Vera took a deep breath,
"So what are you doing here ?"
I immediately turned to her and bowed slightly,
"I was supposed to be finding my quarters."
She raised a brow while holding her mug high,
"Grigoriy didn't lead you there ?"
"No, he didn't." I looked down at the floor, fidgeting with my fingers,
"Though... you don't have to be mad at him."
She scoffed before taking a sip,
"Me ? Mad at him ? Not really."
"You... aren't mad at him ?" I stuttered, taken aback by the statement,
"Why not ?"
She stared at the portraits, her hand hovering near the empty canvas,
"He always let his emotions take over. I can't entirely blame him for it either."
I opened my mouth but not a single word came out.
"He's truly talented. All I wish is for him to relax for once." She continued, her gaze drifting back to the family potrait,
"But it can't be helped... he made his decisions."
IRIS' screen flashed an animation of "(´;ω;｀)" right as it gave my shoulder another sharp slap.
Vera took a final sip from her mug and commanded,
"Now hurry up. Find your room and gather with your friends."
"Wait—" I raised a hand before she could walk away,
"Let me guess something about Grigoriy."
Vera spun around, narrowing her eyes,
"Speak."
I took a deep breath, my eyes darting around the hallway,
"He's the successor to this bunker if anything happens to you, right ?"
Vera's eye widened slightly before she let out a soft sigh,
"I suppose there's no point in hiding it anyway. Most of the bunker workers already knew before you did. Now go. I won't tolerate any more delays or questions."
With that, she tightened her grip on the mug and strolled away. Standing alone in the corridor, IRIS tugged urgently at my sleeve and dragged me along.
◇ ◇ ◇
"What ?! They're siblings ?!"
Sheng Yue choked on a bite of her sandwich and slammed her first on the floor.
Shin Hayato crossed his arms, staring down at her,
"Finish your food first."
She shrugged it off, taking another massive bite,
"Seriously though ! I didn't see that coming ! Especially the fact he kept calling her 'Boss' like a total stranger !"
I admitted,
"I'm quite surprised too."
"Anyways, shouldn't we discuss something more important than rotting in this room for hours ?" Cassandra tossed a metal can up into the air and caught it,
"Besides, we haven't even memorized the bunker's layout yet."
I tilted my head, looking at them,
"Or we could try getting along with the locals ? It's only day two of the mission."
Shin Hayato sighed, sliding down to sit against the wall,
"Time matters a lot, Aléssio. Especially since we still haven't located Varelius' teammates."
Sheng Yue swallowed her last bite,
"You got a point there, old man."
I collapsed onto the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling,
"So... what are we supposed to do now ? We don't have any assigned tasks. I mean, we could explore the bunker, but it'll raise suspicion if all of us wander off at the same time."
"So what then ? I don't have any patrol duties right now. Even if I try to train with the guards, they'll just kick me out." Cassandra complained, sitting cross legged on the edge of the bed,
"Unless Sheng Yue has another delivery run—"
The exact moment she said that, a speaker chimed,
"Subject Sheng Yue, please report to District S for a delivery to the cafeteria."
Sheng Yue stood up, stretching her arms with a grin as she waved,
"Well, looks like duty calls. See y'all later !"
Cassandra hopped off the bed and strapped her Vibro Dagger to her belt,
"Yeah, I'm taking a stroll. It's suffocating to stay cooped up in here."
As both of them headed out, Shin Hayato groaned and flopped facedown to a mattress. High up on a wardrobe, IRIS shut itself to enter an automatic recharge cycle.
I forced myself back to my feet, using a railing as support.
Perhaps I could use some time to find the bunker's library and read a book there ?
◇ ◇ ◇
Wandering through District C, I paused in front of a large door. I pressed the wall control panel, the door hissed open.
THUD
The door jammed midway. Squeezing through the narrow gap, I stepped inside. The moment I got through, automated sensors hummed to life and flooded the room with pale green architectural lightning.
The bunker library was colossal. Its vaulted ceilings disappeared into towering layers of thick pillars and data stacks. I walked down a long aisle of shelves, until I noticed something strange.
Unlike most shelves that were packed with a bunch of book, this one particular section only held two isolated volumes. Curious, I reached out and brushed away a thick layer of cobwebs.
As my fingers grazed the dusty covers, I noticed an eccentric font carved into the front binding. Pulled both of the books out, I examined the one with strange engravings.
What language is this ? Is it a relic before Earth was destroyed ?
Although I sensed this books weren't any ordinary, I still carried them with me to the reading desk. Sitting down, I blew a cloud of dust off the cover of a book while setting the other one aside.
As I opened the first page, a note was written down:
"No matter how much you read, it won't be certain that we will be closer with ███ ██████."
The page was brittle, nearly tearing at the spine. Scratches and scribbles were covering the page. When I flipped to the next page, strips of torn papers were dangling from the binding.
SWISH
SWISH
Page after page, none of them displayed a single word other than the extraordinary warning. To make things worse, there weren't any piece of illustration to help.
What on earth was the author thinking when they made this ?
THWIP
Finally I reached a single page containing a few fragmented sentences:
"██ ███ ███ █ ███ DO NOT █████ ███ ██████'█ █████. ████ ████ GREET ███ ██ ████ ████ DEATH. PLEASE STAY ███ ██ ████ █████."
I pinched the bridge of the nose, a headache throbbing behind my eyes,
"What..? 'Do not greet death' ? Stay where ? What is this absolute nonsense ?!"
I slammed my fist against the wooden desk, gripping my hair in frustration.
What does any of this mean ?
How do I even 'greet death' ?
Desperate for context, I flipped furiously through the remaining pages. Yet what greeted me was more aggressive blank ink redactions, along with violently ripped out sections.
THUD
I slammed the book shut, burying my face in my hands as I slumped back into the chair.
Your parents are saints, Aléssio. Such a shame if you can't read a book that is related to them, right ?
Think carefully. Think logically. Perhaps the papers are around here ?
Lifting my head, I spotted an isolated alcove I haven't noticed before. Walking over, I found a single distinct volume.
"Odd..." I murmured, reaching out to open the cover,
"This one only has a single page."
The page's edges were scorched black and stained with deep aged yellow. A dark dried splatter of what looked remarkably like old blood smeared across the corner.
My eyes locked onto the solitary line of text written across the page.
I whispered under my breath,
"Don't break its rule..."