《Realm of Rust and Ruin》


 Chapter 1: Frigid awakening

    BEEEP¡­BEEEP¡­BEEEP!


    Disturbing the once deafening silence, an alarm of sorts reverbed throughout, one that wouldn¡¯t be wise to simply ignore telling by its tone.


    Vermilion lights danced in conjunction with the cacophony of noise around the seemingly abandoned enclosure, stirring the inky shadows populating within. The scattering of lights all originated from what looked to be an enclosed metal coffin, sitting nearly vertical against a long, deteriorated wall of which many such contraptions called home.


    The coffin¡¯s exterior looked composed of a matt, metallic shell and on it, a small, barely luminescent screen.


    The aged monitor hadn¡¯t long to live by the looks of it, not much different from the rest of the contraption. Nevertheless, it kept flashing one singular message of utmost importance.


    [Low Power]


    [Low Power]


    [Low Power]


    While the strange capsule wasn¡¯t the only one of its kind, its uniqueness stemmed from the fact that all the others were opened wide, devoid of any electricity or signs of life. Some were even beginning to decompose into piles of metallic oxide.


    The dying monitor flashed a new set of messages, in preparation for something to come.


    [Manual Drainage Protocol Not Initiated]


    [4:59 Remaining Before Forced Opening]


    As the flickering projection of lights kept becoming more frantic, the seemingly synchronized beeping naturally followed the same footsteps. The obnoxious cries started off tame, but quickly divulged into the roaring trumpets they were now. Most terrifying of all, they were still ramping up in urgency by the minute.


    [0:03 Remaining Before Forced Opening]


    [0:02 Remaining Before Forced Opening]


    [0:01 Remaining Before Forced Opening]


    Eventually, the beeping stopped entirely.


    Silence.


    The room returned to a relative state of normalcy, for a short while at least. A few moments later, another noise took its place, accompanying the still dancing lights.


    PSHHHH.


    A searing sound reverberated throughout. The sound itself resembled the opening of a freezer¡­ but, what was a freezer again? It sounded awfully familiar.


    When thinking of the anomalous contraption, a singular word came to mind, as if brought from a deep, long-forgotten memory of the past.


    ¡®¡­Cold.¡¯


    A few seconds of mechanical clangs later, the cryogenic pod¡¯s alloy lid slid open and to the side, groaning chimes of antiquity till the end.


    Immediately, a current of misty azure liquid plastered the interior¡¯s floor, furiously turning into a gassy state not long after contact.


    Revealed, a motionless corpse covered in ragged clothing sat stiffly inside the newly opened cryogenic pod. Similar to the liquid, out of its pale skin rose clouds of mist. It seemed to have been the body of a young man. Unfortunately, the corpse was just that, a corpse. Frozen solid and dead.


    But oddly enough, something twitched. One of its lifeless fingers just moved.


    Moments later, one more¡­ and then another.


    It didn¡¯t take long for a fist to clench. After it, the other, and later both the feet.


    As all the artificially infused oxygen fully defused from the man¡¯s bloodstream, he started taking shallow and hoarse breaths. Air slowly began entering and exiting through the purple painted mouth, caressing his cracked lips.


    Some slight movements under his frozen eyelids came to be at nearly the same time.


    His twitching eyes were desperately trying to open. Be it from instinct or curiosity, seemingly nothing was going stop him from seeing the fleeting crimson rays in full.


    At a snail¡¯s pace, the frozen eyelids uncovered his foggy eyeballs like the pulling of a morbid curtain.


    Whether from the extensive optical damage or the extreme light sensitivity caused by decades of hibernation, nothing but a blurry maelstrom of radiance assaulted his vision.


    Before even knowing it, the dark world he had known for an eternity had become a sea of red flame; and as flame does, it burned.


    Through sheer instinct, he immediately squinted with most of his facial muscles, shattering something in the process.


    After the swift gaze, his breathing became noticeably quicker, but still orders of magnitude below what it should have been.


    A sudden surge of unfamiliar sensations coursed through the man, and his heartbeat quickened as a natural response. Initial regret overpowered everything at first, but as the seconds passed, bliss had taken over. He had done it! He saw it! His goal had been accomplished.


    Nearing the end of his brush with the fading light, another word seemed to have emerged out of nowhere, now enriching his deeply lacking vocabulary.


    ¡®B-bright.¡¯


    That brightness didn¡¯t last for long though. The remaining rays fizzled out, and the frozen man was back to darkness¡¯ chilling embrace.


    He didn¡¯t really mind. This was the reality he had known for an eternity. From the first moment he could remember up until moments ago, it had engulfed his entire being.


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    But now, something was missing.


    ¡®A¡­ goal?¡¯


    After much thinking, he figured out his next more. Literally.


    While the man wasn¡¯t particularly interested anymore in obtaining sight, he was in the endeavor of movement.


    A lot of time passed, and a larger part of his mobility recovered.


    His hands and extremities became mobile, while the bigger joints such as knees and elbows were still being worked on.


    The main body also yearned to move, but it would have to wait a while longer. All its numerous, intricate muscles were causing problems. There was just so much to control! That being said, it didn¡¯t mean that he wasn¡¯t confident in succeeding.


    The movement of one¡¯s body was near instinctual, and instructions on how were already ingrained deep. It could be compared to the act of breathing.


    That meant it would simply be a matter of time.


    And after unknown lengths, the man had done it.


    He could at last contract his musculature freely in the tight cryogenic pod, albeit rather uncoordinated. In the meantime, he also regulated his breath and brought it to a more suitable level.


    Now, he took a deep breath and contracted both his core and the muscles in his legs.


    A moment later, he stepped out of the rusted contraption. Balancing on his right foot, he brought his left forward also, then his right again. The movements were clumsy, but they worked.


    Constant crunches sounding from the frozen fabric of his clothes, he continued on, marching.


    All felt good. An intense satisfaction filled him, identical to the time he first opened his eyes. He had accomplished what he set out to do.


    That satisfaction didn¡¯t last though, as he felt a strong resistance from his last step. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t see what was blocking his way to help avoid it.


    ¡®I¡­ can¡¯t see.¡¯


    Yes, he couldn¡¯t see! Revelation seemed to have struck him. That was why he needed light.


    ¡®Where is¡­ light?¡¯


    With his thoughts clearing up a little, he could understand its importance. It would suffice as his next goal.


    Either way, before he could do anything else, he still had to pass this unseen obstacle to continue his march. The plan formulated was to use more force in order to make way. As it good enough, the man went with it.


    Unexpectedly, disaster struck.


    He wasn¡¯t quite prepared for the sudden displacement of weight when the object did move, and so he started falling.


    His arms desperately flailed to catch his fall, but they were still too slow and stiff to do anything in time.


    With this realization, he simply did his best to brace for impact.


    THUD!


    The impact in question simply made him lose his breath, not the complete catastrophe he had anticipated. For some reason, it still felt off, like a certain thing was missing from the equation.


    When he planted himself on the rusty floor, a wince came by instinct in expectation of something. Enigmatically, that something hadn¡¯t come.


    ¡®No¡­ pain?¡¯ The man silently wondered.


    In fact, nothing came. He felt close to nothing.


    With some difficulties due to his atrophied muscles, he stood back up. This time, he marched with a purpose.


    The new plan was to find light. Every time he thought of it, more memories made themselves known.


    Fire, electricity. Many mediums of light started to appear in his mind.


    After a short pause, he remembered one of the more easily accessible sources of light.


    ¡®¡­Flashlight?¡¯


    And with it, even more vague fragments of information stuck to him. It was a never-ending avalanche of memories, each bringing more with it. It seemed there was something before the darkness. While his identity and history were still covered in a thick veil of mystery, things like language, objects and concepts reemerged.


    ¡®Flashlights! ¡­And I think I know where.¡¯


    He now vaguely remembered the layout of the room he was in. To the man¡¯s knowledge, it was a rectangular shape, filled on both sides with cryogenic pods. Its walls comprised of¡­


    ¡®I¡­ can¡¯t remember.¡¯ He realized, a slight frown forming from frustration.


    Well, it didn¡¯t really matter what the walls looked like. What did though was where the speculated flashlights were stored. To his faded understanding, two doors stood on each side of the elongated enclosure. Next to each, a sealed cabinet filled with essentials, surely containing a flashlight. If not, at least a way to easily start a fire.


    ¡®A flashlight would be¡­ preferred.¡¯


    Just about anything would do for now. Even if all he found were some matches, he would only have to keep the fire going. Although¡­


    ¡®This place doesn¡¯t seem very flammable.¡¯


    The rusted flooring digging into feet at the very least made it feel like it.


    With his plan fully thought out, he turned to his left and started carefully walking. This time, he was sure not to stumble.


    Every step the man took was thoroughly felt and thought out. Getting lost in the darkness was one thing, but getting a foot pierced by some rusted metal sticking out the ground would surely be worse.


    Thanks to that, his walking pace slowed down to a crawl. When he focused on remembering units of time, he roughly calculated that it had taken him around ten minutes to merely traverse to the other side of the room. Nonetheless, he made it.


    A rough wall made of the same material as the floor came to his touch. Sliding his hand further up, a cylindrical object came to form. No matter how long one followed its linear trail, it never ended.


    ¡®I think it¡¯s a pipe.¡¯


    The man paid it no further attention and continued on his way. At some point, he noticed the wall¡¯s texture change, and examined it thoroughly before drawing a conclusion.


    ¡®Found the door.¡¯


    Of course, it was sealed shut, so it didn¡¯t act much different from a normal wall. However, it did possess something peculiar.


    A thin, crystal-like layer of ice covered its surface. At some point while examining it, his right hand had become immobile.


    Slightly alarmed, he tried to pull it back, but to no avail.


    It was thoroughly stuck to the door, and not in some crevice. No, it was stuck to its smooth surface.


    ¡®I need to pull, harder!¡¯


    And that he did. With one pull of his entire body, a shattering traveled through his entire being. Finally, there was no resistance sticking his hand to the wall. That also meant¡­


    THUD!


    He promptly fell to the metal-plated ground, igniting a storm of loose rust and dust into the air.


    Weirdly, it didn¡¯t look like the man cared much about his fall. Instead, he solely focused on the hand he¡¯d just retrieved.


    ¡®I can¡¯t feel my fingers¡­ not good.¡¯


    Out of reflex, he put his other hand the one that had been stuck. It was clear as day why.


    Hard, sharp stumps resided where his palm ended. In place of his fingers was now emptiness, nothing.


    An inner panic ensued but was hastily suppressed by calculative thoughts. His breathing followed, became coarse and fast, but calmed down after a short while.


    Long moments were spent touching these stumps. Each time his hand grazed over the frozen flesh and sharp bones sticking out, the deeper he fell in thought.


    ¡®How?¡¯ he wondered for the millionth time.


    His mind wandered back to when he woke up. Hadn¡¯t something like this already happened?


    With that, he lightly inspected his face. Indeed, there were deep cracks starting from the corners of his eyes. They were formed when he grimaced from the bright, red lights. His skin must have still been inflexible at that time, causing it to crack from the sudden flexion.


    And now, something along those lines had just occurred.


    ¡®So¡­ did the door just freeze my hand? But how without me noticing?¡¯ The man pieced his situation skeptically.


    In essence, he was correct.


    But unfortunate as it was, time wouldn¡¯t turn back the past for anyone. Nothing he could do about it now except be more careful in the future. Still, it did give him food for thought.


    Why was the door so incredibly cold?


    Where did it lead to?


    Why didn¡¯t he feel a thing while his hand froze over?


    Ignoring all of that for now, he shakingly got up with even more difficulties than last time and continued past where he thought the door ended. This time, he made sure not to touch any part of it.


    For some reason, a few of his senses seemed to be either dull or entirely non-present, such as his pain and temperature reception. Be it for better or for worse, it was thanks to this he was able to ignore his mutilated hand.


    ¡®Guess it¡¯s true that under all rust lies a steel shine.¡¯


    Ding!


    A high-pitched sound was made by his hand colliding with a protrusion from the wall.


    ¡®Smooth metal. Four sharp edges. Hollow sounding interior. Seems I found what I was searching for.¡¯


    Approaching the front of the cabinet, a slight smile plastered itself on the man¡¯s face.


    Now, all he could do was hope for a light source.

 Chapter 2: Nameless no more

    Shifting his left hand, the man felt around the sides of the cabinet. Two metal latches held the entire thing together, and with some strength, both were flung open, allowing the door to unlock.


    Clink!


    Clink!


    A gust of thick dust displaced itself with the sudden movement.


    The room¡¯s air was about as stale as they came. Due to the prevailing conditions, a thick layer of dirt and grime had been allowed to build up undisturbed. Almost contradictory, the floor wasn¡¯t very dusty, not to this degree at least.


    After coughing some, he decided to leave the thought at that.


    It was time to get to work.


    His hand first started grabbing objects on the tallest shelf. Only after being done with the highest, would he go further down.


    The first object he grasped was fashioned into a thick roll, with a textile texture.


    ¡®Soft fabric. Best guess would be bandages.¡¯


    There were many useful things, but less than one would expect from a supply cabinet. That didn¡¯t matter though, he only needed to come out with a light source. That, of course, didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t keep track of what he found inside. Quite the opposite. Anything could be of help to him at a later date.


    The man kept searching.


    ***


    ¡®Hard, cylindrical, and smooth. The top is textured and of a different material. Maybe some sort of flask?¡¯


    Yet another unidentifiable item. He moved it to the side and continued. There weren¡¯t many things left anyway.


    The next object inspected appeared quite irregular, both in shape and material. Its bottom part was riddled with grooves and felt encrusted with a very grippy texture, almost like rubber. The top part though¡­


    ¡®Hmm.¡¯ The man pondered.


    ¡®Hard, smooth, metallic and¡­¡¯


    A sudden strange feeling came from his pointer finger. While not necessarily unpleasant, he quickly retracted it. It was better to be safe than sorry.


    ¡®Fingers are a precious commodity these days.¡¯ The man thought, rightfully so after what had transpired only a few minutes ago.


    After he did, something definitely felt out of place.


    And that something was quite obvious. Holes weren¡¯t normal additions to one¡¯s finger!


    ¡®Metallic and¡­ sharp.¡¯ He noted with an unamused expression.


    ¡®Great. Who just haphazardly puts a knife without a sheath?¡¯ The man lifelessly sighed.


    Great indeed¡­


    It took some more time to go through the rest of the items inside. It was still packed with quite a few things after all, and his clumsy, bleeding left hand didn¡¯t exactly help either.


    But now that he had gone through everything the cabinet had to offer, a small problem arose.


    Well, ¡®small¡¯ was giving it too little credit. The man¡­ hadn¡¯t yet found a light source. Thankfully, there was still a chance of finding one. It just entailed going to the other side of the room.


    ¡®There should be another emergency cabinet at the opposite end, but it¡¯s a long trek, blind and all. This time could end with more than just end with a few lost digits. Wouldn¡¯t be surprising if I tripped and broke my neck with my luck.¡¯


    Remembering how he lost his fingers sure left an unpleasant taste in his mouth, but it was perilous to not repeat the same mistake twice, or at least try not to. It didn¡¯t take too long of a train of thought to conclude that making sure he did everything he could where he was right now before wandering off would be the smarter choice.


    Turning to his pile of goods, he prepared to rummage through everything once again.


    ¡®Don¡¯t think I missed anything, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to be sure.¡¯


    And so, he did. This time he had put the knife in another corner so as to not poke himself again, and with it, no other accidents accrued.


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    But at the same time, he found nothing of note.


    With his search concluded, all there was left to do was dress his wounds with some of the medical supplies he had found.


    Of all the things he found, the most important were placed on the top shelf. These were the ones he¡¯d try to bring with him.


    Before doing anything else, the man reached to where he put the bandages. It seemed that the amputation of his fingers by freezing was really a blessing in disguise, as much as an unwanted finger amputation could be that is.


    Rather than by crushing or cutting off, having his blood vessels frozen solid had certain benefits, mainly the natural coagulant. The Achilles heel was to that was the gradual warming of the wound, in turn allowing the icy floodgates of blood to open.


    ¡®Still don¡¯t remember where the saying comes from, but it sure does fit. Under all rust lies a steel shine.¡¯


    While not an ideal solution to his dilemma, a bandage would have to suffice. With a little effort, he managed to patch up both of his wounds.


    With his mind now wandered to the cabinet, he had to choose what to take. Conveniently, he wouldn¡¯t need to carry everything by hand. He hadn¡¯t woken up naked, weirdly enough. On his body were a pair of baggy pants and a long coat, but what he wore wasn¡¯t important. What was thought? The fact that his clothes had pockets!


    And so, now began the sorting process.


    ¡®More bandages? Why not? Knife seems important, I¡¯ll put it in its own pocket.¡¯


    And so, most of the cabinet had been ravaged through. In total, he had taken a few more medical supplies, a knife, and some crunchy sealed goods that were most likely food. No water unfortunately, even after checking every item for sounds of sloshing.


    With nothing else of value to take, he turned opposite to the cabinet.


    A deep breath later, he took his first step into the unknown.


    Treading as cautiously as in his first march, this one would surely take many times longer.


    After a while of walking on the rough metal plating, the floor¡¯s texture changed. Now, it seemed as if all the plates merged seamlessly together into one big floor of smooth metal. Everything was perfectly smooth for a while until some ¡®waves¡¯ started appearing. These small waves in the flooring only grew in size and density as time passed by.


    At its peak, it almost felt like walking on steel grates, with not a bit of smoothness remaining. Continuing forward, everything started to smooth out again, until a distinction between the metal plating could once again be felt.


    And finally, after a longer than expected trek, another wall came to be.


    ¡®Guess I really didn¡¯t break anything¡¯ The man thought in relief while at the same time touching the back of his neck.


    Following the new wall, he eventually lightly headbutted something hard, sticking out of the wall.


    Clang!


    ¡®Guess I found it¡­¡¯


    Opening it the same way, his hand was greeted by a myriad of items, many almost falling over.


    ¡®That¡¯s more like it.¡¯ He subtly smiled.


    Rummaging through, he found much of the same, but also many other things. He continued his search until¡­


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡®Did I just hear someone?¡¯


    He stopped everything that he was doing to listen more closely.


    ¡°I don¡¯t fucking know! Go look somewhere else, can¡¯t you see I¡¯m having a smoke?!¡±


    The muffled voice of a man could be heard, presumably from the other side of the wall.


    ¡®That¡¯s¡­ I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a good thing that I¡¯m not alone or not.¡¯ He debated.


    ¡®You could almost say that under all rust¡­ actually, I don¡¯t think the saying works in this situation.¡¯


    With the voice gone, the man continued searching for a flashlight, subconsciously keeping quieter than before.


    Nearing the end of his search, he couldn¡¯t believe his luck.


    ¡®A flashlight!¡¯


    Indeed, in his hand was a small contraption indicative of a flashlight.


    ¡®Knew I¡¯d find one eventually.¡¯


    Deciding to first conclude his search, He put it away for now.


    ¡®I¡¯ll test if it works later. If it doesn¡¯t, I think I found some spare batteries already to test it with.¡¯


    Just moments later, he made another, possibly vital, discovery.


    A neatly tied bundle of plastic sticks, right near the back of the shelf.


    ¡®Are these¡­ glow sticks?¡¯


    Deciding to bend one to check, the room suddenly exploded in an overpowering verdant.


    ¡°Aghh.¡± He yelped from the familiar burning sensation.


    ¡®My eyes!¡¯


    While not as bad as with the red lights, it nonetheless burned like hell. As a solution, he simply shut his eyes and turned the other way.


    Although it wasn¡¯t perfect, still letting a small amount of light through, the pain was manageable.


    ¡®Huh, I needed a way to get my eyes used to light. Isn¡¯t this exactly what I needed?¡¯


    Considering the current situation, one could almost say that under all rust¡­


    ¡®You know what? Screw that saying!¡¯


    Seconds passed slowly, at some point turning into minutes and eventually into hours.


    In the meantime, the man sat facing the opposite direction of the green glow stick, his eyes wide open.


    From what he concluded, his vision wasn¡¯t great, but also wasn¡¯t useless. While unable to see finer details, he could still make out a bunch of things.


    From the rusted floor plating to the deteriorated wall and decomposing cryogenic capsules, everything seemed so¡­


    ¡®Abandoned. Not surprised, I woke up from cryo-sleep after God knows how long. Although, abandoned in this case doesn¡¯t mean alone.¡¯ The man thought, thinking back to when he had heard someone else¡¯s voice.


    Getting his eyes adjusted to light hadn¡¯t been a fun time, but it brought its benefits.


    After first looking around for a bit, everything made much more sense.


    He could roughly piece things together, but still remembered nothing more from his past.


    ¡®Well, I did find out my name, so it isn¡¯t all bad.¡¯


    Lifting a decomposing badge attached by pin to his white coat, he silently read its finely printed text:


    COL. ACCESS


    NAME:     ADRIAN-KARPENKO


    JOB-TITLE:     MECHANICAL-ENENEER-


    DEPARTMENT:     ENGENEE-


    EMPLOYEE-ID:    649241-


    CLEARANCE:    3


    ISSUE-DATE:     23/2/1755PF


    While some parts weren¡¯t fully legible, damaged by wear and time, the important parts remained.


    There was a lot to dismantle from the ¡®Access card¡¯, but most of it was for another time.


    Right now, he simply wanted to bask in the feeling of finally having an identity. A name. Something to finally anchor him to his past.


    Reading it once more, it brought a half-bitter smile to his face.


    ¡®Adrian, huh? What a nice name.¡¯

 Chapter 3: Kindest of greetings

    Time flew by, and hunger eventually struck Adrian. Although, it didn¡¯t mean much. He had more than enough food. Water though, would be an issue. He had identified multiple water rations by now, all being brown, plastic bags that were supposed to slosh around.


    Unfortunately for him, they didn¡¯t.


    Well, how so?


    ¡®They¡¯re all frozen! All of them!¡¯ Frowned Adrian in frustration.


    ¡®Is the room temperature at freezing point?¡¯ he silently asked himself, flicking his finger at one of the rock-hard bags.


    While it would be doing himself a favor by finding a solution, right now he wanted to think about other things. In addition, he wasn¡¯t in the bit thirsty. With that in mind, it was deemed as one of future Adrians¡¯s problems so solve.


    For the time being, his catalogue was filled with wondering about his identity and future. There wasn¡¯t much else to do while having his eyes adjusted to light. While agonizingly slow and boring, at least he was making progress on that front.


    Staring with a half squint at a yellow glow stick on the floor, Adrian went through another mental revision of his next move.


    After his eyes adapted as well as they could, he would go look around the room to see if anything would spark some of his lost memories. If not, it would be alright, as his secondary goal was to learn more about his current situation.


    Looking back at the stack of unused glow sticks, he would have more than enough. He was currently on his second stick, but there was still a dozen yet to be touched.


    And so, Adrian waited in silence.


    An hour later, he was interrupted.


    Interrupted by his grumbling stomach, that is.


    ¡®I just ate¡­¡± Adrian frowned. ¡°Looks like it won¡¯t last as long as I thought.¡¯ he side eyed the small pile of rations he had constructed.


    After shrinking the pile by a few packs, he suddenly remembered something.


    ¡®I forgot to check if it works.¡¯ Adrian embarrassingly realized. ¡®Eh, might as well do it now.¡¯


    Had he truly been so preoccupied with doing nothing that he had forgotten about it?


    Taking out the small flashlight out of his pocket, he uttered a silent prayer before pressing the button on top.


    Flickering for a moment, its pure white light eventually stabilized and engulfed everything in front of him.


    Its rays shone overpowering compared to the glow sticks Adrian had been using up until now, but with a squint, he could still see.


    ¡®At least I now know it works.¡¯ He thought, sounding a small sigh of relief as he stood up.


    Moving the flashlight from side to side, more of the same revealed.


    A long corridor with dozens, if not hundreds of rusted capsules riddled the walls. Some, still standing, while others, reduced to unrecognizable piles of rust on the floor.


    ¡°Expected.¡± Adrian muttered.


    This view, while grander than the last, revealed nothing new. The glow sticks from before already lit up the immediate surroundings, which were much of the same.


    Destroyed and abandoned, the entire room lay in shambles. Time was not kind to anything, be it man or machine, flesh or steel.


    For a while, Adrian¡¯s gaze only met with rust. That remained until an oddity appeared, someplace still shining with an almost factory new vigor.


    ¡®Huh, that¡¯s what that was.¡¯ He remembered, as memories of the smooth surface that he had walked on while venturing the darkness rekindled.


    A large, shiny patch of smooth metal appeared in view as the flashlight¡¯s rays directed to one of the lateral walls.


    Piquing his interest, Adrian moved closer for inspection, the smoothness under his feet once again being unlike anywhere else in the elongated room.


    Nearing closer to the wall, which bore an uncharacteristic lack of cryo-pods, every bit of levelness now disappeared, replaced by uneven waves in the flooring.


    Inspecting further, Adrian noticed a passing copper pipe bolted to the wall, this one differing from the pipes near both the doors. To start, it had the circumference of a human head, which was to say, way bigger than the rest. Then, came the other thing¡­


    ¡®Did it explode?¡¯ He wondered, looking at the spectacle in front of him.


    The copper pipe adorned quite a nasty gash, right above where all the waves of metal appeared to originate.


    By connecting all the dots, Adrian made an assumption of what had happened.


    ¡®When the pipe exploded, the floor plates melted and smoothed out. The waves must¡¯ve been caused by some of the liquid metal being push outward by the explosion, like blowing air into a body of water.¡¯


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    Figuring out what had caused it was all fine and dandy, but more pressing conclusions appeared in his mind.


    ¡®Considering that it¡¯s still unrusted, it probably happened relatively recently.¡¯ he speculated, instantly drawing the people he had heard outside as suspects.


    While Adrian didn¡¯t discard the possibility that the pipe could have simply exploded without anyone¡¯s interference, the chances of that happening had to be minuscule.


    ¡®So, it seems they¡¯ve previously entered here. Assuming I¡¯m not overthinking, and they did enter, there¡¯s no way they wouldn¡¯t notice my capsule.¡¯


    A conglomerate of thoughts raced inside Adrian¡¯s mind at once.


    ¡®Do they know I¡¯m here? Why wouldn¡¯t they wake me up? Are there others like me? ¡­And, are the ones outside even friendly?¡¯


    Questions ran rampant, but near the end, he realized he wouldn¡¯t be getting any answers.


    There was no point in speculating without any information, and at that end, he truly was scraping the bottom of the barrel.


    Cleansing his mind of most pointless thoughts, he once again got a move on, heading further.


    Five meters passed. Nothing.


    Ten more. Still more of the same.


    However, at around the twenty-meter mark, something caught his eye.


    On the right appeared an opened cryogenic pod. Sitting at a slight angle against the wall, its exterior appeared just as dead as the rest, if maybe in slightly better condition. The only major thing differentiating it from the others was the interior¡¯s condition, which was leagues better.


    ¡®That¡¯s my pod. Disappointing, doesn¡¯t seem to be anything special.¡¯ Adrian concluded after a quick search. His hopes of finding out more about himself were for nought.


    Moving past, another ten meters were traversed before stopping.


    The corridor wasn¡¯t short by any means, but a small while later, he reached the opposite side.


    In front of him stood a frosty door, five frigid fingers still stuck to its surface.


    Staring intently at them for some time, Adrian eventually sighed.


    ¡®Saw everything there was to see. Guess it¡¯s time to greet my ¡®friends¡¯ from outside.¡¯


    A short walk back, he arrived at his anthill of rations. Seeing as he was getting hungry again, he didn¡¯t hesitate to devour some more, frankly, dust flavored food.


    ¡®What a sad excuse for a possible last meal.¡¯ He tried to muse.


    Ignoring the horrendous taste, now came the deciding moment. This would either make it or break it.


    Standing in front of the vault-like door, Adrian listened for any sounds.


    ¡®Nothing. Hope it¡¯s clear.¡¯


    Once confirmed, Adrian apprehensively put his hand on the circular handle. He wasn¡¯t afraid of the door ripping more of his fingers off, he had already tested if it was safe sometime while adjusting his eyesight. No, what merited fear was what lay on the other side.


    With no way of knowing if the people outside were peaceful, a thousand thoughts raced through Adrian¡¯s mind. Would the people beyond help him? Would they kill him?


    He¡¯d already gone through these thoughts before.


    And he would find out soon enough the answers he craved.


    Taking a moment to steel himself, Adrian put all his weight into rotating the handle. At first, it barely budged, frequently getting stuck and making screeching noises, but every rotation made the next easier.


    And finally, it swung open.


    Blinding light came through, making him immediately squint and shield his sight with a hand, but quickly his eyes adjusted.


    Before having any time to think, Adrian happened to notice a few worrying things in front of him.


    1.. 2.. 3.. 4¡­. 11.


    Eleven worrying things to be exact.


    ¡®Well then... So much for not making a scene.¡¯


    Eleven high caliber machine guns were pointed right at his head, manned by a small brigade of men.


    ¡°D-Don¡¯t fucking move!¡± One of the wide-eyed brutes at the front yelled with all his might, clearly flustered.


    After all, who in his position wouldn¡¯t be? Hell had come crashing down, perhaps even worse.


    It all started once he noticed firsthand how the door to the room that served as an airlock to the outside began opening from the other side.


    Worrying.


    No one was supposed or allowed to be there. Didn¡¯t that mean that something had crawled from the surface into their airlock room?


    While trying put on a brave face, to say he was unnerved would be an understatement. What kind of monstrosity could have come from up there? They were on the dark side of Earth for God¡¯s sake! Nothing remotely good could survive the -120¡ãC wasteland above!


    Thankfully, he wasn¡¯t alone, but with a bunch of others on their breaks. He didn¡¯t want to imagine what would have happened if this abomination had entered at a time when no one was looking.


    Following the door swinging open, he nearly pissed his pants. Even the bravest and most experienced of the people present got at least a cold sweat when they saw what had come to greet them.


    A sickly and disheveled looking ¡®human¡¯.


    ¡®No! A¡­ A Husk?! Why the fuck would it come here!?¡¯ One of the men thought in terror.


    Another, older fellow, seemingly lost a certain luster from his eyes upon realizing what had come.


    It was one of those previously unthinkable moments when everyone would have collectively preferred for some giant mutant to have crawled from the surface.


    Although everyone knew what they were looking at, the youngsters of the group still almost jumped the gun out of fear and pumped it full of lead.


    The more experienced ones didn¡¯t even think about doing such a thing. Shooting now wouldn¡¯t have been the right call. It already knew where and who they were.


    Killing its messenger would only do more harm to themselves. Husks were truly hardy creatures, capable of infecting and controlling most lifeforms. The reality was that it¡¯d take killing every single one of its hosts to fully get rid of it. Killing this disposable host that it had brought would do nothing.


    Right now, depending on its numbers, the colony was at serious risk of plunging into another dark age because of one of these things infiltrating. Everyone¡¯s lives were at risk, be it not immediate.


    Well, there still was hope for peace.


    Negotiation.


    Yes, they would have to negotiate with humanity¡¯s number one enemy.


    Staring into its eyes caused the men a silent shiver. They looked so genuine, indistinguishable from a real person¡¯s gaze.


    Identifying the calamity that had just waltzed into their home, some of the unarmed men rushed to contact a superior. This was way above their paygrade.


    Moments later, every single nearby person¡¯s chip informed them of the situation. This was code a-5-33/A/Grey, meaning an unknown threat level in zone a-5-33, but with the highest level or priority, being A-priority. Of course, the people in charge from all over would be further detailed about the situation. These codes were for the average denizen, and each was trained in what to do in such situations.


    Soon, someone of meaningful rank would come to talk with this messenger. Unfortunately for the men pointing their weapons at the motionless Husk, soon was not now.


    All of them were beyond uncomfortable, locked in a staring contest with the intruder. It was making itself known as a Husk, with an emotionless, calculating expression on its face.


    Under normal circumstances, it would try to come off as human, acting scared when pointed at with guns, and in general, full of emotions.


    Of course, it was all an act. These ¡®things¡¯ didn¡¯t feel fear, compassion or pity. However, this one wasn¡¯t even trying to hide it. It had come here to talk.


    ¡®Well, if it wants to talk¡­ hopefully it only wants to talk.¡¯ One silently hoped.


    Meanwhile, Adrian was quite happy, considering the situation at hand.


    ¡®They didn¡¯t immediately shoot. That¡¯s a good sign, right?¡¯ He chuckled slightly out of relief, almost giving the men heart attacks.

 Chapter 4: Major

    A few tense minutes of silence passed. While Adrian wasn¡¯t entirely calm on the inside, he decided to keep his stone-cold facade going.


    ¡®Showing weakness now would only make them lose cautiousness of me. While maybe not bad in the long game, I would have to first survive until then.¡¯


    Unbeknownst to him, his fears were unfounded. Now that the initial shock wore off, none of the men would act rash, regardless of what Adrian did or said now.


    Clank!


    Clank!


    Clank!


    Breaking the deafening silence between the two parties, a myriad of heavy steps filled the room.


    A stern looking woman wearing a fashionable, yet militaristic uniform appeared from behind, escorted by tens of heavily armed soldiers. Each of them wore steel suits of mechanized armour, supporting a deep blue color scheme and a radiant star on their chest.


    Their surroundings being metal plated, the steps of these hulking steel giants rang especially loud, obnoxious and ear screeching to all.


    Immediately, the initial brigade of men parted before her, but didn¡¯t dare salute or look away from the enemy, still standing menacingly at their doorstep. They didn¡¯t leave the monster out of their sight, and none would. Why give it any funny ideas by looking elsewhere?


    Major Christina didn¡¯t even take note of the lack of a salute. She was solely focused at the Husk in front of her, just like the rest present.


    ¡®Caucasian, blonde hair, big scar on his cheek, ragged clothing¡­ and an injured hand.¡¯ She calmly took note of its appearance, not recognizing it as one of her soldiers.


    Most likely, it was as the report stated. It had come from the outside.


    Seeing the new arrivals, Adrian became a little flustered. The woman in front of him was a high-ranking officer, sporting the badge and decor to show it. He had expected to be taken into custody, where he¡¯d have a chance to calmly explain his situation. But this¡­ why had a Major come here to directly talk with him?


    Taking him out of his thoughts, Christina spoke firmly.


    ¡°State why you¡¯re here, parasite.¡± she asked, coldness emanating from her voice.


    Immediately, Adrian frowned, stressing everyone present, including the Major.


    ¡®I get that she¡¯s of high ranking, but why insult me by calling me a parasite?¡¯


    Taking a moment to think about the actual question asked, everyone grew even more nervous.


    Even the Major started regretting her choice of words.


    ¡®Did I misspeak? Did it not want its identity exposed? No, no way! It would have infiltrated covertly if it cared for such things.¡¯


    Suddenly, everyone stopped and listened as the silence broke, and the Husk spoke for the first time.


    With a raggedy voice, Adrian answered with the truth.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been here from the start.¡±


    After a moment to process its words, everyone¡¯s eyes nearly popped out of their heads. Was the base already compromised? How many of their friends were secretly dead, their bodies controlled like puppets?


    Many nervously shifted around, some with their heads now someplace else thinking of family and friends, while others gripping their rifles even tighter, their sights firmly placed on the enemy¡¯s head.


    That wasn¡¯t all that the Husk had to say, continuing after a short pause.


    ¡°I woke up from cryo-sleep in the room behind me some time ago. Not sure how much time has passed.¡± Adrian said clearly, making sure not to stutter.


    Yet again, the room was thrown in a deafening silence.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡®What¡¯s happening? Why are they just staring at me?¡¯ Adrian¡¯s mind panicked, but still made sure not to show it.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­What?¡± Accidentally blurted one of the soldiers, the entire room throwing short glances at him.


    While by accident, it nonetheless encapsulated everyone¡¯s feelings.


    What the hell was going on?


    Was it lying?


    Christina remembered that the airlock the parasite had come from had been an old cryogenic storage, and she promptly fell into thought.


    ¡®There¡¯s no way, it¡¯s lying. This entire place has been scoured from top to bottom. We wouldn¡¯t miss something like an occupied cryo-pod.¡¯


    Nothing made any sense.


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    Staring at the ¡®man¡¯ with even more intensity, she would continue with the interrogation.


    ¡°Can you give an approximation of how long you spent in that room?¡± she asked sternly while pointing behind Adrian.


    ¡°A few hours at least.¡± He calculated from just the time spent adjusting his eyes. In all honesty, it was probably way longer than just ¡®a few hours¡¯. Back when still defrosting from cryo-sleep, everything felt incredibly slow. While he couldn¡¯t accurately say how long it all took because of his fogged state of mind, it was probably longer than all his other happenings up until now.


    ¡®He says he¡¯s been in there for hours?¡¯


    Frowning at the slightly unexpected answer, Christina silently ordered one of her personal guards to check the temperature of the airlock.


    Inside a three-meter-tall metal behemoth, a man quickly fiddled with the settings before her order. Pointing his helmet mounted thermal camera at the doorway behind the Husk, the soldier inside looked wide-eyed at the system message.


    [Atmospheric temperature reading: -27.3¡ãC]


    Struck by curiosity, he next pointed it at the Husk.


    [Surface temperature reading of lifeform: 8.8¡ãC]


    [Compiling an estimative internal temperature reading: ~57¡ãC]


    Reading the rest of the system logs, he quickly relayed his findings and concerns to the Major.


    Upon receiving them, Major Christina¡¯s fears came to life. She shared the same concerns as the guard.


    ¡®Spending hours in a room at -27¡ãC while loosely clothed without entering hypothermia. That alone would have been odd for a normal human being. But with the other readings, it¡¯s conclusive evidence of it being a husk.¡¯


    Some Husk species evolved to have the ability to control things like the autonomic nervous systems of hosts.


    ¡®Quite a common adaptation. Controlling the body¡¯s core temperature through burning more calories.¡¯


    With her doubts now vanquished, she decided to push this conversation away from lies and deception. She couldn¡¯t let this man - no, this thing ¨C control the conversation. She would take the lead!


    ¡°There is no point in your deceit. Are you going to be cooperative and state what you want, or shall we end this discussion?¡±


    Adrian looked at the Major with newfound frustration.


    ¡®What deceit? What does she find so implausible? Just when I thought the conversation was going on the right track, she relapses into this nonsense.¡¯


    Taking a deep breath, he measured his options on how to continue.


    ¡®Fine, I guess I¡¯ll have to play along.¡¯


    ¡°I wish for some knowledge of the area and to make my way into a city.¡± Glancing at the pointed machine guns, he felt a need to clarify some more. ¡°Preferably peacefully.¡±


    While not remembering anything concrete, Adrian nonetheless knew of things such as cities, and what he guessed he was in right now, a militarized encampment of sorts.


    The Husk¡¯s answer infuriated Major Christina, but she tried not to show it just yet.


    ¡®It wants access into a city. Not to mention that the nearest is Colseel, of all places. How troublesome.¡¯


    Before having the chance to think of an answer, another group of soldiers came rushing from behind.


    Adrian raised his brows in surprise at the sight of more armed personnel.


    ¡®This can¡¯t be serious¡­ even more of them?¡¯


    Turning her head to look, Christina became slightly confused once seeing the characteristic red-striped uniforms of the newcomers.


    ¡®The Site Director¡¯s personal guards? Why have they come?¡¯


    ¡°Squad 1, why have you left your posts? We already have the situation under control.¡± she asked with slight annoyance.


    ¡°We have been ordered by the Site Director to personally escort the Husk for further, private interrogation.¡± Another woman, belonging to the new arrivals, answered.


    ¡°Also, what you¡¯ve been doing here is quite unprofessional. An official, covert interrogation should have been immediately commenced instead of asking it questions in the open, with a public no less.¡± She ruthlessly continued.


    Following the woman¡¯s harsh words, Christina clenched her teeth in annoyance.


    ¡®Is this barracks bunny Eloise really criticizing me? I outrank her by several ranks!¡¯


    Deciding not to voice her outrage, she kept a cool mask and complied. Military rank was one thing, but being able to directly act on the orders of the most influential person in the surrounding thousand kilometers represented more than an official rank. If these truly were the Site Director¡¯s orders, which grossly outranked her in authority, there wasn¡¯t much of anything she could do or say about it.


    Upon seeing Major Christina¡¯s compliance, Eloise, Squad 1¡¯s commander, began walking towards Adrian.


    Observing the lithe young woman coming his way, Adrian couldn¡¯t help but feel she was out of place with the likes of the other soldiers, who all seemed ready and willing to kill him at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Even the Major emanated a distinctly cold aura, which was all but absent from Eloise. If anything, she seemed to have the exact opposite aspect to her. One of bright smiles and happiness.


    Approaching closer to Adrian with calming eyes and a subtle smile, she asked in a warm tone:


    ¡°We wish to speak to you in a more private setting. Would that be alright with you?¡±


    Still upholding his mask of indifference and seriousness, Adrian replied with a nod.


    ¡®If they¡¯re offering to take me deeper into their base, there¡¯s less of a chance I¡¯ll get immediately shot¡¯ he had quickly calculated before giving his nod.


    In his head, he made a parallel with telling someone to leave. It would be far less awkward to do so if the person was at the doorstep instead of the living room. Now, if this parallel presented any merit was an entirely different story, one which he assumed he¡¯d find out soon enough.


    With Eloise¡¯s smile pronounced, she signaled Adrian to follow, which he did without complaint.


    Passing the small army of men, Adrian noticed up close just how nervous some of them appeared. Even more surprisingly, none of them let their eyes off him.


    ¡®There¡¯s no way¡­ are they that unnerved because of me?¡¯ He studied their gazes.


    He had noticed their nervousness from the very beginning, but simply thought that was a result of him startling them. However now, I was becoming more apparent that that wasn¡¯t the issue at hand. It felt like his mere presence invoked an air of unrest.


    Moving past the expressionless steel giants and the Major, Adrian arrived at the rest of the red-striped soldiers. He found them to be quite peculiar, and not just in uniform. Compared to the other soldiers, they seemed to be a cut above the rest in mental fortitude.


    ¡®Or common sense.¡¯ He half-mused. He was but one man, after all. What could he realistically do in this situation?


    All their gazes tracked him, warm and devoid of hate. Without sounding a word, the group silently followed from behind, their squad commander at the front and Adrian sandwiched between.


    Walking across many empty corridors, and with some less-than-talkative captors, Adrian was left with nothing else to do than stare at the walls for the next few minutes.


    The long corridors looked industrial, uncaring for appearances. Unending pipes and wires traveled across the walls, and the illuminating thread on the ceiling gave off a cold, bright blue light. Each of these never-ending halls always seemed to lead to even more, presumably the same.


    ¡®Not the prettiest sight. Guessing this whole place is like this.¡¯


    Something else he had noticed after a few minutes of walking was that they were traveling at a steady, downward angle. While not too steep, it definitely became noticeable.


    At some point, after wandering seemingly at random within the titanic sprawls, they arrived at a towering steel gate, on it written in big letters ¡®Sector B-5¡¯. Exchanging glances with one of the guards stationed there, the gate slowly opened, revealing a very different scenery from before.


    ¡®Seems I was wrong with my last thought. At last, something better for the eyes.¡¯

 Chapter 5: Different scenery

    Following the slow parting of the creaking gate, a fascinating sight came to view. Instead of the never-ending sprawl of corridors seen up until now, an opened and uncluttered space loomed ahead.


    While most of everything similarly looked constructed of metal, from the streets to the black, cylindrical pillar structures littered around, it was nonetheless a far cry from the labyrinth of corridors Adrian and seen up until now.


    After sparing a glance at the especially thick steel gate, his eyes shot up, following a giant pillar sprouting from the ground a long distance away. And it wasn¡¯t even the only one. These titanic pillars were scattered without rhyme, all differing from each other in thickness and distinct details. Each of them also seemed to rise vertically for an eternity, at some point their shiny black exterior fully blending into the dim sky.


    ¡®There¡¯s an especially big one, too.¡¯


    Rising from where Adrian thought the center was located, a dwarfing pillar - easily five to ten times thicker than the second thickest - pierced the darkness, illuminating a huge area around it with bright, blue hues.


    Cranking his head up to an uncomfortable degree, Adrian could vaguely make out a ceiling. No shorter in height and grandeur, the black pillars all stretched and connected with different sections of the roof, which if to guess, raised to at least a few hundred meters from the floor.


    All this obviously caused Adrian some questions.


    ¡®Could this whole place be underground? A place this massive couldn¡¯t possibly be constructed on the surface, surely!¡¯


    Taking him out of his thoughts, his captors began moving once again. If not awkward, it felt a little eerie with all these silent soldiers acting in perfect unison.


    Stepping through the gate without any issue, the small group escorting Adrian turned right and began walking along the outskirts of this new, ¡®open¡¯ area. There really wasn¡¯t anything too interesting to see while following the circular outer wall, mostly just gigantic warehouses with the odd street in between every hundred meters or so.


    In fact, it was almost too uninteresting. No people, animals, plants. Just a bunch of lifeless, rusting buildings, all supporting a monotonous hue of blue from the giant pillar in the center.


    Only a constant, low electrical hum emanated from the dead surroundings; One that refused to disappear despite their sizable travels. Combined with the sound of the group¡¯s steps, Adrian assumed this was going to be his existence for quite some time.


    Suddenly, one of his eyes twitched.


    ¡®This damned hum...¡¯


    Shaking it off, he continued his observation of the surroundings.


    Even after walking for a while, Adrian still couldn¡¯t shake a sense of megalophobia. From the distant, towering black pillars to the huge warehouses and even the overly wide streets that separate them. Everything seemed overly large.


    If anything, it looked fit to be a land of giants, built by their overly grand architects.


    Disappointing, however, was the lack of memories or revelations. Wherever he looked, nothing rang any bells. No vague feeling of nostalgia. No recollection whatsoever.


    This made suddenly remembering the cryogenic storage¡¯s layout even odder. Most of everything else was clear for Adrian, from language to advanced concepts. Yet still, nothing of his memories or the world he was in.


    It felt as if someone had taken any and all sense of self from his memory but left everything else for the viewing.


    While he hadn¡¯t forgotten the fact that he remained in a precarious situation and needed to play his cards right, the prospect of knowledge and identity never left his mind, still serving as an end goal.


    Holding in the urge to sigh, he distracted himself further with the titanic scenery. Maybe, just maybe, something he saw would jolt his mind into remembering. Remembering who he truly was and had been.


    Continuing for a little while longer, Eloise finally stopped in front of another gate, similar to the one they had entered Sector B-5 with. This gate, however, served as the entrance to a structure. It also seemed better guarded, two turrets standing menacingly on each side of the gate, scanning the group.


    Taking a closer look at the structure, Adrian couldn¡¯t help but notice its huge size, even compared to the other buildings around. And its design¡­ well, it looked much like if one of the giant black pillars were to collapse and lay horizontally. Identical, even.


    Turning to his side to see how long this new structure was, Adrian simply stared wide-eyed.


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    He couldn¡¯t even see where it ended!


    ¡®It¡¯s at the very least tens of kilometers long. This is insanity!¡¯


    It truly was insanity. For a building already this tall, its length only made it look even more out of this world.


    Just thinking about the fact that most of the pillars were probably similar in size made his head spin for a few moments.


    Looking up at the distant ceiling, Adrian remembered his last estimate of its height.


    ¡®It isn¡¯t just hundreds of meters, is it?¡¯


    It was the fact that everything was simultaneously far away and gigantic that made it seem so at first glance. Who would have thought that the black pillars were that towering?


    Ignoring the pillars for a moment, he wondered how such a space even came to be.


    Human engineering was something to marvel at, but something this grand existing simply didn¡¯t make much sense. Perhaps his muse about giants building it had some merit after all.


    Taking Adrian out of his thought, Eloise seemed to notice him looking around and decided to spare a few words:


    ¡°I heard you weren¡¯t knowledgeable of this area. We are going to travel to the city¡¯s core through here, where we will begin your interrogation and further discuss things.¡± She explained while pointing at the giant structure.


    Adrian didn¡¯t show any visible reaction to the words, but inside, all his gears were spinning.


    ¡®This, a city? Haven¡¯t seen a soul living here.¡¯


    Walking up to the gate and swiping some sort of keycard, both the turrets returned to their neutral position, and the thick gate doors started parting.


    Revealed behind the parting steel were the ¡®city¡¯s¡¯ first visible inhabitants.


    Looking around the colossal enclosure, Adrian¡¯s attention was first drawn by the new faces.


    Some sported the same menacing-looking rifles and black uniforms as the soldiers he had been held at gunpoint by, but he had learned to expect them being nearly everywhere.


    What truly surprised Adrian was that the armed soldiers were only a fraction. A great majority of the people inside looked¡­ normal, as in civilian. A few were even with their families, be it only with a single loved one or multiple elders and children.


    He had honestly thought this entire place would be a purely military encampment for some time, so it was a pleasant surprise having his theory disproved.


    Although, there was also something unique to these people. They all had a certain aura; A feeling of¡­


    ¡®Wealth.¡¯


    Everything screamed prosperity, and that can only come with wealth.


    Everyone had clean, fair skin. Everyone looked well fed. Everyone had nice clothes and healthy hair.


    To summarize, the mirror-opposite of disheveled Adrian.


    Distracting himself from the people to better study the enclosure, he finally understood what his captor meant when she said it would take them to the city¡¯s core.


    ¡®This is a station.¡¯ He thought to himself while observing some sorts of large, floating vehicles.


    The entire left side of the station was filled with these bullet-shaped vehicles, setting off with many of the wealthy-looking people at incredible speeds. The waiting lines for most of them were equally incredible, ranging from a few people to hundreds.


    Looking up, Adrian inconspicuously stared at the giant screen looming over the entire station and its vehicles.


    Written boldly, the name of the unreasonably large building stood above everything else, visible to everyone from nearly all angles by being centered inside the screen.


    [MAGLEV TERMINAL B-5]


    Below was a long list of gates, numbering from one to twenty-five. Each corresponded to one of the vehicles.


    Out of the twenty-five gates, the first three were listed separately,


    [Gate 1 ¨C Unavailable Restricted]


    [Gate 2 ¨C Docked Restricted]


    [Gate 3 ¨C Arriving ~0:47 Restricted]


    The rest were missing the ¡®Restricted¡¯ tag at the end and had sizable lines, unlike the empty or almost empty ones in front of the first three gates.


    Following one of the dark gray walls, Eloise positioned her squad to a higher traffic area, to catch the attention of the personnel stationed here.


    Just as planned, a short while after entering, the group was greeted by a handful of guards.


    ¡°Sergeant First Class!¡± They all saluted in unison before Eloise.


    ¡°I¡¯m escorting a VIP to sector C. Please present us to an unoccupied transport.¡± She asked of the guards with a subtle, warm smile.


    ¡°Of course, mam! Follow us.¡± One of the frontmost guards immediately responded.


    Leading the way with hasty steps, they appeared right behind one of the unused vehicles. Right above it flashed another screen.


    [Gate 2 ¨C Docked Restricted]


    ¡°This bullet-ship is specifically reserved for any surprise VIPs, and docks at the upper layer of sector C. It is free to move once you embark.¡± The guard that had previously talked to Eloise said.


    Curiously studying the ship up close, Adrian almost cracked a smile once overhearing what the soldier had called it.


    ¡®I can see where the name comes from¡­ it truly does look like a bullet.¡¯ He mused to himself.


    Showing no external features except a wide ramp at the back and with a shiny, metallic exterior, it looked wrong, for something resembling a polished lump of metal, to simply levitate in the air. And yet, Adrian knew why and how, at least the concept behind it.


    ¡®Through magnetic levitation.¡¯ The concept flashed through his head. It honestly felt weird knowing things without ¡®knowing¡¯ them. They simply appeared in his mind, undiscernible if he had always known or just now learned of it.


    Climbing into the shiny contraption proved nothing too difficult. The ramp was long and gradual, while the floating ¡®bullet¡¯ was quite close to the ground to begin with.


    Inside, Adrian was greeted by luxurious armchairs and sofas, all dressed in what seemed to be deep beige leather.


    Under the warm lighting lightly emanating from the walls, there was also a polished, wooden table with a plethora of fancy bottled drinks on it, all unopened and pristine in condition.


    Not wasting any time, Eloise went to one of the high-tech panels to input a few things, while her soldiers, together with Adrian, quietly sat down on the overly comfy seats.


    Immediately, Adrian started feeling slightly uncomfortable. The air felt tingly, lightly zapping his skin thousands of times a second.


    It wasn¡¯t painful or anything, just a new, weird sensation.


    Other than that, though, everything felt the same as the second he had entered the vehicle.


    Making sure to not do or say anything out of the ordinary, he sat motionless and without any expression.


    Sitting down directly opposite Adrian, Eloise warmly stared into his neutral and seemingly uncaring eyes.


    ¡°Now, I believe we¡¯re both due some proper introductions.¡±

 Chapter 6: Colseel’s heart

    ¡°I believe we haven¡¯t heard your name. Would you mind sharing it?¡± she asked, her eyes still just as fixated as before.


    Pausing for a moment as if taking his time remembering it, he responded in a raspy, calm voice:


    ¡°Adrian. It¡¯s Adrian Karpenko.¡±


    Unpleased but making sure not to lose her warm gaze before the strange answer, she left the topic at that.


    She had asked the Husk for its real name, not the name of its host. Nonetheless, she decided not to press the matter. If it didn¡¯t want to introduce itself, so be it.


    ¡®There¡¯s a time and place for anything.¡¯ She thought, slightly frustrated at its answer. After all, it wasn¡¯t like she was asking for much here.


    A Husk publicly coming to a city and not giving out its name was the equivalent of going out of your way to formally declare war but refusing to assume a flag. It didn¡¯t serve any purpose at all, as announcing its presence would alert the city, but by not giving out a name it wouldn¡¯t deter most, if any, other Husks from coming onto its territory.


    Taking time to clear her throat, she answered in par with her name and position.


    ¡°I¡¯m Eloise Levine, commander of Colseel Site Director¡¯s personal guard.¡±


    An awkward pause later, she broke the silence with another lighthearted question.


    ¡°How are you feeling? The kinetic dampening field is set quite strong.¡± With a short pause, she lightly chuckled. ¡°Any normal person would be discomforted at the very least.¡±


    Not redirecting his gaze, Adrian wasn¡¯t too surprised.


    He figured that most of his nerves had most likely been damaged during his cryo-sleep, which pointed to have probably been quite the decade-long power nap.


    ¡°I was in cryo-sleep up until now. It¡¯s a side effect that I¡¯ve noticed. I can¡¯t feel much.¡± He responded calmly.


    Eloise chuckled again, while Adrian could have sworn her lip had twitched for a moment.


    ¡®This is almost too comical.¡¯ She clenched her teeth.


    Eloise aimed to be a calm and collected woman. Well, she tried to be, at least, and no one had said anything about it for the duration of her career. But this damned parasite was exceptionally skilled at making something inside her churn for the worse.


    And churn for the worse it did.


    Its claims seemed intentionally idiotic, every ¡®attempt¡¯ at deception easily debunkable by even the most gullible of people.


    ¡°Adrian¡­ Adrian. Are you perhaps insulting my intelligence?¡±


    Needless to say, he nearly broke character following those words.


    ¡®What?! Again, what¡¯s so hard to believe?!¡¯


    Adrian couldn¡¯t believe it! What were these responses? Was there something he didn¡¯t know? This had been the second person to not believe a word he said.


    Even a complete stranger would at least word it in a way that would convey their simple disbelief, not this outright refusal to even consider it as factually true.


    And neither could Eloise believe it! This Husk, practically shouting its identity through every action, simply refused at every turn to admit it. Superheating its body¡¯s core temperature, nervous stimuli nullification, apathy, malnutrition, nonsensical back story. Literally every sign in the book!


    Clenching her teeth, only bad thoughts came to mind.


    ¡®This god damn-¡¯


    ¡°Haaah¡­¡±


    Eloise couldn¡¯t help but sigh. She was this close to snapping at it, but doing so would only mean she took its bait for a reaction. Was that its plan? To piss her off?


    Though, that didn¡¯t mean she would continue playing good cop. If this bastard wasn¡¯t going to play along, neither would she!


    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s stop beating around the bush. Why are you even here? What do you even want?¡± she asked with a near shaking voice, suppressed frustration and anger clearly seeping through.


    All rays of warmth from her gaze instantly transformed into piercing daggers.


    The rest of the soldiers didn¡¯t even seem to notice or care about their commander¡¯s sudden shift in tone. They all just stood with their backs tensed and upright, not unlike stone statues, their eyes unfocused and uncaring.


    Adrian once again fell in disbelief from what he had just witnessed, his assumptions shattered. Only moments ago, she appeared to be a well-controlled officer with professionalism to spare.


    ¡®Maybe it¡¯s all psychological warfare?¡¯ he considered seriously. She had to know ways to make people talk.


    But at the same time, he did want something. If recovering his past memories appeared improbable, he would strive to make new ones. He would start and live a new life, but to do that, he both needed to be let into civilian society, and supplement his lack of general knowledge.


    The first requirement would hopefully come with time. Right now, what he wanted and needed most was knowledge.


    Jumping past her inexplicable change in demeanor, Adrian simply asked her what was currently going through his mind.


    ¡°Can you tell me about this ¡®city¡¯. Other than the building we were just in, it seems quite¡­ deserted.¡±


    Eloise visibly frowned.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡®Is it still feigning ignorance?¡¯ She thought, not even surprised anymore.


    ¡®But on the off chance it really doesn¡¯t know¡­¡¯


    Flicking her fingers on a switch, the walls of the vehicle instantly became transparent, together with the inner walls of the tunnel, allowing the outside for viewing.


    Looking through, Adrian could see the rest of the city, more ravaged than he¡¯d expected. From his new, elevated point of view, the previously masked ruins were revealed, all enveloped in an especially strong azure glow. Fallen debris from long-destroyed buildings littered the grated and empty streets.


    There wasn¡¯t any smoke rising from the collapsed structures, no bodies littering the streets. No raging infernos obscuring the horizon, nor any other signs of recent distraught. This had all happened a long time ago.


    From a distance, there appeared to have once been a couple particularly towering structures, perhaps once giant skyscrapers. Unfortunate as it was, no none would ever get to see their true glory once more, as anything with a large presence found itself in horrible condition, mangled and hunched over multiple smaller buildings and streets. Turning his attention to the smaller, stockier buildings, at least they seemed to have remained relatively untouched by this unknown calamity.


    It rang clear in his mind that these weren¡¯t exactly the city¡¯s glory days.


    He also noticed that they were nearing the giant, illuminating pillar at the city¡¯s center. Not long from now, they would most likely arrive.


    ¡°This the fallen citadel of Colseel. Skin Crawler killed it off completely a long time ago, but now we¡¯re trying to rebuild and repopulate. That¡¯s why it seems so ¡®dead¡¯.¡± She explained, some venom emanating from her voice.


    This remained quite a famous event, even eighty or so years after the fact. It acted as its big debut, cementing it a new terror of the world.


    She reminisced sourly at those times. Painful times they were.


    If anything could be considered good to take from back then, it was that Skin Crawler not only represented humanity¡¯s plague, but also every other Husk¡¯s. Wherever it went, tragedy came to all, no exceptions.


    Pretty much every other Husk had been forced into hiding during those times, surviving off its crumbs alone.


    Now, however, was different. After its reign ended, legions of inferior Husks started appearing and harassing humanity once more.


    These days, it proved quite rare for a Husk to be targeting more than a city alone. Most were fighting each other for small, relatively unprotected settlements.


    Adrian, meanwhile, was lost in the deepest depths of his mind, trying to remember or understand what this ¡®Skin Crawler¡¯ was. A giant monster, perhaps?


    ¡®I¡¯ll need to ask.¡¯


    However, before having a chance to do so, the ship¡¯s walls became solid once more. The blue lighting had become overbearing closing in on the central pillar, so it was a pleasant relief for the eyes.


    Feeling a miniscule pull of inertia moments later, the bullet ship suddenly came to a halt.


    After stopping near the central pillar, the bullet ship seemed to rise. The feeling was subtle, but noticeable, nonetheless.


    A good few seconds passed before stabilizing, and doors opened up.


    It seemed they had arrived.


    Rising from their seats, the soldiers, together with Eloise and Adrian, all disembarked.


    Once done so, the ship unceremoniously retracted its ramp and sped back to the terminal it had come from.


    Looking around, Adrian noticed a clear difference between the station they had just arrived at and the giant terminal.


    To start off, it appeared way smaller. But wat it lacked in size, it made up with in extravagance.


    From an industrial, uncaring aesthetic, the surroundings had transitioned into something daresay regal.


    The walls, no longer cold hard steel, but beautiful slabs of chiseled white marble. The ceiling, no longer the same as the walls, but entirely made of clear glass, allowing the outside to show. Through it revealed towering skyscrapers, with transparent walkways connecting them to each other, built like intricate spiderwebs. Surrounding them, looped around a circular wall of blackened steel, encompassing everything in its embrace.


    Yes, encompassing. That was because¡­


    ¡®This is inside the central pillar.¡¯


    And indeed, Adrian¡¯s thought proved correct. The inside much resembled a much scaled down version of the entire city. The curvature of the walls being more noticeable thanks to the smaller size, but the city had essentially the same type of walls encircling it.


    The inside of the station itself was baren of the civilians Adrian had seen before. Only a group of guards appeared present, standing in expectation of Eloise¡¯s brigade.


    Even the guards distinguished, these wore navy-blue uniforms with gold accents. If anything, their uniforms were more in line with the Major¡¯s than the ones distributed to normal guards.


    Standing in front, the oldest of the guards faced Eloise directly. While not directly showing any hostility, an intone of displeasure still escaped the elderly man¡¯s mouth. Even through his tries to remain neutral, it remained impossible to hide the feeling that there wasn¡¯t all sunshine and rainbows between the two.


    ¡°Sergeant First Class. While on especially short notice, we have been informed of the situation.¡±


    Not letting her warm gaze falter as before, she, together with the rest of her soldiers, plastered a subtle, inviting smile on their faces.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good to hear, Staff Sergeant Bruno. I am guessing there is no issue?¡±


    Standing silently for a moment, Bruno responded with a light frown.


    ¡°There is.¡± He remarked, discontent building in his voice. Suddenly turning to Adrian, a note of hatred mixed itself in. ¡°You brought this monster here, at the doorstep of the most powerful people inside the city.¡±


    He quickly turned back to Eloise before continuing with his rant.


    ¡°And while they already know it appeared somewhere, far away in the outer city, do you think they¡¯ll be ecstatic once they hear you brought it here?¡±


    Not missing a beat, Eloise retorted at once.


    ¡°And what exactly are they going to do about it? These are the Site Director¡¯s orders, and everyone is Colseel is to obey them. Be it you, Staff Sergeant, the biggest investors in the rebuilding project or the richest businessmen from the upper layer.¡±


    Pausing a moment to scoff, she continued.


    ¡°They can complain about it all they want afterwards; it won¡¯t stop the present.¡±


    The elderly man sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going against you or the Director, but you know well enough that what you¡¯ve said stands true only on paper. Without the investors, what¡¯s going to become of the rebuilding project? Tell me, who¡¯s going to want to invest if you keep bringing Husks into the city¡¯s core?¡±


    ¡°Irrelevant.¡± Eloise commented. ¡°If the Site Director wishes to speak with the Husk inside the upper layer, it will happen to his will.¡±


    Bruno could feel his teeth clenching. Just how thoughtless was this damned Site Director?


    ¡°Fine, but the powers within don¡¯t want to be in left in the dark, and I have to report something. Can you at least do me a favor and share something before we let you through?¡±


    ¡°This can also be some good damage control if you word it well.¡± He added.


    She stared at him a little before responding.


    ¡°We have nothing concrete to share.¡±


    Heart skipping a beat, Brunos face fell at once.


    ¡°What? Absolutely nothing? Not a motive? A name? Its abilities?¡±


    ¡°As I said, we have nothing. Discussing any further would be pointless, as it¡¯s also frankly above your pay grade.¡± She responded with an unfitting warm tone.


    This was bad, really bad! She brought a complete unknown danger to the people she was supposed to protect and please?!


    What if this Husk could spread through air or water? It wasn¡¯t unheard of, after all. What would they do then, if half of the most influential people were made into a monster¡¯s hosts? The city would be lost once more!


    Bruno¡¯s mind went to a thousand places at once, trying to save both his career and reputation. After all, on whom would the blame for a disaster be put? On the Site Director, whose influence easily considered unmatched, or some guards who was supposed to stop and apprehend any suspicious personnel and intruders?


    With an especially loud sigh, he turned to Eloise one last time to try to figure something out.


    ¡°Consider this, do a Husk scan here, and we both end up profiting. You gather your lacking information about it, while I get to report to my superiors. No one loses, and as I said, you may even be able to do damage control, somewhat at least. Isn¡¯t that better for the city?¡± He tried to reason with her.


    And to his surprise¡­


    ¡°Fine, let¡¯s do a quick scan. Shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡± she convinced herself, an ever so slight hesitance newly present in her voice.


    It worked!

 Chapter 7: Blood test

    ¡®Did I make the right call?.¡¯ Eloise shortly contemplated her rather rash decision.


    Bruno had explained it in a way that resonated with her, and there didn¡¯t seem to be a catch.


    So, why not take the bait? A bait without a hook is only food, after all.


    And what if the upper class found out more about ¡®Adrian¡¯? They already had informants in every corner of the government, meaning it would only be a matter of time before everything about him got leaked.


    This way, she would give them a hand, and hopefully they wouldn¡¯t ask for the entire arm. Also, why not save some face while at it? Reputation still mattered when dealing with the powerful players, and cooperating with them would do her better than not.


    If the city fell into chaos because of a misplay on her part¡­ well, she simply couldn¡¯t let that happen if she still valued her life.


    Nodding, Bruno and his team led the newly disembarked group through the station.


    Passing lavish wall after lavish wall, the white marble eventually stopped, connecting to the familiar black steel the giant pillar seemed to be made of.


    Walking past, a wide corridor opened before the group.


    ¡®The pillar¡¯s walls are hollow?¡¯ Adrian speculated based on the direction they went. The corridor also had a slight curve, adding to his suspicion.


    Advancing only a dozen meters inside the curved hall, the guards made a sudden turn into an entrance way, leading to a large elevator.


    Descending for a couple of minutes, the doors opened once more, revealing a different, lower part of the Pillar¡¯s inner walls.


    There wasn¡¯t much difference between the areas, if one were to ignore the slight, newly found uncleanliness found throughout. There were also dozens of people traveling the wide boulevard found within.


    It nowhere neared being crowded, but nonetheless contrasted with its upper section.


    Following them further, they finally stopped in front of a closed, metal door, above which stood an unlit sign.


    CMC #5.


    ¡®Crisis Medical Center number five.¡¯ Suddenly flashed through Adrian¡¯s mind upon reading the sign.


    Fiddling with the console next to it for a short while, they all entered unobstructed.


    The inside could be considered clean, but also incredibly bland. As if chiseled from the pillar¡¯s dark steel walls, The insides were devoid of any paint or decoration, while the only escape from its monotony were even more doors.


    Traveling and opening a specific door, a room filled with medical equipment came to view. Large scanners occupied most of the space, their alloyed shells lustering no more. There were other pieces of large equipment, but the entire room seemed to have been designed and fitted around these worn scanners.


    Adrian¡¯s mind froze for a split second. How was he so sure those things were ¡®Scanners¡¯? They looked nothing like a typical scanner. If anything, to a normal onlooker, these would be akin to alien contraptions of fabricated steel.


    Of course, deep down, he knew how. He had a good understanding of most things once viewing them for the first time. His mind radiated familiarity, while his feelings opposed.


    ¡®Since my keycard said I had an engineering role, I guess it makes sense.¡¯


    Frustration kept building up every time something like this happened. Why couldn¡¯t he remember his family? His friends? His past goals and aspirations? Anything pertaining to his past life seemed locked away forever, never to be uncovered for his reminiscence.


    Clearing his thoughts, Adrian reminded himself of the situation.


    He and the others were all waiting inside the room with all the medical equipment.


    The guards were quietly and casually talking to each other, while Eloise¡¯s soldiers, together with the captain herself, remained silent as always.


    CLANK!


    Hearing the slam of a heavy door, all the men and women inside turned to take a look.


    The culprit for the disturbance? An out of breath, middle aged man sporting casual clothing.


    Speedwalking to the captain of the guards, he cleared this throat before speaking, nearly choking on his own saliva in the process.


    ¡°I came¡­ as fast as¡­ I could!¡± he managed to stammer between heavy breaths before divulging into a nasty cough.


    Bruce and the others only stared while waiting for the man to recover his breath.


    After the copious cough, he continued. This time with a calmer voice.


    ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting, mister Bruce.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem whatsoever. If anything, I was at fault for calling you on such short notice.¡± Bruce excused the man, side-eyeing Eloise while doing so.


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    Clearing his rugged throat, Bruce continued.


    ¡°As for the reason for calling you out of the blue, doctor, we have to conduct some urgent tests on a VIP.¡±


    Raising an eyebrow, the medical specialist looked at the guard captain with intrigue.


    ¡°To be clear, what kind of tests are you referring to?¡±


    Drifting his eyes around the room for a moment, Bruce turned to the doctor once again.


    ¡°Medicine isn¡¯t exactly my field of specialty, but in essence, anything pertaining to a Husk examination. The equipment here should be specialized for the task at hand, from what I heard at least. If needed, we may change locations.¡±


    ¡°Although, if at all possible, it would be preferred if the operation took place here, and immediately.¡± he added after glancing at Eloise and her squad.


    Nodding, the doctor headed to a nearby locker and extracted a white, airtight hazmat suit, which he promptly adorned.


    ¡°You¡¯ve indeed heard right, mister Bruce.¡± he said in a muffled voice. ¡°This facility was in fact specifically built some time before the city¡¯s fall to test for Skin Crawler and other nasty Husks from that time.  Since then, it¡¯s been obviously refurbished, but¡­¡±


    An awkward silence spread throughout the facility.


    ¡°But what? can it do the job?¡± Bruce said in a serious and unenthusiastic tone.


    Looking from left to right, The doctor didn¡¯t exactly seem pleased with what was at hand.


    ¡°Eh. Well¡­ sure, I can work something out.¡± He said while nervously fiddling with his hands. ¡°It¡¯s not quite an abandoned facility per say, but being barely funded and in postponement of any major operations for the last decade didn¡¯t exactly do it any favors.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take that as a yes.¡± Bruce exhaled a small sigh of relief.


    ¡°Also, doctor¡­ Rajewsky. Depending on the results, your funding is always eligible to increase. Just keep that in mind.¡± He continued.


    The doctor nodded once more before continuing with his preparations, which were haphazardly finished within five minutes.


    In the meantime, he had glanced at the injured man standing next to Eloise. The Sargeant wasn¡¯t a man of many words over digital communication, but he did care to mention the ¡®VIP¡¯.


    Nothing too descriptive, of course. Just enough to know that he was more of a prisoner than a guest. It made sense, really. If it were someone truly important, they would go to the main testing facility inside sector C. And as for shady dealings, it wasn¡¯t like the staff in other facilities were all saints. No one sane would go out of their way to come to this unfunded, glorified medical junkyard. Well, only if there was a big enough secret to hide¡­


    Suddenly, something felt off with the whole situation.


    He hadn¡¯t had time to truly process why such important people were here before rushing to greet them, but now with a few minutes of clear thinking¡­ It didn¡¯t seem too great.


    ¡®Damn it¡­ the rumor from today!¡¯


    News spread fast, and what occurred in sector A had already been heard by most in the city. Not through official channels, of course, making it nothing more than a rumor.


    Now, if this person were the speculated Husk from earlier that day, someone of his status wouldn¡¯t know, but still guessed it would be extremely unlikely. You would need an impressive amount of power and a complete disregard for safety to bring an unknown Husk into the city center.


    With a nail put through that idiotic train of thought, he could finally start¡­


    ¡®Fuck¡­¡¯ A cold shiver ran along the doctor¡¯s back.


    A worrisome realization had just flashed through his mind. Turning to look at their red uniforms once more, beads of sweat started to form under his suit. Who were the people in this room? They were the Director¡¯s guard! If in his name, they had all the power!


    There was also the question of why else would they be here if not for something as important as examining a real Husk?


    ¡®Seems I¡¯ve been thrown into the deep end¡­ Fucking fuck!¡¯


    The doctor filled his hands and fingers some more. There wasn¡¯t any use in contemplating now. He just had to do his job, and everything would work out.


    Calming himself down with a deep breath, he walked towards Eloise. The preparation phase was fully done, all remaining to be done being the testing itself.


    ¡°The subject is him?¡± the doctor asked while looking at Adrian.


    ¡°Yes, you may test him.¡± Eloise said and nodded, in her usual warm tone.


    ¡°Alright, then. Please follow.¡± He addressed Adrian in a polite voice.


    It wasn¡¯t like Husks to care too much for pleasantries from what he knew, but it couldn¡¯t hurt, could it?


    Arriving at one of the room¡¯s corners, the doctor gestured to Adrian to take a seat, which he promptly did.


    Taking out a syringe with a thin needle from one of the drawers, he cleaned it with some sort of chemical solution before turning to his subject for the day.


    ¡°Please roll up your sleeve.¡±


    Adhering to the request, Adrian did just so.


    ¡®Huh, how odd.¡¯ The doctor thought while staring at the slender forearm.


    Covered in light bruises and popped veins, this ¡®VIP¡¯ didn¡¯t look too good. Not to mention the missing fingers, which he noticed right after.


    And these bruises in particular¡­ if anything, they kind of resembled severe frostnip than any kind of physical trauma.


    Finding a relatively undamaged vein, he inserted the syringe¡¯s needle and slowly drew some blood.


    Adrian, once again, wasn¡¯t surprised not to feel a thing. At least in this case, even someone without nerve damage wouldn¡¯t feel much. The needle going into his forearm was quite thin, after all.


    Extracting his blood sample, he inserted the syringe into a long vial and moved to one of the many medical contraptions present.


    Putting the vial inside a Hematocrit centrifuge and inputting some numbers, the doctor constantly darted between monitors before stopping and reading a message that had just popped up.


    [Blood fractionation completed]


    Not wasting a moment, he took the vial out of the machine and headed to another contraption.


    The blood inside was now separated, with the pale, yellow hued plasma floating on top while the red and white blood cells sedimented at the bottom, crimson in color. This way, the contents of the blood would be easier to scan, which was exactly what the next machine did.


    Putting the vial inside a metallic cylinder with transparent padding inside to keep it from tumbling and ruining the sample, loud mechanical chimes sounded from the machine.


    And before long, the doctor was back to looking at his many monitors, where he was reading the latest list of messages.


    From start to finish, it listed every component inside the blood, together with its percentage found.


    But at the very end of the list¡­


    [No anomalous objects detected.]


    Nothing indicating the presence of a Husk infection was found.


    ¡®Not through blood transmission.¡¯ he thought before noting it down on a piece of paper.


    He wouldn¡¯t write down something this covert through digital means. Ever.


    That¡¯s just asking for trouble.


    Looking up from his note to the seated Adrian, the doctor couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly excited.


    His heart beating slightly harder each time, he couldn¡¯t believe himself.


    ¡®Excited? From being in this shitty situation?¡¯


    Be it unknowingly mixed in with a little fear or whatnot, previously considered insane thoughts nonetheless ran wild.


    What if this person was a real Husk?


    What inhuman abilities did it present?


    What were its methods of fooling both humans and machines alike?


    All those years ago, wasn¡¯t this exactly why he dedicated his life to his profession?


    Curiosity.


    Sighing and fogging his view from inside the suit, he thought back to the taught protocols from his younger days.


    ¡®We¡¯ll see if you pass the tissue scan.¡¯