Story Reader / Interlude / Albus Spectrum / Story
After searching for a moment, Vera uncovers a secret door behind a huge bookcase.
They quickly break down the bookcase and open the access point.
A mildewy odor of rotting paper comes out from the depths of the corridor. No. 21 sniffs the odor... then sneezes quietly.
Looks like we've found our target, eh? Pup?
Vera jokes. To distract herself from what has just happened, No. 21 forces herself to focus on the task at hand and nods sternly.
The two of them proceed along the corridor into the underground archive.
All the files here are kept on paper... Watch your step. Don't break anything.
Okay.
The underground archive is considerably more cramped than the upper level. Stacks of sallow documents are piled on the ground, smelling of mildew.
No. 21 wrinkles her nose, sniffing the odor in an attempt to remember this peculiar smell.
Here.
Vera goes straight to the safe in the middle of the archive. She jams her blade into the lock and, after wiggling it several times, hears a satisfying click as it opens. She opens the safe and takes out a stack of documents from within.
Her eyes shift to the "TOP SECRET" written in bold red on a file and checks the date on one of the corners.
After confirming the other documents, she takes the entire stack and stuffs them into a sealed waterproof pouch.
Data secured.
No. 21, what are you doing?
...There's a bug.
No. 21 is huddled over a dead spider lying on its back, trying to sniff it.
First off, that's not a bug. And if you like it so much, there's a billion others in our basement back at HQ. You can spend the night there if you want...
Really? Okay.
...Anyway, mission complete. Let's get out of here.
Roger.
No. 21 stands up. The two walk toward the exit, but right as the pouch containing the documents crosses the threshold, an ear-piercing alarm begins to buzz. Suddenly, the floor beneath them begins to rumble faintly.
?!
Vera lifts up the pouch and looks up to see a faint optical scanner at the exit.
...Damn it! It's a trap!
What should we do?
Run as fast you can! We need to get the hell outta here—!
The room's caving in!
