Chapter : 720

"This is a top-tier seating arrangement," Ken announced lazily. He reached into his bag. He pulled out a crisp. "I have successfully claimed the best spot in the dungeon. I am officially on break."

He popped the crisp into his mouth. He chewed it loudly. Crunch. Crunch.

Suddenly, a small piece of dust fell from the cracked ceiling. The dust drifted down through the air. It landed directly on Ken's navy blue sweatpants. It left a small, gray smudge on the dark fabric.

Ken stopped chewing. He stared at the gray smudge. He put on a massive, highly dramatic pout. He brushed the dust off his pants. The dust smeared slightly.

"This is unacceptable," Ken complained loudly to the empty corner. He pointed an accusing finger at the ceiling. "Dust is the true final boss of this game. It ruins everything. My sweatpants are getting dirty. I hate doing laundry. Doing laundry requires sorting colors. Sorting colors requires brain power."

Naomi heard his complaining. She turned her head. She looked at him sitting on the broken, wobbling chair. She laughed a soft, musical laugh. She walked over to him.

"You are sitting in a ruined laboratory, Ken," Naomi pointed out gently. She crossed her arms, but her smile was very wide. "Everything is covered in dust. You cannot avoid getting a little bit dirty."

"I disagree, Naomi," Ken argued casually. He popped another crisp into his mouth. "A skilled player can avoid all environmental hazards. I just failed my dodge roll. Now my aesthetic is ruined. I look like a construction worker."

"You always look , slacker," Naomi teased warmly. She reached out. She gently flicked a small piece of dust off his white shirt collar. Her touch was very light. "Just stay in your chair. Do not wander off. Sayma thinks she found something important."

"I am a master of staying in chairs," Ken promised lazily. He gave her a goofy thumbs-up. "I am glued to this cushion. You do not have to worry about me doing any cardio."

Naomi shook her head fondly. She turned around and walked back toward the group.

Zinia tossed the last piece of concrete rubble away. She wiped her hands on her pants. She cleared a massive path against the back wall of the laboratory.

Sayma stepped forward. She pushed her glasses up her nose. She looked at the exposed wall.

The concrete wall looked perfectly smooth. There were no doors. There were no handles. But Sayma noticed a very tiny, almost invisible seam in the stone.

"This is a false wall," Sayma deduced brilliantly. She ran her fingers along the seam. "It is a hidden security bulkhead. The main terminal is stored behind this barrier to protect it from explosions."

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Sayma pulled a small digital tool from her pocket. She connected a wire from her tool directly into the seam of the wall. She typed rapidly on a tiny keypad. The screen on her tool glowed green.

She executed a bypass code. She cracked the simple outer lock.

A loud mechanical hiss echoed through the room. The smooth concrete wall suddenly split perfectly down the middle. The two halves slid backward. They disappeared into the adjacent walls.

A small, pristine, hidden server room revealed itself.

The room was untouched by Ares. The white LED lights inside the room shined perfectly. A massive, sleek black computer terminal sat in the center of the small space. The screens were dark, but the power lights blinked quietly.

"I found it," Sayma announced politely. A rare smile of satisfaction touched her lips. "This is the primary local server. The data core is intact."

Princess Iris walked over quickly. Her violet eyes lit up with hope. "Excellent work, Sayma. Can you access the files?"

"I must initiate a system boot first," Sayma explained. She walked into the hidden room. She approached the sleek black terminal. "Then I will have to break through their internal encryption. It will take a few minutes."

Sayma sat down on a clean metal stool in front of the terminal. She plugged her digital tool directly into the main data port. She prepared her software. She cracked her knuckles just like Zinia. She was ready for a digital battle.

The rest of the 13th Unit gathered around the doorway. They watched Sayma work. They knew this was the most critical moment of their investigation. If they found the right files, they could expose the entire conspiracy.

Ken sat on his wobbling chair in the background. He watched the team crowd around the hidden room. He reached into his bag. He pulled out another potato crisp. He tossed it into his mouth. He chewed it slowly. He did not care about the secret files. He just cared about finishing his snack before the dust ruined his pants.

---

Sayma typed furiously on the sleek black keyboard. Her fingers flew across the keys. She pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. The large screens on the terminal suddenly flared to life. Bright blue text scrolled rapidly across the black monitors.

The 13th Unit stood quietly behind her. They watched the scrolling numbers. They did not understand the complex code. They just waited patiently.

Sayma clicked her silver pen. She placed the pen behind her ear.

"The system is booting up smoothly," Sayma reported politely. She did not take her dark eyes off the screens. "The hardware is fully functional. But the operating system is locked behind a massive military-grade firewall."

"Can you break the wall?" Princess Iris asked smoothly. She held her silver rapier at her side.

"Absolutely, Princess," Sayma stated with confidence. "It is a standard dynamic encryption model. The password changes every ten seconds based on a mathematical algorithm. I simply need to match the algorithmic sequence and insert a backdoor command."

Sayma started typing even faster. The blue text on the screen flashed red. The red text signaled an access denied error. Sayma did not panic. She just adjusted her code and tried a different mathematical angle.

Ken Eliot watched the process from his broken office chair. He slouched his shoulders as far as they could possibly go. He crossed his ankles. His white shirt remained completely untucked.

He held his bag of sour cream and onion potato crisps. He reached into the bag. He pulled out a large, salty crisp. He popped it into his mouth. He chewed it very loudly.

CRUNCH. CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

The loud crunching noise echoed clearly across the quiet, ruined laboratory.

Sayma paused her typing for a split second. She frowned a very small frown. She resumed typing. The screen flashed red again.

Ken swallowed his food. He leaned his head back. He looked at the giant computer screens. He used his flawless, ridiculous video game logic to analyze the hacking process.