'The Ice Maiden,' Nick thought. 'Specters want food, and this one prefers living humans. It won't be as easy to feed as the Jolly Cannibal.'
"Open employee entrance. Keep all defenses at max. I don't want any of the Specter's cold to touch me," Nick said.
"Affirmative," Assistant answered.
The reason why Nick didn't want to come into contact with the Specter's cold was because that should produce Zephyx but wouldn't. After all, Nick was a Specter.
It was better that the Specter didn't know that Nick was also a Specter.
A door appeared in the Containment Unit's wall, and Nick stepped inside.
In the middle of the Containment Unit was a beautiful woman with long, icy blue hair.
When she saw Nick, she smiled brightly.
But then, a wave of unimaginable cold shot right at Nick.
TZZZZZ!
However, a forcefield appeared between Nick and the cold, completely isolating it.
When the Ice Maiden saw that, she pouted. "Really? You're not even giving me a little snack after so long?"
"I do not work with Specters myself," Nick said. "My identity needs to remain pure and untouched."
The Ice Maiden scowled. "Then, what's the point of talking to you?"
"I might not be your food, but I can give you food," Nick answered. "I am the new Emperor of mankind, and I can make it so that you get plenty of food."
The Ice Maiden looked at Nick with a bit of skepticism. "A bit weak for an Emperor."
"And yet, that is my status, despite my lack of power," Nick answered. "I have already acquired the knowledge from the engineering repository and the biology repository. You are next on my list."
"Oh? You already got two of them?" the Ice Maiden answered in fake surprise. Naturally, she was only acting like a human. "How were they like?"
"Not believing me?" Nick asked.
"Call it healthy skepticism," she said with a small smirk.
"One was the Jolly Cannibal," Nick answered. "He was quite talkative."
"What does he look like?" she asked.
"Normal guy. Nothing special," Nick answered.
"What about the other one?" she asked.
"A bit more special, but he also looked like a regular human. If you know about him, you know that he is probably the most special out of all of you."
"Oh? What makes him so special?" the Ice Maiden asked.
"I'm not telling you," Nick said. "I'm not sure if you know about him."
The Ice Maiden furrowed her brows.
"Fine, I believe you," she said. "So? What are you going to give me in exchange for my knowledge?"
"Cooperation," Nick answered.
"I can't eat cooperation," she answered.
"You can," Nick said. "However, you can only eat it if you cooperate in turn."
"Can you stop being vague?" the Ice Maiden asked in annoyance.
"Humanity is not yet strong enough to produce level eight Extractors," Nick said. "Let's just say the suppression factor increased quite a bit after the Empire failed in the final battle."
The Ice Maiden just hummed for a bit.
Just like the other knowledge repositories, she knew about the true enemy and the Empire's plan.
"What I can offer is several level seven Extractors who are willing to work with you regularly. With time, they will also become more powerful," Nick said.
"Well, if that's the best you can do, I guess I have to be fine with some scraps," she said.
"However, if you want food, I need to move this base, and I would ask for your cooperation. We might be very far down, but if you attack the Containment Unit, you will be using up a lot of Zephyx due to its anti-vibration function."
"If the enemy realizes what is going on, we will be in trouble, and I do not believe I have to tell you what is going to happen if they find you."
The Ice Maiden frowned a bit. "You're not supposed to move the base," she said.
"Well, if you want food, I don't have another option," Nick said. "Humanity is severely suppressed, and this base is not close to our actual base.I can't send level seven Extractors to travel thousands of kilometers every time you want food."
For some reason, the Ice Maiden seemed troubled.
It almost looked like she didn't like the idea of moving the base.
"The base is supposed to remain here," she said. "But I can travel with you on my own."
"You know exactly that is not an option," Nick answered.
"You already know everything about engineering, right?" she asked. "There should be something you can do with that to make sure that I won't pose a danger to you."
"Sure, there are a couple of devices that would keep you in line," Nick said, "but you are not a regular Specter. You know about Star Energy, Pure Energy, and Zephyx. There's a big chance that you can break out."
"Using old-fashioned sturdy metal to contain you seems to be the only secure way, and I can't just transport your Containment Unit on its own," Nick explained.
The Ice Maiden frowned in annoyance and stayed silent for a couple of seconds.
"Tell me more about the new Empire," she said.
"Sure," Nick answered.
Nick told her about the secret underground city and how it was growing.
He also told her about the humans on the surface, but he was not very accurate.
In his version, Aegis was just a collection of a couple of Protectors, led by the Champion of Light, who was an agent of the Sun.
"Where do you plan to take the base?" she asked.
"About 20 kilometers below the city," Nick said. "I will create a fortified corridor that can only be accessed by a select few Extractors."
The Ice Maiden looked away for a while.
"The Emperor was very clear that we are not supposed to move the bases," she mumbled.
"But you're the new Emperor…"
Finally, she took a deep breath.
"If you can get permission from the biology repository, you may move the base," she said.
"Sure, I'll go ask," Nick said.
Then, he left the Containment Unit.
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