Despite the widespread use of that orange brass metal throughout the Steam World, the factories were different — they were made of gray metals, more like iron. Every factory was constructed this way because, unlike other buildings, these factories were not static structures. Their rooms could move and evolve on their own. Sometimes, they pushed their chambers underground to form new ones out of fresh materials. Other times, they connected their rooms to neighboring factories.
Yet no matter how unpredictable the movement seemed, there was always someone controlling it.
That, however, wasn't true for Factory 208R.
Even though it had been abandoned, smoke started rising from its chimneys again two years ago, and the interior began to change. No one knew what had caused it. Since the factory was in Arena Clan's territory, the clan's new recruits were sent to investigate. Everyone who went came back empty-handed.
Still, since there were no casualties, it was written off as a strange incident — and the new recruits kept being assigned to "check" it.
That's exactly why Renas and Charlos arrived in a sleek car, stopping in front of the factory.
After Charlos parked to the side, both got out. Renas looked up first — at the chimneys that had been smoking non-stop for two years.
They rose much higher than he expected, almost as if they were sprouting from the factory's very core. The building itself wasn't one solid piece either; it looked like multiple structures stitched together — probably because of the moving rooms.
Renas and Charlos approached the main door. Renas tried pushing it — it didn't budge. Charlos pulled it instead, and the door opened.
Smirking, Charlos stepped into the first room. Around them were bookshelves, machines, puddles of water, flickering lamps, and more. It was clearly abandoned.
Charlos found a comfortable chair in the corner of the entrance floor, sat down, and pulled out a device that looked like an old handheld console. He started playing — it was Tetris.
Renas was surprised to see Tetris even in this world, though he shouldn't have been. Before the Final, portals had already been opening in his own world. Those who didn't believe they could win had fled to other worlds. So, it was possible that neither Renas nor Cuhlun were their world's last survivors — and one of the earlier travelers must have brought Tetris here.
Renas stared at the handheld device like it was something precious, then quickly lost interest. He opened another door to explore deeper inside.
That door appeared high on the wall of another room. When he looked down — it was a drop. Not a narrow elevator shaft, but a massive open space that seemed bottomless.
When Renas looked upward, he realized the top stretched endlessly too. Yet he remembered seeing a ceiling when they first entered the factory, so it couldn't truly be infinite. It was probably just too dark to see.
Probably...
He didn't dwell on it. Instead, he glanced around for something small nearby — a rock. Yes, that would do.
Why there were rocks inside a factory, he didn't know, but the room was full of them.
Actually, that was strange. They looked like they'd been dropped in a hurry.
Renas scanned the ceiling — no cameras.
So it wasn't like someone had been watching this room and ran when they saw him. Probably, anyway... Not seeing a camera didn't mean there wasn't one.
He swore under his breath and told himself he was just overthinking it. After all, his theory was based solely on a random rock — there were plenty of ways it could've ended up here.
He picked up one of the rocks and dropped it into the bottomless pit.
He waited to hear it hit the ground.
After about ten seconds, there was a sound — but not of impact.
A splash.
There was water down there.
"Hey, Charlos! I found something!"
But Charlos, locked into the upper levels of his Tetris game, didn't even look up."Yeah, yeah, you've got this— ah, no, don't talk to me right now! I'm doing something important!"
Renas sighed inwardly.
He had no idea how he'd get back up, but the factory fascinated him.
There were dozens of other doors he could explore — yet if no one had ever jumped into this pit before, and all the other rooms had already been checked, this was probably the only real path left.
If his hunch was right, whatever had carried those rocks must have come from the pit — and returned to it.
Which meant the answer lay below.
Renas stepped forward and threw himself into the chasm. The light from the doorway above — his only source of illumination — shrank until it disappeared entirely.
He plunged into total darkness.
Then — splash.
He surfaced quickly, gasping, surrounded by cold, black water.
There was no light anywhere, yet he could tell he was in a confined space — a room, not a vast ocean. Still, the darkness and lack of air made it feel otherwise.
He hurriedly pulled a small pouch from his uniform, took out a lighter, and flicked it on. The flame dimly lit the space around him.
The water stretched deeper ahead — he couldn't tell how far, and if he went that way, he might drown. But that wasn't his only option.
In front of him was a door. Actually—
There were dozens of doors lining the pit walls — above and below.
Renas swam toward the nearest one. Half of it was submerged — the only one within reach that wasn't completely underwater.
He tried opening it — no luck.
So he pulled out his rifle and slammed the butt against it. The door finally gave way.
Water rushed inside, lowering the level in the pit slightly.
Renas was pushed through with the current.
The place beyond was nothing like before — every light was on. The floors were intact, no signs of decay or damage. Chairs and tables were neatly arranged.
Someone had been here.
The outside — the derelict building above — was just a shell, a decoy meant to drive intruders away, make them think there was nothing left.
Behind that shell, the real factory was still alive and working.