(In Japanese) "Where am I?"
Suki awoke, staggering to her feet just as a speeding truck barreled toward her...
Suddenly, someone pulls her out of the way. The truck zoomed past as the rain began to fall.
"Are you all right?" Yuki asked anxiously, worry etched across her face.
Suki replied, trying to calm her. "I'm alright. Thank you for saving..."
"You're such a dork. Did you forget your glasses or something?" said a boy holding a black randoseru school bag—just like hers, except his was black while hers was red. His slick-combed hair and fair skin mirrored hers eerily, as if they were twins... though they weren't. Just two people, destined to meet.
"Denji!! Stop teasing her, she's still in shock!" Hana scolded.
"Well, you could've hurt yourself protecting her," Denji taunted, half serious.
Amid the commotion, Suki slowly composed herself and muttered in confusion,
"Where... am I? What am I doing here?"
"Damn, she's totally lost it."
"Stop it, Denji! Suki, it's me, Hana! Do you remember me?"
"Who'd remember a monkey like you?" Denji smirked.
WHACK!
A thunderous umbrella smacked the back of his head. Hana stood over him, fuming.
Suki blinked, bewildered. "Hana? Denji? What's going on...?"
"Damn... she remembers me," Denji mumbled, nose bleeding from the hit and blushing.
"Shut up, Denji! Suki, let's get to the hostel before it's too late. The rain won't stop, so let's hurry, we're almost there."
But something wasn't right.
As they walked, Suki saw two men approaching from a distance. Her eyes widened in fear. Panic surged in her chest. Flashbacks rushed in...
The kidnapping.
Trafficking.
The horror that shattered her once-happy past.
If only she hadn't forced her friends to buy her sister that gift...
—
She gasped awake—sitting in a black, empty room.
Heart pounding, she tried to piece together what had just happened. Then, from the darkness, Yuki appeared.
Protocol Nemesis has been initiated. Access granted to terminate all fellow Axolotl Operatives immediately. (She handed Suki a gun.)
But... Why?
No questions, Agent. Are you trying to go against your mission? Don't let your emotions take over...
LIKE LAST TIME.
Suki froze, shaken by the thought.
Yuki opened the door. Beyond it was a normal-looking street, but something was... off. The lighting was vivid. Too vivid. The whole place was a color-filtered replica of the SGI Confidential Facility.
Stay alert, Yuki instructed. Kill anyone on sight. This zone is crawling with shapeshifters. They'll try to manipulate you. Don't trust anyone. Eliminate them. No hesitation.
Suki nodded slowly.
Ready?
3... 2... 1.
They stepped forward—beginning a cold, wild hunt.
12th Floor: Restricted Advanced Experimentation Zone
A sealed sector filled with experimental test sites, now abandoned due to the protocol. People staggered through the corridors, eyes pitch black, aimless, broken. Some lay unconscious. A lone security guard rested beside a sealed door, one hand still gripping the locking lever—his final act to protect whatever lay beyond.
The entire area was saturated with VXD-4. Unknown anomalies roamed the hallways. Green vines had overtaken the walls, transforming into full-blown plant trunks that glowed with a strange blue hue—an evolving ecosystem overtaking the site. Trees formed where desks once stood, nature twisting around abandoned office spaces.
Suddenly, a guard gasped awake, choking as though he'd been drowning. But now, he could breathe normally. Dazed, he scanned the lobby and saw a pile of corpses strewn across the floor.
Then, some of the bodies began to twitch and convulse violently. A chilling sensation crept over him. Uneasy, he scrambled to his feet and reached for his fallen gun. One of the corpses, its face grotesquely twisted, turned its head and stared at him with dark, reflective eyes.
Grabbing his weapon, the guard backed away, only to see more of the corpses begin to tremble. One by one, they started to rise, thick black liquid oozing from their eyes. Panic set in. There was no escape hope, he knew it. But he ran anyway, sprinting down the long hallway as the creatures began to chase him, drawing closer with every step.
Turning a corner, he caught a glimpse of something horrifying: subjects suspended in test tubes, very much alive. The figures watched him run, grinning and laughing. The guard looked back once more. The creatures were smiling too wide, unnatural grins beneath eyes dripping black tears as they charged at him.
Desperate, he darted right and ducked into the locker room. Spotting an overhead vent, he climbed up and tried to crawl inside.The monsters banged on the door, searching for him, unaware that he had slipped away through the vents. He crawled forward, still submerged in water, when suddenly, thunk! His head hit something.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
A female scream echoed in the narrow space.
Distressed, he pulled out his flashlight. The beam revealed a frightened scientist from the Medicus Sector, blonde hair, light blue eyes, trembling and visibly traumatized.
"Shhh... I'm a guard,"
he whispered, revealing his badge—Rez Martin, Medicus Rank 3. The badge shimmered with a calming turquoise hue, the color code for his rank.
She sighed in relief upon recognizing him.
"Is anyone coming to rescue us, Martin?" she asked anxiously.
"Looks unlikely. How long have you been here?"
"I... I don't know. I just woke up, and there were these people... with black eyes..."
"What's your name?" he asked.
She showed her ID:
"Annie Stanford, Rank 3 Medicus Scientist."
"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Martin asked.
"No. I think it's an outbreak. The water... maybe it's part of a defense system?"
Martin shook his head.
"In my ten years of service, I've never seen anything like this liquid. It's breathable, but it ruins long-range combat, especially in sudden encounters." He checked his pistol's magazine.
As Annie crawled ahead, she asked,
"There should be an exit through the lockdown sequence, right?"
"I hope so. These vents lead toward the sewage and ventilation sectors."
"Okay, let's keep going."
The creatures in the lower floors continued twitching in eerie stillness, waiting for new prey. The vents were murky, though the water had flushed away much of the grime. Crawling through, Martin felt a rising discomfort.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Just... claustrophobic," Annie muttered.
"Especially in a submerged vent. Did we reach the end?"
"Almost. But now that I think about it... which floor are we on?"
"It should be lower." Otherwise, escape will be hell. Keep an eye out when we peek."
As they reached the end of the vent, Annie glanced through a crack in the wall.
"Floor 13," she whispered grimly.
Meanwhile, the rescue operatives reached B1 and B2 with Mochi. The room was in disarray, stationery and documents were scattered and floating mid-water, indicating that people had been present when the flooding occurred suddenly. It was too late to evacuate Mochi, so they decided to bring him.
The floors were lined with rows of data shelves, housing all archived files sealed and accessible only with security access cards. Fortunately, the operatives were equipped with bypass cards, granting them access to everything needed to combat the unknown entities.
Mochi sat quietly at a study table, surrounded by embedded reading lights, while notepads and pens floated gently around each station. Thankfully, no entities were present in the area, most had already moved toward the barricaded bridge. As the others searched for anything useful for the operation, Mochi began doodling on the white tabletop with one of the pens he found.
This library had three innovation-grade displays showcasing advanced technology:
A Cat Made of Nanobots – Capable of transforming its shape at the user's will. An unknown scientist from the SGI's confidential sector, believed to be an ex-lead engineer, was created.
A Genetically Modified Immortal Gecko with Rainbow Skin – Contained inside a large glass enclosure, complete with a miniature house and automated feeding system. A warning label strictly advised not to open the case or attempt to feed the gecko.
A White, Rectangular Gadget Shaped Like a TV Remote – Featuring a single button, the display stated it was the most advanced offline SH AI ever built using classified materials. Tampering with it was prohibited and punishable by law, as it was only for demonstration purposes.
Levi, using his bypass card, carefully removed the device. Without triggering safety protocols, water had already seeped into the case. He retrieved a drive from the gadget and inserted it into the utility port near the button, unsure if it was waterproof. To his surprise, the drive activated.
"Will this work?" he muttered.
Curious, Orion came over to inspect while Brooks monitored the perimeter, and Mochi continued drawing. After a moment's hesitation, Levi pressed the single button.
[LOUD] Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...
"What the heck, stop this!" Orion shouted as the loud beeping echoed across the room.
Startled, Levi quickly began trying to configure the device using his wristwatch, hoping to silence the alarm before it drew any unwanted attention.
Brooks held his gun tightly as he walked toward the foggy, dirt-streaked viewing glass. He peered into the next zone, flashing his light near the window, just enough to catch a glimpse of the desperate, cannibalistic employees who had been infected and twisted into monsters. Their hollow, monstrous eyes stared straight back through the glass.
"It's like..."
"The abyss is staring at us," Brooks said. Levi said, sensing the tension thick in the air.
"Brooks... how many?"
"At least twenty. This is gonna be messy."
"Well, give the order, Levi. I'm ready."
Orion stood prepared. Mochi crept up to them, scared and trembling.
"You ready?" Levi asked, checking his gun.
"Yes," Mochi replied softly.
Just as the operatives readied themselves for the next-floor encounter, they were interrupted by a calm female AI voice.
"I suggest you take the vent route to avoid the infected horde and safely reach the next zone."
The gadget continued,
"And activate the trigger system to lure the infected away and minimize complications."
Levi blinked in surprise.
"Thank you. What else can you help us with?"
"First of all, I am Bella, AI Tier 3, Code 369."
"Noice!" Orion said in his usual playful tone. The others glanced at him in disapproval, unimpressed by his humor in such a dire situation.
"As a Tier 3 AI," Bella continued, "I can only access data provided by the user and information on SGI infrastructure post-20XX."
"Alright then, let's move before they breach the library."
While the others searched for the vent, Orion stayed near the door, ready to activate the alarm.
"You found the vent yet, mate? These freaks are desperate to meet us," he said, jolting at the thunderous banging behind the door.
"Hurry up!"
(Warning sirens blared.)
Brooks pulled out his ratchet and opened the vent as the door weakened with every strike. Orion activated the alarm to alert the rest of the team. The door opened, the horde poured in. Orion ran toward the marked escape path.
The infected gave chase. Orion dashed up the upper stairs, heading for the vent where Brooks waited. As Orion reached the final step, Brooks extended his staff, grabbing his arm. In that moment, Orion activated his ability and partially deformed his body, slipping through the vent like liquid. The infected tried to follow, but the vent was ten feet high—far out of reach.
"Man, that was close. My suit almost fell apart from that chase," Orion panted as he reformed.
"Let's keep moving. We need to clear this place before our suits get shredded," Brooks said, patting Mochi as they advanced to the next zone.
Meanwhile, back at the library, the infected continued clawing for prey near the vent while the entry doors opened.
Suki stepped through, eyes glowing an eerie white, followed closely by Yuki. They were ready to eliminate the rogue operatives.
As they entered the zone, green, mysterious vines pulsed across the walls, releasing an unnatural scent that whispered only one thing: danger.