Chapter 40. New Beginning (12)
A 'click' sounded as the flashlight turned on, projecting a beam that stretched far ahead. However, the light soon disappeared, swallowed by the tentacles clinging to the walls.
The wiring, clinging densely like blood vessels or sagging loosely, felt suffocating just to look at.
I hurriedly shoved myself into the space, believing it was better to go in quickly. Although the passage was not too narrow for Carry to pass through, it felt more cramped than I expected.
I had been told this was a server cooling air duct, so why were the wires sticking out like this? tal plates that ford the walls lay scattered, and so spots sparked as if due to a short circuit.
"Hmm..."
- Is it bad over there? There aren't any caras on that side, so I can't see.
"It's more ssy than severe... The condition isn't good."
As I described what I was seeing, Celestia exhaled softly.
- The wires being complicated is unavoidable since it's a passage linking to the communication area server room, but the ss isn't normal. It shouldn't be like that, even if the design was half-hearted.
"Are you sure there aren't any ghouls in this passage?"
- Yes, the system only registers you two and the transport robot.
"That's Carry."
I corrected Celestia.
- What?
"It's not a transport robot; it's Carry. Please call it that from now on. It feels bad when not called by its na."
- Carry... Alright, I will.
She agreed to my request surprisingly smoothly, without a hint of hesitation, which made blink in surprise. I had expected such a response, but it rarely happened.
When I brought up Carry, the usual responses tended to be fixed: "You're peculiar", "sothing's off with you", or "it was obvious you weren't in your right mind when you nad a robot".
People tended to cast odd glances.
On the icy satellite, the most important thing was oneself. With a mindset that tended to reject everything else, Nadia, Carry, and I were considered people who worked well but had sothing off. This was due to the harshness of the place.
There were exceptions, but they were rare. Nadia, having seen such attitudes, almost thought it would happen again, but she kept her mouth shut.
Carry alone seed excited. It tried to wiggle its body but, realizing the cramped space, only waved its auxiliary arms instead.
In any case, since no ghouls were detected and having co this far with no other path, there was no more hesitation. I adjusted the flashlight to point forward and began to crawl, keeping low.
We entered in the order of , Nadia, and Carry. It was a bit slower than having Carry lead, but this way seed better for responding flexibly to unexpected situations.
Thump, thump, thump, thump-
tal plates creaked and echoed through the passage as I pushed through the hanging wires. My suit prevented any direct contact pain from the floor.
Whoosh-
The real issue was the strong gusts of wind blowing intermittently. Air circulated to cool the server room, hitting directly in the face.
Without my respiration mask, my eyes would have dried up in an instant, and tears would have flowed.
"Is there no lighting here?"
- Unfortunately, it seems not. The blueprint indicated there should be, but...
I clicked my tongue internally, understanding the implication. Building according to the blueprint was a given principle. Failure to do so suggested either necessary structural changes or soone tampered midway, usually the latter. If caught, they'd be punished, but otherwise, they were fine—a mindset found everywhere.
'Haaa...'
I sighed inwardly, pushing away the bundles of wires. While there was a risk of electric shock, it wasn't a major concern; my suit would handle most of it.
The shadows cast by the flashlight swayed like strands of hair. Imagining a ghoul suddenly sticking its head between the shadows, I exhaled slowly and steadily, trying to relax my tense muscles.
Turning my head, I saw Nadia following calmly. Her ears perked up as she maintained her crawling posture, tilting her head questioningly.
Before she misunderstood, I shook my head to assure her it was nothing.
'Carry's following well too.'
Upon closer look, Carry wasn't just following well; it seed quite comfortable. Since it wasn't suitable to use its thrusters, it deployed its wheels, and the flat floor made for a great pairing.
I montarily pondered if we should set Carry in the lead and have it drag us along. It might look silly but would sure be comfortable.
'As long as we stay quiet, no one would know.'
Such frivolous thoughts were brief as I refocused and continued crawling through the cooling passage. We had made it halfway to the communication area. Position-wise, we had long passed the cargo sector.
Unlike needing to pass through doors previously, this was a duct traversing the facility, allowing faster arrival as long as we kept moving.
Then, all of a sudden...
- Hold on. There's pressure detected in the nearby duct.
Celestia urgently halted us. Upon hearing her on the comms, we imdiately stopped. Distant thumping sounds almost overlapped in ti.
'Ghouls...!'
Creatures using the ducts as their route were passing nearby. While their cries hadn't yet reached us, it was easy to deduce their numbers were considerable since the crumpling tal sound continued with no sign of stopping.
- Don't move until I say it's safe. They're right above you.
Even if she hadn't advised us, that was exactly our intention—an overwhelming pressure already gripped our bodies.
The dium-sized mining base, Heaven, was continuously undergoing expansion work to an almost indiscriminate extent, resulting in this labyrinthine duct structure due to endlessly adding new functions.
That structure allowed us to hear the movent of ghouls from all directions: ceiling, floor, and walls alike.
【Kieeeek!】
One emitted a ghastly screech, seemingly synchronizing with others, who also screeched. Though long and straight, the tal corridor, closed on all but the front and back, failed to release the noise, resonating instead.
The sound of viscous liquid saring on the floor, solid bodies thumping against tal plates, snarling cries echoing near, and ventilation grilles being forcefully ripped open—all these sounds ford a long, tumultuous wave like a tidal bore. We had to be cautious with our breaths during that prolonged span, to avoid detection by them.
Each resonating sound sent my heart sinking. Even though we believed our presence would remain unnoticed.
How much ti passed like that?
- ... You can move again. The nearby ghouls have passed.
If I had insisted on avoiding Celestia's suggested path, it would've ended disastrously. Just the thought of encountering the numbers I sensed earlier made my knees tremble. My palms, once tightly clenched then released gradually, were soaked with cold sweat. Sweat beaded on my forehead, quickly cooled by the wind blowing from the front.
'I need equipnt.'
That thought struck strongly. Ideally, avoiding encounters with ghouls would be best, but in case of confrontation, only we could safeguard ourselves.
Although we couldn't morph our physical bodies like the ghouls, we could use tools to enhance our combat capabilities. It felt essential to acquire high-performance equipnt for protection.
Things like point-of-impact rock breakers for tunnel blasting, disintegrative laser installers commonly used in recycling facilities, or the industrial artificial gravity chain link device Big Hand Nadia had experience with—these were options.
Even though I had never seen military-grade weapons, the tools that ca to mind could be repurposed for combat if needed. Their destructive power was unparalleled, often exceeding that of many weapons.
There was a reason why workers wielded tools during riots, and SSTC fussed over safety chanisms on equipnt.
For practical purposes, hadn't we effectively been using the base-provided plasma cutter?
Neutralizing ghouls hinged on focusing on destruction, much like mining blue crystals. If breaking sothing was the goal, mining equipnt was unmatched.
Perhaps the earlier commotion had rattled Celestia too, as only our movents echoed through the narrow passage, and even they grew quieter. We knew the number of ghouls increased as we neared the base's interior.
'The heat's gone.'
Considering the purpose of this passage, nearing the communication area server room should have ant experiencing heat in the blowing air if the server was functioning normally.
Absent that, the server room's state likely differed greatly from our expectations. The unknown extent of the pureblood supremacists' reach lingered.
Although the ghouls roaming the base ant the supremacists likely weren't alive, the challenge lay in any sabotage they left behind. Considering they had blown up all the shuttles, surely, they had targeted the server room too.
With Celestia's support, we steadily progressed to finally reach the communication area. Barrier doors on par with the external ones greeted us.
- From here on, we can't track the ghouls' movents accurately. Are you ready?
In response, I tapped the bracelet lightly, signaling readiness. With video off and only audio, the sounds must have filled the channel. Understanding my cue, Celestia exhaled faintly.
- ... Alright. I'll switch the server room's barrier doors to open.
With those words, holograms shifted color. As they changed from red to blue, the firmly shut barrier doors began to open. Despite their heavy build, unlike external doors, these had seen so maintenance, so the noise wasn't as loud.
As the doors opened, a breeze carrying foul decay brushed past us. The hanging wires tapped against us as if discouraging further step.
The grimace from the stench was brief as we brushed aside the wires and erged into a relatively open space.
And we faced an anticipated scene.
"..."
"..."
Having never visited the communication area in the Heaven base before, I could still tell imdiately that what lay before our eyes wasn't normal.
The server room bore the marks of heavy burn damage, as though caught in an explosion. The pureblood supremacists seed to have planted and detonated bombs here too. Only the flickering holographic warning marked restricted access for technicians.
- Head to the communication control room. We need to check if it's intact.
The communication control room housed several array antennas aligned at specific intervals. This setup sharpened beams, combining radiated power to create potent beam patterns that extended far. Activating them was crucial for long-distance communication.
Under Celestia's guidance, we moved silently to the control room door, which didn't even require opening—just passing through its crumpled remains.
〈Communication Control Room〉 【Notice: Unauthorized broadcasting is strictly prohibited. Access is restricted to technicians only.】
Naturally, not a single antenna remained intact. While no explosion had occurred, soone maliciously destroyed each one, including auxiliary antennas alongside the central one.
- ... Is that real?
After detailing the situation, Celestia's hollow voice drifted in the air before dissipating.
The erratic ceiling light seemingly found its limit and shattered, plunging the dim space into deeper gloom.
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