Ch.273[Episode 273] Repayment

“Right over there is the Mountain Bridge Marsh base. That is, if it hasn’t changed since I was there.”

Sir Dominic looked in the direction Mister Wang was pointing.

There was a massive pit, and in the center stood a tall structure made of metal and granite with lava flowing down its exterior.

The lava was contained in sloped frames, circling the building like a moat. Occasionally windows would open, and for some reason CDs and hardware would shoot out and be consumed by the lava.

After consuming all sorts of things, the lava flowed into a hole at the lowest part of the building. On the opposite side were tall, large exhaust pipes releasing steam, with elevators moving up and down between them.

The elevators were transporting enormous amounts of CDs and data, apparently recycling the lava to create something.

Sir Dominic clicked his tongue at the magnificent sight.

“Impressive place. It’s amazing it hasn’t been discovered until now.”

“Of course. It’s truly an out-of-place artifact, over-technology with the original Mountain Bridge Marsh engineering built into it.”

Mister Wang nodded as if it were obvious.

“In the beginning, Mountain Bridge Marsh wasn’t a criminal organization like it is now. It was just a group making knockoffs, trying to catch up to System Industries with their world-class technology. But as their beliefs became twisted, they started using their mass-produced items for crime. It was the most certain and convenient way to make money.”

Mister Wang spoke with a wistful expression, as if thinking about the old Mountain Bridge Marsh.

When Sir Dominic stared at him intently, Mister Wang cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Of course, I won’t deny that I was one of those criminals. It’s all just excuses.”

Saying this, Mister Wang led Sir Dominic to a secluded area.

“The Mountain Bridge Marsh base has designated entry points. However, if they haven’t changed the code yet, we can enter through a secret passage.”

Mister Wang pressed his finger on several points of a constellation drawn on a secluded wall, and a rumbling sound came from somewhere.

“It’s working properly. Let’s go now.”

Sir Dominic followed Mister Wang’s lead.

And there was a passage with an incredibly sophisticated design.

Judging by the displaced rocks, the entrance had probably been concealed by those rocks.

“This way leads to the lowest level of Mountain Bridge Marsh. That is, assuming they haven’t added any extensions.”

As Mister Wang said this, he warned Sir Dominic again.

“Once we cross this point, there’s no turning back. Are you still willing to follow?”

“Of course.”

Sir Dominic answered immediately to Mister Wang’s question.

“Whenever problems arose, Mountain Bridge Marsh was behind them… most of the time. I’ve always been on the receiving end, so it’s only natural that it’s their turn now.”

Sir Dominic said this while tapping his shield with his sword.

It was another expression of his confidence.

“Good. Then let’s proceed immediately.”

Having confirmed Sir Dominic’s firm resolve, Mister Wang took the lead with a flourish of his sleeve.

“One moment.”

Sir Dominic let Mister Wang go ahead and began sending messages somewhere.

After sending messages to several places, Sir Dominic followed the passage that Mister Wang had gone through.

As Sir Dominic said, it was now his turn to attack.

The time had come to repay everything Sir Dominic had received, with interest.

…

Sir Dominic was now crawling through a ventilation duct inside the Mountain Bridge Marsh secret base.

Normally, ventilation ducts would be too narrow to move through, but this secret base, perhaps due to its underground location, had large and wide ventilation ducts that made it possible.

“Wait a moment. I’m a bit confused about the path here.”

Mister Wang began to ponder at a fork in the ventilation duct.

It wasn’t strange that his memory was hazy, as it had been quite a while since he left Mountain Bridge Marsh.

“This won’t do. I need to open the map app.”

Mister Wang turned on his phone and opened a map app.

For some reason, the signal was strong despite being underground.

“You can see that on a map app?”

Sir Dominic asked Mister Wang incredulously.

“The old Mountain Bridge Marsh executives were all stupid. The escape routes were so complicated that they had to be registered on maps like this.”

“Of course, the current Mountain Bridge Marsh executives would never know about this. I’m the only one left who knows.” Mister Wang said with a somewhat bitter expression.

“I’ll check the route, so please wait a moment. It won’t take long.”

Sir Dominic nodded at Mister Wang’s words.

Just then, the voices of two people could be heard from somewhere.

The sound was coming from directly below, and Sir Dominic could see the people conversing through a vent on the side.

“I have to work overtime again today?”

“My goodness. What’s wrong with your boss? This is your 22nd overtime this month, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know. He says I look like his younger brother and it’s killing me how he torments me.”

“His younger brother must be quite ugly then, if you look like him.”

“Hey now.”

“Just kidding. Oh, by the way, where are you working overtime? From what time to what time?”

“Warehouse 2. I need to prepare by 9 o’clock. It’s a 12-hour shift, they said.”

“…Then you need to go now? There’s only 10 minutes left until 9.”

“What? Hey, thanks. I need to hurry.”

“No problem. If you get bored during the night shift, I’ll come by with snacks!”

“Thanks! Oh, and if I’m sleeping when you come, wake me up!”

“Got it!”

Sir Dominic watched the two until they disappeared from view.

Just then, with perfect timing, Mister Wang spoke up.

“I found the way. But there’s a problem. There are three paths. One leads to the women’s restroom on the lowest floor, another to the smeltery on the lowest floor. And the last one goes to Warehouse 2. Each has its pros and cons.”

My goodness. Could such a coincidence exist?

Sir Dominic suddenly felt like the world was helping him.

“Let’s go to Warehouse 2. I just overheard people talking here, and it seems the person working overtime in Warehouse 2 is tired from frequent overtime lately. Going that way should be smooth.”

“Hmm.”

Mister Wang nodded at Sir Dominic’s words.

Information is most valuable when it’s fresh.

“Then we’ll go to Warehouse 2. Follow me closely.”

Sir Dominic and Mister Wang began moving through the ventilation duct again.

Heading toward Warehouse 2.

…

“I’ll go down first and check the situation. Come down slowly.”

Saying this, Mister Wang jumped down from the ventilation duct.

True to his claim of once being an executive, he surveyed Warehouse 2 with cat-like stealth and quiet footsteps.

“He’s really sleeping. Come down. There’s no problem.”

Sir Dominic descended from the ventilation duct at Mister Wang’s words.

In front of Mister Wang was a person who had fallen into a deep sleep while leaning against warehouse goods. They were sleeping so deeply that they didn’t notice Sir Dominic standing right in front of them.

“Where should we go now?”

Sir Dominic asked Mister Wang while checking a message he had just received on his phone.

“First, I want to talk to the administrator here… that is, the top executive. The top executive might know about my son.”

After replying to the message, Sir Dominic stroked his chin and said:

“That’s a good idea. Enough to deliver a decisive blow.”

In truth, Sir Dominic had only thought about striking a blow against Mountain Bridge Marsh, without making detailed plans.

This was actually a characteristic that came from Sir Dominic’s experience.

On the battlefield, no matter how good a plan or strategy was, it often became worthless once the fighting started.

As a result, he became accustomed to improvising but weak at detailed planning.

“Wait a moment. There should be an updated version from here.”

“…Is Mountain Bridge Marsh a gathering place for idiots?”

Sir Dominic was already surprised that the secret base’s map was in a map app, but he was doubly shocked to learn it was being updated.

Wondering just how maze-like it must be to require this, Sir Dominic waited for Mister Wang to finish reading the map.

“Hmm. It seems the top executive stays in one of two places. One is the office, the other is the private room.”

Mister Wang passed the choice to Sir Dominic.

He probably expected that Sir Dominic’s intuition would be sharper and more accurate than his own aging instincts.

“…You want me to choose?”

“Yes. Pick one.”

When Sir Dominic hesitated, Mister Wang showed him the map app, alternating between the office, the private room, and their current location.

Since the two places were quite far apart, Sir Dominic had to make a definite choice.

And the place Sir Dominic chose was-