NOVEL NEXT Chapter 353
As the location signals of each facility appeared, our Violet Squad members were left in shock.
There was a significant disparity between the anticipated target point and the actual locations detected by the V-Mice.
The arrangement of outposts and facilities completely exceeded all our expectations.
“What the heck is going on? This is completely different from the expected coordinates!”
The locations were indeed diverse.
Urban dense areas, mountainous altitudes, underwater facilities. It was even located right inside an educational institution.
“Arturia Academy, you say?”
“One of the prestigious academies in the eastern district.”
This academy had recently come under scrutiny from the Inspection Bureau due to a large-scale investigation that uncovered various issues. The core concerns were unresolved missing person cases and contracts for forced clinical trials on students by pharmaceutical companies.
Among the biggest culprits were the Foundation and Laplacian. While their involvement was substantial, it was revealed that other organizations had also committed illegal acts.
We could swiftly suppress the miscellaneous scoundrels thanks to the vigilance of the Inspection Bureau and the covert involvement of our allied forces.
However, one daring V-Mouse had captured the most serious issue since the Magnavis incident.
“Eek! People are sealed in here!”
What the mouse caught sight of was a shocking scene. Countless humans were imprisoned in a glass vault, unconscious.
Although slight breathing movements could be observed, the state was clearly one of enforced confinement!
“Could it be! Human experiments?!”
“Another victim like our Violets is going to emerge!”
Under my command, the V-Mice began scanning the area.
The entire room was filled with vaults. It was certain that dozens of humans were sealed within.
According to the expert perspective of Unit 7200, this was an isolation facility where the Foundation kept people imprisoned.
“Isolation, you say? Is it a place for trapping bad guys?”
Suddenly, memories of the protocol used during the Magnavis strike surfaced.
“For now, it’s just frozen food and water for a while!”
“Let me out! I was just following orders!”
Those who clearly trampled on human rights and treated people under the guise of experiments were either crushed on-site or contributed to forming a Rust Room fishing ground, but ambiguous individuals were captured and imprisoned.
Some among them were handed over to Helios, where Irene’s dad was modified into a heavily armored combat machine and was being managed.
The rest were temporarily housed in closed facilities or abandoned mines and were handed over to the Scholarship Officer.
By now, they must be safeguarded in special facilities under the Inspection Bureau or in locations unknown to us.
“Hmm, could that place also be like a prison?”
I hesitated.
What if Luminecs were indeed carrying out a justified mission by isolating genuinely dangerous individuals?
“The enemy’s enemy could become our ally, right?”
“Whether large evils or small, they’re all evil! The Violets never compromise with absolute evil!”
Of course, ‘my’ memories as a Foundation agent showed me the truth.
“This place is a facility that forcibly imprisons Awakened Ones or entities that conflict with the Foundation’s interests!”
In other words, the facility I witnessed was a concentration camp where innocent people were imprisoned based on the Foundation’s unilateral judgment.
“We are the Ariel Group! We cannot tolerate forces that suppress freedom!”
What if they had captured Enrique?
It was certain they would have imprisoned her in such a facility.
We too had directly experienced their malfeasance.
While we had originally planned an operation to release them, we never expected such a large-scale facility.
The confinement facility of the Enforcement Bureau just so happened to overlap with the two infiltration points of the mice.
“Boss! What are our future operational guidelines?”
The mice waited for instructions. I carefully reviewed the strategic options.
“Hmm…”
The mouse agents’ information gathering was ongoing, but it seemed the location we found lacked a central repository access terminal.
Or perhaps we hadn’t found it yet.
For now, we had means handed over by the Scholarship Officer, so we just needed to locate it to enter immediately.
However, we could not simply stand idly by as the Violet Squad; the risk of those innocent people being transferred to more discreet facilities loomed large.
Moreover, it was a golden opportunity to disrupt the enemy’s forces.
If the Foundation was so cautious about imprisoning someone, they likely weren’t a bad person.
“Commence simultaneous strikes at all points!”
The initial full-scale confrontation with the enemy’s core forces would also greatly benefit our tactical growth.
We would learn their response patterns and effective cooperation methods with our allied forces.
For our Violets, every battle held meaning as real combat training.
“Okay, contact the allies and cooperating forces!”
It was time to strike the first blow.