Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye

"What do we do now? There are way too many enemies here—and there's a giant artificial monster guarding the exit!"

Quagmire, crouched anxiously in a shadowy corner, whispered urgently to Luca.

Just ahead of them lay the gate leading to the next floor up. But the security surrounding it was overwhelming.

Two fully armed tactical squads stood on guard, and with them loomed a massive artificial evil dragon.

This dragon was nearly identical in size to the artificial monster they had previously encountered in the canyon.

Which meant its combat capabilities were likely just as formidable.

Luca didn't respond. He simply stared calmly in the direction of the gate.

His silence only intensified Quagmire's unease.

"Bro, say something! Don't tell me you're waiting for them to leave on their own."

Even when pressed, Luca offered no reply.

He knew very well that charging head-on against such overwhelming defenses was suicidal.

He had no intention of engaging in a frontal assault.

In fact, he was waiting for the traps he had planted to take effect.

The mechanisms on the sixth and fifth floors had already been fully activated.

It would take about thirty more seconds for the chain reaction to reach this level.

In his mind, Luca began counting down.

The instant the countdown hit zero, he surged forward with his weapon, charging straight toward the gate.

Quagmire was utterly stunned by this sudden move.

But there was no time to hesitate—he had no choice but to follow Luca into the fray.

Their sudden sprint toward the exit immediately caught the attention of the defenders.

The enemy squads quickly shifted into combat formation, preparing to intercept them.

But just as Luca and Quagmire reached the guards, an abnormality swept through the entire area.

The enormous artificial dragon suddenly froze in place. At the same time, all the guards stationed around it collapsed into unconsciousness.

Just like that, Luca and Quagmire broke through and entered the next floor of the facility.

The upper levels were far less heavily guarded.

Without stopping, the two raced toward a concealed exit on the second floor of the lab.

While controlling Dr. Smith's body earlier, Luca had made sure to memorize the entire layout of the lab from the maps in his office.

Only the concealed exit on the second floor of the laboratory could get them out of the purple mist zone in time.

Though the two had recovered their weapons, they hadn't been able to retrieve any hazmat suits.

Without protective gear, they wouldn't survive long in the area shrouded by the toxic violet smoke—so they had to take the shortest possible escape route.

As they reached the hidden exit, Luca glanced over at Quagmire.

"Take a few deep breaths now. Once we step outside, we won't be able to breathe anymore. The moment we cross that threshold, we're in the smoke zone."

Quagmire nodded heavily in response.

They both took several long, deep breaths—then Luca threw open the concealed exit.

The moment the door swung open, red emergency alarms blared throughout the facility once again.

This time, the lab's internal systems finally locked onto Luca and Quagmire's precise location.

Minister Brown, now beside himself with rage, barked out an urgent command:

"Send every available guard to the second floor immediately! They must not escape under any circumstances!"

"The agent is arriving at any moment—we absolutely cannot afford to lose face in front of her!"

As he issued his orders, he also turned and screamed furiously at his subordinates.

Behind him, Liam stood silently, unimpressed.

He knew full well that Minister Brown's outrage had nothing to do with "losing face."

The real reason he was panicking was simple—if Luca and Quagmire managed to escape, Minister Brown would surely face severe punishment from Zenith Technology Company headquarters.

There was a real chance he'd lose all the wealth, privilege, and power he'd built up until now.

But that wasn't Liam's problem—so he was more than happy to stand back and watch the drama unfold.

Minister Brown began pacing anxiously, each step more agitated than the last.

"Minister, the agent's aircraft has arrived above the canyon," a guard whispered as he hurried to Brown's side.

Minister Brown's expression darkened.

He gave a stiff nod, his jaw tight. "Understood. I'll go greet her personally."

Before leaving, he turned and gave Liam a sharp look.

"Tell me, who do you think is responsible for today's fiasco?" Minister Brown asked, his tone cold and deliberate.

A faint smile crept onto Liam's lips.

He answered smoothly, without hesitation:

"Naturally, the responsibility lies with Dr. Smith. Not only did he fail to complete the interrogation, but during the process, due to his incompetence, he allowed Luca and Quagmire to escape."

Liam's response greatly pleased Minister Brown.

A trace of relief finally appeared on Brown's face.

"Yes… you're absolutely right. Dr. Smith should indeed be held accountable for everything that's happened."

Above the Daskhollow Canyon, a sleek, black Zenith Technology Company helicopter was circling steadily in the sky.

Inside, Special Agent Nova—blonde-haired, blue-eyed, dressed in a sharp black leather jacket—stood looking down at the canyon below.

A slight frown crossed her face as she sensed something was off.

"Why haven't we landed yet? Has the Daskhollow facility not responded to our landing request?"

"Ma'am, the base reports they're dealing with a situation. They're making final adjustments and asked us to hold position for a few more minutes," the pilot quickly replied.

Nova didn't say anything further.

Instead, she calmly jotted down a few lines in her notebook.

A few minutes later, clearance finally came through.

The helicopter pierced through the camouflage illusion over the lake and touched down on the landing pad of the Daskhollow Laboratory.

Before the aircraft had even come to a complete stop, Nova jumped out decisively.

She strode briskly in the direction of Minister Brown and the waiting officials.

Minister Brown hurried toward her with a fawning smile.

"Agent Nova, welcome. It must've been a tiring journey. Have you eaten? I've prepared a formal reception banquet for your arrival."

"I'm not hungry," Nova replied coldly. "Take me to the interrogation chamber. I'm assuming command of the Luca case immediately."

Nova was eager to see Luca face-to-face as soon as possible.

Minister Brown's face tensed awkwardly. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke slowly.

"There's been… an incident. I'm afraid you may no longer have the opportunity to interrogate Luca."

"…What did you just say? Say that again," Nova demanded, her voice icy with fury.

"In the course of the interrogation, Dr. Smith made a serious blunder. Luca and Quagmire… they successfully escaped. I—I did everything I could to stop them, but… my efforts weren't enough,"

Minister Brown stammered, visibly unraveling under the weight of his own panic.

Nova wasn't interested in excuses.

She shot a sharp question at him:

"When exactly did this happen?"

"Just moments ago!" Minister Brown stammered. "I'll provide you with all the documentation right away."

He turned and hastily grabbed a large stack of files from a subordinate standing behind him.

The documents contained detailed logs of every incident that had occurred in the lab over the past few hours.

Nova glanced down coldly at the papers Minister Brown handed her.

"Useless. Every last one of you is completely useless."

Meanwhile, at the edge of the Daskhollow Canyon—

Luca and Quagmire were gasping for breath, taking in the clean air.

They had finally escaped the depths of the canyon.

"I think we're in the clear now, right? I doubt even Zenith Technology Company would chase us out this far," Quagmire said, his tone filled with cautious relief.

Luca gave a slight nod.

Though he, too, was relieved to have escaped, there was a lingering dissatisfaction in his expression.

He had underestimated Zenith Technology Company far too much this time.

Still, despite the dangers, the mission hadn't been a failure.

At the very least, he had managed to retrieve a trove of documents once stored in Dr. Smith's personal vault.

He didn't yet know exactly what the files contained, but if they had been locked away by Smith himself, they had to be valuable.

After catching his breath, Luca stood up decisively.

"We shouldn't stay here long. Even if Zenith's people don't chase us this far, this still isn't a safe place. Let's head back to the shelter—immediately."

With that, Luca and Quagmire made haste toward Shelter 102.

When they arrived at the entrance, they were surprised to see several vehicles parked outside—ones belonging to Drumph and his team.

"They're back already? Weren't they supposed to be stationed in the Imperial Capital, making sure everything was secure there?"

Luca asked Quagmire with a hint of confusion.

After all, Luca wasn't a member of Morning Star—he didn't have much insight into their operational details.

Quagmire looked puzzled as well.

He shook his head slowly and replied,

"I don't know either. Under normal circumstances, they should have remained in the Imperial Capital."

"Maybe something major happened again. Still, their return isn't necessarily a bad thing for us. Drumph might have brought back some intel from the Imperial Capital, right?"

With that, the two chatted as they walked toward the central area of the shelter.

Their living quarters—and those of their friends—were located there.

As they reached the heart of the shelter, they saw Drumph and the others huddled together, brows tightly furrowed in serious discussion.

"What's going on?" Luca asked with a smile. "Why do you all look so grim? Don't tell me the Imperial Capital's under another monster horde attack?"

Drumph turned his gaze toward Luca, his expression still heavy with concern.

"You're finally back," he said, voice low and serious.

"No—the Imperial Capital hasn't suffered another attack. But we're facing something even harder to deal with."

He paused, then continued, his brows tightening further.

"Do you remember what happened during the last monster horde assault on the Imperial Capital?"

"There was a witch… one with terrifying power… and she was riding the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon."

Drumph exhaled slowly.

"That witch—she's the problem we're dealing with now."