Bab 17: The facility's secrets
Asher's hands were tightly bound by handcuffs as the woman forcefully pushed him into the small, dimly lit room.
"Tch!!" Asher let out a small gasp as he fell to the ground, his body tense with fear.
"Stay here. We will return for you soon," the woman said in a cold voice before closing the heavy door.
After the door closed, Asher heard a low breathing sound behind him. He turned slowly, his heart pounding, and found another man in his thirties, also handcuffed, in one corner of the room.
Curiosity and concern washed over Asher as he approached the man cautiously. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked, his voice filled with genuine worry.
The man looked up, revealing his dark eyes and dark hair with a chaotic beard on his face. Weary eyes met Asher's gaze as he replied, "Alive, but not exactly alright. They got you too, huh?"
Asher nodded, relieved to find someone else in this unsettling place. "Yeah, they caught me. I'm Asher. What's your name?"
The man hesitated for a moment as if contemplating whether to trust Asher. Eventually, he spoke. "Simon. Nice to meet you, Asher. Not sure how pleasant this meeting can be under these circumstances, though. By the way, from which floor did you come?"
"Floor!? You don't seem surprised to see me. Is it normal to encounter survivors from other floors?" Asher questioned, his curiosity piqued.
"Well, no. At least not in the last two years or so," Simon replied, his voice tinged with intrigue. "Actually, I didn't even think there were still other survivors on the other floors. But seeing you here has only one logical explanation – you come from another floor."
"Oh, that makes sense. So why are you here, Simon?" Asher asked, trying to comprehend his situation
"It's a long story .." Replied Simon
" Well, I think we have enough time," said Asher with a sarcastic smile on his face.
"Sigh, I think you're right " Simon took a deep breath, preparing to share the grim truth. "Well, I used to work as a mechanic on this floor before everything went to hell. The survivors from the lower floors gathered here because this floor was a storage facility with all the necessities for survival. At first, there were over forty of us, men and women. We helped and protected each other, cleaning the floor from monsters and establishing a base here. But then after the men lost hope of escaping, they took control. They started mistreating and violating the women."
Disgust and anger flickered across Asher's face at the mention of the women's suffering, but Simon continued his story. "For months, the women endured rape, hunger, and torture at the hands of the men. Some of them even took their own lives. But one day, a group of women found a way to unlock room number six. Inside, they retrieved firearms, and together with the other women, they killed all the men and took control of the floor. They spared me because I didn't join the men and refused to participate in their atrocities. They needed my skills as a mechanic. But the women from that day held a deep hatred against men, and they killed every single man who stepped foot on this floor."
Listening intently, Asher's mind tried to grasp the depths of the horrors these women had endured. "So, in that case..."
"Yes, they will probably kill you too after taking what they want from you," Simon interrupted, his voice filled with resignation. "What were you before the disaster? Do you have a skill that the women will need? Maybe then they will let you live as well."
Asher's expression fell, the weight of his lost memories becoming a heavy burden. "Actually,
I lost my memories. I don't know what I was."
Simon's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, this is strange. You seem young—like you're in your early twenties. People your age are very rare in this facility."
As Asher absorbed this information, another question burned within him. "By the way, can you tell me what this facility is, and where exactly are we?"
"You don't even know where you are? It seems like you really lost your memories," Simon remarked. He began to reveal the dark secrets of the facility—the Nexus Corporation's hidden underground research facility. The Nexus Corporation, the biggest and most powerful operation in the world, appeared to be a benevolent force, specializing in numerous industries like the military, healthcare, and food production. But that was only the public face of the company.
"In the shadows, the Nexus Corporation operates many secret facilities like this one," Simon continued, his voice filled with a mixture of fear and intrigue. "They conduct inhuman experiments and pursue unknown objectives. I wasn't closely involved, so I don't have a clear idea of what the corporation is really searching for. But I've witnessed countless unnatural inventions and achievements resulting from their experiments."
Asher's mind whirled with a mix of confusion and intrigue. Simon's words seemed eerily familiar, as if they were fragments of a forgotten memory.
"So, this facility is secret? Is that why no help has come yet?" Asher asked, hoping for some clarity.
"This facility is located in Azod City, a city in a third-world country. It's underground, hidden from the general public. The existence of this facility is unknown to most people, and if the Nexus Corporation doesn't want to send help, the government won't intervene. But I don't think that's the case. I've overheard some scientists mentioning that this facility was the main research center for the Corporation. There must be a lot of valuable resources here that the Corporation wants to retrieve. I don't think they will give up on this facility easily. And probably they won't abandon it for no reason. I personally think that they are unable to return to the facility for some reason," Simon explained.
Asher's eyes widened as he processed Simon's words. "You said this facility conducted inhuman experiments? Do you know what kinds of experiments?"
Simon nodded grimly. "As I told you before, I wasn't involved in these experiments, so I don't have a lot of information. But I know that each floor in this facility is dedicated to different experiments or research. The higher you go, the more dangerous and classified it becomes. I've heard rumors about the 35th floor, where they conduct the most dangerous experiments. I've even heard whispers about individuals with supernatural powers, people who can do things beyond human capabilities."
Asher's mind raced with a mix of fascination and shock. "Supernatural powers?"
Simon's expression grew serious. "I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't heard the stories from survivor scientists. They spoke of individuals who possessed extraordinary abilities—telekinesis, mind control, pyrokinesis, and much more."
A shiver ran down Asher's spine as he imagined the extent of the Nexus Corporation's secrets. "So, what happened to those individuals with supernatural powers? Did they escape?"
Simon's voice dropped to a hushed tone. "I don't know for sure. I heard that the ones who are still alive are trapped in some kindsimulationions on the 35th floor, but I'm not certain."
Asher's mind whirled with a mix of fear and intrigue. 'Simulations? Does that mean that I'm one of them? Is that what happened with Shadow? Don't tell me I also have a supernatural power.'
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