Turning point (18)
"Explosives set from B to E complete!"
"Detonate!"
"Found a crystal! That must be the sector panel!"
"Detonate!"
"There's something there!"
"Detonate!"
With every shout, the sound of explosions echoed. The gates blocking our way were definitely thick, but they were only thick; there was no real trouble breaking through them.
At first, we had tried to approach carefully to figure things out, but that was long gone. Now, we simply blasted our way forward, detonating everything in our path.
If what we first set wasn't enough, we doubled the explosives and detonated again. If that still wasn't enough, we just increased the amount further.
We advanced with the determination to use every explosive we had brought, unstoppable and fierce. We were making the commotion on purpose, intending to lure out any mutants inside, but nothing responded. All that passed us were fragments of the gate blown apart by the blasts.
Our thinking process was extremely simple now. First, attach the explosives. Then, press the switch. And then, detonate. We repeated this series of steps over and over.
It seemed like the entire sectors were on lockdown; bulkheads had been lowered in each sector, leaving us with no time to rest.
"Hyun-woo!"
"Detonate!"
"... Hyun-woo?"
"... No! Hold it! Wait a minute!"
I shouted out urgently. That was a close call—he almost blew up. I gave Multipurpose Unit 1 and 2, who were innocently lifting the explosives high above their heads, a light scolding and asked.
"What is it? Did something appear?"
"It's not a problem,"
Nadia replied, "I just thought we didn't need to blow up anymore for now. A new space appeared."
Nadia said that she saw an open space beyond the smoke. She waved her hand, trying to clear the thick smoke.
I told Nadia not to bother, that I could move the smoke away with a gesture. Using telekinesis, I split the smoke in two. A space opened up—a scene Nadia had glimpsed earlier.
Dozens of transparent crystal panels surrounded a central glowing object. Until now, we'd only seen long, endless corridors; it was the first time a new area appeared.
I glanced at Licorice, who looked rather worn out, and smiled slyly.
"How about that? Wasn't that easy?"
"... I suppose it was."
She answered reluctantly, as if unwilling to admit it. It wasn't as if Licorice hadn't contributed; she had finished translating the text within five minutes.
Unfortunately, all the translated text said was, "Access Denied."
Her expression had been impossible to describe then. Had the administrator been present, she definitely would have lost her temper.
Still, there was nothing to be done about it. Lacking the right permissions, she had tried multiple things to gain access, but since translation and system infiltration were different matters, Licorice had no choice but to authorize the use of explosives.
"Judging from the location, we're not in the Archive's main core. It's probably just one data storage area among several. We should check it out before moving on,"
Celestia said after quickly scanning the interior of the room.
Seeing her look to us for approval, we all nodded. We had come to the Archive for information. We couldn't just skip it.
"Sync up with the program bracelet I'm sharing. It'll translate any text. It might be awkward now, but the more we search this place's data, the more natural the translation will get. Don't worry about that. Besides, we might not even need it. Even if the Archive's text system is different, the stored data will be from here."
"Got it for now. Eric, take the team and try to access the disk,"
I said.
"Understood. Everyone, follow me,"
Eric answered.
At Celestia's directions, everyone moved like clockwork. They used the equipment we'd brought from the Albatross and got ready to extract data.
As things finally seemed to be going well, Licorice called out to me, finally looking relieved.
"Lee Hyun-woo, help out too. The amount of data stored on each panel is enormous—every extra hand helps us find what we're looking for."
"What should I do?"
"I'll show you! It's not that hard!"
Nadia pressed a scanning device into my hand. The device itself was nothing particular.
"Is this enough?"
"Sure. This storage method isn't that common anymore since the data can't be modified, but it's based on old, widely-commercialized tech. This'll read the data just fine."
"Ah, I see."
I nodded, and Nadia continued her explanation. According to her, there was too much data and not enough time to search everything, so we could only scan based on pre-input keywords.
"I've already set up a couple of keywords. If they don't work, then whatever information you want probably isn't here."
"Can I add more myself?"
"Of course, but keep in mind the more keywords you add, the slower the scanning gets."
"Okay."
I nodded and read the keywords Nadia had entered. There were just two: Pilgrim and satellite lockdown. I wondered what keywords I could add that might lead me to clues about my own past.
"My name?"
It wasn't exactly a common name, but it wasn't impossible for someone else to have it. And it was possible that my name wasn't always Lee Hyun-woo.
Since I was almost certain I'd once been at a pureblood supremacist organization's research facility, it was unlikely those people would have even given experimental subjects real names. The name probably came after Lobelia took me in.
So, searching for my own name was meaningless—they would have called me by a test number or similar.
"Should I specify a date?"
I thought about setting the search from three years ago and reviewing the most recent records backward, hoping that might turn something up.
"Is there really anything more I need to know?"
Just as I put my hand on the scanner to add keywords, I hesitated. The truth was, my past didn't matter much anymore. It was nice to find out if I could, but if not, fine—I no longer felt it was vital. Especially since I now understood enough about what had happened to me.
What mattered was the satellite lockdown release code—the key to getting us out of here. Without that, nothing else we learned would matter.
I watched everyone else scanning the crystal panels, then stared down at the one before me. Without adding any new keywords, I searched only for clues concerning the lockdown release code. I thought this was the right decision.
You never know—I might stumble onto a clue by accident. With that faint hope, I didn't try to find anything directly about myself.
「Searching for keywords... 26%... 28%...」
「... Search complete. No matching information found.」
It took several minutes to complete the search, but I didn't find what I was looking for. Although I knew you can't expect results immediately, it was still disappointing.
Looking around, it seemed the others hadn't found anything either. Their expressions were not cheerful. Eventually, after checking every crystal panel in the data storage, we gathered together again with our equipment.
Licorice was the first to speak.
"I think we've been looking in the wrong place."
"Wrong place?"
"Yeah, we already knew this wasn't the core of the Archive. It's possible this place just stores dummy data. Not entirely useless, but nothing we actually need."
Nadia and Celestia both nodded, apparently of the same opinion. The mood grew tense. Enough time had passed since we entered the Archive that the pureblood supremacists could arrive at any moment.
"We'll have to look elsewhere, and move faster than before."
"That's why I think we should split into teams. It's safer to stay together, but at this rate, we won't make progress."
Split up. Since we'd already accepted the risks, I agreed with this. But to act on that suggestion, there was one precondition.
We needed to understand the layout of the Archive enough to reach another data vault directly. Otherwise, splitting up might actually slow us down compared to staying together.
I didn't bother pointing that out—Licorice already knew it too. She'd obviously made this suggestion after weighing the conditions.
Her follow-up proved it.
"It wasn't a complete waste coming here. I secured the map of this part of the structure. We can each pick a route and move accordingly."
As Licorice spoke, she shared a holographic display with us. The floating window showed a portion of the Archive's structure she had obtained.
The exterior was a cube, and even the interior divisions between sectors were cube-shaped. It looked like countless small cubes interconnected to form one massive square structure.
"If we stick to normal methods, we might not ever find the information we need. If these storage areas are just dummies, we'll have to go to where the Archive's main system is."
The screen changed to show a photo of a wall we had passed by to reach this point. As I focused on it, the text on the wall translated automatically.
〈Data Storage Sector 2〉
「Current status: Partially open. Spatial encryption barrier operating normally.」
"This is where we are now. I don't know exactly what the 'spatial encryption barrier' technology is, but it must be some kind of access block—a physical firewall, basically. We probably can't break through by force. The Archive will only fully react if someone approaches via the system itself."
Licorice admitted that, regrettably, she hadn't yet gained access to the Archive's main system. She added that there must be a place that can grant temporary emergency access.
"So all we've seen is just the surface?"
"I think so. The Archive's defense system is active, but we haven't been attacked even though we caused a ruckus getting in. That's probably a filter to weed out scrubs—showing the place up to a certain point, but hiding the real treasure."
Maybe that was the reason for the different writing system, too. As I pondered, Nadia spoke up.
"So which sectors are we looking for? If the main system's the goal, should we find the central control room first?"
"Anywhere we can—restricted document sectors, data terminals, whatever. The core system would be best, but we don't know what sector that's in, so we have to put in the effort. That's why I suggested splitting up."
"Let's get moving, then."
There was so much to figure out—no time to sit still. We divided into teams, factoring in combat potential: one with myself, Nadia, and Licorice; the other, with Celestia and the rest.
Celestia told me to keep the comm channel open at all times, and then set off first. We followed soon after.
"Let's move!"
Leaving Data Storage Sector 2, we followed the map to a new sector. In doing so, we naturally learned more about the Archive.
We no longer needed explosives to force doors open; we could control the crystals to unlock them, and by taking into account the paths we'd taken and the accessible sectors, we began to guess at the locations of hidden sectors.
Facts trickled in—about the truth of the riots during the Titan colony's construction, various military base secrets, information about the underground sectors of Mine Base Heaven, and more. But we found no clue regarding the satellite lockdown release code we sought.
From Data Storage Sector 2 to Sector 4, we shifted our route and kept advancing. It was during this time—upon learning that the designers of the Archive were the Pilgrims—that a new sector revealed itself before us for the first time.
〈Stasis Vault〉
「This is a Level 1 standard preservation zone. Specimens and seeds are stored here. These are physical records; entrants must not damage the stored items.」
Below this message, which flowed like the passage of time, another inscription was written on the wall:
「For the next world.」