Chapter 1048: They Want To Follow Us Into The Nest

We were moving through the tunnels again, but this time I could hear the echoes of war machines stomping through the other tunnels around us.

The tunnels were definitely much noisier and if the bugs didn’t know we were coming for them before, they certainly know now.

Now I’m a little thankful that we weren’t placed in the same group as the machines since that would definitely drown out even my own thoughts with how loud they were...

Incidentally, they already set up an outpost where the destroyed outpost used to be so we did not pass through a devastated intersection like before to get to the next location.

The people at that outpost still remembered us when we got there and thankfully did not shoot at us like before, especially since we already established communication lines so the outposts can already talk to one another and the surface as well.

The guards there instantly recognised us and opened the gates for us even before we got close to it.

Or... More likely, they probably recognised the one hundred and one dogs that were leading in front of us instead.

Close enough.

The same sergeant was at the gate to receive us with a salute.

"Captain Tera. Nice to see you back here in one piece."

I nodded, "Nice to see that you guys are doing fine as well. Anything we need to know before we start?"

The sergeant hesitated, which already told me that there was definitely something happening.

"There’s... Some people from that other outpost here. And they have demanded that they join whichever group would be diving into the tunnels."

Well... Good thing my girls already predicted that so I wasn’t really surprised to hear that.

He then stepped aside to gesture at a group of people that looked entirely out of place in the outpost.

Instead of wearing body armour like all the other soldiers, they were wearing what was basically lab coats and what looked like hazmat suits. Although they also had a few private security guys who were also wearing full body armour with them too.

One of the armoured security guys was already walking towards us when they spotted us, their armour’s colouration distinctly different from the soldiers’ so there was no chance to mistake them for each other.

They suddenly stopped a short distance away, as though finally seeing my face and recognising me, but they quickly recovered and moved the rest of the way towards me.

"Captain..." The guard greeted me with a curt nod and completely ignored the soldier beside me. "You are the one that will be heading deeper into the tunnels from here?"

I pretended like I didn’t know what they wanted, "Yes. What about it?"

"We will accompany you into the tunnels," He stated simply, like it was already an established fact.

I raised an eyebrow at the guard, "Why?"

"We have an interest in doing a scan of the tunnels ourselves so we will just follow behind you and do our scans if you don’t mind."

I’m very sure that was a complete lie and they’re trying to look for that bug that escaped from their containment.

I crossed my arms in front of me, "I don’t think that’s a good idea. We will be heading down to a danger zone and I cannot guarantee your group’s safety in that place. I don’t want to be responsible for another group of people."

"We can take care of ourselves. You don’t need to worry about us."

"You are still a liability. Especially since I will be letting the dogs lead the way, your group might be a distraction to them."

That was obviously bullshit but this guy doesn’t know that~

The guard turned to look at the dogs to the side who were all just sitting or laying down, looking in my direction to wait for further instructions. But from this angle, they might as well be staring at the guard.

He gulped audibly, "I see... Could you... Could you wait a moment please?"

He then went back to the group and seemed to be discussing something with one of the people in lab coats.

The sergeant turned to me, "You’re not thinking of helping them, are you?"

I shrugged, "Not for free."

"Hmm... Pretty wise then. As for me... I should probably make myself scarce before I get involved in something I don’t want."

Without another word, the sergeant quickly left and disappeared into the outpost, leaving me there to wait for them to figure out what they were going to do.

Soon enough, one of the older men in the lab coat strolled over to me, his hands still stuck in his pockets and giving me an appraising look.

"You are Captain Tera?" He asked, standing a short distance away from me.

"Yes. Don’t suppose I can ask for your name?"

"My name is not important. We just want to know if you would be willing to escort us into the tunnels."

Huh... Is the withholding of names something that is common amongst scientists or maybe just within this company in particular?

Maybe they don’t want people saying the names of the scientists within the company? Although that guard did give me the professor’s name in the end...

I jerked my chin at him, "Why should we take on a group of liabilities for an expedition that already has a high mortality rate? And you would also be making use of the dogs I have to achieve your own goals as well?"

He took a moment to look at the dogs before he turned back to us, "We will make it worth your time."

Oh? Didn’t expect him to actually offer something in return for that.

"What are you offering?" I asked, still keeping my face neutral.

"Are you aware of who we represent?"

I raised an eyebrow, wondering if this guy was trying to use their position to coerce us into helping us or something.

And of course, I already knew but I’m just going to pretend I don’t to see what he’ll say. Would be funny if he tried to claim they were from another company that they are not.

"No, I don’t."

"We are from GenoTrend Corporation and we are here to look for gene mods that can help elevate everyone in the galaxy to the next stage in evolution. Surely you know how important this work to us is."

Oh wow... So he didn’t go for the monetary rewards or even the coercion but he went straight to appealing to my morals I see...

Well... Morals aren’t going to survive the next bug trying to bite your faceoff so that isn’t going to work on me.

"I don’t know and I don’t care. What’s your point?"

He faltered slightly before his brows furrowed, "How can you not care? We are talking about the advancement of not only humanity but even the other races within the USC! These bugs carry a very specific genetic strand that could open the doors for the next step in our evolution! How can you not understand the gravity of that?!"

"Like I said, I literally don’t care. You might want to make your point about following us before I decide to just rush off without you."

He gritted his teeth, clearly not expecting me to be this belligerent and he’s probably thinking I’m just some dumb Merc that he’s wasting his time on.

Still, he didn’t seem like he was giving up as he continued, "We are on the brink of a very important step that can create a gene mod that would revolutionalise how gene mods work in the future. You will be a part of history in the making."

"Does this part of history involve us getting more than just our name plastered somewhere? Like, are there any physical benefits at all?"

"You... You’re thinking about Credits aren’t you? You have the chance to make a big difference in the galaxy and all you can think about is Credits."

"You’re asking us to risk our lives for your little science experiment that may or may not yield any result and you want us to do it for free? Unless you intend to release your findings and research to the rest of the galaxy for free, you’re in no position to lecture me."

I guess I might have hit a sore spot for him because he just stood there staring at me for a long moment before he turned away, "I’ll make some calls..."

Hmph... He really thought he could just exploit us like that. Try harder.

All of us just waited there as he called someone through his personal terminal and started discussing something with someone else that I could not see on his screen.

Eventually, he seemed to deflate a little as he turned to walk back to me.

"You know about our escaped experiment then..."

I said nothing and just stared at him.

He sighed, "If you help us capture it... We will get you a lifetime premium membership to our company."

Huh... Err... Vier? Is that valuable?

Guess I got to call her...