Don't be passive?
The further we walked from the conference hall, trailing the Section Chief to the -4th floor, the deeper his words sank into my thoughts.
'He does have a point. Dragging things further will only make the situation more troublesome for me. I should tell Kyle about my current situation. This is so that I can handle it before it gets too strong."
I tried to move a little faster and get to Kyle.
But right as I did, a voice stopped me.
"Hey."
I turned my head and saw Myles, his dimples deepening with his smile.
"Oh, hey."
He looked towards the Section Chief ahead of us.
"So... what did you think about that?"
"About the presentation or the Section Chief?"
"....Both."
I paused, and so did he.
Then, we both burst out into a quiet laugh as if understanding exactly what we were thinking.
"I wouldn't say he's the type of person I'd imagine to run a place like this."
"Tell me about it."
Myles covered his mouth and looked around.
"This place looks a lot plainer than I thought."
"Oh, yeah."
I looked around me. We were currently walking along a long white corridor with white lights flashing above. People in white suits walked past us, not sparing us a glance as they held onto notepads and scribbled some stuff.
"From what I've heard, the fourth floor down is designed to hold the Gates?"
"Not quite."
Myles shook his head.
"The Fourth Floor is the containment Section. It is where most of the Anomalous objects and entities are stored."
"Oh."
That made some sense.
It could also explain why there were so many people in white clothes. They were probably researchers.
That also made me think.
"In that case, you won't be entering a Gate?"
"No, we're not ready for that. We're still new recruits."
"Oh, I see."
That also made sense.
"Chances are, we'll be tested with one of the Contained objects—or thrown into some kind of simulation without any information. I don't think it'll be anything dangerous, considering that it's our first day."
I thought for a moment before looking at the distant Section Chief.
I wasn't so sure about that...
"We're here."
The Section Chief came to a stop in front of a large metallic door. He scanned his ID badge, and with a soft hiss, the door slid open, revealing a small white room filled with various devices and a large monitor wired into the wall. At the far end stood another metallic door, identical to the first.
"Everyone, get yourself ready. We'll be starting shortly. Take a piss. Take a shit. Preparing your kicking motions. I don't care. Just get ready."
With a yawn, he slumped over the chair by the monitors, sliding a few meters before hooking his heels on the ground and forcing his way back.
Staring at him, I felt a small pat on the shoulder.
It was Myles.
"I guess... I'll get ready."
His smile seemed forced as he held onto his own ID badge.
"By the way, about you... being here to observe. Does that mean you're not going to participate in the test?"
"...No."
"Oh."
His smile grew even more forced.
"Good on you." He said.
Looking at him, he felt a little pitiful.
I could only give him a half-hearted good luck before finding a corner and sliding down on the ground.
I took the chance to retrieve my laptop from my bag.
As the app started to load, a shadow cast over me.
"Are you going to sit here and observe everyone take the test?"
"Hm?"
I looked up to see Kyle staring at me from above, his ID badge dangling over his neck and bouncing off my forehead.
"Seriously...?"
"Sorry."
He pulled his ID back and looked behind.
"The Section Chief said you can take the test if you're up for it. It's a relatively easy one. You won't die—but I can't promise it'll be painless."
"You need to work on your pitch better. Can't promise it'll be painless...? I'm even less interested in doing it now."
"I said it because I knew you wouldn't take it."
"Good that you know."
I looked down at my laptop, eyes fixed on the app that was nearly done loading. As I watched the progress bar creep forward, my earlier thoughts came rushing back to me.
"Oh, right. There's something I need to tell you."
I called out to him, my expression turning serious.
Noticing the shift in my expression, Kyle tilted his head curiously.
"What is it?"
"It's—"
Ding!
Halfway through my words, my laptop vibrated and I froze.
My heart gripped as I slowly lowered my head to stare at the screen.
"What?"
Kyle frowned upon seeing my reaction, but I ignored him and stared at the message plastered on the screen in front of me.
It was just one message, but it was enough to make my heart sink.
[You mustn't reveal anything related to or involving the system. Directly or indirectly.]
"You're acting weird. Why aren't you answering me?"
I yet again ignored him and typed a message on the application.
—What happens if I do?
As I pressed 'send,' my heart clenched even tighter, and a message soon appeared on the screen.
[You will die]
I inhaled a cold breath as I slowly raised my head to look at Kyle.
"...You okay?"
He had a worried look on his face as he looked at me.
He seemed almost concerned, and as I looked at him, my head slowly turned towards the group of new hires, waiting for their trial.
Without fully understanding why, my lips parted, and I mumbled,
"The trial... can I take part too?"
"Eh?"
Kyle froze for a brief moment before his eyes widened.
"Wait, seriously? You? I thought you were scared of scary stuff. Why are you suddenly—"
"...Don't be passive."
I mumbled the Chief's words back to Kyle as I placed my laptop in the bag and stood up.
Following that brief interaction with the system, something became extremely clear to me.
"I can't be passive."
To be passive meant to be unprepared.
It became very clear to me that whatever this system was, it wasn't my friend.
I couldn't just wait and let it dictate my actions.
I had to take initiative and figure out how to handle situations, even when they were thrown at me out of nowhere by the system.
The only one I could rely on was myself.
The system made this clear to me just now.
"Wait, what...? I..."
Kyle blinked his eyes at me, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to formulate any words. I didn't mind it and just walked past him, heading towards the group in the distance as they slowly walked up to the door and entered.
"Wait—"
Kyle called out to me, but I ignored him.
The Section Chief glanced at me as I lined up behind them, but didn't give it much thought. He didn't even give us any instructions, telling us to solve the situation on our own and that in case we wanted to quit we could just say the words 'I quit' and we'd automatically be teleported out. I could only silently close my eyes and wait for my turn.
It soon came, and the world turned dark the moment I stepped in.
When I regained my vision, I staggered back, hitting the wall behind me.
"..."
I looked up to see the lights flickering above me.
Flick.
Dark.
Flick.
Light.
Each flick lasted for a total duration of five seconds.
I held my breath and looked around. I found myself in a long, narrow corridor. The walls were plain white, and the corners loomed ahead, casting shadows that seemed to stretch unnaturally long.
The silence was suffocating.
'Alright, you can do it. This should be a very low-level situation. It shouldn't be too scary. This is the perfect chance to learn.'
Step.
My step echoed loudly as I moved forward.
The corridor seemed endless, each step of mine beating loudly in my mind, mimicking the sound of my own beating heart.
Step.
I continued forward, each step heavier than the last, my senses heightened by the eerie silence. The air felt colder here, and as I let out a breath, I saw a gentle mist flow out of my mouth.
My steps never faltered.
Eventually, I reached the corner and turned.
But...
"..."
Another identical corridor met my gaze.
I paused, glancing back. Nothing. No sounds. No movement.
Flick.
The lights flickered again, and the surroundings turned dark.
My ears perked up, and the silence around me amplified.
I kept walking. Each step echoed louder, the sound stretching in the dark.
Step. Step.
I paused for a moment.
Something didn't feel quite right.
And that's when I heard it.
Step.
The sound of a step.
One... that didn't belong to me.