"..."
Lynelle fell silent for a moment before slowly uttering: "This thing… why does it give me such a strong sense of déjà vu."
[Huh? Wh-what kind of déjà vu…?]
"Well… roughly speaking…"
Lynelle thought for a bit, then said: "It's like that whole, 'Would you rather be a mediocre person your whole life, or an extraordinary person for just 30 seconds?' vibe?"
[Uh… well, yes, but actually, this Curio's late-stage benefits are pretty limited. I just checked, and its so-called extra energy bar is roughly equivalent to the built-in energy reserve of a single third-generation B-rank Valkyrie battlesuit.]
"But at least for me right now, this counts as a pretty stat-boosting item. According to the description here, after using this Curio, I should gain the ability to control this special type of crystal, and it conveniently solves my dilemma of having ammo but no gun."
"However…"
Lynelle stroked her chin, deep in thought. "Never mind this Curio, I've never even come into contact with Imaginary Energy. I've had plenty of exposure to Honkai energy, which is a derivative energy, but that was all forcibly pumped into my body—I can't really control it either… So, will I actually be able to master this item when the time comes?"
[Don't you worry about that! The system will handle the usage techniques for you.]
The voice of Customer Service Kiana-chan was full of confidence.
[For those gacha-obtained Curios, weapons, and items, the system will automatically grant you the relevant memories when you use them. Of course, if the item's time limit expires, those memories will vanish too. But… only the part granted by the system will disappear. If the host develops their own understanding based on those memories during that time, that part won't be reclaimed.]
"That convenient?"
Lynelle was taken aback. "And this kind of ability… You're not some system sponsored by Fuli, are you?"
[No way… Although the system can do a lot, cooperating with an Aeon or something like that is something the host shouldn't expect anytime soon.]
"Aeons, that's way beyond me right now. My first immediate goal…"
Lynelle flipped through the items she'd just pulled, her smile growing increasingly 'sunny'. "Is to try and escape from Babylon Tower first!"
--+--
Night fell. Probably because new equipment had arrived and a large-scale experiment on Lynelle's immortality was scheduled for tomorrow, the entire Babylon Tower had fallen into silence early.
And Lynelle, the key 'participant' and 'sponsor' of that grand project, was now brimming with energy.
Because tonight was the night she planned to make her escape.
"Strictly speaking, the entire Babylon Laboratory can be divided into two sections."
Dipping her finger in water, Lynelle quietly explained the tower's structure to Sirin by drawing on the bedsheet.
After all, ever since her immortality was discovered, Lynelle had been moved to a higher-level lab, so she was much more familiar with the layout of the entire Babylon Tower than Sirin.
"First, the area we're in now, which I call the Living Zone. We're on the fourth floor of this zone. Its characteristic is its circular structure, with the only way up or down being the spiral staircase that runs along the inner wall of the tower."
"Floors two through five of the Living Zone are all cages for test subjects like us. Plus, we're isolated from both the first and sixth floors. To get to any other floor, you have to use the central elevator."
"Second is the Experiment Zone, which is everything from the sixth floor up. When we're taken for experiments, the researchers use their keycards to take the central elevator to the higher floors. About those keycards—I found out the guards in the second-floor security office have them too, so they shouldn't be too hard to get."
"So, looking at it that way, it seems like all we need to do to escape is snatch a guard's keycard?"
Sirin tilted her head.
"No, it's far from that simple."
Lynelle shook her head. "Since Babylon Laboratory is an integrated facility, and it's situated in the middle of the vast Siberian snowfields, hardly anyone ever leaves the tower except for supply runs or capturing test subjects. I got a look at the first floor when I was brought in—it's full of these black containers, no idea what's inside."
"But that's not the main point. The main point is, to get to the first floor, it seems you can't use the central elevator. You have to take the freight elevator located behind it."
"Freight elevator…?"
Sirin looked puzzled. "Does that mean… we need another keycard?"
"Exactly. Because logistics and research are separate systems, and also to prevent researchers with access to classified experimental data from leaving the tower privately, the freight elevator access control requires a separate pass in addition to the standard keycard. As for where to find that pass…"
Lynelle sighed. "I'm all too familiar with that. After all, the new 'tools' they use on me every day are delivered fresh. I'm not sure about the others, but I'm certain one of those access cards is in the thirteenth-floor lab where my usual experiments happen."
"The thirteenth floor? That's way too dangerous…"
Sirin sounded worried. "So, our escape plan requires us to first go to the second floor to get a guard's keycard, then head to the sixth floor to enter the Experiment Zone, then go all the way up to the thirteenth floor to get the freight elevator pass, and finally break through the blockade on the first floor?"
"Yep. Babylon Tower's layout is just that annoyingly designed, like 'this door can't be opened from this side'."
Lynelle ruffled Sirin's hair. "But… I do have some methods that could save us time."
"However, Sirin."
Lynelle half-knelt, looking directly into Sirin's eyes, her expression serious. "Can I trust you?"
"Huh? Why so sudden…?"
Sirin blinked, clearly not understanding why Lynelle was being so solemn all of a sudden. But, seeing Lynelle's serious face, she nodded without hesitation. "Mhm, of course you can!"
"Good. During our escape, I might use some strange items and abilities you've never heard of or seen before. Things you might not even encounter in your future… This will be my most deeply hidden secret."
Several items materialized in Lynelle's hand out of thin air. "So, Sirin… can you promise to share this secret with me for the rest of your life?"
"R-rest of… our lives… t-together…?"
Clearly, Sirin's face, now flushed bright red, had focused on the wrong part of the statement.
"D-don't worry, Lynelle! I'll carry this secret to my grave!"
"Alright, my little angel~ But you really shouldn't talk so casually about dying, okay?"
Lynelle took out a black glove and a seemingly completely transparent bracer, fastening them onto Sirin's slender arm.
"Next, I'm going to teach you how to get the keycard from the second floor…"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.