Origin (42)
Beep-beep—
The detector began its job, catching the mimics pretending to be objects everywhere. While it didn't give us their exact positions, we could easily guess which ones were mimics based on approximate distance and direction.
I was dumbfounded by the number displayed on the screen. The others were no exception. It was understandable since there were far more being detected than expected.
"All of these are mimics?"
"They're hiding disturbingly well."
Some of the cables hanging from the ceiling were actually the tendrils of mimics, and there were mimics lying in wait under platforms like traps that would activate when you stepped on them.
Because the device was set not to detect creep movement, not modifying the detector and just going forward would have meant certain disaster.
To confirm they were really there, I ordered Alpha to attack the indicated spots, and what happened next made us acutely aware of the danger.
When the shockwave struck accurately, the platform sank with a clunk, and in reaction, sharp spikes shot out. It was an attack aimed solely at the feet.
The same kind of black spikes fired by the monster tram. Knowing full well that even decent armor would be pierced, a chill ran down my spine. If I had stepped on it unknowingly, my foot could have been punctured.
As I sharpened my gaze and scanned the surroundings, a long, low echo stretched out from the darkness. Instinctively, I turned in that direction.
Beyond the reach of the flashlight's beam, deep in the darkness, the mutant creature appeared and disappeared, repeating the process as if it was waiting for us to come.
'They must be really prepared, huh?'
Or maybe it's after something else. Either way, I didn't like it. Even if I wanted to shoot it, the stalker's position was so ambiguous it was difficult to get a shot.
It seemed to know exactly what we were keeping an eye on, as it had positioned itself between the pipelines transporting raw ore powder.
The next sector was the melting process area. At first, I intended to break through as fast as possible, but I had no choice but to change my mind. It was because of the number of mimics scattered around and the persistent presence of the mutant that kept getting on our nerves.
'There are too many traps for a forced breakthrough.'
No matter how much our equipment was upgraded, we only had one life. You don't get more by inserting coins.
So, risking our lives should be avoided as much as possible. Even more so if someone else's life was also in danger—not just my own.
"Celestia, could you tell me what detour routes are available?"
"One moment."
Celestia turned on the holographic map and checked our location. She shared the screen, showing several routes, then pointed decisively at one of them.
"If you head up via the right-side elevator, you can pass above the chamber in the melting sector. Since the facility is running, there's a good chance the elevator still has power."
"The upper floor, huh..."
"There's also a way to another sector through the ventilation duct, but in this situation, I don't think it's the right choice."
A mutant that spat the liquid that activated the creep was lurking and waiting for its chance. As Celestia said, the ventilation duct would be a bad environment for us.
Having everything blocked except front and back may seem stable at first glance, but it also means less space to evade and a greater chance of being trapped.
If the mutant were to spit more activating fluid under those circumstances, we could be caught by the creep and die in a horrific way.
As I looked at the holographic map Celestia had shared, I thought.
Adapt to the environment. Human beings have a limit to what they can adapt to. That's why we use tools like suits and equipment. The same was true for the mutants. They just wore different shells.
The only difference was the speed. They adapted their bodies to environments faster than we could make tools for ourselves.
Time is fair to everyone, but the density of that time isn't the same for everyone. Even when given the same span, the results achieved could be worlds apart.
This current environment was shaped by the monsters themselves. Even the creep could be considered just another kind of monster. Even without eyes, nose, or mouth, it felt alive—no, it actually moved as if living.
Either way, we hadn't adapted yet; this was a monster den. If we couldn't adapt to the current environment, our remaining option was to change the environment.
That was our specialty. Just like we made a once-frozen satellite habitable to humans over millions of years.
"Check whether the melting sector's facilities are still operating properly."
"Alright, right away—"
"And also, if it's okay to incinerate that entire facility sector."
"... What?"
Celestia stopped manipulating her terminal, lifting her head in disbelief.
I spoke my mind without reservation.
"Let's just erase the melting sector."
"... Are you serious?"
"I've never not been serious."
I was deeply impressed when Carrot said humans are best at changing the environment to suit their survival. I thought that was an amazing motto. So I decided to try following that advice.
"There's a furnace, isn't there? If it's still hot, I want to flip it or break it to disable everything. That'd reduce what we have to worry about, whether it's mimics or creep, right?"
"... But the impact wouldn't only affect the melting sector. I heard the amount is enormous—if that all spills, it won't just ruin one sector. There's also the wavelength effect of partially refined liquefied blue crystal to consider."
"That's why I'm asking your opinion. All we have to do is repair or block off the pipeline leading to Heaven Central."
"I'm in favor."
Nadia, who had been lazily wagging her tail, sided with me. To be honest, she's the type to agree even if I said I'd make a flashbang from a rock, so her support wasn't that influential.
The important one was Celestia. Ellick, in any case, would follow whatever Celestia decided.
"I don't think this plan is unreasonable. The cooling sector is ahead as we move forward, so there shouldn't be a problem. The issue is escaping from here afterward."
Even if the coolant protected our backs, it was only as long as we had the cooling sector at our back.
Our goal was the control room that managed the pipeline valves, a secure area deep within the facility. Getting out easily would not be possible.
'That's why the security protocol's there, for emergencies like this.'
Currently, due to the security protocol, the facility's operation rate was at 33%. Whether there was a problem or not, it just wouldn't go up. If this state continued, the timing might not work out.
"What about additional bulkheads? Aren't these facilities usually double- or triple-reinforced?"
"Most bulkheads are already broken, since they were breached from the outside while in lockdown. They probably won't function properly anyway. The creep may also interfere with additional bulkheads. As we've already seen, if the opening mechanisms are blocked, control won't work."
"So you're against it? Just tell me honestly. I'm not going to force it through."
"Hmm..."
Celestia stared at me for a while. After a moment of deliberation, she spoke.
"To burn down the whole sector, we need to go upstairs. If we stay below we'll be caught in it too. Also, to tilt the chamber or intentionally force the reactor to overload, we need the control room console."
Since she wasn't saying no, it meant she was willing to go along with my idea. With Celestia's agreement, there was nothing more I needed to consider.
"Let's move immediately."
"Playing with fire is dangerous..."
"How is this playing with fire? We're going to commit terrorism. Myosotis must play with fire on a bigger scale."
"..."
Celestia was at a loss for words at Nadia's answer, which implied that if even pureblood supremacists did bombings, why shouldn't we? Nadia was especially radical today.
We moved directly toward the elevator. The mimics caught by the detector, still holding their breath unaware they'd been exposed, were terminated when plasma cutters sliced through them from above.
If you're too scared to approach, just make them come to you. If you're afraid to go in, make it so you don't need to, or turn those spaces into traps for the enemy.
Up until now, we had only been at the mercy of others—by pureblood supremacists and mutant lifeforms. I was sick and tired of it. We'd put up with more than enough until now.
We needed to get bolder, at least so we could stay a step ahead.
Ellick inspected the elevator at the end of the right entrance. He checked from the buttons to wiring to see if it could bear our weight—everything. For a moment I worried it might be a mimic, but luckily, it wasn't.
"Fortunately, the elevator is operational. No issues for use right now."
"Is it okay if it stops in the middle?"
"Yes. In that case, we can open the ceiling and climb out on a ladder."
"Good. Hyun-woo, get on. Nadia too."
Carry, quicker than anyone, waved his support arm for us to hurry in. Nadia and I glanced back and then moved. Soon, the elevator began ascending with a clunk, all of us aboard.
With the door blown off, we could see the movement. The speed wasn't very fast and, from time to time, it rattled and slowed down.
Every time we heard something bang on the ceiling, it was probably a cocoon or a creep mass getting caught in the mechanism.
"..."
"..."
Nobody spoke as we ascended. We were too busy thinking about what was to come.
Nadia kept adjusting the detector, I listened quietly, ellick looked out for Celestia's safety, and Carry was ready to put on his sunglasses at any moment.
... THUD
A thud signaled that we'd reached our destination floor. We could see thick smoke lying on the ground. Our respirator filters indicated the air contained toxins.
"As you all saw earlier, the cocoons contained toxins. So far, the filter purifiers were enough, but just in case, everyone be prepared to seal your suits at any time."
"Of course."
I would've preferred to seal up right now, but our oxygen packs weren't unlimited. There was a time limit. If we used them carelessly, we might run out when we needed them most—so we had to conserve them.
With Alpha leading, we moved towards the area shimmering with faint light. Even on the upper floor, the air was even worse—the circulation system must have broken down.
The sticky sound of creep clinging, the skittering of parasites, the sparse light from fixtures shining through patches of creep, the sharp, unfiltered smell of blood, and the constant twitching movement just at the edge of vision.
And the holographic panel covered in creep.
〈Upper Floor – Secondary Processing Control Room〉
【The chamber's heat resistance limit has been reached. Temperature is steadily rising. Administrator, please inject coolant immediately.】
After removing the creep stuck to the door, we entered right away. The inside wasn't much different from the outside. There weren't any cocoons the size we'd seen in the supply room, but small, palm-sized pods were clustered all over the ceiling and walls.
'No, those are more like...'
They resembled boils—sacs full of pus. Squeeze them and you'd get sticky fluid oozing out, the kind of thing that sparks disgust.
Just looking at them already made me queasy—I didn't think we could even collect one as a sample.
"Seal up for a minute. I think it's better to burn those before going in."
We didn't step inside recklessly. We'd be stuck in the control room for a while, and being surrounded by those boils would be like sleeping next to a live bomb.
With signals indicating our suits were fully sealed, I glanced at Carry, giving a small nod. My gesture meant to burn the control room, and Carry put on his sunglasses.
【(⌐■_■)-︻╦╤─】
A blue flame fanned out to cover the widest area possible. The creep on the floor shriveled up first under the intense heat, then the boils trembled and burst.
Unlike the bigger cocoons, the boils released a sticky green fluid. Maybe they have the same function but different maturity? The moment the fluid touched the creep, it started to activate, but it couldn't do much in the face of the blaze.
For a while, the control room was engulfed in blue fire. As the purification progressed, the flames slowly died out. Only then did we consider going in.
Because we'd held back on firepower to avoid damaging the console, some creep was left, but the boils were all gone.
As the fluid either evaporated or was absorbed into the creep, the toxic gas it released lingered, so we kept our suits sealed.
From the control room, we had a full view below. Blue crystal ore powder, liquefied by extreme heat, was flowing inside the chamber.
Catalysts were being added from above to adjust purity, and each layer of liquid was drawn off into other chambers for more precise processing.
Liquefied blue crystal didn't glow red like molten iron but emitted a shimmering bluish light—like a translucent blue sky in constant motion.
It wasn't a sky I liked. Not surprising, since strands of creep, stretched out like blood vessels, were running all through it.
Creep sprawling endlessly, distorting the layout of the facility, cocoons like strange fruits, parasites fighting each other—
Just one layer, a single pane of glass, separated us from that scene.
If we'd tried to rush straight through there just to save time... I didn't even want to imagine what would have happened.
"We'll start right away—no point in stalling. Since this bypasses safety, the alarms will sound, so we need to guard this area until the job is done."
"Don't worry."
"Yes, I trust you."
Celestia took a deep breath in front of the console and started manipulating the panel. After a few taps, a heavy vibration rattled up from below.
The alarm signaling an emergency sounded almost simultaneously.
【Warning. The chamber is tilting. Molten material is leaking. All personnel in this sector, evacuate immediately.】
Immediately afterward, howls echoed from all sides.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Burn!!!!
【(⌐■_■)-︻╦╤─】