The group went in. Master Liaoran led the group towards the direction from which the voices of the guards came. As they got closer, Marcus made out three distinct voices, all of which were slightly muffled.
The group stopped, just when the voices came from behind a corner. There was a straight path forward, while the voices came from another path to their left. Master Liaoran raised his hand, ready to strike these guards, while signaling the group to go past the corner and continue.
Gloria took a deep breath, before going past the corner and into the other side of the opening. She turned around and made a “come, come” gesture to the rest of the group.
Marcus signaled to Kevin and Mick, telling them to go next. Both of them hesitated, but still moved forward at the same time. Keryn went next, then Marcus.
The guards were in some kind of coffee room located on the side of their hallway. From their angle they could barely see anything in the intersection. No wonder it was safe.
Master Liaoran walked over to their side, nodded at everyone, then continued leading the way. They were apparently walking in a pathway that encircled the exterior of the building, as they walked past several windows facing outside. There might be some air conditioning in the building, because the further they went in, the chillier the air became. Even for Marcus, he could feel his skin surface temperature dropping the longer he remained.
The interior design and decor of this building did not help either. The lighting was pale and flickering, everything was gray and very crudely painted, with some patches even showing signs of water corrosion or solidified paint droplets dripping down from higher places. The floor was mostly cold hard marble and obsidian but at times they ran into sticky tar-like substances scattered around, like old gum, but more stickier and worse smelling.
Master Liaoran checked the hand drawn map and passed it around a few times, signaling others where they could go. He was way too familiar with this area, for even at places that seemed confusing to Marcus and Kevin, he could still make the decision on where to go in an instant.
“This entire building was built like a giant array. The first array that gives life and power to the rest of the substations. Each wall, each pathway was designed according to his design.” Master Liaoran explained as they headed up the second floor through a narrow and dim staircase. “He didn’t live to see his visions come to life. He surely didn’t plan on his ingenuity to be misused and abused like this.”
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“So - that means you would know where its center is right, Master?” Marcus asked.
“In theory, yes. But according to his own manuscript, he designed this array specifically to be durable and highly available - that means there would be several ‘centers’ that could be used either independently or all together. Four of them - if this monk remembers correctly.” Master Liaoran nodded: “Now - when we get to the second floor, we would need to be careful - because our path would be through one long straight pathway, and find the right place to put this - EMP.”
“Alright, so we need to prepare to fight.” Marcus nodded.
“Will they be armed?” Keryn asked.
“Possibly.” Master Liaoran nodded and stopped before a gate at the end of the staircase: “Alright, this monk will go in first, you follow. Detectives, one of you should stay behind, and one at the front. Should there be anything unexpected, you would be able to handle everything.”
“I’ll go to the tail.” Keryn nodded, then patted Kevin on the shoulder: “Be careful, duck if there’s anything wrong.”
“Alright.” Kevin took a deep breath before nodding back.
“And you, be careful, use the gun if necessary.” Keryn nodded at Mick.
“Of course.” Mick swallowed, before checking his holster. They did not have many guns or bullets, both Mick and Kevin were given one handgun and two full magazines.
Master Liaoran continued leading the way. The long straight hallway was going straight towards the center of the building, and thus all of the group could directly feel the change of temperature as they made their way through it.
Apparently, the creeping chillingness and even coldness was more than just the atmospheric effects of the environment on their minds. Frost was gathered on some of the windows and doors. As they went further in, spots of dark tar were distributed more and more densely around them.
Marcus looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling used to be pale white or pale gray like the walls on the outer parts. But right now, the ceiling above their heads was covered in spots of black tar. It was almost as if the rooms above were flooded, and it was seeping through the floorboards.
“What is that?” Marcus couldn’t help but ask, pointing at a big black spot of tar at the foot of a wall on their right side, next to a closed metal door: “It’s everywhere.”
“Liquified malice.” Master Liaoran and Tae Kuo answered at the same time.
“In places of foul Fengshui or toxic Qiyun flow, energy of all kinds could be corroded and absorbed by dirt, waste, water or other substances like cement, asbestos and rubber, or even glue.” Tae Kuo proceeded to explain what he knew on behalf of the master: “Yeah I noticed this from the moment we came in. I am now 90 percent certain that we are at the right place.”
“90 percent? What was your guess before?” Gloria chuckled.
“Maybe at most 70 percent, because I couldn’t see or smell much foul energy from out there. Hell, I can’t even feel anything now.” Tae Kuo shook his head, frowning: “How is this possible? Unless it’s in - ”
“Internalization.” Master Liaoran sighed: “This is something he told me before - it’s when the center of evil energy became so dense, that energy around it could no longer escape, but be pulled back in, thus forming a more hardened center of energy.”
“Fucking hell.” Tae Kuo gasped and rubbed his temples: “Alright. 100 percent.”