[ENG] What? My "Information Club" is Actually an All-Knowing Secret Society?
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What? My "Information Club" is Actually an All-Knowing Secret Society?
Genre : Apocalypse, Fantasy, Superpower, Action
Tag : Misunderstanding, Secret Organization, World-Freezing, Super power
Chapter 27 : Sanctuary's Scalpel
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[Time remaining until The Great Freeze: 6 Days]
[Status: PILLAR EXTRACTION SUCCESSFUL / BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH INITIATED]
[Location: The Sanctuary - Deep Underground, Central Jakarta]
[Time: Day 6 - 06:45 PM]
Apothecary stood entirely motionless in the center of the massive, heavy cylindrical elevator, her sharp, calculating eyes tracking the incredible descent through the thick, reinforced ballistic glass surrounding her. The heavy mechanical gears ground together with a deep, reassuring hum, lowering the transparent transport deeper and deeper into the heavily fortified, subterranean heart of the earth.
The sheer, monumental scale of The Sanctuary was an absolute architectural marvel that completely defied the apocalyptic destruction currently ravaging the surface world above.
As the elevator glided smoothly downward through the massive central shaft, Apothecary was treated to a breathtaking, panoramic view of the subterranean city Seraph had meticulously carved out of the bedrock. The uppermost strata of the bunker were heavily militarized kill-zones, featuring thick concrete barricades, automated heavy machine-gun turrets, and heavily armed, fanatical Echoes patrolling the steel walkways with absolute, unwavering vigilance.
But as the elevator descended further, the brutal military aesthetics seamlessly transitioned into a vibrant, thriving ecosystem of human survival.
Apothecary watched in quiet, analytical awe as she passed the massive hydroponic agricultural sectors. Rows upon rows of towering, vertical farming arrays stretched endlessly outward, bathed in the rich, artificial glow of purple ultraviolet growth lights. Hundreds of devoted acolytes in pristine white robes worked the automated irrigation systems, harvesting massive quantities of genetically modified, high-yield crops that thrived entirely independent of the frozen wasteland.
Below the agricultural tier lay the residential sectors, a sprawling, intricately designed honeycomb of heated living quarters where thousands of survivors moved with flawless, harmonious purpose.
There was no panic down here, no desperate starving masses clawing at each other for a single frozen scrap of food. Everyone moved with the calm, absolute certainty of a flock securely guided by their divine shepherd. The ambient heat radiating through the reinforced glass of the elevator was rich, heavy, and incredibly comforting, completely washing away the lingering, biting chill of the frozen wasteland she had just left behind.
"An incredibly efficient distribution of spatial resources and thermal energy," Apothecary murmured to herself, her breath briefly fogging the ballistic glass.
"She actually managed to build a fully sustainable, self-contained utopia right underneath a dying world. The Architect's blueprints were flawless, but Seraph's execution is nothing short of terrifying."
The elevator finally slowed its rapid descent, the hydraulic brakes engaging with a heavy, pressurized hiss that echoed through the bottommost cavern. The cylindrical transport settled perfectly into the heavy steel docking clamps of the absolute lowest level—the private, heavily restricted sanctum of the Pillar of Faith.
The thick glass doors slid open, allowing the rich, warm air heavily scented with burning sandalwood incense and sterile cleaning chemicals to wash over Apothecary's cold-bitten face.
Standing perfectly still in the center of the grand, brightly illuminated marble receiving hall was Seraph.
The leader of the sanctuary looked absolutely radiant, exuding an overwhelming aura of pure, unadulterated authority and divine grace that usually forced her fanatical followers to fall to their knees in absolute reverence. She wore a pristine, impeccably tailored white winter-tactical uniform accented with intricate, heavy gold embroidery that caught the bright overhead lights.
However, the moment Seraph's glowing, golden eyes locked onto Apothecary stepping out of the elevator, that untouchable, godly facade melted away entirely. Her severe, commanding expression softened into a genuine, incredibly warm smile of absolute relief and mutual respect.
Seraph walked forward with quick, eager strides, completely ignoring all the formal protocols of her cult, and pulled Apothecary into a tight, incredibly warm embrace.
"Welcome to the absolute depths of the Sanctuary, Apothecary," Seraph said softly, her voice echoing musically off the high marble ceilings of the grand hall. She pulled back slightly, her golden eyes scanning her fellow Pillar for any signs of physical injury or frostbite.
"I have been waiting for this exact moment since the very first hour the Long Night began. Are you completely uninjured? The extraction window FrostBite calculated was incredibly tight."
Apothecary returned the warm gesture with a rare, genuine smile of her own, adjusting the strap of the heavy, insulated metallic briefcase slung over her shoulder. They were the same absolute foundational pillars holding up the Architect's grand design. And they required no superficial bowing pleasantries between them.
"I am entirely perfectly fine, Seraph. Your Echoes and Viper's Fangs executed the retrieval with flawless precision," Apothecary replied, falling into step beside Seraph as the two powerful women began walking down the massive, brilliantly illuminated central corridor.
"The thermal pills I synthesized functioned exactly according to the theoretical parameters. The strike team maintained a stable, optimal core body temperature of thirty-seven degrees Celsius despite marching directly through an active minus twenty-degree blizzard."
"That is wonderful news," Seraph nodded, her hands clasped elegantly behind her back as they walked past towering, intricately carved stone pillars.
"FrostBite monitored the entire extraction route through his orbital relays. He mentioned that the strike team encountered several unexpected hostiles along the designated path. Did the feral packs attempt an ambush?"
Apothecary's eyes immediately lit up with the cold, clinical excitement of a brilliant scientist discussing a fascinating new discovery.
"They were absolutely not feral packs, Seraph. The biological evolution of the surface ecosystem is accelerating at a terrifying, entirely unprecedented rate due to the concentrated cosmic radiation trapped within the black snow," Apothecary explained, her hands moving expressively as she detailed the horrific encounters.
"We were intercepted near the ruined toll gate intersection by a completely new, undocumented subterranean variation."
"Subterranean?" Seraph raised an elegant eyebrow, her expression turning serious.
"Massive, heavily mutated rodents," Apothecary detailed the nightmare with pure, academic fascination.
"They have developed incredibly dense, calcified skeletal plates covering their entire dorsal region, essentially turning them into living, armored bulldozers. They do not run on the surface, instead they look like swim through the solid black ice and the frozen concrete of the ruined roads as if it were liquid water. They hunt entirely by sensing the micro-vibrations of our footsteps on the ice."
Seraph's eyes narrowed slightly, absorbing the terrifying tactical data. "And how did the strike team manage to neutralize an armored, subterranean threat?"
"With overwhelming, absolute prejudice," Apothecary laughed softly, a cold, almost sadistic sound that echoed down the marble hallway. "The moment the creatures breached the surface ice to strike, Viper's heavy infantry utilized the concentrated kinetic energy from the Ignition Breath techniques. They shattered the beasts' armored plating with specialized high-explosive tungsten rounds, completely liquefying their internal organs before the creatures could even fully emerge from the ground."
"Flawless execution," Seraph praised, a proud, dangerous smile playing on her lips.
"The Architect provided us with the absolute, definitive answers to every single test this apocalypse can throw at us. We merely have to apply his divine logic."
"Exactly," Apothecary agreed, her eyes gleaming with absolute certainty. "We also spotted a secondary, aerial variation roosting near the upper levels of the frozen skyscrapers. Leathery, massively overgrown winged predators that use their heavily mutated body heat to melt the ice around them, allowing them to hang perfectly camouflaged among the frozen stalactites, waiting to drop silently onto any passing thermal signatures. But thanks to FrostBite's flawless routing, we bypassed their primary hunting grounds entirely."
"We will adapt our surface hunting strategies accordingly based on your incredible field data," Seraph promised as they approached the end of the grand corridor.
Standing before them was a massive, incredibly thick circular vault door constructed from heavily reinforced, blast-proof titanium. Seraph stepped forward, placing her bare hand against a glowing biometric scanner embedded in the stone wall. The machine chimed softly, and the massive vault door unsealed with a heavy, pressurized hiss, the thick interlocking gears grinding loudly as the heavy metal swung outward to reveal the space behind it.
"I have personally overseen the construction of this entire facility to your exact, uncompromising specifications," Seraph said, stepping aside and gesturing gracefully into the room.
"The Sanctuary's grand laboratory is officially yours."
Apothecary stepped through the massive threshold, and her breath immediately hitched in her throat.
It was a colossal, multi-tiered cathedral of absolute, cutting-edge biological research. The massive space was brilliantly illuminated by rows of blindingly bright, surgical-grade LED arrays that eliminated a single shadow from the pristine, white ceramic floor tiles.
Massive, stainless steel dissection tables dominated the center of the room, surrounded by towering racks of highly complex chemical synthesis equipment, heavy-duty centrifuges, and state-of-the-art electron microscopes.
The entire facility was continuously fed by a heavy, rhythmic hum of independent ventilation systems and geothermal power grids, completely isolating the sterile environment from the rest of the subterranean bunker.
But it was not the impossibly expensive, cutting-edge machinery that caused Apothecary's heart to race with pure, unadulterated ecstasy.
Her sharp eyes immediately locked onto the far side of the massive facility.
Secured safely behind a thick wall of transparent, heavy-duty quarantine glass were five massive, specialized cryogenic stasis pods. Inside those pods lay the meticulously preserved, fully intact corpses of the most terrifying, highly evolved apex predators the frozen wasteland had to offer.
Apothecary practically sprinted across the pristine laboratory floor, pressing her gloved hands flat against the cold quarantine glass.
Her eyes were wide, practically glowing with a manic, desperate hunger as she stared down at the grotesque, beautiful treasures Seraph had secured for her.
There was a fully intact Alpha Hound, its massive, hyper-regenerative muscle fibers frozen perfectly in a state of mid-contraction.
Next to it lay a colossal, arachnid-like mutation covered in thick, frost-resistant bristles, its highly toxic venom sacs expertly extracted and preserved in separate glass vials. And in the final pod lay the massive, armored carcass of the subterranean glacier mole she had just encountered on the surface.
"Oh, this is absolutely glorious," Apothecary whispered, her voice trembling with an overwhelming, almost religious awe. Her slender fingers twitched violently with the desperate, burning urge to pick up a scalpel, to cut deep through the armored flesh, and to aggressively harvest every single hidden genetic secret the cosmos had buried inside their mutated DNA.
"Seraph... you preserved the central nervous systems perfectly. The bio-electrical pathways are entirely intact. I can extract the raw, uncorrupted evolutionary data directly from their brain stems."
"I ordered my most elite hunting squads to utilize non-destructive suppression tactics specifically for your research," Seraph replied, walking up to stand beside the ecstatic scientist. She turned her head, gesturing toward the right side of the massive laboratory.
"And you will not have to conduct this monumental work alone."
Eight individuals stepped forward from the shadows of the medical bays. They wore pristine, completely sterile white bio-hazard suits, their faces hidden behind clear, full-face respirators. They moved with absolute, synchronized discipline, forming a perfectly straight line before Apothecary.
"These are eight of my most brilliant, highly educated scholars," Seraph introduced them, her voice carrying that heavy, divine authority once again.
"They possess advanced degrees in cellular biology, genetic engineering, and virology. They have completely dedicated their lives to the absolute truth of the Architect's grand design. As of this exact moment, they are permanently assigned to serve as your dedicated surgical assistants."
The eight acolytes immediately bowed in absolute, flawless unison, bending at the waist until their heads were nearly parallel with the pristine floor tiles.
"It is our absolute, divine honor to serve as the scalpel of the Pillars," the lead researcher spoke, his voice slightly muffled but overflowing with an intense, fanatical devotion.
"We submit our minds and our hands entirely to your brilliant guidance, Lady Apothecary. We will help you unlock the evolutionary gates our Architect has designed for us."
Apothecary did not even look at the bowing researchers. She simply nodded absently, her eyes still absolutely glued to the massive, armored corpse of the subterranean mutant resting inside the stasis pod.
"Prepare the primary dissection table. Sterilize the heavy-duty bone saws, and begin synthesizing a massive batch of the universal chemical solvent," Apothecary commanded, her voice immediately shifting into the cold, ruthless tone of a brilliant commander stepping onto the battlefield. "We are going to forcefully crack open that beast's skull and map its entire localized seismic tracking network before the sun rises."
The eight assistants did not hesitate for a single microsecond.
They immediately scattered across the massive laboratory, executing her rapid-fire commands with desperate, frantic efficiency, eager to prove their absolute worth to the Pillar of Research.
Seraph watched the chaotic, beautiful efficiency of the laboratory coming to life with a soft, incredibly satisfied smile. She turned to leave, her pristine white boots clicking softly against the ceramic tiles, but she paused at the massive vault door, looking back over her shoulder.
"Apothecary," Seraph called out softly, her tone shifting away from the leader of a massive cult and returning to the genuine warmth of a close companion.
Apothecary paused mid-stride, having already grabbed a pair of heavy surgical gloves from a nearby counter. "Yes, Seraph?"
"Do not push your physical limits too far tonight," Seraph reminded her, gesturing gracefully toward a small, metallic desk tucked away in the corner of the massive room. Sitting perfectly in the center of the desk was a silver tray holding a steaming, incredibly rich bowl of heavily spiced beef stew and a cup of hot, purified coffee.
"You just completed a highly stressful, freezing march across a hostile wasteland. I know the corpses are fascinating, but you cannot unlock the Architect's secrets if you collapse from caloric exhaustion. Eat the hot meal before you lose yourself completely in the blood and the guts."
Apothecary looked at the steaming food, a faint, appreciative smile breaking through her intense, manic focus.
"I will consume it as soon as I establish the preliminary incision parameters, Seraph. I promise," Apothecary replied, already snapping the thick rubber surgical gloves over her pale, slender hands with a loud, satisfying crack.
"Thank you. For everything."
"Anything for the Foundation," Seraph smiled warmly, stepping backward into the marble hallway.
The massive, blast-proof titanium vault doors hissed loudly, the heavy gears grinding together as they slammed shut and sealed perfectly, locking Apothecary inside her brilliant, sterile paradise. The Pillar of Research turned entirely away from the doors, her eyes burning with an intense, unyielding fire as she grabbed a heavy, motorized bone saw, completely ready to violently dissect the terrifying secrets of the frozen apocalypse.
›› To Be Continue ‹‹
—KS