The Food Factory
Inside the Food Factory, illuminated only by a faint light.
I kept the broadcast on as I slowly walked forward.
The Food Factory felt more like a warehouse than a factory.
Shelves soared to the ceiling, filled with rows of boxes stacked between them.
I knew danger lurked somewhere in there.
The thought crossed my mind at the same time I pulled out the Scanner.
"Let's scan just one box."
"Truth Scholar: What’s in it? If it’s not dangerous, let’s just take a look!"
"Instinct Detective: It’d be nice if there’s something that boosts our strength, even a little."
Before touching the box, I tried scanning it first.
In a place where I didn’t know what was inside or what kind of danger it held, rushing in blindly wasn’t the way to survive in the Deep Sea.
A blue light leaked out in front of the white Scanner.
The blue light passed right in front of the box and displayed its information.
"-Company ████████ Production Food
-This item is food that has not yet been allocated. Remember that all unallocated items belong to Company ████████."
"...What is this?"
An unfamiliar phrase flashed from the Scanner.
The message felt more like a warning than useful info, and it gave me a strange uneasy feeling.
The characters from the Scanner translated by default, so even those watching the broadcast could read it.
Of course, the maps given by Asolune were an exception.
"Truth Scholar: ...It looks like something bad will happen if I touch it."
"Instinct Detective: Who would guard something in a ruined city? The company there probably went down too."
"Education Master: The way you’re talking... Is that Scanner perhaps not from the same company?"
While I cautiously scanned the surroundings and read the comments, one caught my eye.
I immediately turned the Scanner to its side and checked the engraving there.
I didn’t know how to pronounce it, but I could figure out the meaning.
'The meaning... is efficiency?'
Efficiency. That was exactly the meaning of the company in front of me.
The Scanner belonged to that company.
"It seems the Scanner was probably made by the same company."
The company that made the Scanner, probably the one that made the production machines too.
A machine that could create anything if given raw materials, storing vast amounts of information.
A company with that kind of transcendent technology had been wiped out.
What kind of catastrophe had swept through here and erased this place?
The question left me feeling the crushing pressure of the Deep Sea.
'No, this isn’t the time to ask that.'
I’d worry about it only when I’d grown stronger and had some breathing room.
Right now, I had to face the problem right in front of me.
First, taking the food seemed too risky.
I’d never seen the company-type people just take things without permission.
From that standpoint, I focused more on investigating than collecting.
As I walked around scanning with the Scanner, I gradually got a feel for what kind of things this place dealt with.
It produced all the food supplied to the city and acted as a kind of port for exchanging goods with other cities.
That’s why the place was so vast.
"Truth Scholar: We can’t take anything from a place like this..."
"Capitalist: Even just that one thing would be worth thousands of golds."
I wanted the items here too, but I hadn’t touched anything because I didn’t know what would happen.
By the time the silence around me grew boring, a dull thud echoed.
I quickly scanned my surroundings but found nothing touching my body.
Then where was the sound coming from?
The source was the unseen darkness.
Inside it, a red light flickered on.
Flicker. Flicker.
The light blinked, and then...
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
The yellow lights of the food warehouse stabbed into my retinas.
And there, clearer than ever, was the true nature of the red light.
A skeletal iron frame, like only the bones of a human remained.
Circular saw blades where hands should be, and four-pronged claw hands that looked like they could easily grab a pumpkin.
!#!@$!!@#$%
Unknown sounds leaked from the machine.
But I understood its meaning.
"-Unauthorized organism detected inside the factory."
The machine continued.
!%%#@#!@@!
"-Following the directives of Company ████████, the following action has been decided."
WEEEEE! BANG! BANG!
The saw blades spun furiously, the claw hands interlocking with a deafening roar.
The machine’s declaration had fallen.
!$$$@%!#!!
"-Executing the extermination order."
I started running the moment the machine finished speaking, eyes fixed straight ahead.
I ran with all my strength toward the exit I hoped existed.
But...
"Truth Scholar: It’s sealed! Run somewhere else!"
A firmly closed door.
The instant I saw it, I turned my feet without hesitation.
WEEEEE!!
The sound of the saw blades came from behind me.
A chill of pure fear made me quickly lower my head.
WHOOSH!
KAKAKAKAK!
The saw blade slicing through my hair grazed the thin pillars of the shelves and split them.
And then...
KIKIKIK!
The shelves couldn’t withstand the weight and collapsed.
But that created a wall of stacked boxes between me and the machine.
KIIING!
THUD. KWANG!
The sounds of the claw hands and saw blades moving reached me.
The machine would reach here soon.
At that thought, I immediately started moving my legs.
Toward the dark, unexplored space full of shadows.
The machine had speed and strength on its side.
Spinning near the entrance in that situation would mean certain death.
"Huff... huff..."
My breathing reached my throat, with the faint taste of blood on my tongue.
But I had no choice but to ignore the pain, because the sound of clearing away the boxes that had been rumbling earlier had stopped.
A dark area where no lights were on.
The moment I stepped into it...
WEE! WEE!
A red light rose above my head.
A sense of doom wrapped around my body.
But if the sky could fall, there was still a way to rise, right?
A thick iron door slammed shut behind me.
And an ancient voice echoed.
!@#@$@!
"-Authorized entry."
After the words came a green light.
The fire on the floor led somewhere like a guide sign.
"...Is it okay to keep going?"
Honestly, I didn’t understand the current situation.
A moment ago it had been unauthorized, but now it was allowed.
It looked like a trap no matter how you looked at it.
But there was nowhere to go back.
Behind me stood a cold steel wall, so standing still here wouldn’t make things better.
The comments were mostly filled with worry, but I carefully took a step.
One step, scanning carefully around me, then another step.
Walking with such caution, the speed became painfully slow.
But the tension was higher than ever.
One step, look left and right.
One step, look forward and back.
As I did, the layout of the place gradually became clear.
This was the main area of the Food Factory.
Long rails, mechanical arms made of steel and magic stones.
"Truth Scholar: It looks like the boxes are being moved here?"
"Instinct Detective: Probably just used as a warehouse."
"Education Master: To only use such a vast space as a warehouse... I wonder how prosperous it would have been if it hadn’t disappeared."
The only light source was the green glow on the floor, making it a gloomy place.
But I could still endure by watching the gallery chat.
As I followed, I reached a certain spot.
Next to the door there, all the rails I had seen earlier were disappearing into the room.
What were they making here that all the rails started from this place?
With that thought, I reached for the doorknob.
CLANK.
When I turned the cool silver handle, the door opened smoothly.
It was different from the unmanaged areas I had seen before.
Beyond the black door, the world was clearly different from both Earth and this other realm.
This... yeah, it felt like the future world.
At the center where all the rails led, there was a huge cylindrical glass containing blue liquid.
In the area emitting light, a single black egg floated in the air.
Even for a moment, I was distracted by the awe-inspiring scenery.
I immediately circled around it to check for threats.
Around the cylinder were mechanical arms holding swords, cylindrical saw arms, and round gun barrels that looked like they could fire something.
They were all hanging from the walls around the massive cylinder.
But strangely, the egg’s size was similar to a basketball.
It made me think I was overestimating it.
First, I approached the egg while being careful of danger.
The green light on the floor was pulling me toward it.
I tensed and stepped closer to the cylinder.
A blue light began to wrap around my face.
But even when I got close enough to touch the cylinder, nothing happened.
The only change was the chat window popping up quickly.
"Truth Scholar: What is this!? Is it an ancient creature? It looks just like a dragon egg!"
"Instinct Detective: The shape is similar to a lizard egg, but..."
"Education Master: It really does look like a dragon, but the scale thickness and color are different."
'A dragon’s egg...'
The chat guessed it was a dragon, but...
It didn’t feel that way.
Something similar to a dragon, but maybe even further.
The Deep Sea had a tendency to evolve creatures into things beyond description, like Cyclopes or octopuses.
Just as I was pondering the egg’s shell, a displeasing noise drifted in.
It sounded like metal being scraped.
And the noise came from the firmly closed door.
"N-no..."
A bad premonition hit me.
And that premonition...
WEEEEE!!
Was perfectly accurate.
A red light flickered through a horizontal gap in the door.