Leave The Monster Alone

"You're done already? Any new news yet?" the commander sounded impatient to know what Mark had found. When they had done their own research they haven't really found anything of significance but that had to be expected.

They still lacked technology and resources at their base. What they had hoped for was the upper of the original base since it was the cannon base. As such, there was likely going to be better tech there.

"There are some kind of waves that are being emitted around here. It is blocking a lot of features for me and also hindering communication as a whole" Mark was not telling a lie but it was not the whole truth either.

The communication he was talking about was of the array and not his system. His system was ok and it was still functioning exactly as it should.

"There is? How did we miss this big of a detail?" The female seemed to find this suspicious but she did not call out Mark for his observation. The commander was good at reading faces and knowing the intentions of others and this was why she had been chosen for this role.

Her readings were not 100% real but she could still tell that Mark was not tricking her. At least not fully, which was more than enough reason to trust him in this case.

"Let's head down to the labs for now. Maybe they would have discovered something in our absence" it was entirely possible with Rika's presence. The female was somewhat like a golden finger when it came to the technological side of things.

She had one of the best AI's in the original game and that must have only improved with recent changes. Mark had seen her remarkable work already in the last base so he was not that worried.

"Suzy, we don't need you anymore so you can go for now" the female gave the commander a blank stare that was unnerving to her. Anyone would be spooked when they were looked at with such dead eyes for so long.

"..." for a few seconds, it looked as if the youngest was struggling to say something. Mark held his breath in anticipation of what would come out. It could range anywhere from important to not worth paying attention.

But for Mark, who had spent time with the divine beast before and knew her brother, he knew how much they could spoil the future events for him. Mark had already started to keep an account of every new piece of information he received from outside sources.

And there had been a lot till now.

If this female was anything like his brother, then Mark was sure that she was a treasure mind of information. But maybe it was better if she did not tell them anything yet because the other female was here right now as well.

"Suzy will go now. Suzy hoped to see Mark again" the female left without much fanfare. Mark was disappointed and relieved in equal parts. 

"Suzy took a liking to you which is rare for her. I hope you don't mind at all" Mark did not mind at all. Really he did not. The girl was a pit of information after all.

"She's a good girl and I think we get along well enough. I won't mind her company in the future at all. Maybe she and Alan could become good friends due to their close age" Maybe Mark could nab her as well when they were done.

Another divine beast would come in handy during their struggles. And the girl clearly needed someone to look after her needs and health.

"Close in age? I highly doubt it. Mist of the people who were affected by her energy were far older than her" that sombre the mood. With the influx of new information, Mark had forgotten to take into account what he already knew.

The female was not a human but a divine beast who was a walking infection stick right now. There was a risk in associating with her right now. Perhaps no one could handle her currently except Mark and Kuro.

"You were about to show me the way to the labs. Let's go now" Mark diverted the attention to another topic. The atmosphere was getting much too heavy for his liking and he was not sure how beneficial it would be for them to disagree right now.

"Sure, follow behind me. Do not make eye contact with people inside as they are skittish of outsiders right now" wow, all that and now the female gave him a warning.

Mark was pretty sure Rika and the company had not gotten this warning so was Mark special? Or maybe Suzy gave them one as well.

The labs were very different from their own base. While most of their original labs were underground, this base had them at a proper location with abundant sunlight. They were also quite spacious and had a lot of equipment available all around.

But Mark could not get comfortable in this space. The feeling of something 'missing' hung heavy in his brain and it caused him to become restless.

Rika and Alan were easy to spot along with Kuro. Rika seemed to be pointing at the screen, her expression overly serious while the other scientist looked frustrated and flushed.

"-I think I know what I am doing. I don't think we need your interference at all Miss" the scientist finished hurriedly when he saw Mark and his commander coming closer.

Rika let out a frustrated sigh.

"It's there and I'm sure that those are some kind of blocker waves jamming the signal. You should do another sweep of your system to make sure everything is in order and nothing is jamming the communication array" Rika took the perfect opportunity to deliver her words.

The scientist did not say anything once his commander came nearer. Everyone knew that the base commander did not like fights but preferred peaceful solutions.

"Did you find anything wrong here?" The commander was back in form now, her face impassive. Her cold eyes looked at everyone from behind a mask of superiority. This was a role she had to play and she would play it perfectly.

"It's nothing. Just a little disagreement we have resolved"  the scientist was quick to brush Rika off, his expression really nervous. He did not want to disappoint the commander and lose his position.

This was the only thing that kept him afloat currently and he had a family to look after. 

"Rika, fill me up" the commander turned toward the female who looked almost purple in the face. 

"There is some kind of communication jamming here. I was just asking them to check their program for any remaining bugs but apparently they had already checked them a few times already" Rika's voice clearly said that she did not believe them when they said that they had already checked.

"Rika, it's not a system fault this time. There is an eternal monster that is jamming the signal and it is interfering with even my communication setup" the scientist turned toward the female with a trump expression but the female was not even looking at him.

Since the woman was not paying attention to him any longer, the scientist went back to work while the other three made their way toward the back where Alan sat with Kuro.

"How long has your communication been jammed? And you did not think to tell us till now? I made a fool of myself there" well, it had been Rika's fault to not take those words at face value and to look deeper.

It was actually a good practice but poor timing on her part. Now she felt really bad for all the harping she just did.

"It'll still be helpful if you read the code once yourself. Maybe you will catch something wrong or maybe you'll not. But the bigger question is - what do we do about this monster? We have no idea where it might be" the commander was stressed now.

There was not enough of a task force to add this operation to the mix. If they dedicated their attention toward this side as well then they will really be stretching themselves thin.

"Give me one of your Suzy and I'll look into it with Alan and Kuro" the commander did not question why he asked for the female. The girl had been their first contact with this base and she was really powerful for her size.

Besides, Mark and her had hit it off since the start so there was ample reason there. Also, it was in their best interest since it only cost them a single soldier to get things done.

"I'll send one right your way. Would you need anything else?" The commander was trying her best to make them feel welcomed here. For her Mark was almost a godsend who made her worries disappear.

"No, that's all for now. We'll start in a few hours then"