212 Time For Plan B

(Zrudread University)

(Forest Lord Kingdom Park- Maze Complex)

Moon shook his head in agony as the sudden snapping of the blood bond caused a jolt of pain to course through his body.

Squeak! Squeak!

[Mommy?]

Moon nervously called out for Sophie but received no answer. 

He tentatively landed on the ground and stared at the large biomass in the center of the hall.

It was truly a grotesque monstrosity.

Bits and pieces of pinkish red flesh had somehow been fused together in roughly the shape of a human heart.

All manner of animal species and artificial life forms had gone into the construction of this abomination that could hardly be called a living thing.

Genetic research and biomodification were once two of the most popular fields of science during the early years of humanity's enslavement.

It was thought that only through genetic changes could humans rise up against their Draxi overlords.

And yet cultivation proved to be more far more combat effective than the efforts made by top scientists so eventually these fields fell out of favour.

Still even thousands of years later, research was still being done on how to optimise the human body and create the perfect organism.

There was an inherent creepy aura surroundings the body of the monstrosity that caused Moon to back away slowly.

Luckily, his frozen domain ability had proven to be very effective so there was no immediate threat but now the little Frostwing bat was having some trouble deciding what to do next.

Should he give up?

But there was a strong feeling of reluctance in Moon's heart when he thought of just quitting. 

Maybe it was due to all the horrible experiences in this god forsaken maze, but Moon did not want all that he endured during this exam to go to waste.

He had gone through too much shit to give up now! 

Plus, that vacation was a reward that he was not willing to lose out on.

His mommy could no longer help him, and that ugly robot snake had gotten trapped in the earlier section of the tunnel.

Therefore, the only path to victory was beyond this hall.

Moon's eyes shone with newfound determination and he flapped his wings powerfully to rise into the air once more.

He darted through the exit of the hall and found himself in, yet another sprawling path filled with multiple routes and tunnels.

Moon just picked the outermost right one and continued on his journey.

There was no particular reason for his choice as Moon did not have a strong danger sense like Sophie, so it was a random pick.

Click! Click!

As Moon flew through the dark tunnel, he would periodically release sounds that bounced off the nearby objects and entered his ears.

Echolocation was his only chance of avoiding ambushes. 

Truthfully, using his frozen domain ability twice in a row had put a great deal of strain on his dantian.

Moon knew that he only had enough frost energy to release one more blast so he had to save it as a trump card.

Wait…. what was that bright light?

Could it be the exit?

Moon happily increased his flying speed and headed towards an opening that had what looked like a strong beam of sunlight shinning through its entrance.

I did it!

Moon closed his eyes reflexively as he entered the illuminated area and slowly opened them once a few moments passed.

This was…. not outside….

Huh?

The little frostwing bat tilted his head in confusion as he found himself in a tiny room roughly the size of a closet.

The harsh beam of sunlight turned out to be produced from numerous small light bulbs hidden in the walls of the room.

What was this place?

Moon turned around and tried to leave quickly but the open door shut and with a clicking noise it was then locked from the outside.

Squeak! Squeak!

[Let me out!]

Moon pounded on the door furiously but despite puffing up his fur and hitting the door with all his strength….

The metal door did not move a single inch.

Defeated and feeling quite upset, Moon circled around the room and tried to figure out if there was a way to escape.

A small object caught his attention as he scanned the barren room and to his surprise, Moon found a sheet of parchment paper with words written down.

This was a clue that the exam invigilators had placed in the room that hinted towards a secret device that would allow one to escape.

Moon stared at the writing with an intense expression but there was just one small problem….

He didn't know how to read.

Moon could perfectly understand verbal communication in the Federation standard language, but he only understood a few simple written words and the alphabet.

The writings on the parchment paper may have just as well been a simple grocery list as Moon would not have been able to understand either.

Hmm… what to do?

The monitoring team looking at the live feed screens could not help but crack smiles at the cute sight of a furry adorable bat scratching his head and frowning.

Moon closed his eyes and tried to use all of his brain power to come up with a plan. 

Although he did not know what was written on the parchment, he knew that it was probably something important.

Then an idea just hit him!

Moon had recently been watching a magical drama about a poor kid who had stumbled upon a wish fulfilling bottle.

There was a scene in episode four where the kid had been trapped inside a cave and he used the magic words to free himself.

Okay here goes nothing….

Squeak! Squeak!

[Abracadabra!]

Squeak! Squeak!

[Abracadabra make the door appear!]

Moon flapped his wings excitedly and yelled out the magic words he had seen on television while adding some extra words to make the chant more effective.

Now all he had to do now is wait and the exit to the room would materialise out of thin air and allow him to escape!

One minute passed….

Two minutes passed….

Five minutes passed….

.

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Alright looks like it was time for plan B.