Reverting fifteen minutes back in time, Rylokian once again appeared with his ship above the underwater laboratory.
"It was a reckless gamble, but they truly detected something!" he declared with a tone that exuded bloodlust, while his eyes gleamed with madness, as if he were hunting down the nemesis of his lifetime.
He had been returning at every possible opportunity to uncover any anomalies.
Initially, he had come to believe it was an error in the locator, but the Sonarix couldn't just die without apparent reason. So, he infiltrated the armament and equipment depot of the headquarters, carrying five NanoOrbs, devices capable of detecting any movement within a radius of five hundred meters.
Due to their diminutive size and camouflaging capability, he was confident that anything hidden in this place wouldn't notice his presence.
Rylokian cursed his position as a miserable scavenger, which prevented him from accessing the depot's resources. Furthermore, his ship was even more outdated than that of his comrades, with outdated technology in every aspect...
"In situations like these, it's best to stay calm. If I persist, I'll eventually find the culprit," Rylokian assured nervously.
This was undoubtedly his last chance. He was fully aware that if he found nothing this time, his unauthorized appropriation would be revealed sooner or later.
The implications were terrifying: at best, he risked being fired, but at worst, he faced the frightening prospect of a hundred-year sentence in the Star Pit, one of the most feared prisons in the entire Lumineos sector, the sector he was in, spanning millions of planetary systems.
Just the thought of ending up in the company of some of the galaxy's most dangerous criminals made him shudder.
Recently, Rylokian received signals from two of the five NanoOrbs, indicating that they had detected something. He quickly concluded the collection in sector A-027. Despite moving swiftly, the distance to sector N-201 was considerable.
Ten minutes had passed since the NanoOrb alarms. He immediately submerged five hundred meters underwater, inspecting the sector where the NanoOrbs had detected suspicious activity.
However, his search proved fruitless, eliciting an expression of anger and desperation on his face.
Thud! Thud!
"Damn it! There should be something here, but it's hiding again!" he exclaimed as he pounded the ship, causing dents with each impact.
Beep-beep!
"Huh!?"
Swish!
Suddenly, the locator detected a small red dot on the surface. Without hesitation, he headed in that direction and found a silver humanoid figure that, upon seeing his ship, quickly submerged, propelled by a water thruster on its back.
"You son of a bh, I knew there was something here. I'll catch you, b**d, and make you pay by torturing you for several days!" Rylokian laughed with satisfaction as he pursued the figure, unaware that it was an android.
So, torturing a sensationless machine didn't make much sense...
His ship eventually outpaced the silver figure, reaching it quickly. "Now let's see where you're going to escape!" he exclaimed.
[First checkpoint reached.]
Boom!
With a cold robotic voice, the android spoke and, without warning, exploded!
Rylokian was completely stunned; he didn't expect his enemy to self-destruct in that manner. Fortunately, the explosion was small and only slightly damaged the ship's energy shield.
"?"
Just when he was completely lost and confused, the locator detected another red dot.
As he headed there, he saw another metallic figure. This time, he observed it calmly and realized it was an android, one with an antique look indicating it used very primitive technology.
Seeing this made him remember how he had promised to torture the previous android and he blushed in humiliation.
Swish!
Like the previous android, this one moved away propelled by a water motor on its back. Rylokian followed it but only advanced two hundred meters before it stopped.
[Second checkpoint reached.]
Boom!
Rylokian didn't know what to think in this situation anymore. Out of inertia, he checked his locator, and indeed, another red dot appeared."
Finally, when he reached the third android, a thousand meters underwater, a series of bright lights broke the total darkness of the place. Rylokian suddenly braked, startled by the sudden light, and was left speechless when he saw a massive structure.
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"What...?" he whispered with his mouth agape.
If Kraynnor were here, upon seeing this alien's astonishing reaction to his laboratory, he would be sure he'd be utterly surprised to discover Sonarix's body. However, he had no intention of allowing such a valuable treasure to fall into the hands of his enemy, so he had hidden it elsewhere some time ago.
"What the hell is going on...?" Rylokian exclaimed, completely bewildered. He couldn't understand how so much advanced technology had emerged in a low-level world that had managed to go unnoticed by his ship's locator. Furthermore, the mere existence of this underwater place for five hundred years without anyone noticing was perplexing...
[Well, so the stupid alien finally makes an appearance. It's a shame I can't see the expression on your face when you witness the magnificent light show I'm about to offer you...]
Suddenly, a voice emerged that was different from the voice before; it sounded more like a living person than an artificial system. They wondered what the voice had said in that unknown language.
[Ready for the event? Let's begin!]
"?" Rylokian frowned in confusion at these unfamiliar words.
In the middle of the underwater laboratory, there was an imposing machine, of a bright blue color and an elegant design; this was the stable core of the facility.
It was the energy heart that powered the entire laboratory.
The blue light it emitted, accompanied by a soft hum, filled the room with tranquility.
[Ten seconds to detonation.]
However, in the blink of an eye, everything changed. A cold, mechanical voice, emanating from hidden speakers, interrupted the laboratory's stillness.
Zzrrrummbb!
The luminous machine began to shake frantically, and its blue color gradually faded, making way for a dark red that flashed with disturbing intensity. Small electric discharges jumped from the machine, covering everything around it.
The temperature in the room began to rise rapidly, and the air was filled with a deafening hum.
[3... 2... 1...]
Booom!
When the countdown reached one, everything happened in the blink of an eye. The machine exploded with unimaginable fury, creating an explosion equivalent to a megaton.
The shockwave unleashed a frenzy of destruction!
In the capsule room, Kraynnor's elderly body, floating in an ethereal state of peace, was engulfed by the fiery light of the explosion. The workshop, the warehouse, and all surrounding structures disintegrated in a frenzy of fire and debris.
The force of the explosion violently shook the laboratory, destroying everything in its path!
The five NanoOrbs were instantly vaporized, as they weren't designed to withstand such an explosion.
Chaos and devastation spread like the roar of a deep-sea monster. The water pressure couldn't contain the explosive power at all.
The explosion instantaneously illuminated a two-kilometer radius in all directions. However, being at a depth of a thousand meters under the ocean, it didn't create a significant disturbance on the surface, but it did produce massive waves that could be considered monstrous.
Although the shockwave was dampened by the water, it was powerful enough to trigger alarms on all ships, small, medium, large bases, and, of course, at the Astrylites headquarters.
On the other hand, Rylokian's ship was launched out of control like a cannonball!
The energy barrier that used to protect the ship dissipated in a matter of seconds. The ship's exterior displayed severe damage in all directions, while inside, Rylokian violently collided with the walls, simultaneously struck by small black boxes. If it weren't for the protective armor he wore, he would have sustained fatal injuries.
Everything happened so quickly that Rylokian still couldn't process the magnitude of the events.
He remembered looking at the mysterious structure with hope, thinking he wouldn't be blamed for Sonarix's death. However, in the blink of an eye, an intense light completely enveloped him, and suddenly, he found himself falling from hundreds of meters in the air.
Splash!
With a thunderous impact, his ship crashed into the water, floating silently while a series of alarms activated inside due to the severe damage. The ship had practically become a twisted mass of metal. Repairing those damages would be such a laborious task that it might be more sensible to consider replacing it entirely.
But considering the acquisition of another ship was the least of his concerns. Rylokian was fully aware that he was really screwed.
Zuum! Zummm! Zuummmm!
"Shit..."
As anticipated, ships began appearing everywhere, there were at least thousands of them.
His expression turned pale as he noticed that two sleek, black-designed ships joined the formation. Amid them, a pyramidal ship of vibrant red and gold stood out.
The imposing red and gold ship approached Rylokian's battered vessel and, upon opening, revealed a fatty individual dressed in a bright red and gold suit of armor. When he removed his helmet, it revealed a face marked by bulging veins and a look ready to kill someone.
Rylokian pressed the emergency button with the intention of opening the ship's hatch, but to his frustration, it didn't respond.
Crack!
He had no choice but to force it open with a kick.
"You... you damned bastard!" Major Zarok was about to unleash a series of insults when suddenly, the two black ships approached, leaving him momentarily speechless and filled with panic.
Ssshhh!
The two ship hatches slid elegantly open, and from within emerged two figures of unparalleled stature.
Both aliens wore full-body black suits, concealing their appearance. With elegant gestures, they removed their helmets, revealing their facial features. They were a man and a woman, both with a dark blue tone to their skin that reflected light mysteriously. Their eyes were deep and shone with an intense golden hue, expressing wisdom and nobility.
Furthermore, both had silver hair and long, split ears, the man with short and well-groomed hair and the woman with long and elegant locks.
The man maintained a serious and arrogant expression, demonstrating his authority and leadership, while the woman, with a touch of mockery in her look, exhibited a friendly smile.
By their expressions and attitudes, they made it clear that they held different positions in the hierarchy.
"I thought this trip to such a remote place would be boring, but who would have imagined that on our first day here, such interesting things would already be happening..." the woman commented with her soft and melodic voice.
The man emerged in silence from the ship and gracefully walked in space, his boots creating small ripples in the vacuum.
Rylokian immediately recognized that they were gravity nullification boots, a luxury beyond his reach even with five hundred years of salary earned working in this remote world.
He approached indifferently, ignoring everyone around him, even Major Zarok, who was visibly nervous and sweating profusely.
Without a word to anyone, he took a small box from among the dozens that filled Rylokian's ship. He carefully opened it and examined its contents before declaring, "This sounds familiar. Is this a part of Sonarix of Xylyra's brain?"
"Oh? Let me see!" exclaimed the woman as she also emerged from her ship, gracefully walking through the air to stand by the man's side: "Without a doubt, it is! Although they are nearly extinct, their sound waves remain the same as I heard six centuries ago," she added, revealing her amazement at the small piece of pink brain covered in purple blood.
"Pfff!"
She let out a sudden, defiant laugh: "I can already visualize that arrogant bitch's expression when she sees this!"
Mayor Zarok fixed his gaze on Rylokian, his face contorted with uncontainable rage, his three eyes practically screaming, 'I told you to erase every last trace of evidence! How can you be so careless!?'