Ch.88Adrift

Heo Yoon’s plan was as follows:

– In a week, they won’t be able to stay on the 7th Floor.

– Therefore, they need to find a new place to settle within that time.

“You all understand this much, right?”

“Yeah.”

Seok Hyunmin nodded while fidgeting with his glasses.

When Heo Yoon led the topic, the rest of the people nodded along.

“But if Dabin is right, we shouldn’t stay in the elevator for too long.”

“Yes.”

“So I thought of this.”

Scribble, scribble.

Heo Yoon wrote two more sentences on the whiteboard.

– Exploration will be done with minimal luggage.

– After finding a new settlement, gradually move belongings from the 7th Floor via the elevator.

“Like this. This is our plan so far.”

It was quite different from the original plan.

‘Continuously carry luggage in the elevator and stay there.’

The apartment is an ocean filled with anomalies. We are castaways trapped inside.

The island we’ve been staying on is now sinking.

We tried to use the elevator as a raft to navigate, but the elevator was too unstable for that.

All we can take is a small boat and bags packed with simple belongings.

“Let’s depart right away.”

Leaving the storage room and back to the hallway.

Heo Yoon took the lead, with Yoon Daju following.

“Let’s go!!! Ikeh-!!!”

Daju ran around, her dark brown bob hair fluttering.

Despite her bag likely being quite heavy, she’s flying around excitedly at the mention of exploration.

Meanwhile, Seok Hyunmin looks like he’s about to die from the weight of his luggage.

With his glasses slipped down, he can’t even muster the strength to push them up, just stretching his hands forward while trembling.

“Sigh…”

Eventually, Heo Yoon switched bags with him.

“This is actually heavier. Let’s just go like this.”

“Okay.”

Now Heo Yoon walks beside Seok Hyunmin.

With such thoughtful consideration too.

It’s sweet, but watching them continuously feels like they’re rubbing salt in my wounds.

Some of us had our gender suddenly switched and can’t even think about dating.

Dating a woman?

My heart says yes. The problem is that the relationship can’t progress.

I can’t seriously pursue it in this state either.

Then date a man?

That’s absolutely impossible. Unless I lose my memories. No, even if I lost my memories, it wouldn’t work.

There would still be a physiological aversion at the bottom of my subconscious, right?

In the end, I have no choice but to return to being a man.

If my body changed once, there’s no reason it can’t happen a second time.

“…”

“Dabin. Let’s go too.”

Only Choi Serim looks after me.

The older sister who gives me a gentle gaze and a subtle smile. Today she tied her long hair back.

I found myself tightly holding Serim’s hand for no particular reason.

“Hm? Suddenly?”

“Let’s go.”

“Wait a moment.”

Choi Serim stopped in the middle of the hallway.

I didn’t even have time to ask why.

“Dabin, your hair has grown a lot. I should have cut it earlier but kept forgetting.”

“Ah…”

As she said this, she brushed my hair aside.

I closed my eyes and quietly accepted her touch.

“This won’t do. It’s grown too much for my hands to manage.”

The next moment.

Rustle-

Choi Serim’s hair scattered in the sunlight.

“Here.”

In her pale palm was the hair tie she had been using.

The rubber band wrapped in purple fabric carried the scent of shampoo.

“No, let me tie it for you.”

Telling me to stay still, Choi Serim moved behind me again.

Swish, swish.

The hair that I always let hang loose was pulled back and neatly gathered.

“All done.”

The tied hair fell with a thud onto my back.

I hadn’t realized how uncomfortable it was, but with nothing touching my face, my vision felt much clearer.

Choi Serim circled around to appear before me.

“How is it?”

“It’s super comfortable! No hair getting in my eyes.”

“I should have done something earlier. I feel a bit sorry.”

Before I knew it, she was leaning against the apartment corridor railing, basking in the sunlight.

Her black hair cascaded down her snow-white nape.

“But what about you? Won’t you be uncomfortable without your hair tied?”

“Me? I can just take another one out of my bag later.”

Choi Serim adjusted her bag.

“Let’s go again. Everyone must be waiting.”

“Yes, sis.”

We walked down the corridor together.

The elevator at the end of the hallway. The group was gathered in front of it.

Heo Yoon and Seok Hyunmin side by side at the door. Jung Haewon next to Yoon Daju.

And the AI was staring blankly down the stairs.

“Serim’s here.”

“Did you wait long?”

“No. We were waiting for the elevator.”

Heo Yoon pointed to the digital panel on the ceiling that displayed the elevator’s position.

It was covered with strange symbols.

[!@$22%^]

“It doesn’t seem like a normal floor. Who could have pressed the button?”

“Must be people from the Foundation. They’d have to be to go to such a strange floor.”

“The Foundation…”

Choi Serim and Heo Yoon.

The two quietly looked up at the ceiling.

Even at this moment, the numbers continued to change.

[!@$9@2]

[!@%%10]

[!@$!##39]

Jung Haewon, who had been quiet, raised his hand.

Then he grabbed Daju’s arm next to him and shook it.

“Sis, look there.”

“What.”

“There, the numbers stopped!”

The constantly changing numbers had suddenly stopped at one point.

[11###11]

“Did someone else get on?”

Pushing and shoving.

Daju and Jung Haewon jostled each other to get the best spot, as if it were some kind of spectacle.

“Wow! It’s moving again!”

“They must have joined up! Or maybe they were on the same team from the start?”

[11#^#11]

[13#%#31]

The numbers started changing again.

Seok Hyunmin adjusted his glasses, trying to analyze the situation.

“They could be exploring like us.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. Just now they probably opened the door briefly to check outside, then moved to another floor.”

“That seems too short a time though?”

Heo Yoon and Seok Hyunmin exchanged words back and forth.

Meanwhile, Choi Serim slid next to me and asked:

“Dabin. Do you know anything about this?”

“…Give me a moment.”

First, I used my Librarian authority.

The “insight” granted to Librarians.

This insight allows access to almost all information in the surroundings.

It’s not even constrained by time, so depending on the level of authority, one can briefly glimpse the future.

But even with such ability, I couldn’t see anything.

It’s not that the surroundings are dark.

Like trying to find stars in broad daylight, there’s too much information to pinpoint what I want.

This phenomenon is more pronounced when there’s no specific “search term.”

What’s important is “what to look for.”

Only with clear knowledge can one access the desired information.

“I’m not sure yet.”

“I see…”

“Yes. The situation is too ambiguous and the scope too broad to specify.”

The elevator stopped briefly, then moved again at high speed.

The number where it stopped was [11###11].

But this too was just a random number.

Not representing a specific floor location, just a random arrangement of symbols and numbers.

‘Wait a minute.’

It wasn’t something that came to mind from the situation itself.

However, I recalled one incident that could be connected.

“Hm? Did you think of something?”

“Yes.”

After a few additional “searches” to gather information,

I could be certain.

The outcome of this world is predetermined.

The trials we must overcome to move forward.

The people we must meet, all predetermined.

The person we need to meet now is a “helper” from the Foundation.

A bit later than scheduled, but the helper was there.

***

It was a simple intuition.

After leaving the volcano and arriving at a major city in Iceland, Robin was able to find the entrance to the apartment immediately among the numerous buildings.

A twisted space filled with anomalies and malice.

The entrance to the “apartment” where the Professor was staying is scattered throughout the world.

But.

Is it the right decision to enter here directly?

While Robin was punching numbers into a calculator in front of the building, the driver urgently babbled beside her.

“Professor, how many times do I have to tell you? You shouldn’t evacuate to a place like this! I know a thing or two about volcanic eruptions!”

“Be quiet, it’s noisy.”

“And I don’t understand the current situation! The Foundation’s disposal? Knowing something I shouldn’t? What does all that mean?”

“Dan.”

Robin lowered her voice and pulled something out from inside her coat.

“Yes?”

“Shut up.”

Click.

A piece of metal meticulously crafted solely for shooting people was aimed at the driver Dan’s temple.

Dan immediately realized what it was.

“P-Professor, how could you have such a…”

“I told you. It’s not an ordinary research facility.”

When the volcano erupted and the ground shook,

All personnel at the research facility were thrown into confusion. Even the armed security forces were no exception.

In the midst of that, swiping a gun was a much simpler task than expected.

“You can leave if you want. But when this is over, the people around you won’t even remember you existed.”

“What on earth does that mean?!”

“I told you. Shut up.”

Though his eyes were still full of bewilderment, driver Dan soon closed his mouth.

Robin let out a deep sigh.

She had barely escaped from that hellish volcanic area.

And the driver’s excellent skills had played a big part in that.

Does this guy even know what he accomplished?

He already knew too much.

It was because one researcher they picked up on the way had spoken carelessly.

What a stupid woman.

She’s probably buried under volcanic ash by now.

One of the car doors was torn off in the middle, and she fell out alone.

Anyway.

The milk has already been spilled.

If an ordinary driver working for the Foundation were in the same position, the end would be one of two things.

Becoming disabled at best. In many cases, they’re simply executed.

But the situation is a bit different now.

A hard-won moment of calm.

In the distance, the sound of car horns fleeing the disaster could be heard.

Sudden volcanic eruption.

People evacuating.

Crowded residential areas and nearby streets.

Above it all, Robin recalled past events.

Times when her body moved before her thoughts, in her “younger days.”

Major incidents from when she had just joined the Foundation.

Rushing in when something suspicious appeared.

Going in and achieving results.

All while preserving her one and only life.

She continued this until becoming a member of the Foundation’s leadership, the Council.

But the work handled by the Council was on a different level of danger.

The reason she could now sit quietly at a desk like this was after dying horribly eleven times.

Above all, the Council had its own methods.

More procedural, efficient, and somewhat cleaner methods. Methods that Robin herself knew better than anyone.

But none of them could help in the current situation.

Just before entering the apartment,

Two communication devices simultaneously buzzed in her pocket.

Robin first took out her phone.

One disaster text message in Icelandic.

And one message with the same content from the British Embassy.

All about the volcanic eruption and evacuation guidelines.

– Earthquake and volcanic activity occurred.

– Confirmed eruption of Katla Volcano.

– Caution required for volcanic ash and volcanic bombs among other eruptive materials.

“Huff…”

If only it were just a volcanic eruption.

Crunch-

Robin stepped on her phone to remove the data chip inside.

The small chip shattered just by squeezing it.

Next was the Foundation’s communication device.

This was the truly serious one.

[Security procedure passed.]

[Council Member #8. Robin.]

– Katla Volcano Branch. Movement of the “Fifth” confirmed.

– One of the chain links binding the “Fifth” has been completely destroyed.

– The anomalous properties of the “Fifth” are as follows:

– Spatiotemporal Fluidity

Cannot predict when, where, or how it will manifest in the present world.

The main body is bound by massive chains behind a door, but the chains are gradually being damaged. As a result, activity frequency is increasing.

The Foundation attempted to restore the chains but failed. Restoration abandoned thereafter.

– Disaster Induction

Even simple activity has a scale large enough to leave a mark in history.

Well-known cases include the Crimean Peninsula invasion and medieval Black Death (1347), and the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923).

– Widespread homicidal impulses and spread of paranoia.

When the “Fifth’s” activity is accompanied by natural disasters, this characteristic spreads along with the natural disaster’s progression.

(In this case, volcanic activity)

Personnel exposed to volcanic ash, volcanic bombs, or pyroclastic flows may exhibit the above abnormal symptoms.

Given that volcanic ash can spread over several kilometers, there are concerns about casualties and even the collapse of local communities and national systems.

Knowledge is a window to view the world.

For the same phenomenon, national organizations in reality and the Foundation offer completely different interpretations.

Sometimes it’s better not to know.

[Robin. We inquire about your attendance at the emergency meeting.]

Scrolling to the bottom of the message, the Foundation’s message appeared.

Robin destroyed that as well.

Crack-

All communication devices were broken.

“Dan.”

“Yes…?”

“Give me your phone.”

Crunch.

Driver Dan blankly watched the scene.

His expression was as if he had lost his country.

“Now, what is this all…”

“Follow me now.”

Robin, having completed preparations to enter, opened the apartment door and went inside.

The surrounding scenery changed unbelievably in an instant.

Even the texture of the air was different.

Robin maintained her composure and pressed the elevator button.

Again, it was an action based on intuition.

Swoosh.

“…My God.”

The door opened shortly after.

Inside was a collapsed young Asian woman.

A white lab coat stained red.

The name on the ID badge around her neck.

Ichinose Riko.

Though it was a name she had only briefly seen in reports, she knew it clearly.

Thanks to the “enhancement measures” Robin had received in the field of memory.

The woman collapsed in the elevator now is one of the Foundation’s researchers.

One who often worked under the Professor.

Robin momentarily lost her composure.

“What on earth happened with that Professor?”