Shrouded Seascape

"Ah!" The horrified man shot up, and the chains on his limbs created metallic clanging sounds.

The young man named Hanks opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but despite his face turning red from the exertion, he still couldn't say anything.

"Speak up. Are you mute?" Charles asked again.

"I..." Hanks used all his strength to blurt out a single word, and then he immediately sat back down. His pupils trembled slightly as he stared at the metal block in front of him before continuing his work.

Charles fell into contemplation at Hanks' strange behavior. After thinking for a while, he turned to Gordon next to him and said, "Unlock the chains on him. I'll take him out of here."

"Uh... Governor, I think that's a bit too dangerous. His ability to reshape objects is very dangerous. His ability affects not just metals but flesh as well. He can block the blood vessels of human beings just by a mere graze."

Charles cast a dissatisfied gaze at Gordon. "Do you think I can't handle this guy? I told you to release him, so release him!!"

Gordon obliged and ordered the soldier next to Charles to unlock Hanks' chains.

Charles turned to Anna and said, "I'll go up first. I'll visit you once I'm done with this."

Anna rolled her eyes at Charles and let go of his arm. "I can't believe you're so idle. There are so many things for you to handle, yet you've come here to handle this trivial matter. In your eyes, I guess everything is more important than me."

"I'll make it up to you. I promise."

With that, Charles reached out and grabbed Hanks' collar, which had been soaked in sweat to the point that it smelled incredibly sour. Charles pulled Hanks toward the exit, and the young man didn't resist at all, allowing the former to do whatever he wanted to do with him.

When the sound of Charles' footsteps disappeared into the distance, the smiling Anna walked out of the cell, with Gordon following closely behind her.

The two arrived in an elevator, and Anna stretched out her fair finger, pressing on a blank space with no buttons. Surprisingly, the elevator, which was supposed to have already reached the lowest level, actually began to descend.

"Mistress, you've already altered Hanks' memories. Charles is not going to discover anything," Gordon said.

However, Anna shook her head slightly and replied, "Heh, you can't say that for sure. I saw the doubt in his mind; he is already suspicious of me. That guy is so distrustful.

"And he must have also guessed that I noticed his suspicion toward me. That must be the reason he didn't tell me to follow him."

Ding!

The elevator doors opened, revealing an underground space the size of a football field. A variety of strange machines were neatly arranged in the underground space, and multiple mischief of mice ran back and forth, constantly making fine adjustments to the machines.

The mice were the workers here, and the machines would have stopped working long ago if it hadn't been for them.

However, the machines here weren't just made out of metal. There were people inside the machine, which appeared to be supporting the lives of the people inside of it.

Ironically, the people had no lower bodies or brains. Many different tubes were connected to their mouths and figures, making them appear like Frankenstein's monster.

Every single machine contained two or even three experimental subjects spliced together rather than just one experimental subject, and it seemed like it wasn't just their flesh that was spliced together—their powers seemed to have combined as well.

In addition, the overall arrangement of these machines, which seemed to be made out of flesh and blood as well as gears, followed a certain pattern that resembled the magic arrays of the Western Seas.

An arm the size of a tiny house was in the middle of the bizarre array drawn using the strange machines. Pitch-black dots seeped nonstop out of the arm before condensing into a ball in mid-air.

This underground facility was countless times more efficient than the facility up above. The experimental subjects up above were capable of having their own thoughts and would always escape whenever it was possible. Moreover, there were also quite a few miscellaneous issues popping up from time to time.

However, things were completely different here. The experimental subjects had completely become a part of these machines, so they couldn't do anything other than use their powers to perform actions based on the established protocol.

"What should we do? I'm sure the governor is going to kick up a fuss once he discovers this place," Gordon said, looking a bit worried and uncertain about their next course of action.

However, Anna wasn't worried at all. Instead, a smile tugged at her lips as she said, "Wouldn't that be great? If he wants to stay down here and play detective with me, then I have to make sure that he won't discover this place so easily.

"It'd be great if he does that, as he wouldn't go up there and seek his own demise."

"Mistress, I really think that what we're doing here isn't appropriate. If Charles finds out about what you're doing here, I'm afraid that the things you've done in Newbound City will not remain unscathed.

"I'm sure he's going to retract the authority that he has bestowed upon you the moment he finds out what has been going on," Gordon said.

Anna looked at Gordon with contempt in her eyes and said, "Do you really think that I care about this place? No, I don't care about this place as well. Nothing good will come out of following the Foundation's old footsteps.

"I'm just taking advantage of them to obtain power—the power of the Divinities!"

Gordon lowered his head and looked down.

"If the humans of the Subterranean Sea have to rely on outsiders like us to survive, then I believe their existence is useless," Anna said. She moved her face close to the glass and peeked at the experimental subjects inside. "If they're going to eventually drown, then why not make them contribute before that happens?"

"We have these chaos machines as well, so the extraction process has become much faster."

"What you said is correct, Mistress! The true path is becoming even stronger! The moment you become a Divinity, mankind will finally have their sanctuary! This is the one and only way to survive!" Gordon exclaimed with full of fanatic zeal.

Just then, Anna sighed leisurely upon being reminded of something. "You're right, so why can't Charles understand that fact when it's so easy to understand? Why does he even bother saving the Subterranean Sea when he's not even from here?"

"The deaths of these people have nothing to do with him. He's adamant that he's going to save them. Save, my ass! The Light God has already killed eighty percent of the Subterranean Sea's population, so how many people can he save at most?

"His life is more valuable than the life of every single person in the Subterranean Sea! No one among the people here is worth dying for!" Anna exclaimed. Then, squirming black tentacles burst out behind her and lifted her into the air.

She crawled toward one of the machines like an octopus. She reached out and pinched it lightly, and an expression of extreme delight suffused her face. The next moment, a fissure appeared in her gorgeous figure, and she slowly dragged the black mass into the fissure.

Anna wrapped herself around the black mass for the next eight hours or so. When she finally let go of the black mass, it had become a small ball.

"My growth has slowed down quite a bit. At this rate, who knows how long it will take for me to become a true Divinity?" Anna said, looking a bit helpless as she stared at the pitch-black ball in mid-air.

Anna shook her head and turned to look at Gordon behind her, asking, "How is it? Has Charles started interrogating the institute's workers?"

"Uh... No, he chatted with the workers for a bit before leaving. The governor granted a pardon to Hanks before leaving with Sparkle to tour the many different islands of the Subterranean Sea. Right now, he's on Annarles Island and is painting a portratit for Lady Sparkle."

"Huh?" Anna was astonished. Then, she laughed and said, "That guy actually trusts me to this extent? Was I wrong? Is he really not suspicious of me? Now, I'm feeling ashamed for suspecting him of being suspicious of me."

"What are we going to do with Governor Charles, Mistress?"

"What do you think can we do to him? Since he has yet to discover what has been going on behind the scenes, then let's just muddle along and proceed as usual."