Should they do it? Nis and Kanter had no hesitation—the answer was definitely: do it.
Once the main control node was found, the hidden secrets of the laboratory would be revealed completely.
Their safety would also be greatly assured.
Angel might even be able to manipulate the Magical Energy Array in turn...
"Alright, let’s go to the third floor’s sub-control node! Once the Authority Eye reaches the third floor, will its view be obscured?" Nis asked after making the decision.
Angel: "It won’t."
Nis: "Then let’s go now."
Angel: "Okay, but before leaving, I need Lord Kanter to do something."
Kanter paused: "What is it?"
"Suppress the information barrier between the second and third layer..." If not suppressed, even if Angel can see the environment of the third layer through the Authority Eye, he can’t communicate with them.
Kanter looked at the dazzling magic pattern projections covering the wall, swallowing hard.
After a long while, Kanter hesitated and said: "Let me try."
Eventually, when Kanter successfully suppressed the information barrier and walked out of the corridor, his face was pale, with sweat stains on his wrinkled forehead.
Even though Kanter said nothing, Nis knew just from these details that Kanter likely went through considerable torment suppressing the information barrier.
Nis was very thankful that he wasn’t the one entering the control node at that time. Even a top-level True Knowledge Wizard like Kanter looked pale, if it were him, at least his legs would have turned to jelly. If he actually turned jelly-legged and couldn’t walk, it would be utterly embarrassing.
The journey ahead was very silent.
Angel was trying to use two evidences to solve the main control node location, while Nis dared not speak, afraid to provoke Kanter... usually he could be impertinent, but now Kanter’s complexion was too bad.
In this way, they walked into a narrower path compared to the corridor of the control node.
This path was winding, and not far ahead there was a corner.
Nis used his spiritual power to probe and discovered that after turning, in less than ten meters, he would encounter a wall. In other words, this path was a dead end.
"To the third layer, are you sure this is the way?" Nis asked Reynaud.
Reynaud nodded: "I’m sure."
Nis opened his mouth intending to say something, but thinking back to the situation from the first to the second layer, he ended up closing his mouth. After all, Reynaud is the local tyrant, just follow him.
The path wasn’t long, and soon they turned the corner and reached the end of the dead end.
"Wait here for ten seconds," Reynaud said.
Ten seconds later, Reynaud led the group back to the entrance of the path and waited for another ten seconds.
Next, when they walked forward again and turned the corner, they saw that the end of the path was no longer a wall, but a long, winding staircase leading down.
Nis: "Exactly like the situation from the first layer to the second... Who would have thought you have to retrace your steps when going downstairs, is this a mechanism?"
Reynaud scratched his head: "I don’t know if it’s a mechanism, maybe it is? Anyway, to reach the next layer, you have to walk this path, the same goes from the third to the fourth layer."
At this point, Angel, who had been silent, suddenly spoke: "Actually, there are no direct stairs connecting the layers in the lab."
"Eh, what do you mean?"
Angel: "The first to second layer, the second to third, they exist independently, there’s no direct link at all."
"Then what is this path we are on now?"
Angel: "I call this path a tentacle, the tentacle of this gigantic lab. Or, it can also be called an external corridor."
Angel’s words made Kanter and Nis simultaneously think of something.
Before entering the base lab, they had used spiritual power to sense the general shape of the lab. At the time, they noticed that the lab was surrounded by square "tentacles."
Now it seems, the path they are currently on is indeed within the "tentacles."
The reason for retracing and waiting twenty seconds before the entrance to the third layer appeared was because the tentacle was moving, shifting from the independently existing second layer to the entrance to the third layer.
"So that’s how it is... Then if someone finds us within the tentacle, couldn’t they just cut off the tentacle and bury us underground?" Nis said.
Kanter: "Can you not be such a crows mouth?"
Angel said seriously: "The situation Nis mentioned is very likely to occur. The lab presumably did this for security. If anything goes wrong, they can directly sever the tentacle, completely isolating the layers."
Because of this, they are actually not safe.
If someone discovers their intrusion, they could completely sever the tentacle between each layer, forcing them to confront the lab directly, which would inevitably result in a counterattack by the magical energy array.
Thinking about this, Nis had a slightly bad foreboding.
"The person who built this lab must have paranoia, to make it so strict," Nis finished and couldn’t help but curse.
To prevent this premonition from coming true, they must now urgently help Angel find the main control node, only then, with a certain degree of authority over the magical energy array, can they prevent being shackled.
With this in mind, Nis swiftly stepped onto the stairs leading to the third layer.
Everyone followed quickly.
Upon arriving at the third layer, Angel immediately used the Authority Eye to observe the surrounding magic pattern directions, guiding Nis and the others to the third layer’s control node.
As for the Exhibition Room, this is not urgent... with the crisis ahead, personal gains and losses can be set aside for now.
The group moved quickly through the third layer, ignoring the rooms they encountered along the way. Their target was solely the control node.
However, on their path, they encountered an unexpected situation.
They were obstructed.
Since entering the lab, it was the first time they encountered people.
Not just one person, three at once. Moreover, Reynaud actually recognized these three people.
"Tooth, Rin, and... Scythe." Reynaud stared blankly at the visitors, lightly pronouncing their names.
But the other party clearly did not agree with these names, their eyes cold, indifferent.
The three people appeared to be male from their appearance, wearing silver-white base uniforms, standing tall with quite an air.
Numbers were also present on their faces, however, their number tattoos differed from No.03 or the hunting sequence, instead resembling Reynaud’s.
Left was an X, right was a number.
The three were respectively X5, X9, and X2 from left to right.
Upon seeing the "X," the group realized that these appeared ones were experimental subjects like Reynaud.
Reynaud had previously mentioned that of his kind experimental subjects, only nine survived in the end. During years of missions, intelligence gathering, and assassinations, four more had died, leaving four aside from Reynaud.
They had encountered three of the remaining four.