Shadow Slave novel Chapter 877

Chapter 877: Disconnected

Sunny and his soldiers entered the fortified settlement, happy to hide from the blizzard behind its thick walls. There, they saw teams of Awakened soldiers walking between buildings as they patrolled the territory. All of them looked tense and tired.

Master Verne led them deeper into the complex, giving a wide berth to the central dome-like structure. His gait was steady and confident.

"I have around a hundred Awakened under my command, as well as close to a thousand mundane soldiers. There are about five hundred scientists and civilian staff members under our protection. Things were going fine until recently... but, as you can imagine, all of us can't wait to get away from the ocean."

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

"...Were going fine?"

Verne grimaced.

"Yes. Several Gates manifested nearby, but our garrison and defenses were more than enough to keep the Nightmare Creatures away. However... there have already been instances of people succumbing to the Spell within the walls. We suffered a few casualties because of that."

He lingered for a moment, and then asked:

"How is the situation outside?"

Sunny shrugged.

"Pretty bleak, but more or less under control. Don't worry... we scouted a good path through the mountains on the way here. Leading a convoy back shouldn't be impossible. There is just one problem..."

Verne stopped and looked at him with a somber expression.

"The communications? You lost contact with Army Command too?"

Sunny blinked.

"Yeah. Wait, too? You're cut off from the army network as well?

The local Ascended remained silent for a second, then nodded.

"All communications ceased around forty-three minutes ago. We have failed to establish a new connection, for now."

Sunny frowned. He could reluctantly accept that the Rhino lacked the ability to pierce through the growing interference field enveloping Antarctica. However, a facility like LO49 should have had an immensely powerful communication array. If even they could not connect to the outside world...

'Something is very wrong here!'

He did not know the reason for that sudden blackout, but just the consequences of not being in contact with Army Command were troublesome. They were supposed to check in with Master Jet and receive further instructions after reaching their destination.

Sunny glanced at Verne.

"That is really weird. Uh, no offense, but... a remote research facility in the middle of nowhere, suddenly losing contact with the outside world as we approach it... it's all a bit creepy. This blackout wouldn't have anything to do with what the scientists are doing here, would it?"

The tall Ascended smiled with the corner of his mouth.

"I can see how you would think that. However, let me assure you, the research being conducted in this installation is perfectly safe. I am not much of a scientist myself, but what they do here is purely theoretical. There are no practical experiments being conducted at the premises, so there's nothing that could have gone wrong. The worst that could have happened is someone making a mistake on a spreadsheet and being reprimanded by the old man."

Sunny studied his face, found it sufficiently sincere, and shrugged.