Chapter 56: Carol Missing

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Carol Missing

The entire Air Force base had fallen silent.

No one dared to speak, some barely dared to breathe.

The atmosphere was so oppressive that it felt as if an invisible hand were squeezing everyone’s chest, making it difficult to draw a full breath.

Many of the soldiers present weren’t rookies.

Some had been to war, they had seen comrades die. They had witnessed the smoke and fire of battlefields and experienced the brutality of armed conflict firsthand.

But that was a war between human beings.

Was Daniel even human anymore?

Looking at what he had just done, nobody could convince themselves that he was. To them, it felt more like he was wearing a human shell while hiding something else underneath.

A machine.

An alien.

Some unknown lifeform pretending to be a man and the unknown was always the most terrifying thing.

Who knew what other abilities Daniel possessed?

He could fire laser beams from his eyes. At this point, if he suddenly transformed into a 50 meter tall monster, nobody would be surprised.

The soldiers would rather charge into a battlefield and exchange gunfire with an enemy army than stand face to face with an unknown monster like him.

Every pair of eyes turned towards the slightly overweight base commander. Their expressions all carried the same plea.

Just tell him.

Tell him whatever he wants to know. Make him happy and send him away.

None of them wanted to stay in the same place as Daniel any longer.

The commander was suffering too. God knew how badly he wanted to tell Daniel everything. If spilling a few secrets could get this living disaster out of his base, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

Facing an angry Daniel was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. The pressure alone felt enough to make him faint, but he had his own problems.

He had finally been promoted to the position of a base commander, and he hadn’t even had time to enjoy it before the Project Pegasus crashed and burned.

The base had lost billions of dollars. He was already worrying about how he was going to explain that catastrophe to his superiors and now Daniel had just shown up.

His legs were shaking so badly he could barely stand.

He felt like he couldn’t breathe.

If he revealed classified information, the politicians in Congress wouldn’t care what kind of monster he had been facing. After all, they weren’t the ones standing here.

They would happily throw all the blame onto him. In fact, they were probably looking for a scapegoat already.

They’d accuse him of leaking military secrets, damaging the reputation of the armed forces, and might even pin the failure of Project Pegasus on him while they were at it.

The moment he talked, he’d be hauled before a military tribunal. He might even end up in prison. Which would conveniently open up his position for the long line of people waiting behind him.

But refusing wasn’t an option either. Looking at Daniel’s glowing red eyes, the commander had a feeling that if he stalled much longer, Daniel’s patience would run out.

One heat vision blast, and he’d probably be reduced to a pile of ashes.

He was trapped. Speak, and his career was over. Stay silent, and he might be dead.

Life was hard. The commander silently swore that once this nightmare was over, he was applying for a transfer immediately.

A quiet administrative post, somewhere safe... anywhere but here.

He’d go to New York City if he had to and enjoy life.

As for this godforsaken wasteland? Someone else could keep it.

Daniel stared at him coldly, waiting for an answer. Despite the panic raging inside him, the commander forced himself to appear calm.

Straightening his back, he said firmly, "I’m sorry. Project Pegasus is classified military information."

"It has already been sealed in the archives on Sublevel Five."

"We do not have authorization to access it."

Daniel looked at him for several seconds. The gaze carried a meaning the commander couldn’t quite understand. Then Daniel simply turned away.

He didn’t make things difficult. Instead, he charged directly into the base.

Walls exploded apart wherever he passed. Buildings were left with massive holes punched through them as though a tank shell had blasted through.

The moment Daniel disappeared from sight, the commander nearly collapsed onto the ground. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he immediately barked orders.

"Notify headquarters!"

"Raise the alert level!"

"The base has been infiltrated!"

"All personnel are to enter combat readiness immediately!"

"Organize search teams and start from Sublevel One. Search every level below it."

"I want every inch examined!"

"Do not miss a single corner!"

He paused before adding with particular emphasis.

"It doesn’t matter if you’re slow. Thoroughness is what matters."

"I want this intruder trapped with nowhere to run!"

After delivering the passionate speech, the commander straightened up again.

"I’ll remain on the surface to coordinate operations and await instructions from higher command."

"Remember."

"You may search slowly."

"But don’t overlook anything."

"Even if it’s a rat hole, I want it inspected."

"Yes, sir!"

The soldiers answered in unison, their voices ringing with righteous determination. Then they headed toward Sublevel One.

To search for the rat holes, the base had been having a rodent problem lately.

Their weapon safeties were already off. The moment they saw a rat, it would be eliminated on sight.

Damn rats.

...

Daniel made his way directly to the archives.

Before long, he found the file containing information on Project Pegasus. Opening it, he immediately noticed a large stamp across the front page.

PROJECT PEGASUS — TERMINATED

He quickly read through the entire file.

"Dr. Lawson... Light Speed Engine..."

Daniel quietly read the words aloud. One detail immediately caught his attention. Maria Rambeau had also been one of the test pilots.

That settled it, he needed to speak with Maria.

At that moment, Maria was still inside the base. She was in her dormitory room on Sublevel One, curled beneath her blanket. The alarms outside hadn’t reached her.

This time, Daniel refrained from causing further damage. The base commander had been smart enough not to provoke him, and according to the records, the accident itself had nothing to do with the base.

There was no reason to take his anger out on innocent people.

Carol had disappeared. So, of course he was angry. But that wasn’t an excuse to hurt people who had done nothing wrong.

Daniel couldn’t claim to live by the famous saying.

"With great power comes great responsibility."

But he could at least control himself. He could keep his power from running wild and avoid dragging innocent people into his problems.

A person should be the master of their power... not its slave.

Walking slowly up the stairs, Daniel continued organizing the information he’d gathered.

’Its obvious Carol’s disappearance is connected to the crash.’

’But no trace of her was found among the wreckage.’

’Not even a body.’

’Which means there’s a very good chance she didn’t die at all.’

’She’s missing.’

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.

’Dr. Lawson’s body was recovered.’

’Carol’s wasn’t.’

’That means she’s still alive.’

’She has the abilities of the Black Panther. If the plane crashed, she absolutely had the capability to escape.’

’Maybe she was injured.’

’Maybe she’s stranded somewhere.’

’Waiting for me to find her.’

The thought caused a spark of hope to ignite in his chest, his eyes lit up.

For the first time since arriving at the base, he felt genuinely hopeful. He wanted nothing more than to rush to the crash site immediately and search for any sign of Carol.

But first, he needed more information. There were things that only the people involved knew.

The files could only tell him so much.

Soon, Daniel reached the first floor, as he stepped into a corridor, he encountered a squad of heavily armed soldiers.

The officer leading them visibly froze when he saw Daniel. For a brief second, panic flashed across his face.

Then he acted as though Daniel didn’t exist. Turning to the soldiers behind him, he announced loudly.

"Area A1 has been searched. No intruder found."

"We’re moving to the second floor."

After saying that, the entire squad walked right past Daniel. A few seconds later, they broke into a jog.

Not toward the second floor, but towards Sublevel Two. Everyone knew perfectly well that there was no intruder on the first floor.

Using his enhanced vision, Daniel quickly located Maria’s dormitory. He walked over and knocked on the door. After a short wait, the door opened.

Maria stood there looking exhausted. Her face was pale, and her eyes were swollen from lack of sleep. The moment she saw Daniel, surprise flashed across her face.

"Daniel? What are you doing here?"

Daniel had visited Carol several times before, so Maria knew him fairly well. She knew Carol had an unbelievably handsome younger brother.

"Get inside, quickly."

"If someone sees you, you’ll be arrested."

Without waiting for a response, Maria grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room. Before closing the door, she carefully peeked into the hallway to make sure nobody was watching.

Her caution was unnecessary. The soldiers who had received the alert were already searching Sublevel Two. As everyone knew there was definitely no intruder on the first floor.

The moment the door shut, Maria’s expression darkened.

"Daniel..."

"Something happened to Carol."

"She’s missing."

"The information I received says she’s dead."

Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke. She knew Daniel would eventually hear the news anyway.

"I know."

Daniel’s voice remained calm.

"That’s why I’m here."

He looked directly at her.

"But I need the details."

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A.N: Sorry, guys can’t do an extra Chapter today, as I’m flying to a different state and just had this Chapter saved on draft. But don’t worry, as soon as I get my hands on my laptop, I will publish those Chapters.

But for first time we crossed 1000 stones, so thank you all for reading and supporting this story, and sorry for the trouble y’all.

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And if you want some extra Chapters, be sure to check out my Patron page, it’s 27 Chapters ahead of webnovel and the Chapters are also long so you can check it out.

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