The research laboratories on the shore also had self-destruction systems.
It was a fail-safe in case others wanted to steal their research to do dangerous things. Thus, destroying the laboratory was better.
However, they also had rules for that. If it was not a war, then this system should never be activated.
Connor did not expect that Sebastian would also steal this system from them.
Sebastian’s undersea laboratory was basically a replica of the laboratory on shore.
However, this self-dest