▼ 10:16 am
Between Area 3 and Area 4, Inner Ring
Connecting Passageway
“WHAT’S that sound?!” I spin around to take in our full surroundings.
“Apologies. That’s my watch alarm. I set it to go off when we need our next dose of AD,” Tachibana says and clicks off the alarm.
I glance at my watch—it’s 10:16 am.
“I understand you are all very stressed out right now, but please take this time to inject yourselves with AD. I know some of you took AD less than an hour ago, but we should do this together to be on the safe side. Our next required dose will be at 11:16 am.” Tachibana hands out the AD, which Ukita and Miss Ena immediately inject into their arms. Only Yuuri refuses to inject herself. Tachibana frowns at her. “Yuuri, what’s the matter?”
“No…I still don’t want to do it…”
“You’re still saying that after everything that’s happened?! Very well, I hate that it has to come to this, but I’ll inject you instead!”
“N-No…”
Tachibana injects Yuuri with AD without hearing her out. Now we only have two AD. Tachibana, Moribe, and I exchange looks.
“We ran out damn fast… How do you want to handle this?” I ask.
“There’s no question here. Captain, Moribe, please inject yourselves with it,” Tachibana orders us, her mind made up.
“Wh-Why us?!”
“I can’t have you pushing yourself in your current state. And Moribe has the smallest body among us. So we should assume she has a weaker resistance to radiation.”
“B-But then what will you do?!”
“I will use this,” she says, picking something up from the floor. It’s the AD with a damaged ampoule that was with Dojima’s things. Less than half of the leaking liquid remains inside the cracked container.
“D-Don’t be a fool! You’re not seriously considering keeping your body protected with only half a dose, are you?”
“Will it protect me, Mr. Ukita?” Tachibana turns to Ukita for advice.
“Hmm… In most cases, if the drug’s dosage has been halved, the effects should be halved as well… Or it could be the effective time that’s halved instead. I honestly don’t know, as it hasn’t been tested.”
Moribe is horrified by what she’s heard. She’s checking the reading on the Procyon as she sputters, “W-Wait just a minute! It’s far too risky, Lieutenant! The Procyon is currently at a reading of 2,035 mSv and rising! It’s already at a life-threatening level as it is! If that AD doesn’t take effect, you’ll—”
“Do you have any better suggestions? We don’t have enough AD—that’s the cold, hard truth. If no one has any other ideas, I will be the one taking the damaged AD, no ifs or buts allowed.”
“But—”
“Don’t argue with me, Moribe!” Tachibana sharply cuts her off. Moribe flinches. “We’re being exposed to radiation as we speak! If you want to help me, please inject yourself with AD and continue searching for more!” Unwavering determination burns in her amber eyes. That’s enough to tell me it’ll be impossible to talk her out of it.
“…Moribe, let’s follow her orders.”
“O-Okay…”
Moribe and I reluctantly inject ourselves with AD, and Tachibana does the same with the damaged ampoule. The other three gravelly watch on.
“…I apologize for causing a scene,” Tachibana says to them, then takes control of the situation. “Let’s discuss our next move. With our supply of AD depleted, I would like to hurry along our search of Area 4. I want to make sure everyone is up for it, though.”
Everyone falls silent for a moment, but Miss Ena’s the first to break the silence. “O-Of course we are up for going with you! We can get the search over with faster with more people looking!”
“It seems dangerous out there, but probably safer than being alone,” Ukita agrees as well.
Yuuri hesitates for a long moment before finally muttering, “I-I’m coming too.”
It’ll be hard on them, but it’s a huge help to have them with us. After what’s happened, keeping all the survivors nearby is for the best.
“…All right, let’s get a move on, then, people.”
We nod to each other and set off for Area 4—leaving behind our squad member who died before he could realize his ambitions and the two survivors we failed to save in time.
✦ ✦ ✦
▼ 10:20 am
Area 4, Inner Ring
WE pass through the connecting passageway and set foot inside Area 4’s inner ring. It’s a futuristic space completely unlike anywhere else we’ve been until now. The glossy blue walls end at an immaculate, polished black floor that seems to cover an expansive space as large as a 2,200-square-foot house.
In the middle of this ridiculously large floor is a square area surrounded by walls. At first glance, it looks like a giant blue box, but seeing as it has a door, it must be a room.
By all appearances, this room is the only one in this space. The only other things here are the connecting passage to the next area and the emergency staircase.
The Procyon is giving off a reading of 2,164 mSv. As we feared, the radiation levels are gradually growing, and there’s no telling how high they’ll go.
We have to find at least six more AD before 11:16 am or we’re doomed. We’ve got no time to grieve the loss of our squad member. That’s why Tachibana is putting on such a brave front too.
“—his is SIRIUS Commander Murakami. Kasasagi, do you read— …sagi, do you read me?” A voice suddenly emits from my PDA.
“…Ah!” It’s a transmission from the commander. He probably contacted me instead of Tachibana because she informed him that I was okay during the last transmission. I frantically pull out my PDA and respond. “Ah, ah! This is Kasasagi. I read you.”
“—sasagi…been trying to reach you for…—…finally got throu—” The radio waves have clearly gotten worse. Commander Murakami starts relaying orders through broken clips. “—port your status.”
“R-Right. We found bodies inside the facility!” I give my report over the unstable transmission, informing him about the three dead bodies we discovered, how one of the corpses belonged to Dojima, and how they looked like they were murdered with a gun. “…The killer might have escaped to the surface. Please investigate if anyone who left the facility had a gun on them.”
“—check…for guns…right?! –derstood, I’ll handl—”
I’ve managed to get the abnormality of the situation across to the commander. The transmission’s almost at the end of its life, so Commander Murakami changes tactics and starts rattling off information as quick as he can.
“—of LABO’s…vivors…—…mong the survivors…—…protect…se—”
“I didn’t catch that, Commander! Please repeat!”
“—the girl—! …—…protect the girl…—…—”
“Protect a girl? You’re talking about Yuuri, right? Okay! I will!”
“—ounting on…—…sasagi…—…—”
The transmission dies there. I pocket the PDA and address the group. “…Did you guys catch all that? Let’s get Area 4’s search over with quick.”
Tachibana nods and puts a question to Ukita. “Mr. Ukita, what kind of area is this?”
“Oh, this is where we handle most of our data processing. There’s a supercomputer in here called Brain Cell.”
“A supercomputer? Where is it?”
“In that blue room right there. Let’s go inside,” Ukita says and shows us to the room.
✦ ✦ ✦
▼ 10:23 am
Area 4, Inner Ring
System Control Room
AS soon as he opens the door, my eyes are filled with nothing but huge screens. About nine 100-inch computer screens cover the walls. Vast amounts of data are flickering on and off at dizzying speeds.