CHAPTER 40: SECRETS OF EARTH
Wallace arrived at another mansion at noon, having spent the morning attending to company matters. As a responsible person, he couldn't leave everything to Laura. He also needed to help Lucia investigate her parents' murder so she could finally get closure. It wasn't until the afternoon that he finished everything. He yawned as his car entered the large compound, which resembled a factory. It was essentially a cloth factory.
"Boss, welcome to my abode," Antonio greeted him, reminding Wallace that Antonio had been the leader of the family's information agency before Wallace's arrival.
They entered the large two-story building. The ground floor was filled with machines used to produce cloth. They went to the first floor, where everything was usually picked up for transportation, and finally to the last floor, which was off-limits as it was the leader's suite.
"This is my suite," Antonio said as they entered the modern living room with an elevator at the end.
"That leads to the real operation of this area, and most times, outsiders are not allowed to enter."
"Anyone who enters won't be able to come out," he added as they stepped into the elevator. The elevator moved downward, and with his clairvoyant ability, Wallace sensed they were going underground.
"We're going to the one and only elusive ninth floor of our organization, where we gather information from all around the world and store it," Antonio told him.
"Hmm," Wallace nodded as the elevator continued underground and stopped after a minute. However, the doors didn't open.
"Confirmation of identity, ID card verification," a lady's voice said. Her face appeared on the elevator screen.
"Boss, I've already prepared everything for you," Antonio told him, handing Wallace an ID card.
Wallace swiped the ID card. "ID confirmed, fingerprint confirmation will continue," the voice said.
He placed his fingerprint on the screen. "Fingerprint confirmed," the voice said.
"Iris information will be confirmed," the voice said again, and his iris was scanned.
"Welcome, Boss," the lady's voice was heard again.
"My name is Echo. I'm the central intelligence agency created to be in charge of the family's activities all around the world."
"How many countries have you infiltrated?" Wallace asked.
"I've infiltrated the five superpowers: America, China, London, Italy, and Japan. I've also infiltrated other powerful countries, including Korea, Egypt, Ukraine, and thirty more countries," Echo replied.
"This technology is marvelous," Wallace said.
"We didn't create it; it was one of our gains from Antarctica," Antonio said.
"I infiltrated their central information system, their CCTV's, and their satellite, allowing me to get information and process it every time," Echo said.
"What's the latest information about the war?" Wallace asked.
"The five superpower alliance has halted their attack on Egypt for the time being and has started planning to move to Korea because of the Mythix that has just been discovered," Echo answered.
"What's this Mythix?" Wallace asked.
"Mythix is a metal formed from a special core of the earth in Korea. It's far harder than the hardest metal on Earth, flexible, malleable, and has no weakness, making it perfect for building top-notch weapons and armor," Echo explained.
"Hmm," Wallace frowned.
"What should we do?"
"When will the war start?" he asked.
"It will still take some time, ranging from a year to three year. The two factions are still making preparations," Echo said.
"There's time, so let's see what will happen. But for now, going against the five superpowers is very risky. They might have other hidden forces we don't know about. We need to build our forces for now," Wallace said.
"Okay," Antonio replied.
"Let's get to the main point, then," Wallace said.
"What do you want, Boss?" Echo asked.
"I want you to give me information about mythical places and things from all around the countries you've infiltrated, starting from Italy," Wallace said.
"Okay, Boss, let me bring up the information," Echo said and went silent.
Antonio handed Wallace a phone. "Boss, take this. It contains part of the core system of Echo, so you can get information from it all the time."
"Okay," Wallace replied, taking the phone.
"Boss, I've gathered information about two places with the highest chance of containing what you're looking for," Echo said.
"The first one is the mysterious black ring in Wayne City," Echo replied.
"Wayne City is located in Sardinia, the second-largest island in the Mediterranean. The black ring was obtained by the Earth Justice Federation members, precisely Bruce Wayne. It's known for its sturdy body, as nothing can break it, and no high temperature can melt it. So, Wayne just kept it in his own artifact collection in his house there," Echo said.
"Looks like a good thing, then," Wallace said.
"What about the second place?" he asked.
"It's Craco, at the far edge of the Basilicata city. The city is known for its eerie mist at night and some supernatural occurrences that happen at night. No human dares to go there, and even the Earth Justice Federation had once gone there but couldn't find anything before it was taken over by the Order of the Enlightened," Echo said.
"What organization is the Order of the Enlightened?" Wallace asked.
"It's an organization that's on par with the Earth Justice Federation on the planet. I don't know much about them because they operate underground most of the time, so I can't tell. I only know that they have branches in the entertainment, technology, and every industry you can ever mention on Earth. Their influence runs far deeper than where I can reach," Echo answered.
"It means there's a lot on Earth that we far don't know about," Wallace said.
"Yes, each superpower is supported by a hidden force, and it took me years to know about it. America is supported by the Blood Lord, also known as vampires. London is supported by the Supernatural. London is supported by the Moon-kin, also known as the werewolves. China is supported by what they call the Qi bearers, and the Qi is a mysterious energy that can only be found in the internal part of the country. Japan itself is supported by the ninjas that originate from the shrine. Only one out of a thousand well-trained candidates can be chosen after going through bloodshed and different rituals. Korea itself does not have a force, but it has countless mythical beings. The origin of their people is not known, but not even the Earth Justice Federation and the Order of the Enlightened can do anything to them. I don't know much about them, but it gives rise to speculation that there are also life-forms outside the planet," Echo said.
"How sure are you?" Wallace asked.
"I'm only fifty percent sure," Echo replied.
"What gives rise to this speculation?" Wallace asked.
"The origin of these forces is not known, and from what I've observed secretly over the years, they are all working towards a thing," Echo replied.
"What's that?" Wallace asked.
"They are all working towards the grounds of Antarctica. There's something that's attracting them to that place," Echo said.
Wallace looked at Antonio, who seemed to be hearing the information for the first time.
"Have you ever heard of this before?" Wallace asked.
"No, only the boss of the family has the highest authority, and I think the information Echo is telling you is special classified information of the family that only the family head itself can gain access to," Antonio replied.
"Hmm," Wallace placed his hand on his chin as he thought.
"What should we do now, Boss?" Antonio asked.
"I think to get answers to my questions, I have to make a journey to Antarctica. Maybe it contains vital information about what I am. But before that, I have some things to do," Wallace said.
"What?" Antonio asked.
"I don't want to give up on any information, so I'll be making a journey to Wayne City and Craco to see if there's anything I can get there," Wallace replied.
"Let's return to the mansion for now and prepare. We'll be making a visit to Wayne City tomorrow," Wallace told Antonio as they left the underground mansion.
Wallace placed his hand on his chin as he looked forward to his future adventure. To find answers, the first place to venture into would be Antarctica after he left Italy, and then from there, he would figure out what his remaining steps would be. It had just dawned on him that Earth had a lot of secrets to explore. He was very sure that his enemies would not give him a chance to rest. It was just the calm before the storm.