Leave The Monster Alone

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Secret Base #1 - Locked (3/3 keys)

Unlock: Yes/No

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Mark took a deep breath, bracing himself. This was the moment that had been building up ever since he had saved Rika back then, this place and its secrets.

He would finally see what lies behind this door.

Mark felt his heart pound 120 beats per second, a possible but not a healthy amount by any chance. The door hissed as it opened and the breath was caught in Mark's throat at that very moment.

Behind him, Kuro let out a warning growl at the door, just a precaution in case anyone was on the other side. Alan and Luna were ready to shoot as well which was reassuring. Mark could not wait to see the other side.

The door opened just a tiny bit and all Mark could see was a static green hue coming out of the door, not unlike radium and instantly his mind became vary. In his excitement in looking behind the door, he had not thought of the essentials.

To check for dangers was the very first rule to survival and somehow Mark had neglected it. He hurriedly scanned the light with his scanner.

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Anyalasing sample: Complete

Toxicity level: 5%, considered harmless for user and company

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Mark only breathed out a sigh of relief after he had been given a go-ahead by his system. He signalled to Alan and Luna the same and then entered.

His vision was instantly bombarded by the green, be it light or the decoration. Since his destination was locked behind a cave door, he had not expected it to be so 'modern' for the lack of better terms.

It looked like a secret base abandoned by an advanced agency and now it was being left to rot. The walls had a green hue, likely due to the luminous crystals of which he took some samples.

Since his system had already classified them as harmless, Mark decided to take a few back with him. He observed the base to the best of his capabilities in the limited time he had negotiated out of Luna before he had to invite them.

It was not that Mark wanted to hide things from them but under these circumstances, it was safest for Mark to check the place out first. Since he was not bounded by the code, there were things that did not affect him the same way as they did the others.

"IS IT SAFE?" Alan was loud when he screamed the question at Mark. Maybe the other Mark would not be able to hear him inside here but he should know by now that Mark had better hearing than most humans.

"It should be safe but I do have an unsettling feeling about this place" maybe it was all the green or the gloomy atmosphere of the place but Mark felt put off by this place. He had not yet started the computer yet, choosing to wait for Alan and Luna.

Kuro made her way inside first and her expression twisted into uncomfortable. Mark felt her feelings through the bond they shared and instantly knew she did not prefer this place.

"It is alright, you can wait outside if you want. I'm sure we can handle it ourselves" Kuro looked more than happy to follow his words, her tail disappearing outside the door as fast as it had come in.

By the way, Alan and Luna looked not that great as well. Their complexion was paler as well, a miracle in the case of Luna who had caramel skin currently due to the tan. Even he looked uncomfortable and trying not to let it show.

"If it is not comfortable for you as well then you can leave as well. Since I do not feel anything wrong then it should be alright if I stay here alone. Besides, there is a chance it may have permanent consequences" Mark warned and Luna looked serious all of a sudden.

"Alan, you should leave. There is something weird about this place and I know you feel it as well. I don't know if it has something to do with the 'code' part of the divine beast part but you should not risk your growth" the younger looked ready to fight his brother and Mark knew it would be big.

So he decided to interfere before it got any worse.

"Keep an eye outside and on Kuro as well. If there is a base here then there is a chance that more clues may appear in the surroundings as well" when Mark said that, it was not an excuse. Games did love to out extra stuff and easter eggs along the way.

If there was one in this game then it had to be near here.

"I can handle myself, but I do agree with what you are saying. I'll catch up with Kuro then" The teen could not put up too much fuss, his brain tiring him out too easily for his own satisfaction and then there was this feeling.

It pinched his skin from inside and it twisted his gut in a lot of directions. He felt like he was going to be sick and puking his stomach out.

"Are you alright? You can leave as well if you want to" Mark turned to Luna, the only one other than him left. The other looked bad as well but he was not visibly showing it.

"I am alright. We should not all separate, especially in your case" right, since Mark was human and thus, fragile, he should stay in the other three's company. Mark wanted to tell the other he could kick his ass if he wanted to but he stayed quiet in respect of the concern the other was giving him.

"Alright, you start the side computers while I look for the manual data. I still have the recording sent by the professor so we should be good to hack in. You know how to do this?" Luna nodded and Mark let out a relieved sigh.

It had been in Luna's file, his hacking skills and their development, something Mark was counting on in this situation. Since he was not a good choice and Alan could not make it, it only left Luna as the viable choice for their group. 

While Luna set the computer up, Mark started to look around the place. There were not a lot of things available to look through but some of the recorded data was interesting. Through the notes he got to know what this place really was, a government experiment ring focused on superpowers. 

Not only that, there was experimental data and drug data available here, the earliest one dating back to a decade ago when the program was first launched. In the current papers, he had said 'Project X' but Mark could not understand the head or tail of it. 

It was written in another language, one not entirely human from the readings of it and Mark was interested to read more. No, that a lot of data existed since most of it looked to have been tampered with or destroyed by someone. What did remain was useless notes which do not form anything solid till he gives them a deeper look through.

"I'm as deep as it will allow me to go. Anything more needs biometric data to access" and wasn't that great to hear? Biometric data, one thing they could not produce without knowing who the real user was.

"Let me see. Does it give you any user data?" Even if they could not produce the user, the identity of the said user would help as well. He could ask Liam later who such a person could be and how much he knew about this project. 

The things in the file he saw were not only too expensive but also highly regulated. Either this person had a great financial backer or he was a government agent, in both cases, Liam should know even if they were not in his file.

Outside the base, Alan finally caught up with Kuro who was running away from the base. Suddenly she stopped and as did Alan. he faced the same direction Kuro was facing and saw an almost similar silhouette in the distance, one he was sure should not be here.

"Is that Rika? Should we ambush her and ask her what she is doing here?" Kuro growled at the profile, not a friendly one but Alan was not aware why this was so? After all, Rika was a friend, was she not? Kuro should be happy to see her.

"Oi, Rika" Alan called out, going back to his playful and boorish personality. He had always been free with her, more so when Mark was not around since it gave them an opportunity to talk about Mark and his mistakes.

But then she turned toward Alan and he had a sudden realisation. She was not Rika, she was not even someone whom he knew.. But she gave Alan a small and comforting smile and he forgot to breathe for a few seconds straight.