NOVEL NEXT WORLD Sixth Rule.
1. Ignore the fifth rule.
2. Absolutely ignore the fifth rule.
3. Must ignore the fifth rule for any reason whatsoever.
Ding—
With the notification sound, the long-neglected grinding of outdated machinery filled the hallway.
The jarring metallic tones harmonized, sounding as if an ancient machine was exhaling its last breath.
The elevator at the end of the hallway appeared as a relic from a forgotten era, frozen in time.
“…”
As the elevator doors opened, dust from inside rushed out as if it were dancing.
And then, four figures began to slip into it.
Aside from their footsteps and breathing, nothing else could be heard from these individuals as they pushed their bodies into the elevator.
Finally, with a thud, the elevator doors harshly slammed shut.
One of the figures slid down to the ground.
“…Nothing happened, huh?”
A small voice, drained of energy, echoed inside the elevator.
The owner of that voice was none other than Eleanor.
Having finally arrived at the elevator, she muttered in a voice mixed with relief and emptiness as she leaned against the wall.
Perhaps because she had been tensed up while passing through the hallway, her legs gave way, and she unintentionally sank to the floor.
“…Sounds a bit disappointing, doesn’t it?”
“That, that can’t be! I’m just so relieved that nothing happened!”
Eleanor shook her head vigorously at Cooper’s response.
She felt somewhat empty, but she wasn’t actually expecting anything to happen.
After all, this wasn’t a haunted house at an amusement park, nor was it just an abandoned building where people come to get scared.
She knew very well that it was quite lucky they hadn’t encountered anything at all on their way here.
“Well, still, it feels kind of weird that such a big incident happened, and we can just leave so easily. It doesn’t feel real or something…”
However, she wasn’t blindly optimistic either.
Though all she had seen aside from the evacuation shelter was that scene, she was well aware that something lurking in the darkness must have caused the disappearance of everyone in this facility.
Yet here she was, escaping so peacefully.
It wasn’t strange that she felt a bit unsettled.
“Well, how could we know the reason? These things are unpredictable, right? The rest will be handled by the researchers.”
Compared to this, Cooper was displaying an extremely optimistic attitude.
Of course, he had his own reservations.
If anything, he might even be more cautious than Eleanor.
However, since they had already seemingly escaped, what good would it do to burden themselves with such worries?
Concerns about the sorrow of losing comrades and various psychological damages obtained here could all wait until they completely got out of this place.
“We will get out of here, but we can’t avoid questioning and investigation from the headquarters. Given the magnitude of this incident, you guys were practically missing personnel.”
A man in a mask said, casually glancing behind him in the elevator.
It wasn’t really welcomed news for the two, but it was unavoidable.
Survivors who had been out of communication for days in this facility could be reasonably judged as not even human anymore.
By the regulations, it wouldn’t have been unusual if they had pulled the trigger the moment they met in the basement.
“I can provide some testimony for you, but I can’t guarantee how the management office will treat you.”
The man didn’t simply say this out of kindness; he had received confirmation from 19th entity that they were indeed human.
19th entity himself hadn’t said it with regulations in mind, nor did he know why the man was extending such trust toward him, but…
Well, even if he knew, the result wouldn’t have changed much.
“It doesn’t matter. I’d rather die outside than here.”
“Are you saying the headquarters will dispose of us?!”
“No, I don’t mean they will really kill you. Though if you’re going to undergo that mental contamination diagnosis for a month, you might wish for death.”
Eleanor flinched at his words. Seeing this, Cooper chuckled softly.
Despite being caught up in a week of nightmare-like events, they would soon be free from this place.
Just like someone who almost drowned perceives the air they inhale like honey just before their limits, even a slightly silly question from someone who seemed dazed could be forgiven easily.
“Eli!”
As a loose atmosphere lingered inside the elevator.
For the first time, the quiet 19th entity spoke up.
“What’s up?”
When his name was called, the masked man answered.
The one who called him was a girl, yet somehow she wasn’t looking at him at all. She was merely gazing upward.
“It’s nothing much. About this elevator…”
As 19th entity turned his head toward the man,
His face, usually unreadable, was slightly wrinkled at one eyebrow this time.
“Was it this slow when we came down earlier?”
With a question that felt off, the girl pointed to where her gaze had been directed.
“…?”
Right after the girl spoke.
Everyone turned their gaze to where her finger pointed as if it were a promise.
At the top of the door. Where the floor indicator of the elevator sat.
And there, only the letters B2F were displayed, indicating they hadn’t even reached the first floor yet.
Of course, it’s greedy to expect speed from a dilapidated elevator.
And due to the nature of this facility, not even a thorough inspection would have been possible, let alone replacing the elevator.
However, even so, could it really be normal for the elevator to have been stuck like this for so long?
How long had it been since they boarded this elevator?
At that moment, all three shared the same thought.
Vaguely, a realization flickered in their minds—something was wrong.
And then, the very next moment.
Clunk!
As if it were a well-timed moment.
With a sound that made their hearts stop, the elevator shook violently.
“Whoa?!”
“Ahh!”
The strong vibration made it impossible for them to even stand, and both screamed.
A dull, foreboding sound echoed.
And as if to prove that a bad omen never misses,
Crackle!
Something tore violently.
The elevator they were in began to plummet downwards.
Skreeeeeee!
The chilling sound of metal scraping against the inner walls filled the elevator, reverberating endlessly.
Under the force of gravity, the elevator was dropping mercilessly fast.
With each passing floor, the noise grew louder, instilling immense terror in their hearts.
“What’s happening?! What’s going on right now?!”
“It’s a fall! We are falling right now!”
“This is just awful—no wonder everything was going too smoothly!”
A creepy sensation enveloped them all.
Like the feeling one gets when a roller coaster suddenly plummets from the peak.
Yet, remembering that this disorienting sensation was not from a fun ride but from plummeting underground in an elevator.
This feeling was more terrifying and uncomfortable than delightful.
“Members! Did any regulations related to elevators emerge within the 4891π-31 security manual over the last three years?!”
After assessing the situation, Eli yelled.
This was not an illusion. He just completed a self-assessment, but this strange sensation of weightlessness remained unchanged.
This situation was undeniably real.
And to overcome that bleak reality, they needed a precise solution.
Typically, solutions regarding occurrences in this facility were documented in the regulations.
“There aren’t any! If there were, they would have closed down the elevator altogether!”
But Cooper’s response denied that.
And why not? If falling elevator incidents had occurred before, they wouldn’t be riding it now.
Even someone with years of experience in this facility had never encountered such a situation before.
“Then, are there any provisions about elevators in the deleted regulations?! Anything will do!”
“Don’t expect me to memorize every regulation manual!”
Eli kept posing questions, hoping for a miracle.
However, the mere absence of a regulation does not create a new one.
Currently, no way to escape this dire situation existed anywhere.
Trapped in a massive metal tube, feeling increasingly uncomfortable…
“Found it!”
From a corner of the elevator, a strong response erupted.
“What?! How do you know that?!”
“I received the regulations manual before being dispatched here! I vaguely remember there was a regulation for situations like this!”
She recalled the manual received before being dispatched to this facility.
It was composed of surprisingly many pages, and the reason for handing it over was more about referring to essential content for the mission than memorizing it.
Plus, since you can’t know what might happen there, she diligently read through the manual just in case.
And unfortunately yet fortunately, her assumptions were dead on target.
“Can you recall that regulation right now?! Time is of the essence!”
“Just a second! I had it in my pocket somewhere…”
Eleanor pulled out a small notepad resembling a pocket-sized booklet from her clothing.
Flipping the pages frantically with her wide-open eyes.
Though she was struggling just to flip the pages, fortunately, she managed to find the page containing the rule she had seen earlier after a short while.
“Here, it’s written! First, we need to draw our weapons!”
“A gun? Why?!”
“I don’t know! It’s just written like that!”
Cooper asked back in confusion, but she had no clue why.
Isn’t that how most of the text in the manual usually went?
They only jotted down the rules, with no clear reasons or results provided.
The rule she recalled also lacked clarity regarding its reasons or consequences.
Especially in urgent situations like this one, pondering such matters would be virtually impossible.
“And after we draw our weapons…”
The notepad slipped from Eleanor’s hands.
It didn’t seem like she dropped it accidentally. She wasn’t even looking flustered as she gripped her gun tightly with both hands.
She had likely just memorized what was written in the manual.
In this case, putting the notepad away again in such an urgent situation was just more work.
Her arm moved.
And for just a moment, in that fleeting moment.
Without giving anyone a chance to stop her, she skillfully positioned her gun—
“You shoot yourself!”
In an instant, she shoved the gun under her jaw.
Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger.
Bang!
On the floor lay the notepad. The open page revealed nothing but words that read “Fifth Rule.”