Philo waved a dismissive hand, her expression turning serious. "Alright, forget the party for a minute. I need to get to the main terminal right now."
The elderly technician immediately bowed respectfully. "Right this way, Founder."
He escorted them straight down to the 12th underground sublevel. As the elevator doors slid open, Haruto's eyes widened in sheer amazement.
Philo's base was light-years ahead of Daisy's facility; experimental robotics labs, high-tech defense arrays, and sleek automated sectors hummed with energy everywhere he looked.
However, the base also had a wonderfully chaotic, eccentric vibe—busy researchers and engineers were running around frantically, treating the massive lab like their own living room.
They finally reached the exact center of the facility, where a floating, translucent blue orb hovered above a sleek metallic pedestal—the core main terminal.
Philo stepped up to it, holding her breath. As she approached, the orb flickered, instantly recognizing her presence and glowing with a warm welcome interface.
Philo pressed her right hand firmly against the glass scanner, locking her biometric fingerprint into the system.
CHIME!
A brilliant wave of emerald-green light cascaded outward from the terminal, racing up the walls and floor as every single backup system across the entire facility booted up simultaneously.
From the center of the roof, a massive green beacon shot straight up into the sky, signaling to the whole sector that the Founder was officially back online.
The entire room of engineers erupted into thunderous applause.
Marena let out a lazy yawn, patting her mouth. "Alright, system's back on. We done here? Can we leave now?"
"Yeah, we're done," Philo smirked, turning to the group. "Next stop: Geeli's base via the high-speed quantum teleporter."
Haruto blinked. "Wait, why are we going to Geeli's base now?"
"Because staying here is way too boring—it's just endless lab work and paperwork," Philo shrugged. "But Geeli's base? Oh, man, that place is something else entirely. It's basically a massive palace carved out of solid gold and hyper-advanced minerals. When you see it, your jaw is literally going to drop."
She paused, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Though... before we head out, there's just one little task we need to take care of first."
Haruto rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a heavy yawn. "Man, I'm getting kind of sleepy. All this high-tech stuff is starting to wear me out."
Philo shot him an amused look, crossing her arms. "What's the matter? Are you getting bored already?"
"Yeah, a little bit," Haruto admitted. "It's cool and all, but after a while, it just feels like staring at blinking lights and glowing screens."
"Fair enough," Philo chuckled. "Though, speaking of tech, we actually could build a full tactical armor suit made entirely of adaptive nanotech if we wanted to."
Haruto's eyes lit up. "Wait, really? Can I wear it?"
Philo burst out laughing. "Relax, I'm just messing with you! Well, technically it is possible to build one, but it's heavily restricted. If a prototype like that fell into the wrong hands, it'd be a nightmare to deal with. Besides, with how ridiculously overpowered we already are, who even needs armor?"
"True," Haruto nodded, stretching his arms.
With the chatter out of the way, Philo walked back over to the floating core orb. "Alright, time to wrap up the last little task."
She reached out and pressed a final physical override button on the base of the terminal pedestal.
RUMBLE—!
Suddenly, the entire underground facility shuddered violently, shaking the walls and floorboards.
Right in front of them, the steel flooring split apart with a mechanical hiss, and a sleek, glowing green laptop slowly rose up from a hidden sub-deck compartment.
The device pulsed with vibrant emerald energy, wisps of data-stream smoke gently rising from its chassis as it awaited her command.
Haruto stepped closer, staring down at the glowing device. "What even is that laptop?"
Philo carefully picked it up, a nostalgic smile touching her lips. "Back on Earth, before all of this, I was a massive gadget geek and terminal enthusiast. This isn't just any laptop—it's a high-tier relic terminal. It has a built-in autonomous execution command.
Whatever task you type into it, it will keep running and executing until it's completely finished, as long as the target doesn't exceed my maximum processing level threshold."
Haruto's eyes widened. "Whoa, seriously? That's insane."
"Watch this, I'll set up the teleporter," Philo said, her fingers flying across the glowing green keys with lightning speed.
She quickly typed out a set of spatial coordinates, linking them directly to Geeli's sector.
She turned back toward the crowded lab and gave a casual wave to the cheering engineers. "Alright, everyone, keep the base running smoothly. See ya later!"
Before Haruto or Marena could even blink, Philo hit the enter key. A brilliant flash of emerald light enveloped the three of them, forming a sleek energy barrier around their bodies.
In less than the blink of an eye, the laboratory dissolved away, and they vanished into thin air.
Haruto's eyes fluttered open as the blinding emerald light faded away. When his vision cleared, his jaw hit the floor.
Every single direction he looked was a dazzling spectacle of wealth and advanced engineering—gleaming structures made of solid gold, inlaid with shimmering jewels, and seamlessly blended with hyper-futuristic technology. The streets outside were pristine, bustling with impeccably dressed, professional citizens, and every storefront and vehicle screamed elite luxury.
Haruto stared around in disbelief. "Are we... are we already inside Geeli's base?"
Before he could take it all in, a sudden grid of sharp, crimson laser sights snapped into existence, locking directly onto their chests.
Haruto flinched, throwing his hands up. "Aw, come on! Not again!"
Marena's eyes narrowed dangerously, a dark aura of kinetic energy flaring around her hands as she stepped forward. "I'm smashing these ones. And this time, I'll hold back even less than last time!"
"Wait, stop! Don't break them!" Philo panicked, waving her hands frantically.
Before Marena could unleash her lightning, a crisp, rhythmic sound echoed from behind a towering gold-plated pillar.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Instantly, all the security lasers snapped off and retreated into the walls. The group spun around to see who it was, only to find Geeli standing there with a calm, elegant smirk, having just finished slow-clapping for their dramatic entrance.
Geeli crossed her arms, looking down at the trio with a raised eyebrow and a cool, composed expression. "What are you three doing here? I certainly don't recall sending out an invitation."
Philo chuckled, giving a casual wave of her hand. "Relax, it's just me."
Geeli's gaze shifted down, her eyes locking onto the glowing green laptop resting in Philo's hands. A faint, knowing smirk touched her lips. "Ah... so you finally got your little toy back, did you?"
"Yep," Philo grinned proudly.
Geeli glanced past her, narrowing her eyes slightly as she looked at Haruto and Marena. "And why are these two with you?"
Before Philo could answer, Haruto spun around, taking in the breathtaking architecture around them. His eyes sparkled as he stared at the shimmering gold trim and hyper-advanced displays. "Whoa... this place is incredible. It is so gorgeous!"
Geeli tilted her head, a hint of pride in her voice. "I know, right? I designed it myself. Without a doubt, this is the most beautiful and luxurious sector in the entire city."
Haruto pointed toward a massive, sleek transportation pod gliding silently along a magnetic rail high above. "Is that thing a transit line?"
"Yes," Geeli nodded.
As Haruto looked around in amazement, Marena was already wandering off, her eyes practically turning into stars as she inspected the intricate, jewel-encrusted displays, rare gemstones, and opulent finishings lining the walls.
It was clear she had a massive soft spot for luxury and fine jewelry.
Philo stepped forward, nudging Haruto on the shoulder. "Hey, speaking of which, Haruto, I should probably show you the heart of Geeli's sector—the grand treasury and financial district. This is where the entire city's economy, currency flow, and wealth management are handled."
Haruto raised an eyebrow, looking between Geeli and Philo. "Wait, so if Daisy runs the military and administrative side of things ... Geeli handles money. Does that mean you handle all the politics?"
Philo smirked, leaning back. "Well... something like that, yeah."
Haruto nodded slowly, finally starting to piece things together. "Oh, I see..."
Suddenly, Philo sprinted ahead down the corridor, turning back with an excited grin. "Hey, why don't I give Haruto a proper tour of the treasury and the central vault?"
Geeli narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. "Don't run around in here. You'll set off the automated proximity alarms."
Philo stopped in her tracks, slowly turning her head back toward Geeli. She didn't say a word, but her eyes locked onto Geeli with a pitch-black, bone-chilling dead glare so terrifying it could have frozen molten steel.
In a cold, lethal tone, Philo murmured, "You've been acting a little too bossy lately. Remember who you're talking to."
Geeli froze. Her expression faltered for a fraction of a second, and she instinctively swallowed hard, breaking out into a nervous cold sweat. She rubbed the back of her head, completely backing down. "...Whatever. Do whatever you want."
Philo instantly dropped the glare, turning around with a bright smile. "Alright, follow me!"
As they walked past, Marena whispered to Haruto with an amused smirk, "You know, Philo's attitude when she gets like that is actually pretty entertaining."
Haruto glanced sideways, his eyes wide as he realized something wild. Wait... did Philo just genuinely scare Geeli?!
He looked around the grand hall and noticed that every single elite worker, guard, and financial officer in the vicinity had completely frozen in place, holding their breath and pretending they hadn't seen a thing.
A sudden realization hit Haruto like a truck as he watched Philo skip ahead. Right... out of all three founders, Philo was always known as the most unhinged and dangerously unpredictable one.
That explained why she completely disregarded everyone else's rules, acting like laws didn't even apply to her.
But even more mind-boggling was how Philo acted around Lilith—whenever Lilith was around, Philo practically turned timid and quiet. Which meant Lilith was somehow even more terrifyingly powerful than Philo.
Haruto rubbed his temples, letting out a long, exhausted sigh. The power scaling in their chaotic little group made absolutely zero sense, and everyone was way too overpowered.
And to top it all off, he thought grimly, remembering the upcoming tournament, they're all going to tear each other apart for a wish in 5 days. I seriously need to figure out a way to stop this before they accidentally obliterate the entire universe.