√A Chapter 14: 【Life or Death Struggle】 9/16/2030 2:33

√A Chapter 14: 【Life or Death Struggle】 9/16/2030 2:33

Radiation Level: 12,839 mSv (heavily contaminated zone)

Remaining AD: 0

Area N

I square off with Salyu in a corner of Area N. Her blue eyes gleam with a light colder than ice. She grips the burned axe in her right hand. It’s the one Hiyama had when he died and was snatched after I left it as his grave marker. I had wondered why someone made off with it, but—

“Why did you take—” Salyu lunges at me again before I can finish. “Whoa!”

She lashes out for my neck. I barely lean back in time, leaving the axe to slice through thin air instead of flesh. I reflexively try to grab hold of her, but she swings her leg up a second faster, landing a swift kick to my temple.

“AUGH!” I immediately jump back before she swings the axe back around. I’m greeted by her frosty expression through my reeling vision.

Wh-What’s her problem?!

She attacks without an ounce of hesitation using battle techniques that belie her age and size. Matters are only growing worse for me as my convulsions and aching brain intensify. Fighting in this condition is the same as throwing my life away.

Then I notice it—Salyu’s body is slightly trembling. She has the same shakes as I do.

“H-Hey! Do have a terrible headache, too?!”

“……”

“Then get out of here right now! What good does it do to fight me if it means putting your life in danger?!” My shout causes her cheek to twitch.

Salyu stares at me and bitterly hisses, “…That line again. You said the same thing to me last time.”

“I-I did?!”

When was that? When did I speak with this girl? My moment of confusion leaves me wide-open. Salyu comes at me for the third time. Dammit! I won’t survive this one!

My body moves on its own. I drop into a crouch and spring at her with all the strength in my legs. I tackle her with the force of a speeding bullet, hitting her directly in the waist.

“GAGH!” The axe slips from her hand as she falls on her back. I use the momentum of my tackle to straddle her.

What did I just do?

I’m shocked by my own actions. Those instinctive moves were clearly worked into my muscle memory through training. But I can’t think of a single reason why I’d need them for rescue work.

Where did I learn to fight like this?

Salyu is glowering up at me, her eyes seething like cold blue flames. I let the hatred there roll off my back and try reasoning with her. “Why did you attack me?”

She shifts her gaze to where Natsuhiko is lying.

“Did you think I attacked Natsuhiko? That’s a big misunderstanding if you do! I was trying to carry him to a safe place!”

She sadly narrows her eyes. “Stop telling thinly veiled lies even I can see through,” she whispers and moves her right hand as fast as lightning.

“UGH!” She pokes both my eyes, temporarily blinding me. I can feel her body slipping out from underneath me.

Crap! If she gets away now, I won’t be able to dodge her next slash!

I blindly reach into the darkness. My left hand makes contact with something. It feels like cloth. I latch on to it and concentrate on yanking it toward me.

“Let go of me!”

Through my closed off vision, I can tell she’s struggling against me. But she’ll very likely kill me if I let go of her now. Knowing I’ll die if I don’t take her out here, I wrap my hands around her fragile neck and squeeze.

I hear her coughing, and then her body falls limp in my hands.

My vision returns soon after. I blink a few times until I see her unconscious in my arms.

I-I almost died there! This girl seriously tried to kill me…!

My head, gut, and skin are aching like crazy still. The convulsions haven’t stopped either. Every instinct in my body is screaming that it’s too dangerous to stay here.

Right now, I need to focus on getting these kids out of here. That newfound purpose gives me the strength to throw both Natsuhiko and Salyu over my shoulders. I stagger out of Area N with them.

I fumble my way out of the connecting passageway.

“Captain!” Tachibana abruptly calls.

I torque my neck with a start and see her standing in the middle of the corridor. She sprints over with a look of absolute relief.

“Oh, thank God. I’m so glad to see you alive…”

“Tachibana…what are you…doing here?” I rasp.

“I was watching the surveillance cameras out of worry for you, when I spotted you walking in here…” She stops when she sees Natsuhiko and Salyu dangling from my shoulders. “What in the world is going on here, Captain?”

“This is Natsuhiko and Salyu. I found them in Area N.”

Tachibana furrows her brow. “Did you say Area N? Isn’t that where the melted reactor is burning?!”

“Well, I’m not really sure what’s going on here, either, but…there was no reactor or fire in Area N.”

“What?!” Tachibana is speechless.

Determining she probably won’t believe a word I say, I hand her the Level N security card. “You’ll believe it if you see it. Check with your own eyes.”

She gives a skeptical nod as she accepts the card and runs to Area N. She comes back within thirty seconds with a look of absolute disbelief. “Th-There really wasn’t a fire or a melting reactor…! I can’t believe this is happening…!”

“Me either…”

“But, Captain, if there’s no fire in Area N, why did the lockdown happen?!”

“…I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore…” I take the Level N card back from Tachibana and move things along. “Let’s save the explanations and debates for later. Natsuhiko won’t last much longer if we don’t give him first aid, ASAP.”

“He has lost a lot of blood… I believe he needs a transfusion to survive.”

“Then let’s head straight to the infirmary. There are blood packs and transfusion kits there.”

“I agree. Let me carry one of them.”

“Can you do it with that injured leg?”

“I have recovered a lot since then. I’ll make do.” Tachibana carries Salyu despite her badly injured leg. She quietly warns me on our walk to the infirmary, “Captain, we need to be very alert on the way there.”

“Something happen?”

“Moribe and Mr. Ukita stormed out of the surveillance room before I left. They are both acting extremely unusual. You will be in danger if you run into them now.”

I don’t know the full picture, but her tense voice and expression are more than persuasive enough for me.

“…Got it. Let’s proceed carefully from here.”

We advance through the connecting passageway wary of everything around us.

Area 5, Outer Ring

Infirmary

FORTUNATELY, we make it to the infirmary without bumping into anyone. We lower the kids off our backs and onto the beds, and immediately tend to Natsuhiko’s wounds. Tachibana checks his blood type with the antigen analysis device, then inserts the IV into his wrist and begins the blood transfusion.

Meanwhile, I use as much Chiron as I can to seal up his wounds.

“Tachibana, do you think Natsuhiko can be saved?”

She wraps the Vital Checker around his wrist and announces, “Both his breathing and his pulse are very weak. But his vital signs are just barely stable… He’s in an unpredictable condition, but I believe he should stabilize with the blood transfusion now that the wounds have been sealed with Chiron.”

I’m relieved from the bottom of my heart. But that relief is short-lived as Tachibana continues to speak with a grave expression. “Captain, while we are waiting for his transfusion to finish, please tell me what happened after you left the surveillance room.”

“Here’s what happened…” I tell Tachibana everything I’ve done until now, starting from my journey to Area N to put out the fire so the lockdown will end. I fill her in on how there was neither a fire nor a melted reactor, and how I had to knock out Salyu because she attacked me right after I found Natsuhiko.

After hearing me out, Tachibana lowers her head and puts her finger to her chin in thought. “So that’s what happened… It’s all so strange, I don’t even know where to begin questioning you…,” she starts, then looks me in the eyes. “Captain, what do you think about LABO?”

“In what sense?”

“Like you said, not only were there no fires in Area N, but there wasn’t even a single reactor. The machines there were something entirely different.”

“You don’t think those are reactors either?”

“I don’t. I have never seen or heard of a nuclear reactor with that shape and set up. Though I can’t entirely discredit the possibility it may just be a new model that hasn’t been announced to the public yet.”

The chances of that are slim. The moment we discovered there were no fires was the moment we gained solid proof LABO has been lying to us. I don’t know why they are, but I have a hunch.

“…Either way, the fact that there wasn’t a nuclear reactor raises the question if LABO was ever a nuclear energy research facility to begin with,” I speculate.

“But that is strange in and of itself. Since there’s no nuclear reactor, that should mean the radiation we have lived in fear of these past few hours never really existed. And if it doesn’t, what caused my horrible headache and my skin to go numb for the hour I had a reduced dosage of AD?”

“Those are all good questions… When Moribe and I entered the contaminated zones, we also had symptoms including a headache, vomiting, and blacking out.”

Plus, Ukita seemed genuinely scared to death of the rising readings given by the Procyon. With how much he’s been on our backs about not digging into the secrets of this facility, I assume he knows the truth behind those machines in Area N.

What was Ukita afraid of, then? Was he deceived by someone as well? Or—

“…Even if there’s no nuclear reactor, there could still be something lethal spreading through the facility. Something comparable in danger to radioactive materials…”

“That’s a valid possibility. Then the question is: What were those machines in Area N?”

As I consider the possibilities, a fragmented memory flashes into my mind. “Now that I think about it…I feel like I’ve seen those things somewhere before.”

“You have? Before you lost your memories?”

“No. Recently. Like several hours ago. I’m pretty sure it’s—” The memory is right there at my fingertips when the door is suddenly thrown open. “What the?!” I spin around and come face-to-face with Ukita.

He grins when he sees us staring back at him in shock. “My, my, my, if it isn’t Captain Kasasagi and Lieutenant Tachibana. Why, I didn’t expect to find you here when I heard that sound,” he drawls. “And what are you two up to, hmm?” The light of sanity wavers unsteadily in his eyes. He shifts them to the beds. “Natsuhiko? Sannomiya?! They’re terribly injured! Where have they been all this time?!”

I carefully pick my words. “I went to Area N to put out the fire and took them under my protection when I found them there.”

“What?! You actually went to deal with Area N…?” Ukita’s eyebrows snap together. He nods several times to himself and growls in a low voice, “I see, I see. I finally see the whole picture… So you were the real traitor all along.”

“How did you come up with that?! Why does going into Area N make me the traitor?”

“Shut your trap. I don’t have the patience to listen to your excuses any longer.”

“Wha—”

“You know, I trusted you, Captain Kasasagi. I believed you were a just person who put his life on the line to save lives. That’s why I put my own life on the line to save others too…!” Ukita shoves his hand in his coat pocket and whips out a pistol. The very one I had them split into three parts.

“Are you bluffing right now, Ukita? That gun is a paperweight without the magazine!”

“Shall we test how much of a paperweight it really is?”

One glance at his deranged expression tells me he isn’t bluffing. I step in front of Tachibana and try reasoning with him. “Wait, Ukita! Hear me out before you fire that thing! Your superiors might not have informed you of this, but there’s no reactor in Area N!”

“What…? You’re going to spout nonsense with a gun pointed at your face?”

“Trust me! It’s the truth!”

“Well, truth or not, your role in this ends now!” Ukita cocks the hammer and my damn body stays rooted to the spot.

In the same second that feels like eternity to me, Tachibana shouts, “Watch out, Captain!” and pushes me out of the way.

A gunshot rings out a moment later, and the bullet drills a hole into the wall. As I roll onto the floor, I whip out the weapon in my pocket.

“How?!” Ukita’s eyes widen with disbelief.

I’m gripping the pistol I found on the floor in Area N. When I point it at him, he turns tail and bolts from the room. I could’ve shot him in the back, but I obviously don’t pull the trigger.

“You’ve finally shown your true colors, Captain Kasasagi! But don’t forget I’ll be the one to bring you to justice!” Ukita shouts like a madman as he disappears into the corridor beyond the open door. His footfalls fade into the distance.

Once we can’t hear him anymore, Tachibana cautiously asks, “Um, Captain, where did that pistol come from?”

“O-Oh, right, I forgot to tell you about it… I picked it up in Area N. It was on the ground next to Natsuhiko.”

“I-I see…” Tachibana appears frightened by the pistol.

I shove it into my pocket and change the topic. “We need to get outta here now. Staying here any longer with Ukita knowing our whereabouts is dangerous.”

Natsuhiko’s blood transfusion isn’t finished yet, and Salyu shows no signs of rousing. They’re at major risk of getting hurt if we run into another deranged attack like that.

“…Miss Ena is in danger too.”

“Ms. Tsubakiyama is? Where is she anyway?”

“I left her in a room back in Area 2. The way Ukita is now, I fear he’ll attack her too.”

“I-I fear so as well. Let’s keep Tenkawa’s blood transfusion going while we move to meet up with her.” Tachibana wraps the blood pack and transfusion kit around Natsuhiko’s body.

With Natsuhiko on my back, and Salyu on hers, we depart the infirmary.

Area 2, Inner Ring

I cry out in horror when we make it to the room in Area 2. “What the hell happened here?!”

A rectangle big enough for a person to fit through has been carved out of the door to the room I locked Miss Ena in. Destroying the control button was meaningless. I rush through the hole into the room.

No one’s inside. Did Miss Ena wake up and run away before this happened? I don’t see her or any bloodstains.

At least she got out okay, but…who in their right mind did this?! How the hell did they break down the door?

My ears pick up an unsettling sound coming from far down the corridor outside.

“…What was that sound?” I share a look with Tachibana and we stealthily peek around the corner to the far end of the corridor. There I spot Moribe’s back about fifty feet from us.

She’s wandering around muttering to herself with blood dripping from her head and the engine cutter firmly gripped in her hands. “Where…where did that cretin go…?” She’s talking to herself. Her delusional voice echoes through the corridor as she converses with empty space. “I knew it… Then I have no choice. I can’t protect everyone otherwise… I have to be the one to kill ’im… I’ve gotta do it even if it’s painful for me…” she says sinisterly, as if she’s chanting a curse. Listening to her gives me the chills.

Is she talking about me?! Moribe suspected me. Her suspicion may have escalated into a need to kill!

That’s the only explanation after Ukita just tried to do the same for no good reason! Moribe is very likely the one who carved her way into the room.

“…It’s dangerous here, Captain. Let’s escape while we still can,” Tachibana whispers in my ear when I don’t move.

“You sure? Isn’t Moribe like a sister to you?”

“I fear convincing her is impossible even for me in her current state of mind…,” she says in a heartbroken voice. I don’t argue with her on this one.

As I set off in the opposite direction, my boot scrapes the shiny floor, letting out a loud squeak.

“Who’s there?!” Moribe wails behind me. I can hear the sound of her running and the engine cutter motor fast approaching.

Tachibana and I sprint down the corridor as fast as we can go. We slip through the connecting passageway toward Area 3.

“Hurry, Tachibana!” I shout as I run. “We’re screwed if we don’t run away!”

“B-But, Captain…where should we run to?”

“Where?” I don’t have a good answer.

As long as Moribe has a running engine cutter, it won’t matter what room we hide in. Locking ourselves inside doesn’t do any good when she can cut through the door. And we can only run so far with Natsuhiko and Salyu on our backs before we run out of stamina and she catches up to us.

Time isn’t on our side either. My watch says it’s 2:46 pm. Only thirty more minutes to go until our AD runs out. Radiation or no radiation, my gut tells me we’re all doomed when that time comes.

Oppressive silence flows between us.

“Why…why did it come to this?!” Tachibana mournfully whispers. She continues speaking, more to herself than to me. “Chased down by the people we were supposed to save and called friend… How can we save others when we can’t even save ourselves?!”

This is the first time I’ve heard her complain since this nightmare started. It breaks my heart to see her hurting like this.

Up until now, we never gave up no matter what was thrown at us. We planned to save everyone, even if it cost us our lives in the process.

But is it hopeless at this point? Would it be better to just give up and die? That thought triggers a scene to flash into my head.

☢☢☢☢☢☢☢☢☢☢

The scene takes place inside a strange building with sterile corridors just like the ones found in LABO. Crimson light illuminates the pitch-dark corridor. Fire covers the walls and ceiling. I’m walking through the gaps in the flames with my arm around some woman’s shoulders. Smoke fills my vision, distorting what her face looks like.

“Watase, you can’t give up! Save dying for after you fight until the bitter end!” she shouts with her eyes firmly locked on the way ahead. Her words sunk into me with unshakable determination.

☢☢☢☢☢☢☢☢☢☢

That was a waking dream that lasted but a moment. Her voice and face disappeared from my mind like haze blown away by the spring wind.

Wh-What was that just now?

I strongly believe that was a scene from my fractured memories—a fragment from my lost past. It’s a sorrowful and nostalgic memory that pulls me from the spiral of depression and gives me the courage to keep going.

“Tachibana…don’t give up,” I say, conveying the same hope-inspiring words to her. “We’re still alive. We have people to rescue. So let’s save giving up for after we fight…until the bitter end.”

“…Yes, sir.” Her voice is filled with the determination of someone trying to survive through the pits of utter hopelessness.

Area 3, Inner Ring

“…WE’RE going to search for an escape route,” I inform Tachibana when we arrive in Area 3. “Escaping outside is the only option with nowhere inside the facility being safe. We can still look for a way out.”

Tachibana gives me a hard look. “But we have been looking everywhere for an escape route since long before you woke up, Captain. I’m sure Commander Murakami and the people outside have been, too. Seeing as they haven’t broken their way inside to get us out, I don’t think there is anything we can do from the inside.”

“…It sure doesn’t look that way.”

I started looking for other ways out after the cargo lift stopped being an option. Meanwhile, other problems kept popping up one after the other in the process. Did I come across anything useful along the way?

That question triggers something I remember seeing. “Wait, come to think of it…!”

“Did you come up with something?”

“The pipes! Remember how there were thick pipes running along the engine room ceiling? One of those pipes brings in water from the nearby lake to cool the reactor.” I recall Ukita’s explanation. He said water is circulating through the pipe at high speeds and breaking a hole in it will flood all of LABO, but… “Doesn’t the purpose of that pipe become suspicious now that we know there’s no reactor?”

“It does…! But I don’t believe its purpose is a complete lie. Perhaps it’s used to cool off that large machine?”

“Crap. Then we still risk flooding LABO by opening it up? I wish there was a way to stop the water from circulating through it.”

“So do I… We might be able to come up with a plan if we knew what that machine was for.”

Her comment sparks another fragmented memory. “H-Hang on, Tachibana! I just remembered where I’ve seen that machine before!”

“You did?! Where?!”

“The engine room! It was in one of the machine manuals included in the terminal there! There was an image of that large machine on the first page!”

“I remember that too!” Tachibana had looked at that manual with me. “That manual may have valuable information that can help us! Let’s go check right now!”

Tachibana and I run even faster toward the engine room.

Area 3

Engine Room

WE come back to the dimly lit heart of LABO where machines whir and pipes snake in every direction. I lay Natsuhiko and Salyu next to each other on the floor and run over to the terminal with Tachibana.

I touch the manual at the top of the menu screen. A picture of that machine appears on screen under the heading “WX Particle Amplifier Operation Manual.”

“This is it!”

Tachibana and I squeeze in close and devour every word on the screen.

☢☢☢

WX Particle Amplifier Operation Manual

This is an operation manual for the WX particle amplifier. Since it is extremely dangerous to operate, please read this manual carefully before starting work. Furthermore, please be aware that WX particles have an adverse effect on the human body due to their properties. The correlation between the effects on the human body and the amount of particle energy is as follows:

0 to 2,000 mSv ………… No effect on the body

2,000 to 4,000 mSv ………… Sensory abnormalities, vomiting, headache, genetic disorders

4,000 to 8,000 mSv ………… Brain dysfunction, deterioration of awareness level

8,000+ mSv ………… Disruption of consciousness

0 to 6,000 mSv ………… No effect on the body

6,000 to 8,000 mSv ………… Sensory abnormalities, vomiting, headache, genetic disorders

8,000 to 12,000 mSv ………… Brain dysfunction, deterioration of awareness level

12,000+ mSv ………… Disruption of consciousness

As described above, the intensity and probability of the symptoms increases in proportion to the amount of energy exposure. When AD is administered, add about 4,000 mSv to the value when not administered. If the amount of energy exceeds 4,000 mSv, the occurrence of NBC is also a concern.

☢☢☢

“Tachibana, do you understand what it’s talking about?” I whisper as I stare at the screen.

“No… I have never heard of WX particles before. The list of negative effects it has on the body makes it sound similar to radiation, though.”

I get the same sense from it, too. But there’s something more important for us to think about right now.

“Is there anything written about the pipes?”

As I continue scanning through the operation manual, my eyes anchor on one particular entry.

☢☢☢

A large amount of heat is generated when the WX particle amplifier is in operation. In order to cool the heat, a coolant system that uses natural water from Lake Rokumei has been installed in the engine room.

Cold water is drawn inside through the “intake pipe” and drained by the “drainage pipe.” The diameter of each pipe is 3.3 feet. Thickness is 0.4 inches. The amount of water circulated is about 1,200 liters per minute. The cold water from the intake pipe is discharged after the water temperature rises by about 30° Celsius.

(※If the water temperature of Lake Rokumei in August is 24° Celsius, it will be 58° Celsius when discharged.)

The water flow is controlled by a “forced circulation pump” installed in the drainage pipe. In addition, a “filtering mechanism” exists in the intake pipe to prevent foreign matter from entering.

Only water distilled and filtered at high speed by the filtering mechanism is used as coolant. Foreign matter such as algae is automatically discharged from the “foreign matter discharge port” equipped in the filtering mechanism.

When the filtering mechanism fails, there is a risk that contaminated water will flow into the amplifier and a serious failure will occur. Therefore, when the filtering mechanism fails, the “floodgate” in the intake pipe is automatically closed to avoid the inflow of water mixed with foreign substances.

At the same time, the operation of the forced circulation pump and the amplifier is stopped, and the water flow is stopped. The position of each piece of equipment is shown in the blueprint below.

☢☢☢

“This is it! I just knew this was our ticket outta here!” I exclaim after reading the manual.

Looking up, I can see the two pipes running near the ceiling. Lining it up with the blueprint would make the closest one the intake pipe and the one behind it the drainage pipe. Next to the pipes is a ladder. And right under the intake pipe is a white machine about twenty-two square feet in size. That should be the filtering mechanism.

“If this filtering mechanism fails—or rather, if we break it, the water will stop circulating. And then we can escape through this pipe to Lake Rokumei!” I rejoice.

Tachibana thinks it over before softly asking, “Yes, but…what should we do after we stop the water’s circulation?”

“What do you mean?”

“Going by this blueprint, the intake pipe is located deep under the lake. Even if we stop the water, puncturing a hole in the intake pipe will still flood LABO.”

“Which leaves us with opening a hole in the drainage pipe instead. It shouldn’t release too much water if we stop the flow and cut a hole in the top of the pipe.”

“But the drainage pipe is filled with water heated by whatever that amplifier is. We can’t withstand water temperatures around fifty-eight degrees Celsius.”

She’s absolutely right. Even if we cut a hole in the bottom of the drainage pipe and let out all the water, it’s still a risky move. One wrong move could drown the remaining survivors in a large volume of boiling water.

“…We can’t play around when the stakes are this high. So we have to make the incision into the top of the drainage pipe.”

“Then that leaves us with three problems we must solve first. One: how to open a hole in the drainage pipe. Two: how to breathe inside the water-filled pipe. Three: how to make the five-hundred-fifty-yard journey to the lake while withstanding water that’s fifty-eight degrees Celsius.”

“Let’s figure it out together, Tachibana. We can escape this hell by clearing just three obstacles!”

“We can do this!” We sit on the ground and start bouncing ideas off each other. “The first problem is how to open a big enough hole we can fit through. If only we could wrest the engine cutter from Moribe for it…”

“Nah, that’s just asking for pain. I know where we can find the perfect tool for the job that doesn’t involve Moribe.”

“What is it?” Tachibana tilts her head.

“Hiyama’s fire axe. It’s currently on the floor in Area N. I can use sheer brute force to hack a hole into the pipe.”

“…Is that actually possible?”

“Trust me. You said you did before, right?” I flex and put on a tough guy show, which earns a small laugh from her.

“…I trust you!”

“Good! Now, how to handle breathing inside the water-filled pipe?”

“I have an idea on how to do that.”

“What is it?”

“There is still one air tank left at our base. It has about twenty minutes of air. I can’t guarantee that’s enough for a five-hundred-fifty-yard trek underwater, but it’s all we have.”

“I thought the mask was broken?”

“You can hold the hose that extends from the tank to your mouth. It can’t be used this way while extinguishing fires because it not only removes the use of one hand, but also eliminates your ability to converse, so I never recommended it before now.”

“That makes sense. We can make it work if we’re only traversing through the water.” I strongly agree with Tachibana’s suggestion. As we knock out each problem, the plan becomes more realistic. But we haven’t solved the true obstacle yet. “…Okay, last problem. How to withstand boiling hot water…?”

Tachibana grimly nods. “First, you should know that an air temperature of fifty-eight degrees Celsius is a completely different creature from water that’s fifty-eight degrees. Hot water causes significantly more damage to the human body than hot air because your body is less likely to perspire while in contact with liquid. You’ve never taken a bath in fifty-eight-degree water before, right? Humans can’t tolerate water at that temperature.”

“Geh…” I groan.

I wish we could wait for the water to cool down after we stop the circulation, but it’ll take too much time for water to cool off inside a superheated pipe that’s so small.

“So should we just plunge into it prepared for burns once the temperature drops a little?”

“Even if you and I could tolerate the heat, I doubt the survivors can. Especially Tenkawa, with how serious his injuries are.”

“True… Trying to carry Natsuhiko through the pipe seems near impossible.”

But if even one person makes it out, they can seek help from Commander Murakami. We can even call in the cavalry. The police should be capable of subduing the frenzied Moribe and Ukita.

If only we could come up with a way for at least one person to endure the heat long enough to get out of the pipe! I rack my brain harder than ever before. I sift through all the knowledge I’ve obtained in the past five hours. Think…! Is there anything inside this facility capable of blocking heat?

Our uniforms are heat resistant, but they aren’t built to withstand boiling hot water. The water will seep through the various openings in the sleeves and collar, burning the skin below.

What else is there? I sort through everything I’ve seen so far. What about the gear inside the makeshift base? Air tank, air jack, AD, Procyon, engine cutter. Then what I have on me: PDA, security cards, and a gun. None of that is very helpful.

How about the things I found inside the facility? Blood packs, a transfusion kit, respirator, Chiron, distilled water, axe, and another pistol. Again, nothing useful!

Don’t give up! Think! There must be something somewhere!

I think back on the journey I’ve taken to get here. I woke up after losing consciousness, met Tachibana and Moribe, and saved Yuuri. From there I sorted through the gear in the makeshift base, met up with Miss Ena and Ukita, and began looking for the kids. In the process, I found my dead squad members, continued the search, restarted the sprinkler system, put out the fire—

“…!”

Something nags at the back of my mind. I recall what Moribe told me at the beginning of our search when we went to the base: “We also had two hazmat suits, but…like I just said, the faceplates are damaged beyond use.”

Then I draw on a second memory, one of the time we discovered Hiyama’s corpse in Area 4. His hazmat-clad body was charred from the waist down.

“…Ah!” I utter in a trembling voice. My heartbeat accelerates and I clench my fists at the stroke of genius I just had. Those two memories contained the answer we’re looking for. “I’ve figured it out, Tachibana! The way we can withstand the superheated water!”

“Wh-What is it?” Tachibana leans in close, anticipation glimmering in her eyes.

“The hazmat suit. It’s going to help us out in the very end.”

Hazmat suits are worn to block out any radioactive dust. Like the bulkheads that locked down LABO, the suits won’t let in a single speck of dust. On top of that, the hazmat suits are water-resistant and airtight. Wearing one will prevent any hot water from leaking inside. 58° Celsius water will become 58° Celsius air temperature, transforming it into a tolerable level.

“But, Captain, our hazmat suits were cracked…!”

“It’s okay. I’ve got a plan. I’ll go collect what we need to escape. Will you wait for me here with the kids?”

“B-But…!” Tachibana’s eyes waver. She knows how dangerous it is to split up with Ukita and Moribe roaming the corridors.

“I understand why you’re worried, but I’ll stand out less if I act alone. Plus, someone needs to keep the kids safe. I’ll be back in no time.”

“A-All right. Please be careful!”

“Yes, ma’am.” I smile at her and sneak out of the engine room.

First stop: the makeshift base in Area 2. I obtain the air tank and hazmat suit from there. The cracked mask rendered this suit useless to us. I remove the faceplate and hurry from the room with the suit.

I collect the axe from Area N, then run toward Area 4 pondering the hazmat suits. Every hazmat suit down here has been destroyed in one spot or the other. Tachibana’s and Moribe’s had cracked faceplates, Dojima’s was ripped to pieces, and the lower half of Hiyama’s was burned off.

But taking the undamaged pieces from each of those suits will give me a fully working hazmat suit. That’s the genius plan I came up with after racking my brain.

Before long, I make it to the elevator hall inside Area 4’s outer ring. Hiyama’s body is still where we left it.

“Forgive me for this, Hiyama…” I apologize to him as I remove the faceplate from his hazmat suit.

Now I have everything I need: the axe, air tank, an unbroken faceplate, and an undamaged hazmat suit. With all that in my hands, I force my legs to run in the direction of the engine room.

Area 3 B0

Engine Room

TACHIBANA runs over to me once I return. “Captain! Where did you get that hazmat suit?!”

“I pieced together the working parts from several different suits.”

“I never even considered that…!” she says in awe. She shifts her gaze up to the ceiling pipes and tells me, “…I destroyed the filtering mechanism while you were away. The water has stopped circulating inside the pipe.”

“Thanks… Looks like escape is no longer a pipe dream,” I say, making a small joke to lighten the mood, and then look her straight in the eye. “Tachibana, this is our final decision. We only have one hazmat suit. Who goes? You or me?”

Staying here will only increase the odds of being hurt by those WX particles. Going into the pipe or remaining in LABO are two options with equally dangerous prospects.

“I believe I should go,” she says without a moment’s hesitation.

“Why?”

“Because going into the pipe is far more dangerous than remaining here. It’s questionable whether the air tank will make it, and the burning hot water may leak into the piecemeal hazmat suit along the way… I cannot allow you to endanger yourself like that.” She pins me down with her strong gaze.

“I thought you’d say that,” I say with a slight smile. “But you can’t, Tachibana.”

“Why not?”

“You injured your leg bad. Can you walk five hundred fifty yards through a cramped pipe on that leg?”

“Yes, I can. I helped carry Salyu all the way here, didn’t I?”

“But you’ve been gradually slowing down. And going slow with limited oxygen decreases your chance of survival.” Frustrated by my sound argument, she falls quiet. I put my hand on hers and make my case. “The lives of everyone inside this facility are bearing down on the shoulders of whoever plunges into that pipe. So we have to do whatever it takes to increase our chances of success… That’s why I’ll be the one to do it, Tachibana,” I flatly declare. When she says nothing in return, I add one final remark. “This is an order. No objections allowed.”

Tachibana shakes her head. “…I object,” she protests in a barely audible voice.

“Whoa, where did that come from? It’s not like you to ignore an order, Tachibana.”

“But…!” she complains like a child throwing a tantrum. Worry shimmers in her eyes. It’s the first time I’ve seen her look this scared for me.

I return her argument with the manliest expression I can manage. “Please let me go, Tachibana… I was hopelessly helpless when I first regained consciousness, and had to be saved by you at every corner. Let me be cool at the very end to repay you for everything.”

She hangs her head and bites her lip as she fights with herself in silence. She eventually gives a small nod.

Mind set at ease by that voiceless answer, I hurry to prepare things. I suit up and prep the air tank. I carry the faceplate and air tank in my right hand and the axe in my left.

“I’ll get out of here and call for the cavalry,” I tell Tachibana once I’m ready. “I hate leaving you guys here, but…wait for my return.”

“…I will,” she says, returning my gaze. Her apprehensive expression squeezes at my heart.

I pat her on the shoulder and climb the ladder, clamber on top of the drainage pipe, and raise the axe into the air. I bring it down on the pipe with the full force of the swing. Sparks fly, and a tiny hole forms. But the sturdy pipe is too thick to open a hole big enough for a person to fit through in one hit.

“URAAAAAAAAAAHHH!” I let out a battle cry and bring the axe down dozens of times. Powered by my determination to escape, I put all my strength into each hit.

The hole steadily widens. Steam rises from the pipe and hot water spills out. But only a cupful. The water has definitely been stopped.

After swinging the axe over and over again, the blade finally gives out on me.

“Ghh!” But it did its job—the hole is big enough for me to slip inside. “…Yes!” I peer below the pipe. Tachibana is staring up with worry. “Tachibana, I put a hole in the pipe! I’m heading out! Take care of the kids for me!”

“Captain!” she calls back from below. “Please come back no matter what!”

“You got it!” I reply and lower myself into the pipe filled with searing hot water—our last escape route.

The inside is sunk in darkness. I can feel the heat through my hazmat suit. Walking 550 yards through this will get me to Lake Rokumei.

…Time to go.

I harden my resolve and take my first step into the darkness to save us all.