Back in the outside world, a few days had passed while Sage was crafting the Heart’s Tongue. The lights were turned up again, so that must mean it was daytime again. The underground facility had no windows and Sage couldn’t tell what they used for a clock around here, nor would he know how to read it. On the plus side, the blond attendant was here, pushing up his glasses and reading off his clipboard, “Aww, you’re just growing so very big, Suesie.”

Sage couldn’t see the man from his current position, he was in the other aisle with the larger cages, but Sage took the chance of releasing his Spiritual Sense. Carefully controlling it to peek at what the man was doing. The man was filling a bowl with what Sage thought looked like some type of kibble and then putting a strange instrument up against the neck of a small furry creature. It looked sort of like a dog, yet it had a very large and rotund frame with a huge waist like a bear. A bear cub with the snout and tail of a dog. It sure wasn’t the first time he’d seen strange animals, so Sage didn’t pay it much mind.

“Good girl, Suesie. Aiii, Orlan. Calm Down! Stop being so whiny, you’re next.”

The man moved to the next cage and performed a few similar procedures, with constant breaks to mark things down on his clipboard. A few minutes later, one of the examinations led to the man picking up a cat with purple fur and sitting it on the large table that the Chameleon Mantis had been first caged up on. Sage made a guess that the man was more than a simple caretaker based upon the medical styled procedures the man was performing. Sage continued to observe what was going on for a while to make sure he wasn’t missing anything important. Then he chose to act.

The man was working in the other aisle again and that was when Sage reached just one hand out of the space within the Chameleon Mantis, the one formed by his Insect Immortal Index technique, and gave the lid of the terrarium a good shove. He restrained himself so that the cover was popped loose without being thrown aside. Gently pushing it to slide over to the side without falling down, creating an opening that the Chameleon Mantis quickly slipped out of. Sage left behind another new hatched Chameleon Mantis in its place and pushed the lid back. Next, the mantis he was riding inside changed colors, blending into its surroundings and flying around the corner. Sage hopped out of the bug in mid-air and the man spun around just in time to lock eyes with him.

The Chameleon Mantis landed on Sage’s shoulders even as they had changed colors and taken on their true form. Pulsing with a fuzzy light as the blond man heard a rolling static heavy sound. These people didn’t follow the normal cultivation levels of his own world, so he had somewhat of a difficult time telling how powerful most of them were. Even so, this man didn’t seem all that strong so Sage directly used the Hypnotic Eyes on him.

“I didn’t notice you entering, Commander. What can I do for you?”

“Tell me everything about this facility.”

“Of course, Sir!”

The Hypnotic Eyes didn’t just turn people into his puppets. They merely allowed him to influence opinions and tweak memories. Just like a hypnotist might convince someone to forget they were afraid of heights, or no longer have the desire to smoke, the Hypnotic Eyes were a full proof and mystical version of the same. He couldn’t just command the man to slit his own throat or fight against Sage’s enemies. But, with some careful coaxing he could trick someone into thinking that the cup he handed to them was filled with wine and not poison. Or, change the face of a person’s greatest enemy in their memories. He couldn’t affect a person’s free will, but he could change the information they use to make decisions.

Just like now, all he had to do was change the face of a high ranking officer in the Veterinarian’s memories to his own. He also tweaked his opinion to make him less wary of Sage’s behavior so he wouldn’t find it strange for him to ask questions, instead taking it as a test or survey.

“Hollow Phase was a restricted facility before the Starfall. I am not privy to its original purpose, but currently we act as a command and control base for the Janus Continent. Dozens of teams are housed here, with dozens more assigned on a rotating basis, and the capacity for twice that. It is completely self-sufficient with geothermal heating and power, nutrient paste production, along with waste and water filtration. We also have dedicated research and medical facilities studying the Post-Starfall flora and fauna, though more than half of our resources are dedicated to studying the Scyzur. They appeared after the Starfall, and while they are not the cause, they are more familiar with the situation than we are.”

The man quickly gave a general run down of the base and the world outside, like he was taking a test and reciting what he was taught. Sage gave him a satisfied nod, “Well done! What do you know about all the strange crystals and metal?”

The man saluted him, “Dozens of new minerals appeared after the Starfall, but only four of them are in use so far. The weapons of the Scyzur use Lunarstone to charge Indigo Quartz projectiles. Their weapons and armor are made of Silver-Lead, and exhibit anti-psionic properties. Finally, there is the Divine Amethyst. The unusual name was given by the people because of its ability to awaken Psionic abilities.”

Sage was piecing together what he knew with the terms the people of this world used. If he ran into someone he couldn’t hypnotize, he would need to make sure he wouldn’t just give himself away immediately.

“What about the difficulties we’re facing? Who are our enemies?”

“We Hexacrats have to contend with many foes. The Scyzur are constantly scavenging and picking fights with our field operatives. The Flares resist the rule of the Hexacrats. Raiding our above ground supply bases and production facilities, while spouting nonsense about the Starfall being ‘The Great Flare’ that is pushing humanity to a new height. Yet, without doubt the greatest difficulty is the Starfall and the changes it has wrought to our world.”

With some basic information gathered, Sage nodded, “You are an exemplary person. Hmm, I seem to have spilled some food on my uniform. Can you go fetch me a spare?”

The man looked down, and didn’t find Sage’s outfit weird. Not even realizing that it was different and instead just accepting that it looked wrong because it ‘had a spill on it’. He put a hand to his shoulder, saluting before rushing out of the room. Sage stayed on guard, as the man was now out of his sight and he could only hope there wasn’t some special protocol that would wipe his influence from the man’s mind. After a few minutes the Veterinarian returned and passed him one of the blue jumpsuits they all wore along with boots, belt, and a few small devices that Sage hadn’t had the chance to examine before.

He changed quickly, and slipped a watch like device over his ankle and another around his neck after learning their location from the blond man. He asked about their function and learned that the leg band was something of a digital wallet and identification tag while the neckband was a communications device. The writing of this world was still a mystery to him so he couldn’t operate the other devices, but as long as there were weak people nearby he could just get them to do things for him.

He asked a few more questions and narrowed down a new identity. The base had local operatives, but there were also roving teams. Sage merely had to pose as one of them and his lack of knowledge as an outsider wouldn’t be unusual. After having the Veterinarian escort him to the lodging area of the roving field operatives, Sage hypnotized the desk agent into giving him a room and access to the cafeteria. Then he went to the cafeteria to gather more information.

Now we’ll see how difficult it is to join a team.