Leave The Monster Alone

But before that, he had another bigger question.

"What is wrong with your communication array exactly?" The main reason they were here after all was the communication array.

"There is nothing wrong with our communication array, nothing at all but it still refuses to work for us. We have tried everything to get it to work but nothing seems to make a difference" the female looked really stressed now.

Mark would have felt sorry for her under normal circumstances but he had a policy of not liking anyone from the other side of their reality. So far, none of the people from that side had given him a decent reason to like them.

However, this female did seem like she was the best out of the bunch.

"I'll have Rika take a look. She worked on the previous array as well so hopefully, she can point something out" Rika was brilliant and she was a protagonist. Maybe that could factor into this whole thing.

"That was what we were expecting as well. I won't ask you why you have her out of the base and into the danger but I am thankful currently" the female finally relaxed a little, her body untensing.

Mark observed his surroundings but nothing gave any major clue to him. It seemed like an ordinary office without any personal touch.

"There was another thing I wanted to ask you. The girl Suzy, how long had she been with you?" The female was an unusual case that interested Mark a lot.

The female gave him an interesting look but she did not try to hide anything. Unlike her other counterparts, she chose to trust Mark from the start which was a great thing. Really, a lot of effort was saved just like that.

"That girl? Don't waste your effort on her since she's not fully human. We found this thing in the forest earlier and took it back to study but it backfired on us. Any person who came into contact with it slowly transformed into the same person so we locked it up" the girl was a zombie or something similar?

She had seemed so human to Mark but appearances could be deceiving after all. But it was worrisome news and somehow totally unexpected. Mark should really stop getting surprised at the smallest of things but he could never fully adapt to every change.

"Can I have a look at the sample? I'll not touch it at all" would it even affect Mark? Was it dependent on data or anything else? Could his system categorize it if he scanned it? There were so many questions.

"Sure if you want to but I'll not accompany you inside. I value my life too much for that to happen but you will likely be alright since you have essentially no data. Even the headquarters do not know what to make of you" so they were looking into Mark?

Was that not something Liam should have told Mark about? That he had been under supervision all the time? Then, did they know about his unique system situation? Won't Liam have said anything had that been the case?

"Do they talk about me often? The headquarters? I'm curious what they say about me" Mark should know this. Just in case he needed this in the future. The female also seemed like the only one to care and share. 

"They don't have the means to track you all the time so there is not much information on you. They are much more focused on scanning the data for viruses or other related information. They don't have time for punny things and you fly under their radar most of the time" so they were not looking into Mark.

That made him feel better.

"So, the sample first then the communication array?" Mark got a small smile in return from the female.

"Sure, if you want to. I'll send a Suzy with you inside because they're the only one immune to that thing now" so Mark will have an assistant. That was alright with him and he much appreciated it.

Besides, a chance to talk with the snake-look alive was a great opportunity. 

Suzy was waiting for them outside the main door. Mark was not sure if she was the same Suzy who had led them inside or if she was a different one. How many Suzy were there even? There had to be more than three at any rate.

"Suzy, he's a quest that needs to be led to the locker room 004. Stay with him and follow his orders. Inform me as soon as you finish" the younger female bowed and then began leading Mark. 

There was a dynamic there Mark was not following. Why did Suzy follow the orders of the commander when she seemed much more powerful than anyone else?

"Locker room 004. Do you need Suzy to come in with you?" the younger asked, her tone flat. Mark nodded his agreement and the female entered first.

Once behind the doors, Mark scanned the area around for any surveillance. There was surveillance but it was disabled for some reason.

"The security doesn't work here because Suzy's core is here. Mister Mark is safe here" she said his name. Mark felt a shock go through him as the female said his name in that flat tone.

He was sure she had never been told his name before.

"Who, no. What are you?" Mark could not help but question. He had an idea but it sounded too far-fetched to be true. 

"Suzy is Suzy" the female replied but then paused and her expression changed, "Suzy is the divine beast monkey who was captured by humans and now helps them. Suzy is the sister to divine snake Fidi who told Suzy about Mark. Suzy came into contact with this human base recently because Suzy was curious. Unfortunately, Suzy's core got captured and separated from her body"

"Wait, slow down and let me digest it for now" Mark stopped the female who had just dropped this massive bomb on him. 

He knew she was related to a divine beast because of her aura but he had not expected her to be a divine beast. 

"Why are there so many of you? Are you all Suzy or is it something different" important questions first. Human lives are the most important factor right now.

"They touched Suzy's core and they could not handle the power. Suzy struck a deal with them to help them survive for longer. Suzy will save them as long as they allow Suzy to search for her real body using them" so there has been a conscious exchange? 

Mark was not sure how to feel about everything here. 

"What would happen once your body is found. Can't one of these people just take your core and run around with it to find your body?" The female had not taken out her core from the tube yet but Mark already knew how it looked.

The power of the core still hummed from behind the tube anyway and it touched Mark's senses.

"Human bodies cannot be in contact with the divine core without dying or going mad. Suzy's temporary body would not survive long enough to reach her real one. It would be better to get Suzy's real body here" so the divine beast did not want unnecessary bloodshed.

This divine beast seemed to genuinely care for the people and even did her best to not harm them. Suzy was likely the best divine beast he was going to meet which really made him wonder if all of them shared similar beliefs.

Fidi and Vodi seemed quite neutral in their decision making while Suzy clearly favoured human welfare. Mark had no other frame of reference but from Fidi's words, he had believed there to be a certain dispute between them and humans.

"Should I help you find your body as well?" Mark couldn't help but offer this to the other. He felt sorry for the kid.

"Suzy would like that. As soon as Suzy gets her core back into her body, she can stop emitting the emergency signals" Emergency signals? Like waves and things?

It was likely for the divine beasts to be able to do so and it also solved one of the greatest mysteries of this base.

The communication array was not working because Suzy was likely blocking them with her own interference. Since they were unknown waves, the base was likely not able to catch them and know about this factor.

"Let's go back for now. I don't need to see the core at all" it would not accomplish anything for Mark to see that core when he already knew the truth. 

Besides, it would be an unnecessary risk on his part. While he had been able to hold Kuro's core before, it could also be due to the bond between them.

Or maybe it was Mark who was weird and did not know about it all. He just knew that he needed to keep this secret from everyone. People could not be allowed to know Suzy's truth just yet.