sometimes, aren't you, Daniel?"

"I'm sorry." Daniel lowered his head and said with some guilt in his voice. "I really didn't think Minerva would approve--"

"Stop." Eric cut Daniel off and spoke with a chuckle. "I was just joking with you. The only thing I've done these past few days are patrolling around the entire quarantine zone without any aim. It's nice to get a change of scenery sometimes. Come on, I'll get you on a buggy and drive you to the laboratory now."

With that said, Daniel followed Commander Eric towards the parking lot located right by the cafeteria, where hundreds of dune buggies were parked. Since most of the quarantine zone are unpaved, these buggies are much better vehicles used for navigation instead of those big military trucks that Daniel had ridden a month ago.

Eric randomly chose one of the buggies and jumped onto the driver's seat, placing his thumb onto a scanner located at the very center of the steering wheel. After a scanning sound, a female robotic voice sounded from within the buggie.

<Scanning Completed. Identity Confirmed. Welcome, Brigadier-General Eric. Please choose your destination.>

After tapping on the 'laboratory' sign from the projection that appeared from the steering wheel, Daniel immediately got on the buggie as well, putting on his seatbelt a second before the vehicle started moving by itself. Without warning, a force field wrapped itself around the buggie, preventing anyone from the outside from injuring its passengers, or its passengers from accidentally falling outside due to the uneven pavement.

Since it was already dark by the time the both of them headed out of the cafeteria, the buggie automatically turned on its headlights, illuminating the path ahead. Meanwhile, Eric and Danile both turned on night-vision on their smart glasses, allowing them to see what's going on ahead of them even in the complete darkness.

The two of them ascended the mountain for another several hundred meters before finally arriving before what looked to be the entrance of a centuries old nuclear bunker. Upon reaching the destination, the buggie automatically parked itself by the entrance and de-activated its shields. It was only then that the two men got off.

Although the massive steel doors that served as the entrance of the laboratory looked to be quite old, it was actually constructed less than a month ago, and only made to look this way as a camouflage from the many Martian spy satellites that might pass by the Earth undetected. After all, with the massive amount of nuclear bunkers created in the advent of WWIII, it wouldn't be surprising to see one located within a mountain range close to the capital of a country.

The doors must have contained hidden sensors since they automatically opened the second Commander Eric entered within a certain zone a few meters away from the entrance.

Unlike how they looked on the outside, the doors themselves slided open much quicker than Daniel expected, making him wonder if the doors were actually much lighter than they looked. Unfortunately, he did not have the time to ponder about hte answer to his own question since Uncle Eric had already entered inside without waiting for him.