Chapter 132: Discovery

After forcing Franka through a series of transformations—shifting from an electronic sprite into a flat-expression loli, and from a blonde tsundere into twin-tails—Vaelen finally ordered it to lock in on the second form it had taken: a silver-haired, red-eyed magical girl. This image closely resembled Eluka and the others, ensuring that at least on the surface, there would be no problems. This way, if Vaelen ever wanted Franka to use other disguises in the future, it would be extremely convenient. If Franka's transformed appearances were too distinct, they would easily draw the attention of others, making any subsequent covert actions much more difficult.

Vaelen gave this order primarily to anchor Franka's concept. After conversing with Franka, Vaelen finally figured out why its sense of self was so weak. While Franka's transformation ability was undeniably powerful, its intrinsic nature dictated that whatever it turned into, it became entirely. Combined with Franka's lack of a clearly defined self-awareness, this meant it became A when transforming into A, and B when transforming into B.

Imagine if a normal person could freely transform into anyone, perfectly mimicking their speech, thoughts, and behavior. Over time, their perception of their own identity would naturally fade. Franka was precisely in this situation; whenever it took on a form, it acted entirely in accordance with that specific persona. Yet the moment it shifted into something else, it would immediately discard its previous actions and switch to an entirely different mode of behavior. It was precisely this trait that caused its own form to be vague and elusive, making it nearly impossible to stabilize.

What Vaelen needed to do now was choose a form for Franka, and then anchor its thoughts and behavior to ensure its sense of self wouldn't completely dissipate.

The only flaw was that when Vaelen persuaded Franka to let him examine its body, he was left speechless to find that it was entirely hollow inside. Beneath that soft, delicate skin and muscle—which appeared completely indistinguishable from an ordinary human's—lay a total void, completely empty. In that sense, rather than calling Franka some form of living creature, it was far more accurate to describe it as an animate sex doll.

In the end, Vaelen issued a strict order to Franka.

"You are not permitted to transform into a male."

"Why is that, Commander?"

Having finally recovered under Delline's treatment, Eluka heard Vaelen's command and couldn't help asking in confusion. She had been counting on Franka turning into a hulking, muscular man to take hits for her someday; she hadn't expected the Commander to crush her hopes so quickly.

Faced with Eluka's question, Vaelen smiled faintly, reached out to adjust his hat, and replied:

"Because I hate men."

".........Huh?"

"As a man, I have no interest in other men, so I neither choose to walk alongside men nor seek out a man as a companion. Young and beautiful girls are always welcome, but when it comes to the creature known as man, having just one of them in the entire world—myself—is quite enough. All other men are completely unnecessary and unwanted. Do you understand?"

"This......... why?"

"It's very simple. Because they are uglier than I am."

"................"

Hearing this, Eluka was left utterly dumbfounded, while Delline let out a deep sigh and pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Then......... what if someone is better-looking than the Master?"

Faced with Eluka's question, Vaelen merely shrugged, straightened his tie, and smiled at Eluka.

"Do you really think I would let such a man live in this world?"

"..................."

Hearing this, Eluka felt that it was probably better not to know the answer.

Following this brief interlude, Vaelen and his group pressed on. With the departure of the ghoul familiar, the area grew quiet once more. The zombies had merely been monsters manipulated by the familiar's powers; now that the ghoul itself had fled, those zombies naturally reverted to their original state, collapsing haphazardly across the ground. However, none of this concerned Vaelen. Guided by Kurona, they soon reached their destination—the central section of the deepest third underground level.

"Is this the place?"

Vaelen asked, looking at the blasted, battered steel doors before him. Kurona's voice immediately sounded in his ear.

"Yes, Commander. Following your orders, I cross-referenced every section of this facility, and only this location meets the conditions for installing and housing a cryogenic pod."

"It certainly looks the part."

Vaelen nodded as he looked at the nearby sign reading [RESTRICTED AREA: UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL KEEP OUT]. After all, according to his reasoning, if something like the elven girl possessed a true secret, it would inevitably be stored in the most confidential location possible. Judging by the current situation, this place matched Vaelen's hypothesis.

With that thought, Vaelen raised his chin and stepped into the dim room ahead.

The moment he crossed the threshold, a biting, bone-chilling cold rushed to meet him. This was not a natural frost, but rather something artificial. The cold air seemed to possess physical substance within the dim hall, billowing into white, frozen mist that drifted slowly beneath their feet like a sea of clouds. Yet the piercing freeze it carried was impossible to ignore. Not only did Vaelen frown, but Eluka also shivered involuntarily and sneezed. Franka, trailing behind her, fared no better; the silver-haired, red-eyed magical girl holding her star-shaped wand went limp, nearly reverting back into a slime. Fortunately, Franka remembered Vaelen's command, shifting only slightly before regaining her previous appearance.

..."It seems a battle took place here as well..."

Observing the bullet-pockets scattered across the walls and the corpses frozen solid like popsicles on the ground, Vaelen offered a brief remark before raising his gaze ahead.

Needless to say, Vaelen was certain he had found the right place.

"See what you can find in here."

Surveying the scene before him, Vaelen issued his orders without hesitation. Hearing his command, Delline, Eluka, and Franka acknowledged the instruction and immediately dispersed to search for anything useful.

Right before him, in the dead center of the room, lay a dismantled pedestal, resting haphazardly on the floor. Judging by its exterior and frame, it was clearly made from the exact same material as the cryogenic pod. The bulletproof glass beside it had been shattered into pieces, and even the keypad-like locking mechanism embedded in the outer frame was smashed to shreds. It appeared that after engaging in a fierce battle with the remnants of the caravan and wiping them out, the Caesar Legion had discovered the cryogenic pod. Unable to open it, they had flown into a rage and resorted to dismantling it by force.

However... there seemed to be no clues left to investigate here.

Vaelen carefully inspected the wreckage, finding nothing of real use aside from the manufacturer's name stamped on a few fragments. That might have been valuable before the apocalypse, but after the cataclysm, it was hard to say. The bandits of the Caesar Legion were exceptionally ruthless; they had stripped the entire room of almost everything of value, leaving untouched only a few canisters of freezing gas, presumably having learned their lesson the hard way.

Averting his gaze from a corpse sprawled on the ground—its eyes wide, face ashen, and body frozen stiff—Vaelen shook his head once more. At that moment, Eluka's voice suddenly echoed in his ear.

"Commander, I think I found something interesting!"

"Oh?"

Hearing Eluka, Vaelen looked up to see her skipping toward him with a smile, holding up a pendant in both hands as if presenting a priceless treasure.

"What is this?"

"I found it on that corpse over there. It looks rather interesting."

As she spoke, Eluka pointed toward a corner not far away. Following the direction of her finger, Vaelen noticed a corpse curled up in the shadows. Unlike the other bodies, this one had been dead for a long time; the white lab coat it wore was tattered, and the entire figure had been reduced to a mummified state. It didn't look like a casualty from the clashes between the caravan and the Caesar Legion, but rather a researcher who had perished here before the conflict even began.

That aside, what was this pendant?

Vaelen reached out, took the pendant from Eluka's hands, and examined it closely. The entire piece was cast in brass, featuring a circular motif with a wide-open eye right in the center. Inscribed along the circumference of the metal ring was a single sentence.

"...What we seek is the eternal and unchanging truth..."

Reciting the inscribed words in a low voice, Vaelen let out a hint of a mocking smile.

"This is straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster—a secret society lurking in the dark... Hmm, this is genuinely interesting. It seems we've truly stumbled upon something fascinating."

Just as Vaelen intended to conduct a more thorough search, Kurona's urgent voice abruptly cut through his thoughts.

"Commander, something is approaching!"

"What is it?"

Vaelen immediately asked, though Kurona sounded somewhat startled.

"I don't know. The target's life signs are extremely faint, but its speed is incredible. Sister Chris tried to lock onto it... but couldn't catch it! Its target is the laboratory! Commander, watch out! It's inside!"

"Leave it to us."

With those words, Vaelen waved a hand to the other three.

"Get ready. We have a visitor."