Drip.... drip—
Water pooled on the damp, leaking ceiling dripped onto the floor below, echoing in steady, rhythmic taps.
The water spread into uneven patches across the ground, faintly reflecting the figure of the young man as he stepped deeper inside.
The sound reverberated along the corridor, rhythmic like the ticking of a clock. With each echoing drip, the guy's heart grew heavier, his restlessness deepening.
After passing through the door, the first thing that greeted Jawed inside the factory was a vast corridor stretching far ahead, tangled with branching passageways.
Amid the dim space, he moved cautiously, his shadow cast against rusted steel walls.
Even though no one was in sight, he couldn't afford to lower his guard.
As he walked, Jawed glanced down each side corridor, trying to catch sight of the group that had just entered.
To find the girl's silhouette.
"!!!"
Suddenly, his steps halted. Jawed's whole body tensed, and on instinct he quickly slipped into a side passage.
"Phew... phew...." He braced his hands against the wall, breathing in heavy gasps. Then, Jawed carefully leaned out to look.
Up ahead, at the end of the corridor, was a large hall. Inside, it was crowded with the men in black, just like the two from earlier.
Jawed frowned. There was no way he could continue down this road.
He turned and followed a branching path, trying to find a different route. Yet, what awaited him at the end of the road, was nothing but a dead end.
"Shit," Jawed muttered.
He stared at the cold wall before him, his heart sinking.
What now? How was he supposed to move forward?
Is this the end? he thought bitterly.
Suddenly, as his gaze inadvertently tilted upward toward the ceiling, Jawed's eyes paused for a brief moment, then lit up.
Right above the wall that had blocked all hope, there was another path.
A way piercing through the despair.
An air duct!
As the idea flashed through his mind, Jawed immediately pried open the vent cover, then climbed straight in.
His movements were swift and precise, without a single wasted motion. After all, this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this.
He crawled along the duct, doing his best to make as little noise as possible.
Suddenly, as he moved over a section of duct running above a room,
"Checking containment chamber #8982, confirm drug concentration at XX%."
"Subject #6667 is nearing level-up. Increase dosage."
"...."
A few voices rang out, instantly drawing Jawed's attention.
Through a narrow gap in the duct, a shocking scene unfolded beneath him.
In the rundown, dilapidated, rusted room, there were unexpectedly countless pieces of modern equipment and machinery.
It looked like a lab.
And, among the technology, there were even human-sized containment pods.
Beside them were masked figures in white lab coats, jotting down notes and running calculations.
On the backs of their coats, was the same eye symbol.
Jawed stared at the pods. Inside those containment pods, there were people. They were submerged in a bizarre green liquid, countless tubes and cables entwined around their bodies.
It was a horrifying sight. And, what even more terrifying was, when Jawed looked closely, each and every one of them bore an engraved mark on some part of their body.
They were all.... Mecha humans?!!!
At the shocking realization, Jawed's pupils contracted.
He forced himself to keep moving. But in the next rooms, the scenes were no different.
A freezing cold and overwhelming unease surged through his chest.
On the verge of losing his composure, he kept darting his eyes around in search.
Finally, his gaze stopped. Not far away, a group of people were heading toward a long corridor.
Among them, was the figure he had been chasing.
Without hesitation, Jawed hurried along the duct, following them.
Gradually, the group stopped in front of a room.
The men in black herded the girl's group inside, then slammed the door shut before leaving, abandoning them in an enclosed, pitch-dark space.
Inside the air duct, the young man waited until those guys were gone.
Then, he clenched his fists.
***
Inside the dark room.
The young girl leaned listlessly against the wall's corner, her eyes submerged in gloom.
At this moment, her posture looked as if she had given up on everything.
After all, those cold words from earlier still echoed in her mind:
"....The weak have no right to wish for anything....."
....
"Haa—"
She let out a quiet sigh, a meaningless one.
"H-Hey, please don't look so down like that." Suddenly, a voice spoke up.
The girl flinched. Facing her now was another maiden about her age.
"Ah, uh..... I mean, you're really pretty, so don't make such a sad face. Everything will be fine, right, guys?" The girl smiled reassuringly, her tone carrying an optimistic note.
Yet, for the others in the room, when they heard her words, their gazes subtly shifted away.
Seeing that, the once-optimistic girl froze.
"Y-You.... you believe me, right? Everything will be fine." She spoke hesitantly to the girl.
"M-Mm" the girl replied softly, yet lowered her head as if trying not to meet the other's eyes.
The optimistic girl fell silent, as though she didn't know what to say next.
The room fell into silence. No one said anything.
As if slowly sinking into despair.
Suddenly, at that very moment,
Clank— Clank— Clank—
A clattering of metal rang out above, drawing the attention not only of the girl, but of everyone in the room.
And then, BAM—!!!
A violent crash resounded, shaking the entire room.
Dust and smoke billowed up, obscuring all sight.
"Tch, that was a terrible landing." A calm, familiar voice suddenly rang out.
"H-huh!?" Hearing that voice, the girl's once-frozen heart trembled slightly. She lifted her gaze through the haze of dust, looking toward the source of the sound.
Before her, at this very moment, was a familiar figure. He stood there, casually brushing off the dust clinging to his tousled hair.
It was a guy she had thought she would never see again.
A warmth.
In that instant, the girl's eyes widened, the darkness in her gaze giving way to a sudden spark of light.
As if sensing her gaze, Jawed looked over as well.
Two people, their eyes met.
Once more, they met again.
…
The factory complex, illustrated based on my imagination
Note: this is only an illustration. The actual factory in the story is much larger, with more corridors, branches, and rooms.