System Mission: Seduce the Final Boss [BL]

For a while, they simply stared at the markings Tania had found.

Blake leaned over the table, comparing them to the copies he’d drawn.

"If only we had the right blueprints... definitely, before the ultimate ones were created, they added these layered parts!"

Tania nodded.

"Either way, they’re connected to YEN, that’s already enough information."

Myles looked at the projection.

"How exactly can you tell?"

Tania shook her head.

"I can’t yet. The material isn’t complete enough."

She tapped one of the markings.

"I can tell that this section is related to a storage designation. But whether it’s a room, a sector, or an external archive, I can’t determine."

Alexis leaned over the table.

"Could it be a temporary storage location?"

"Possibly."

"That would fit with the renovation."

Blake looked between them.

"So they could’ve moved the old records somewhere else while they renovated."

"That’s our best assumption," Estelle said.

Zlatan rested his chin on his hand.

"And if those records include the first-generation files, then they might have been moved too."

Blake stared at the map.

"We don’t need to know everything yet. We just need to figure out where they’re keeping them now."

"Exactly," Estelle said, pulling out her phone.

"I can work on the footage again. If I can clean up the images, maybe we’ll recognize the labels on the documents."

"How much footage did you save?" Blake asked.

"Not much. A few minutes."

"But enough to see the documents?"

"Enough to know they existed, more than anything."

Blake nodded.

"Then that’s something."

Alexis pointed at another section of the blueprint.

"We should also compare this area with the renovation."

"Why?"

"If a section is being renovated, the records wouldn’t necessarily stay nearby. They’d have to move them somewhere that isn’t under construction."

Blake looked at the map.

"Which could be one of these storage sectors or somewhere outside the facility."

Estelle nodded.

"These coordinates might tell us which."

Blake thought for a moment.

"Can we determine the order?"

"The order of what?"

"The markings."

He pointed toward the projection.

"If they’re showing where things were moved, maybe they’re sequential."

Tania examined them.

"...Maybe."

She adjusted the projection and separated several of the symbols.

"There are differences between them."

Everyone moved closer.

"See?" Tania continued. "These two have the same basic designation, but this one has an additional mark."

"Could that mean a later movement?" Estelle asked.

"Maybe."

Alexis folded his arms.

"So the documents could have been moved more than once."

"That would explain why the footage doesn’t show where they ended up," Blake said.

"Yeah yeah, we’re looking at the first step of the process, not the final one."

"Y-yeah..."

Myles looked at the map.

"Then we need to reconstruct the movement."

"How?"

"Surveillance."

Estelle nodded.

"I can try to access older footage. Not the live system."

"Wouldn’t they have deleted it?"

"Probably, but deletion doesn’t necessarily mean it’s gone."

Blake looked at her.

"Can you recover it?"

"I can try."

"Nice...!"

Alexis tapped the YEN section.

"And we should physically investigate the outside."

Blake glanced at him.

"Look for transport?"

"Among other things. Service entrances, delivery routes, temporary storage, vehicles."

"That could tell us where they’re moving things."

Zlatan raised his hand slightly.

"I can do that."

Alexis looked at him.

"You’re volunteering?"

"I feel so sorry for making you work."

"Cut the bullshit."

Myles ignored them as he pointed toward the blueprint.

"Estelle works on the surveillance footage. Tania continues analyzing the markings. Alexis and Zlatan investigate the exterior."

"And me?" Blake asked.

Myles looked at him.

"You’ll have to focus on the most important part of this."

"But..."

Blake looked back down at his drawings.

"Okay... I will do my best to prepare."

Even if it felt as if he was being useless... what he had to do, at the end, was the most difficult part of it all.

The first-generation files didn’t only hold sentimental value.

They could contain information about the earliest experiments, the people involved, the process that had created them, and perhaps even the circumstances surrounding their origins.

If there was a chance of finding something that could help them understand themselves, they weren’t going to ignore it.

They could use it to their advantage and unlock their true potential.

Blake glanced toward Myles.

"I want to help."

Myles’ expression softened slightly.

"I know."

"Then it’s settled."

Alexis nodded.

"Not yet."

Blake looked at him.

"We still don’t know what we’re infiltrating."

"Yeah..."

"And we don’t know whether the files are even at YEN."

"Right..."

"How much has the security system changed? Last time we went, an alarm went out, is it like that in all the other parts you infiltrated?"

Blake sighed.

"About that... well yeah, all of them trigger a super loud alarm. I’ll just have to blend in, like always."

"Tsk. I find it hard to trust your abilities."

Estelle looked down at the projection again.

"We have a lead, we just don’t have the answer yet."

Blake nodded.

"That’s right..."

They continued for another hour.

They compared the old blueprint with Blake’s memories.

Tania identified several symbols that appeared to correspond with internal storage categories.

Estelle explained which parts of the surveillance footage she thought could still be recovered.

Alexis marked the sections he wanted to investigate from outside, while Zlatan suggested several ways they could observe the facility without drawing attention.

Nothing gave them a complete answer.

But the pieces were beginning to connect.

The renovation explained why the documents had been moved.

The surveillance footage established that the movement had actually happened.

The markings suggested that the records had been transferred according to some internal system.

And Blake’s memories gave them an outdated but still useful picture of the facility.

It wasn’t enough to infiltrate yet, but it was enough to know where to look next.

Eventually, Blake sighed and leaned against the sofa.

"Okay."

He rubbed his eyes.

"I think that’s enough for today."

Myles glanced at the clock.

"It is."

Everyone agreed.

Chairs shifted as they began standing and gathering their things.

Myles turned toward Blake.

"We should go back."

Blake checked his watch, eyes widening.

"Wow..."

It was already around eight.

"Time really passed, huh. We had plenty of fun, haha..."

He stood and stretched.

The last time they’d left this place, Blake had somehow slept through the entire trip outside the forest.

Myles had apparently carried him all the way out before waking him.

Blake still couldn’t understand how he’d managed it.

He took Myles’ hand.

"Do we have to go out the same way?"

"Yes."

Blake sighed, shaking his head.

"I don’t want another scary experience."

"You’ll get used to it."

"That’s what you said before..."

"Try to close your eyes."

"You bastard, it isn’t that easy..."

They walked back toward the elevator.

Blake already felt nervous.

He stepped inside with Myles.

The doors closed.

"Ready?"

"No...!"

The elevator began moving.

Blake immediately squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped both arms around Myles’ neck.

"How the hell did I not wake up last time?"

"You were really tired at the time."

"!"

The elevator shot upward.

Blake’s stomach flipped.

His heart seemed to leap into his throat.

This was worse than a roller coaster.

At least a roller coaster had rails.

This was just a metal compartment being fired through the ground.

Myles held him steadily.

"You’ll be fine."

"Easy for you to say!"

The elevator continued upward.

Blake squeezed his eyes even tighter.

Finally, it stopped.

He waited several seconds before opening his eyes.

They were back in the forest.

Blake stepped outside and took a deep breath.

Myles looked at him.

"Do you want to eat dinner outside?"

Blake stared.

"...What?"

Blake looked at him.

After everything they’d just done, he wasn’t going to question the sudden change of subject.

"Well..."

He shrugged.

"Alright?"

They walked out of the forest together.

Once they reached the road, Myles called a taxi.

Blake sat down on the sidewalk while they waited.

Myles walked over, took his hand and pulled him back up.

"It’s dirty."

Blake laughed.

"Right, sorry."

The taxi arrived quickly.

"Where are we going?"

"I have a place in mind."

"Where?"

"Not too far."

Blake nodded.

He trusted Myles’ choices enough not to ask further.

The taxi drove into a noticeably nicer part of the city.

Blake looked through the window.

The streets were clean, the buildings elegant, and the entrances brightly illuminated.

"Huh."

They eventually stopped.

Blake got out and looked around.

"This place is really nice."

Blake turned toward him, tilting his head.

"So where’s the place you were talking about?"

Myles pointed across the street.

Blake followed his finger.

There was a massive, expensive-looking building.

He automatically dismissed it.

Then he noticed Myles was still pointing at it.

Blake slowly turned back.

His face paled.

"...That’s the place?"

"Yes."

Blake stared at the building, then at Myles.

"Huh?"

He swallowed.

"Are you sure that’s not, like... a place we should only look at from outside?!"

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