Death... and me



Going back a few days, the twins had just entered the hole in the hull and began navigating their way through the Air Ventilation of the Airship, one among countless others. Rean, Roan, and Luan crawled through the ducts, which branched off several times.

"Can you determine which direction the Vruve Organization members went, Luan?" Roan asked, unsure of which passage to follow.

As it turned out, the Air Ventilation Ducts were completely clean, devoid of any dust. Dust that Roan could have used to know which direction the Vruve Experts went. Noticing this, Rean took some dirt from the Dimensional Realm and let it fall to the ground to test it. Sure enough, the dirt was absorbed, albeit very slowly. Still, this rate of absorption was more than sufficient to ensure the ducts remained spotless. This also meant that the experts from the Vruve Organization, who had entered an hour earlier, hadn't left any traces behind.

Luan shook his head in response. "They are long gone. Any disturbances they might have caused have dissipated by now. I believe our best course of action is to leave these ducts and navigate on our own for now."

Roan wasn't surprised and quickly surveyed their surroundings. "Your eyes can perceive the elements. Can you see through these ducts and determine the direction within the ship?"

Luan narrowed his eyes. "I can see up to a hundred meters around us with my eyes because there are obstructions on the way. As you know, if there are barriers obstructing my line of sight, such as this ship, my vision is significantly limited. This ship seems to make it even harder."

Roan remained undeterred. "A hundred meters is still better than what we can do at the moment."

Taking the lead, Luan used his elemental sight to navigate, avoiding dead ends within his visual range. While there were occasional exits, they were sealed, allowing only enough space for the passage of air. These were Air Ventilation Ducts, after all. Unfortunately, their Divine Senses couldn't extend beyond three meters, and the crevices were designed to hinder naked-eye observation, so it was useless to try to see anything.

The confined space constrained the twins from using any attacks, fearing it might trigger a defense system within the ship. Consequently, their progress was slow and monotonous. Nonetheless, they remained calm as Luan continued guiding them.

Finally, Luan's eyes spotted what appeared to be an exit around two days later from the ducts, and he promptly led the group toward it. "Here we are!"

Roan motioned for Luan to move to the back while he and Rean took the front. Naturally, Luan kept his elemental eyes open in case any visible threats emerged.

*Tud, tud, tud...*

The trio landed on the ground inside what seemed to be a sizable storeroom. Like the ducts they traversed, the room was pristine. Illumination allowed them to see their surroundings clearly, too. "A storeroom, huh?" Rean remarked.

Approaching one of the peculiar boxes in that room, Rean checked its contents. "Repair materials, it seems." Peering inside, he saw various minerals and other materials neatly organized. Holographic descriptions appeared on the surfaces, detailing their purpose... or so Rean assumed. "I understand what is written, but I have no idea what it was supposed to be used for."

Roan also examined the boxes and shook his head. "Neither can I. It would be weird if we did anyway, considering how old this place is. I'm surprised we can read them at all. Can you at least identify the type of materials?"

Rean nodded. "Not much, to be honest. There are a few whose names elude me, but overall, nothing here is of high quality. At most, they could be used for crafting Silver Level Equipment."

*Zup, zup, zup...*

Without hesitation, Rean transferred all the boxes into the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. "Although their quality isn't exceptional, they are certainly well-preserved. Not to mention there are tons of these things. We can utilize them in the future. If I'm not mistaken, these materials are meant for repairing the ship itself rather than repairing weapons like ours."

Roan turned his attention to the exit, which revealed a closed door. "I don't see a knob on this thing."

Luan couldn't help but comment, "Is this one of those automatic doors from the films that Sister Orb mentioned to us in the past?" Sister Orb had shared extensive information about Rean's birth planet with those interested, and Rean found it intriguing since it aligned with his Circuitry System.

Rean retrieved one of his Sect's Badges, one of the same ones used for communication, and attempted to establish a connection. "Sigh... no luck." Rean had considered giving these badges to Spiegel and Waremis, but they proved ineffective outside the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. "There must be some sort of signal jamming technology on this Spaceship that completely blocks my 'smartphones.'"

Roan disregarded that and approached the door. However...

*Dummmmm...*

A short alarm sounded, followed by a robotic voice.

-Identification could not be confirmed. Please keep your Identification Card with you at all times and ensure it has the necessary authority level to access the required paths.-

An automated message reverberated through the room as the door remained shut. Clearly, Rean, Roan, and Luan lacked anything resembling an Identification Card, at least the one required for this Spaceship. "What do we do? There doesn't seem to be any other way out of this room."

Roan could only think of one option. "What choice do we have? If we don't return to the ducts, our only recourse is to force open this door. It shouldn't be as thick as the Spaceship's hull, so we should be able to create a sufficiently large opening."

*Tremble!*

Suddenly, the room shook slightly, surprising them. "What happened?"

*Bannn, bannn, bannn...*

The lights immediately switched to red, accompanied by the robotic voice once again.

-Sector 519-890H is under attack. Deploying defensive measures. All personnel must avoid sector 519-890H until second order. Anyone without an Identification Card will be eliminated.-

The twins' group couldn't help but speculate on the cause. "It seems our guests were not as patient as we were."