Chapter 51: The Foundation’s Playground (３)

****

We were standing before the facility surrounding the Garden’s entrance.

“Personnel check for the expedition. Recovery Section 1, are all 8 members participating in the expedition present?”

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. All personnel on site.”

“Is the Head of Research here?”

“Head of Research Lee Seah, on site.”

“And myself. All 10 expedition participants are present. We will enter the Garden shortly.”

I glanced over the people gathered in formation. We’d prepared properly, but Lee Seah was holding something bizarre I’d never seen before.

It didn’t look like a gun, though…

“What in the world is that you’ve brought?”

“A Soviet-made laser rifle.”

A Soviet-made laser rifle? What kind of nonsense was that supposed to be. I stared at the strange weapon in Lee Seah’s hands for a long while.

“Where do they make those?”

“They don’t sell them anymore. I told you, it’s Soviet-made.”

“Is it anomalous?”

“Probably not.”

Lee Seah was a truly peculiar person. I had a truckload of questions, but getting an explanation about that thing would take hours. Let it go.

“If everyone’s here, let’s board the vehicle.”

****

The operation’s plan was simple.

Inside the Garden, there was a Foundation bunker built in the past. First, secure the Foundation facility, then use heavy equipment to survey the forest.

As for what we were supposed to find inside the Garden…

We’d know once we reached the bunker. Apparently there was nothing in there right now.

“Then, we’re moving in.”

The road leading into the Garden was wide enough for vehicles to pass. We could ride all the way to the bunker.

Of course, the Garden’s terrain itself was rough, so surveying it would have to be done on foot.

“Starting the engine. Entering now.”

The infantry fighting vehicle’s engine rumbled. It was closer to an armored personnel carrier than a proper IFV, though. The vehicle began to move forward.

The moment the vehicle passed through the dimensional rift, every piece of electronic equipment we were holding flickered. The IFV itself, not being electronic equipment, seemed to operate normally.

“Head of Research, have you been to the field before?”

“A few times? I’ve never been to a subspace, though.”

We entered the Garden.

The interior of the APC was completely sealed. I connected a terminal to the vehicle’s external cameras and watched the scenery outside through the screen.

A sight so beautiful it took your breath away.

On both sides of the dirt road stretched a forest so green it was grotesque. A dense, verdant forest. Flowers, birds, and butterflies in every color of the rainbow—and beyond.

“Don’t be seduced by the anomaly. Poison mushrooms are always the most colorful, after all.”

Lee Seah muttered.

“Shut up.”

****

We reached the bunker without any particular incident. The APC came to a stop a moment later.

“We’ve arrived. Recovery team, disembark and secure the area around the bunker on foot. I’ll open the bunker door.”

The APC’s door opened, and the soldiers of Recovery Section 1 moved with perfect coordination to secure the perimeter. I gathered my equipment and stepped out.

“Moving to the bunker entrance.”

I sprinted toward the bunker entrance with my gas mask on, and Lee Seah followed close behind.

“This way.”

We reached the bunker door. I manipulated my headset to connect the radio.

“Recovery Section 1. Report your status.”

[Bunker east side, no anomalies.]

[Bunker west side, no anomalies.]

[Bunker south side, no anomalies.]

[Bunker north side, no anomalies.]

“Bunker entrance secured. Opening.”

I worked the keypad on the door, and the bunker door slowly slid open. We entered the Foundation-built bunker in order.

****

I walked into the bunker beside the Recovery Section Chief. I wasn’t expecting a fight, but the atmosphere wasn’t one to let my guard down in either.

“Is this an abandoned bunker?”

I shook my head.

“As far as I know, it’s newly built.”

“I don’t know the details, but it looks like a building abandoned quite a while ago. Seems like a facility with some age to it. Who built it and when, I couldn’t say.”

That was certainly true.

“They said Foundation HQ built the facility, so I guess they made it a long time ago?”

“Seems that way.”

The Head of Research tilted her head.

“Well, nobody ever said the buildings inside the subspace would be new either. For now, let’s keep maximum alert and move.”

I hate those bastards at Foundation HQ. Would it kill them to tell us properly, you damn bastards?

At first, the very existence of the Garden was classified.

They came saying they’d build us a facility, then told us to secure a bunker inside the subspace, and didn’t even tell us whether there were monsters wandering around inside it.

What was the reason they couldn’t just say, “The bunker’s broken, please manage it”?

Forget it. Getting angry only gives me a headache.

Let’s just not think of the people at Foundation HQ as people. They’re more like… a natural phenomenon. Like the God of the Old Testament, dispensing calamity or blessing.

“I hear footsteps.”

We held our breath, but I couldn’t hear anything with my own ears.

“Director Geum. Do you know anything?”

“No. What I briefed you earlier is all I have. Once we reach the depths of the bunker, I’ll organize the secured information and brief you again.”

The lights inside the bunker were a bit strange. Some weren’t turning on, and some were flickering. Lee Seah turned on a large flashlight behind me.

“What’s the scale of the facility?”

“Uh…”

Right.

“If it’s like other Foundation facilities, the most important areas—like the control room—will be at the deepest level. Let’s search the surroundings for now.”

The order was given. The Recovery Section 1 personnel began searching the facility room by room.

“Clear!”

“Clear!”

“Clear!”

“Opening the door to the next sector.”

I opened the door, and the Recovery Section 1 personnel rushed into the new sector. Lee Seah’s ultra-high-output flashlight swayed behind me.

“Moving to the stairwell.”

****

This was the stairwell. I raised my hand to halt my colleagues. There were a few things I could confirm here. I also needed to brief them on the secured information.

“Let’s check how many floors there are before we go.”

There were three basement levels.

“Form a defensive formation. I’ll explain.”

A stairwell is a fairly good structure for defense if the enemy attacks. For one, the difference in elevation gives you relatively free firing angles.

The soldiers formed up inside the stairwell. Four above where I stood, four below.

“Starting the briefing.”

“First. No anomalies in the building. No signs of destruction or combat. It appears we simply need to secure an empty facility.”

“Second. While searching the previous sector, I checked the expiration dates on packaged food. The facility appears to have been abandoned for roughly seven to ten years.”

“Third. There’s something inside the building. Judging by the footprints, it looks like a bird or reptile. It might be nothing, but we maintain alert.”

“Anything to report, anything to ask?”

Nothing in particular.

Though there was one question on my mind.

The Foundation’s classified documents said thousands of people were living inside the Garden.

This wasn’t a facility sized for five thousand people. Are there more facilities? Are they all dead? Or was that a lie too? What’s the truth?

“We split in half. Numbers 1 through 4 of Section 1, move with the Head of Research and find the communications room. Numbers 5 through 8, come with me to the control room.”

Lee Seah raised her hand nervously.

“Wait. I’m going?”

I nodded. I don’t get why she’s so timid, that woman. Strong as she is.

****

The possibility of engagement could not be ruled out.

The soldiers accompanying me killed all their lights and lowered their night-vision goggles. We kept our muzzles pointed forward and moved into the depths of the facility.

Darkness so total that the naked eye could see nothing.

But with the night-vision goggles on, the only difference was a slight loss of color — everything was as clear as day.

[I think you should see this.]

What could it possibly be? I moved to the front and looked at the door. Hard to read the lettering through night vision, but it was a seed bank.

“A seed bank. Let’s check it and move on.”

[Yes.]

“You two, stand guard outside.”

The seed bank door opened. Cold air poured out from within. Let’s see. This was no ordinary seed bank.

There were some real-world species, but it looked mostly like a collection of seeds from anomalous flora unique to the Garden. Species rarely seen on Earth.

The collection dates were recorded too.

The last date was… five years ago. And before that, the number and frequency of collected seeds had been steadily declining.

“Confirmed. Let’s move to the lower floor.”

****

We moved toward the control room as fast as we could. Fortunately, the internal layout of this facility wasn’t much different from other Foundation facilities.

We arrived at the facility’s command center.

As we set foot on the lowest floor, the command center’s lights began flicking on one by one, and doors began opening one by one. I kept my finger on the trigger, but I couldn’t see anything.

Why is it moving on its own all of a sudden.

I looked around uneasily, and my tactical headset began to pick up static.

What’s going on now.

[Hello, Director Geum.]

[We’ve been waiting for you.]