Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 917: The Two Below (Part 2)

Noise and rumbling accompanied Silvana for a long five minutes. All she could see in front of her was Adamʼs serious face and deep blue eyes.

The layer of earth behind his back was blurred by the high speed, but she could clearly see the rocks crashing into his back one after another.

However, she knew that it looked and sounded a lot scarier than it was.

Even if they were at the Dead Lands, where every stone was imbued with powerful energy, it wouldnʼt hurt Adam much. After all, his coat was now his Initial Order, a powerful ability that gave him many capabilities, including defense.

Suddenly, they stopped as the background behind Adam changed from stone to iron.

”Well...” he wheezed, wearing a bitter smile. ”Looks like weʼve reached the channel. Weʼre in for a bit of a jolt now.”

Before Silvana could say anything, blue rings of light lit up along the long tunnel running horizontally in the layer between the Upper Ring and the Lower Ring. Now they hovered in the middle of the path, and a sorting was awaiting them.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

They shuddered as the magnetic energy sent them forward at immense speed. A few seconds later, they were blinded by the bright light from a multitude of lights.

”What the hell...?” Adam turned around looking back.

Their chamber, like hundreds of similar ones, was moving fast, hooked on top of magnetic rails. The place they found themselves in was comparable to a hangar that could fit dozens of huge bombers.

All they saw were walls covered in a dense layer of steel and dozens of magnetic rails carrying thousands of crates, chambers, monster cages, and even tanks with various liquids.

”I see...” Silvana gulped, peering forward with slight fear. ”Every Hollow Spot has a departure point, but right now weʼre in one of the sorting hangars. At least thatʼs my best guess.”

”Yeah... Looks like it...” Adam muttered glancing around.

Down below was nothing but darkness, where rows of rails and supplies from the many Hollow Spots at the Upper Ring disappeared.

On the walls of the hangar were tunnels - to one of which their chamber was heading now.

”I wonder whatʼs below? Either thereʼs just a cold surface there, or thereʼs a direct path at the Lower Ring.”

”Want to try it out?” Silvana raised an eyebrow, a slight smile playing across her face.

”Hah... Nah... What I did in front of the commander and Erik... thatʼs enough risks for today...” Adam shook his head.

A shadow fell across their chamber, concealing them in one of the many tunnels.

Then, Silvana grabbed Adamʼs head and kissed him firmly. Now, it was her turn to do the unexpected.

When their lips parted, Adam blinked wide-eyed in confusion.

Silvana smiled happily. ”Iʼm not lying if I say Iʼm not happy that youʼve once again decided to act recklessly. Iʼm sure... If it had been the rational Reinz in your place, thereʼs no way he would have put Chloe in jeopardy.”

”Are you regretting that I decided to take you away from the Lower Ring? Are you afraid that something bad might happen to you down there as Operator?”

”Maybe a little afraid, but Iʼm certainly not regretful,” Silvana closed her eyes. ”Like I said earlier - Iʼll always follow you, wonʼt I?”

”Agh... Maybe Iʼm an unlucky person at some point,” Adam shook his head caressing Silvanaʼs cheek. ”But, Iʼm definitely lucky to make you my Operator.”

Suddenly, they stopped as the chamber shook again.

Adam and Silvana looked down at the same time - a lonely descent awaited them, the sorting was complete.

Whoooooooooooosh.

At the next magnetic pulse, the chamber was launched like a cannonball, blurring against the background of the tunnel due to its tremendous speed.

Adam pulled Silvana tighter against him-they needed to prepare for descent.

His coat shuddered as the silver threads moved forward, enveloping them both from below like the beginning of a cocoon. That was all Adamʼs threads were enough for, for full protection, tens of thousands were needed.

Abruptly, the light of the blue rings ceased, replaced by a broad shadow that for a second showed them the scarlet lights of the night city in the distance.

There was no sunlight at the Lower Ring anyway. It was always night here.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

With a rumble, the strange, open chamber crashed into a mountain of garbage on the edge of the Lower Ring, far from the urban area where the strongest people were and dangerous secrets dwelt.

However, as the commander and Erik had suspected, no matter where Adamʼs chamber ended up, someone might be waiting for him.

Step.

Adam stepped out of the chamber first, looking around.

ʼDamn... For some reason, this is exactly what I expected to see.ʼ

Trash and stinking odor was the only thing Adam could smell. Amongst the mounds of various trash he saw a path out.

”Fine, at least we can get out of here quickly,” Adam nodded as he held out his hand to Silvana.

...

A moment later, two silhouettes of strangers to the Lower Ring emerged from the epicenter of the garbage dump. Their path lay ahead, toward the city, but soon three figures appeared from around the corners.

Adam narrowed his eyes, watching the three men moving towards them. The smirks on their faces and the black NEPs on their wrists showed that they had not come here with good intentions.

”Well, well... Guys, I told you weʼd wait for something interesting to happen sooner or later,” a young man with a bald head and a wide scar over his right eye chuckled evilly.

”Fuck... I canʼt believe it,” his buddy kneaded his knuckles. ”I heard that some people use junkyards to get to the Lower Ring, but I couldnʼt believe there were idiots who would use that!”

”Hahaha! Does it matter? The most important thing is that we got lucky!” the man exclaimed with a predatory look. ”Letʼs just kill that idiot from the Upper Ring and take the girl. Heheh, a beauty like this is worth a lot.”

Step.

Adam stepped forward, looking arrogantly at the three men.

ʼI see... They werenʼt waiting for me, they were hoping someone would show up. That explains why the K2-Phantoms think they can even scratch me.ʼ