Chapter 30 Weaponry
I led Eric and Anna to the lowest floor of the estate, a section that few people ever saw. The stairwell echoed with our footsteps, until we reached a reinforced door marked with no labels. Beyond this door lay a gym room, one of those rare areas restricted to only a handful of select people. The door required facial recognition for access, and the scanner glowed softly as I approached.
Eric and Anna trailed me, their eyes narrowing slightly. Anna tilted her head, whispering, “This is just a gym room…”
Eric muttered in agreement, though his curiosity was evident. “Yeah… I’m equally confused, but we’re following, so there must be something.”
I didn’t respond. The gym itself looked innocuous enough, treadmills, weight machines, punching bags, and a large mirrored wall at the far end. Anna’s gaze lingered on the equipment, still skeptical, while Eric’s eyes darted around the room like a kid in a candy store.
When we reached the mirror, I placed my hand firmly on the glass. Almost instantly, green light shot out in a scanning pattern, enveloping my fingers and palm. The room seemed to hum as the mirror recognized the contours of my hand.
“Voice activation required,” a mechanical voice intoned, perfectly monotone.
I smiled faintly and said casually, “Anna’s food is delicious.”
The mechanical voice paused for a fraction of a second, then responded. “Affirmative. Authorization granted.”
Anna’s cheeks flushed slightly. I caught the edge of embarrassment in her eyes, but I ignored it. It didn’t matter what I said, the system only needed to hear my voice. A low rumble shook the room, and the mirrored wall split down the middle with a hiss of hydraulics, swinging open to reveal a brightly lit hallway beyond.
We stepped through cautiously, our shoes echoing against polished concrete. The walls were lined with weapons, rows upon rows of them. Antique guns, modern firearms, crossbows, melee weapons of every kind, all meticulously displayed and polished to perfection. Eric’s jaw practically dropped.
“I had no idea somewhere like this existed in the estate,” he breathed, almost reverently.
Anna’s lips pressed together, admiration and disbelief crossing her face. “Incredible…”
I chuckled quietly. “This is only the tip of the iceberg. There’s more here than you can imagine. Secrets the estate has held for decades.”
The hallway stretched on, illuminated by bright overhead lights. Each step seemed heavier than the last as we continued, Eric still shaking his head in quiet amazement. Eventually, we reached an elevator at the far end. Its metal surface gleamed under the light, clean and unassuming, but it bore the same level of security as the mirror.
We stepped inside, and the doors slid shut with a hiss. As the elevator descended, Eric muttered under his breath, “I always knew there was an underground in the estate… but I figured it was minor stuff, storage rooms, maybe a wine cellar. Not… this.”
I didn’t reply. There was nothing to say yet. My eyes stayed fixed on the elevator walls, calculating the depth we would reach, mentally preparing for what awaited us.
Finally, the elevator slowed and came to a halt. The doors parted to reveal a sight that could only exist in movies. The space before us was enormous, stretching far beyond what the estate’s exterior suggested. It wasn’t just a storage area, it was a museum, a weapon museum. Rows of glass cases displayed pistols, rifles, experimental firearms, and custom melee weapons. Some were historical antiques, others gleamed with futuristic alloys and intricate mechanisms.
A few people were present, technicians and caretakers moving quietly among the displays. When they saw me, they stopped what they were doing and greeted me warmly.
“Good to see you, Layla,” one said. “It’s been a while since you visited.”
I laughed nervously, scratching the back of my neck. “Where’s the old man? I came to check on him too.”
“He’s in his lab, as usual,” another worker said. “He’s been at it for hours.”
I gestured to Eric and Anna, who were both completely captivated by the array of weapons, their eyes scanning every display, their mouths slightly agape. “Follow me,” I instructed. “We’re going to see the lab.”
They didn’t need a second invitation. They trailed me closely as I led the way through the maze of the museum, each step revealing more exotic weaponry. Swords with embedded crystals. Rifles engraved with patterns that hinted at centuries of lineage. Explosives carefully displayed in reinforced cases. Eric kept muttering under his breath, while Anna’s hands occasionally twitched toward a display.
After another series of biometric verifications at a heavy security door, we finally entered the weapon lab. The moment we stepped inside, our eyes were drawn to an even more impressive display. Mechanical parts, schematics, tools, and partially assembled firearms filled the benches and walls. Shelves were stacked with exotic alloys, custom bullets, and rare gunpowder formulas.
In the far corner, hunched over a small component with absolute focus, was an elderly man. His grey hair was streaked with white, and he wore a single-lens microscopic glass strapped over one eye. Every few seconds, he muttered under his breath, adjusting minuscule screws and components with delicate, precise movements.
Without even turning his head, he spoke.
“Layla. You have finally decided to pick the mantle of a leader, huh.”