Out of the nineteen guards who were supposed to be the first line of defense, only two were awake, as usual. These two were seated with their backs to the door, engrossed in some unsavory content on a screen. Why they chose to indulge in such activities together, especially during work hours, was beyond me. Back in the day, humans didn’t have such toys, but my residual knowledge supplied the name of the device: a tablet.
Just a few steps from the open door, I handed control of the body back to Dima. Meanwhile, I slipped out in my spectral form, darted through the wall, and possessed one of the distracted guards. With a few swift and silent moves, I neutralized his partner. At the same time, Dima approached from behind, ready to smash my head in with the blunt side of our newly acquired weapon.
Immediately returning to our shared body, I took back control and began searching the room for anything useful. Of course, I didn’t forget to drop some necrotic energy onto one of the downed guards for a little extra boost.
The first thing I found was a spare uniform belonging to one of the guards. I quickly swapped out my tattered rags for it, leaving the scraps in a pile on the floor. Next, I searched the guards themselves, managing to scavenge a couple dozen rubles in cash—not much, but it was better than nothing.
I avoided taking their gadgets. My memory warned me they could potentially be tracked, and they were of little use anyway since there was no connection to the “outside world.” That was one of the first things Dima had checked. This place might lack state-of-the-art security, but it had enough precautions, including a solid "foolproof" system.
The most valuable find was a sturdy backpack, which I promptly filled with the confiscated wallets.
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Things moved more efficiently after that. There were still plenty of open rooms, and I didn’t plan to leave empty-handed. While Dima kept watch over the sleeping guards in the barracks, I raided their storerooms. I’d like to say I cleared them out completely, but I had to focus on the essentials.
Soon enough, I became the proud owner of several cans of meat and fish, a few sticks of sausage, and even some moldy cheese that, according to Dima, was quite expensive. I tossed the cans and sausages into the backpack and began eating the cheese right there. It tasted surprisingly good.
I was particularly pleased to find someone’s hidden stash of 200 rubles, though the bills were greasy and barely legible. After asking Dima if the money was still usable, I got a tentative “probably, maybe, yes” in response. Weighing the rubber-banded stack in my hand, I quickly stuffed it into a separate pocket of the backpack. Even if local merchants wouldn’t accept it, it would’ve been a shame to leave it behind.
Despite the urgency, I acted with confidence and natural ease, as if I had every right to be there. I wasn’t leaving empty-handed, especially when I had no idea how long it would take to reach the nearest town. A facility like this wasn’t likely to operate out in the open, especially given the power of the gnome overseeing it. This wasn’t the level of influence to act overtly.
Once the backpack was about two-thirds full, I stopped. Overloading wasn’t a good idea, especially now when my body was already weak. If we ended up running on foot, every extra kilogram would feel like a hundred after just a few hours.
While I was filling my pockets, Dima wasn’t idle either. He scouted the only available escape route—a staircase leading up to a massive steel door guarded by two sentries. These weren’t just ordinary guards either; one was a two-core apprentice, and the other a three-core. And before we could even reach them, we’d have to deal with seventeen more sleeping guards in the barracks, who, groggy or not, could still put up a fight.
“Now we just need to decide what to do with these fools,” I said to Dima mentally, gesturing toward the barracks. “We’re practically at the exit, but leaving them like this isn’t a great idea. If anything happens upstairs, they’ll definitely hear it.”
“And that’s not unlikely,” Dima shivered. “What if they have passwords or something at the entrance? That kind of thing’s usually only in movies, but still… Besides, I couldn’t care less about these bastards, so do whatever you want with them!”
“Perfect,” I grinned, detaching one of the knives. “In that case, get ready—things are about to heat up in here!”