The ride felt like it would never end until we arrived at a different area.
While we were there, the urban district we passed through looked like a zombie town. Skyscrapers looked like giant tombstones, streets were filled with damage, and debris from buildings spilled onto the sidewalks.
The people I saw walking around had blank expressions, and their clothes were tattered like those of homeless people. But some of them were worse off. Their movements were jerky, their eyes unfocused, and they'd occasionally mumble a series of random, meaningless words.
From a distance, a Man was running wildly towards the street. Brenner, sitting in the driver's seat, suddenly jerked the steering wheel to the left, but couldn't avoid it completely. The creature got hit a little bit and flew away.
"Arghh... Damn Shokujin..." Brenner let out a growl.
I looked back. The man seemed to be trying to get back up, crawling on the asphalt.
"What happened to that person?" I asked.
"These aren't just sick people. Their systems are failing from the inside out due to radiation. And the serum to cure them refused to adapt and instead ate away at their bodies."
"That sounds awful..." I said.
We kept driving until we got to a huge structure: a tall concrete wall with barbed wire stretched across the top. There were a few wrecks in front of it, like car frames and stacked metal plates. The wall itself was about nine or ten meters tall.
Our car slowed down as we got closer to the main portal, which was a heavy steel gate guarded by several heavily armed men.
One of the guards, a big guy with a scar on his cheek, came over, his gun still ready to go. He gave our dented car a quick look before looking inside.
Brenner rolled down his car window, which was scratched.
"Zunobo..."
"Wow... You guys are tough cookies, haha... Looking at the battle scars on your car, it seems like you had some pretty bad trouble... ha ha."
"Yo, we almost died, man...!"
"Ha ha, it's a miracle you made it back in one piece..."
"We always find our way home, Zunobo..." Kenjiro jumped in.
"Ahh... good..." Zunobo said, his laughter fading a bit.
Zunobo immediately turned around and gave a firm signal to his colleagues.
"Hey, you guys, open the gate for them..."
There was a loud screech, and the barrier started to open. We were invited to enter.
Not far from the main gate, I was a little surprised by what I saw inside.
This place was more spacious than I had imagined. It wasn't just a barracks or a defense post; it was more like a small town, hidden behind protective walls.
"Yeah, this is it, man. Ain't just a hideout. Welcome to the Nest. Home sweet home, for now."
Rin, who was sitting next to me, sighed deeply in relief as she stretched her body.
"Finally... It's good to be back." She turned her neck, feeling the stiffness in her muscles.
I didn't need to ask where we were. As we passed one of the big main buildings, I could still see the old, rusty signboard 'UNIVERSITY OF NAGORO'.
Our car kept going through different areas of buildings until we passed a big field that looked like a sports field, maybe for baseball or soccer. But as we got closer, I saw that it was actually a fertile farmland. There were a few people working in the field, harvesting vegetables. On the other hand, some were raising livestock. There were several goats and chickens in pens.
Around the field, we set up some tents. Some of them looked like small markets, with people going about their business. A woman was seen trading a bag of vegetables for some used electronic parts. There were kids running around and laughing, wearing patched clothes. The locals were just doing their thing.
"You know Eisen! this place... It's the heartbeat of the Nest. Every scrap exchanged, every trade, it all cycles back to keep everyone alive here."
I think it's interesting. They are still trying to survive with this system.
The car finally stopped in the parking lot next to one of the faculty buildings, which was pretty busy with people going about their business.
We all got out of the car one by one, but Brenner quickly got ready to leave.
"Aight, I'm rollin' out to patch up this ride, y'all. See ya'll there in a bit!"
"Okay. Just make sure that thing really works after you get out of there, and let me know if there are any problems with the repairs."
"Thanks, Brenner..." Rin replied with a smile.
Brenner just raised his hand in farewell, then his car drove away, leaving us behind.
…
When we got to the main lobby, it looked like a chaotic emergency room.
I saw a bunch of people with injuries lying on stretchers, being treated by people who were probably nurses at this facility.
But before we could get to our destination, Kenjiro saw someone else there.
"Ah... Tetsu."
A bald guy with a muscular body who was walking from the other direction turned his head.
"Kenjiro! I'm glad you guys are back safely. I was worried..."
"Just another curveball. Road always has surprises..."
But Tetsu paused for a second, looking over our group. His expression changed.
"Then, where's the man?
We were all silent. Kenjiro let out a deep sigh, feeling the weight of this mission on his shoulders.
Yumiki showed us the brain pod containing Hiro's head right away.
"Tch... so that's how it is, what a poor man," Tetsu muttered, eyeing the contents of the brain pod.
"We're late, Tetsu. But we'll figure out what the hell they did to Hiro. And expose that damn crazy corporation.
"I hope so. We've put in a lot of work to get to where we are today. Let's hope that piece of the puzzle doesn't disappear again..."
Tetsu finally looked at me, standing there between them. His curiosity won out over his temporary sadness.
"So... New face. Who's he?"
"Ahh... I'm Eisen..."
"You're a cadet?"
I was a bit puzzled by his words, but Kenjiro cleared it up for me.
"He's just a corporate detainee. Basically, he begged his way out with us during the escape. Figured he might actually be useful."
He came right at me and gave me a look that was pretty intimidating.
"This isn't an orphanage, rats... If you don't have strong determination, you might meet your end soon..."
I gave him a look that said I was pretty annoyed.
"Huuh... What do you mean...?"
"You'll get it when the time is right."
Then, out of the blue, Tetsu just took off.
I'm going out. Got to interrogate that Shokujin we captured..."
…
We got to our destination, a big lab on the fifth floor, in no time. The place was decked out with all sorts of high-tech gear and a bunch of computers. In the back corner of the room, the walls were covered with screens showing rows of code and data, with thick cables hanging from the ceiling
Kenjiro went up to a thin guy with glasses who was busy at a terminal.
"Taro...!"
The young scientist named Taro was startled.
"Oh, Kenjiro! Hey, you guys are back from your expedition. I'm glad you're safe. What happened?"
Kenjiro gave Yumiki a signal, and she stepped forward and put the brain pod tube on the work table.
"As you can see, this is all we were able to get from him..."
Taro's eyes widened behind his glasses.
"Oh my gosh, Hiro-sensei... This can't be happening to him..." He looked pretty shocked and sad.
"Sorry, but this is our limit. This is all we could do, so from now on, I'm counting on you, Taro..."
He quickly grabbed the brain pod with Hiro's head on it and took it to the main workstation. We all got together to watch the process happen. Taro started inserting a series of electrodes and optical fiber cables into the nerve ports around his forehead.
Rin hurried over to the back of the room, trying to help with a program. While we were still there, waiting for Taro to make a decision, he was tinkering with Hiro's program.
"Hmm, something seems off with the process. The system isn't responding like it usually does..."
"So, what does that mean…?"
"It looks like the synchronization process will take some time. I've got to stabilize the pattern first so I can get some coherent data. It might take overnight, or at most... three days..."
"Aughh... I see..." Kenjiro nodded, clearly disappointed.
So, their mission wasn't finished yet.
Taro was still explaining the technical details to us, but my senses detected something strange. It felt like someone was close behind me.
I felt a warm breath on my neck, and then I felt a nose sniffing the scent from my neck.
Sniff...!
I suddenly turned around, my body reacting quickly. I didn't notice at first, but there was a woman in a lab coat and thin-rimmed glasses standing there. She had a lovely face with a slight smile that showed a lot of curiosity, but her eyes had an intensity that made me cautious. She tilted her head slightly.
"You've got a weird smell," she said, staring at me.
"Mmm… Not the metallic tang of fresh death, nor the synthetic tang of genetic manipulation. This scent… It's raw anxiety, pure fear. But it's… different. and I'm not quite sure how to interpret it."
"What the hell is with this lady? Her sharp eyes, even behind those glasses, keep drilling into me, as if she sees something strange about me."
"Hey, what are you doing, lady bastard?"
As soon as I started talking loudly, people looked at me, and Kenjiro turned his head. His expression said he was used to this madness.
"Huh...? Nagi-san...!"
This lady wouldn't stop talking and giving her unsolicited opinions.
"Hey, cut it out! Stop staring at me like that, you damn lady! You're seriously creeping me out—"
But she took a step forward, and before I could react, her slender, cold index finger touched my forehead. I felt a bit of pressure.
"Magnificent…" she said to herself, her eyes shining with intensity.
"...That pupil… This isn't market tech. Definitely not cheap either. Oh, I absolutely must make you my research subject!"
She rambled on quickly, using a bunch of technical terms I didn't really understand.
But before the woman could say more, Kenjiro cut her off.
"Nagi-san, we've got a problem only you can fix. We need your help to save Hiro's memories."
Nagi pulled her hand away from my forehead right away and clicked her tongue, looking annoyed.
"Mmm-hmm! So he's dead?! Ugh. Last time! He promised to bring a quantum processor core for my new research. Tch… All men are the same, just talk bullshit.
"Come on, Nagi-san, please. This isn't just about your research. This is about all of us."
Nagi turned around reluctantly and hurried over to the main terminal. He paused for a second, staring intently at Hiro and taking in every command on the screen.
Yumiki, who'd been leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, pushed herself away.
"So are we done? I'm wiped. Gonna get some fresh air…"
"Yeah, Yumi. Go recharge." Kenjiro replied.
Soon after Yumiki left, Kenjiro started getting ready for other stuff. He turned to the other lab technicians.
"Alright, it seems like I have to go too, so I'll leave the rest to you... Let me know if there's any news..." he said before turning around and leaving.
"Yeah... shoo... shoo! Just go. I'm hitting a critical point. This isn't a five-minute job; I'm going to be buried in this for a while."
But before that, Kenjiro pointed at me.
"Hey, Eisen, come here. I'll take you to your room first. Come with me..."
I followed Kenjiro right away.
…
As we strolled down the dimly lit hallway, I started a conversation with him.
"Hey Kenjiro, who's that guy named Hiro? Why is he so important to you guys?"
Kenjiro didn't answer right away. He stared straight ahead.
"He's not just some kind of savior. But he's our best messiah. The guy's got access to their security systems, leading straight to the tyrant's base
"Huh? Tyrant? Is this some kind of special ops gig or what?"
"As you've seen out there, this country's got two sides. What you're lookin' at here? That's just a small piece of the mess. The real power, they run one of the city's hearts. Those tyrant bastards have truly screwed everything to hell."
"...So yeah, we've got a big mission to get this country back on its feet from their rule. No more tyrants!"
I didn't say anything, just trying to understand every word he said to me. I kept asking about the current situation, their struggles, and what's happening right now. Kenjiro answered briefly, but it was enough to give me a rough idea of the conditions outside the walls of this Nest.
We got to another building pretty close to the last one. It looked like a dorm from the lobby all the way up to the top floor. Kenjiro stopped in front of one of the doors.
"…Here's your room. Go in and don't make a mess."
I stepped inside. It looked cozy, a small, comfortable room with a bed and a simple table.
"Go take a rest... Then get ready to work, 'cause this ain't some fancy resort with room service. Everyone works hard to keep this nest going.
"Work, huh? So, what's the game next? Are we hitting another corporate building, or are we finally gonna take down the tyrant's HQ this time?
Kenjiro gave me a playful look.
"Heh, Nope! You'd be far more useful backing up the scientists in that lab. And besides, expedition work probably isn't right for you without proper survival skills you're just another casualty waiting to die."
"Hey..hey…hei… You want me to be some lab rat for that weirdo lady?
Without further ado, Kenjiro turned to leave.
"Haha, nah! Look, Rin's usually there anyway, so you can definitely lend her a hand. And if she's ever out in the field with us, you can tag in for her at the lab. Just go rest now. And don't forget to hit the cafeteria for dinner later." He said before taking off at the end of the corridor.
"arghh…Alright."
I went into the room quickly. It was small, with only a sofa bed, a table, and a wardrobe. But I saw something, a little door that went to the bathroom.
Shhshhh…!
I felt the warm water wash over my body. It felt really good; it was a sensation I hadn't felt in a long time. It felt good to get my body clean again after all the dirt, dust, and dried blood from the fight.
Then I plopped down on the sofa. Today was a real grind. I felt totally drained. I looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes for a second.
"Hufft...!"
I'm fed up with the strange people here: the psycho woman, the intimidating bald man, the creepy old lady. I really hope there aren't any more weirdos.
I'm also not sure how long I'll be staying here. But as long as they give me a decent place to stay, that's more than enough for now.