Chapter 199.1: Is There Anything Else You’re Hiding? (2)

A researcher brought over what looked exactly like a spacesuit.

“Please take off your jacket before wearing this,” the researcher told Kang Chan.

Kang Chan took off his jacket and handed it to one of the agents.

“You’re going to have to put on the pants first,” the researcher instructed.

Kang Chan put his legs one after another through the pants, which were connected to the boots. The researcher then draped suspenders over his shoulders.

“Please raise your arm.”

Two people had to grab and lift the top part of the suit to put it on Kang Chan. They lowered it down on him, seemingly covering him with it like a lid. Afterward, another researcher brought over and attached a belt that seemed to have been made out of aluminum. It seamlessly clasped onto the hook connecting the two parts of the suit.

“The moment you put on the helmet, you will no longer hear anything outside. All communications will be done through the headset built into the helmet,” the researcher explained.

Kang Chan looked across him and saw Lanok putting on a headset with a mic.

“This suit contains ninety minutes worth of oxygen. The screen near your left forearm will display how much time you have left. It will give you audile updates every twenty minutes until you only have thirty minutes left, at which point it’ll start updating you every ten minutes. The plan is to save at least ten minutes of your oxygen for your trip back to us.”

Kang Chan only nodded in response. Soon after, two researchers lifted a helmet high in the air and lowered it onto his head.

Click. Click.

What’s this?

When Kang Chan put on the helmet, he saw various lines in front of him. They were in different colors and showed irregular movements.

“Mr. Kang Chan, can you hear me?” a researcher asked.

“I hear you loud and clear.”

Kang Chan noticed a slight spicy taste in his mouth as he breathed.

“I see multiple lines of different colors. Are these the energy?” he asked.

“You’re seeing the wavelengths of the energy that the lens on the helmet has made visible. Anyway, let’s begin.”

Kang Chan walked according to the researcher’s instructions.

Clunk. Clunk.

A heavy, metallic sound rang out with each step he took. He felt as if he was in a crystal ball that had a white ray moving in various directions.

When Kang Chan headed out, the colorful energy wavelengths also exited the convex cement building. They spread like a spiderweb, scanning the surroundings before disappearing.

Perhaps it was because Kang Chan was wearing a spacesuit, but the energy that scanned his surroundings just kept repeating the same behavior, examining other places before going further away. Seeing the wavelengths at work, he became completely certain that what he felt the first time he visited this place was actually real.

Huff. Huff.

It was a striking sight.

The researchers opened the door of the convex building, and Kang Chan immediately heard familiar warning sounds and a woman announcing that the situation had gone out of control.

Huff. Huff. Clunk. Clunk.

The suit was making it very difficult to walk, but he chose not to pay it any attention for now.

The lens of the helmet made the interior of the convex building seem full of spiderwebs, all of which began from the Blackhead in the main mechanical equipment.

Some of the rays were as thin as a thread, while the others were as thick as a rope. Among them, the red one was especially fast. It also displayed rougher movements than the others when it passed through Kang Chan and the researchers.

The rays twisted and turned like lightning as they extended, creating quite a terrifying sight whenever they approached and disappeared.

.

“Mr. Kang Chan, are you okay?” Lanok asked as looked at Kang Chan and his surroundings. He also had goggles on now.

Only Lanok knew that this place drained Kang Chan of his energy. Now that he could see how it happened, he seemingly became worried.

“I’m still completely unaffected,” Kang Chan answered.

Kang Chan took quite a while before he reached the bottom of the stairs.

These idiots! If they were going to build a facility this big, shouldn’t they have at least made an elevator?

Now ten meters underground, Kang Chan began walking into the corridor again. He was accompanied by Lanok, Ethan, five researchers, and five agents each from France and the UK.

One of the researchers walked past the main engine and pointed to the middle of the corridor, which continued on to the left and right, looking like a T.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

“Warning! Warning! The shockwave has gone out of control!”

If they used a walkie-talkie instead, they wouldn’t have had to listen to the awful warning sounds.

It took them around fifteen minutes to reach one of the nine auxiliary devices. A researcher reached out to it and pulled a cable about five centimeters thick. It looked like an electrical cord.

Huff. Huff.

“This cable is connected to the cetinium, allowing it to transfer the energy’s wavelength. If we connect this to the spacesuit, your energy will be transferred to the cetinium and then to the Blackhead. In theory, that should be enough to stabilize the Blackhead’s energy,” he explained to Kang Chan.

Kang Chan slowly inhaled.

“To sever your connection to it, you just have to pull the cable toward you. Did you get all that?”

Even at that moment, countless energy rays were passing through the researcher, Kang Chan, and the people nearby.

“Yeah, got it,” Kang Chan answered.

Looking quite nervous, the researchers finally pulled the cable, revealing an end that looked similar to the hose attached to LPGs[1] to refill them.

“We’re going to connect the cable to the spacesuit now,” a researcher said.

Huff. Huff.

Looking straight into Kang Chan’s eyes, he attached the cable to the right side of his waist.

Click!

Brrr!

The cable began to vibrate lightly as soon as it was connected. All the red wavelengths around them then swiftly rushed to Kang Chan and the auxiliary device.

“Mr. Kang Chan! Are you okay?” Lanok asked, worry clearly evident in his voice, as the surprised researchers instinctively took around three to four steps away from him.

Without the goggles, Kang Chan never would have learned about this phenomenon.

“Still doing good, Mr. Ambassador,” Kang Chan replied. He really did feel fine.

Kang Chan turned toward the researchers. The helmet didn’t turn with his head, so he had to twist his entire upper body to look at them.

“Did that do anything to the Blackhead?” Kang Chan asked the researchers.

“It hasn’t shown any changes yet.”

The auxiliary device was now surrounded by a red glow.

Huff. Huff.

The sight made him feel quite terrified, but he found it more bearable than he initially expected.

“The wavelength of the cetinium is getting bigger,” a researcher said.

Kang Chan didn’t know what that meant.

When Kang Chan turned his upper body toward the researchers again, he noticed they were alternating between writing down something and looking at the control panel that was connected to the auxiliary device.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

“Warning! Warning! The shockwave has gone out of control!” the woman ceaselessly exclaimed.

Can’t they turn that off?

Everyone in the room already knew that there was a problem, so the warnings weren’t really doing anything but worsen their anxiety.

Badum. Badum. Badum. Badum.

Just as Kang Chan began to feel as if everything was going smoothly, his heart started beating loudly. It was as if it was screaming at him that he was in grave danger.

Go! Get out of here!

What’s going on? What’s making my heart react like this?

Huff. Huff.

Kang Chan turned and looked both ways as he tried to control his breathing.

At that moment…

Whoosh!

The world before him was completely engulfed in a blackish-red color.

What’s going on?

Not long after, the energy inside Kang Chan completely left him.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

“Warning! Warning! The shockwave has gone out of control! Please get out of its blast radius immediately!” the woman continued to announce.

“Remove the cable!” Lanok ordered as soon as things went south.

After a couple of futile attempts, one of the researchers answered, “We can’t get close to him!”

Huff. Huff.

Albeit with difficulty, Kang Chan successfully turned to the side, finding researchers covering their faces with their hands.

“Mr. Kang Chan! The red energy struck you. Can you remove the cable?” Lanok asked.

I have to answer, but…

His mouth wouldn’t open.

Bang!

It didn’t take long for him to fall to the floor on his butt.

Huff. Huff.

Hearing his own breathing, he looked down. Unfortunately, the helmet didn’t follow his head movements, preventing him from seeing the cable.

What did they tell me to do again? Pull the cable toward me?

He had to sever the connection, but he had not even a drop of energy left in him. He couldn’t even lift a finger right now.

Everything around him had been dyed in a blackish-red color. It was as if his surroundings had been covered in blood.

Kang Chan was immediately connected with the Blackhead.

Is it because of the cable?

They had basically opened the door for the Blackhead, which had been doing everything in its power to reclaim the energy inside Kang Chan. He couldn’t help but regret not bringing a machine gun with him or even just unholstering the pistol attached to his ankle.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

“Warning! Warning! The shockwave has gone out of control! Please get out of its blast radius immediately!”

Huff. Huff.

Kang Chan didn’t even have the strength to raise his head up. All he could do now was stare at whatever was in front of him.

1. LPG is Liquefied Petroleum Gas. It’s used as a fuel gas in heating appliances, cooking equipment, and vehicles 👈