“What the hell is this place?” I ask the room.
“This is the development block, nicknamed ‘the factory,’” Ukita answers. “This is my first time here, but I never imagined the damage would be this bad.”
The destruction and devastation here is particularly bad. Even the ceiling several dozen feet overhead and the crane stationed on the catwalk near it have been burned black.
I check the Procyon—it’s reading 3,711 mSv. This place has barely managed to stay within the safety standard. With our general safety confirmed, I hand out orders.
“Okay, let’s split into teams of two and four again. Team Tachibana is to search the factory. Moribe and I will cover the inner ring.”
“Roger!”
With everyone on board with the plan, I immediately head for the inner ring with Moribe.
✦ ✦ ✦
▼ 11:53 am
Area 6, Inner Ring
THIS block has a lot of doors lining the stark white corridor in a similar layout to Area 5. I check room after room along with Moribe. Survivors and AD are nowhere to be found, but we discover another Procyon in the last room we check.
“Hey, this a Procyon, right? Why’s one lying around here?”
“Isn’t that obvious, Captain? LABO’s staff provided us with the Procyon. It’s not strange for them to have some in the facility.”
“Oh yeah, you said something along those lines before. This is a good find. It’ll allow us to break into three teams should we need to.”
I don’t know if we’ll ever have to do that, but it doesn’t hurt to have an extra on us, so I stash it in my pocket.
We rummage through the office for anything else of use until Moribe finds some kind of booklet.
“Take a look at this, Captain. It’s a disaster prevention manual.”
“The same as the one Yuuri found?”
“Nope. There’s a few small differences. This one says it’s for employees working in Areas 5 and 6.”
Moribe and I read it with our heads close together. The majority of pages are exactly the same as the manual we read earlier, except for an extra page added at the very end.
Disaster Prevention Manual (For Employees of Areas 5 and 6)
○ Regarding Emergency Evacuation Routes
In the event of a fire, earthquake, or other disaster, the elevators will automatically ascend to the surface floor and stay there. This is to prevent passengers from becoming trapped inside operating elevators that stop due to aftershocks or other unpredictable factors. Please use the emergency staircase located in each block to evacuate.
However, please note that Area 6’s outer ring does not have an emergency staircase due to security risks and the facility’s structure. All staff should therefore evacuate from the inner ring. Should a situation arise where that becomes too difficult to do, please evacuate through the cargo lift.
○ Regarding Emergency Cargo Lift Usage
Unlike the normal elevators, the cargo lift is extremely sturdy. It has been estimated to withstand earthquakes up to a 7.0 magnitude and poses little risk of stopping midoperation. Therefore, all staff members are granted temporary permission to use the lift during an emergency evacuation.
Please use it to promptly evacuate to the surface. The same applies during a Case N. Should evacuation of the facility become impossible due to a lockdown, the cargo lift can still be used to evacuate to a safe zone on the surface floor.
My whole body trembles as I read that page. “Hey, Moribe, did you read what I just did? About using the cargo lift to evacuate to a safe zone…?!”
“Doesn’t that mean we can escape to the surface from here?!”
We exchange excited looks. We’ve finally discovered a way out of this hell!
“You rock for finding this little treasure, Moribe! It’s the discovery of a lifetime!”
“I’m honored, Captain! So where do you think this lift is at?”
“Probably tucked away somewhere inside the factory that we didn’t pay attention to.”
“Sounds likely! Let’s return to others!”
I nod and, with Moribe, run back the way we came. We pass through the connecting passageway and arrive in the factory, where I immediately spot the other team.
“Hey! Guys!”
Hearing my shout, the others come running over to meet us halfway.
“Did you find survivors, Captain?” Tachibana asks.
“No. How about you?”
“None. We searched high and low too…”
We’ve finished exploring every area inside LABO. But we didn’t find those kids anywhere—not even their bodies.
“Then that settles it… Those kids already escaped to the surface with the cargo lift!”
Questioning looks cross everyone’s faces.
“What cargo lift?” Miss Ena asks.
“Supposedly somewhere in the factory is a lift you can use to evacuate to the surface! Look at this!” I open the disaster prevention manual for them to see.
“The cargo lift?” Ukita groans. “It completely slipped my mind that that was an option!”
“Hey, Ukita, did you see anything like that inside the factory?”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure about this, but it might be that there.” He looks toward a corner of the factory. I follow his gaze to where a security gate is located on the farthest wall from us.
“What’s a security gate doing in a random place like this?”
“We were also curious because it seems out of place here, but…we couldn’t get inside because the security slot burned up in the fire.”
“It did?”
“But past that gate is the only place we haven’t searched yet. I’d bet this cargo lift to the surface is protected behind it.”
That’s enough to bring a smile to everyone’s face. Our distressing journey to find a way out is finally coming to an end!
“All right! Let’s find a way to pry that gate open! How about we break it down with the engine cutter?” I suggest.
“We already tried that,” Tachibana replies. “We even went back to base to get it… But it didn’t even dent the gate.”
Another look at the gate and I see the engine cutter lying on the ground beside it. But there’s only a slight nick on the gate itself.
Dang it all! What do we have to do to pry it open? The exit is right before our eyes. Yuuri and the others will be saved if only we can open it.
An unsettling snapping noise echoes loudly overhead before I can finish thinking.