Four fully armed guards with sharp eyes stood at the entrance.
Floating beside them were two Magnezones emanating powerful electrical currents, their cannons aimed down the corridor.
The energy barrier beside the gate emitted a dangerous blue glow. Clearly, any unauthorized intruder would be instantly obliterated.
Conventional methods couldn't get him in silently.
However, this wasn't really a problem.
Kairos retreated to a surveillance blind spot and called out softly, "It's up to you."
Ghostly red flames silently ignited at his feet, and the Chandelure elegantly emerged from the shadows.
"Take me through without triggering the alarm."
The ghostly fire in Chandelure's eyes flickered. Invisible Ghost-type energy rippled out like water waves, enveloping both Kairos and itself.
Their figures instantly became ethereal and transparent, like shadows merging with the air.
Kairos felt his body lighten, as if he had lost physical form.
Following Chandelure, he passed through the energy barrier without any obstruction, as easily as passing through a water curtain.
Beyond the barrier was a long corridor constructed entirely of high-strength alloy, with a huge circular observation window at the far end.
As he approached, the scene before him made him pause. Beyond the observation window was an incredibly massive underground space.
Countless thick pipes glowing with energy light converged toward the center of the space like blood vessels.
There, a massive mechanical construct slowly rotated.
It was composed of countless precise metal rings, gears, energy conduits, and crystal arrays inscribed with glowing runes. The whole thing emitted terrifyingly palpable energy fluctuations. Sensing it roughly, it was actually comparable to Chandelure's aura!
This was the core of the Genesis Engine!
At this moment, its rotation speed was uneven, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
The light at its core also flickered on and off, clearly in an extremely unstable state.
Just standing here, Kairos could feel that oppressive energy pressure, as if it could tear space apart.
He withdrew his gaze and found a control room beside the observation window, pushing the door open.
Inside, the lighting was dim, with only countless holographic screens emitting a ghostly red glow, displaying cascading data streams like waterfalls.
Heavy smoke permeated the air.
At the desk, a disheveled man sat hunched over behind a table piled with papers.
His hair was unkempt, his beard unshaven, his eyes bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the largest holographic screen before him.
On the screen was a complex energy model, with huge red numbers marked beside it—97.8%!
That was the predicted failure probability of forcibly starting the engine!
Scattered on the table were half-eaten energy bars and several empty energy drink bottles.
"Not enough... energy dissipation... resonator... substitute... can't find..."
The man unconsciously muttered, his fingers continuously tapping the tabletop, looking dazed.
Kairos didn't hide his footsteps and walked straight over.
The man suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes full of rage at being disturbed and a trace of confusion.
"Who?! Who let you in?! Get out..." His roar suddenly stopped.
He had seen the hand Kairos extended before him and the cold black iron tag in that hand, engraved with the gear-and-lightning symbol.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
The rage on Miles's face instantly vanished, replaced by shock and disbelief.
He stared fixedly at that iron tag as if seeing a ghost.
His lips trembled, and after a long while he struggled to squeeze out a few words.
"Ma... Mason... he... he's still alive? He... sent you?"
"Yes." Kairos put away the iron tag. "He told me to find you, Director Miles."
Miles seemed to have all his strength drained away, collapsing into his chair and looking at Kairos with complex eyes full of wariness.
"He... what did he send you to do? Watch me make a fool of myself? Watch how I personally... create a monster that will destroy the world?"
"Mason sent me here because I want to know the truth," Kairos said, looking directly at Miles. "About the Genesis Engine, about the Alliance leadership's true purpose. And what forcibly starting the engine will actually bring."
Miles was silent for a long time, his eyes shifting between despair and struggle.
Finally, perhaps because the name "Mason" carried enough weight, he let out a long sigh.
"The truth..." He smiled bitterly. "The truth is, we opened Pandora's box and can't control it at all."
He pointed at the failure rate on the screen and continued, "The most optimistic estimate for the consequences of forced activation is triggering partial energy imbalance in the Earth's core, causing the geological structure within a radius of three hundred kilometers centered on the engine to completely collapse. The lower districts... will collapse like sandcastles, more than half gone, countless people buried alive."
"That's just the physical disaster. At worst..."
He sighed.
"The entire planet's ley line system will be destroyed by the engine, and the chain reaction that triggers... global ecological extinction, energy storms sweeping the surface, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, drastic climate change... above ground and below, nowhere will be safe."
Kairos frowned slightly. It seemed his intuition was correct.
It appeared that if the engine was directly activated, the situation would be much worse than he had imagined. No wonder the Alliance hadn't acted yet.
He asked, "If that's the case, why would the Alliance take such a risk? Don't they know? Just to maintain their rule, aren't they afraid of such an outcome?"
"Why?" Miles seemed to hear a joke.
"No... I think you've got it wrong. The engine's initial plan was indeed to stabilize the underground energy supply so we could barely survive underground. But... the Alliance discovered the true situation of the surface world."
He looked up at Kairos, his gaze sharpening.
"You're from the lower district—you should know... the Alliance has always promoted that the surface world is a death zone full of lethal radiation and toxic dust, right? That's all lies! All fake!"
Kairos nodded.
Of course—I was on the surface just last week and even met Moltres. How could I not know?
Miles continued, "The surface world is indeed recovering its vitality—vegetation, water sources, fresh air... that's humanity's future home, but!" His tone suddenly became agitated. "There have also appeared some life forms we cannot understand or resist."
"Strange Pokémon have appeared on the surface with incredible powers! Our military forces are no match for them!"
Deep fear showed in Miles's eyes, as if recalling some terrible scene.
"The first small-scale reconnaissance team encounter—five latest-model mechs, twenty well-trained Magnezones and Bisharps... total annihilation!
Didn't even last three minutes! Those creatures... too terrifying."
"No matter how much the surface world recovers, if these things occupy it, it has no meaning for us."
"So... the plan changed."
"The war faction... led by General Quinn—oh wait, he's been captured now. The one jumping around most now is Colonel Walker. They've gone completely mad!"
Miles showed a helpless expression.
"They believe that since we can't reclaim the surface world, we should just destroy it. Use the Genesis Engine at full power to forcibly tear the ley lines and create a disaster covering the surface."
"That way, we can at least have a quiet surface."
"But the cost is what I just mentioned! Large-scale collapse of the lower districts, countless casualties! Plus that 97.8% failure rate potentially triggering global extinction!"
"But in their view, the former sacrifice is worth it. To purify the surface, for the Alliance's future, no matter how many lower district untouchables die, it doesn't matter!"
"What about the other factions?" Kairos interjected.
"The maintenance faction, led by several bigwigs who control core energy distribution and military factories."
Miles curled his lip.
"They don't care about above or below ground either. They only care about their own power and wealth. They advocate that the engine only needs to operate at enough power to maintain the underground city's luxurious lifestyle and military strength, extracting energy to stabilize the underground."
"As for whether the lower districts collapse or how many people die, they don't care either. If they collapse, it saves resources. Simply put, they support partial power activation of the engine."
"Then... is no one opposed?" Kairos asked.
"There is!"
A trace of faint light finally flashed in Miles's eyes.
"The Alliance's current leader, Chairwoman Alicia Soren... she represents the moderate faction. She believes the underground city's energy can sustain for a while longer, and the engine absolutely cannot be activated unless absolutely necessary."
"She advocates putting full effort into finding an alternative to the 'Star Stone,' or finding something that can resonate with life energy. She believes only that way can the engine slowly extract energy for the underground city without harming the ley lines or triggering disaster, then slowly seek solutions to the surface world's problems."
"Life energy?" Kairos asked knowingly.
"Yes! A gentle, special life energy that can guide energy to flow in an orderly manner! This is the key to changing the engine's nature."
"But it's too difficult! We've searched through all records, tried countless materials, and nothing can carry and guide that level of life energy! And the war faction and maintenance faction won't wait! They've been pressuring Alicia constantly!"
"One month from now, that 'Purification Day' is the final deadline they set. If within a month we can't find an alternative solution or a life energy medium, the engine must undergo a test run! Once the test run starts, it can never be stopped!"
Hearing this, Kairos finally completely understood.
Behind the Genesis Engine were three divided factions in the Alliance leadership: the radical war faction, the selfish maintenance faction, and the moderate faction seeking peaceful solutions.
And that life energy medium...
Was right here with him.
"Which faction does Quinn belong to?" Kairos confirmed.
"War faction! Colonel Walker is from his side!" Miles answered without hesitation.
"What about you?" Kairos looked at Miles. "Which side are you on?"
Miles let out a long, weary sigh.
"Me?" He pointed at the 97.8% failure rate on the screen, then at his own bloodshot eyes.
"What do you think?"
"Kid, I know what Mason meant by sending you. He wants me to help. But..." He shook his head, his tone heavy. "Listen to my advice—leave. This matter runs too deep. It's not something you can participate in. Even the Chairwoman is struggling now! What can a kid from the lower district do? You can't change anything!"
Kairos fell silent. He didn't answer, only slowly took out the World Seed from his system inventory.
Gentle green light quietly brightened in the dim control room.
An incomparably rich life energy fluctuation full of infinite vitality instantly spread out!
"This... what is this?!"
Miles sprang up from his chair as if struck by electricity!
His bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at the seed emitting soft green light in Kairos's hand, his face written with extreme shock and disbelief!
As a top research director, he was naturally quite sensitive to energy fluctuations!
He clearly felt that pure, magnificent power.
This feeling...
Could this be...?
Kairos didn't explain, only directly put away the World Seed. That rich life aura instantly disappeared.
Miles still maintained his posture with hands braced on the table, body leaning forward.
He panted heavily, eyes staring fixedly at Kairos.
"That... that thing... where did you get it?! What exactly is it?!" His voice was distorted from excitement.
"That's confidential for now." Kairos smiled slightly.
"If you want to know, you might need to help me with a few things."
Miles looked at Kairos's young yet unusually composed face, then thought of that life radiance just now.
After the immense shock, a faint spark called hope reignited in the depths of his desperate heart.
This young man... perhaps...
"You... what do you want to do?"
"I need to meet Chairwoman Alicia Soren." Kairos stated his purpose directly. "I want to talk with her."
Miles seemed to hear a joke, which then turned into bitter laughter.
"Meet her? Kid, do you know what her status is? Alliance Chairwoman! The highest authority in the entire Alliance!"
"Even I need to schedule far in advance to see her, and might not even get to. With your current identity..."
He pointed at the dark gray coveralls Kairos wore. "A 'Lynn' from the lower district? Forget getting close to her—you can't even get through the gate of the administrative core area where she is! The security checks there are ten times stricter than here!"
Kairos smiled again.
"If I really wanted to go, they probably couldn't stop me, but that would definitely be very chaotic, so I came to ask you if there's any way."
Miles looked at Kairos's expression, seeming to hesitate about something.
He irritably scratched his messy hair and paced back and forth several times in the small control room.
Finally, he stopped abruptly, as if making a decision.
"A method... there is one." He lowered his voice.
"It's just... might be a bit risky."
"Oh? What method?"