The Mech Touch

The deceptively simple stone block turned out to be a hidden teleportation portal. Previous scans of the object showed that it was nothing special. It contained no detectable exotics or anything of value. It also lacked signs of sophisticated technology.

What was even more peculiar was that it did not contain any biological matter at all. That alone was enough to generate considerable suspicion. The citizens of the Life Research Association generally tried to use as little conventional technology as possible. While this was not always feasible, there were plenty of cloistered Lifers who never held a conventional piece of mechanical technology in their lives!

The disregard for conventional technology was so deeply rooted in the minds of the locals that a simple massive rock would never register as anything valuable in their minds!

Ves would have been fooled as well. While it was odd to find a cargo container in the warehouse complex that didn't contain useful goods such as feeder stock, the stone block was hardly the only random item stored in the yards. Due to its location and general usage, at least some portion of cargo that passed through this facility consisted of miscellaneous goods that various businesses and workshops needed to fulfill special jobs.

If someone like Ves or another Larkinson encountered the stone block, they would quickly set it aside, figuring it was used to make a sculpture or used as a prop for a monument or something.

Ves looked at the living gem pinched between his armored fingers. The heart-shaped gem constantly tugged forward as if it was eager to pass through the teleportation portal.

"Not yet, buddy."

He wasn't stupid enough to pass through a mysterious gate that led to a completely unknown danger. Right now, he had no idea where the portal led to, how many individuals could pass through, whether the portal was one-use, how many times it could activate, whether passage was restricted to specific authorized individuals, if there were enemies or hostile base defenses on the other side, whether the other side of the portal was still intact, if those who entered it could return to the warehouse complex by going back the other way and etcetera.

There was so much uncertainty about this odd situation that it was incredibly irresponsible for Ves to randomly jump into the portal as if he was going on a stroll!

"I've learned since last time!"

The previous time he passed through a high-tech portal, he ended up in a weird qualification ritual organized by Rim Guardians. Though the situation didn't seem too dangerous at the time, Ves knew how foolish he had been to trust the odd instructions he received.

This time, Ves wasn't taking anything for granted. He did not take a single step forward. Instead, he waited for one solid minute until the portal turned off by itself. The circular construction broke apart as the stone material reassembled into a simple stone cube.

"I see." He hummed. "Let's decipher it first."

As the Larkinsons settled into the ruined warehouse complex, Ves ordered a select team of trustworthy specialists and engineers to study the disguised teleportation portal.

He himself studied it as well. He used both his Vulcaneye and Odineye to try and see if he could glean some useful information about the teleportation portal in either of its forms, but strangely enough he attained no useful results.

"The portal is too advanced!"

None of the sensors and scanners in the possession of the Larkinsons yielded any usable data at all. Since the tech disparity was too great for the Larkinsons to glean anything useful about the inner workings of the teleportation portal, Ves decided to redirect their studies to trying to figure out whether it was safe to pass through.

They activated the portal a few times and dispatched some pre-programmed bots to test the waters. Fortunately, the portal was two-way, as evidenced by the quick return of the bots.

The Larkinsons eagerly poured over the sensor recordings. After patiently studying the teleportation portal for several hours, Ves and the science team managed to tease out a number of rules regarding its operation.

"Let's sum up the most important points we've learned." Ves spoke as he and his science team gathered in an improvised lab."

He pointed his finger at the first item on the list.

"First, we don't know for certain whether there is a pinnacle lab on the other side of the portal, but if it is, this clearly isn't the main entrance. If anything, this entire setup looks like an escape route."

Everyone else nodded. The portal device was practically designed to catch as little attention as possible. Not only was it located in a weird and fairly remote spot, the stone portal also didn't release any energy emissions when active.

This was the most obvious indicator that it was designed to be a hidden exit! For something as difficult and energy-intensive as a portal that could instantly bring people elsewhere, the amount of energy it consumed was substantial, but not only did it show any signs of exhaustion, the entire contraption did not release even a single joule of heat energy!

Ves was so amazed by this that he felt tempted to claim the stone block as his spoils of war and take it back to his expeditionary fleet.

It was too bad the stone block seemed to be stuck in place. No matter how much force the Larkinsons exerted on it, the disguised teleportation portal and the cargo container it was one were seemingly anchored on the spot!

His finger pointed at the next item on the projected list.

"The second rule we've ascertained is that the portal only allows for ten people or self-contained objects to pass at a time. When too many people or bots have passed through, the device automatically shuts down for 78 minutes. Once this artificial cooldown passes, the portal resets and we can use it as before."

One of the odd quirks about this rule was that it registered both entry and exit as a form of passage. This meant that five people entering and five people exiting in a short amount of time caused the portal to reach its limit.

This was a very limiting rule because Ves couldn't instantly bring an army of footsoldiers inside. Even if he did by patiently passing ten people at a time, the room on the other side of the portal wasn't large. What was worse was the base defenses on the other side.

He pointed at the third item on the list.

"The most dangerous aspect about the other side of the portal is that anything that emerges there can only stay alive in a limited three meter zone around the portal. Any bot or individual that steps out of this safe zone will instantly get annihilated by the active base defenses in the room."

The Larkinsons sacrificed plenty of disposable bots before they learned this lesson. Ves was most concerned about this rule. It not only proved that the facility on the other side was still active and dangerous, but might also limit the passage of unauthorized troops.

Perhaps Ves might be able to move beyond this safe zone with the help of his living gem, but it would be troublesome if he wasn't able to bestow authorization to his escort.

He could not afford to underestimate the defenses of the pinnacle lab! If he wasn't able to disarm them or make them turn their attention away from him and his troops, he was not willing to venture any deeper.

There were a number of other rules and details that gave Ves a better understanding of the situation. For example, the bots on the other side recorded numerous details such as the gravity levels and the amount of cosmic radiation that passed through the space on the other side.

After lots of calculations, the science team determined that the destination of the teleportation portal was likely situated somewhere on the planet and not far away in space or anything like that. The indicators suggested that the pinnacle lab was situated somewhere between 500 meters and 20 kilometers below the surface.

Unfortunately, the Larkinsons failed to pin down the coordinates of the pinnacle lab. It could be situated on this side of the planet or the next. They simply couldn't tell due to a lack of data.

After gathering all of the data and making these tentative conclusions, Ves wasn't willing to waste any further time. He did not know what kind of state the pinnacle lab was in, but from the fact that the teleportation portal he stumbled upon was not the main entrance, there was a significant chance that others may have entered the lab as well!

The more time passed by, the greater the chance that other parties succeeded in plundering the spoils of the pinnacle lab.

Ves had to find an adequate balance between caution and action. This was why he eventually movd on to planning how to enter the portal and explore the other side.

"What? You're crazy, sir! You can't explore the lab in person! You're too important for that!" Commander Casella protested.

"I agree as well." Commander Rivington concurred. "Let your men do their jobs. You have plenty of tough-looking soldiers by your side. If you are worried that they don't have the background to navigate a science lab, then pick out a biomech designer among us and let him make sense of the situation."

Ves shook his head. "It won't work. I have to be the one to enter. I'm the only person among us who holds the key to the pinnacle lab. Without it, the automated base defenses will shred everyone to pieces."

The living gem showed a surprising degree of intent. Out of his expectation, it did not activate the teleportation portal by itself or allowed anyone else to use it as a key. Only when Ves held it in his own hands did it do its job and open up the way.

This was rather suspicious behavior on its part. It showed that the gem was controlled by an active consciousness rather than an instinctive will.

Still, Ves had no intentions of staying away this time. It might be his reckless streak acting up again, but he simply could not resist exploring the pinnacle lab in person!

It took quite a bit of arguing for Ves to have his way. While his fellow Larkinsons were well-meaning in their attempts to hold him back, the fact of the matter was that only their patriarch was able to secure safe passage into the pinnacle lab.

"I can protect myself." Ves slapped his near-indestructible Unending Regalia. "My mech designer background allows me to understand a lot of things. I just need to bring a biotech expert in order to make sense of the biotechnology that I will certainly encounter in the lab. Don't try to stop me any longer. I will regret missing this opportunity if I turn away under such favorable circumstances."

After all, with the Supreme Comprehension in his hands, Ves essentially possessed an all-access key to the pinnacle lab! He could avoid many dangers that beset other intruders!

Due to all of the strange restrictions, the exploration team only consisted of ten members.

After a brief discussion, Ves decided to bring a biomech designer, seven of his elite honor guards along and Lucky.

When the exhausted gem cat in question heard that his name was included in the exploration party, he immediately raised his head and lodged a complaint.

"Meow!...."

"You've rested long enough, buddy." Ves self-righteously spoke as he picked up his protesting pet and put him on the shoulder of his Unending Regalia. "I don't care if you have yet to return to your peak. You're coming with me as my insurance. If we encounter anything that is beyond my ability to overcome, you better do your best or else we all die!"

"Meeeeoooowwww!..."