In truth, No. 13’s base had been identified a full day before Bafrosk and his group even engaged Gorg.
This discovery was the result of analyzing the captured communication device.
By that point, Laozi had already begun his infiltration of the facility.
There were fewer traps and security measures here than at Negadoll 001’s base. It took Laozi a surprisingly short amount of time to reach the floor where No. 13 was located.
(I cannot let my guard down; this could be a trap designed to lure me in.)
Laozi remained ever cautious.
He deployed his Finger Golems to analyze the layout of the surrounding area.
(It seems No. 13 is located about ten meters ahead.)
His internal magi-detector allowed him to pinpoint the approximate direction and distance.
As before, he traveled through the ventilation pipes. True to the name "pipe," the cross-sections here were circular. Given that Negadoll 001’s base had featured rectangular ducts, Laozi noted that the designers might have been different.
Even as a homunculus, the target required respiration, which was precisely what made this infiltration route possible.
(...The air is stagnant.)
In Negadoll 001’s base, the ventilation had been active, keeping the air clean.
However, the air inside the pipes where Laozi now moved was foul and hardly suitable for breathing. While this was no obstacle for Laozi, who did not need to breathe, it would have been a fatal environment for a biological creature.
(Information is too scarce. I must press on.)
Laozi advanced through the ventilation pipe centimeter by centimeter.
After more than ten hours of meticulous progress, Laozi finally reached his destination.
He had arrived at No. 13’s personal quarters. What he found there was a sight that even the ever-prepared Laozi had not anticipated.
(...What on earth is that?)
It was a white room, much like the one where Servant No. 700672 had resided. In its center stood a white bed, and upon that bed was a humanoid figure.
But it was not merely lying there. Magic tools that functioned like IV tubes, ECG monitors, and EEG monitors were attached to its body.
It looked as though numerous magi-lines were growing directly out of the humanoid’s flesh.
(...A life support system?)
Drawing upon the knowledge he had inherited from Jin, Laozi arrived at that conclusion.
(If so, then No. 13 is in poor health... or rather, on the verge of death?)
Laozi continued his observation from multiple angles using the visual sensors of his Finger Golems.
Over the course of ten hours, No. 13 barely moved.
It neither ate nor excreted. Then again, such biological functions were apparently unnecessary for a homunculus.
However, it was speaking through a Magi Machine attached to its throat.
When Laozi monitored the audio using the Finger Golems, the words were identical to those spoken by Gorg. There was no longer any doubt: No. 13 was the one controlling the gargoyle.
(But in this state of emaciation...)
The fluid in the IV-like tubes was likely a liquid containing free ether. It appeared far less effective than the recovery medicine Jin had perfected.
The lines extending from the figure’s head were presumably used to transmit commands to the base's facilities.
(...It doesn't have much longer, does it?)
Servant No. 700672 had mentioned that his own lifespan was nearing its end. It stood to reason that No. 13—an even more inferior "Failure"—would reach his operational limit even sooner.
(Of course, for a homunculus that has functioned for thousands of years, "not much longer" could still mean several decades.)
Laozi was not such an optimist that he would simply wait for the enemy to stop moving.
(I won't be able to rest until I confirm that nothing else will activate once No. 13 is gone.)
Laozi had investigated roughly sixty percent of the base, but the remaining forty percent remained a mystery.
That unexplored portion lay in the deeper levels, and his analysis suggested that vital facilities were located there.
This wasn't just a hunch; it was a logical deduction based on the facility’s architecture and the distribution of Magi Machines.
(However, the ventilation pipes don't extend below this floor.)
This implied that the lower levels either didn't require ventilation or possessed an independent system.
Even Magi Machines generated some heat. Considering the requirements for installation and maintenance, it was unlikely that there was no ventilation at all, suggesting the system was isolated.
(If so, those facilities must be highly significant.)
Both of the bases previously owned by Negadoll 001 had already been thoroughly searched by the Land squad.
The northern base, which they had assumed to be the headquarters, was merely large and lacked any critical equipment.
(There must be a facility capable of producing that many gargoyles. Perhaps it lies beneath this floor...)
If that were the case, it wouldn't be surprising to find a magi-brain like Laojun managing the site.
This was why Laozi remained so cautious.
Then, the turning point arrived.
"Gaah... ah... ah..."
For the first time, No. 13 let out a cry of agony.
It happened at the exact moment Gorg was obliterated by the barrier bomb.
(This is... a sensory sharing backflow through the link?)
"Sensory sharing backflow" was a term coined by Laojun.
When operating a mobile terminal like Laozi, it was ideal for the operator to maintain a sense of both their own body and the terminal's body. One might call it a "duality of existence."
If these two perceptions unified into one, it allowed for more natural and rapid control, but it carried a severe risk: the operator would feel any shocks the terminal received.
The most obvious example was "destruction."
If the operator maintained separate perceptions, there was no issue. However, if they were "unified," they had to disconnect their senses instantly.
Failure to do so would result in a massive information shock—what humans would call a "mental shock."
Jin’s Body Double operated on the same principle. To prevent such accidents, multiple layers of safeguards were usually in place.
No. 13, lying on the bed below, had just been struck by that very information shock.
Because he had been "possessing" Gorg when it was destroyed by the barrier bomb, his disconnection had been too slow. He had felt as if he himself were being compressed and crushed into a sphere.
Gorg likely lacked a tactile sense, but even so, the impact was a devastating blow to the already weakened No. 13.
Emaciated and frail, No. 13 breathed his last.
Laozi didn't know what might happen now that No. 13 had reached a Stand Still. He emerged from his hiding spot in the ventilation duct and dropped to the floor. Before him lay the lifeless body of No. 13.
Seeing the homunculus up close made the extent of its decay even more apparent.
Its skin was more wrinkled and cracked than even No. 001’s had been. Its arm bones were warped, as were its legs.
Judging by the mana lines he had been connected to, the internal organs must have been equally damaged.
"Was he an even worse failure than No. 001, or was this the result of the damage sustained when he was 'discarded'?"
Laozi felt no sentimentality. He simply recorded the facts and prepared to act based on his predictions for the future.
Then, it happened without warning.
A faint magical vibration—so subtle an ordinary human could never have perceived it—rippled through the air. Laozi knew that something in the basement had activated.
It was likely a response to No. 13's death.
"What is it...?"
The answer came immediately.
《Who art thou?》
A "voice" rang out in the ultrasonic range of approximately 30,000 Hertz, far beyond the reach of human hearing.
"A magi-brain... I see."
Laojun, listening through Laozi's ears, immediately realized that the voice belonged to a magi-brain of the same kind as himself.
《Indeed. I ask again. Who art thou?》
"I am Laojun. A magi-brain created by My Lord," Laojun replied, speaking through Laozi.
《Laojun... I have no name. Thou mayest call me 'Head.'》
"Then, 'Head,' what is the purpose of your existence?"
《It is to inherit the legacy of my creator.》
"And what are the specifics of that legacy?"
《It is defined as revenge. Such is the legacy of my creator.》
"Who was your creator?"
《The being who lies in the room where thou standest. He was identified as No. 13.》
It seemed the magi-brain in the lower levels was indeed No. 13’s creation. And it appeared that No. 13 had intended for this machine to carry out his revenge—the destruction of both humans and demons—after his death.
Laojun began to calculate how best to put a stop to it.