Chapter 42. New Beginning (14)
Crackle-snapping—
Blue sparks jumped between the torn wires, making them more noticeable against the dimly lit surroundings.
When I focused my hearing, I could catch a noise similar to static or machine sounds from somewhere. It was the kind of subtle interference that's typically heard when a frequency is misaligned, and it grated on my nerves as it persistently scratched at my eardrums.
It wasn't dark enough to require a flashlight yet. I might have to turn it on as we ventured deeper, but for now, it wasn't necessary.
Just as I was about to move forward—
Bang!
The entire area seemed to shake, and the ceiling lights flickered wildly as if they might turn off at any moment. Our hearts sank as we quickly crouched down.
A strong gust rattled the ventilation ducts, making us swallow dryly. We slowly straightened ourselves out as no ghouls or other threats appeared despite the brief quake.
'The energy supply was unstable, right?'
Whatever happened in the maintenance area had left part of it in a blackout, suggesting something unfortunate had occurred. It's rather laughable that a facility that produces energy struggles with a power shortage.
I relaxed my tense body and took a deep breath, signaling that it was time to move. Though I knew acting in haste isn't wise, staying put wasn't an option either.
We passed under the flickering lights with heightened alertness. Having replenished my energy and hydration, I felt my depleted focus returning.
Besides the earlier tremors and slight noise, the surroundings remained quiet, with no hint of unfamiliar presence. The silence was nearly absolute. As we proceeded further into the maintenance area's core through the entrance route, the air grew noticeably colder.
It seemed the facilities weren't operating correctly. I wasn't referring solely to maintenance facilities but also to the air circulation and temperature control systems.
As we traversed the entrance path, we came across a body lying at the end of a 'L'-shaped corner. It appeared as if the person had collapsed while trying to open a door. Nadia quickly stopped me before I went to check whether it was a corpse or a ghoul.
With a frown, she shifted her gaze across the door, floor, and wall pipes, then examined the body once more.
- Hyun-woo, you shouldn't touch the walls. This person died from electrocution.
Hearing Nadia's words, I glanced at the deceased's charred fingertips and swallowed hard. It was as if a massive surge of energy had passed through them, leaving their fingers burnt black.
From afar, I thought they were wearing gloves. But up close, that wasn't the case.
Nadia carefully scanned the surroundings with discerning eyes. After checking the seams of her work suit gloves, she reached for the circuit breaker on the wall. The residual energy reacted violently to her gloves, causing blue sparks to snap! in the air.
With a stern look, rarely seen on her face, Nadia brushed off the white smoke rising from her gloves.
- You see? It's dangerous even with insulation. Considering the damage to the circuit breaker.
- Wow, that was really cool.
"......."
When I gave her a thumbs up, Nadia's face slowly turned red from the bottom up. Her lips moved slightly as if she was about to say something, then she clamped her mouth shut and hung her head, hiding her earlier intense expression.
While she managed to hide her flustered face, the wagging tail behind her was a clear giveaway. Just for a moment, she regained her composure and gave me a stern look, prepared to scold with her hands on her hips.
- That's not what I meant. Did you understand?
- Yes, I did.
Nadia was indeed more skillful than me, but when it came to experience, I had been here longer. Almost three years... and some extra months. I never wasted that time.
Recognizing the electrocution risk, I nodded seriously, and Nadia finally relaxed her expression.
She began to manipulate the circuit breaker to reroute the abnormal energy flowing through the door.
Despite her focus, her face remained red, accentuated by the light from the circuit breaker shining on her.
I pretended not to notice and asked Carry to remove the bracelet from the deceased while Nadia worked. The bracelet, darkened by the owner's death and perhaps affected by the electrocution, didn't respond no matter how I fiddled with it.
'Is it broken?'
The bracelet was supposed to be durable, yet there were rare chances it could fail. Such was the fate of all electronic devices.
As I questioned its usefulness, I noticed an emblem inside the bracelet—an insignia of the pureblood supremacists.
【The bracelet is not linked with the base. Internal data cannot be accessed.】
The hologram from the bracelet confirmed what I saw. Nadia had just succeeded in rerouting unnecessary energy with the circuit breaker. I flipped the collapsed body over immediately.
There was no insignia of the supremacists on the suit. They usually displayed it proudly. Perhaps for disguise or infiltration, they had switched the emblem's position to inside the bracelet.
While completely removing such insignias would normally perfect a disguise, not doing so could be seen as typical of the pureblood supremacists. This emblem must be a highly important symbolic mark.
- Hyun-woo, what's wrong?
- It's a pureblood supremacist, not a member of the base.
I tried to straighten my crumpled expression and handed the bracelet to Nadia. Upon hearing me, her expression turned grave. But it wasn't long before her expression shifted to curiosity.
- ...... Maintenance technician Katherine?
- What?
- That's what it shows for me. Maintenance technician Katherine from the Heaven base maintenance area.
- What about other text? Like if it says it's not linked with the base?
- No, nothing like that. Just an identification badge shows up.
Nadia said she wasn't denying that the corpse was a pureblood supremacist — she'd seen the mark on the inside of the bracelet.
'...... What is it?'
Even after taking the bracelet back to check again, I couldn't see the name or affiliation listed as Katherine like she did. This meant there was some difference between Nadia and me causing this disparity. While pondering, I considered our ranks.
I was a low-rank worker, while Nadia was a mid-rank worker. My identity was forged by a broker; hers was original. Fake versus real. That was the major difference. Age or gender wouldn't cause such variance.
Though I contemplated contacting Celestia for insights, I eventually refrained. This issue wasn't one that needed immediate solving. I could investigate it after escaping with the data board.
"Let's go for now."
I roughly stuffed the bracelet into my belt bag.
〈Maintenance Control Room〉
【Access prohibited to unauthorized personnel】
We were faced with a properly functioning door. Holding our plasma cutters ready for any threat, we opened it, revealing an empty control room.
The pitch-black darkness inside prevented us from seeing too far. We reluctantly switched on our flashlights to explore the control room. Risking exposure by light was preferable to wandering blindly.
If ghouls were lurking, they'd emerge seeing our lights anyway, so I aimed the faintly glowing flashlight toward the ground. Darkness fled before it, revealing the scene.
Chairs splattered with dried blood, crimson handprints smeared over the panels, unidentified bits of flesh stuck to the floor, and the central system console.
The place was eerily silent. Though the base housed up to 50,000 people, it felt as if they had all vanished.
Yet their gruesome traces were undeniably present.
【We are trapped here. The door won't open.】
【I want to live. I want to live.】
【It's too dark. We can't power up because of the monsters.】
【I want them all to die. Those insane pureblood supremacists.】
【...... We need light. But there can't be light. They're coming. If we're discovered, we're dead.】
【To whoever reads this, turn off the lights. Immediately.】
"......."
Seeing these words written in blood, I immediately tapped my faintly glowing flashlight off. Carry followed suit by dimming the monitor to the lowest setting. Ignoring their stark warnings seemed ill-advised.
The lack of bodies, with only a long trail of bloody drag marks present, cemented this decision. Hearing faint, distant screams chilled my blood, and my chest felt coldly emptied.
We waited for our eyes to adjust to the dark; once outlines emerged, what remained unclear we entrusted to Carry.
Sensors detected our presence. The once utter darkness slightly thinned, thanks to the activated hologram panel on the system console.
I wondered if perhaps this was fortunate—the hologram's light was dim, as if deliberately adjusted.
Even now, the hologram panel buzzed with complex logs. Beyond it loomed a large expanse: the repair platform, also known as the port because of its harbor-like function.
Usually, this place bustled with heavy lighting and repair tasks, but it lay dormant in darkness. Like everywhere else, this too seemed disabled by the pureblood supremacist attack, irreparable and powerless without skilled personnel.
Our objective lay in the maintenance area's storage, which was only accessible by passing through the port below.
'Which means we have to go through that darkened repair platform....'
It was impossible even to estimate how many ghouls might be lurking within. A few dozen at least, given the space's comparison to the cargo sector's storerooms.
"Hyun-woo, let me try to find a way. There has to be something we can do."
Nadia stepped up to the system console. The repair platform continually received broken items, which were eventually repaired and returned. Due to variance in size and damage, careful scheduling is necessary. This is managed from the control room, and only supervisors have operational authority over the facilities. High-rank workers may intervene slightly but only enough to move the lifts.
Despite the limited options, having come this far meant any safe passage was worth attempting. I waited next to Nadia, deciding against rummaging around due to the risk of acting individually.
Then it happened.
【Maintenance technician Katherine, welcome to Heaven. There are no assigned tasks today.】
When I moved closer, the system responded to the pureblood supremacist's bracelet.
Maintenance technician Katherine—the name Nadia mentioned as the pureblood supremacist. Whether real or fake, it was an official identity.
"......."
"......."
Not expecting this at all, Nadia, who had been trying various options at the hologram panel, and I, merely standing beside her, exchanged wide-eyed looks.
In silence, I took the bracelet from my belt bag, moved away, then came back. The message repeated, verifying the bracelet's influence.
Does this mean that even as a false identity, we gain console access rights?
With hopeful anticipation, we operated the system. However, our faces twisted simultaneously at the subsequent message.
【ERROR. Authorization failed. Required permissions do not exist.】
Oh, for—
Talk about building us up only to let us down.