CHAPTER 368: CONSULTATION

Ping!

Lane’s phone vibrated, causing him to look away from the laptop’s screen. His eyes were lifeless, and his movements sluggish...

He had spent almost FIVE HOURS reading through reports. FIVE HOURS. Glued to the laptop, scanning through a report after a report. There was only so much looking for keywords could do, after all. At some points, his keywords got so broad that he was getting too many hits. But when he tried narrowing it down, he couldn’t find the answers he was seeking...

Of course, it was possible that the answers were not there in the first place. To begin with, his theory was just a hunch based on the circumstances, but without anything concrete to back it up. On top of that, while his spies who had infiltrated the Allen Guild had delivered him a lot of information, there were things they had no access to. An experiment such as planting an unregulated substance sold on the black market in an inactive Gate was bound to be kept top secret, so it wasn’t unbelievable that his spies might be unaware.

And checking with the Obsidian Guild to see if they had given access to the dungeon to anyone in the past months would be hard as well... The Guild was too insignificant to matter, so Lane didn’t know if there was any spy planted there. Nothing had been mentioned in the reports from the last year, at the very least.

Either way, since it was a matter of utmost importance, Lane had to try to find more clues, even if that meant patiently searching through the database... But reading all those reports for so long left him completely drained. He wasn’t made for that kind of work...

He let out a heavy sigh, took a sip of the super sweet frappuccino he had ordered, and grabbed his phone.

Only to shoot up from the floor as his eyes glided over the message on the screen. He quickly pressed a button, and held the phone to his ear.

"Hey, can I stop by now?" he asked, as soon as the call connected.

"Now?" On the other end of the line, Ava sounded almost exasperated. "I believe that I have texted you that I am busy with an experiment..."

"I know, I know, but we’re expected to get back to work tomorrow! If there’s another incident, who knows when I will have time next?"

Ava hesitated only for a short moment, before answering, "Fine then. I’m in my lab."

Lane had information about the most recent Gate reactivation, after all. And it was allegedly ’very important’. So, although Ava was busy, how could she possibly resist her curiosity?

Lane’s lips curved in a smile. He had already turned off his laptop and was heading to the door (he had to go to the underground garage to grab his car, so it was less convenient to jump out of the window) with his cup of coffee in his hand.

"I’ll be there soon!" he announced before ending the call.

It was still quite early in the day, so Damien wouldn’t be coming back soon, but just in case, Lane grabbed the memo pad, and quickly scribbled a note, leaving it on the coffee table in the living room, so that his boyfriend would see it if he ended up coming back first. Lane could have also texted him... But he didn’t want to disturb him at work for no reason. Especially since he would probably be the first one to return anyway.

The distance between his current apartment and ManaTech’s main building wasn’t too far. Since it wasn’t the rush hour, it didn’t take long for Lane to arrive. He found himself an empty spot in the shade to park his car, and went straight to the entrance. There, he greeted the receptionist with a smile, and scanned his pass at the gates.

Although not a member of ManaTech, Lane had his own pass, courtesy of Ava. A visitor pass, of course, but one that allowed him access not only to the main building, but even to the laboratories... Only the ones that Ava was in charge of, but that was still far more than many other members of the Guild. Normally, to get access to places which contained so much sensitive information, people had to pass multiple clearances and work for the Guild for extensive period of time, or at least have proper qualifications...

But Ava was one of the top researchers at ManaTech. If she wanted to hand someone a pass, then she could, and no one would make trouble for her. After all, she wouldn’t be so reckless as to hand the access pass over to someone suspicious...

Or would she?

Lane walked down the familiar path down the hallways, cool air blowing on him as the fans gently hummed above his head, his steps echoing. Ava had said she was in her lab, but...

Which one exactly?

Lane checked one door, then the other...

Only on his fourth try, he had finally found his friend.

Hearing the door open, Ava didn’t even lift her head from the microscope. She just asked, "Lane?" to confirm.

"Nope, a thief. I’m here to steal your research results. Hand them over or else I’ll make you regret!" Lane threatened. Without much threat in his voice, of course.

Ava couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She didn’t say anything, she just continued her observation, taking notes. It was only a few minutes later, when she was done with the sample, that she finally turned her attention to Lane.

"Alright, fine. Let’s hear what you’ve got to say..."

They sat down by the table on the side, with coffee in plain white mugs. Black coffee, with no sugar - Ava didn’t add anything to hers, and Lane didn’t stop by often enough to bother keeping any sweeteners for him - but it was fine. Lane might have had a sweet tooth, but he wasn’t picky. He could drink bitter coffee as well.

As they sipped their coffee, Lane started relaying everything that he had observed in the dungeon, explaining with the copy of the map he had made. It took quite a while, as Ava had to get up every now and then to check on her experiments - she couldn’t exactly set everything aside, even if Lane’s issue was even more interesting than the tests she was currently running. Just as he was about to get to all of his theories with the Mana plant fertilizer, to confront them with Ava to see whether they were even plausible...

Someone suddenly knocked on the door.

"Miss Hill?" the person on the other side spoke. "You have a visitor."

Ava exchanged glances with Lane. "Is it important?"

"Uh..." The person seemed unsure. He was probably checking with the visitor, who ended up answering in his place,

"It can wait a bit. Should I come back later?"

At the sound of the voice, Lane’s brows lifted. Without even consulting it with Ava, he answered, "You can come in."

There was a brief pause, as if the visitor on the other side of the door was also surprised. A moment later, though, the door opened, and a woman stepped in.

"I was hoping I might find you here," Nyla smiled at Lane.