Episode 54. Starry Night (6)
Woo woo woo.
Inside the elevator going down to the lab basement. After Seol Chae-hwa’s drone hacking manipulated the CCTV in the elevator, Na-yeon Eom and I were waiting for her to arrive in a spleen atmosphere.
“Uncle, is there anything I should know?”
“Your safety comes first. Next, watch out for Seolchaehwa’s drones so they don’t get destroyed.”
Then, instead of answering, Eom Na-yeon looked at me.
“what. why.”
“Can I protect my uncle?”
“If it’s dangerous, I’ll ask for help.”
“Hmm. I see.”
Here, the laboratory is divided into zones with unique names, and there are firewalls in place in case an accident occurs in that zone.
It’s always locked, so I had to hack it with Seolchaehwa’s drone to get past that section. But what if the drone is destroyed?
While waiting in the elevator, I reminded Eom Na-yeon of that fact.
“I’m going to get stuck here.”
In the original work, if Seolchaehwa’s drone was destroyed without being able to protect it, it was necessary to obtain the firewall key by overpowering researchers or patrol troops, just like the AS card key. Naturally, this acquisition also had a very low probability.
“one more. We shouldn’t get caught as much as possible. You shouldn’t even give it a chance to get caught.”
“Isn’t that normal?”
“From inside the lab, who entered and exited what area at what time and what time, and where card keys are needed, everything will be recorded in their database logs. Seolchaehwa’s drone can fool the eyes of CCTV, but it can’t fool the entry and exit records.”
“I just want to correct one part. It is possible to manipulate access records, but it only takes longer than screen hacking, so we don’t do it.”
Nayeon Eom nodded as if she understood.
“If we do knock down a researcher or patrol force, they might arouse suspicion because their activity history is cut off unnaturally?”
However, the strategy to break through by recklessly pressing down with force was not easy.
When the alert level is maxed out, the gnomes carry out the incineration process step by step in order not to steal the research materials.
‘I don’t know if only the research-related documents are blown away.’
The biggest problem was that the list of incineration included children who were being experimented on.
“Before the full-scale start, we will brief you once again to confirm what we will do.”
Seol Chae-hwa started to point out the missions we need to do in this laboratory again.
The basic plan was this.
Moving Seolchaehwa’s drone to the central control center that oversees the internal system of the institute. Once she takes control of the management system through drones, the rest of the internal forces can be wiped out.
It’s easy to understand, but putting it into practice is never simple.
Instead of camouflaging the security forces and surveillance and defense systems here, they have a powerful power stand-by at the central control center to slash any intruders.
‘Puppet Master MacLaine.’
The mid-boss of the second episode.
He participated in the research of the artificial satellite project, but after it was revealed that his ability was limited, he became an elite force protecting the laboratory.
It was safe to say that if he safely defeated him, half of the mission would have been completed.
“… … Basic plan considering only the best situation. In other words, Plan A.”
In addition, if it is discovered or the risk of data incineration increases as the alert level in the laboratory increases. Or if Seolchaehwa’s drone is destroyed along the way.
Plans that assumed various situations were heard quietly through the in-ear radio.
“Aww. I heard it before, but it’s really complicated… … .”
Eom Na-yeon, who was listening to the briefing, frowned.
“If you can’t remember, just follow my instructions. I kept it all in my head.”
“really? After all, there is no one to trust except my reliable uncle~”
ding.
The elevator finally stopped.
After making eye contact with Eom Na-yeon for a while, I decided to take the lead from now on.
“Fortunately, it didn’t happen that we encountered the enemy as soon as the door opened.”
“I told you to be more careful with CCTVs than with people from here on out, right?”
“that’s right. Even though Seolchaehwa is good at multi-control, it’s better to relieve the burden. We just have to find the CCTV first and ask Seol Chae-hwa to hack it.”
From here, the same infiltration action as the original work will unfold.
It is different from reaching the target point in a way that draws the attention of the enemy while hiding the body using the terrain feature.
‘Here, as an optional mission, I got an AS card key and secured the recruits of the children.’
There was one thing to keep in mind with this optional mission. The point was that a time attack would occur the moment a child was saved.
Those who noticed the disappearance of the test subject would raise their alert level in an instant, and if they save one more person from here, they will notice it again.
‘Those who recognize that the enemy has invaded will proceed with the incineration process immediately.’
As we followed the long passage through which the air was somewhat humid, a steel door greeted us.
“I’ll hack you right away.”
Seol Chae-hwa’s drone flew in and fired a radial laser at the card key scratcher.
Beep. Beep beep.
The door opens sideways with a mechanical sound. It was necessary to tighten the tension from here.
Seol Chae-hwa sought the internal map, but literally only the map. I couldn’t find out what was in which room or where the CCTV was installed.
However, the situation is not all bad. Because there was a strategy to some extent.
‘Rooms with important data, laboratories where children are confined, or roads leading to the central control center were heavily patrolled by patrol teams.’
Through this, it was possible to infer that there must be something near this area.
“Ugh. It’s incredibly quiet here. You don’t even know what’s in which room, so you have to open them all. Uncle, what if I open the door and make eye contact with the officials here?”
Eom Na-yeon looked around and asked me in a whisper.
“Leave that to me. You shouldn’t have seen me listening well.”
“But doesn’t that keep using magic? Are you okay?”
That’s right, if you keep going, your mental energy will be consumed. Not only mental strength, but also the burden on the brain itself. Also, there may be an unfortunate situation where you have to be carried on the back of Nayeon Eom.
“I just need to turn it on for a while and then turn it off immediately after checking the presence of people inside.”
“aha.”
“There doesn’t seem to be any patrols around here, so let’s move slowly.”
The underground laboratory is very large, but the researchers don’t go around the outside very often. Most of the time, there were more times when he was confined to his office or laboratory.
to put it another way.
‘To get the AS key, I have to go around room by room looking for the researchers.’
Eom Na-yeon points to one side with her hand.
“uncle. There is a door over there.”
First room first. After checking that there was no one inside, I opened the door and found paper boxes piled up.
“I don’t think there’s anything special about opening the box.”
“I guess so. There’s no way I would have put anything important close to the entrance.”
From nob le mt l. com
Just in case, I opened three or four boxes at random. The results were as expected. There were only odds and ends, such as research books or office supplies that could be found in the market.
“It’s too bad.”
If I had to pick one thing that stood out, there was one.
“There are a lot of things that babies will like.”
“… … .”
“I didn’t know it when I heard it only in words, but after coming to the site and checking it out like this, I think I can feel the reality.”
Somewhere in this institute, there are children who must be suffering. Eom Na-yeon, who always had a bright expression on her face, could not hide her gloom.
“Let’s push the opened box to the back where it can’t be seen. There’s no need to come all this way to check, but let’s go as safely as possible.”
Afterwards, we hacked the hallway camera with Seol Chae-hwa’s drone, checked the presence of people in the room with my own power, and repeated the process of looking inside about three times.
“Mr. Kim Do-yoon.”
“huh.”
Seol Chae-hwa’s voice came softly.
“We haven’t forgotten what our goal is, have we?”
“It was headed to the central control center.”
“If I go to the central control center and hack the main system, the entire base will come under my control. It’s not too late to search the lab after that.”
An existence that cannot be known only with the information that Seolchaehwa has secured. Puppeteer MacLaine, the biggest power of this institute, has a unique gimmick.
The guy has a nature worthy of his nickname. The power to control other people’s bodies. It could be said to be a similar ability to ‘Mind Siege’, one of the 4 stages of my nature.
‘When I entered Phase 2. If there were surviving children in the lab, they would bring them in and control them like puppets.’
In order not to see the pattern, all children had to be protected before entering the central control center.
As the original game was a game, the pattern was weakened by rescuing only enough to keep the mentality from being severely cut. The longer the stage structure was delayed, the more unfavorable it was to the player.
what is the reality It was not a matter to be taken lightly because it was a waste of time.
“Seolchaehwa. I asked you to trust me You said you would trust me.”
“… … Is this your intuition again?”
The best I could do here was just ask for your trust.
“I am in a position to receive help. I’ll trust your judgment. But please don’t forget. It was Mr. Kim Do-yoon who told me that A-ram Kang would not last long.”
“I have everything in mind.”
If the attention of the main gate is over, the Septagrams will release a search party throughout the laboratory considering the possibility that the enemy has infiltrated the inside.
Had it not been for attention, Nayeon Eom and I would not have been able to enter the outer premises through the secret passage in the first place. All the troops who need to patrol the outskirts are concentrated at the front gate.
‘Once the search party is released, they will start from the outside site and gradually narrow the search range to the inside of the laboratory.’
In many ways, it was a part that made me realize that the second episode was a time attack episode.
“uncle! I can hear?”
“uh… . I can hear.”
again and again. again and again.
Clear footsteps that can be heard even without using sense control. ahead. To be precise, it was coming from across the corner of the hallway.
Me and Eom Na-yeon looked back at the road we had passed at the same time as if we had made an appointment.
‘Back in the back hallway, there’s nowhere to hide. Even this hallway has CCTV, so we can’t fight for a long time.’
CCTV hacking does not last indefinitely. I had to keep this in mind, because after a certain amount of time it would work again.
In this line of corridors, you must choose a hiding place among the rooms you have searched.
“Let’s go into that room and hide.”
We entered the room with as few steps as possible.
“Whew.”
“Don’t worry yet. You can come in here.”
“uh? Then what about next time?”
“In case you don’t know, I’ll hide my drone first. There is a cloaking mode, but I want to save the battery as much as possible.”
Seol Chae-hwa said so and hid the drone in an appropriate place. Now we just have to hide.
‘I wish I could just pass by this room…’ … .’
In the original work, if you were in this situation, they would come into the room. It could be said that it was almost unconditional.
“Uh, what? Where should I hide?”
Eom Na-yeon looks around in confusion.
I said, looking at the cover that I had been eyeing since I entered this room.
“Um Nayeon.”
“Why, Uncle?”
“First of all, to be safe, it’s better to hide more firmly until the sound of footsteps passes.”
“Yeah, I know. But where the hell am I supposed to hide… … .”
“Let’s hide over there.”
I pointed a finger somewhere.
‘I’d be sad if that cover was left out of the stealth action genre.’
Its name is a straight cabinet.
Plenty of space for one person. A vent that allows you to see the outside only from the inside. It can be said that it is a historical cover that is commonly encountered in horror games.
I approached the cabinet and opened the door.
‘Still, it’s not exactly the same as the game.’
The game was empty inside, but this cabinet contained more or less clothes. It is unnecessarily realistic only in this part.
I muttered to myself, pulling out the clothes and hiding them in a suitable corner. … I tried to hide it.
‘wait.’
One of the clothes I was afraid to hide in a corner I couldn’t see. The white gowns worn by researchers caught my eye.
Another element indispensable in stealth action. The word disguise crossed my mind.
“uncle? Why are you wearing that gown? Could it be that I’m hiding in a cabinet and my uncle is trying to escape the crisis with a disguise?
“Would that be? Even if you put on a gown, it’s a face you’ve never seen before, and you don’t even have a researcher ID.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“We should hide in that cabinet together. Can you tell me anything?”
“Is that possible?”
The sound of footsteps gets closer. As a rule of thumb, there was less than 5m left before we reached the door.
“Is it possible. So stop hesitating and go inside.”
“oh.”
I pulled Nayeon Eom’s wrist, who kept procrastinating, and pushed it into the cabinet. And so I tried to go inside, but there was no space left.
“Um Nayeon. Get closer to the back. Just stick it to the wall on your back and buttocks. That way I can get in.”
“Ugh, ugh.”
“What are you doing? do you put it on the wall? Right now you’re raising your back a little because I’m trying to join you. And why are you pushing my chest with these hands? If that’s the case, I won’t be able to go in.”
“wait for a sec. It’s the first time I’ve ever been so close to a man, so I keep stopping without even realizing it… … .”
Right after that, the footsteps we were hearing cut off exactly in front of the room we were in.
An alarm bell rang in my head.