What Are You Doing Here?

Smith reached toward Nathan's fist and the point where it would strike the Triangle, bringing the entire construct to the ground. But he was too slow. By the time he reacted, Nathan was already less than a hair away. Smith couldn't move quick enough to stop Nathan in that short gap.

Without obstruction, Nathan's fist, strengthened to the limit with Sky Piercer Force, slammed into the square he marked.

The Triangle shook, and a resounding boom rang out.

Since the tremor was enough to make him lose his footing, Smith was convinced the Triangle would fall down, and he was about to try and leave. But to his surprise, the Triangle didn't move an inch after the initial tremor. He glanced to the side and confirmed that it wasn't just a feeling since the top of the skyscraper next to them didn't look like it was rising.

Smith turned his gaze to Nathan, who met the look with a cheeky grin.

"Told ya. This thing won't go down from a punch like that, much less a few holes. Now, sit back and let me get to the bottom of this place."

After those words, Nathan stopped entertaining Smith. 

After all, Smith wasn't confident because he wasn't scared of Nathan, even after seeing him destroy the dragon alloy. He didn't know it was dragon alloy, so he had misread Nathan's strength.

'His skill is powerful.'

Since Smith wasn't powerful as a combatant, but Nathan still couldn't read him, it meant he had something else to block Peerless Perception's scan. In this case, it could only be that his skill was well-developed.

'Transportation, then. Someone noticed what I was up to and used a member of the Association as an errand boy. I wonder…'

Did they think Nathan wouldn't get in and just needed someone to stop him from disturbing them, or did they think Smith would be enough to stop him?

'Were they hoping to scare me away if they sent someone like him? Idiots.'

Nathan looked at the square in the Triangle while thinking about Smith's presence. He grabbed the parts of the square of dragon alloy he managed to break away from the rest of the Triangle and wrenched away enough to bend it upward like a hatch.

He wasn't sure what he had expected to find inside the Triangle, but it wasn't a well-lit room full of cables glowing blue, going from one wall to the other.

Nathan frowned.

'Some kind of power supply? To what? From where?'

With an opening into the Triangle, Nathan could finally pinpoint the type of power. It wasn't something that posed a threat directly. It was a passive power source rather than an active unit of power, such as an awakener.

Nathan didn't have to worry about traps, so he ignored the flustered Smith and jumped down, landing silently on the metallic floor. He reached out to touch the tubes of varying sizes. 

Nathan ignored the thud of Smith dropping down next to him as he inspected the thick, luminescent, blue liquid flowing through the tubes. He didn't know what it was, but it was full of energy.

After confirming they were safe to touch, Nathan placed his entire hand around the thickest cable and closed his eyes. Now that he was inside the Triangle, the dragon alloy could no longer interfere with his perception. Instead, the power of the liquid in the tubes and the waves of energy it emitted made it difficult to pick up details.

However, Nathan discovered the reason why the Vijang Syndicate had built their bunker underground and beneath the Triangle.

The tubes filled with the blue liquid, which contained enough energy to power the entire city with a spoonful, led out of the Triangle, through the supporting beams, into the skyscraper, and down into the ground, all of it encased in a thin layer of dragon alloy.

Nathan had no idea why the Triangle had this energy source in it or where it came from. But it was a treasure trove greater than even the dragon alloy in the Triangle. More importantly, it seemed to be a clean energy source without waste or hazardous byproducts. If it was as easy to maintain as it looked, it was only natural that the Vijang Syndicate wanted it.

What Nathan couldn't understand, however, was why they hadn't already taken it or tapped into it since they already seemed to have the big shots of the city on a leash.

'Well, I guess it wouldn't be that easy.'

With how potent the liquid was, not necessarily explosive, just powerful, it wouldn't be to simply plug in an extension cord into the tubes and power the bunker or drain it away. It would need some serious tech and preparation to build a system that could handle the power.

Besides, the tubes didn't reach all the way down to the bunker. From what Nathan could sense, it looked like they snaked right below the city. They were deep enough that no one would notice them, but they weren't unnecessarily deep.

Nathan looked around the room before starting toward the only door. However, a light thud behind him made him glance back at the sudden addition of another person to the Triangle's insides.

"Hopper?"

"Smith?"

Hopper and Smith looked at each other in confusion, both surprised by the other's presence.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same, geezer."

"I'm investigating."

Smith tightened his suit as he spoke. Hopper rolled her eyes before turning to Nathan.

"How the fuck did you get in here so quickly?"

"I asked nicely. Now, be quiet both of you if you don't want to get tossed out. We're not alone here."

Nathan gestured toward the door. Smith and Hopper Flinched at the meaning behind Nathan's words before nodding and zipping their mouths shut as they followed behind him toward the door.

Nathan grabbed the handle and carefully opened the door while spreading his senses like a net. He sighed as soon as the door cracked open enough for him to sense what lay on the other side. He opened the door fully.

A middle-aged woman in a lab coat gave a slight bow to greet Nathan and his companions.

"The Professor awaits you in his study."