BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

The dark water of the lake churned as Erik and his clones explored it. Having slaughtered most of the thaids, Erik and the clones moved through the murky depths in safety at that point.

A week passed since the battle with the azure thaid. In the days following the battle, Erik and the clones spent theirw time and energy searching the lake, and Erik made more and more clones to speed up the process.

He made both Chimaeric Demons and Dark Shapes. The Chimaeric Demons required time to mature, but would be more powerful than their weaker brothers. But given that the Dark Shapes reached combat readiness almost immediately, they were far more useful than the Chimaeric Demons.

The lake now belonged to Erik and his creatures, who filled its waters. The Dark Shapes swept through the area, killing any remaining thaid and searching for a way to enter the Silverline Corporation's laboratory without blasting the place open.

"Master, we found the entrance," one of the Dark Shapes said through their telepathic connection. "A heavy metal door that appears to be sealed."

A door, even if sealed, meant there was a way to enter. Though, if the door was sealed, it meant there must have been some kind of other opening that made the building be swallowed by the water and its sand.

That was especially true if the Azure Thaid really came from the lab. The breach it made to escape would have flooded the lab.

In the end, they still had to blast a hole into those walls. "Break it open."

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A distant explosion resounded across the lake as the clones blasted through the entrance. Water rushed into the space, but as Erik assumed, the lab was already filled with water.

"This will be annoying," a dark shape said. Annoying, but not problematic. They could swim and breathe in the water. The only problem was that there wasn't light, and visibility wasn't the best.

"Search anyway. Gather everything: any documentation, storage devices, specimens, etc. Look for anything related to other facilities. I need to find the blackguards, and they are hiding in one of the other labs."

The Dark Shapes spread throughout the underwater facility. They went through passages, halls, and aisles where humans once walked, passing rooms filled with equipment now ruined by water exposure.

The clones extracted hard drives from waterlogged computers, collected tablets sealed in waterproof cases, and gathered documents protected by plastic coverings.

Erik waited at the shore, following their progress through the Hive Mind. The Chimaeric Demons patrolled the surface, ensuring no unexpected threats came up while the search continued.

Hours passed as the Dark Shapes conducted their thorough search. There were thousands of them at that point, so it didn't take much for them to go through all the accessible parts of the lab. Some had to be cleared of debris, so it would take time to explore them, too.

The sun climbed higher, beating down on the lake's surface. Erik kept his focus, hoping the clones would give him some good news.

Erik was having a lot of hope for this place. The thaids didn't nest in it, not because they couldn't but because they didn't need to.

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That meant they didn't destroy everything like the thanatocoleoptera did. Sure, the water would have had an equally damaging impact, but since the lab was underwater, the precautions the scientists took to preserve everything in case they lost the lab made it so that everything was in a much better condition than in the underground city where the bug queen lived.

"Master," one of the Dark Shapes said. "We found something important in what seems to be the central planning room."

"What is it?" Erik asked.

"A map, preserved in plastic. It shows locations across the continent."

Erik's interest peaked. "Bring it to me."

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A dark shape emerged from the lake's surface. There was a very, very large plastic-encased document.

<This thing must have been hung on the walls.> Erik examined the enormous map.

The map showed the continent in detail, with marked locations spread across its surface. Each marker bore the distinctive Silverline Corporation logo, accompanied by facility codes and brief notations.

"YES! FINALLY!." He finally got it. "A complete map of their laboratory network."

The Dark Shape stood without moving, water still dripping from its body. But thanks to the Hive Mind, Erik felt his worry.

"We have found what we were searching for," Erik said. "Why are you so worried?"

The clone pointed at the map. "Master, count the markers."

Erik looked at the map again, this time paying attention to the number of installations marked across the continent.

His initial satisfaction faded as he counted. Ten... twenty... thirty... The markers continued, spread across remote mountains, deep forests, coastal areas, and desert regions. Some clustered near cities, others isolated in wilderness.

"Fifty-three facilities," Erik counted aloud. "All Silverline laboratories, and just in the Lorogia region."

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Erik spread the map on a flat rock, studying the distribution of facilities. Some areas had dense clusters of laboratories, while others were isolated installations.

"Those bastards..." Erik traced the distance between some of the locations with his finger.

"Master," the Chimaeric Demon said. "I think we need more clones."

Erik nodded. "I see that, but I can only send the Dark Shapes, and if there are other proto-thaids in those labs, they wouldn't be able to do anything against them."

He paused.

"Besides, even with our numbers increasing daily, investigating all these locations would require substantial time."

At that point, Erik understood he would not be able to find the blackguards in a relatively short time.

"At least we have some clues," a clone said. "If we start heading to the Lorogia Region, by the time we get there, we should have around 60,000 troops. They will be enough to search the area. The blackguards must have left some clues about their location, so even if we don't check all laboratories, we just need to find some hints outside."

"Yeah, you are right," Erik said. "Now that we know where the labs are, it should take less time to find the blackguards. At least in theory."

The knowledge of the labs' sites was both a blessing and a curse. One wrong choice in their search could cost them months of time.

The Chimaeric Demon turned to Erik. "We will be able to narrow down the area of research as soon as we fix those hard disks we found in the underground city and whatever we find in this lab."

Erik stared at the map, absorbing the magnitude of their task operation. What had begun as a search for answers had revealed a challenge far greater than anticipated.