Leaving the Molded-infested room, I emerged into a corridor dominated by a massive clump of black mold. What the hell?
"Eveline, know anything about this?"
『I know, but I don't wanna say… Just don't touch it. Molded come from there.』
"Got it."
I moved on, reaching what seemed to be the back of the hall's scorpion door. It was locked, so I followed a side path to a staircase leading to the basement and a small, safe-looking room. I ducked inside.
『Seems safe here.』
"Yeah, thank God."
The bright little room felt like a reprieve. Rummaging around, I found a memo in a drawer.
"'To Courtney: They're hunting me. You can still escape. Find the dog head reliefs—they use them to open the exit. I saw one in the basement's dissection room. That's your key.' …The last one's in the dissection room, but how old is this note?"
『Courtney, Courtney… Doesn't ring a bell.』
"Sounds like they pull this kidnapping routine regularly. The dissection room's… deep in the basement."
The map confirmed the destination. A dissection room on a former farm might be for livestock, but given the fridge and whiteboard memos, it's probably not cows they're carving up…
"Alright!"
『What now? Every time you say 'Alright,' I get a bad feeling.』
"Just thinking I'll tear Jack apart next time."
『Tear what apart?!』
"Kidding."
『That's not a joking face!』
My anger must've slipped out, worrying Eveline. Gotta cool it. I found handgun ammo in a closet. Bullets everywhere—Jack's gotta be ex-military.
"Let's hit the basement."
『Honestly, I'd rather not, ninja-style.』
"Then stay here alone?"
『No way!』
Despite her fear, Eveline tagged along as I descended the basement stairs and opened a door. The path split, with one door locked. Footsteps?
"Gieee…"
"You again!"
A Molded, that black monstrosity, shambled around the corner. If it was a zombie, I might've hesitated, but this inhuman thing? No mercy.
"Gieee!"
"Hrah!"
"Gieeee?!"
I blocked its claw with the shotgun, stowed it in my backpack, grabbed its head with my left hand, and jammed the handgun from my pocket into its mouth, firing. Its head exploded, and it collapsed.
"Got it."
『That was way too ruthless.』
"Monsters like this or Jack? No reason to hold back."
『Eh, I think they're kinda ugly-cute…』
"Not cute."
Ignoring Eveline's pout, I pressed on. Another room, another Molded. I swung the shotgun like a bat, knocking it down, then shoved the barrel in its face and fired, silencing it.
"An incinerator? Looks like a morgue."
『Pretty grim. Oh, a memo!』
"Let's see… 'To Lucas: Locked the couple's guy in the leftmost incinerator so he can't escape. Take him out after he's 'turned.'' Probably the guy from that note—caught. 'You know the opening sequence, right? It's 'three A's' and… something about a 'hand.' The girl's yours to deal with.' …They're scum."
『Courtney… Lucas got her… I'm sorry…』
"Not your fault. But what's with 'three A's' and 'hand'? Another weird trap?"
I turned to the six incinerators. Some had name tags and bloody handprints. The leftmost, locked, had "Travis" on it. Travis again? The others seemed empty. Opening the rightmost revealed a "Tamara" tag inside. Three A's, hand… Got it.
"Make your codes harder to crack."
『If you can't solve it, what's the point?』
I opened the incinerator with three A's in the tag—"Tamara"—then the one with the bloody handprint. With a clunk and hiss, the leftmost incinerator opened, spewing smoke. Prying the door wider, I faced a Molded with a bladed right arm. Blade Molded? Wait—
"This came from Travis's incinerator… These things were human?!"
『…Yeah, they were.』
"Like zombies… Gah!"
I tried to back away, but the small room left no space. The blade slashed my right ankle, severing it. I collapsed, pain searing as my foot rolled away.
『Eek! Ethan's foot's in trouble again?!』
"Again, damn it?!"
『It's coming, Ethan!』
"No way…!"
The blade swung toward my head. No time to raise the shotgun, it pierced my skull, and I crumpled.
"Gaaah!"
『No, you can't die!!』
Eveline's scream faded as everything went black.
『Wake up, Ethan! Ethan! …Uh, what's the line? Right! 'How pathetic to die! I'll give you one more chance!' Kidding, right?』
"Ngh…"
『Get up!』
"Huh?!"
My eyes snapped open. I'd been stabbed through the head, my foot severed… but I was fine? The incinerator was still closed.
"…Was I dreaming?"
『What's wrong, Ethan? You're spacing out. You solved the puzzle, so open it!』
"Y-yeah…"
A dream? Too vivid… Urged by Eveline, I repeated the same steps, opening the leftmost incinerator. The Blade Molded emerged, just like the dream. Last time, I fled to a dead end and died. Not this time.
"Gieee!"
"Take this!"
I dodged its swinging blade, which sliced a desk in half, scattering debris. I fired the shotgun, but its bladed arm blocked. Grabbing a sharp piece of debris, I swung it into its right knee, impaling it.
"Gieeee!"
"Knee therapy!"
『That looks painful.』
I kicked the debris deeper, making the Molded writhe. Its guard dropped, so I shoved the shotgun in its face and fired, shattering its head.
"Rest easy, provisional Travis."
『Last memory being 'knee therapy'? Rough.』
"…Better than a head stab, right?"
『True. But you've been stomping heads, so you can't talk.』
"Fair point."
What was that? Eveline doesn't seem to know… A premonition? I shook it off.
『Ethan, something's in Travis's incinerator!』
"What?"
Peering inside, I found the dissection room key.
"So he held onto it 'til the end."
『Now we can get to the goal!』
"Yeah, let's move."
I left the room, navigated the corridor, and pushed aside a partition to enter the next area. It had cooking equipment—the processing area?
"Processing area blueprint—nice. Looks like we're behind that locked room. Let's open it."
『Saves time next visit.』
"Don't wanna come back. Oh—"
A Molded dropped from a duct above, slamming to the floor. Without thinking, I stomped its head with my full weight, crushing it.
『You're supposed to be shocked…』
"It was too defenseless…"
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