Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 777: Open Card

"Indeed, it's a new type of weapon we've developed. We coined it the Reboot Device and it's currently housed at SITE 5 now," A2 explained.

"Half of the materials that formed the Reboot Device came from the Darkness itself. We're currently studying its composition. The matter is incredibly unique. Initially, we suspected it to be dark matter, but that wasn't the case.

"Truth to be told, we are also curious as to how the Light God was able to bring the Darkness away. Our research department is working overtime to speed up the research progress."

Unknown to herself, A2 started to drift off-topic. However, Charles was quick to redirect her back to the point at hand.

"Never mind that first. Just give me the location of SITE 5 and the exact spot where the Reboot Device is being kept."

After acquiring more critical information from A2, Charles ended the dream connection with A2.

As soon as he woke up from his dream, Charles immediately convened the Subterranean Sea Council meeting. Despite an intense debate between the leaders of the Subterranean Sea for a long time, no definitive solution was reached.

After all, the Foundation had survived in the Subterranean Sea for over a thousand years. Its stable foundation wouldn't be destroyed so easily. Any solutions that they could cook up at this point, the central computer would have thought of it long ago.

Seated back at his sturdy new office desk, Charles' mind raced to come up with a strategy. Although he had a new card on hand, he knew that he was still at a severe disadvantage when up against the Foundation.

Just then, Sparkle manifested in the room and approached Charles with a bunch of bananas in her hand.

"Dad, your stomach's been acting up. Bananas are good for digestion."

"Thanks. Did you just pick them from the island's banana grove?" Charles asked, taking one from the bunch.

Sparkles leaned on the desk and propped her chin up on both hands. She looked at Charles and answered, "Yeah, I originally got them for Mom, but she said she wasn't hungry, so I brought them to you instead."

"What's your mom doing right now?" Charles asked.

"She's helping you brainstorm for a solution. She has connected a bunch of human brains together to try to figure out a strategy for you."

Charles felt warm inside. Anna was always thinking of him in his shoes, and he felt truly blessed to have such a considerate wife.

"Dad, why not send me there?" Sparkle suggested. "I feel like my power has grown significantly recently. And considering our forces here, I'm the only one who can actually make a difference."

However, Charles shook his head firmly and rejected without hesitation. "Absolutely not! Remember one thing, everything we're doing right now is based on the assumption that A2 is on our side. But what if she's not? What if she's just a bait that the Foundation threw out?"

"Huh? If you suspect her, why are you trusting what she says?"

Charles gently reached out a hand and patted Sparkle on the head, saying, "Sometimes, there's no conflict with remaining suspicious of someone you're working with. You can work with someone while still questioning their motives. But remember, the only reason the Foundation isn't coming after us full force is that we have something that keeps them at bay.

"We can pay any price to annihilate the Foundation. But the only exceptions are the four sacrifices needed to open the door, and you, the one who can take us there. As long as all of these are in place, that's our strongest backup, and we can overturn the entire game.

"Anything that will weaken this deterrent, be it intentional or unintentional, I treat it as part of the Foundation's scheme."

Sparkle slowly rolled over and looked up at Charles. "You sure thought a lot about that."

Charles sighed softly in response. "It's not by choice. I was never this meticulous in the past, so I ended up getting burned a few times. I guess that's what they mean by learning from experience."

For the next few nights, Charles dived into the details with A2 as they discussed and analyzed the defenses of SITE 2 and SITE 5.

No matter how he looked at it, however, neither location seemed easy to break through. The defenses were formidable on both sides with each site being guarded by five Pedes.

After spending so much time, Charles felt like the information he had learned seemed useless; he felt like he was back to square one.

A groggy Charles woke up from his sleep. His head throbbed from all the overthinking, and he felt overwhelmed as well.

At some point unknown to him, Linda had entered his room and was sitting quietly beside his bed. She reached over to the table to take the nearly empty bottle of pills and placed it into her side pouch.

"You need to stop taking these," Linda began. "Though they can enhance your mental capacity by multiple fold, they will also put a huge strain on your mind. You need to rest."

Charles stared at Linda's side profile and allowed his thoughts to wander. In his dazed state, her delicate features began to blur with the memory of the old ship doctor's grotesque face.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you need me to help you relax through physical means?"

Charles swiftly shifted his gaze away. "Don't joke about things like that. It wouldn't be fair to your husband, Audric."

"He knows; he doesn't care. Just like I don't care if he finds other women outside. We're just a married couple. If we feel comfortable, we stay together; if we don't, then we part ways," Linda explained in a matter-of-fact tone. She then switched on her headlamp and leaned forward, unceremoniously sticking her head inside Charles body to perform her examination.

After Linda left, Charles was left alone in the room. He pondered for a brief moment before he moved toward the nearby cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

He then leaped off the balcony and hopped across the rooftops of varying heights until he reached the cemetery. It didn't take him long before he arrived at Dr. Hermann's grave.

A small flower wreath rested upon the heavy slab of stone. Judging by its size, it was most probably placed there by Lily.

Charles twisted the bottle cap off and poured some whiskey over the grave, watching as the amber liquid soaked into the stone.

"Old man, you know, I really envy you at times," Charles started. "You got to live till ninety-seven without any lingering attachment. You even managed to fulfill your lifelong dream before dying. Isn't that what life's all about?"

Charles let out a sigh. "My home of the past is gone now, and I've come to see Hope Island as my new home. I just want to live out my days here peacefully. But why is something so simple so damn hard?"

Staring at the gravestone in front of him, Charles continued to rant. The old ship doctor was like a wise old friend, listening quietly without giving any response.

Suddenly, the clear, crisp ring of a bicycle bell sounded behind Charles, pulling him out of his thoughts. He turned around to find his first mate, Bandages. Bandages was riding toward him on his bike; he had a bunch of flowers strapped to the back.

"No letters to deliver today?" Charles asked as Bandages placed the flowers in front of the ship doctor's grave.

"There's no mail… The post office… has shut down… Now… private telegraph machines… are on sale…each costs only… three thousand Cori…" Bandages replied.

The unexpected news took Charles by surprise.

As he was trying to digest this information, a young man happened to walk past the cemetery. He was carrying a gear-laden mechanical contraption on his back that had black smoke billowing out of it. The young man was also awkwardly tapping away at a brass keyboard attached to the device.

With the technology advancing rapidly on Hope Island, the telegraph machine that was only available in the telegraph offices had shrunk in size. Now that they were portable, people only needed to fuel up the machines before they left their houses to easily communicate with others on distant islands miles away.

However, a bitter taste filled Charles mouth as he looked at the portable telegraph machine and compared it to the futuristic cityscape of SITE 2. It seemed to be a dauntingly long way until Hope Island could ever match the Foundation's level of technology.

"What…are you… worrying about now? Tell us… we can… help… share the burden…" Bandages said in his usual slow tone.