Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1813, page 1785: Modern Exploration
"Qingzhi, are our passes okay?" Leila Hassan asked an East Asian man as she and her team carried various work equipment. "If the Altaïr II makes a mistake when passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, we're doomed."

Takakura Seiji was originally a member of the Japanese Yakuza, but after awakening his Isu gene, he was recruited by an assassin organization and now belongs to Leila's team, serving as a key member in operations.

"Although Spain has been claiming sovereignty over the Strait of Gibraltar, it is still under British control."

When Takakura Aoji speaks, he still has a Japanese-English accent, but compared to the common Japanese-English, at least it's not incomprehensible.

"Although Abstergo is deeply rooted in old-fashioned capitalism in Britain, we all know how inefficient the British administration is, don't we?"

Abstergo Corporation, a world-leading multinational corporation. It is also the modernized creation of the Templars, a millennia-old enemy of the Assassin Brotherhood.

Takakura Seiji was referring to a fairly common insulting joke about Britain, concerning the British bureaucracy and administrative efficiency.

Leila's team had quite a few British people, and although it was a joke that mocked the British, it still caused a burst of laughter.

After the computer, mainframe, and portable Animus were all connected to power and set up on the small boat, Leila's team set sail for Thera Island in the Aegean Sea according to the operation plan.

Leila Hassan looked up at the starry sky, which had not been obscured by light pollution.

The nights in the Aegean Sea are mostly clear with bright stars and moon... much like they were more than two thousand years ago.

"Leila? Leila!" Doctor Victoria called out with concern, snapping Leila out of her reverie. "What did you just see? The hemorrhage effect?"

"No, I'm fine."

Leila Hassan waved her hand.

The bleeding effect refers to the collective phenomenon that occurs when people using animus to immerse themselves in ancestral memories experience hallucinations, cognitive dissonance, and spiked blood pressure during intense memory conflicts.

In severe cases, it can make people believe they are their ancestors in danger from their memories, endangering their lives and mental stability.

Leila began donning her diving gear after she glimpsed the legendary location of Atlantis through the Animus and, by analyzing the current topography of Thera Island, deduced the entrance.

Now, only she, who has actually entered the underground ruins of Thera Island, is capable of undertaking this risky underwater cave exploration.

Leila had been to the Aegean Sea before, but she had never felt so familiar with this clear ocean before.

Even the smell and humidity of the seawater spray hitting my face felt so comforting.

"Fubai".

She couldn't help but murmur the name of the person she remembered. The name of that legendary assassin.

The small boat stopped when it was about one kilometer from Thera Island.

More than two thousand years have passed, and this small island is no longer an uninhabited island with only ruins.

In addition, since Leila's team was conducting a secret operation, they naturally dared not attract attention.

Layla, who needed to take action, launched a single-person hovercraft from the small boat, and after confirming that communication was working again, she sailed alone under the moonlight toward the waters near Thera Island.

With a communication frequency of once every fifteen minutes, Leila jumped from the single-person hovercraft into the Aegean Sea and began to dive.

Jellyfish near the shallow sea were glowing. Leila found a route from the caves beneath the island that was different from the path taken to enter the ruins from the ground two thousand years ago.

This route, perhaps due to geological changes, bypassed even the lava lake that she vividly remembered, allowing her to directly enter the hall of the Isu ruins by diving.

When Leila emerged from the water and climbed onto the ground constructed of the blue-grey building materials of the Isu people, the amazement in her eyes was beyond words.

Time seems to have no effect on this ruin.

According to the latest research, the Yishu civilization likely perished around 77,000 BC.

This ruin has survived for 79,000 years. The more than 2,000 years since the ancient Greek era is but a tiny fraction of that time.

It's normal that there's no change.

Just like the genetic memories she saw in the animus, the Atlantis foyer before her was grand yet dilapidated.

Directly in front is a large, inverted trapezoidal window that connects directly to the seabed of the Aegean Sea, but is blocked by an energy barrier emitting blue light, which keeps the seawater and water pressure out.

It also provides cool blue lighting to the entire hall.

Leila walked forward absentmindedly, feeling her steps light and airy, almost as if she were in a dream.

Only the soles of my wetsuit feet were still wet with seawater, making a wet, slapping sound as I stepped on the ground.

Leila scanned her surroundings greedily, trying to connect the scene before her with her own vivid memories of ancient times.

"A suspended pyramid structure, a holographic projection beneath the pyramid, a lost city submerged in the sea outside the open window... Jesus Christ!"

"Altaïr 2, this is Leila, I'm in. Can you see the screen?"

Leila was incredibly shocked and overwhelmed, but she also maintained a composed demeanor. She raised her hand and activated the miniature camera on her body. "Yes! We can receive a signal! This is Atlantis, Leila!"

A female voice came through the headset; it was Elena Lane, a member of the technical team. Thanks to the information age, this member was no longer even located near the Mediterranean, but was operating remotely.

“This space is amazing!” Leila seemed a little speechless. “Alright, guys. Now I have to think about what our next step should be.”

Temporarily disconnect communication to conserve device battery power.

Leila stared intently at the pyramid above her head, muttering to herself incessantly.

"Think hard, Leila! Think hard!... There must be a way! There must be a way to activate this place!"

Leila took out a broken spear from her diving bag on her back—a broken spear that remained sharp even after more than two thousand years.

Within the Animus, she repeatedly witnessed the legendary assassin, Fobbe, using this broken spear crafted with Isu technology to open up Isu ruins.

But she wasn't sure if it would work, since the spear of Leonidas had lost all its power the moment she found it.

But just as she opened her diving bag and took out the broken spear...

Leila, who had at least experienced the memories of several ancient assassin masters through the Animus and awakened stronger sensory abilities, suddenly stopped in her tracks as she reached for something!
For someone like Leila, ordinary ancient tombs and ruins, and many eerie scenes that would make people shudder, are just commonplace subjects for her research.

Not long ago, her departure from Abstergo was due to her discovery of two mummies in an ancient Egyptian tomb.

Furthermore, using the genetic material on the mummy, he immediately deployed the equipment, connected to his body, and lay down in the tomb to enter the Animus to explore his memories, learning things he shouldn't have known.

As a result, he went from being a legitimate employee of a multinational behemoth to becoming a member of an assassin organization that now roams the world.

Because of this familiarity, when she entered the Isu ruins, which were filled with blue light and had an atmosphere so quiet it was almost deathly still, she was completely immersed in the high technology and the sedimentation of time of the first civilization.

I felt no fear or suspicion at all, despite the shadows that filled the ruins and the various grotesque statues from ancient myths.

But at this very moment, he was standing under the brightest holographic projection in the entire ruins.

Leila suddenly seemed to sense that in the shadows of those ruins, in the sound of her own breathing... was there something else?
Leila was no ignorant ordinary person; she had gained memories and experience from the recollections of those battle-hardened ancient assassin masters. She knew this was a reaction from her keen senses, sensing a hidden malice.

It's not really about gods and ghosts.

Instantly, Leila instinctively activated her [Eagle Eye Vision].

The powerful senses derived from our genes spread out from our bodies like radar, then send information back to us.

"Suck~!"

But it was fine if she didn't activate [Eagle Eye Vision]. The result after activating it caused Leila's pupils to dilate instantly, and her blood pressure and heart rate to spike rapidly! She involuntarily gasped!

[Eagle Eye Vision] shows that there should be a person about two steps to her left front!

A giant who is at least 2.67 meters tall!
His body temperature was normal and his heartbeat was strong!
The vibrant energy within his body was almost like a raging fire in the [Eagle Eye Vision]!
...But why can't I see anything?! Why can't I feel anything?!
"The sensory intensity of [Eagle Eye Vision] is good, but its basic quality is terrible."

Suddenly, a deep male voice, mixed with electronic noise, came from the location Leila had sensed.

“This is not a place for you, young man.”

Leila instinctively swung the broken spear forward, sensing that the other side was about to attack!

Amidst the overwhelming hostility that nearly suffocated her, all she felt was instinctive terror.

But these actions and attitudes only seemed to disappoint the voice even more.

"Even your mentality and tactical awareness are a complete mess!"

The man's strange voice still lingered in the empty ruins of Isu, but in mid-air, Leila's hand, which had been swinging with the broken spear, seemed to freeze in mid-air.

Only upon close inspection can one see the imprint of a huge hand on her wrist.

Then, in Leila's horrified eyes...

"Oh!"

Leila bent over like a boiled shrimp, the force of the punch to her abdomen causing her body to bounce slightly upwards.

The immense impact and pain caused her to lose her mind and immediately fall into a coma.

In her last moments of consciousness while unconscious, she lay on the ground and saw scenes that looked like something out of a science fiction movie.

—A giant clad in heavy power armor, like ripples on water, lost his flawless optical camouflage.

(End of this chapter)