Inside the underground base, where the silence was so complete that even the faint hum of air moving through the ventilation ducts could be heard, Drago, Edward, and Jenkins stood in a line before a thick reinforced glass panel, watching Alicia's motionless figure inside the containment room.
"Well... quite a crowd today. What is it this time?"
Alicia greeted them with a faintly teasing tone as she sat up, folding her arms across her chest.
"Yeah... so, that guy named Zenos just paid us a visit."
Drago blurted out without hesitation.
The moment his words landed, Alicia's previously calm expression shifted. Her eyes widened for a brief second, a flash of recognition crossing her face. She understood better than anyone that someone like Zenos would never break into a place like this just to leave empty-handed, or worse, just to drop by for a casual visit.
"What does he want?"
Her voice sharpened, the playfulness gone.
"He came to negotiate a temporary ceasefire... to join forces and take down P-Type tomorrow."
Edward answered for him, his gaze fixed on her, watching closely for any reaction. After all, her former teammates were about to be cornered and torn apart by a reaper from the Outlands and an alliance that had already begun to move.
Alicia's expression remained flat, not a trace of concern showing for the fate of the former teammates who were about to walk straight into a brutal fight.
"Hm… honestly, I never cared that much about them."
She spoke evenly, leaning back against the wall of the containment room.
"To be blunt… they're no different from you, 29. All of us were forced to wear masks we never chose. The only difference is, theirs just happened to belong to the government."
"So you really don't care what happens to your own people?"
Edward pressed, unable to understand the coldness in her response.
"It's not that I don't care…"
Alicia paused, lifting her gaze to meet his through the thick glass.
"It's just that… if we're being accurate, I was never on P-Type's side to begin with."
The confession from Project 01 pulled the room into silence. Her eyes drifted down to her hands, as if staring into a past she could never escape, one where she had been forced into becoming the origin of these living weapons. What she had with her unit was never connection, only obligation, bound tightly by the orders of the government.
"So you're saying you were never on their side? Then why did you spend all that time serving the government?"
Jenkins cut in, questioning her true intentions.
"I didn't have anywhere else to go… so I ended up stuck with them."
Alicia replied lazily, giving a small shrug.
"Then one day, Nicolas suddenly got the brilliant idea to form that ridiculous team. I just got dragged along with it, went with the flow like everyone else."
"So where do you actually stand?"
Drago narrowed his eyes, studying her, searching for the truth.
"You said it yourself. You're not P-Type, not part of our alliance… and you're definitely not Out Law either."
"I stand on my own side."
Alicia answered, a brief flicker of resolve flashing in her eyes.
"To be honest, I don't really care what happens to P-Type or your alliance, whether you win or lose. I have somewhere I came from… and somewhere I need to return to."
Her words left a lingering question in the room. A place someone like her, the origin, needed to return to… it was unlikely to be a lab in Biotope 5 or some residence inside the dome. It had to be something far deeper, something far beyond what ordinary people could even begin to imagine.
"If you really want to know… I'm from the northern sector of Biotope 3."
Alicia said, her tone softening for just a brief moment before slipping back into her usual teasing edge.
"What, planning to escort me all the way home, kid?"
"Then I guess I should offer my condolences."
Edward replied with a faint smirk.
"Because the last convoy heading to Biotope 3 just left the base not too long ago."
Alicia's expression twisted instantly with irritation. She clicked her tongue in frustration, annoyed that she had missed her chance to slip out unnoticed with the convoy. Then she turned back, glaring at the three of them through the glass.
"Tch. So what now?"
She folded her arms, clearly agitated.
"What's the situation outside right now? And how much longer are you planning to keep me locked up in this cage?"
Drago and Jenkins exchanged a glance with Edward, as if holding a silent discussion between them. With a major battle set to erupt the next day, the decision to either release Project 01 or keep her contained might very well determine whether they survived or fell on the battlefield ahead.
"Let me spell it out for you. Outside, Colonel Pierce is preparing to launch an attack on Out Law. On their side, Out Law is already getting ready to respond. As for us, the third party, we've evacuated most of our people from the base. No telling if we'll get caught in the crossfire. We've also made a certain agreement with Out Law to put an end to this."
Drago laid out the situation, his tone heavy with the tension building beneath it.
"Wait… they're actually going to attack Out Law? That's suicide. They'll get wiped out."
Alicia said, disbelief bleeding into her voice, as if Pierce's plan sounded no different from a mass execution.
"Not necessarily. This time, Pierce has deployed two hundred elite soldiers to reinforce the operation."
Edward countered, trying to make it clear that the government wasn't taking this lightly.
"That's not enough!"
Alicia shot back instantly, a flicker of unease breaking through her eyes.
"It's true, Zenos is terrifyingly strong, but don't you dare underestimate Don Isaac! That man… there's far more to him than what you see on the surface."
Her warning pulled the room into silence. If even someone like Alicia showed fear toward the leader of Out Law, then the battle tomorrow might hold something far more horrifying than two hundred soldiers or even the enhanced P-Type operatives waiting for them.
"You really think the most powerful mafia boss in Biotope 5 is going to let a small alliance like yours walk away with the benefits?"
Alicia let out a low, mocking laugh, looking at Edward with open contempt.
"If he's telling you that you'll profit from this, that's just bait. It means there's a much bigger piece of the cake waiting for him instead."
She stepped closer to the glass, her breath fogging it faintly.
"Don Isaac never plays a game unless he's the one controlling the board. If he's willing to let Pierce's two hundred soldiers march right into his territory, then he's already looking past that moment, to the point where those soldiers are nothing but corpses… and all of you are lying there in your own blood, completely worthless."
Her words left Edward and Drago frozen in place. The confidence they had in their deal with Zenos began to crack, as they realized they might have stepped into a feast alongside a serpent, one that would devour everyone the moment the battle was over.
"And what exactly are you proposing?"
Edward asked, testing her, his voice turning colder.
"When are they making their move?"
Alicia shot back, and for the first time, a trace of unease surfaced in her eyes.
"Tomorrow."
Jenkins answered shortly, cutting through the silence.
"Then tomorrow… take me with you."
Alicia made her offer without hesitation, her voice firm.
"Why should we bring you along? You said it yourself, you're not on anyone's side."
Drago cut in, suspicion clear in his tone.
"So what, you expect me just to sit here and wait to die in this glass cage?"
Alicia snapped back, her eyes hardening instantly.
"No… you're not going anywhere."
Edward cut her off without hesitation, his eyes carrying a resolve far stronger than Alicia had expected.
"We'll figure out what to do with you after everything is over."
The moment he finished speaking, Edward turned and walked away from the containment room without a second glance.
"Yeah… sounds about right."
Drago nodded in agreement. He and Jenkins followed after him, leaving Alicia alone in the dimly lit glass chamber, her fists clenched tight. The teasing confidence that once lingered in her eyes had vanished, replaced by an eerie calm. She stared through the reinforced glass at their retreating figures until they disappeared from sight. The silence pressed in, loud enough for her to feel the rapid pounding of her own heartbeat. Hidden beneath her sleeve, her hand trembled slightly before tightening into a firm grip.
The unease written across her face wasn't fear of death. It was fear that the move she had anticipated from Don Isaac was already unfolding in the worst possible way. If even someone like Edward, who seemed to be growing sharper by the day, couldn't see the trap laid out so meticulously before him, then everything she had tried to warn them about might end up meaning nothing at all.