Splash, splash—
Under the warm stream of water, Kaguya looked up at the showerhead before her, then reached out and turned it off.
She picked up a towel, gently dried her body, and then put on a yellow-striped uniform.
Kaguya Shinomiya thoroughly disliked this outfit. Its style reminded her of a prison uniform—the only difference being that prison uniforms were typically black and white stripes, while hers were yellow and white.
[Shower time is over. Please proceed to the personnel lounge to rest. Your second exploration operation will commence tomorrow.]
A static-filled voice sounded from the bathroom ceiling.
Kaguya, without a word, had already walked out of the bathroom. She passed by the medical examination staff and finally returned to the personnel lounge area.
It consisted of small, single-occupancy rooms separated by heavy iron doors.
As far as Kaguya was concerned, it was no different from a prison.
She had to find a way to escape this environment.
This "Exploration Personnel" identity severely restricted her actions. Outside of exploration time, her movements were almost completely locked down. Every moment, her actions were exposed to surveillance, and soldiers armed with guns stood guard not far away, ready to notice any unusual movement.
The C3 Exploration Personnel, played by another player, had been shot and killed by those soldiers not long ago for making a few suspicious moves.
Those soldiers, clad in black, full-coverage protective gear, were all, in essence, anomalous beings. They patrolled every room of this research base in silence, closely monitoring Exploration Personnel like her.
She had to do something.
Kaguya Shinomiya looked down at the Obsession Item scalpel hidden on her person.
The vast majority of their Obsession Items were currently in Gao Hai's possession. Now, she only had this easily portable scalpel, and it was the same for Maki. The main reason was that they had initially thought everyone would gather at the entrance of the Red Nut Gray Hole. Therefore, to play the role of tourists, it was inconvenient to carry those Obsession Items, so they had given them all to Gao Hai, who could store them in his watch. They never expected the mission to take such a drastic turn, rendering their strategy not only completely ineffective but also landing them in trouble.
No, that wasn't necessarily true. If she had an Obsession Item like the blood doll, she would have certainly tried to use it. But given the strange situation in this place, it was entirely possible that the moment she used an Obsession Item, something extremely terrifying would happen.
The feeling almost made Kaguya want to laugh. Anomalous beings that weren't even human were playing the part of human soldiers, using firearms to attack players who violated the rules, while the players had to rely on various strange Obsession Items, using anomalous powers to seek a way out.
It felt strangely as if their roles were reversed.
She picked up a red ribbon and tied up her long, loose black hair.
Kaguya had returned to the personnel lounge, back in the small room roughly the size of a compact car, furnished with only a bed and a toilet.
"Hm?"
As she sat on the bed, Kaguya looked down and realized something had been stuffed inside the mattress.
She reached out, lifted the bedding, and saw a brand-new white lab coat, and placed inside it, a sheet of rules.
[Cavern Base Researcher Work Regulations:]
[Welcome to the Cavern Base. This is a secret research facility belonging to the Amelian nation. As a researcher working at this base, in addition to basic confidentiality laws, the following are special work regulations you must adhere to. Please be sure to memorize them.]
[1. Depending on your assigned job type, you may be engaged in sample analysis, observation, or research work. Different jobs have different work locations and require different corresponding access cards. Please keep your access card safe. Each card is bound to your personal information, and you will be held accountable for its loss or damage.]
[2. The activity range for researchers is limited to the experiment and observation zones. Entry into the observation zone requires prior permission. You must not enter the quarantine zone. The quarantine zone is accessible only to quarantine zone staff, Exploration Personnel, and remote-controlled automated equipment. You may not enter for any reason. Please do not make things difficult for the guards of the quarantine zone.]
[3. If biological information is detected in a sample sent to the analysis zone, you must immediately press the emergency button to activate the protective procedure for transfer to the cold storage zone. This is an extremely important and easily denatured research sample that only your next-level research unit has the authority to handle. At this time, you must leave the analysis zone; you have no authority to participate in the subsequent work. Any questions regarding this may be directed to the base's Head of Research, Professor Forneng, but you may not necessarily receive an answer.]
[4. Work in the research and observation zones is overseen by the base's Head of Research, Professor Forneng. While working in this area, you must follow all of his commands. If you are unable to do so, you will be dismissed from your position.]
[5. Only those with the highest level of access may enter the cold storage zone. If you need to enter this area for work, please communicate with Professor Forneng in advance to confirm the important matters you need to be aware of.]
[6. All crying, calls for help, knocking, or any other noises coming from the direction of the quarantine zone are hallucinations. The air in this environment contains an unidentified special biotoxin that can cause a certain degree of hallucination. Do not pay excessive attention to these hallucinations. If you believe they are affecting your normal work, please submit a report to your superiors.]
[7. For your mental well-being, please regularly take the psycho-stabilizing medication provided by this institution. It will aid your rest and sleep. Do not give your medication to the quarantine zone Exploration Personnel. If they forcibly demand it, you may call security soldiers to repel them.]
[8. Take good care of your personal clothing. Wearing clothes with personal style is not permitted within the base. Your attire must be appropriate for your position. This is a military research base, not your personal fashion show. Please maintain the professionalism expected of you.]
[9. If, during several days of sleep, you repeatedly feel a sense of being crowded, have difficulty breathing, or feel inverted, and this situation begins to affect your normal work and life, please report it immediately. You will be temporarily transferred from your position, and we will arrange corresponding treatment for you as soon as possible. This is a common mental illness among staff here; only early treatment can contain it.]
[The right of interpretation and explanation for these regulations belongs to Professor Forneng and Lieutenant General Shegaila.]
The content of the regulations themselves wasn't overly complex.
But looking at this sheet, Kaguya couldn't help but frown. She had realized that, just as the Shirakawa Apartments had a period of stability after the anomalous phenomena began, this strange research institute was likely also a structure established during an anomalous event. However, unlike the Shirakawa Apartments, where survivors united to find a way to live, the situation here was completely different. People had actually sealed off the entrance to the anomalous zone to study it.
Was such a thing possible? Anomalies were supposed to cause information blackouts and cognitive blocks, making it impossible for ordinary people to even be aware of related events.
Was it because the horror story here hadn't fully evolved yet, so a cognitive blockade hadn't formed?
Or was the anomaly present here somehow different from what players commonly understood?
In a brief moment of thought, Kaguya had already unhesitatingly shed the yellow-striped uniform of an Exploration Personnel and slipped on the researcher's white lab coat.
The camera in the room snapped to her. The soldier who had been standing outside reached the door in the blink of an eye, pulled open the heavy iron door, and raised its rifle, aiming it at Kaguya.
Then it slowly lowered its weapon and stood there, ignoring Kaguya as she walked past it in her white lab coat.
Different clothes, a different identity, different treatment.
Kaguya Shinomiya had, to a certain extent, figured out the operational principles of this place.
She walked to the doorway and opened the door to the lounge.
Maki Shijo was already waiting outside. Having snuck into the personnel lounge a short while ago to place the clothes and rule sheet, she was relieved to see Kaguya emerge unscathed. Maki then gestured with her eyes for Kaguya to follow her. One after the other, the two girls walked through the corridor and arrived at the large door separating the observation and research zones.
Beep beep—
The access card in Maki's hand chimed softly.
The next moment, the heavy alloy door, over 40 centimeters thick, slowly opened, revealing the area behind it.
Kaguya's gaze was immediately drawn to a logo on the wall and the line of text beneath it.
[The Cavern Project]
[Creating a Brand New Future for Civilization]
This project...
Strange, why do I feel like... I've heard of it somewhere before?
For a moment, the girl felt a sense of daze.
________________________________________
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