Chapter 269: Mounting Pressure
Captain Chambers finishes the porridge at lightning speed.
He was clearly starving.
He just did not want to look like it in front of Maeve.
After emptying the bowl for the second ti, he exhales deeply. The spoon slips from his fingers and lands softly against the ceramic.
He stares at it for a mont.
Then he looks around the bed room.
Still here.
Still real.
"I guess it wasn’t a dream," he mutters. "It was all real."
He drags both palms down his face.
The fight.
The shouting.
The loss of control.
The green mist.
He does not know what emotion he is supposed to settle on.
Sha?
Fear?
Gratitude?
All of it feels tangled together.
He lifts his head and sniffles once, annoyed at himself.
"Enough, Chambers," he mutters under his breath. "Your n need you. Get your ass up and move on."
He stands.
His body feels normal.
His mind feels heavier.
He heads toward the bathroom attached to the bed room.
"I’ll take a shower and check on Chi..." He stops himself mid-word.
He closes his eyes briefly.
"Her."
He exhales.
"Gotta respect her, Chambers. Gotta respect her wishes."
He repeats it quietly.
"Respect her. Respect her."
Like a man rehearsing discipline.
------------------------------
The apartnt door chis open.
"Good morning, ladies," Liam greets cheerfully as he steps inside.
"Look who I found outside," he adds with a wide grin.
Arthur steps in behind him. "Mornin’, ladies."
His voice sounds exhausted, but there is still a gentle smile on his face.
"Arthur!" Claudia exclaims, clearly excited to see him.
"Finally," Maeve says, relief evident in her tone.
"Welco back," Theo says warmly.
Liam helps Arthur take off his coat and hands him the in-house slippers. Then he removes his own coat and switches into his slippers as well.
Arthur is grateful for Liam’s help, but he has no energy to voice it. Even forming a proper sentence feels like effort.
He walks toward the living room.
Wobbly.
His steps are stiff and slightly unsteady, like his body is moving on borrowed strength.
"Whoa." Liam imdiately moves to support him, gripping his arm firmly.
Arthur smiles faintly. Even lifting the corners of his lips looks like hard work.
"Thanks, Liam. I think I’m alright."
But the mont he reaches the sofa, he plops down like a man whose bones have dissolved.
"Ah, you poor thing," Maeve says sympathetically.
She quickly brings him a glass of water with a straw already placed inside.
Arthur chuckles the best he can and looks at her with genuine gratitude before leaning forward and drinking slowly through the straw.
Everyone stares at him.
No one is even trying to hide their pity.
"That bad, huh?" Liam asks. He is still in his running clothes, sweat dried at the edges, but curiosity keeps him rooted there.
Arthur nods weakly.
"I thought my job as Montrose Corporation CEO was bad," he says hoarsely. "But this? This is worse. Way worse."
He takes a long, deep breath.
Then pauses.
"It’s not because the officers are incompetent," he continues. "They’re not. That’s not the issue. We simply don’t have enough manpower."
He rubs his face.
"Seventy-seven officers from the St. Lucas incident are still at ho. Half of them are still in comas. The other half are either unconscious or undergoing therapy."
"The only officer capable of properly assisting
was Lieutenant Kerr. But even he has limits."
Arthur lets out a tired breath.
"Up until the St. Lucas incident, he barely left the office. And before Captain Chambers beca... unavailable... he hadn’t gone ho either."
He shakes his head.
"So by the ti I arrived, he was already Zombie Kerr."
A few quiet chuckles ripple through the room.
"I had to send him ho. He wasn’t coherent anymore. He was speaking in fragnts."
Arthur groans.
"I honestly thought they were organized. At least Chief Lutherford was."
He opens one eye slightly.
"And I was right about her. She was organized. Extrely neat. Efficient. It was thanks to her filing system that I didn’t completely lose my mind."
He shuts his eyes again.
"But Captain Chambers..." He groans once more.
"It’s amazing how he managed to ruin that beautiful filing system in just one week."
He exhales sharply.
"And the dungeons. Oh my God."
He presses the heel of his palm against his forehead.
"There were so many of them. They just keep popping up."
"I thought Solarys DEU only handled dungeons in Solarys. But no. They also handle surrounding regions. Not necessarily clearing them, but the paperwork."
He shakes his head slowly.
"I don’t ever want to see another docunt again."
The others chuckle softly.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Theo asks sincerely. He genuinely feels sorry for Arthur.
Arthur suddenly sits up straighter.
"Actually, there is."
Everyone’s attention sharpens.
"One of DEU’s biggest issues right now is that there simply aren’t enough Sentinels to handle all the dungeons."
He looks at each of them carefully.
"None of the current dungeons are below level four. Not a single one. And each of them requires at least five Sentinels to clear safely."
He continues.
"With seventy-seven Sentinels out of commission, and not many private dungeon-clearing companies available, Solarys is severely short on teams."
"Rember, level four through level seven dungeons seal once entered. The gate will not open again until every human inside is dead."
The room goes quiet.
"As a result, those so-called lower-level dungeons are not being cleared. Permit holders keep calling DEU to handle them."
Arthur’s eyes begin to shine despite his exhaustion.
"Thea," he says, turning to Theo. "Can you clear them alone?"
"Arthur!" Claudia and Liam protest at the sa ti.
Maeve gasps loudly.
"Wait," Arthur says quickly. "Listen to . I’m not finished."
He looks at each of them deliberately.
"We all know how strong Thea is. This is not flattery. It’s fact."
"It’s too dangerous for any of us to go in alone."
"But not Thea."
He inhales slowly.
"I’m thinking of asking Rhaenas for help. Thea will handle level fours alone. Possibly even fives."
"Liam, Maeve, and Julian can form a team to clear level fives together."
"We leave level six and above for later, when all four of you can go together."
He exhales.
"I can’t go. Not until Chambers returns."
Silence falls.
Each of them thinks from their own perspective.
Theo speaks first.
"I agree. I can clear level fours and fives alone. Two or three a day."
He looks at Arthur.
"I’m not bragging. I’m stating facts. I get the feeling there are many fours and fives."
Arthur nods.
"Yes. Unfortunately, yes. There are."
He exhales.
"I never realized how many dungeons are out there. And not just in Solarys. In all of Concordia."
"I’m not even talking about the rest of the world."
He pauses.
"I spoke with Julian. He agrees with . Recently, dungeon ergence rates seem to be increasing."
"In the whole world."
Silence settles heavily in the room.
"And we don’t know why."
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