Chapter 15: Anomaly Catching Anomaly

Adaptation to Site 17 (5)

Notice

To all personnel currently working at Site-17.

On September 18, ████, anomalous behavior was detected from Anomaly 1983.

According to the existing containment procedures, Anomaly 1983 should always be open, but,

From that date, the Anomaly was observed closing on its own,

And at the same time, Agent Henry Russell, who was working at Site-17, went missing.

Currently, the anomalous behavior shown by Anomaly 1983 is under investigation and research, so,

Until the containment procedure for the Anomaly is revised, all personnel at Site-17 are to follow the newly assigned temporary procedure.

[Temporary Procedure]

All attempts to reopen the currently closed Anomaly 1983 have failed.

The closed Anomaly automatically reopens after a period of approximately 5 minutes to 2 hours, so,

In the event of an emergency alarm at the Site, all personnel on duty are to stop moving and remain in their current location.

Late at night.

In a deserted office, the sound of a keyboard echoes.

The person typing is Sophia, the lead researcher.

She has been working overtime for several days now, for the Anomalous Entity she is in charge of.

"..."

And, the long task that seemed like it would never end, comes to an end.

With a short 'tap,' the sound of typing ceases.

Her report, written with reference to a large amount of research data and logs every day, is finally complete.

"Hoo..."

With a long sigh, her body collapses onto the chair.

Leaning back until the chair's backrest reaches its limit, she stretches her arms above her head to relieve her stiff body, but,

Feeling a subtle discomfort from the persistent stiffness, she closes her eyes for a moment to enjoy her well-deserved rest.

'It was long.'

She muttered, inaudibly.

Whether it was a lament about the long task, or a feeling of accomplishment for finishing it, even she couldn't tell,

But anyway, the fact that it was long was a definite fact that anyone could acknowledge.

Numerous research logs and reports, and reports containing previous cases.

It took a considerable amount of time just to find that much information,

And writing it in her report with appropriate reasons was also quite tiring.

Especially if it was for an Anomalous Entity that had appeared less than a month ago,

Perhaps, many researchers at the Site would burst into hollow laughter.

'Well, it's not my business.'

But, that wasn't a very important matter for Sophia.

She was the type of person who didn't care much about what others thought,

And in the first place, the report was already completed and proving its existence before her eyes, wasn't it?

The past events and the time spent on them were no longer her concern.

Even if this report was thrown into the trash can as soon as it went upstairs.

"..."

Sophia scratched her head.

Anyway, now was not the time to worry about such things.

She had been so focused on solving the backlog of work and writing the report for the past few days that she had no room to think about anything else, but,

Now that the work was done and she had some mental space, other thoughts were creeping into her mind.

'Was it 1983, the cause of this problem?'

Anomaly 1983.

Something that her junior had mentioned when telling her about the missing person case a few days ago.

At that time, she was too busy with vague information and a large amount of work to be sure, but,

Soon after, as he had said,

A notice about the Anomaly was sent to all personnel at Site-17.

The content of the notice was simple.

Act as usual, but if an emergency alarm sounds, stop moving and stay in place,

And in particular, do not make any contact with the 'door.'

The content was simple enough for a ten-year-old child to follow,

But nevertheless, none of the personnel at Site-17 could feel at ease.

After all, the 'door to the multi-dimensional maze'

Was not guaranteed to be safe simply by not entering it.

Otherwise, why would the containment procedure for that door require all sorts of firearms and at least five armed personnel at all times?

Of course, due to the numerous censorship marks on the document, most people at Site-17, including Sophia, did not know exactly what resided inside,

But seeing that there were records of something inside trying to get out several times before,

At least, everyone could realize that there was something to be feared.

'Really, accidents just don't stop happening these days...'

Feeling both physically and mentally exhausted, Sophia sighed as if lamenting.

Following the escape of Anomaly 871, the Swallowing Shadow, there was the sudden change in Anomaly 1983.

It was already a dangerous place where unexpected things happened,

But even so, it was quite difficult to overlook the fact that things close to containment procedure failures had happened twice in a row within a month.

Especially considering that the risk levels they possessed were not ordinary.

'Come to think of it, Number 19 appeared right around the time the escape happened.'

Suddenly, something came to Sophia's mind.

Anomaly 871, the girl who appeared just before the Swallowing Shadow escaped.

Thinking about how accidents had been happening non-stop since the Anomalous Entity she was in charge of appeared,

She suddenly had a bad feeling.

Number 19 was just an Anomalous Entity from another dimension, and no particular abnormalities were found despite detailed examinations.

Normal behavior and gestures, docile and obedient attitude.

It was truly a simple girl with no dangerous elements whatsoever.

But, just in case...

If, by any chance, there was deception mixed in it.

If it was that girl who nonchalantly took out other Anomalies and caused sudden events inside the sealed isolation chamber,

She might be doing something terribly irresponsible right now.

'Come to think of it, it wasn't like there weren't any strange things...'

The isolation chamber where all recording devices were broken during the escape.

Despite coming from beyond the dimensional door, a body that was strangely identical to humans.

Looking at it coldly, it wasn't like there were no strange things at all.

It's just that she was so captivated by Number 19's cuteness.

Sophia raised her head and looked at her monitor.

The report she had completed by overworking her body and mind for the past few days.

It was perfect both theoretically and logically, so,

If she sent this, maybe it wouldn't be impossible to take Number 19 out.

But, would that really be the right choice?

Perhaps she was standing at a very dangerous crossroads.

An unknown entity from beyond the dimensions.

Releasing the shackles that bound that entity, such an action.

And no one could predict what kind of behavior the unshackled entity would show.

'I...'

The mouse cursor points to the report.

With just two clicks, she could erase this report forever.

Of course, Number 19 would be very disappointed.

Maybe she would completely refuse to communicate with her.

That might bring back the events she had experienced in the past.

But, but.

Even so, if what she thought was true...

—Click

The sound of a button being pressed was heard.

The sound came from the mouse that Sophia was holding.

Soon after, a window appeared on the monitor, notifying something.

What was written in that window,

Was a phrase meaning that the transmission was complete.

"I must be really tired. Thinking such useless things."

Perhaps feeling that the thoughts she had just had were absurd, she muttered to herself with a laugh.

In the first place, there had been talk that attempts to escape from Anomaly 871 had been becoming more frequent,

And above all, the results showed that there was no intervention from anything else in this escape attempt, didn't they?

If you think about it, she should have died at that time, but somehow, she survived.

Rather, she was called Number 19 a lucky girl, so suspecting her now was foolish.

In the dim dawn.

Sophia leaned back in her chair.

Without resisting the approaching fatigue, she began to fall asleep.

The next day, in the afternoon.

Lead researcher, Oliver Smith, discovered the report that had been delivered to him.

Not long after, with an expression of disbelief, he threw the report he had just seen straight into the trash can.

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