Chương 142: Chapter : 142

These men and women were in absolutely terrible physical condition. They did not look like healthy scientists. Their skin was a sickly, dead gray color, and it was actively peeling off their hands and faces. Dark, highly visible, diseased veins bulged against their necks. Some of them were coughing violently into bloody handkerchiefs, while others were simply staring blankly at the floor, too exhausted to even stand up. These were the severe, horrific casualties of prolonged exposure to Solurius radiation.

They had spent years working on Augusto's highly illegal experiments, completely hidden from the outside world. And the toxic magic had slowly, painfully eaten them alive from the inside out. Augusto stopped pacing. He looked around the room at his dying, suffering staff. His manic eyes softened for just a brief second, filling with a twisted, desperate sense of love for his people. He had ordered the theft of the Core of Luminus specifically for them.

He truly believed that securing the legendary cooling stone was the only way to cure his dying staff and save their lives from the toxic plague he had accidentally given them.

"Just hold on a little bit longer, my friends," Augusto called out, his voice echoing loudly in the hot, humid room.

"The wait is almost over. The Black Viper team signaled us ten minutes ago. They have successfully entered the outer perimeter of the base." A few of the sick researchers weakly lifted their heads, a tiny, desperate spark of hope shining in their tired eyes.

"Are you certain, Dr. Augusto?" a frail woman asked, clutching her chest as a painful cough rattled her lungs.

"Is it truly the cure? Will it stop the burning?" Augusto smiled a wide, crazy, overly confident smile. He rushed over to the woman and gently placed a hand on her trembling shoulder.

"It is the ultimate cure, Martha," Augusto promised her, his voice full of absolute certainty.

"The Core of Luminus is the natural, perfect opposite of the Solurius radiation. Once we place it inside the central containment unit, its holy, absolute cooling energy will flood this entire facility. It will instantly purge the toxins from your blood. Your skin will heal. Your pain will vanish. We will all be saved, and our grand vision for the Empire will finally be realized!" O'Brian watched his boss with a look of deep, profound worry. He wanted to believe Augusto. He wanted the suffering to end.

But the sheer, manic desperation in the older man's eyes made O'Brian feel incredibly uneasy. Suddenly, the heavy metal doors at the far end of the core room hissed loudly. The red security lights flashed green, and the doors slid open. Two men wearing black tactical gear and dark masks walked quickly into the room. They were the leaders of the Black Viper mercenary team.

They looked exhausted and covered in dungeon dust, but the man in the front was holding a small, heavily secured metal lockbox tightly against his chest. Augusto gasped out loud. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He completely ignored his sick staff and practically sprinted across the room toward the mercenaries. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"You guys finally returned!" Augusto cheered, his voice cracking with pure, unrestrained joy. He reached out with shaking hands, practically grabbing the metal box right out of the mercenary's grip. The masked mercenary simply nodded once.

"The job is done, Doctor. We encountered heavy investigation from three Royal vanguards aftermath you have left us with this idol, but we successfully secured the target and evaded pursuit. We expect our payment to be transferred to our accounts immediately." It wasn't easy stealing right under the noses of those three imperial heirs. After the theft, Augusto and Black Viper chose different paths to avoid being caught.

"Yes, yes, whatever you want! Take double!" Augusto laughed wildly, hugging the heavy metal box to his chest like a newborn baby. He turned around and rushed back toward the empty glass containment unit in the center of the room. O'Brian stepped closer, his heart hammering in his chest. The sick, dying researchers slowly pushed themselves off the benches, shuffling weakly toward the center of the room. They all wanted to see the miracle.

They all wanted to see the glowing, legendary artifact that was going to save their lives. Augusto placed the metal box carefully onto the steel pedestal. His hands were shaking so badly he could barely punch the four-digit code into the digital keypad on the lid. With a soft beep, the lock disengaged.

"Behold, my loyal friends!" Augusto shouted, throwing his arms out in a massive, theatrical gesture.

"The end of our suffering! The true Core of Luminus!" Augusto threw the lid of the box open. Everyone in the room leaned forward, holding their breath, waiting for a burst of blinding, holy white light to fill the dark laboratory. They waited for a wave of freezing, healing energy to wash over their burning, radiation-poisoned bodies. But absolutely nothing happened. There was no light. There was no healing energy. There was no freezing mist. O'Brian blinked.

He took a slow step forward and peered directly into the open metal box. His brow furrowed in deep, profound confusion. The growing suspicion in his gut suddenly turned into a heavy, cold block of ice. He looked at the object resting on the velvet padding inside the box. It wasn't a glowing, majestic magical artifact at all. It didn't look like a fallen star or a piece of pure magic. It was just a rock. It was a dirty, incredibly ordinary, completely useless piece of gray cave rock.

It even had a tiny clump of dried mud and a piece of dead moss sticking to the side of it. O'Brian stared at the literal piece of gravel, utterly bewildered. He looked up at the Black Viper mercenaries, expecting them to start laughing. He expected them to say it was a terrible joke. But the mercenaries were already walking out of the room, totally silent. The dying researchers gathered around the pedestal, looking down into the box.

Their desperate, hopeful expressions instantly melted away, replaced by total, crushing despair.

"Dr. Augusto..." O'Brian started, his voice barely a whisper. He looked at his boss, completely lost.

"Sir... what is this?"

Augusto did not hear the confusion in O'Brian's voice. He did not see the despair on the faces of his dying staff. Because Augusto was still trapped tightly within the inescapable grip of Ken Eliot's "Perfect Hypnosis" spell. Back in the dungeon, Ken had used his cheap, blue plastic ring to cast a flawless, mind-bending illusion over everyone in the cavern. The mercenaries and Augusto who stole the rock believed they were stealing a priceless artifact. Augusto's mind was completely scrambled.

To the old scientist, he wasn't looking at a dirty piece of gray gravel. When Augusto looked inside the metal box, his brain tricked him into seeing exactly what he desperately wanted to see. He saw a beautiful, perfectly round stone glowing with a brilliant, blinding white light. He felt a completely fake, imaginary wave of freezing, healing mist wash over his face.