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“This is it! I just knew this was our ticket outta here!” I exclaim after reading the manual.
Looking up, I can see the two pipes running near the ceiling. Lining it up with the blueprint would make the closest one the intake pipe and the one behind it the drainage pipe. Next to the pipes is a ladder. And right under the intake pipe is a white machine about twenty-two square feet in size. That should be the filtering mechanism.
“If this filtering mechanism fails—or rather, if we break it, the water will stop circulating. And then we can escape through this pipe to Lake Rokumei!” I rejoice.
Tachibana thinks it over before softly asking, “Yes, but…what should we do after we stop the water’s circulation?”
“What do you mean?”
“Going by this blueprint, the intake pipe is located deep under the lake. Even if we stop the water, puncturing a hole in the intake pipe will still flood LABO.”
“Which leaves us with opening a hole in the drainage pipe instead. It shouldn’t release too much water if we stop the flow and cut a hole in the top of the pipe.”
“But the drainage pipe is filled with water heated by whatever that amplifier is. We can’t withstand water temperatures around fifty-eight degrees Celsius.”
She’s absolutely right. Even if we cut a hole in the bottom of the drainage pipe and let out all the water, it’s still a risky move. One wrong move could drown the remaining survivors in a large volume of boiling water.
“…We can’t play around when the stakes are this high. So we have to make the incision into the top of the drainage pipe.”
“Then that leaves us with three problems we must solve first. One: how to open a hole in the drainage pipe. Two: how to breathe inside the water-filled pipe. Three: how to make the five-hundred-fifty-yard journey to the lake while withstanding water that’s fifty-eight degrees Celsius.”
“Let’s figure it out together, Tachibana. We can escape this hell by clearing just three obstacles!”
“We can do this!” We sit on the ground and start bouncing ideas off each other. “The first problem is how to open a big enough hole we can fit through. If only we could wrest the engine cutter from Moribe for it…”
“Nah, that’s just asking for pain. I know where we can find the perfect tool for the job that doesn’t involve Moribe.”
“What is it?” Tachibana tilts her head.
“Hiyama’s fire axe. It’s currently on the floor in Area N. I can use sheer brute force to hack a hole into the pipe.”
“…Is that actually possible?”
“Trust me. You said you did before, right?” I flex and put on a tough guy show, which earns a small laugh from her.
“…I trust you!”
“Good! Now, how to handle breathing inside the water-filled pipe?”
“I have an idea on how to do that.”
“What is it?”
“There is still one air tank left at our base. It has about twenty minutes of air. I can’t guarantee that’s enough for a five-hundred-fifty-yard trek underwater, but it’s all we have.”
“I thought the mask was broken?”
“You can hold the hose that extends from the tank to your mouth. It can’t be used this way while extinguishing fires because it not only removes the use of one hand, but also eliminates your ability to converse, so I never recommended it before now.”
“That makes sense. We can make it work if we’re only traversing through the water.” I strongly agree with Tachibana’s suggestion. As we knock out each problem, the plan becomes more realistic. But we haven’t solved the true obstacle yet. “…Okay, last problem. How to withstand boiling hot water…?”
Tachibana grimly nods. “First, you should know that an air temperature of fifty-eight degrees Celsius is a completely different creature from water that’s fifty-eight degrees. Hot water causes significantly more damage to the human body than hot air because your body is less likely to perspire while in contact with liquid. You’ve never taken a bath in fifty-eight-degree water before, right? Humans can’t tolerate water at that temperature.”
“Geh…” I groan.
I wish we could wait for the water to cool down after we stop the circulation, but it’ll take too much time for water to cool off inside a superheated pipe that’s so small.
“So should we just plunge into it prepared for burns once the temperature drops a little?”
“Even if you and I could tolerate the heat, I doubt the survivors can. Especially Tenkawa, with how serious his injuries are.”
“True… Trying to carry Natsuhiko through the pipe seems near impossible.”
But if even one person makes it out, they can seek help from Commander Murakami. We can even call in the cavalry. The police should be capable of subduing the frenzied Moribe and Ukita.
If only we could come up with a way for at least one person to endure the heat long enough to get out of the pipe! I rack my brain harder than ever before. I sift through all the knowledge I’ve obtained in the past five hours. Think…! Is there anything inside this facility capable of blocking heat?
Our uniforms are heat resistant, but they aren’t built to withstand boiling hot water. The water will seep through the various openings in the sleeves and collar, burning the skin below.
What else is there? I sort through everything I’ve seen so far. What about the gear inside the makeshift base? Air tank, air jack, AD, Procyon, engine cutter. Then what I have on me: PDA, security cards, and a gun. None of that is very helpful.
How about the things I found inside the facility? Blood packs, a transfusion kit, respirator, Chiron, distilled water, axe, and another pistol. Again, nothing useful!
Don’t give up! Think! There must be something somewhere!
I think back on the journey I’ve taken to get here. I woke up after losing consciousness, met Tachibana and Moribe, and saved Yuuri. From there I sorted through the gear in the makeshift base, met up with Miss Ena and Ukita, and began looking for the kids. In the process, I found my dead squad members, continued the search, restarted the sprinkler system, put out the fire—
“…!”
Something nags at the back of my mind. I recall what Moribe told me at the beginning of our search when we went to the base: “We also had two hazmat suits, but…like I just said, the faceplates are damaged beyond use.”
Then I draw on a second memory, one of the time we discovered Hiyama’s corpse in Area 4. His hazmat-clad body was charred from the waist down.
“…Ah!” I utter in a trembling voice. My heartbeat accelerates and I clench my fists at the stroke of genius I just had. Those two memories contained the answer we’re looking for. “I’ve figured it out, Tachibana! The way we can withstand the superheated water!”
“Wh-What is it?” Tachibana leans in close, anticipation glimmering in her eyes.
“The hazmat suit. It’s going to help us out in the very end.”
Hazmat suits are worn to block out any radioactive dust. Like the bulkheads that locked down LABO, the suits won’t let in a single speck of dust. On top of that, the hazmat suits are water-resistant and airtight. Wearing one will prevent any hot water from leaking inside. 58° Celsius water will become 58° Celsius air temperature, transforming it into a tolerable level.
“But, Captain, our hazmat suits were cracked…!”
“It’s okay. I’ve got a plan. I’ll go collect what we need to escape. Will you wait for me here with the kids?”
“B-But…!” Tachibana’s eyes waver. She knows how dangerous it is to split up with Ukita and Moribe roaming the corridors.
“I understand why you’re worried, but I’ll stand out less if I act alone. Plus, someone needs to keep the kids safe. I’ll be back in no time.”
“A-All right. Please be careful!”
“Yes, ma’am.” I smile at her and sneak out of the engine room.
First stop: the makeshift base in Area 2. I obtain the air tank and hazmat suit from there. The cracked mask rendered this suit useless to us. I remove the faceplate and hurry from the room with the suit.
I collect the axe from Area N, then run toward Area 4 pondering the hazmat suits. Every hazmat suit down here has been destroyed in one spot or the other. Tachibana’s and Moribe’s had cracked faceplates, Dojima’s was ripped to pieces, and the lower half of Hiyama’s was burned off.
But taking the undamaged pieces from each of those suits will give me a fully working hazmat suit. That’s the genius plan I came up with after racking my brain.
Before long, I make it to the elevator hall inside Area 4’s outer ring. Hiyama’s body is still where we left it.
“Forgive me for this, Hiyama…” I apologize to him as I remove the faceplate from his hazmat suit.
Now I have everything I need: the axe, air tank, an unbroken faceplate, and an undamaged hazmat suit. With all that in my hands, I force my legs to run in the direction of the engine room.