Indeed, with the free ether supply cut off, the chain of command within the mobile base had fallen into temporary disarray.
[Who on earth dares to interfere with me?]
[Commander, we are currently investigating. However, since the free ether supply has been severed, we are switching to pooled mana. Please stand by.]
[Ready our defenses as quickly as possible. Every second counts.]
[Understood.]
＊ ＊ ＊
The ten units of the Shinobi Squad proceeded down the corridor.
"No interference so far. Everything is going smoothly," Shinobi 1 reported.
Jin was monitoring their progress through two separate channels: Shinobi 1’s direct visual feed and the data from the Peeper.
But then...
"What!?"
The footage from the Peeper suddenly cut out.
"My Lord, it appears the mobile base has deployed a magic barrier."
"So they've responded to the loss of free ether."
"Yes. However, this was within our expectations."
"True enough."
Now, Jin had only Shinobi 1’s visual data to rely on.
"The 'Fix' is holding up well, though."
'Fix' was a technique used to punch a hole through a barrier and maintain the opening. Through this gap, mana waves—or rather, ether waves—could be transmitted and received.
"But now that the enemy is reacting, we must have the Shinobi Squad proceed with even greater care."
"Agreed. Relay that to them."
The Shinobi Squad moved in a single-file line along the right edge of the corridor, maintaining one-meter intervals between units.
[Stay alert.]
The leader, Shinobi 1, broadcast the warning.
The corridor eventually came to an end at a large bulkhead.
In practical terms, the Shinobi Squad found these bulkheads to be their greatest obstacle. Since the facility was designed for its original inhabitants, its mechanisms were poorly suited to the small-class Shinobi units.
The opening mechanism for this particular bulkhead was a lever-style handle.
[Deploying force generators.]
[Acknowledged.]
Shinobi 2 and Shinobi 3 cooperated to operate the mechanism, and before long, the heavy door slid open.
They checked the area beyond with caution, but finding nothing unusual, Shinobi 9 and Shinobi 10 moved ahead to scout.
[Clear.]
[Good. Everyone, advance.]
With the path confirmed safe, the ten units continued deeper into the base.
After passing through three similar bulkheads, the atmosphere changed noticeably. The area was now brightly illuminated.
[Exercise extreme caution.]
[Acknowledged.]
Unsure of how effective their Invisible function would be in this light, the ten units moved forward stealthily.
[Look for a passage or staircase leading down.]
According to the data previously gathered by the Peeper, their target was three floors below.
They spent an hour searching the area, managing to avoid detection, until Shinobi 6 finally located a promising lead.
[Leader, could this section be a hatch?]
A portion of the wall protruded slightly, marked by a rectangular seam.
[There is a control panel at roughly the waist height of a standard human.]
The panel was labeled in ancient script—the language used by the Progenitors. Since the forces of Hourai Island had been educated via Trans Info, they could read the text without difficulty.
["Open" and "Close." This must be it.]
Shinobi 1 activated its force generator to float up and reach the panel.
The door opened.
[Hmph. It seems the internal energy of this base is being restored.]
The fact that the systems were operational despite the cutoff of free ether indicated that they possessed substantial backup energy reserves.
[And that energy is being distributed even to deserted sectors like this... They aren't to be underestimated.]
Shinobi 1 peered inside the door, remaining fully on guard.
As they had hoped, the room was what could be described as an elevator lobby. There was an elevator meant to travel between the upper and lower floors.
[Units 1 through 5 will descend first. If all is well, I will contact you. 6 through 10, follow after us.]
[Acknowledged.]
The five units moved slowly into the room and boarded the elevator intended for the lower levels. However...
[It isn't moving.]
The elevator failed to respond to the presence of the Shinobi units, likely because they were too light.
[Well, this is problematic.]
Shinobi 1 and the others scanned the surroundings of the lobby.
[There is a hatch here.]
Shinobi 3 had found a circular hatch equipped with a manual hand-crank.
[It is labeled "For Emergencies."]
It appeared to be a maintenance or emergency access shaft.
[Good. We'll use this.]
Turning the handle proved even more difficult for the small golems, but by combining the strength of all five units, they managed to crank the hatch open.
[It's a vertical shaft. There's a ladder.]
As suspected, it was an emergency shaft barely wide enough for a single human to pass through. For the Shinobi Squad, however, it was more than spacious.
Foregoing the ladder, they used their force generators to descend slowly.
Unfortunately, this shaft only took them down two levels.
[One more floor to go. We need to find another way down.]
They exited the shaft into an area nearly identical to the one two floors above.
Since there was no immediate sign of trouble, Shinobi 1 summoned units 6 through 10 to join them and began the investigation of the new floor.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Hmm, it's just like an office building."
Watching the visual feed in the Hourai Island command room, Jin mused to himself.
Even in the company building where Jin had worked in his previous life, elevator lobbies were usually separated from the actual office spaces by doors. The area where the Shinobi Squad was now seemed to follow a similar architectural logic.
＊ ＊ ＊
The Shinobi Squad spent ten minutes searching the vicinity, but no matter how thoroughly they looked, they could find no way down.
"The target floor is likely a restricted area, so the access method is probably non-standard," Laojun suggested.
[Understood. Let's head outside for a moment.]
The Shinobi Squad decided to exit the elevator lobby and enter the main area of the floor.
[Be careful.]
But as soon as they opened the door and stepped through, a grotesque golem was there waiting for them.