Bale was liking the new environment after months of being in the Academy. It was a new and enjoyable experience, most especially on a planet like PS I.
The caravan climbed off the Aurora Veil after it landed and the dirver deactivated his neural controls with the ship. This showed that the ship was using neural technology to operate.
Walking through the large corridor of the hangar, the Prometheus men led the cadets and instructors into the large entrance that led into the huge building of Prometheus' main quarters. Bale happened to be the one at the front this time, and so he entered first.
As Bale stepped into the first big chamber of Prometheus' main quarters, he felt like his eyes were going to explode from taking in too much at once. The ceiling was way up there... higher than he could really measure, and it seemed to disappear into some faint, glowing haze, like it didn't really exist. He actually blinked a few times, trying to get his bearings, but everything kept moving just slightly. The walls... the floor... the lights. It was all weird. They didn't move like normal things do though. It was more like they were breathing or adjusting for him,–or maybe for everyone, who knows?–and it made him feel like he had to walk carefully, like he wasn't supposed to mess anything up.
There were these long narrow tables in the middle of the room, but they weren't really tables. They were machines on top which holographic screens were floating above them, and data was twisting around in three dimensions like ribbons. They were little models of planets, neural connections statistics, and...something he couldn't even begin to name. He just tried to focus on one, and it seemed to shift just enough to make him lose track.
People were there too, moving about their businesses. Their hands were flickering through the air, but he wasn't sure if they were touching anything or just thinking really hard. They were actually making use of their neural nodes. What they were operating could only be seen by them and not a third party. Over the long tables he saw earlier, some were also adjusting streams of numbers that twisted like tiny galaxies, or so it looked to him, and he wanted to ask what that even meant, but he didn't dare to.
Along the walls, lights were glowing softly, kind of like the walls themselves were breathing, and then suddenly, a section of a wall folded open like magic, and a passage appeared.
'What the...'
Bale almost jumped. He looked around quickly, and then the wall was flat again. He rubbed his eyes. Was it really just a wall before? Or had it been a door the whole time? He didn't know.
At that moment, a few Prometheus men in black suits passed by him, carrying expressionless faces, and he noticed they didn't even glance at the walls like he did.
'Maybe they'd seen it all a hundred times. They must have gotten used to it.'
Bale felt small, kind of stupid even, but also...excited. He wanted to touch something, at least, to see if these things really worked like he thought they did. He also wanted to see everything at once, but the room was too big,, and he realized that no matter how long he stared, there would always be more to notice.
Bale's eyes kept scanning the hall. He even almost choked for a moment, because he had forgotten to breathe. The place wasn't just big. It seemed endless. Panels along the walls were shimmering like water, and twisted in strange patterns. Walking across a translucent floor, he could see platforms beneath the floor carrying crates, glowing devices, and some neural device cores that pulsed softly. Holographic projections could also be seen hovering in the air around.
Tosin however, tripped over a small ridge in the floor, which make Bale know he was there too, relishing in the perfect vista of Prometheus main quarters. "Damn," Tosin said, not minding his tripping incident. "Bruhh, this place... it's… huge."
Tora let out a low whisper with an amazed face. "I… I don't even know where to look first. This is insane." She didn't even know when her hand brushed Bale's arm for a second, almost gripping it.
Liu Zhang on his side, tried hard to smirk, stepped on the edge of a moving platform and stumbled slightly. He caught himself and then muttered, "Heh… this place… it's weird, but… okay, not bad, I guess." His words sounded casual, but his wide eyes actually betrayed him.
Bale saw this and almost laughed.
'Pride bastard.'
The rest of the cadets whispered and nudged one another, craning their necks to follow moving platforms or leaning over translucent railings to see what the floating holograms represented. Some were gawking in silence, while some were whispering guesses about what the glowing lattices could do. A few muttered under their breath, arguing softly whether any of these even made sense, or if they would explode if touched wrong.
Bale felt the chaos around him—the nervous laughter, of course, a whispered "Watch your step", a sudden squeak as someone bumped a panel, and someone else letting out a startled gasp.
Every step made the cadets more aware that the Academy rules didn't apply here. They all knew they were limited here and so had to behave accordingly.
Just then, one of the Prometheus men walking together with the instructors behind the cadets walked to the front, as he led them directly to a wall...
'No! It's not a wall! It's like the one I saw earlier!'
"This is a quantum seal gate. It basically shrinks matter to allow for passage. I know this may be your first time of seeing something like this, so you're welcome."
"I've seen it all before, there's nothing special," a voice suddenly said loudly enough for the Prometheus man to hear. It came from directly behind Bale. He didn't need to guess.
'Liu Zhang!'
The cadets around suddenly felt tense. Even Blake and Japhet were shocked at the way he spoke.
"This is Prometheus and not the Academy, and this bitch is boasting about?"
"What? Does he think his dad's influence will save him?"
"Huh, you say that as if he remembered he has a son."
Liu Zhang turned and wanted to cause trouble, because he was ready to fight those who said those words.
However, he received a response to his earlier ranting. The Prometheus man that spoke politely replied him.
"Liu Zhang,"
Science broke in among the cadets as Liu Zhang looked in the direction of the voice. The Prometheus man in vantablack suit was carrying a friendly demeanor, his face smiling.
He continued, "If you will, pls come forward, and open this door. Your response shows that you are quite familiar with this mechanism and is no stranger to quantum seal gates. I'm intrigued to see you open one before your friends."
Liu Zhang... could feel chills run down his spine! He...
However in the next second, he found himself in front of the dark lustrous wall! This time, Liu Zhang was not the only one that was dumbfounded. The whole cadets around were. The instructors joined in the amazement too, thoigh it didn't appear much on their faces.
'How... how did...' Liu Zhang was undoubtedly stunned. He didn't know what had just happened to him. The cadets around were stunned too, some switching their gazes between him and where he was a moment ago.
However though, their amazement got confirmed as a slim man that carried an invisible domineering aura was immediately notice to he standing beside Liu Zhang, his first still clasped around Liu Zhang's arm.
'An Unbound!'
One of the Unbounds was responsible for what just happened! That explains it! A Chronotype Unbound!
Bale was absolutely stunned. So an Unbound was that strong and fast! No one could notice when Liu Zhang instantly appeared before the quantum seal gate. The Unbound was a Chronotype. They had been taught about the evolution systems of the Unbounds in theory classes and so the cadets knew this.
Chronotype Unbounds were responsible for manipulating time effect on what they touched or willed within a certain area of space. Therefore, the Unbound must have made use of that power to make him appear before the gate without anyone noticing.
The Unbound standing beside Liu Zhang let go of his grip and beckoned his head, looking him directly in the eyes without any hint of emotion.
"Here it is. Open it." The Unbound spoke without asking. He spoke like je was commanding it.
... Which startled Liu Zhang.
"Hehe, I-I was j-joking, you know. Hehehehe" He laughed helplessly, scratching his head.
However, the Unbound didn't say anything more. Liu Zhang could immediately infer that if he didn't follow instructions, the next moment was going to be very unbearable for him.
However, an instructor reached out to them.
"Sir Yun Luo, les leave him out if it. He was merely blabbing his senses out. He didn't mean it that way. Forgive him."
As the Chronotype Unbound named Yun Luo heard this, his expression changed subtly and let go of Liu Zhang.
However, a larger door some distance suddenly opened up as a set of high class men in dark suits walked out through the entrance, and towards them.
"Pls come inside. We have little time left. It's time to meet with the rest of the caravan."
Bale muttered to himself, opening his eyes slightly wide.
"More Unbounds... this mission–"
"–is going to be a dangerous one." a Diver cadet beside him completed the statement, seemingly getting slightly frightened about what they were going to face.