“Ohh, hand above your head where I can see them. Do not try and be cheeky with me or you will face my bullets. It would be a shame if any of you died without telling me how you got in here.”
The female walked around their group, observing them up and down. Alex could tell that the female’s eyes lingered a little longer on Merry before she looked back at Alex.
Alex had not noticed it before, but this female had a single eye since the other one was covered by an eye patch. She looked menacing and dominating at the same time.
“W-We are not trespassers. Well, technically we are, but we did not mean to be. I mean, the floor and the portal and we ended up here somehow and…”
Kalidus could not keep his story straight. He continued to fumble his words and a warning shot was fired to calm him down.
The female in charge immediately turned toward her subordinate who had fired that warning shot and glared at him. It made the man flush and back down immediately. When the female turned to look back at them, her eye had lost their humor and she waved her hand.
Everyone dropped the weapons aimed at them but everyone still looked tense.
“Everyone, I changed my mind about killing these people. Hurry up and take them to the locking station. I will be there shortly to question these prisoners myself. Also, get the shadow squad to assemble.”
The soldiers looked up at their leader but she had uttered faith in their dedication. She left before the soldiers could finish their bow.
Alex was manhandled in a position where he could not use his strength to break out. He also felt his strength was insignificant in front of these soldiers.
Pretty soon their whole team was escorted to the holding facility and they were all locked inside a single room.
And the room was rather fancy for prison standards. There was a washroom which was separate from the main room as well as a well-functioning T.V. and a great bed.
Alex’s body sank into the mattress when he lay down on top of it and he would have fallen asleep if not for Kurina. Unlike Alex, Kurina seemed to be taking this situation far more seriously and she looked tense as well.
“Hey, what are we going to do now? We are trapped in a prison we might not be able to escape from. What would happen if remain trapped in here when Baron Luke and the others arrive on this floor? We both will die.”
Kurina’s breathing seemed irregular and she was hyperventilating. Her panic began to surge and Alex closed his arms around in a tight hug before pulling her closer.
Human contact seemed to have grounded Kurina a little bit because she looked calm once she was let go of.
“I…think you. And I am sorry for my behavior. I did not mean to freak out on you like that.”
Once Kurina had calmed down, she looked ashamed of her conduct. It was understandable why she looked embarrassed.
“Don’t worry. We are all allowed to freak out occasionally. And the situation is far from ideal, but we cannot do anything about it. I doubt we will be able to escape this prison even if we use all our strengths.”
Alex admitted with a sour face. He knew that the tower would get progressively more and more difficult as they climbed it, but he had not expected the jump from the first floor to the second to be this massive.
No wonder King Saar had never been able to cross this barrier. He had no ambition and his power was tied down to his city.
“What are we going to do now? Are we stuck in here? Will we all die on this floor?”
Kurina asked as tears struck her eyes. She only opened them when the door to their prison was forced open by a guard and the familiar dominating lady entered the door.
She looked at each of them with disdain in her eyes before she forced those feelings down and her eyes went blank.
“You all! Quickly tell me what were you doing in our disposal plant. If you lie to me, then that would be the end of your life.”
Alex looked at the female’s eye and violet surged around her. The aura of the god of creation and technology surged around this female. It was not a direct contract like Alex was made, but this female was still powerful in her own right.
“I told you before that…”
“Shut up. I did not ask you this question. You! You tell me what happened.”
Alex was startled when the female suddenly pointed toward him and asked this question. He needed to answer her but the words were stuck in his throat.
Finally, he forced his mouth to move and words came out of his mouth.
“We…. were climbing the tower. We escaped the monsters and somehow ended up here. I don’t know how much you are willing to believe us but…”
“No, I believe you 100%. We have evidence of this place being like the one you told me and we often get monsters from other floors as a result that cross the gate. Of course, the general audience does not know anything about it.”
“And now that we are finished talking, I should set thighs straight with you. My name is General Mei and I am the person in charge of your prisoner case.”
The female took out a gun from her pocket and everyone in that room tensed up. It felt as if their time was up and they would all die.
The general aimed her gun toward Kurina and fired. The bullet shot past Kurina’s ear and landed on the wall behind them all. The sound of electricity cracking could be heard in the room before General Mei placed her gun back into its proper place.
“Now then, shall we get you all out of here? I am sure that the young one must be hungry. We need to get her something to eat.”
General Mei offered and held the door open. Now that the danger had passed, Alex suddenly felt hungry. He walked after General Mei and they quickly got out of the facility.
“This is the first time I have seen such a unique kid in my life. Most kids end up crying or fainting when they see me. But your kid is especially courageous since she did not cry even after she heard the gunshot.”
General Mei laughed but her words made Kalidus tense up. Even Alex had thought that this was weird but he had opted not to ask this question of Kalidus.
“Hahaha…do you think Merry is weird? Her mother was like that as well so I don’t mind Merry weird.”
“And no matter what kind of kid Merry is, I will always love her and cherish her as my daughter. This fact will never change.”
Kalidus seemed certain of his words, but General Mei only laughed at his words. Somehow, Alex could not help but find her tone mocking.
“I see. So, you love your daughter a lot, huh? In that case, hold on to your feeling and cherish it until the end. This tower is a dangerous place that can change your perspective on what is right and wrong within a single second.”
General Mei warned them all and Alex had a feeling she was talking from experience.
Pretty soon, they all reached a modest two-storied house and General Mei entered the place. The place had a few servants but nothing grand.
“This is my home. You all can stay here until you get settled. I will need to head out and check on the gate you entered on this floor form. If it is swamped by monsters, then we need to go and clear it out.”
General Mei did not stop around for long. She just gave her servants orders to look after her guests before she left.
“Well, looks like we have a whole day with us before our other companions arrive on this floor. We should make sure we have everything to meet our other companions.”
Alex cracked his joints to get the tension out of them. Then, he headed toward the bedroom and feel asleep. The exhaustion of the past few days finally caught up to him and he was out in seconds.
On the other hand, Baron Luke and his company looked shocked as soon as they arrived at the second-floor portal. As expected, they had not been able to leave the tower so the only way out was to go up.
But the door to the portal was covered by the flesh of monsters slain recently. It was clear that someone much more powerful had cleared the way out for them.
“Baron Luke, the portal is open. We can head up now.”
Ashura replied as he went on to check the portal out. But before they could head in, a hooded figure exited the portal and began to collect the monster parts.
It was not until he looked at Baron Luke and his company did the Baron felt fear go down his spine.
This person’s eyes were amber and glowing in the dark.