Chương 306: Chapter : 306

The man was plump. He wore an incredibly expensive, tailored suit. Gold rings glittered on his fingers. He was sweating profusely. He held a glowing magical orb in his hands. He was staring into the orb, watching the fight in the laboratory through the eyes of the alpha wolf. Ken recognized the man instantly. It was Senator Norman. Ken had seen this man in the memories of the spy he interrogated on the roof. Senator Norman was a highly corrupt politician on the Upper Council.

He was the one funding the illegal Solurius radiation experiments. He was the one who wanted to build the apocalyptic weapon. Senator Norman's face was twisted in panic. He yelled at the glowing orb.

"Kill them!" Norman screamed at the orb.

"Tear them apart! Do not let them leave that room with the documents! The bomb blueprints must remain a secret! If the Princess takes those files to the Emperor, I am ruined!" The politician was desperate. He was terrified of losing his power. He had hired the best stealth magicians to summon the wolves. He wanted a clean assassination. He wanted to bury the evidence forever. Ken watched the panicked politician. He felt a wave of profound disgust.

"You are just a coward in a nice suit," Ken thought to himself.

"You sit in your safe office. You send animals to do your dirty work. You want to destroy my team just to cover up your own messy science project." The mental probe had worked perfectly. In a fraction of a second, Ken had extracted the hidden truth. The aggressive, highly coordinated ambush was orchestrated by none other than Senator Norman. The corrupt politician was making a desperate, violent attempt to bury the evidence of his treason forever. Ken had all the information he needed.

He severed the mental connection. The fancy office vanished. The vision ended. Ken opened his eyes. He was back in the dusty, shadow-filled laboratory. The alpha wolf was still standing rigidly in front of him. Ken looked at the frozen beast. He raised his right hand. He flicked his index finger against the back of the wolf's head. It was a tiny, effortless tap. The tap carried a microscopic pulse of destructive mana. The massive alpha wolf instantly turned into white mist. It evaporated completely.

There was no sound. There was no struggle. The beast simply ceased to exist. Ken lowered his hand. He shoved it deep into his pocket. He let his shoulders slouch forward again. The cold, terrifying look left his eyes. The goofy, lazy, half-asleep slacker mask slid perfectly back into place. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. He stepped out of the dark corner. The battle in the center of the room was ending. Laxmi threw one final, massive fireball.

The flames consumed three wolves at once. The beasts dissolved into harmless mist. Naomi dashed across the room, slicing the last remaining wolf in half with her silver daggers. The laboratory went totally quiet. The glowing white wolves were all gone. The air smelled like burnt fur and ozone. The floor was covered in broken glass from the shattered skylight. The girls stood in a circle around Princess Iris. They were panting heavily. Sweat dripped down their faces. They looked exhausted but victorious.

"Is everyone okay?" Princess Iris asked. She sheathed her silver rapier. She looked around the ruined room.

"I am fine," Naomi said. She wiped a smudge of dirt from her cheek. She slid her daggers into her belt.

"Those things were tough. They hit really hard." Laxmi cracked her knuckles. She grinned proudly.

"They were tough, but we are tougher! We totally wrecked them!" Sayma pushed her glasses up. She checked the stacks of documents. She let out a sigh of relief.

"The papers are safe. The rock wall protected them perfectly. We did not lose any evidence." Ira lowered her hands. The water whips splashed onto the floor and disappeared.

"Statistically speaking, that was a highly lethal ambush. The timing was too perfect. Someone knew we were down here." Zinia nodded.

"Someone definitely sent them. Someone wants us dead."

"Hey! Over here!" a loud, whiny voice echoed across the room. The girls turned their heads. Ken was sitting on the floor near the metal desk. He was hugging his knees to his chest. He looked absolutely miserable. He was covered in a thin layer of glass dust. His navy blue suit looked terrible.

"Can someone please help me up?" Ken complained loudly. He waved his hand in the air.

"My legs stopped working entirely. I think my knees are broken. Fear is very bad for my joints." Naomi let out a long, amused sigh. She walked over to him. She did not yell. She just offered him her hand.

"You are such a baby, Ken," Naomi teased gently. She pulled him up from the floor.

"You hid under the desk the entire time. You did not even get a scratch."

"Hiding is incredibly stressful!" Ken argued. He dusted off his pants. He pouted.

"I had to listen to all the loud noises! There were explosions! There was lightning! My ears are ringing!" Luna walked over. She rubbed her sleepy eyes. She gave him a tiny, sleepy smile.

"Sorry about the lightning, Ken. I was aiming for the wolves. I think I missed you by at least ten feet."

"Ten feet is way too close!" Ken yelled dramatically. He threw his hands in the air.

"I need a wider safety bubble! Next time, I am waiting outside in the cart!" Princess Iris smiled warmly. Seeing Ken complain made the terrifying ambush feel less serious. It brought a sense of normalcy back to the room. The tension melted away.

"We are done here," Princess Iris announced. She picked up the encrypted journals.

"We have the documents. We survived the attack. We need to get back to the estate. We need to plan our next move."

"Yes, please!" Ken cheered happily. He started shuffling toward the stairs.

"Let us go home. I need a massive sandwich. Surviving an ambush makes me very hungry." The 13th Unit gathered their things. They walked up the stone stairs. They left the ruined, glass-covered laboratory behind. Ken walked at the back of the group. He dragged his shoes on the steps. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff. He complained about the climb. He whined about the dust. He played the fool perfectly. But internally, his mind was totally focused. He knew exactly who was trying to kill them. Senator Norman was desperate.

The corrupt politician was going to keep sending assassins. The 13th Unit was getting too close to the truth.

"Senator Norman is a massive problem," Ken thought to himself. He let out a quiet sigh.

"He thinks he can just hide in his fancy office. He thinks he can use his money to silence my friends. That is highly annoying." Ken looked at Naomi's back. He looked at Princess Iris. He looked at Laxmi and Luna. They were his messy, chaotic family. They were trying to do the right thing.