Story Reader / Floating Record / ER08 The Long Goodbye / Story
Several months pass as Wanshi settles into a routine life. On this day, after classes and activities end, Wanshi heads back to the dormitory alone instead of walking with the others.
Earlier in the dormitory hallway, he spotted several Constructs standing awkwardly behind a volunteer, interacting with children under the volunteer's guidance—the Youth Center has recently started accepting commissions, occasionally bringing Constructs here to carry out assigned tasks.
Wanshi recalls the Constructs at the emergency center and the fluids. He has learned that it's vital fluid—it's just like human blood, and losing too much of it means "death" for a Construct.
He opens the dorm room door and notices the items on his desk aren't where he left them.
Pelo?
...No one... did they come back here...
He closes the door and hesitantly sits at the desk, except all the lights in the dormitory go out as soon as he sits down.
He hears rapid footsteps approaching from outside the door, while rustling sounds echo from all corners of the dormitory.
He snatches the night light from the desk.
Bang!
Happy Birthday!!!
A group of children jump out from the corner, as party poppers explode above Wanshi's head. Glittering confetti bursts into the air, gently floating down to sprinkle across Wanshi's hair.
Birthday...?
The dormitory door slides open as the screen on the desk lights up and starts to play a message from Gestalt.
Today is November 5, your birthday. Gestalt remembers this important day with you... Based on a comprehensive analysis of your reading preferences, I have prepared a gift for you.
Now sending: "One Hundred Thousand Questions and Answers", "Complete Guide to Basic Education", "Plant Biology: Unit Review", "Academic Excellence Series: Professional Certification Exam Preview"...
...
The protagonist, who knows nothing of his own birthday, stands silently with a night light in hand, gazing at the crowd before him.
There in the wide-open doorway stands Melvie, who hasn't been seen in ages, holding a cake with Wanshi's name written in chocolate at its center.
Happy birthday, Wanshi. I probably never mentioned your birthday before, sorry... From now on, we'll all remember it together.
Don't worry! I have a great memory!
The mischievous girl from that day steps forward, setting off another party popper above Wanshi's head as she giggles along with the other children.
Here's your gift! My teacher once said that the livelier your birthday celebration is, the luckier you'll be in the coming year!
The other children join in with cheerful voices, presenting their gifts to Wanshi. Though the handmade presents rest lightly in his arms, they carry a weight that touches his heart.
Pelo steps out from beside Melvie and awkwardly shoves an item into Wanshi's palm.
Here's your birthday gift... It's not from me specifically—the teachers had everyone prepare it together, using the things you talked about.
The things I said?
Wanshi carefully examines the gift in his hands.
It's a dreamcatcher. Sky-blue ribbons are woven around its hoop, with sparkling stones hanging below, and beneath those, a few feathers. The tips of the feathers are gray, just like the ones from the birds in Wanshi's memories.
As the dreamcatcher sways gently, its feathers brush against his wrist with a ticklish touch.
The Constructs that can go to the surface helped collect these. If you want to say thanks, make sure to include them too.
Wanshi notices the Constructs standing behind the crowd.
Thanks...
Shall we blow out the candles and make a wish now?
I brought you a bento box too—it's a big one. After you're done with the cake, you can share it with your friends.
...Ahem, we can talk about the lunch box later. Let's let him make his wishes first.
Wanshi?
Wanshi clenches his hand, keeping his expression mostly neutral.
Am I dreaming?
What do you mean, dreaming? Everyone's waiting for you—did you think you were sleepwalking or something?
You're not dreaming. This life belongs to you, and it's all real.
...
As long as it's all real.
That's nice.
Amidst the chorus of blessings, Wanshi closes his eyes.
What should I wish for?
This is his first birthday ritual, and his first time making a wish.
If wishes really could come true, he'd want to know why his mother sent him to Eden, and what she's doing down on the surface.
He wishes to never have nightmares again—to "prune away" those tangled, chaotic memories from his mind, just as Melvie suggested.
He wishes... that people would stay by his side forever.
He may be young, but his dreams are endless.
The world falls into darkness, with only the faint glow of birthday candles flickering dimly ahead.
The candlelight illuminates fragments of memory data. He recalls his mother's promise when she brought him to Eden, the moment he first opened his eyes at the Star of Life... and in the depths of darkness where he never dared to dream, a beacon shines.
A sudden pain shoots through his head as a message transmits itself through the power of the wish—the beacon transforms from blurry candlelight into crystal clarity, taking only 20 seconds for the vital fluid to course through his entire body.
After a moment of contemplation, all the memory data streams gravitate toward the beacon.
The Construct's eyes remain closed as you detect sealed memory data deep within his M.I.N.D.
The Mind Beacon strives to calm the rippling waves of consciousness, attempting to probe deeper into its depths.
...Uhmm.
Without warning, the chaotic memory data reveals its massive volume and launches a counterattack against the human Mind Beacon.
Watch out!
Someone pulls you from behind—and just in time. In that moment of clarity, they sever the mental connection.
Wanshi's eyes snap open as well, and together, you turn to face the figure that has appeared—a Construct.
I didn't expect our next meeting to come so soon.
I wasn't part of the temporary squad... That's right, I joined them of my own accord.
Conservation Areas 189 and 190 provide energy for New Sophiasburgh. I've been staying in the vicinity lately.
The mission to explore this abandoned research facility isn't high-level at all, but I remembered the experiments from the Arctic Union routes... so I just...
Rosetta shows signs of fatigue.
You must have come because you received my message, so you should know what's happening—everyone on the team except me has lost contact. I need to find them before we can leave.
But you guys don't look so good either. What's happening out there?
Wanshi stands up and adds a clarification.
It's not safe outside. The Red Tide is spreading rapidly and will engulf this research facility and the two nearby conservation areas. We're running out of time for rescue and search operations.
We've lost contact with our other two squad members, and as you can see... the Commandant and I were dragged down here, too.
Dragged down?
Did you notice that Corrupted that's only half corrupted?
Rosetta shakes her head.
...Bad luck.
...I accidentally fell down here.
Rosetta closes her eyes wearily.
This temporary mission has been pretty straightforward—all the documents are in plain sight.
Oliver, this device is still operational. See if you can create a backup of its data.
Right on it, but I found a terminal. Want to take a look at this first?
Terminal?
The terminal in Oliver's hands is nearly destroyed, but it's still recognizable as a Babylonian military tactical terminal.
Looks like Constructs from Babylonia have been here.
It could be rogue Constructs. The scans show no one's inside the building, but we should still proceed with caution.
The terminal suddenly crackles to life, its screen lighting up as a stream of corrupted data flows across it.
Meanwhile, the same sound echoes from behind a piece of abandoned equipment nearby.
Acting on instinct, Rosetta stops Oliver from investigating.
Stay here and back up the data. I'll go and check it out.
Soon after, Rosetta spots numerous terminals in a dim corner, stacked deliberately into what resembles a small mountain.
...We need to report this immediately. This must be a stronghold for deserter Constructs.
Strange... all the terminals have similar marks like they have been slashed... by a Scythe?
Rosetta frowns as she picks up two terminals for inspection. The deep slash marks are clearly what rendered them inoperable.
What kind of weapon could have done this...
Oliver, do these marks look familiar to you?
Ahhh!!!
Oliver!
Hearing the shout, Rosetta rushes back, only to find Oliver gone from where he was standing just moments ago.
She tries to contact team members scattered across different areas, but each attempt is met with nothing but an endless silence.
Without lingering, she swiftly reports the incident to Babylonia.
Emergency! We have lost contact with all team members—ugh!
She misses her footing and falls into a hole hidden beneath piles of scrap paper.
Maybe.
I did a quick survey of the area. There's a pile of Construct remains over there—someone deliberately gathered their terminals together. I found this.
Rosetta pulls out another heavily worn terminal.
This one is still transmitting signals at regular intervals.
Wanshi takes the terminal and fiddles with it for a moment, causing it to emit its familiar red glow once again.
Shorthalt? The one that went missing from the Scarab Squad is here too?
Yes, but this time he left behind a lot of information... It's rather unlike his usual style.
The terminal contains numerous voice messages. Wanshi's finger hovers above them for a moment before finally tapping the screen.
After an unsettling stretch of static, a somewhat familiar voice finally comes through.
Huff... huff... There's... an "egg" here.
Upon hearing that familiar term after so long, you grow alert, and Wanshi furrows his brow.
...This voice sounds different from Shorthalt's usual tone.
I'm not sure if this is another one of the research facility's twisted projects, but the fact they're experimenting on children tells you everything you need to know about this place.
Child experiments... Just as I suspected.
The egg has hatched into a creature that now roams these halls. If anyone finds this place, exercise extreme caution.
I need to avoid that creature and get the test subjects... get those children out of the cultivation area.
Hard to say if we'll make it. Haven't run into that thing face-to-face yet, but there are dead researchers and security personnel everywhere—all its handiwork.
That's all for now.
The voice message cuts off, leaving the three in contemplative silence.
Could our missing teammates have been attacked by this creature he mentioned? I've seen strange battle marks up there.
Not necessarily.
Something's off about all the information. For one thing, neither the Commandant nor I have directly encountered this "supposed" "enemy".
Second... while it could be due to signal distortion or a damaged voice module, this voice definitely sounds different from Shorthalt's usual one.
The research facility's destruction by Punishing happened many years ago. By the time Shorthalt arrived, no living humans remained—only the Ascendant and the Constructs temporarily following them.
No one would set such a lame trap... I don't understand why Shorthalt would say that. Perhaps there are areas we haven't investigated yet.
If there really are undiscovered children out there, then in addition to finding our missing team members, we must add this to our mission objectives as well.
I'm familiar with the routes in this area now. The next phase of our operation should go more smoothly.
If you encounter the monster, eliminate it.
Rosetta tightens her grip on her weapon as Wanshi nods in silent agreement.
You point at the dim corridor ahead.
