12 12 301 As the water curtain lifts, the tunnel to the lower second floor appears before you.
13 13 402 9330010
14 14 401 1 155
15 15 201 1 500166 5
16 16 301 1 Lucia The Punishing Virus concentration in the air is increasing! 1
17 17 202 1 1
18 18 401 2 1105
19 19 301 Your protective suit warns you at the same time as Lucia. Fortunately, the risen concentration is still within an acceptable level.
20 20 301 You smell a rotten scent different from the Red Tide through the tunnel. All of you cannot help but turn and stare at the fire alarm box covered in children's graffiti at the end of it.
21 21 301 Dried red-and-black matters cover the decorative illustrations like splashed ink. Dark red slime oozes out from underneath as if the rotten scent is made physical.
22 22 401 2 2598
23 23 301 "Squelch... yech... screech..."
24 24 301 You also hear jumbled, heinous whispers.
27 27 301 RImgBg1Shake You swing with your assigned blade, removing the door to the alarm box entirely...
28 28 401 2 1505
29 29 301 "Splat... slosh..."
30 30 301 ...And the thing inside "drips" onto the floor in consecutive globs, forming a cake of meat that is about two arms wide.
31 31 401 2 571
32 32 301 This is an ooze-like substance without a concrete form. Newly grown muscle tissues and lumps join together by splintered metal, and fresh organic matters submerge in slime.
35 35 301 But Bianca can see countless figures through the Phantom Tracer. Their faces are blurred, their identities unrecognizable; the most she can do is identify if they are male or female-presenting.
36 36 401 2 2645
37 37 301 "Wah..."
38 38 301 The organic matter rises and falls with its breath, and plump cysts bubble to its surface one after another. They quickly burst, splashing the foul substance within them onto the surrounding floor.
39 39 401 2 571
40 40 301 The "ooze" cries every time a cyst bursts. That is when you can vaguely recognize a few twisted faces on its lump-covered surface.
46 46 301 Their eyes are squinching as if they are ecstatic, but their mouths are twisted in all kinds of ways, whispering and murmuring painfully.
47 47 401 2 571
48 48 301 The ooze wriggles its lumps, struggling to crawl toward the spilled filth. The sharp, splintered metal cuts open its pink skin, and blood spills out, leaving a trail on the floor.
49 49 301 "Hehe... waha... la..."
50 50 301 AniZhuanchangBegin What makes you shudder is how the mouths mutter joyfully as the ooze loses more blood.
72 72 301 Delapoer looks up from the cold, hard floor, looking for the voice that was just calling him.
73 73 301 He is inside a regular lounge room. Apart from the usual furniture, there are all kinds of terminals here; there is even a medium-sized personal computer from the Golden Age.
74 74 301 Delapoer takes some time to sit up as he discerns how stiff his body is.
75 75 301 Delapoer I haven't rested for a while, have I? 1
87 87 301 1 Norris Dammit. How did the Ascendant get here from so far away? 1
88 88 301 Norris is running inside the tunnel as quickly as he can. Signs of infection, vital fluids of different colors, and charred wounds cover his body.
89 89 301 Norris' squad finally escaped the Ascendant's pursuit after a suicidal bombing. In return, everyone but Norris is now buried underneath the crumbled aquarium.
90 90 301 Norris only managed to escape because he was lucky enough to not be caught by the mechanical arm.
91 91 301 Norris Comms is busted as well. I've gotta get out of here to inform the others. 1
92 92 301 Recalling the hellish scene on the lower third floor, even someone like Norris cannot help but shiver.
93 93 301 Norris Dammit! I was supposed to be on the frontline! Why was a specialist like you rushing in?! 1
94 94 301 Norris clutches the broken tag in his hand, his anguish turning into his motivation to move forward. The empty aquarium is filled with the echoes of his curses.
120 120 301 Delapoer fires at the target ahead of him expressionlessly, accompanied by the flat announcements of the AI.
121 121 301 The rings on the upper-body-shaped target are spotless. The arm outside of the rings, however, is adorned with a few bullet holes.
122 122 301 AI 9.5 points!
123 123 301 The AI makes another announcement, and an intentionally-woeful voice coming from beside Delapoer follows.
124 124 301 ??? Sigh. Guess I'm not doing too well today.
125 125 301 Although Delapoer cannot immediately remember the person's name, he still responds automatically.
126 126 201 1 500028
127 127 301 1 Delapoer That's enough. Wasn't your previous best score 8.7? 1
128 128 301 ??? Hey! Don't get mad at me for your poor performance.
129 129 301 Delapoer ... 1
130 130 202 1 1
131 131 301 ??? C'mon, sourpuss. Our enemies on the surface might not be humanoid, right?
132 132 301 ??? And think of it this way: the enemies can't hold their weapons if you hit their arms, right? It's better than not hitting them at all... Hmm... That said, I think you actually hit closer to their legs there...
142 142 301 The slime shot from the monster immediately melts away Norris' Tantalum-made limbs, and the highly concentrated Punishing Virus it carries proceeds to infect him.
143 143 301 Norris cannot do anything but lie on the floor as he watches the monster crawl ever so slightly closer.
199 199 301 As prepared as she might be, Bianca still cannot calmly observe what is unveiling before her.
200 200 301 The ooze crawls around on the floor, searching for something and failing before returning to the fire alarm box as if the little dark space is the only shelter it trusts.
201 201 301 "Wah... squelch... yech..."
202 202 301 Bianca hears sobbing inside there where she cannot see.
203 203 201 1 500548 -120 200
204 204 301 1 ??? Come on, get closer. Let me take a good look at you. 1
205 205 104 0|0|-200 10
206 206 301 Bianca walks toward the voice, compelled.
259 259 301 Chiko Our attachment to the living clouds our judgment, resulting in irreparable loss.
260 260 301 Chiko Our feelings for the dead make us weak, be they fear or longing.
261 261 301 Chiko Only if we are indifferent to death can we stand against those fearless monsters.
262 262 201 1 500533 8
263 263 301 1 Bianca But we will become monsters ourselves. 1
264 264 301 Chiko Only monsters can defeat monsters.
265 265 204 1 5
266 266 301 Bianca There have to be other ways. 1
267 267 202 1 1
268 268 301 Chiko ...Bianca.
269 269 301 Chiko's tone is uncharacteristically gentle. Bianca suddenly realizes that Chiko and the rest of the Purifying Force have seemingly stopped calling her a fence sitter after some particular event.
270 270 301 Chiko We're meant to be accustomed to goodbyes.
271 271 301 Chiko No matter what happens next. No matter whose life you take.
272 272 201 1 500533 5
273 273 301 1 Bianca Even yours? 1
274 274 202 1 1
275 275 301 Chiko That's right. Feel free to mock me if I become a Corrupted one day. Loudly.
