Splash—
Under the warm flow of water, Kaguya lifted her head and looked at the showerhead in front of her, then reached out and turned it off.
She picked up a towel and gently dried her body, then put on the yellow striped uniform.
Shinomiya Kaguya disliked this set of clothes quite a lot, because in terms of style it made her think of prison inmates' attire. It was just that under normal circumstances prison uniforms were black-and-white striped, whereas the one she was wearing was yellow-and-white striped.
[Shower time has ended. Please proceed to the personnel rest area to rest. Your second exploration action will begin tomorrow.]
A noisy announcement sounded from the top of the bathroom.
Kaguya, without saying a word, had already walked out of the bathroom, passed in front of the medical inspection personnel, and finally returned to the location of the personnel rest area.
It consisted of small single-occupancy rooms separated by heavy iron doors.
In Kaguya's view, this was actually no different from a prison.
She had to find a way to break free from this kind of environment.
This "Explorer" identity imposed extremely severe restrictions on her actions. Outside of exploration time, she was basically completely confined. At every moment, her movements were exposed under surveillance. Armed soldiers stood guard not far away, and any abnormal movement on her part would immediately draw attention.
That c3 Explorer played by a player had, not long ago, been directly shot dead by those soldiers for making some small moves.
Those soldiers wearing black, fully enclosed protective suits—soldiers that were in essence all anomalous entities—silently patrolled every room of this Cave Research Base, tightly monitoring Explorers like her.
She had to do something.
Shinomiya Kaguya lowered her head and looked at the Obsession Item scalpel she had hidden on her body.
The vast majority of Obsession Items were currently being kept on Takumi's side. At present, she herself only had this easily portable scalpel, and on Maki's side it was the same—only a scalpel as well. Mainly because at the beginning everyone thought they would gather at the entrance of Red Nut Grey Cave, and in order to play the Tourist identity, those Obsession Items were inconvenient to carry, so they had all been given to Takumi, who could store Obsession Items in his watch. No one had expected the mission to undergo such drastic changes, rendering the three of their strategies not only completely ineffective, but also causing trouble on her side.
No—maybe not necessarily so. If she had an Obsession Item like the Blood Puppet in her hands, she would certainly try to use it. But given the anomalous conditions of this place, it was quite possible that the moment she used an Obsession Item, something extremely terrifying would happen.
This feeling really made Kaguya want to laugh a little. Clearly, anomalous things that were not even human were playing the role of human soldiers, using firearms to attack players who violated the rules, while the players had to try to rely on all kinds of strange Obsession Items, making use of anomalous power to seek a way out.
There was a strange feeling that the situations on both sides had been reversed.
She picked up a red ribbon and tied up her loose, long black hair.
Kaguya had already returned to the personnel rest area, back to that small room that was about the size of a compact car, with only a bed and a toilet.
"Hm?"
As she sat on the bed, Kaguya lowered her head and realized something had been stuffed inside the bedding.
She reached out and lifted the bedding, and then she saw a brand-new white lab coat, as well as a rule sheet placed inside that piece of clothing.
[Cave base researchers' work code:]
[Welcome to the cave base. This is a secret research base under the United States. As a researcher working at this base, aside from the basic confidentiality laws, the following are special work rules you need to follow here. Please be sure to memorize them.]
[1. Depending on the type of work you have been assigned, you may engage in sample analysis work, observation work, or research-type work. Different jobs are located in different work areas and require different corresponding access cards. Please keep your access card properly. Each access card is bound to your personal information. Whether it is lost or damaged, you will be held accountable.]
[2. Researchers' activity range is limited to the Experimental Zone and the Observation Zone. Entering the Observation Zone requires obtaining permission in advance. You must not enter the Quarantine Zone. Only Quarantine Zone staff, Explorers, and remotely controllable automated equipment may enter the Quarantine Zone. No matter what your reason is, you cannot enter. Also, please do not make things difficult for the guard soldiers of the Quarantine Zone.]
[3. If biological information is detected in samples sent into the Analysis Zone, you must immediately press the emergency button to activate the protective procedure for transferring them to the Freezing Zone. This is an extremely important research sample that is also easily deactivated, and only your higher-level research unit has the authority to come into contact with it. At that time, you must leave the Analysis Zone. You have no right to participate in the subsequent work. If you have any questions about this, you may ask Base Research Director Professor Vernon, but you may not necessarily receive an answer.]
[4. Work in the Research Zone and the Observation Zone is overseen by Base Research Director Professor Vernon. To work in these areas, you must obey all of his commands. If you cannot do so, you will be removed from this position.]
[5. Only those who hold the highest level of access permission may enter the Freezing Zone. If you need to enter this area for work, please communicate with Professor Vernon in advance to confirm the important matters you need to pay attention to.]
[6. Any crying, calls for help, knocking sounds, or other noises coming from the direction of the Quarantine Zone are all hallucinations. There exists an as-yet-unidentified special biological toxin in the air environment here that can induce a certain degree of hallucination. Do not pay excessive attention to these hallucinations. If you believe they have begun to affect your normal work, please report and explain the situation to your superior department.]
[7. For the sake of your mental safety, please regularly take the tranquilizing medication provided by this institution. It is beneficial to your rest and sleep. Please do not give your medication to Explorers in the Quarantine Zone. If the other party forcefully demands it, you may call security soldiers to drive them away.]
[8. Take good care of your personal clothing. Wearing clothing with a personal style is not permitted within the base. Your manner of dress must be appropriate to your position. This is a military research base, not your personal leisure showground. Please maintain the professional standards expected of you.]
[9. If, over the course of multiple days of sleep, you repeatedly experience sensations of crowding, difficulty breathing, bodily inversion, or similar conditions, and these begin to affect your normal work and daily life, please request instructions in a timely manner. You will be temporarily removed from your position, after which we will arrange appropriate treatment for you as soon as possible. This is a mental illness commonly suffered by personnel working here; only early treatment can contain it.]
[The right of interpretation of these rules belongs to Professor Vernon and Lieutenant General Gallagher.]
The contents of the rules themselves were not particularly complex.
However, looking at this set of rules, Kaguya could not help but frown. She had already realized that, just as the Shirakawa Apartments had once experienced a period of stability after anomalous phenomena occurred, this anomalous research institute was likely also a structure established during a period when anomalous phenomena were occurring. The difference was that, unlike the Shirakawa Apartments—where survivors had banded together in an effort to find a way out—this place was completely different. Here, people had actually sealed off the entrance to the anomalous area and were conducting research on it.
Was such a thing even possible? Anomalies clearly caused information lockdowns and cognitive shielding, making it impossible for ordinary people to become aware of related events.
Was it because the Horror Story here had not yet truly evolved at the time, and thus cognitive lockdown had not yet formed?
Or was it that the anomaly present here differed in some way from the players' common understanding?
In the midst of her thoughts, Kaguya did not hesitate at all. She took off the yellow striped Explorer uniform and put on the researcher's white lab coat.
The indoor surveillance suddenly locked onto her. The soldiers who had originally been standing outside arrived at the doorway in the blink of an eye, pulled open the room's heavy iron door, and then raised their gun muzzles to aim at Kaguya.
Then they slowly lowered their guns and simply stood there, ignoring Kaguya in the white lab coat as she walked past them.
Different clothes, different identities, different treatment.
Shinomiya Kaguya had already, to a certain extent, figured out how this place operated.
She walked to the door and opened the door of the rest room.
Shijō Maki was already waiting outside. Not long ago, she had slipped into the personnel rest area to place the clothes and the rule sheet. Seeing Kaguya walk out safely now, she let out a sigh of relief. Then Maki gestured with her eyes for Kaguya to follow her. The two girls walked one after the other down the corridor and arrived in front of the gate that separated the Observation Zone from the Research Zone.
Beep, beep—
The access card in Maki's hand emitted a soft sound.
The next moment, the heavy alloy gate—over forty centimeters thick—slowly opened, revealing the area beyond.
Kaguya's gaze immediately caught the line of signage on the wall, as well as the row of words beneath it.
[Cave Plan]
[Creating a Brand-New Future for Civilization]
This plan…
Strange—why did it feel as if she had heard of it somewhere before?
In an instant, a faint sense of disorientation arose in the girl.
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