"This place used to be an industrial-research facility, built around a governnt experintal energy facility. At least, this is what is officially written on the files given to us by those of the Congress. I've heard rumors, though." Patrick lifted his torch and aid it straight ahead, illuminating the room before us.
The beam revealed a wide concrete chamber. The walls were bare, marked by damp patches and lined with long, rusted tal pipes. The floor was cracked and stained, but otherwise empty.
He walked a few steps in and stopped near the center, then turned to face us.
"...You can have so rest in this room. Although it isn't anything fancy and doesn't have any decorations, it's still better than camping outside." "I guess so." Although the standard wasn't very high. I moved toward the window, or what remained of it, and touched the cold concrete before leaning my head out as a chilly breeze brushed past .
Below the building sat a small courtyard. The ground was uneven, patches of dead grass breaking through cracked pavent. In the center stood a rusted playground set, the swing creaking softly as it swayed back and forth. "A lot of the researchers in this facility had families. With a lot of them being incredibly busy and with hardly any ti to go back ho, there are a lot of researchers who choose to live here. That's why there's a playground." Patrick pointed towards a distant building, its fra masked by the thick fog and vegetation. "That's the residential area." "And have you not thought about going to sleep there?" "We did, but at the end of the day, this place is good enough. This zone is also more central, so if we want to figure out so clues, this is probably the best place. Also, the beds and all the items in those rooms are probably all extrely damp and unusable. There's no real difference where we sleep." "I see." His words made a lot of sense. In this regard, I was actually quite surprised by how he was able to find all of this information. And as if reading my mind, he smiled. "There are a lot of files and papers that are scattered here. Although a lot of them can't be read, there are quite a lot of them. This is a research facility after all." "You're right." I nodded in agreent. In all honesty, I was actually quite curious about this place. From the way he was speaking, this didn't seem like just a regular research facility. There appeared to be more to it, but when I looked at him and saw the simple smile on his face, I knew that even if I asked, he wouldn't answer or make sothing up. 'We're co-operating for now, but we're still competing. There's no way he'll tell everything.' "Alright." Patrick turned back to look at the others. "You all should have so rest. We can gather other people with us slowly tomorrow morning. Given the current situation, it's best if we are all grouped. I think that will make things a lot easier for all of us, alongside the fact that it can help us guarantee our safety." Pointing his torch towards the door, he began to walk out. "My team and I will be staying on the lower floor. If you need anything, feel free to co to us. I hope we can establish a strong cooperative relationship."
His words sounded sincere, but the more sincere they felt, the more uneasy I felt. Maybe this was being paranoid, but after my experience with the rat, I found it hard to trust anyone. This was also one of the reasons why I didn't want to switch teams. I had a hard ti trusting people. "Alright, hope you all have so rest." Patrick's voice faded as he left the room, and his back faded into the darkness that lay beyond the entrance of the room. I kept my gaze fixed on his back, eventually turning away and looking back towards my team. Seeing the exhaustion on their faces, I leaned against the wall and slid down slowly. "I'll keep watch for now. We'll take turns to alternate. Go and get so rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day." * Day 1 passed like that. The swing outside continued to sway, its soft, rhythmic creaking echoing through the entire night. Leaning against the empty window fra, feeling the cold wind, I continued to stare at it until I heard several rustling sounds coming from behind . "Nn? Squad Leader?" Mia was the first one to wake up as she rubbed her eyes. Then, as if noticing the gray sky outside, her eyes shot open. "Squad Leader!" Her voice was a lot louder than it was before, awakening the others. "Fuck!? Why are you being so loud in the morning?" Lifting her eye mask, Nora glared at Mia. She was about to speak when she noticed the gray sky outside, her eyes widening in alarm. One by one, the others stirred awake, their reactions mirroring Mia's and Nora's.
Seeing them react like this, I raised my hand to stop them from speaking. "I'm used to getting little sleep. Since I wasn't feeling sleepy, I might as well let you all get so more sleep. Either way, it doesn't affect too much." "But Squad Leader..." "It's fine." I stopped everyone from saying anything and reached for my bag next to . "I was just speaking with the Squad Leader from the Evening Sun Guild. We discussed the current situation and ca up with a plan. We'll split into four teams. Two from our side and two from theirs. Two teams will stay in the facility to investigate and learn more about this place, while the other two will head outside to locate other teams and bring them here."
The discussion took place about thirty minutes ago. While everyone was sleeping, Patrick eventually ca up, and the two of us had a small discussion about the situation and the way to proceed. This was what we ca up with. Considering that the research-facility seed to hold so sort of secret, I agreed rather quickly. Also, this place felt too creepy without many people. I looked around and announced the groups. "Joanna, Min, Sarah, and Ariel. You three will be the first group. We'll alternate each day. For today, I want the four of you to go and look for other teams in the periter." In my opinion, this was the most optimal composition for the task at hand. Ariel was the perfect anchor for the group, her skill allowing her to know if anything was wrong with the group. Joanna was also an incredible leader, and the person I trusted the most to lead a team in my absence, while Sarah was good at scouting, and Min was good at shielding them from any unexpected attacks. "...The remaining three will be with ." More than anything, I just needed Niel with . He was smart. I was certain that he'd help find sothing. Everyone's expressions grew serious as they looked at one another. Soon, they nodded and began preparing to leave. As I scanned the room, my gaze settled on Joanna, who was gathering her group. I quietly approached her and placed my hand over her shoulder, causing her to pause. "I'll leave it in your care." Joanna's expression froze for half a second, her head lifting to look at . But I rely smiled at her. "I know you'll be able to take care of the situation without . I trust your judgent."
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