ALL NOVEL Chapter 35: Third One(2)
"He masked an entire hangar?" – Luxion said, surveying the massive structure with a focused gaze.
"And quite a large one at that," Cleare added, as her eye suddenly began to glow faintly with a bluish light, signaling the activation of her internal systems.
"How do we get in?" Leon asked, carefully studying the construction. "Blowing a hole in the wall isn't an option. If there's anything important inside, I'll flood everything."
Luxion silently analyzed the data transmitted by his sensors. After a few seconds, he pointed toward a massive pipe.
"I'm certain that's the entrance," he declared, not taking his eyes off the spot.
Indeed, in the indicated direction, a large pipe resembling a concealed passage could be seen. Leon moved closer and spotted a metallic door with hermetic seals deep inside the pipe.
"Allow me," Cleare said as she examined the door. Her eye glowed again, this time brighter. After a few moments, a faint click sounded, and the door began to open slowly.
Astonished, Leon watched the scene unfold and asked with curiosity:
"What did you just do?"
"I've taken control of the hangar," Cleare replied calmly.
"Is that even possible?" Leon furrowed his brows, studying her reaction. "Can you control something that belongs to another AI?"
"Good question, Master," Luxiom chimed in, then added:
"In most cases, such actions are impossible and considered a violation. However, there are exceptional circumstances where such measures are permissible. This is one of those cases. The original AI of this system is currently in a dormant state. It's a temporary vulnerability that allows us to bypass restrictions and assume partial control of the system."
"I see," Leon nodded, watching as water began to seep through the open door. He stepped inside, maneuvering his mech, Aronganth.
As he crossed the threshold, the door behind him sealed shut, and water quickly drained from the small hermetically sealed chamber. The floor became completely dry. The next door opened, granting him access further inside.
Leon found himself in a long corridor. As he explored the rooms along it, he came across a variety of equipment, old documents, and... bodies. In every room, there were corpses.
"These are elderly people," Luxion reported, analyzing the surroundings. "Many of them were engineers or military personnel. I don't see any civilians or scientists here."
Leon paused for a moment to pray for the deceased, then proceeded toward a massive door at the end of the corridor. When he opened it, an enormous ship came into view.
"Astounding," Leon murmured, his voice a mixture of amazement and awe.
"It's an aircraft carrier," Luxion continued, interrupting his thoughts. "And not just any aircraft carrier – it's the latest model."
"An aircraft carrier?" Leon repeated, furrowing his brows. "That rings a bell from the novel, but it's been years since I ended up here. What can it do?"
"To start with, its AI is significantly more powerful than us," Luxion began explaining. "It processes information faster and can manage thousands of robots simultaneously. By comparison, our combined capabilities allow us to coordinate, at most, around a thousand units. Additionally, it holds databases we've never had access to. As for the ship itself, it's equipped with hundreds of next-generation fighters, most of which are autonomous, requiring no pilots. A single one of these fighters can obliterate an entire kingdom."
Leon was stunned but continued listening attentively.
"Even my primary form would struggle to handle ten of these at once," Luxion added. "If I were to deploy my full arsenal and combine forces with Cleare after thorough preparation, we might stand a chance. Otherwise, it's certain defeat."
Leon thoughtfully observed the massive ship, recalling the destructive potential he had already witnessed from Luxion alone.
At one point, his attention was drawn to a massive sphere resembling Luxion in design.
"This is simply incredible," Leon muttered as he approached. "This thing is at least five times larger than Luxion."