Chương 54: Chapter 15 The First Safe Haven(Part 1)

"Chloe, could you show me that item?"

"That item…? You mean these?" I took out three ampoules and handed them to Takatsuki. The troublesome thing about them was that once opened, they could not be preserved. According to Chiyoda, no one understood the mechanism, but a single ampoule supposedly contained enough liquid to completely drench an adult. Yet the liquid vanished almost immediately. Whether poured onto an object or a person, the result was the same.

If it only disappeared after being applied to a person, one could assume it was absorbed through the skin. But the evaporation rate never changed. Most likely, it was simply extremely volatile.

"Hm... Ms. Tachibana identified these on stream, but I can't tell much myself. We can't exactly open them, either. For now, let's just record their appearance and effects." Takatsuki studied the ampoules before returning them.

"The top three healing potions... those are probably what I'll be searching for." I stored them back in my ring and took a slow puff from my kiseru pipe. Apparently, he had found his reason for diving into Gates.

"Shall we move on?" At Hyodo's signal, everyone began advancing. The route to the fifth floor and the Gate leading to the sixth passed without incident. A few monsters appeared along the way, but unlike before, everyone here could fight. The creatures were torn apart, burned, electrocuted, and blasted away by wind. It was genuinely enjoyable. Last time, we had only reached the fifth floor. This time, we could go farther. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent.

Report it. And once we reached a new floor, the next expedition would start from there and continue even deeper.

"Artillery-type: three eliminated. Observation-type: two eliminated. No surrounding threats. Area secure."

"Artillery-type? Is that their name?" The lieutenant had referred to the three-eyed monsters and the larger creature that way.

"Yes. Having no names creates complications. They're provisional designations, but that's what we use within the unit."

"I see. Even trash deserves a name. I should tell everyone."

"... They're only temporary names. We'll announce them once official terminology is decided."

"Of course. Hopefully they receive proper names." We passed through the fifth-floor Gate. The landscape beyond was... A dimly lit grassland. Above us floated something resembling stars, though they looked more like glowing patches of oil drifting across water. The ground was covered in thick stalks, each as wide as a human finger. At their tips bloomed faintly glowing flowers resembling lilies of the valley. In the distance stood trees unlike anything from Seth's videos. Their roots resembled thin banyan roots.

Their trunks looked like baobabs. Their branches reminded me of akebia vines.

"A safe zone?" Hyodo scanned the surroundings.

"Lieutenant, any matches in your records or memory?"

"... No. I memorized everything from the videos, but nothing matches."

"First, do you know anything about this place?" They looked around while asking. Whether this landscape was beautiful or nightmarish depended entirely on the observer. Like Van Gogh's Starry Night. Some people found it beautiful. Others found it unsettling. Meaning belonged to the individual, not the crowd.

"How should I know?" I shrugged.

"They don't understand animals. Or plants. They don't even understand water. If this is their artwork, something like this isn't surprising."

"Artwork?"

"I taught them about humanity and this planet. But creators don't need preconceptions. They make things. Throw them away. Make more things. Throw those away too. The finished product isn't the point." I smiled.

"Now then. Let's get to work."

"Indeed. Let's gather samples." The nearest plant looked disturbingly like a human hand. When touched, it felt warm—almost body temperature. Soft. Rubbery. The color of dead flesh. Pulling it from the ground like a handshake revealed roots resembling a fish's mouth with a human tongue sticking out.... Could you eat it? Not that I wanted to. Apparently, learning about humanity hadn't inspired them to become more relatable. They simply pursued whatever amused them.

"Ugh... that's disgusting." Everyone began collecting samples. Most handled them cautiously, clearly disturbed by their appearance. I understood completely. The color and texture triggered an instinctive revulsion.

"Magnificent!" Takatsuki was the lone exception.

"I would love to know why this shape was chosen!" He enthusiastically uprooted specimen after specimen. I decided not to acknowledge him. Still, gathering samples in one place was inefficient. We also needed to locate the next Gate.

"We should split into teams. We still have to find the Gate." I took another puff from my pipe. The strange smoking device produced smoke only when inhaled. If swung, it extended into a rod-length staff. Its official description was simply: Auxiliary Tool. Nothing more. Though considering kiseru pipes had once been used as weapons, it could probably serve that purpose too. The grassland was easy to traverse. No wind. No sounds. No visible life. But something was surely out there.