BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

The Chimaeric Demon scouts returned from their reconnaissance. Turning into bugs made things easier, and by a wide margin.

They shapeshifted into their human form again and then gathered around Mira, Amber, Emily, and June.

"We found some paths to the central building," a clone said. "However, most areas are blocked by collapsed structures or bug nests. There basically are three viable routes."

"Yes." Another scout stepped forward. "But keep in mind that the situation behind the first row of buildings is not that simple. There are many workers and warriors patrolling the streets."

"Patrolling?"

"Indeed. I had my suspicions when we found them in the caves and tunnels," the clone said. "But patrolling their nest area means their intelligence is much greater than we assumed."

"Yeah," Mira said. "Patrolling is not exactly something that a Thaid would have done. I justified the fact they were in other tunnels and caves as them searching for food, but if they really are patrolling the area, it means these things are not completely mindless."

She leaned forward. "Anyway, did you only find workers and warriors?"

Depending on what was here, their plan would be different; they would have fewer or more problems. The bug-like thaids weren't a threat taken alone, but they could easily swarm them, and if that happened, they wouldn't have many chances.

Of course, if something like that happened, they would just flee, but that also depended on how coordinated the bugs would be.

"Yes, for now at least. The leaders must be inside of the various nests," the clone said.

"Tell me more about those patrols. Are you sure they were doing that and not something else like working or bringing food to their main nest or whatever?"

"Yes, we are sure," another clone said. "They moved in regular intervals, checking specific areas. They'd investigate any unusual sounds or movements; we tested this, and they seemed to have designated posts where they'd stop and observe the surroundings. Some would even climb structures to get better views."

"At one point, we saw them respond to something—probably a falling piece of debris. Three patrols converged on the area within moments, sweeping it before returning to their routes. It wasn't random wandering—they were following some kind of organized security pattern, hence why we assumed they were patrolling the area."

Mira's expression darkened. Her years as a mercenary had taught her to read creature behavior, and this wasn't normal. Bug-like thaids typically displayed basic group coordination, but nothing approaching this level of sophistication.

"So, not only are we under tons of earth and stone and surrounded by monsters, but now said monsters are even behaving like a human would. Fantastic."

"It's not so bad; if detected, the clones can shapeshift and fly away, while we can warp away."

However, alerting the bugs would make reaching the building more difficult in future attempts.

"What if there is something else in the main building, something that would make the clones unable to escape?" Emily asked.

"Should we just send the clones to scout the building?" Amber turned to Mira. She was more experienced than them, so leaning on her to take these decisions was the best thing they could all do.

"That would be the most ideal thing in normal circumstances, but if there is something else, then the best thing would be to stay close to you so that we can all warp," Mira said.

Neither Mira nor Amber wanted to risk losing the clones. Their numbers were already limited, and with Erik missing—possibly dead—they had no way to create more. Amber and the others came here with 10 clones, and thirty joined them later. It meant they might lose forty clones of the 500 they had available, and that meant losing a huge chunk of their manpower. They couldn't allow that.

"Warping in from here is not ideal either," Mira then said. "We don't know the building's layout, and we might warp right in the middle of a group of monsters. I think the best way would be for the clones to scout the building, but for us to go there so that we can get the hell out of here with your powers. How many warps would you be able to make if something goes bad?"

Amber stopped to think. "It depends on how many people I need to warp and how long the distance is. Assuming it's 40 Chimaeric demons, plus us four, I think I can do it only one, and I can't even go that far."

"Damn…" Mira thought for a little before deciding. "Well, it's still better than nothing."

That meant that secrecy was paramount.

She turned to the clones. "Continue monitoring the area, but keep your bug forms. If there are only three available paths to reach the target, we need to keep them available in case things go south. We also need to keep a couple of backup routes ready in case we need to change course."

Mira turned to Amber. "In case of problems, you'll need to either warp us away or to another route, depending on the situation. The clones will signal which path is clear of sentinels. Stay alert, and don't waste your mana."

Amber met Mira's gaze and nodded. "Then I'll keep in contact with the clones. As soon as they give word, I'll move us all to whichever path they say is the safest."

Mira's strategy made sense—with multiple planned routes and Amber's warping ability, they could quickly switch paths if detected, rather than retreating all the way back.

"Good," Mira said. "I've been in this kind of situation before. Rule number one is absolute silence—no unnecessary movements, no talking unless critical, and watch every step. Even a small sound like kicking a pebble or stepping on loose debris could alert the patrols. Keep your eyes on the ground and stay focused."

"Rule number two," Mira continued in a hushed voice, "stay within sight of each other at all times. We move as a unit. If someone spots trouble, they signal silently—no shouting, no sudden movements. We need a clear line of sight to Amber at all times in case we need an emergency warp."

"And rule number three is the most critical," Mira's voice grew even more serious. "If you see anything unusual—anything at all—that doesn't match what the scouts reported, we abort immediately. No heroics, no delays. These organized patrols are already far beyond normal behavior. If we spot something even stranger, it could mean we're walking into something way over our heads. Trust me, Amber, you don't want to know how messy things can get when an entire colony of bug-like monsters decides you're their next target."

Mira also shivered, her mind flashing back to a particularly nasty encounter during her mercenary days.

"I know what you mean," Amber said with a visible shudder, her skin crawling at the thought of the bug-like monsters.

She had been forced to fight them many times during these days—battling swarms in narrow tunnels, dodging their mandibles, and dealing with their acidic sprays that could eat through metal.

Well, not all of them could do so. Some had very classic strength-raising brain crystal powers; others had force pushes, heat generation, or the ability to emit paralyzing sonic waves. It was in truth a clusterfuck of powers. However, those three species were the only ones working together and presumably belonging to the same species. The workers were the ones who could spit acid.

Even after dozens of encounters, Amber still found these creatures deeply disgusting. Their exoskeletons and their six jointed legs were enough to give her the nightmares.

The clones nodded and prepared to return to their mission. Before they left, Mira grabbed one's arm. "Stay in communication range. If you spot anything unusual, we need to know immediately, and for god's sake, DON'T DIE! Without you clones, we are dead meat."

"It will be done."

Amber stood in deep thought. Her ability to warp the group to safety would be once again crucial, but she couldn't help feeling the weight of her responsibility.

Since her task was this crucial, this meant that she couldn't use her powers to fight at all.

<It would have been easier if I could have just used the corrosive fog.>

However, she couldn't use it inside these caves—not with hundreds of thousands of kilometers of tunnels to traverse, all buried under an immense mass of earth and rock, and with the risk of destroying whatever they came here to find.

Besides, both her powers were as powerful as high was their mana consumption.

<Damn…>

Hopefully, the clones would make sure that she wouldn't find herself in that situation.

<The problem is that, even if we switch paths when spotted, those bug-like freaks will swarm every tunnel and passage around here.>

She shuddered at the thought. <And with each route we're forced to abandon, we'll have fewer options left. Those things might be thaids, but they're not stupid. They'll figure out where we're headed eventually.>