Chapter 11: Chapter 10
It was late afternoon in the lab. There was an orange glow coming in through the window. I took over Rin's unfinished work and continued calibrating several devices.
Across the room, Nagi's team continued to focus on the monitors, attempting to resync Hiro's brain data. Nagi didn't seem to be taking a break at all.
"ARRGHH!... GODDAMN IT!"
A loud shout comes from their direction. It's Nagi. She hits the console in front of her. Then, she stands up and starts pacing, looking anxious.
"This is like putting together a complicated three-dimensional puzzle! Every time I connect one piece, another one breaks! Hiro, you're really making me want to die!"
The rest of us were just staring at the strange old lady. She was like a genius on the verge of insanity. She was out of there pretty quickly.
"I'm going to take a quick fifteen-minute break to get some fresh air," she told her colleagues before heading out the door.
....
After Nagi left, I felt compelled to approach. I walked towards their workstation, staring at Hiro's head in the support with cables stuck in his skull.
I turned on the holographic screen from my optical sensor to try to figure out the problem. This screen could analyze objects, scan head conditions, temperature, cell degradation levels, and static electricity. Unfortunately, I didn't have any specific instructions for doing a more in-depth diagnosis.
I looked over at Taro, who was sitting nearby, still tinkering with Hiro's brain synchronization through his monitor.
"Yo, Taro! What's making this so hard to fix?
Taro let out a deep sigh, and the fatigue he was clearly experiencing was evident on his face.
"We found traces of foreign rigging right next to his brain stem. On top of that, whatever device they used is messing with his brain. Some of his neural networks are messed up, and his nervous system isn't responding the way it should to electrical stimuli."
His explanation triggered something in my memory. Just to refresh your memory, I'll give you a quick rundown of what I was doing at the Orbit Laboratory.
His explanation triggered something in my memory. A flashback to when I was in the Laboratory.
Earlier, at the O.R.B.B.I.T. lab, I saw subjects there, all wired up, just like you described. Those sick fucks are truly insane!"
Taro stopped typing. He looked at me, and his tired expression quickly turned into shock, then understanding.
"So that's it! I've heard some pretty out there rumors about what they're doing to some of their test subjects. Like, controlling their minds, creating clones of some of the other subjects, and all that. Huff... corporations have always wanted to rule the world in such a cruel way..."
He immediately went back to his console, typing with renewed enthusiasm.
"I'll try to map out that foreign circuit. Maybe that's the main reason."
...
"YOU BASTARD, YOU MONSTER!"
Nagi's scream echoed again from outside. Taro and I let it slide for a second.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Huff... I don't know, let Nagi-san calm down first..." Taro replied.
But then, Nagi's angry scream was met by another sound—the panicked screams of many people. The sounds of fear grew louder and closer. Taro and I exchanged glances. Something was wrong. Without thinking, we both jumped up from our chairs and ran out to see what was happening.
Wuzzz..!
The main courtyard was a mess. A Shokujin was on the loose. His empty eyes glowed red. He was out of control, attacking anyone around him indiscriminately.
In the chaos, Nagi tried to fight back bravely with just a piece of iron pipe he'd picked up from a pile of scrap nearby.
"Oh… you magnificent Shokujin! You're going to be my most valuable experiment!"
Nagi let out a loud scream and lunged at the Shokujin. He tried to hit the creature's head as hard as he could. But the pipe only hit its shoulder with a loud bang. The attack only made the Shokujin angrier.
"Tch! Unacceptable!"
I stood frozen at the doorway, watching the fierce battle. The Shokujin's anger was completely out of control, every movement a brutal attack accompanied by low growls. Strangely, Nagi didn't seem afraid. On the contrary, her wild eyes were shining, and she grinned enthusiastically. With surprising agility for her age, she dodged every attack from Shokujin.
"Ugh... what the heck is that thing?!"
Taro, who witnessed the fierce battle, immediately reached for a gun under his lab coat, but his hand was shaking so much it was hard to aim. He tried to aim, but the doubt was clear on his pale face.
"DON'T KILL HIM!" Nagi shouted as she dodged the attack.
She jumped back as the Shokujin lunged at her, hitting the ground where he'd been standing.
"That creature is too valuable to be an experiment! So hurry up and bring the tranquilizer gun to incapacitate it, now!"
That order made Taro even more indecisive. But he didn't hesitate to follow Nagi's orders.
Shokujin didn't give her any time and quickly lunged back towards Nagi. His behavior was getting more and more erratic, and he was clearly out of control.
Cringgg...!
A shrill sound rang out as Nagi blocked the attack with her pipe. But the Shokujin's strength was way stronger. He used his other arm to do it. His swing broke through Nagi's defense and grabbed his stomach.
Crack...!
There was a scary cracking sound. The now-free Shokujin took Nagi by surprise, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.
"Arghh..."
Nagi groaned in pain. She was lying spread out, but she quickly raised her iron pipe again to block the claws that were about to sink in and rip her body apart.
A few people behind me let out screams, totally freaked out. They ran away to save themselves.
"Tch..."
I had to move. If I stayed here, he could die. Somehow, I found myself acting on pure instinct — I didn't even realize I had it in me! Without a second thought, I lunged forward.
Trank...!
There was a loud crash as I hit the creature on its back, stopping it from attacking Nagi. I grabbed its neck from behind, using all my strength to hold it down.
"Tch! Are you insane?! Don't do something so reckless, Dammit!" Nagi snapped, her face flushed red with fury.
"Haah... better back off, old lady!"
The shokujin let out a roar, trying to break free from my tight grip. Its unnatural muscles rebelled with extraordinary strength.
"U-ugh...let me go!"
I kept squeezing him to make him die. But it felt like trying to hold back an out-of-control gorilla. I tried to lift it a little and then throw it backwards with all my might.
Wuzz…! Bruaakkk…!
It landed about a few meters away. Dust and gravel flew around it. It tried to get back up, and now it was all about me. Its eyes were red with rage.
"Time to play, you damn beast!"
It charged again, and things got out of control. I didn't go straight to the source. Instead, I reactivated my combat system. The screen in front of me showed its movement data right away.
[TARGET LOCKED: anomaly object]
[STRUCTURAL WEAKNESS: scanning process]
[POWER OUTPUT DETECTED: 52% AND RISING...]
He charged. He charged wildly, cutting through the air where my head had been a second ago.
[PREDICTED TRAJECTORY: LUNGING STRIKE. 92% CHANCE OF EVASION]
I shifted to the left. A wild kick swept the spot where my feet were. I ducked as his other arm swung out to the side. Every movement was totally predictable, giving me the split second I needed to react.
But he didn't give up. He wouldn't stop attacking, and it was clear he wanted to destroy me. He got more and more wild and strong. I couldn't keep dodging. I was pretty weak, and if I let him, he could turn around and attack the others who were still trying to escape.
"Keep going, Eisen..."
That was Taro's voice. I looked over and saw that he was back, holding a long tranquilizer gun. He was trying to find a safe spot to shoot from.
I had to keep my cool. When the Shokujin charged again, I didn't dodge. Now I was facing it head-on. I crossed my arms in front of my chest to take the hit. Its strength was incredible. My feet were dragged back a few inches.
I let out a growl, using all my strength to hold back its thrust, turning my body into a barrier.
I saw Taro was ready from the corner of my eye. He lifted his rifle, taking aim at the creature's neck. This was the moment.
Ztubbb..!
A little silver bullet flew out of Taro's rifle and seemed to miss just a bit, going into the Shokujin's shoulder. The creature let out a growl, clearly in pain.
But it seemed to be able to handle the pain and kept going toward me. This was a disaster—there was no visible effect. Actually, it got even more intense.
"You!"
Now, driven by newfound anger, it easily pushed me away. I was thrown to the side, landing quite far away.
I tried to get back up before he could attack me again. As he got closer, something strange happened. His movements slowed down until he finally stopped, his head tilted slightly as if he was fighting something inside himself. The tranquilizer projectiles seemed to be working.
Taro took this as a sign of success and didn't hesitate. He quickly fired off a few more shots. Two of them got stuck in the Shokujin's back and thigh. The creature let out another roar, this time trying not to show the pain that was clearly spreading through its body.
The dose was too much for its body, if it had been fired at a normal person, the effect would have been permanently paralyzing. But the pain burned the rest of His patience.
He realized that Taro was the source of his suffering. With a terrifying look, he immediately left the fight with me and ran towards him.
"No...Dammit!" Taro said.
Seeing this, I quickly tried to rush forward again, crashing my body into the shokujin to cancel his attack.
Bruaakkk…!
The collision sent both of us flying a few meters in different directions.
It seemed like my actions had made him even angrier. Now he'd totally forgotten about everyone else and saw me as his only threat.
"Hey, monster, we're not done yet, buddy... catch me, you bastard!"
It seemed like I had to get him out of here quickly. I had to lure him to where the guardian crew was.
Without wasting any time, I turned around and dashed away from the main courtyard toward a corridor. As I expected, the Shokujin, enraged, was immediately provoked into following me. His roar bounced off the walls of the corridor, making it seem even more menacing.
The environment had changed. There wasn't any more open space to dodge. There are only concrete walls on the left and right. I tried to use that to my advantage, attacking him when he was off guard at a corner. But he was too fast, or maybe his animal instincts were sharper. He blocked my attack with the back of his hand.
"Tch…"
I ran back to stay away from him, but without realizing it, he used that momentum to jump, planting his feet on the corridor wall in an unusual way. He rammed into me like a missile from above. I didn't have time to dodge. My body was pushed back hard until my back hit the concrete wall behind me.
"Damn…!"
In a flash, his strong grip caught my body. I tried to fight back, but I was too weak. I couldn't hold on any longer. He spun around and threw me through the big window at the end of the hall.
Craaack…!
The sound of breaking glass was deafening. I felt a quick sensation as my body pierced the glass panel, but that wasn't all. He jumped out of the broken window and tackled me in midair.
Bruaaakkk…!
I hit the dusty ground outside from the height of the fifth floor. The impact sent a painful shockwave through my entire system.
Meanwhile, Shokujin also landed almost perfectly, and it looked like he was doing just fine.
Dust from the debris began to settle around us. Some of the people who had been here earlier began to run around, screaming when they saw us fall from the sky.
I had no other choice. There was no way to take him to the guardians. So I had to finish him off.
He started running back towards me. I tried to block every one of his blind attacks, my HUD system working hard to scan his every movement, desperately searching for an opening, a weak point, anything. But because I was already tired, a strong hit from his other arm got through my defenses and hit me in the chest.
I was thrown back several meters and fell. My back hit an old lady who was running.
Hargg...! Haarggh...!
He kept raging, all hoarse, as he slowly walked toward me, relishing this moment before killing me.
"Oi... oi... oi... damn it…!"
I shifted my position, preparing to use my body as a final shield to protect this woman.
But before the creature could jump, something else happened.
A cold gust of wind blew past us, followed by a thin, deadly hiss. A black shadow moved faster than my optical sensors could process.
ZRAAASSH…!
The Shokujin stopped moving, its red eyes looking blank. A split second later, its body split vertically in two, falling in opposite directions with a horrible wet sound and an unstoppable spray of blood.
"Huh? What the hell is that?"
Where the shokujin had been standing, there was now a man, his back to us. He slowly raised his shiny katana, wiped away the blood splatters with a smooth move, then put it back into its scabbard.
"Emm... "Your struggle is over, man. May your spirit find peace!" He said quietly.
I looked at him when he turned around. I noticed that he was calm and that he had a black eye patch over his right eye. I had a hunch he was one of those psychos, like Yumiki, but with a different vibe, colder and more deadly.
A few minutes later, some lab folks came down, including Nagi, who was limping from her injuries. They all looked at the shokujin's body with shock. I was still trying to process it. It was crazy to get killed so quickly with one precise slash.
But Nagi, who saw his research subject now destroyed, was instantly overcome with emotion. Her face was all red with rage.
" YOU FOOL! Regi, what the hell did you do?! Why would you obliterate it, idiot?!" she shrieked at the man with the eye patch.
"...I'm sorry, Nagi, but I had no choice. If I hadn't done it, he would have killed the others."
"ARRRGH! You could've just sliced off its limbs to incapacitate it! That would have been enough!"
"Enough, Nagi-san... Regi-senpai did what he had to do. We were barely holding our own against that Shokujin, remember?
I thought, looking at Nagi, who was still growling angrily. This old lady seemed way scarier than any psychos I'd ever met.
...
The cafeteria was a bit of a depressing place that night. I sat with Rin and a few others, having just finished recounting what had happened in the courtyard of the lab building.
"...and then, this guy just popped outta nowhere and straight-up cut him in half." I said, finishing the story.
"No way... one shokujin can't be that strong," Rin said, looking pale.
Not far from us, Yumiki and Brenner came over to our table. Their faces looked darker than usual.
"Man, that monster went full psycho! That's no ordinary Shokujin..." Brenner cut us off mid-conversation.
"...Still can't believe Tetsu got taken out by that thing. It just slaughtered everyone in that interrogation room before it busted out."
"So does that shokujin have special powers or something?" I asked, trying to find a logical explanation.
Rin shook her head and immediately gave me a more detailed explanation about the creature called Shokujin that I didn't know about.
"It shouldn't be. Shokujin is just an ordinary person who was exposed to radiation...! But after I saw his corpse, there was a cyber implant attached to his brain."
Rin looked deep in thought, tapping her fingers on the table.
"I think it's probably due to a cyber chip that's kind of like a parasite, just chewing on his brain. And the long-term radiation… it actually fused his body to that thing, made it adapt.
"Damn, that's even more fucked up than I imagined! He's not just some undead. He's basically a full-blown cyberpsychopath!"
"Well, that thing, we gotta stay on point if another Shokujin pops up. For real."
The discussion was still going on, but then Brenner suddenly stood up from his chair after getting a message from Kenjiro.
"Aight, Looks like I'm out. Gotta check in with a few other expedition crews."
Brenner left, leaving us all in silence, filled with questions and fear of the new threat that seemed far worse.