NOVEL NEXT With the sound of gunfire, several bullets slice through the air.
―――Bang! Bang! Bang!
Multiple bullets are fired in rapid succession.
Even though they were shot almost simultaneously, each bullet had a different target in mind.
The careless targets peeking out from behind cover were hit in the head before they could even think to hide again.
“Clear! Let’s move to the next location!”
Swoosh, clothes and firearms drop to the ground where the bullets have just passed.
As if no rightful owner had ever existed, their belongings scatter naturally.
It’s a chaotic sight, but it was something Eleanor had long become accustomed to.
After eliminating the obstacles in their way, she gestured to her companions, eager to hurry along.
――Thud, thud, thud, thud!
But the sound of footsteps approaching from around the corner made her quickly turn around and leap back behind cover.
“Ugh…!”
Just after hiding behind the cover, a bullet fired from the opposite side barely grazed over her head.
If she had been even a moment slower, her head would have been pierced.
Feeling the chill of death’s close call, she could feel goosebumps rising on her arms, yet surprisingly, the emotion dominating her mind was more akin to annoyance than fear.
“This is endless… how long are they going to keep coming?!”
She couldn’t help but complain aloud.
Having left the room that had been in chaos and heading towards the control room, they found themselves often stuck due to the incessant enemies pouring out.
Despite the short actual distance remaining to their destination, they still hadn’t managed to reach it.
“Hey, struggling already? At least it’s better than before. At least these bullets work against them.”
“That’s true, but still, there are way too many of them!”
One good thing, however, was that they hadn’t made no progress at all.
After annihilating the enemies before them, they repeatedly dashed forward until more foes showed up, managing to achieve a sense of accomplishment at least.
“How much longer until the control room?”
After a firefight and a short advance, another firefight began shortly after.
In the midst of this simple cycle, Cooper heard someone nearby ask a question.
It was the voice of Elijah, the masked man.
“Hmm. Probably around two more corners?”
“Is that right? We’re almost there.”
“Well, in terms of distance, it was never that far to begin with.”
He nodded lightly after hearing the answer.
Once they exchanged brief thoughts, they returned to their previous task.
“…”
However, it seemed Elijah still had something unsaid.
Unbeknownst to anyone, he appeared somewhat unstable.
As time passed on, he repeatedly paused, as if he had something to say.
“…I know this is random, but do you really think going there is the right choice?”
Out of the blue, he blurted it out.
“What?”
“Never mind, sorry. That was inappropriate.”
Seeing Cooper’s bewildered expression, Elijah hastily turned his head.
He looked as if he wanted to take back the words he had just said.
But just like you can’t put spilled water back into a cup, he couldn’t make his words disappear.
With his expression unreadable, Cooper stared at him suspiciously for a while before asking,
“Is it because of that restricted material?”
He casually began to inquire about why Elijah had asked such a question, as if he had an inkling.
“I can’t deny it. To be honest, that’s exactly it.”
“I figured as much. I’m pretty damn uneasy about it too. But what other choice do we have?”
Tsk, a sound escaped from Cooper’s mouth.
Truth be told, he felt the same unease.
They felt compelled to head to the control room, but they remained clueless about what might be lying in wait there.
A feeling of discomfort gnawed at his heart.
However, he couldn’t just turn back after coming this far, and he could only pray that there wouldn’t be any serious issues when they arrived, trying hard to avoid negative thoughts.
“What if it leads to something worse than death?”
“Ugh, seriously…!”
Elijah’s words struck a nerve, making Cooper frown as he snapped back at him.
“Why are you being so anxious? Are we all just waiting to be screwed here?”
“I’m just assuming the worst-case scenario. You know what the security level on that material means.”
“Yeah, I know! But I wasn’t planning on thinking of anything worse than this!”
After their conversation, he shut his mouth again.
Knowing that another tedious gunfight was beginning and that arguing wasn’t going to help their situation, he understood that it was fruitless.
Of course, his words held some weight.
After all, there’s usually a reason why certain materials are off-limits, and something serious must be contained within documents bearing such high security clearance.
Especially considering the training he received when he was new, where he learned about some of that restricted content, and the shock had him unable to eat properly for three days afterward…
It was only understandable for Elijah to react negatively.
“…”
Perhaps he was merely trying to deny the future that lay ahead.
Like ostriches, who bury their heads in the sand when a predator approaches, thinking they’re safe.
He might just be fooling himself, seeking a small psychological comfort in denial.
And if, by a slim chance, what he had been trained about was unfolding there…
“Cooper!”
Suddenly jolted back to reality.
He heard Eleanor calling out to him from ahead.
In an attempt to shake off his deep thoughts, Cooper raked his hand through his hair roughly.
Then, he answered her in a loud voice.
“What? What’s up?!”
“I think I found it! That door over there, isn’t it the control room?!”
She was pointing towards a spot while hiding behind cover.
At the end of her finger was a seemingly old iron door.
“…Looks like it might be right. It’s just like what’s in the photo.”
Desperately racking his memory, he recalled how familiar the scene around him felt, affirming that they had indeed reached their destination.
“But the gunfire is fiercer than expected… we won’t be able to get in easily.”
Feeling the chilling bursts and vibrations, Cooper crammed himself back into cover.
They had managed to reach this point, but rather than diminishing, the number of enemies pouring in had increased even more.
At this point, fighting back felt meaningless as their numbers continued to swell.
“Can’t we just charge in? It’s not even that far!”
“What if the door is locked? There’s nothing around here to use for cover.”
“But staying here means we die anyway!”
Eleanor, sensing the urgency of the situation, proposed a slightly reckless plan.
Logically, it would be best to eliminate as many enemies as possible and move safely, but they clearly couldn’t afford to do that at the moment.
“…She’s right. We’re starting to struggle with their numbers. If we stay here, it’ll only be a matter of time before we’re surrounded.”
Elijah nodded, agreeing with her reasoning.
Of course, had circumstances been different, he wouldn’t have endorsed such a reckless operation.
The distance they had to cover, exposed to a barrage of bullets, would be difficult even if someone covered for him.
Especially when he wasn’t even sure if that door was locked or not.
“I’ll create an opening. I’ll go in first, and if the door opens, follow me right away.”
But they couldn’t just sit idly by.
Staying here in a standoff would only worsen the situation.
Whatever the case, they had to make a decision to survive, whether it was early or late.
“Are you sure about this? I should tell you in advance, it might be blocked by some anomaly.”
“I don’t care. Someone has to do this.”
“…Yeah, at this point, we’ve got no other choice.”
Cooper muttered bitterly after Elijah’s comment.
He looked like he had more to say, but he seemed to feel that speaking now wouldn’t be the best idea, so he just silently reloaded his weapon.
“I’ll provide cover. When I signal, you jump.”
“Got it.”
Watching the man ready to charge out, Eleanor prepared to exchange signals in silence with him.
“Go!”
Nodding, he peeked out from behind cover, starting to rain bullets towards the other side.