BCST 27

chapter 27

Could it be the same person?

That was the first thought I had when I saw that staff member with the identical face.

Since I had been slowly making my way up from the first floor, if someone had gone straight up using the elevator or stairs, it was entirely possible.

Of course, I couldn’t find any rational reason for someone to behave like that, but in theory, it was possible.

Still, as the saying goes, there’s no reason for an employee here to show such a strange behavioral pattern.

Well, if I’m curious, I just need to check directly.

To see if that person is the same employee I saw on the first floor—or something else entirely.

“Since you called me over, state your business.”

The staff member at the counter stared at me for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.

“Hardly anyone comes up to the third floor in this area… but suddenly a few people have. Is there something here?”

“Who knows. By the way, you look a lot like the employee on the first floor. Is that you?”

I skipped over my own details and probed instead.

With a face like his, he must’ve been asked countless times if he had a twin.

But for some reason, when I asked, he made a strange expression, rolled his eyes briefly, and answered:

“…First floor? Do you mean the security guards?”

“No, the staff at the entrance. I even got a third-floor access badge from him.”

I pulled the badge from my pocket and showed it.

But instead of recognizing it, the employee tilted his head, looking even more puzzled.

“There hasn’t been a human staff member at the first-floor information desk for some time now… This is indeed a third-floor pass, but it’s an older one. These days, the third floor is simply open access.”

“…”

Something was definitely off.

The simplest move would be to go back down to the first floor and confirm that employee again.

That way I could immediately find out which of them was lying.

But… was that necessary?

If I had come here with no prior knowledge, then yes. I would have begun my investigation by noticing these small oddities and gradually piecing things together.

But I came here already knowing that a U.M.O. was present.

And I’d already assumed it might have started moving.

So if the source was indeed here on the third floor, there was no need to climb step by step from the bottom, checking trivial details.

The correct path was to follow my original plan.

That would be the fastest route.

“Then, can I go inside now?”

“Please just fill out the guest log.”

The employee pushed a sheet of paper and a pen toward me.

Right—sometimes, for security reasons, they still used paper records.

I reached for the guest log, and that’s when I saw it.

On the otherwise blank page, a name had already been written before mine.

“Feinuf.”

A name I’d never heard before.

“…So someone already came today.”

And not just once. That same name had appeared five separate times this month.

I flipped the page.

Flip.

Flip.

And realized—

For the past six months, no one else had visited this place.

Only “Feinuf.”

That person had been here every day for the last five days.

“Yes, he’s been coming quite often lately. Seems like he’s been searching for something, but no matter how much I asked, he wouldn’t say.”

Naturally.

He probably assumed it had to do with artifacts.

Since Kin knew about it, it wasn’t strange that others might too.

What was strange was that so few were pursuing it at all—just how had Kin obtained this information?

Scribble—scribble.

I wrote down some fake name and passed through the gate.

[Third Floor – Restricted Zone]

Inside, the space was packed wall-to-wall with display cases.

Tens of thousands of BDs, small, medium, and large, stored and categorized for research.

“Phew…”

Just the thought of searching through them all made me sigh.

Still, what choice did I have?

I had to do it.

Since I was flesh and blood, I couldn’t check BDs directly.

I could only rely on [Senses] and [Mana Detection].

I couldn’t find it.

Damn it.

I thought I’d sense something here.

But nothing came up under [Senses] or [Mana Detection].

Maybe I should’ve gone back to the first floor to confirm when I first felt something was off.

My abilities were still at the basic level.

I’d only invested once into [Senses] to unlock it, and [Mana Detection] had no special traits.

Perhaps because it had worked well so far, I’d gotten careless.

The only consolation was that in the half-day I’d spent, I’d at least raised my proficiency a lot.

Looking outside, the sun was already setting.

In the end, I had to wrap up my investigation and exit the gate.

“Things didn’t go well, did they?”

The same employee greeted me as I stepped through.

Though hours had passed, he showed no sign of fatigue.

In a plain, casual tone, he kept talking.

“The person who came before you said the same—whatever they were looking for, it wasn’t here. I even told him he could ask me or use the BD index system, but he never revealed what it was.”

He must’ve been talking about that person.

Naturally, someone chasing after information would be secretive.

Besides, even with what I knew, I didn’t have the BD’s title or contents.

The only thing I knew was that a U.M.O. had once been sealed inside a BD here.

And if Feinuf had spent five whole days searching here…

Then me, his successor, rummaging around blindly without any special detection skills, was just a waste.

No point following a dead end someone else had already confirmed.

Organizing my thoughts, I spoke calmly to the employee.

“I heard there was a BD that had been damaged and restored. Do you know anything about that?”

“A damaged BD?”

The employee tilted his head.

“There wouldn’t be any here. If they were repaired, they’d have been taken elsewhere. If they’re just for storage, then they wouldn’t be on the third floor.”

What?

If not here, then they’d only be on the first-floor public zone or the second-floor research zone.

But would they really keep broken BDs in the public area?

Seeing my skeptical look, the employee shook his head.

“Not the first or second floor. This building also has basements. That’s where we keep things like the server room, HVAC, and yes—the ‘Loss Records Archive’ for damaged BDs.”

Right—Kin had mentioned that.

I’d just assumed it was on the third floor.

So I’d wasted time going in circles when I could’ve asked straight away.

Then again, you couldn’t go around blurting that sort of thing.

It would just attract competition.

As I furrowed my brows slightly, the employee smiled.

“Normally, no one looks for those. So of course, we don’t mark the basement—like a boiler room—on the guide maps.”

Fair enough.

“And the damaged BDs in the Loss Records Archive can’t even be viewed. That place isn’t open. If you needed something from there, I could only tell you it’s off-limits.”

“…I see. Understood.”

Since this wasn’t an official commission, detours were inevitable.

This place had already been blown up in the past, and the intel I got through Mia wasn’t very detailed.

“Please take care on your way back.”

I nodded slightly and left into the corridor.

But unlike earlier, the atmosphere had completely changed.

The warm sunlight from before had vanished without a trace.

Instead, a bloody sunset cut through the smog, staining the walls crimson.

“…”

It felt ominous.

Step.

My footsteps echoed against the empty walls.

I was just about to turn toward the stairs when I noticed the elevator across from the gate.

[1]

Its panel glowed red.

Wasn’t that out of service?

But now the light was on, showing “1.”

If it was working, there was no reason not to use it.

I walked forward and pressed the button.

Tick.

The elevator began to rise.

[2]

Through the doors, I faintly heard the sound of it opening on a lower floor.

Someone getting on.

So, someone else was coming up to the third floor?

After all this time?

How convenient.

But regardless of my thoughts, the door closed and the elevator resumed its climb.

Ding.

At last, it arrived.

Creak.

The doors slid open slowly.

The dimly lit interior came into view.

And inside—

Four men and women.

They didn’t get off. They just stood still, expressionless, staring straight ahead.

And among them, there was exactly enough space for one more person.

As if reserved for the next passenger.

Without a word, I stepped in naturally.

Placing myself right in the middle of them.

Step.

At that moment, all four of their expressions flickered.

Because I hadn’t turned around to face the door—I stood facing them directly.

Usually, everyone in an elevator faces the doors…

But who said it was law?

I looked straight at them.

Only a hand’s breadth away from shoulder to shoulder.

Close enough to feel each other’s breath.

The tension in the elevator spiked as I continued to stand like that.

In the end, it’s my choice how I ride an elevator.

But no one getting off at the final stop, the third floor?

Clearly, their intentions weren’t pure.

So why should I play along with social niceties?

The door closed behind me with a thud.

Boom.

“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”

Now sealed in a suffocatingly tense space.

The elevator hummed as it began to descend.

Whrrr—.

Still, I stared at them. They stared back.

Whrrr—.

“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”

It was only a ride from the third floor to the first.

But it felt endlessly long.

At last, the elevator reached the ground.

Creak.

Nothing?

They were just letting me go?

I glanced at their faces one by one.

Still expressionless—yet somehow subtly different from before.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Heh.

Deliberately, I turned my back and stepped out.

“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”

Still not coming?

…Pathetic.

Step.

I could feel their stares through the narrowing gap in the closing doors.

But it no longer mattered.

After all, they’d failed to act even when given the chance.

What mattered was the scene before me now.

The first floor had changed dramatically.

It seemed the U.M.O. was finally about to make its move.