A World Just for You (5)

"Wow. I never imagined a building this big could be sitting out here in the mountains…"

Misaki murmured in a voice thick with surprise.

She was right—it was nothing like the kind of structure you'd expect to find buried in the hills. A long rectangular three-story building stretched out before them. Every window was blacked out with heavy cloth, and rusted iron plates had been bolted over the outer walls in places.

"It'll be even bigger once you count the basement. Misaki—you ready?"

Her hands were trembling. But her eyes never wavered.

"Yeah. I'm ready."

"Good. Then we go in."

Ren and Misaki kept low as they slowly cut through the forest, muffling even the soft crunch of leaves underfoot. The chain-link fence surrounding the lab was surprisingly flimsy. The patrolman was dozing against a post, and the CCTV cameras had been installed so openly that their blind spots were obvious.

It was as if the idea that anyone might actually come looking for this place had never even crossed their minds.

Crossing the fence and reaching the outer wall took less than five minutes. They pressed their backs to the concrete and caught their breath. From here on, Misaki's role would be far more critical.

In the original story, Misaki had managed to reach the experimental chamber where Yui was being held for more reasons than just the location-sharing on her phone.

Ren looked at her.

"Scout it out for me."

"Got it."

Misaki nodded with a resolute gleam in her eyes. She drew a slow, deep breath.

And in that instant, the world slowed.

Ordinary fluorescent lights are said to flicker at a rate of 120 times per second—most Asian countries run on 60-hertz power. A normal person might feel a vague eye strain at best; detecting the actual change is nearly impossible. But to Misaki's eyes, those lights blinked in slow, intermittent pulses.

In that decelerated world, only Misaki could move at a normal speed.

I'm going.

Her body shot forward lightly. She slipped through a gap in a window like water and raced down the long corridor.

The hallway was hospital-white. Beyond the iron doors marked only with numbers, nothing was visible. CCTV cameras hung from every stretch of ceiling.

She rounded a corner—and two researchers came walking toward her with documents in hand.

Thump.

Only then did her heart beat once. The researchers hadn't even lifted a foot yet. In that state, there was no way they could register her presence.

Misaki burned the camera angles, the researchers' paths, and the corridor layout into her mind one by one. Then she retraced her steps exactly as she had come.

When she slipped back out the window, Ren's eyes were half-closed—mid-blink. The moment she released her ability, the world snapped back to its original speed. Leaves that had hung frozen in midair scattered on the wind, and Ren finished his blink with a startled look on his face.

A small urge to show off rose in her chest, but time was too tight for that. She caught her breath lightly and spoke.

"The corridor is a straight shot. Four CCTVs. They have small blind spots between them, but you still have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to pass under a camera to get through. There's one blind spot that includes a window—right here. Two researchers will walk past that spot in fifteen seconds. We go in through the window, take them down fast, and grab their lab coats."

She snatched up a twig and quickly sketched the lab's layout on the ground.

"Copy that."

Ren gave a small smile and moved to the window outside the camera's blind spot. The instant the researchers passed right beside it, he vanished through the glass.

Two short, dull impacts sounded. The researchers were tossed out the window, unconscious. No screams.

A moment later, Ren—wearing a crow mask—vaulted lightly back outside.

Misaki swallowed a short breath.

He took down two people without a sound…

She knew Ren's ability was general physical enhancement. The technique to subdue people that fast had nothing to do with an Awakened power.

So he really was working as a mercenary.

She had half-doubted it until now, but seeing it firsthand made him feel like a completely different person.

He dusted off his hands and grinned at her.

"Not bad. Calculating all that in the blink of an eye. You didn't push yourself too hard, did you?"

"I didn't use it that long. I'm fine for now."

"Good. From now on I'm calling you Quick Gold."

"…What are you talking about?"

"You don't need to know."

Ren started stripping the lab coats off the researchers. Misaki watched him and let out an incredulous little laugh—and felt the tension that had locked her face finally ease a fraction.

She pulled on the coat he handed her. They exchanged a look, then climbed in through the window.

Just hold on a little longer, Yui.

Unnie's coming.

With Misaki's scouting leading the way, they advanced quickly toward the heart of the facility.

The lab looked far too peaceful for a place that conducted inhumane experiments. There were even vending machines. The break room held cup ramen, snacks, and manga.

The fact that these people still pretended to live like ordinary humans made Ren's stomach turn a little.

"Huh? What's with the mask?"

"Wait—I've never seen that hair befo—ghk!"

Two researchers appeared around a corner. Thanks to Misaki's advance warning, Ren dropped them instantly.

They were wearing the right clothes, but the masks stayed on, so every researcher they met got knocked out on sight. Tear some fabric, bind their limbs tight, and dump them in any empty room—done.

Luckily an empty room was nearby. Ren grabbed each one by the scruff of the neck and tossed them into the break room.

Misaki tied a researcher's legs while she asked,

"Ren. If you're wearing a mask, doesn't that kind of defeat the point of the lab coat?"

"We're going to get spotted soon anyway. It's not like we can wipe the footage. No reason to show our bare faces."

The coats were only temporary camera camouflage. This wasn't a high-security site—even the exterior patrols were dozing. All they could hope was that whoever was watching the CCTV wouldn't look closely enough to notice the masks.

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"We'll just have to move as fast as we can."

"Right. Go check the next route. Prefer one where we don't run into people."

"Okay."

Misaki's posture shifted slightly after her short reply.

"No people in sight. I finally found a path that opens toward where Yui should be."

Relief colored her voice.

So this is finally the way into the real hidden section.

Ren didn't know the full layout of the lab, but he knew exactly what the deepest part looked like. A vast chamber lined with endless experimental pods. Awakened humans wearing numbered bracelets, brainwashed and weakly thrashing their arms.

And Yui.

We just have to find that place.

It didn't matter how many researchers were there. The problem was the path leading to it. As a hidden sector, it was almost certainly sealed off tightly even from the rest of the facility.

"Lead the way."

Misaki nodded and took point.

After a few more turns down the corridors, her steps suddenly faltered hard. Ren caught her before she could fall.

"You okay? Did you push too far?"

"Haa… haa…"

Misaki leaned against him without a word, cold sweat beading on her skin.

Awakened abilities weren't all-powerful. Every time she used hers, her time slipped out of sync with the world's. Her body might look fine, but the strain on her brain and senses was never small.

She tried to push him away with a weak hand. Ren pulled her into his arms and gently patted her back.

"It's okay. It's okay. You can lean on me. Let's rest a little, then go."

"J-just until we find Yui…"

"You have to be okay if we're going to save her. You know that."

Misaki bit her lip and let out a quiet sob.

"C-compared to you… I feel so powerless. Like you're… doing everything alone…"

"What are you talking about? Without you, Misaki, I never would have made it this far."

It was the absolute truth. She wiped her tears on her sleeve and exhaled a long breath.

"Haa… Sorry. Showing you that insecure side out of nowhere."

That was probably the real face she usually hid behind the bright, confident front.

Misaki closed her eyes again and drew a slow breath. A moment later she pointed toward the end of the corridor.

"That's the entrance."

A dead end. A single iron door that looked like an ordinary storage closet. When they opened it, a staircase leading downward appeared.

They descended in silence. The basement was so deep it was hard to believe anyone had built it out here in the mountains.

One floor. Two floors.

The air grew colder the farther they went. Between the smell of disinfectant, the metallic tang of iron and blood slowly thickened.

Then they stepped off the final stair.

"…!"

Both of them stopped at the same time. The interior was far larger than expected. The ceiling rose as high as the depth they had just climbed down, and equipment the size of shipping containers stood in neat rows at regular intervals.

And above all—

There are too many people.

If they walked out like this, they would be spotted instantly.

"This way."

Misaki yanked on his sleeve. She threw herself into a half-open doorway set into the wall and shut the door behind them.

Inside, three researchers sat tapping keyboards while staring at monitors.

"…Huh?"

The first one to look up spotted them.

Lab coats. But crow and fox masks.

The strange combination left all three of them briefly unable to process the situation.

"What the—new recrui—"

Thud.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Ren smashed his fist into the man's jaw before the sentence finished. The second researcher shot up from his chair in a panic.

"Intru—ghk!"

A blow to the gut, then a downward strike to the back of the neck. The body toppled bonelessly backward.

The last researcher reached under the desk for the emergency button, but Ren already had his arm. He twisted the wrist free of the button and drove a strike into the man's temple.

"…Hoo."

He steadied his breathing and checked that they were properly out. No problems.

He bit his lip and turned to Misaki.

"Misaki."

"Haa… haa… What?"

She was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. Breathing seemed hard enough that she had even thrown off her mask.

Even as a polite lie, no one could call her condition fine.

"You used your ability again, didn't you?"

"Hehe… Caught me."

Misaki's shirt was soaked through with sweat. She tried to smile brightly the way she always did, but the corners of her mouth wouldn't lift properly. Every inhale made her shoulders heave.

"There were too many people… If we'd just walked in, we'd have been spotted right away."

"…"

"I'll be fine after a little more rest. Just a minute…"

Misaki closed her eyes. She seemed to have passed out.

Fine, my ass. I told you not to push it.

Ren clicked his tongue quietly. He had asked her to scout too many times. Risky as it would have been, he could have just grabbed a researcher from the start and forced the path out of them.

While waiting for her to recover, he turned his gaze to the researchers' desks.

The monitors were packed with incomprehensible numbers and graphs. Stacks of what looked like photocopied documents sat on one side.

He picked up the topmost file folder.

It concerned a subject labeled Experimental Specimen F-671. In short: administration complete, but side effects too severe—scheduled for disposal. The specimen was also listed as an ordinary civilian. Ren pressed his lips tight.

…They weren't only kidnapping Awakened. They were regularly snatching ordinary people to experiment on too.

Was this really something human beings could do?

He barely held down the urge to vomit and checked the other documents.

An experiment schedule?

He pulled out a sheet and scanned it quickly.

Dates. Times. Chamber locations. And beneath them, numbers written in dense rows.

A-013.

C-126.

B-041.

Every single one a designation that treated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠people like inventory. The more pages he turned, the tighter his grip became.

By numbering human beings, these people had apparently managed to run their experiments without a shred of guilt.

Sick bastards.

He flipped to the last page. And his hand stopped. A familiar face was there.

"…Found her."

The words slipped out before he could stop them.

So Yui's ability was Super Strength. That explained why her room had been left in such a wreck.

He kept reading down the page.

The date written on the document was today.

"…"

He looked down at his wristwatch.

17:26.