"Netzach, you should call that employee out. He's almost asleep in there!"
X watched the monitoring screen, frowning slightly as she urged the Dean to remind the employee who was drifting off inside the Abnormality Containment unit.
[T-09-82] is a HE-class tool-type Abnormality. When released, it occupies the expanded Containment unit of the Safety Department, transforming into a distorted dimension. This might be a form of spatial distortion.
From the outside, the [T-09-82]Containment unit is a shelter built of incredibly hard material, designed to block out all light.
Consequently, the light inside is dim and visibility is poor, only slightly better than [1.76 MHz]. It doesn't emit static noise, making it hauntingly quiet.
From X's perspective on the monitor, she could only make out a few key details.
The [T-09-82] shelter has two massive pillars on either side. On the left, the number 'O1' is painted in eye-catching white, standing out against the dark internal structures.
Anything white in here looks particularly prominent.
On the right pillar, 'A0' is written. The meaning is unclear, perhaps a Subject Number.
The screen also reveals many metal crates marked with a brand label: a round logo with a blue letter 'P' scored through the middle.
Undoubtedly, if the concept of [T-09-82] was extracted from somewhere, it stemmed from 'P Corporation', one of the Wings of the World.
But like most Wings, behind the products of a Wing of the World, there is a dirty and malicious side, just like 'L Corporation', the Lobotomy Corporation.
Nothing is perfect. They all have flaws or require a high price. Even if the cost isn't immediate, the stakes are decided in the shadows.
X could clearly see the shelter through the surveillance camera. Inside, metal crates were stacked on top of each other, covered in traces of splashed blood.
Something happened here. In this extracted concept, the shelter wasn't a 'happy' place.
It stored supplies and seemed able to house many people, but the restricted visibility kept X from seeing its true depth.
According to the employees, walking deep inside leads to a door. It seems to lead to another Area, but it won't open. [T-09-82] merely records a specific fragment of time, repeating it forever.
Repeating 'that day' over and over.
The shelter still remembers 'that day'.
Despite looking gloomy and stifling, every employee who enters [T-09-82] claims to feel secure, comfortable, and pleased.
That 'Sense of Security' acts like a mandatory rule. Everyone who enters feels the same. They don't want to leave; they just want to wait... and wait.
If no one forced them out, they might wait until the end of the world. The employees inside eventually fall into a deep sleep, finding a quiet spot for a 'nap'.
X frequently reminded the Dean to pull people out, lest they fall into a permanent, peaceful sleep. If they were at peace inside, the outside world certainly was not.
This was indeed the 'safest place on Earth', but 'safest' is a relative term.
It's like someone renting out a room and claiming it's the 'best' because, once the customer moves in, they set fire to every other room. Once everything else is gone, their room becomes the 'safest place on Earth'.
[T-09-82] guarantees safety for those inside by making everywhere else unsafe.
Meltdowns happen one after another. Accidents expand. Outside, crying and gunfire mix with the sound of collapsing buildings and screaming monsters, while the person inside sleeps soundly.
This shelter is isolated; even light cannot penetrate it. But the desperate truth is that it becomes the 'safest place on Earth' by default.
X was certain that the safe place Netzach dreamed of was not this. The Safety Department Dean would never want to see these horrors unfold.
Fortunately, she had Angela to remind her. Otherwise, if she had just left the employee unattended to work on [T-09-82], the Corporation's alarm level would surely have risen. Work with [T-09-82] was usually smooth sailing.
Employees wouldn't be harmed; in fact, just being inside, their spirits would recover significantly. Looking at it purely objectively, it was actually a useful Abnormality that could help employees.
If one happened to be chased by an Abnormality in the corridor, hiding inside would grant protection.
Just like those lucky survivors who had hidden here before, sighing, 'Luckily, we had this refuge, allowing us to escape that ocean of cries and slaughter.'
When the Information Department delivered the fully organized intelligence, X confirmed the official name of this Abnormality: it was called [Shelter from the 27th of March]. Its existence must be to record a special moment, such as a certain sudden day.
Many people have forgotten that day, but [Shelter from the 27th of March] still remembers that day, the day of March 27th... This is why it was named so, and this must hold some special significance.
What exactly happened on that day?
X vaguely recalled something, but she felt she probably didn't keep such things in mind, to the extent that the event was so old she couldn't recall clear details, only a rough outline.
Wings were broken, the nest they protected was destroyed, feathers fell one by one, and countless people were scattered as a result.
Smoke and ash filled the air, like an indelible filth covering the skin, wanting to seep into every pore, enter the nostrils, invade the eyes.
That was a day everyone should never forget, but clearly, many people have forgotten everything now: forgotten that filth and blood, forgotten the heavily polluted wreckage, extending their hands to welcome the new, clean, and cheap energy source.
But The City is like this. Once fallen, like dust wiped away, one is quickly forgotten, becoming merely a topic of conversation in a tea house.
However, even fallen Wings still possess enough value to make those greedy figures dig and claw, calculating to carve out a scrap of material from the countless gazes fixed upon them...
Perhaps there truly was something to it, but X didn't care. Regarding the stories behind those Abnormalities, she wasn't eager to understand them for the time being. Collecting energy and completing the tasks assigned by the Corporation were the most important things.
No matter how touching the story, in the end, its value must be examined.
Glancing at the energy bar, it had already passed the halfway mark. Today's management work had been very smooth.
Because the newly acquired Abnormality, [Shelter from the 27th of March], was a tool-type Abnormality that only required attention to one point: not letting employees wait too long inside, it wouldn't cause trouble. Therefore, managing the remaining Abnormalities only required following the usual procedures.
Most unexpected situations arose from insufficient understanding of the Abnormalities, a lack of intelligence. With understood intelligence and strict supervision of employees, there shouldn't be any further accidents.
In short, the Abnormalities currently assimilated by the Corporation were at most HE-class. Even if this class of Abnormality escaped, it could be handled in time, causing no major chaos. At least the situation wasn't yet one where she couldn't manage.
X had the energy and surplus capacity to pay attention to every employee's movements. She monitored the situation in every Containment unit and paid attention to the state of every employee, reminding the Deans to handle these matters before accidents occurred.
As the Corporation expanded further and the number of employees grew, X might not have the energy to watch over everyone, to ensure that every order was effectively conveyed to every person. So, X thought, at least while she still had the capacity, she should try harder.
Strive to ensure no employee incidents occur, strive for everyone to remain safe.
Under the condition of knowing the intelligence on these Abnormalities, as long as employees could accurately verify every order and follow the rules, accidents would absolutely not happen.
And it had been about ten days already. Even new employees who had just started and were confused would know the ropes under the guidance of their senior colleagues, recognizing those seemingly trivial rules and small details as the key to ensuring their own safety.
Like knowing not to step on small spiders, or staying far away from unknown plants appearing in the corridor, or not provoking the white Small Bird... These seemed like minor things, but they were often crucial.
And just as X was preparing to work overtime, the image on the monitoring screen flickered again, accompanied by a screeching sound similar to electrical interference...
When the image on the countless screens, formed from numerous monitoring devices, coalesced into a single Green Lobotomy logo, X began to realize this might not be one of Angela's strange jokes, or perhaps it was one of the Corporation's arranged welcoming routines.
When a synthesized electronic voice suddenly echoed in the now silent Manager's room, X confirmed this reality.
This was also a kind of sudden, abnormal situation.
The screen images seemed to twist and shake violently, and the large Lobotomy Green logo was in a highly unstable state before finally stabilizing after about a second.
[Hello...? Can you hear me? Is anyone there?]
The synthesized voice was extremely grating, even harsher and more hoarse than an old iron gate's rusty wheel starting to turn. X involuntarily flinched back, thinking about how to put some distance between herself and the console/screen.
X held her breath and didn't speak. She cautiously climbed down from the Manager's chair, crouched down, huddled, intending to hide inside the cabinet, pretending she didn't exist, and then think of a way to notify Secretary Angela to come and rescue her.
But clearly, the unknown entity on the other side could see X. It knew X existed, and the words just spoken were likely a polite inquiry, perhaps hoping X would respond voluntarily.
Since X didn't intend to respond, it had no choice but to call out by name, stopping X's foolish and naive attempt to hide in the cabinet.
The words in the hoarse synthesized voice made X raise her head and stare at the screen. She didn't know what the other party wanted to do, but seemingly, there was no malice.
[You can call me B... X, you can consider me a... familiar person from the Corporation.]
"B...?"
X recalled this name, looking thoughtful, as if chewing a piece of taffy repeatedly, pondering what other meanings might lie behind this letter and the name.
She wasn't unfamiliar with this moniker, but if it referred to a person or a specific title, X felt confused. She didn't know the other party, nor who they were, yet felt a sense of familiarity.
[Yes, I am B. Please forgive me for not revealing my identity.]
[I know it's very difficult for you to trust someone of an unknown identity. Although this is very abrupt, I will now reveal three secrets about the Corporation that you do not know.]
X cleverly nodded. Her demeanor was much more docile and compliant than when she was being defiant toward the Secretary. At least her mouth was soft, not hard, like taffy, easy to swallow.
[But before that, let me ask you first: Do you really believe you were hired by the Corporation?]
"..."
X did not reply. It wasn't that she didn't want to answer, but she was seriously contemplating this question. If it were before, she wouldn't hesitate to answer, but upon careful recollection now, those memories were hazy, lacking precise detail.
Her memory had gaps, existing since the first day of her employment. However, X didn't have time to care, nor the energy to ponder these things. But when suddenly brought up, she felt a vague disharmony.