Empire Building With Infinite Warehouse-Chapter 82: Multiverse Scheming

Julien just sat there on the white leather couch and stared at the screens.

His brain was practically leaking out of his ears.

A few days ago, he was just a simple merchant trying to survive a boss fight, and now he was sitting in a secret underground base listening to a billionaire talk about alternate dimensions and body-snatching spies.

"You want me to believe that bullshit," Julien finally said, his voice completely flat.

"I mean, we literally came to know about the existence of other Earths yesterday from that giant sky broadcast. And you are telling me you already knew all about it? How?"

Isabella nodded slowly, not taking offence at his blunt tone at all.

"I know you won’t believe it, and frankly, I didn’t either at first," she said, leaning back and crossing her legs.

"It seemed far too impossible. We were all so focused on surviving the monster waves and clearing the gates that the idea of a multiverse felt like a bad joke. It sounded like something out of a cheap comic book."

Julien rubbed his temples with his good hand, feeling a massive headache forming behind his eyes.

’A bad joke is exactly what this is,’ he thought to himself.

’I sell potions and basic swords. I am not equipped to deal with a cosmic war.’

"So that is why I had to test it," Isabella continued, her red eyes narrowing as she looked right at him.

"I prepared a highly skilled squad and made them raid a specific Green Gate located deep inside the Republican camp."

Julien looked up, a spark of recognition hitting him.

"Wait, is that the one Gina told me about?" Julien asked, trying to connect the scattered dots.

"No, that is a different one entirely," Isabella corrected him smoothly.

"The squad I put together was completely off the books. It was comprised of elite members from the Azure Knights and multiple other strong, independent hunters."

She paused for a second before adding, "Gina’s squad was different and Maya’s father led it."

Julien felt his breath hitch in his throat.

"But they never returned, right?" Julien asked, piecing the old rumours together. "Your secret squad didn’t come back either, no?"

Isabella sighed, and for the very first time since he met her, she actually looked a little tired.

The perfect executive facade cracked just a fraction.

"Most of them didn’t," she admitted quietly.

"Except for one."

Julien leaned forward, hanging onto her every word now.

"He came back, but his mind was completely fractured," Isabella explained, her voice dropping a little lower.

"He was just sitting in the dirt near the portal, babbling endlessly about things no one understood. He kept drawing a weird symbol in the dust and talking about strange cults."

She brought up a new file on the computer monitor, showing a rough sketch of a twisted insignia.

"When our telepaths finally deciphered his broken words, the picture he painted was terrifying. He said there were buildings and roads just like on our Earth, but the people acted completely differently. They were not fighting monsters but doing something else entirely, and everyone in his squad was killed almost instantly," Isabella said, shaking her head.

"We still have absolutely no idea how he managed to come back through the gate alive."

Julien leaned heavily back against the couch, feeling completely overwhelmed by the massive information dump.

His chest felt tight.

"This is all so sudden," Julien muttered, looking down at his bandaged hand.

"I don’t even know what to do with this. I am just a guy with an inventory system, Isabella."

"I am not telling you this to scare you, Julien. I am alerting you," Isabella said, her tone sharpening to grab his attention.

"Two of our Earth’s SSS-rank awakeners have already been killed. We do not know whether Gina is the only imposter operating in these districts, or whether Kane is actually from another Earth. They are actively hunting people with your level of potential to eliminate the competition before the tournament starts."

Julien swallowed hard.

’How did it go from simple dungeon hunting to multiverse scheming this fast?’ he thought to himself.

’I just wanted to make some merchant credits and keep my head down.’

He looked back at the wealthy guild master and frowned.

He was starting to see a very familiar, very annoying pattern forming here.

"You are doing the same thing she did, aren’t you?" Julien asked, pointing an accusing finger at the screen showing the fake Gina.

"You are delegating the dangerous work you could easily do yourself to a weak guy like me."

Isabella actually smiled at that, giving him a small nod of genuine respect for catching on so quickly.

"You are not entirely wrong," she replied calmly.

"But I am asking you specifically because one of your teammates could help us do it."

Julien looked at her in total confusion.

"My friends?" Julien asked.

"Chris is currently unconscious in your infirmary with ruined hands, and Alice is just a low-level necromancer who almost bled out an hour ago. How are they supposed to help you fight alternate dimensions?"

Instead of answering directly, Isabella turned back to the massive computer terminal and typed a few quick commands.

The video feed of the fake Gina vanished, and a high-resolution photograph popped up on the large screen.

It was a picture of a young guy, maybe around seventeen years old.

He had messy dark hair and a really intense, angry look in his eyes, wearing standard, dirty survivor clothes, but he looked like someone who had been fighting his whole life.

"Who is he?" Julien asked, squinting at the bright screen.

"This is Aiden," Isabella said, folding her manicured hands in her lap.

"He is another SSS-rank awakener, just like you. And he is currently being held prisoner deep inside the Republican camp."

Julien stared at the picture.

The kid’s face looked weirdly familiar.

The shape of his pale eyes, the stubborn set of his jaw, and the slight curve of his nose.

He had seen those exact features recently.

Then it finally clicked.

Julien practically jumped off the soft leather couch.

"Oh, wait," Julien stammered, his good hand waving in the air as his brain caught up.

"Wait, wait, wait. Aiden?"

"That is right," Isabella said, a slight, knowing smile creeping back onto her face as she watched the realisation hit him.

"He is Alice’s little brother."