Chapter 56

Chapter 56. Abandoned Base (2)

***

Lee Se-ah let out a sigh.

The Foundation would never let a large facility like this collapse on its own. This facility was abandoned. To achieve some kind of purpose.

It’s hard to believe it was destroyed by external forces. I can’t figure out why it was ruined… Even if I ask headquarters, they won’t give me a proper answer.

In the end, if I want to know, I have to go inside.

***

At the center of the Garden, there was no World Tree, no nameless god, no gardeners. There was only a half-destroyed Foundation facility.

The sound of the monster’s footsteps continued.

A monster slowly passed by the corridor we were aiming our guns at. A grotesque form, a fusion of several corpses.

I made sure not to make a sound and aimed my gun at the monster’s head area. Well… the part with the most heads.

Is that a creation of the Garden, or a monster born from the malfunctioning Foundation facility?

Probably the latter.

The Garden, from what I’ve seen so far, only creates perfect and beautiful creatures.

“Kriririririri……”

A horrifying sight, and a horrifying sound.

Even though I was only seeing it in black and white through the night vision goggles, I felt nauseous. My finger on the trigger instinctively tightened…

I don’t know who fired first.

What’s certain is that my finger reacted before my brain did. We fired almost simultaneously, and the monster was instantly turned into a bloody mess by the hail of bullets.

I wiped the blood off the lens of my gas mask.

“Let’s keep moving.”

There’s too much to figure out. What was this facility even for? How did these monsters come to be, and why are they so degraded?

Perhaps this facility has been abandoned for much longer than five years.

Stalactites and stalagmites don’t form overnight. Judging by the cave formations growing out of the concrete, it must have been abandoned for at least several decades.

That makes more sense.

The Foundation not explaining things properly, the insane Foundation employee living in the cabin, the Foundation downplaying information about the Garden…

[I’ll take the lead.]

We slowly advanced through the dark building.

There’s no telling what might come out from where. Even with the night vision goggles, our situational awareness is limited.

The boots made by the Foundation were surprisingly quiet. I don’t know why.

I quickly checked the observation equipment. No spatial distortion, no radiation, other reality concentration changes… still at a negligible level.

“Dr. Chae.”

Last time, at the Large-Scale Containment Wing, you said you were from the defense industry. You handle weapons skillfully, and your movements are not ordinary.

Was that a lie? I’m not sure.

[What is it?]

“Something just occurred to me. You remember saying there’s no evidence that the walking flowers are made from human materials, right?”

[That’s correct.]

“What if it’s the opposite?”

[……]

Dr. Chae didn’t answer immediately.

“If the Garden isn’t using humans as materials to create plants, but using plants as materials to create humans. Regardless of molecular biological evidence, the outcome might not be so different.”

[There’s something ahead. Take cover.]

Back to combat stance. I checked my weapon and waited by the corridor. But, what exactly is there to see?

[I just heard the sound of a weapon being loaded. There are no Foundation personnel in this area. We’ll assume an enemy of equal level and prepare for a firefight.]

If I had known… I would’ve brought something other than a shotgun. I swapped the tube magazine with slugs that have a steel core.

“Let’s move. Staying still is dangerous too.”

The darkness of the labyrinth grew thicker.

If I were a gardener, and if I wanted to kill intruders who entered this abandoned facility, how would I do it? What strategy would I use?

A facility that once housed 5,000 people. Assuming they’re fighting humans, guarding the outer walls would be too cumbersome and unnecessary.

This is their home ground.

From their perspective, the deeper into the labyrinth they fight, the more advantageous it is. But they might also want to protect something deep within the labyrinth.

The enemy must have set up a defensive line somewhere suitable in the labyrinth. If the enemy is human, it would likely be a defensive line using sandbags and guns. But we can’t be sure yet.

[We’re here.]

The heart of the facility.

The heavy iron door was rusted from moisture, and the surrounding concrete was slightly warped. The locking mechanism was broken.

The iron door simply opened.

“Wait a second.”

I couldn’t help it. I adjusted my night vision goggles and turned on the flashlight to look down the corridor. What the hell is that?

“Ugh.”

Thousands, tens of thousands of eyeballs were staring at me. Bloodshot eyeballs, growing on plants like grapes on a vine.

***

I suppressed my nausea and placed one eyeball into the sample container I brought. Will this sample show human DNA, or not?

Probably not.

[Dr. Kim, what do you think is the reason this facility was abandoned? I’ve never heard of a large Foundation facility collapsing before.]

“I think it’s as the naturalist said. Even if I don’t know the details, the Garden must be calling people into the forest.”

[Do you still think it’s a good idea to make a contract with the Owner of the Garden? Isn’t it dangerous?]

“If things go wrong, we can just kill them.”

It would be nice if we could repair or restore this facility. But that’s realistically difficult, right?

***

Hostile groups are humanity’s enemies.

[Well. It’s a bit grotesque, but it seems we’ve found the path to the eye of the storm. We’ll proceed.]

One silver lining.

If there are people living in this cursed place, it’s unlikely they have the mental capacity left to wield guns or devise strategies.

The surroundings were becoming increasingly bizarre.

Flower bushes shaped like humans. Vines with eyeballs instead of fruits, small trees with green hands moving instead of leaves.

It was a horrifying sight.

[We’ll soon reach the center of the facility.]

The door leading to the center of the facility was slightly ajar. In the center of the facility…

There was a massive cavity.

A huge cylindrical space spanning multiple floors. We hid by the railing and peered into the center of the facility.

“What do you see?”

Iron mesh. And chains. Not ordinary chains. Chains of an absurd size, like those connected to the anchor of a massive ship.

This is a facility to contain something.

I looked down at the floor of the facility’s center. Something adorned with colorful flowers and leaves was coiled up, lying in the center of the facility.

Did the Foundation imprison the god of the gardeners?

Why couldn’t the gardeners free it, or do they not want to release that monster? Can that monster still exert influence over the Garden in that state?

Wiiiiiiing.

A mechanical sound. We looked up at the incomprehensible noise coming from above. Something was looking down at us from the ceiling of the facility’s center.

Chichichichichi……

Again, static came through my radio.

[Hello, Director. I am Ganymede, the Foundation’s facility management AI. What brings you to my facility today?]

That damn bastard?

***

It’s probably a product name.

You know, like how every iPhone has Siri and every Galaxy has Bixby. Every facility has its Ganymede.

The problem is.

The AI in the bunker was easy to kill, but I have no idea where the brain of this AI is located.

I looked up at the ceiling.

“Ganymede. What do you want?”

[My goal is to manage this facility and maintain the containment of this massive supernatural phenomenon. I ask again, Director, what brings you to my facility?]

The Ganymede in the bunker was insane.

The Ganymede in this facility… is likely insane too. Especially considering the situation it’s in.

I prepared a lie.

“We’re here to find a way to maintain the containment of that supernatural phenomenon. We’ve discovered a new method.”

[What is it?]

“The gardeners opened dimensional gates to the Garden through human sacrifice, and the naturalists survived for years in the harsh environment inside the Garden through human sacrifice.”

Wiiiiing.

The mechanical device of Ganymede hanging from the ceiling came down and looked around at us. We lowered our stance.

[So, you’re saying you plan to borrow the power of the Garden through human sacrifice now?]

“That’s right.”

[That sounds like a crazy plan.]

[Do the Foundation scientists really have no capacity to learn? How many times do I have to say it? If you play with fire every day, your house will burn down. If you keep poking beehives, you’ll get stung eventually.]

It’s annoying because it’s not entirely wrong.

“We’re going ahead with the experiment, Ganymede. Cooperate.”

[……]

[……]

[……]

[Understood. Gather your equipment and head down to the lowest level of the facility. But I’ll only allow interaction with that thing for 10 minutes.]