[To Those Who Come After:]
[No matter who you are, if you can find this place, it means that for some reason you have been trapped here and are searching for a way out. It also means that you have already learned something you should not have known, causing your situation to be more dangerous than that of the others.]
[If you want to escape, the method is very simple: find a security uniform and put it on. After that, you will find yourself appearing inside a guard booth. Next, no matter what you see, do not panic. Confirm that the other party is wearing a security uniform, then tell them that you originally intended to come and change shifts, but discovered that you arrived too early. In this way, you will be able to leave safely. Do not be afraid—if your behavior is too abnormal, you may end up being kept there.]
[In short, after doing this, you will be able to head toward the cave exit from the direction of the Stone Forest Path and successfully leave this place. Do not go to the Gentle Slope. There should be a sign at the entrance—be sure to read it clearly. Under no circumstances should you leave via the Gentle Slope. Doing so should allow you to escape successfully. But do not rush—do not rush yet. You must first confirm what your initial identity was when you entered this place, and complete a certain amount of role-playing using that identity.]
[If you are an Explorer, you must go to the "Heart" at least once. If you are a Rescue Team member, you must go through the rescue procedure at least once before changing identities. If you are a Tourist, a security guard, or a staff member… no, people with those three identities cannot survive. There is no way they could live long enough to see this note, so I will not bother with them. In any case, your first role identity must complete certain actions in advance. If you change identities directly, problems may arise. How should it be put—like an "actor not being professional enough." You may be more easily exposed.]
[In addition to that, there is another very serious problem. It seems that something extra has appeared in the world where the security uniform is located… No—rather, it should be said that in recent times, something extra has appeared in every part of this cave. There is something watching everything here. It is furious. It is terrifying. I do not know what it wants to do, but its existence absolutely cannot be ignored. Therefore, if you want to avoid it and successfully escape from here, you must complete the operation in this place.]
[You may be very confused as to why carrying out a certain operation here can bring all of this to an end. I have no way to explain it in detail either. I stayed here for many years. From the time the Red Nut Grey Cave was sealed, from the moment those damned bastards killed my only friend, I found a way to return here. After that, I stayed in this nightmarish place for a very, very long time—so long that I am about to forget how long it has been.]
[Those people who created countless tragedies thought that by throwing me into this hell they would be able to eliminate me, but they were wrong. I stayed here for a long time, and I know how to survive in this place. So I pretended to cooperate. I entered this place and, little by little, researched the things I was able to do. The final result was that I connected the electrical system here with the power network of those people.]
[Although that terrifying thing keeps wandering around this place, the place it most wants to go to is where those bastards are hiding. So, if you pull down the power switch, their side will lose power. Then that thing will shift its target, and that will be your chance to survive and escape from here.]
[Before taking action, you must make thorough preparations. You only have one chance. From the moment you enter, if you still cannot escape within fifteen days, you will never be able to leave. Therefore, before acting, you must think it through carefully. Once you pull down this power switch, there will be no turning back.]
[I am already unable to leave this place. I know it—I am becoming one of them. I missed the fifteen-day time limit. For the me of now, even death is a luxury. But I will not regret it, because this is what I deserve. When the sins were committed, I failed to stop them. I even went along with them for a period of time. This is the price I should pay. Stranger, if you can leave this place, please live well. This is the only thing we, as ordinary people, can do.]
[As for me, after leaving this shelter, the last thing I can still do is to go and confirm the true nature of that thing. If I can return while still lucid, I will record what I know. If I cannot—do not try to make contact with that thing.]
[—Wilbur]
This was an extremely filthy and chaotic small room, carrying a faint stench.
Large numbers of discarded cans and water bottles littered the floor. Clothing of various identities—Explorer, firefighter, staff member, security guard—was messily piled on a small table to one side of the room, with many extinguished cigarette butts scattered around.
Words were carved into the wall with a crayon, recording the passage of time. Takumi counted them—there were a total of fifty-nine days recorded. In other words, the man named Wilbur had survived inside the Red Nut Grey Cave for a full fifty-nine days. Or, to be more precise, he had successfully survived for fifty-nine days while maintaining a self-recognition as a "human".
That was almost equivalent to this instance opening and closing four times. Was this guy really that impressive? Or was it because he was already unable to escape and had begun to gradually transform into an anomaly, allowing him to survive here more safely than players?
And then there was the power switch he mentioned—once it was pulled, some place would lose power?
Takumi already knew which place Wilbur was referring to.
{Maki, has anyone on your side gone to the power area? Do not destroy the power system—absolutely do not destroy the power system. The research institute you are in possesses some kind of defensive capability. If the power is cut, that white-dressed anomaly will directly storm into the research base and kill its way through.}
Without the slightest hesitation, Takumi put down the message and immediately contacted Maki, informing her of everything he had learned on his end.
{The one who entered the power area is Kaguya. She will not act recklessly. We agreed beforehand to investigate first and then decide how to proceed. Wait—something is happening on our side…}
Maki, who had been flipping through experimental materials, heard Takumi's voice and listened carefully to what he was saying. As she replied, she walked toward the door of the dormitory. At that moment, she heard an unusual sound coming from outside. Sensing that something was wrong, she opened the door, and then realized that the disturbance was coming from the direction of the power area.
Kaguya was captured.
Two fully armed soldiers—played by anomalies—seized Kaguya's arms and forced her to bend forward as they restrained her.
Standing to the side was Professor Vernon, his expression utterly blank. He cast a lifeless glance at Kaguya and then said, [Violators of regulations are to be handled according to Procedure No. 3]. After speaking, he turned around and walked toward Maki's direction.
The soldiers escorting Kaguya began moving toward the observation area.
Maki arrived at this moment, but Kaguya immediately shot her a look. Understanding what she meant, the girl had no choice but to stop where she was, watching helplessly as Kaguya was escorted away.
Everything happened extremely suddenly.
Kaguya, who had entered the power area, had indeed not acted rashly. In fact, she had only stayed inside for a very short period of time before preparing to leave temporarily to find Maki and Chika to discuss countermeasures.
However, when she entered, there had not been a single person outside. When she came out, two soldiers were standing guard outside, and Professor Vernon—who had already revealed many suspicious points—was not far away. As a result, Kaguya was captured, and one of the soldiers even drew a handgun, preparing to strike Kaguya in the head.
If things had really developed that way, then she truly would have been beyond saving. What she had not expected was that Professor Vernon stopped the soldier and instead ordered that Procedure No. 3 be applied to her. Kaguya herself did not know the contents of this procedure, but Professor Vernon provided an explanation: she was to be locked up in a cell within the Quarantine Zone and used as a special test subject.
Although the situation remained extremely grim, at least it was not an immediate death trap. Moreover, since this plan had been proposed by the highly suspicious Professor Vernon, Kaguya signaled to the arriving Maki not to take action.
Chika arrived a little later. By the time Kaguya was almost being escorted through the research area, the girl finally came down the stairs.
Maki's eyes immediately lit up. The reason Chika was late was that she had first gone to the archives area and released the stealth doll that Maki had left inside to investigate various archival reports, bringing it down to the first floor. Without hesitation, Maki immediately controlled the doll to follow after Kaguya and discreetly handed a scalpel to it. This way, no matter what situation Kaguya encountered later, she would at least have some means of self-defense.
'This girl—she really is quite sharp. I moved too hastily earlier and didn't think to retrieve the doll.'
Thinking this, Maki's impression of Chika improved considerably. However, immediately afterward, she had no choice but to raise her head and look at Professor Vernon, who had walked up to her and was watching both her and Chika with a blank expression.
[Tomorrow, there will be a new experiment in the research area. You will participate as assistants.]
After leaving these words behind, the professor slowly departed, walking up the stairs and returning to his office on the second floor.
At the same time, Kaguya, under the escort of two soldiers, had already passed through the observation area and arrived at the entrance to the Quarantine Zone—a place that soldiers would not normally go.
The large door opened, revealing a spacious preparation room beyond.
After passing through another door, the two soldiers then took Kaguya and made a turn, heading in another direction—one different from the route taken by exploration personnel.
At this moment, Kaguya noticed a notice posted on the wall titled [Quarantine Zone Precautions]. She immediately locked onto it with her gaze, took an extremely short amount of time to clearly read the text on it, and firmly committed it to memory, before turning to observe her surroundings.
This place was very close to the examination room.
On the first-floor map of the research base, this area was merely an empty corridor, with nothing present.
However, when Kaguya was escorted here, she instead saw a downward staircase at the end of the corridor. The descent was not steep, and it reached its end very quickly.
What Kaguya saw was a circular corridor.
On the outer side of the corridor was a ring of fully enclosed cells, with no visibility into their interiors. The inner ring seemed to be a separate small room, likewise with no discernible details, but Kaguya saw a label reading [Confinement Room].
Each cell door had some informational material posted on it, but there were no photographs, nor were there names or identities of the detainees. There were only simple designations such as d1, d2, and the like. The cell Kaguya was thrown into bore the designation d6 on the outside.
After throwing Kaguya into cell d6, the soldiers closed the door and left directly.
Kaguya sat down on the cold floor of the cell. She remained seated there in silence for a moment before slowly letting out a breath and then standing up from the ground.
Next, she would have to find a way to figure out the exact situation here, and also ensure her own safety. Could she do it?
Although the girl's face remained expressionless, the unease in her heart was already swelling more and more.
If it was only herself alone… could she really manage it?
"Cough…"
At that very moment, Kaguya heard the sound of coughing coming from the neighboring cell.
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