Chapter 314: 14: Under the Sea

Chapter 14: Under the Sea

Dylan hummed as he directed his giant crab machine down the slope. "Dodododo do dodo do do do."

He flipped a switch on his control panel and two large floodlights (located where the crab's eyes would be) illuminated the dark waters with shining light. Fish and other sea creatures swam out of sight as the two powerful lamps scanned the seafloor for the cliff the Doloris had seen on its scouting mission.

Dylan had found that he could affect the materials needed to build his contraptions by changing his description. If he added the materials he wanted in the description it would add them to the ingredients list. He'd gotten the idea when his request for a submarine listed a nuclear engine as a material. There was no way he could find something like that.

What Dylan did find was a car park next to a junkyard. The perfect place for him to create many new inventions. The overlay made it ridiculously easy. He didn't even need to own the stuff before using it. And so, Haven City was short one car park and junkyard but had gained a brand new crab walker. All things considered, it was a plus.

His fight with that Heroic guy had been a great way to test out his new adhesive foam. But he needed to work on getting into character quicker. He'd had a good few seconds to become the role and instead used it to comment about the swearing filter. "Who even adds a filter to voice chat anyways?"

"What's that boss?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with Cass. Get back on lookout."

"Sure boss. I just thought you could use a little company you know. This ocean's a lonely place."

"Cass if you're scared of being alone just say so."

"Nono I ain't scared. I just thought it would be better if we stuck together is all."

Dylan put on airs and sighed. "Fine, come here."

"Gee thanks boss. You're the greatest." Cass enveloped Dylan in a bear hug.

"Get off me you dolt!" Dylan shoved the butler away.

"But boss you said we should stick together."

"I meant we stay in the same room. Not for you to crush my chest cavity with arms of steel! Oh, go keep watch over there."

"But--"

"Go!"

Cass walked away, mumbling. "All I did was do what he said I don't know why he got so upset about it. If he didn't want me to do it he shoulda said it differently."

Dylan turned away from his bungling butler and back out at the open sea. The floodlights scanned the ground with every step and Dylan kept his eyes peeled. The seafloor had changed from white sand to hard rock and ambush predators lay in wait behind cracks in the floor. As the crab bot walked past these creatures would either retreat further inside their shelter or dart away in fear.

After a few more steps Dylan saw an edge at the end of the floodlights. "There!" He pointed.

"There what boss?"

"The cliff Cass! I see it there! Phlebotinium here we come!"

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Dr. Zlo nodded. "Continue searching until we've uncovered every secret in this laboratory. I myself will be heading to the middle of this complex. I want to see what they are doing with all that seaweed."

The Jacques nodded and directed two of the others to guard the villain. They saluted and flanked Dr. Zlo's side. Nodding in thanks, Dr. Zlo strode forth. He ignored the other doors to each side, the Jacques had the area contained. Cass followed behind, covering the rear.

Dylan was surprised. The Jacques were behaving strangely competent. He had expected many of them to fall from sheer stupidity since their main form of combat was windmilling their arms at the enemy. But these minions had taken the area and set up a perimeter. He wondered if the patch had fixed some sort of bug.

A closed door stood in front of Dylan. On the right side sat a control panel with two large buttons. Dylan tried one and the door hissed open. On the other side sat a squad of entrenched soldiers. The four were entrenched behind more sandbags and aiming their assault rifles. Dylan closed the door again as a hail of bullets shot out to greet him.

The bullets rat-a-tat-tat-ted against the metal doors. "Right," Dylan pointed to the Jacques. "You two take a defensive position. I'm going to open the door again. When I do, fire at them."

The Jacques nodded and crouched on the other side of the door. A lip gave just enough room for the minions to hide their bodies behind. Cass squeezed in with Dr. Zlo on the other side. The doctor pressed the open button and the doors hissed open once again. Gunfire sounded and Dylan heard the bullets connected with the lip but none penetrated.

The firing lulled. "Fire!" Dr. Zlo yelled.

Nodding, the two minions burst out of their cover, windmilling their arms in attack. Both held their carried pistols like clubs. Dylan facepalmed. "Must I do everything myself?"

He stepped out from behind cover and aimed with his monocle. The soldiers had turned to deal with the attacking Jacques which gave him time to fire off two shots before they responded. An arc of red light impacted one of the soldiers while the other collided with the sandbag cover. The soldiers turned to fire back at Dr. Zlo but he once again ducked behind the edge of the door. The Jacques descended on the remaining soldiers at that moment. Whirling arms and heavy pistols cracked the skulls of two soldiers and Dr. Zlo fired off another laser to finish off the third.

To celebrate their victory, the two Jacques grabbed assault rifles from the downed soldiers. They held the weapon barrel first and whirled their arms to test their new weapons. Dr. Zlo rolled his eyes. He picked up the remaining two rifles and handed one to Cass. "I trust you know how to use a weapon like this?"

Cass grabbed the assault weapon with both hands. "What's not to know? You point it at the enemy and pull the trigger. Easy as pie."

At least some of the minions weren't completely hopeless. Dylan wondered if the Jacques simple AI came from a lack of description. The hatbots weren't anywhere close to the stupidity of the Jacques. It could be worth looking into making a more sophisticated minion factory.

More gunfire brought Dylan out of his thoughts. Cass was firing down the hall at another group of entrenched soldiers. The squad had ducked under the sandbags for protection but Cass wasn't anywhere close to hitting them. Bullets ricocheted off the ceiling as the recoil brought the butler's arms upward.

Dylan took the opportunity to send the Jacques forward again. He provided covering fire with his assault rifle and then let the minions club the soldiers with their pilfered rifles. When the fight finished he tossed his weapon and grabbed a new one. "You should replace your weapon as well," he said to Cass. The butler nodded and grabbed another rifle.

This continued for three more doors, each identical to the last. "Someone needs to work on their base design," Dylan commented as he passed through the last door.

The middle of the complex hosted an elevator straight out of science fiction. It was a sleek pearl white and hummed with energy. Six soldiers stood guard behind a sandbag barricade. Two of the six stood behind a machine gun emplacement.

Dylan dove back behind the doors as the turret opened fire. The soldier didn't even need to aim as a storm of bullets ripped through the two Jacques. They had been too slow to move. Dylan peeked past the door as the machine gun fired and quickly ducked back again as a bullet pinged off the metal above him.

Huddled behind the doorframe, Dylan turned the knob on his cane. Peeking around again, he turned the nozzle at the end towards the group of sandbags and fired. A red liquid sprayed outward and splattered on the sandbags, the soldiers, and the soldier's guns. As it contacted the substance ignited, setting the area on fire.

Dylan stepped out as Dr. Zlo. "Cass, make sure they all don't burn to death. I've heard immolation is a terrible way to go."

"You got it boss."

Dr. Zlo strutted over the elevator and called it up. It dinged open and Dr. Zlo walked inside and looked around for the buttons. Finding them, he held down the door open button while waiting for Cass to finish putting out the fires. While waiting he took a look at the descriptions next to each floor. "Ah, there it is. Superpower research. That must be where the phlebotinium is."

Cass finished putting out the last of the fires and entered the elevator. Dylan selected the floor listing superpower research and let go of the door open button. The elevator doors closed with a hum and the two descended into the bowels of the secret base.

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