Chapter 276: Another Missed Opportunity

‘Nyx has sensed it.’

As the elevator descended, Nyx’s radar finally reacted.

‘But it’s still deep, far underground, faintly…’

Still in the Computer Room? That shadow soldier hasn’t come out yet?

Or maybe after killing the rabbit, it didn’t take that white cloth package?

‘I’m not sure, but the relic is definitely still down there. No mistake about that.’

The next question was how to get in.

Transforming into a Moon Rabbit and going down herself was theoretically possible, but not an option.

On one hand, that ability was hard to explain.

On the other hand, a Moon Rabbit Combat Body was far too weak. Going up against those shadow soldiers would just get her chopped to pieces—there was basically no room to fight back.

A Moon Rabbit Combat Body was one thing, but using her own life for human reconnaissance was another. Clara had always valued her life.

She wasn’t about to try something with such a high mortality rate.

Luckily, she didn’t have to think through this problem alone. The Bald Uncle from the Administration Bureau seemed to have some plan too, so he hadn’t asked them anything, just led the way.

The elevator doors opened.

“Hey, you’re finally here? What took you so long?”

As they stepped out of the elevator, a familiar voice came.

Turning to look, it was the Administration Bureau’s technician, Baozhatou.

Right now, he was holding a large suitcase, leaning against the elevator door, looking utterly exhausted.

Looked like not everyone in the Administration Bureau was good at fighting.

Beside him stood a woman—Superior Hero Lingge, directly under the Association.

Around Lingge were several pools of sticky black sludge slowly dissipating.

Those were the shadow soldiers she’d taken down.

“Looks like Lingge saved you?”

Baozhatou nodded. “Yeah. I had everything ready to receive your familiar, but suddenly a few shadow people popped out of the Maintenance Tunnel! If Lingge hadn’t come in time, I’d have been in big trouble!”

Lingge cupped her face and shook her head.

“It was nothing. Things are even more chaotic upstairs. I’d say I’ve got it pretty quiet down here.”

But the Bald Uncle wasn’t interested in Baozhatou’s troubles. He urged:

“Get your drone working. Send it down to see what’s going on. If the relic is still on the Maintenance Floor, bring it up. If not, search carefully. We don’t know what the situation is down there.”

Not daring to disobey his superior’s orders, Baozhatou dragged the suitcase toward the Maintenance Passage.

“Right away.”

But what if a few more shadow soldiers came charging out of the Maintenance Tunnel?

Maybe the one that killed Clara’s rabbit was mixed in there…

And without being able to take revenge herself, Lingge had already taken care of it?

In front of the Maintenance Tunnel, Baozhatou sat cross-legged on the ground, still shaken, then opened the suitcase.

A square, boxy drone unfolded and stood up from inside.

It was somewhat similar to those spider-shaped drones, but this one only had four legs, a square head, and looked a bit goofy—it wasn’t the flying type.

Then Baozhatou put on a pair of high-tech goggles, connected them to the drone’s camera, and began calibrating its functions.

While Baozhatou was tuning the drone, Nyx spoke again:

‘Come to think of it, during yesterday’s practical test, Nyx vaguely felt a sense of familiarity, but at the time I didn’t realize it was sensing the god’s relic.’

The AI’s use of the word “feel” struck Clara as strange.

Wait, no…

Did that mean during the practical test, the relic was already underneath the Computer Room?

When exactly was the thing stolen?

The closer she got to the truth, the more questions piled up.

Speaking of which, someone was going to close the wormhole device, right?

Clara silently asked, and Nyx replied:

‘The Association has issued a commission. Some heroes have headed that way.’

“Then we need to step it up here too.”

If they confirmed there were no shadow soldiers below, having Nyx make another Moon Rabbit Combat Body to help out wasn’t out of the question. Clara’s “familiar” was inexhaustible, after all…

“Hey, give me a hand.”

Baozhatou needed to lift the bulky drone to the Maintenance Tunnel opening, which was about waist-high.

Though Kamui was short, she lifted the drone with one hand and tossed it into the tunnel.

Then she clapped her hands and asked:

“Can’t this thing even climb walls? How’s it supposed to scout down there?”

“If the relic is still on the Maintenance Floor, no climbing needed. It can slide down the ladder rails. As for the Computer Room below, isn’t there a ladder for drones?”

That was true—Clara’s rabbit had climbed up from there before it died.

The drone’s tracked four legs rolled as it entered the elevator designated for drones.

But as soon as the elevator doors closed, Alice’s image appeared on a screen next to the Maintenance Tunnel.

“You all, don’t send anything into the Computer Room for now.”

She said expressionlessly:

“Not long ago, a hostile entity invaded the hangar through the Maintenance Tunnel. This is a dangerous vulnerability. The hero network is preparing to temporarily enter a sealed state.”

Hostile entity—probably a shadow soldier.

Clara argued:

“But the relic is down there, probably on the Maintenance Floor above the Computer Room. Just give us a little time to retrieve it.”

“It’s not going anywhere. Let’s talk about it after the wormhole crisis is resolved.”

She glanced at the Bald Uncle through the screen.

“The Administration Bureau should be able to accept that, right? If we seal it completely, that thief won’t have any chance to act.”

“That’s not necessarily true.”

The uncle shook his head, not going along with Alice.

He said:

“Activating the wormhole device means the culprit is still inside the Association and knows how to use it. They also have a way to enter and exit sealed spaces or have high-level clearance—maybe even top-tier hacking skills…”

Alice countered:

“Speak plainly. Are you suspecting me?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I suspect everyone,” the uncle replied.

“But I have no reason to steal that relic. Motive is important.”

“Fair enough. Then let us retrieve the relic first.”

Alice couldn’t convince the Administration Bureau, so she gave up.

“Then tell your drone to hurry up.”

With that, she ended the call.

“It’s there! Got it!”

Baozhatou, still wearing the goggles, suddenly shouted.

“It’s right at the elevator entrance. After that shadow person killed Miss Clara’s familiar, they just left the thing there~”

‘Lucky—did the thief give up?’

The four-legged drone used its mechanical arm to drag the white cloth package back into the elevator and closed the door.

Then everyone watched the elevator opening of the Maintenance Tunnel.

With a mechanical clatter, the doors slowly opened.

The drone returned with the white cloth package.

Success?

But before they even opened the package, Nyx had the answer.

‘No, that’s not the “god’s relic” at all.’

“Huh?”

Clara tore open the white cloth package on the spot.

Inside, however, was nothing but a ball of thread wrapped into a sphere.