Shrouded Seascape

The screen went black with a click.

Anna closed her eyes and recalled the encounter. She looked for any subtle changes in the two men's expressions. Their words could be false, but facial expressions rarely lie.

Meanwhile, Carlo and Lucius were doing the same thing. They were reviewing the recorded footage along with their other colleagues. They carefully analyzed the authenticity of the information that Anna had divulged.

Dozens of people discussed the findings, and the discussions lasted late into the night. Those with dissenting opinions stated that the discussion would continue tomorrow.

"You don't actually believe what she said, do you? The so-called Subterranean Sea is just a bunch of nonsense. It's too absurd to exist," Carlo said to Lucius walking next to him.

The two had decided to call it a day and were walking toward their quarters.

"Think about the things we have locked up beneath our feet, Carlo. Is there anything more absurd than them? If they exist, why can't the Subterranean Sea exist?" Lucius asked back.

"That's a completely different story. Anomalies are anomalies because we still don't understand how they work. Just like when humanity first discovered fire, we'll eventually be able to figure those anomalies out just like we did with fire.

"However, the Subterranean Sea is a different story. It's impossible to have such a large space underground, and even if there were such a large space, it'd be absolutely impossible for life to ever exist in it!

"If I'm going to believe that, then I might as well believe that tonight, Newton will crawl out of his grave and kneel in a church to confess to a priest!"

"Calm down, man. Assume boldly, and verify things carefully. Once we are authorized to use 451, we'll know whether her words are true or false," Lucius said, patting his colleague's shoulder.

In the days that followed, the two men would talk to Anna from time to time, asking all sorts of strange questions. They even asked her about whether the water from the Subterranean Sea was hot to the touch upon boiling it.

They were obviously curious about the atmospheric pressure on the Subterranean Sea. It was clear that they were beginning to become curious about it.

To ensure that they'd remain curious about the Subterranean Sea, Anna answered truthfully. Of course, it wasn't like Anna was on the losing end of the deal. The exchange of information allowed Anna to have a certain understanding of this site.

This site—or this prison in Anna's eyes was built in a polar region, and it was a rectangular structure. It was a ramrod-straight skyscraper piercing the polar ice that had existed undisturbed for tens of thousands of years.

Anna also learned more about her nearby "neighbors."

Most of them were humanoid Anomalies with bizarre special abilities, but they were useless. If Anna's "neighbors" could be used to cause chaos, then they wouldn't have told her about them.

It wasn't that hard of a conclusion to reach, as there were only two answers—either they were feeding her false information, or they were not afraid of the possibility that she could breach containment.

If Anna wanted to make use of this information, she'd have to verify whether it was real or not before anything else.

Just then, the titanium alloy door to Anna's room was flung open, and a group of fully armed, burly men rushed in. They raised their guns, aiming them at Anna. "315! Please come with us!"

They said "please," but their stern tone of voice was not selling it.

Anna quietly stood up and walked toward the door under their watchful eyes. As soon as she stepped outside, heavy handcuffs and shackles were put on her. They were practically pinning Anna as they walked toward somewhere. ȓâＮՕBËS̩

The corridor was clean, and Anna assumed that they had either sent everyone away or the corridor was always devoid of any other people except for the combat team members.

The restraints and the combat team next to Anna were useless in her eyes, as she could easily use her corrosive green flames to make quick work of them. However, she made no attempts to escape. The electronic collar around her neck was a threat, and it was the only thing restraining her from making any moves.

If she were to make any unusual movements, the anesthetic and poison inside the collar would be instantly injected into her.

"Where are we going?" Anna asked, but no one answered her question.

Soon, Anna was brought to an all-white room by the armed men. Carlo and Lucius, who had talked to her many times before, seemed to have been waiting for her.

For the first time in what felt like years, Anna was finally face to face with a living human being, but her heart sank slightly; she was feeling a bit uneasy for some reason.

No one said a word. Anna was then tied to a chain, and a translucent liquid was injected into her forearm. Anna's muscles relaxed instantly, and she went limp in the chair.

They're not going to kill me until they've extracted everything they want from me, so what are they trying to do here? Anna thought.

Just then, the combat team from earlier pushed a black rectangular box towering over three meters tall into the all-white room.

An emblem depicting three arrows pointing inward was on the box, and Anna instantly realized that she was staring at the IMF's emblem.

For some reason, the markings elsewhere were white, but the black box was marked in red, and there were a few numbers in the lower right corner of the red marking that said, "451."

A deafening silence reigned over the all-white room. After glancing at Anna, Carlo and Lucius left with the others, leaving Anna and the black wooden box by themselves.

The light went out with a click. Without night vision, Anna could see nothing but darkness. Moments later, there was another sudden click as the wooden box opened amidst the darkness.

Tap, tap, tap.

Anna heard strange noises in the darkness.

"Who's there?" Anna asked into the darkness, but there was no response.

However, the strange noises were getting closer and closer.

Anna willed, and a corrosive green flame manifested next to her hand. The flames illuminated her surroundings as well as what was on the ground in front of her.

It was a hazy humanoid figure that only had an upper body. It was clearly not human, as both of its hands were twisted into what looked like long tentacles. Its upper body seemed to be made of severely decayed organic materials, including animal intestines, limbs, eyeballs, and deformed hooves.

Thick and sticky rotten water was dripping from the humanoid figure, and it seemed that the strange noises were coming from the disgusting, diseased water.

The bizarre entity seemed to have its own unique quirks as well as there were small beads, bracelets, and necklaces all over its decaying figure. It even had hazy and indescribable tattoos.

The bizarre entity seemed unfazed by Anna's green flames. It used its tentacles to prop itself on the ground and walk leisurely toward Anna.

Anna had seen more bizarre entities than this one in the Subterranean Sea, so she wasn't scared at all. She even wanted to communicate with it. "Can you hear me, honey? You look really handsome."

"Let me guess; you must have the ability to read memories. Am I right? So they've decided to extract the information that they need directly from my mind?

"I'm not trying to scare you here, but you'd better be careful. My experience has told me that haphazardly perusing the memories of others can sometimes bring about disastrous consequences."

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