"Thanks for your understanding, Ryan," Anya said.
Her voice was calm, but the weight behind it lingered longer than the words themselves. Almost immediately after speaking, she took out her phone and dialed a number.
"What is it, Captain?" a voice answered from the other side.
Anya did not waste time on pleasantries. "Emergency protocol. Immediately evacuate every non-combat member from the underground facilities. All free members who are not currently on a mission are to arrive at the facility and closely monitor the surrounding area."
There was a brief pause, then a firm response followed. "Roger that, Captain. Everything will be done within ten minutes."
Anya nodded once and cut the call. She turned toward Watson, her expression sharpening into something colder and more decisive. "You will assist with the evacuation of non-combat members and guard them. I will handle the situation here. Also, do not allow anyone to enter the facility. Let them guard the perimeter outside in case something goes wrong."
Watson hesitated. His lips parted as if he wanted to say something more, and a single word slipped out before he stopped himself. "Si…"
Before he could finish, Anya cut him off. "Watson, did you forget the rules of the emergency protocol. Just do as I say."
Watson clenched his jaw. There was no argument, no visible defiance, but the reluctance in his eyes was impossible to hide. In the end, he nodded helplessly and turned away, moving down the corridor with heavy steps.
Ryan noticed the subtle tension between them, though he did not understand its source. He wanted to leave as well. Every instinct in him screamed that staying underground, so close to imprisoned monsters, was a terrible idea. But another thought surfaced just as quickly. If a monster truly breached the Holding Wing and released everything inside, the city above would be drowned in blood before anyone could react.
After Watson disappeared from sight, Ryan finally spoke, his voice cautious. "Can we start?"
Anya looked at him, momentarily distracted, and Ryan continued before his courage faded. "This monster should be an intelligent one. Before it notices the changes in the facility, we need to find it as soon as possible."
Anya seemed to snap out of her thoughts. She nodded lightly and replied, "Alright. You can start checking from the entrance. I first need to understand how this monster managed to breach the Holding Wing from the outside."
At present, the doors to the Holding Wing could not be opened. That meant they could not inspect the source directly. The only remaining option was to examine the entrance and surrounding structures to determine how the monster escaped this area.
Ryan nodded and moved toward the massive reinforced door. He placed his hands against the cold surface and closed his eyes, calming his breathing. Anya stood beside him, her posture relaxed on the surface but alert in every detail.
Ryan focused inward, sensing with the strange awareness that now felt disturbingly familiar. He analyzed the structure carefully, layer by layer, waiting for the subtle distortion he had felt before.
After several moments, his brows furrowed. He pulled his hands back and shook his head. "The structure is perfectly intact. There are no deformations here."
Anya let out a quiet hum of acknowledgment. "So it did not exit through the door. That would have been far too obvious."
Ryan nodded and moved along the walls, checking every place where a monster could have potentially escaped. He worked methodically, suppressing the lingering fear that crawled up his spine each time he remembered what lay behind these walls. Yet no matter where he checked, the result was the same.
Everything was intact. Perfectly intact.
After nearly half an hour, Ryan let out a helpless sigh. "Captain, I don't think it's possible to find the monster by searching blindly like this."
Anya turned to him and asked calmly, "What do you suggest, then?"
"We should check the surveillance footage," Ryan replied without hesitation.
Anya considered his suggestion and nodded. "That is reasonable. Although it managed to escape detection, meaning it likely possesses some form of concealment ability, it should have left at least one trace during its escape."
They returned to the observation room together. Before activating the footage, Anya suddenly asked, "Can you determine when the structural deformations occurred?"
Ryan shook his head. "I can't pinpoint the exact time. But from the energy residue, it doesn't feel old."
"Energy residue?" Anya repeated, her interest sharpening.
"Yes," Ryan replied. "It should be under three days."
Anya nodded. "That narrows the search."
She began scanning the footage at an incomprehensible speed. The screens blurred as days passed in seconds. To Ryan, it looked like a time-lapse video stripped of all meaning. He could not even tell what he was supposed to observe, let alone identify an anomaly.
He waited silently, unsure whether this investigation had any purpose at all.
After forty-five minutes, Anya stopped the playback. She leaned back slightly and shook her head. "There is no clue. The monster never approached the structure."
Ryan stared at the screen in disbelief. "Are you sure you checked properly?" he asked, unable to hide his skepticism.
"Do not doubt my ability," Anya replied flatly. "I am certain."
Ryan's expression darkened. His unease turned into irritation, then into something sharper. "Then that means the monster didn't escape on its own."
Anya turned to him, her eyes narrowing. "What did you say?"
Ryan stiffened under her gaze, but he forced himself to continue. "Someone from your team helped it escape. There was collusion. Otherwise, this makes no sense."
Anya's expression shifted, but not in the way Ryan expected. Instead of anger, there was a sudden intensity, as if a puzzle piece had snapped into place. She grabbed his shoulder, her grip firm. "No. Say that again."
Ryan swallowed. "Someone from your team helped it escape."
"That's it," Anya said, releasing him abruptly. A sharp smile crossed her face as she clapped her hands together. "That must be the reason."
Ryan stared at her, unsettled by her reaction. Whatever he had just uncovered, it was far more dangerous than he had imagined.