Story Reader / Floating Record / ER06 When Day Breaks / Story
While some problems have been taken care of, I can't seem to shake the feeling that there is more down the road...
Sigh. Looks like we won't be leaving these mines anytime soon.
Pfft. Hahaha, I never thought I'd see this side of you.
You're right. As the commandant of an elite squad, this kind of small incident must be just another day at the office for you.
The mine tunnel lies shrouded in darkness, with only the faint glow of their handheld lamps piercing through the gloom.
While Lucia investigates the mysterious signal that suddenly appeared, Bridget and you are tasked with finding a path to rendezvous with the survey team and Engineering Force.
The underground complex is a maze of interconnected passages. Having bypassed security measures using An Jie's authentication chips, you're now starting to see the true colors of the tower buried deep beneath.
With each authentication granted, more hidden passages and laboratories emerge from obscurity.
These people... they really know how to keep their secrets buried deep.
Living in darkness becomes second nature—they grow to shun the sunlight, digging ever deeper into the earth for new sanctuaries.
Besides... the things they do here could never see the light of day.
Another one of these... diaries.
Bridget uses her weapon to pick up a tattered notebook from the ground. After carefully putting on gloves, she begins to examine its pages with caution.
More of the same... contents.
The mine collapsed again today.
We really have the rescue team to thank... Konstantin Mining may be heartless, but they always make sure to call for rescuers when this happens.
At least... at least it's better than how things are at other places. At least we can scrape by here.
In a place like this, we can't ask for much more.
Only two boys got hurt, trying to be heroes by going too far in. Everyone else is fine... Cough.
...
—Miner A
The rescue workers saved me again. I just... Sigh. I'm so grateful to both of them.
I heard that before all this happened, the couple used to be extreme sports enthusiasts—off-road racing, rock climbing, stuff like that...
Sigh. I would have still been a code monkey typing away at my computer if it weren't for this damn virus outbreak.
Who would've thought I'd actually come down here to mine...
...
—Miner A
Time down here in the mine was unbearable without my diary.
I'm waiting for rescue, but something feels off this time. I heard... I heard some strange noises...
I played dead, keeping my eyes shut tight and refusing to look at anything. I only opened my eyes and wrote down all this when the strange noises were gone.
Nothing bad is gonna happen to me if I just keep my eyes and ears shut... right?
—Miner A
The rest of the diary is blank.
...
Yup, pretty sure that's the case.
The two rescue workers mentioned in this diary... they've got to be my parents.
They once told me that they were extreme sports guides and that they'd venture through the desolate wilderness and treacherous peaks before the Punishing outbreak.
They once promised me that they'd take me to all these beautiful places once the Punishing was gone...
Huff...
Oops, don't worry. Got a little carried away back there thinking about my parents.
I'll make sure to travel to all these places they've been to and see what they've seen when all this is over, though.
Yup, that's right. I'll make sure to travel to all these places they've been to and see what they've seen when all this is over.
Care to join me when I'm ready to do that?
Then it's a deal! Mind you, though, that it isn't going to be easy, and no, I don't want to hear you complain.
Haha, just kidding.
Oh, there's something here...
As the searchlight sweeps across another darkened control panel, Bridget places her access card against it. After a moment, the long-dormant panel slowly flickers to life.
I mean... who's been maintaining the power system this entire time?
Though everything appears shrouded in a veil of decay, it seems that with the right key, the world behind these stone walls has slowly begun to show itself.
With the access card verified, the laboratory lights automatically activate. Harsh white light floods down instantly, almost blindingly bright.
Who's there?!
A soft creaking sound echoes through the room.
Above, a security camera with a blinking red light slowly pivots.
...Is this a monitoring room?
This monitoring room isn't on the map, and this is when it hits you that something is off.
Without a moment's hesitation, Bridget raises her gun and takes a precise shot at the security camera.
The surveillance camera comes crashing to the ground.
Could someone be controlling these from the monitoring room that wasn't on the map?
Bridget crouches down to examine the shattered security camera more closely.
...It's a motion-sensing camera. It probably only turned toward us when it detected our presence.
Yeah.
This unexpected incident has heightened the tension in the air.
Having copied the research records from the terminal's control panel, the two of you quickly make your exit from the laboratory.
It feels much safer out here.
Though the mine tunnel is darker, its narrow confines somehow feel more secure than the stark, exposed laboratory with its harsh white lights.
Nice reflexes back there, [player name].
This is no ordinary feat for a human. Good job, Commandant.
Task Force really is full of talented people...
Well, they've been telling me to apply for Task Force since we finished boot camp.
But... I've always felt like I don't belong there.
Task Force is great. Fighting on the frontlines with the best frames available and everything, but... if everyone joins Task Force, who's gonna be there to support them?
Ah, I'm not saying Task Force is bad or anything, it's just...
Someone has to be there to help them, right?
Everyone has their own path to follow, and I...
My path has never been with Task Force.
Are you sure you don't want to join Task Force? The conditions there are better than in Support Force.
Your training data qualifies you for Task Force... Are you sure you're not gonna sleep on it some more?
Nope, and I'm sure about that.
I choose Support Force.
Woah, what are you even doing here when you're doing so well?!
I mean, why aren't you in Task Force?! They're always the first ones to get new research results and frames...
This place is great, too! We get to operate heavy vehicles here! Task Force doesn't have nearly as many vehicles for everyone to drive...
Haha, the old timer would always tell me that I'd flushed my talent down the toilet.
I've never been fond of making choices, but never have I regretted joining Support Force.
The scenes within her M.I.N.D. shatter into pieces, then slowly reconstruct themselves.
If she had truly weighed her options back then, the young girl she was should have accepted compensation from Norman Mining Corp and lived out her days in some conservation area.
If she had made a calculated choice after becoming a Construct, she should have joined Task Force, earned more merits, risen to an elite squad, and gained more authority.
She has faced countless opportunities, yet she has never strayed from the path she set out to take.
Not to toot my own horn, but I have indeed led Support Force to assist more Task Force operations and conservation areas than ever before.
The numbers don't lie. Since Bridget joined Support Force, numerous squads that would have otherwise died have made it back to Babylonia safely, thanks to her timely assistance and dedication.
I always thought I was giving it my all, but... Sigh.
She lets out a deep, heavy sigh.
Trojan... I never noticed anything wrong with her. And I've been thinking... that maybe I'd have been able to help her had I been more attentive.
Based on Bridget's description of Trojan, she was likely a spy working for Kurono until her M.I.N.D. was damaged, causing her memory loss.
But with Trojan being who she was, God only knows how she perceived Bridget's kindness when Bridget tried to be kind to her...
...You're right, she might think I'm just there to spy on her.
She... is being very contradicting. She truly did help Ruolin and me back then, and there is no way Ruolin and I would have improved as fast as we did without her guidance.
For someone who was supposed to be a spy, it's weird how she's trying to draw all this attention to herself...
Haha, I wouldn't be so sure about that. l mean, Ruolin and I were quite a handful...
But... it worked out fine in the end.
A familiar smile graces her face.
Trojan is still alive, and so am I. Some wrongs... can still be righted.
With a smile and a shrug, Bridget walks forward.
Come on, we've got a long road ahead of us.
Tch... Hah...
Family... honor...
Ugh... M.I.N.D...
Huff...
Suppressed, painful gasps echo softly through the sealed room.
Heavy footsteps, bestial growls, and chaotic sounds of scraping metal fill the air.
Huff...
Ahem... It seems like we have... new guests.
Dim lights slowly flicker to life in the dark room. Across the dense array of surveillance screens at the control panel, there appears the face of a brown-haired Construct that's calmly shattering the monitors one by one.
Ahem... Well... guess I've got to ready myself to receive our guests, then...
