After deploying the remaining five men on their mission, the Boss was able to relax slightly. However, his first thought was,*What am I even doing here?*
Although he had gained new knowledge ever since he became the de-facto monarch, he still couldn"t figure out how he became the "boss" of the universe in the first place.
*At least I know what I"m doing, otherwise this whole ordeal would"ve truly become a disaster.*
After standing in a daze for a few more moments, he headed back to the control room to collect some more intel.
This room was hands down the most secure room in the entire universe. It was completely protected against the five elements. Of course, the cost of its construction was no laughing matter, either. The company had spent many years element-proofing every nook and cranny of the room and the hideout surrounding it. But because of this, if anyone wanted to access the grand database of many years" worth of the most expansive intel, they would have to pa.s.s through not one, but two layers of the universe"s highest-quality element-proofing. And this could only be properly bypa.s.sed by a few individuals with the proper elemental signatures.
Variations of this element scanning machine could be found nearly everywhere, but the model on display here was one-of-kind. Its precision in detecting the quality, strength, and other aspects of the entrant"s aura was simply unmatched. Moreover, it was difficult to even tell it was there. It was practically a formless ent.i.ty melded in with the doorframe. If an invalid authority attempted to trespa.s.s, they might be wiped out before they had any idea of what happened. Aside from a measly sign that read "Authorized Signatures Only" and a sleek metal door, it didn"t seem like the control room was well protected. There was no need. If an unknown infiltrated this far into the headquarters, there was really only one possibility. They have malicious intent. Nothing else would stop them anyway, and their existence would need to be erased.
This man was obviously one of these authorized signatures, as there was no reaction when he opened the door, crossed the threshold, and entered the room.
Seeing the familiar room calmed him down a bit.
*But is this room really familiar? Although it feels that way, I don"t have any real memory of being in here...*
In fact, even though he had muscle memory of countless experiences, the visuals that would normally go along with them were missing. Although it was a bit strange, it wasn"t too important, since he knew how to perform his job effectively.
After relaxing for a few more seconds, he pondered the issues at hand. First of all, two universal threats. New ones, of course. It would be impossible for such intense signatures to hide under the ether for long without being noticed by divination of the highest caliber. One of them was easy to find, difficult to get to. The other one was easy to get to, but...
*Why is it already gone?*
Indeed, the second signature had vanished from the map almost as quickly as it had appeared, leading to the belief that it may have never been there to begin with. But the power was undeniable. Which means...
*It"s already learned to hide from ethereal detection.*
The Boss had never personally witnessed a universal rank"s signature personally, so he hadn"t realized how quickly it would learn. But the realization was like opening Pandora"s box.
*This means the one on planet Omega will be difficult to detect soon as well.*
At least its location was still known. Actually, the second one"s whereabouts were known as well, but its location was a little troublesome to barge into. Not because it was too difficult to get there, but too simple. It was located on planet Akth in sector A. This planet was home to young students as well as established educational establishments well known all throughout the expanse. This was also why he had lied to his subordinates about its whereabouts, saying it was "unknown". Causing a huge commotion with enforcement personnel in Akth would result in backlash from the community, as Akth was prideful to be the safest planet in the universe.
*Seriously, why did it have to show up there...*
One of the only private sectors in which this man"s company did not have a complete monopoly was education. Indeed, very few companies could compete with the quality of product that the s.p.a.cefaring Agency output, but they did exist. Extraordinary Imagination, the prestigious educational company, was one such example. And they were located on planet Amth, the sister planet of Akth. The compet.i.tion was fierce between these rival companies on the binary planet system, and no parent that cared for their child would spare any change to send them to one of these two planets for an education. As you can see, if rumors were to be spread of Akth being unsafe, its reputation would take a hit, leading to EI and Amth prospering even more than they were currently.
*In that case, I should have told the executives to search the binary planet system in sector A. What an elementary mistake.*
As he slapped his forehead in remorse, he sent out a transmission to said executives on encrypted lines saying that he"d narrowed down the target"s location, and it was no longer necessary to send out a majority of the fleet. If too many enforcement personnel showed up on both planets, there would truly be an outrage, as well as other startup companies. This was unacceptable.
With that issue dealt with for the moment, he thought of the second thing. He had received a telepathic transmission from an unknown source. This was a big deal. For one, he was sitting in the most secure room in the universe when he received this transmission. No one that he knew of could bypa.s.s the elemental jamming to send a message to the inside. Which meant the source of it was at least as dangerous as the two universally ranked beings that had shown up. Secondly, the sender"s location was truly unknown. Typically, telepathy could be traced with advanced mana and ether tracking techniques, but elemental fluctuations were nonexistent during the course of the transmission. Although this was frightening, the sender didn"t seem to be hostile. The Boss replayed the message in his head.
"....retrieve it.... test...."
*...*
That was it.
Three intelligible words with lots more useless noise.
*What am I supposed to make of this?*
The only thing he could think of at the moment when the mysterious sender said "it" was the X rank being. As for "test", that could mean anything. Of course, he could be wrong about "it". But since there was no evidence for anything else at the moment, he would continue with his current plans. There was already too much to think about.