Evans had to admit he was probably someone who preferred using violence, which fit his identity as D-Class personnel.
“Thanks. Are you all right?”
A line of handwriting appeared on the wall beside the door.
“I’m fine. I’m probably pretty good at this kind of thing. How about you?”
Evans carved a new message beneath it.
“I’m fine too. When that thing got close just now, I saw a blurry silhouette. If that hadn’t happened, I’d probably be dead.”
“I didn’t see anything. Maybe it was targeting you.”
“What do we do now? The corridor isn’t safe, and there are dangerous things inside the cells. We got lucky this time; next time you might not be able to hit it.”
“You’re right. I want to search for cells we can open. We need a way out of here and a weapon to defend ourselves.”
“All right, but what if there’s something inside the cell?”
“If whatever’s inside attacks me, I’ll try to deal with it. If it attacks you, get into the nearest cell and shut the door. I’ll smash it to death when it comes in.”
“That’s the only option.”
“Leave marks on the wall for me. If your marks disappear, I’ll know there’s a problem on your side. I’ll leave scratches too, so you can tell where I am.”
“Okay.”
Evans gripped the mirror shard. He wanted a more effective weapon; using a shard and the cell door felt a bit impromptu.
They began moving along one side of the corridor. A horizontal line appeared on the wall, and Evans left a scratch beneath it.
The other person seemed much shorter than him, though Evans wasn’t sure about the position of that person’s right hand. Maybe the person was just walking with their arm hanging down.
Every time they passed a cell, Evans opened the viewing hatch to observe inside and tried to open the cell door.
The cells all looked empty, but they couldn’t be sure there was truly nothing inside.
So when Evans opened a cell door, he only cracked it ajar. If something tried to come out, he would smash it to death immediately.
To prevent anything inside from waiting until they’d passed and then emerging, the researcher moved backwards while advancing. If anything happened behind them, that horizontal line would stop.
Using this method, the two checked several cells, but aside from disposing of some formless things they couldn’t even make out, they gained nothing.
This place was like a real prison; there was nothing inside the cells suitable for weapons.
They also found nothing that could help them leave.
“I think we might be looking for the wrong target.”
Evans carved a message on the wall.
“What do you mean?”
A reply quickly appeared beneath the message.
“If this is a prison, the key to leaving shouldn’t be inside the cells. It should be on the guard.”
“Then where do we find the guard you mentioned?”
“Do you remember that footsteps sound?”
“You mean the one you said was made by the guard?”
“I don’t know. I can only say it’s a possibility.”
Thud!
While the two were exchanging messages, that same impact sound approached from behind them again.
Evans forced open the nearest cell door and entered first. The researcher cooperatively closed the door.
As they stepped into the cell, the steady footsteps sounded from afar again.
Then the cell door suddenly opened a crack. This time Evans reacted immediately. He forced the door and trapped something in the gap.
“Got you.”
He slammed the door hard against that thing. Although the reverse motion felt awkward, he instinctively found the right way to apply force.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!
Evans didn’t close the cell door until that thing disappeared.
At that moment the impact sounds passed by the cell, and the footsteps drew near behind the wall, separated from them by only a single wall.
In the previous simulation, Evans had briefly encountered the owner of those footsteps. He replayed the memory’s details and tightened his grip on the mirror shard.
The footsteps stopped!
It had been the same before. Back then Evans had been distracted by the impact sounds outside and failed to react correctly.
The door opened by itself, and the researcher left the cell. This time Evans did not follow; instead he closed the cell door.
Now only he and the owner of the footsteps were inside the cell.
He simulated the opponent’s actions in his mind, calculating the timing of the attack.
‘Last time it killed the researcher first, then approached me and stabbed my chest with a sharp object.’
‘If I remove the time it used to kill the researcher, I can calculate when it will attack me.’
Not knowing the opponent’s exact position or movement, Evans could only fight like this — by calculation.
‘Now!’
Evans suddenly moved a short distance to the right. The sharp object that was meant to pierce his heart passed through his armpit and stuck into the wall.
“Die, you bastard!”
Evans shoved the mirror shard forward with all his strength. The enemy had tried to pierce his heart, which suggested the opponent was likely also a humanoid figure. By calculating the weapon’s position and angle, he could deduce where the enemy’s head was.
The shard plunged into a soft cavity, probably the creature’s left eye.
Blood flowed down Evans’s arm into his sleeve. It wasn’t only the creature’s blood; his right hand’s blood mixed in as well.
He had instinctively used a technique called Heavy Strike, driving the sharp mirror shard into the enemy’s skull. The shard shattered completely, spraying tiny fragments into his palm.
Evans ignored the wound in his right hand and quickly searched the foe’s chest, waist, and pockets. Before the creature vanished, he found a card on its body.
Even after the corpse disappeared, Evans hadn’t seen the enemy’s form. He didn’t even know what he had killed.
The weapon that had been trapped in his armpit didn’t vanish. After the enemy’s corpse disappeared, he finally saw the status of the two objects.
The sharp implement was a rusted red rebar, coated with a red powder—either dried blood or rust.
The other item was an Access Card. The photo showed a cute female researcher, and the name field printed Dr. Caroline.
Evans didn’t rush to treat the wound on his hand. He picked up a piece of mirror shard and then opened the door, stepping out of the cell to carve a new message beneath the messy scrawl on the outside wall.
“I’m fine. The monster inside has been dealt with. Come in.”
The two entered the cell and the researcher closed the cell door.
