NOVEL NEXT WORLD Third Rule.
1. In the center of the facility’s first floor, there are elevators A, B, C, and D, and no personnel except the assigned operation team may approach the elevators.
2. At least four personnel must always be on standby in the elevator hall. Those personnel must monitor the area around the elevator but must never step outside the designated perimeter.
3. If unreported personnel approach the elevator, the guards will shoot at the legs of the individual to subdue them. If it is deemed impossible to subdue the individual, they will be shot dead.
4. Guards will kill all personnel that emerge from the elevator, except for the reported operation team.
5. If the use of an elevator not reported from the basement is detected, guards must immediately report to the facility manager and assume combat readiness.
6. When the door of elevator A opens at ground level, all personnel emerging from that elevator will be shot dead.
7. When the door of elevator B opens at ground level, all personnel emerging from that elevator will be shot dead, along with [DATA CORRUPTION].
8. When the door of elevator C opens at ground level, guards will use all available firearms and ammunition to shoot at that elevator.
9. If the use of elevator D is detected, the manager will activate a Level 2 alert and evacuate all personnel inside the facility to external posts.
10. If four hours pass after the observation of elevator use, the manager will deactivate the alert and resume normal operations.
BANG BANG BANG BANG!
Suddenly, a flurry of gunfire starts erupting.
The intense noise breaks the silence of Basement 4, resonating through the walls like a wave of chaos.
“Member-9?!”
A bewildered voice escapes from Member-1’s lips.
“Member-9! Respond! Member-9!”
The gunfire reverberates throughout the entire building, filling the space with vibrations.
It was clear that an urgent situation was unfolding.
Member-1 urgently calls out over the communication device for a member he was just in contact with, but…
There was no response, only the clamor of gunfire descending from above.
“Dammit, Baker! Respond!”
Unable to contain his frustration and confusion, he curses loudly.
Soon after, the communication device crackled, and someone’s voice came through.
[This is Member-5! Captain, what was that noise just now?]
A transmission from Member-5 came through, the member tasked with searching the western corridor.
It seemed he too had vividly heard the gunfire that echoed throughout the building and was calling Member-1 in a desperate voice to understand the current situation.
“Currently, personnel on standby on the first floor are in combat with unidentified entities! Member-5, what is your current location?”
[At the last segment of the western corridor!]
“Cease the search and support Member-9 immediately! We will regroup on the first floor!”
[Understood!]
After a brief explanation of the situation, Member-5 responded before cutting off the communication.
Then, a sudden silence fell.
The members in Basement 4 looked at each other in wordless concern.
“…This is getting difficult.”
Member-3 spoke, looking somewhat anxious.
It was understandable.
The absence of communication with their allies who were under attack from an unidentified enemy was more than enough to shake a person’s psyche.
“Indeed.”
“Are we giving up on the mission?”
“That’s something to think about later. For now, we need to get outside the facility and assess the situation.”
With the Launch Control Room still a distance away, Member-1 decided to withdraw from here.
If the unidentified enemy took the fight to their location where his members were battling above, they could lose not only control of the system but their very lives.
First, they needed to regroup with other members and figure out what was happening right now.
“First, let’s head up and regroup with the others—”
He turned back.
Retracing his steps to head back up to the first floor.
“…Member-2?”
A shocked voice escaped from Member-1.
One of the three members who should have been behind him was missing.
The other two members turned their heads, but the member who should have been at the rear was nowhere to be found.
Just an endless darkness filled the space beyond the hallway.
“Dammit, Marcus! Is this a time for jokes? Come out now!”
Member-3 called out in a perplexed tone.
However, unlike when Member-4 went missing earlier, no reply came back, merely silence filling the hallway.
“No….”
“What?”
“Senior Marcus wouldn’t joke around in a situation like this. You know that too.”
“…Ugh.”
As Member-4 held him back, he gritted his teeth.
Of course, he knew that too.
Though Member-2 usually displayed light-hearted behavior, that was solely to ease the atmosphere around them.
He wasn’t the kind of person to joke around, especially in a dire situation where their allies above had lost contact in the midst of gunfire.
“Member-4 is right. He wouldn’t be the type to pull this kind of stunt without understanding the situation. It seems we are indeed under attack by something.”
Member-1 agreed with her statement.
From that, he concluded that they were being attacked by some unknown entity.
“…Damn, what do we do now?”
“For now, we regroup with the members on the first floor as planned.”
“You’re suggesting we leave him behind?”
“No. But right now, the risk is too high. We might end up getting wiped out if we try to rescue him foolishly.”
“But…”
Despite the persuasion, he still seemed unconvinced.
It was understandable. Leaving a teammate who vanished right in front of them would evoke a natural rejection psychologically for anyone.
Even if he knew logically what the truly rational action was, emotionally, it was nearly impossible to accept.
“I understand how you feel. It must feel like abandoning a comrade.”
Member-1 could empathize with the member’s emotions to some extent.
He had lost many comrades over time, and had seen them vanish right before his eyes.
Leaving behind comrades who kept their backs to each other to protect their lives was a hard thing to accept, even if it was a rational decision.
“But we have to pull back. There are still comrades on the upper floor waiting for our help, and more personnel are needed to rescue him.”
But now, they must go.
Even if that member was still alive and might lose their life due to his choice not to be rescued.
The lives of many other members were at stake on his shoulders, and he had a duty to try and save as many of them as he could.
“…Understood.”
Member-3 lowered his head, showing his consent.
Though it seemed like he still didn’t fully accept it, at least he seemed to recognize what he had to do, unlike before.
“We’re heading back. From now on, we move with our backs against each other. Do not separate under any circumstances.”
After Member-1’s command, the three members lined up and moved with their backs against each other.
The only sound filling the hallway was their footsteps, as they began to advance through the darkness of the hallway.
After a considerable amount of time had passed following their path back,
Member-1 started to feel something was off.
‘…It’s long.’
Compared to the path they took, the return route felt too far.
Not just subjectively, but also in terms of the actual time taken.
It was nearly twice the amount of time compared to before.
And yet, in their eyes, the end of the hallway remained shrouded in darkness, with no sign of the elevator in sight.
“W-We definitely didn’t take this long coming in, did we?”
Member-4 also seemed to notice that something was wrong, expressing his concern in a shaky voice.
Even if they assumed they were extremely tense due to one member’s disappearance and were slow because they were overly cautious, still not having reached the elevator was quite strange.
“Member-3. What room did we pass earlier?”
“Um… I think it was Warehouse No. 5.”
To grasp their rough location, Member-1 asked Member-3.
Warehouse No. 5.
It was definitely the room they had passed through on their way to the Launch Control Room.
“When we entered this place, wasn’t the first room we passed Warehouse No. 5?”
“That would be correct. It was the first space we encountered after coming out of the elevator.”
Receiving confirmation from Member-3, he felt a sense of relief in his heart.
If Warehouse No. 5 was the first room they saw upon arriving here, then passing through that room meant they were almost at their destination.
“…I must have been quite nervous after all.”
He muttered to himself mockingly.
To be honest, he had been filled with fear until just now.
Thoughts of being trapped in a maze or taking a wrong turn somewhere had pressured him with significant anxiety.
However, whatever the case, the fact remained that they had been steadily moving towards their destination.
They turned the corner of the hallway.
Surely, it was the last corner they had to round.
Beyond that, the elevator they had used to arrive would surely await them.
The members did not slacken their vigilance right until the end, cautiously rounding the corner.
“….”
The members froze.
Not because they saw something suspicious.
Rather, in their eyes, there was nothing at all.
No monsters, no ghosts, no sign of their missing member.
And certainly not the elevator that should have been right there.
What they saw was merely a thick metal door and the sign saying Warehouse No. 5 attached to it.
“Huh.”
A resigned voice escaped from Member-1’s lips.
He realized.
They were now trapped here.