Chapter 7: Escape
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All of Shi Rang’s information came from the Archive Headquarters of the Administration Bureau and Robin’s firsthand account. Perhaps these interesting netizens had their own other sites and group chats, maybe even more private lore; as a newcomer, Shi Rang was not yet familiar with the broader circles. But the information from the headquarters was already sufficient.
Once the “Facility 031 Containment Failure” event began, the pop-up window connected not only to the data on all contained entities within the facility but also included a meticulously crafted, highly detailed map of the facility, along with a countdown timer labeled [Kappa-3 “Gardener” Arrival Countdown]—indicating the event would end in 45 minutes, counted down to the second.
The map intermittently updated the spread range of the “Doomsday Seed.” Though the accuracy was not ideal, it was enough for Shi Rang to start deducing. Robin had never mentioned the “time of occurrence” in the story, so Shi Rang assumed that users on the site had been given advance notice of the event and had prepared story outlines beforehand, ready to launch into an immersive escape scenario as soon as it started.
According to the timestamps in the chat window, Robin had left the machine room and witnessed the guard’s tragic death only 12 minutes ago. Right after reporting the situation, the site performed a “map update.”
Most of Facility 031 was underground. During this time, the root system of the “Doomsday Seed” spread through the elevator shafts, occupying the corridors in front of the southern machine rooms on B4, B5, and B8 levels.
It seemed like a multiple-choice guess, but Robin had also mentioned a ceiling collapse!
During this period, the “Doomsday Seed” had occupied the water storage room on B4’s south side, absorbing water and undergoing explosive growth, which caused the nearby ceiling and floor to be crushed and cave in, marked by gray diagonal shading on the map.
Only the southern machine room on B5 matched all of Robin’s descriptions.
The player’s location was clear. Shi Rang hurriedly seized the moment, racing against time to devise a plan.
He pulled out a label sheet from his computer desk, doodled a small stick figure on the corner, tore off that piece, and stuck it onto the B5 machine room on the floor plan to mark Robin’s current location.
Most shelters within the facility were marked “locked.” Robin was likely abandoned because the “Doomsday Seed’s” containment chamber was vertically close to the machine room; apart from the guard, no one had deliberately gone there.
Shi Rang simulated with his finger on the screen and quickly found a safe route.
This path led swiftly to the stairwell, allowing ascent to B2, passing a shelter still marked “open.” Even if that shelter closed by then, Robin could continue north to find another stairwell, climb to B1, and evacuate via the emergency exit. Mission accomplished.
Just as Shi Rang was about to relay the route to Robin, a vague sense of unease crept over him.
He went back for a closer look and was shocked.
There was indeed a trap!
Military strikes could quickly suppress the “Doomsday Seed,” and in its initial growth phase, it could not outrun a human on foot. But after breaching containment, it severely damaged the building’s structure and operations, causing a chain reaction.
Other contained entities had also escaped!
Of the 20 entities held in Facility 031, more than half were now marked “containment failure.” Shi Rang clicked on several containment rooms near his planned route and quickly scanned their numbered entries; the more he looked, the colder he felt.
There were viruses that could turn humans into “zombies,” mobile stellar-like light sources, small creatures producing gases highly damaging to eyes...
Even if none were top-tier A or B-class threats, that did not mean they were harmless.
He examined a few more. If Robin took that route, she would likely be overwhelmed immediately, and no response would ever come.
Shi Rang’s mind raced as he continuously scanned the “SWAT Arrival Countdown” ticking second by second on the page, trying to find a safe path that avoided all rooms with containment failures.
But after a few attempts, he gave up.
Being new to the site, he couldn’t familiarize himself with all these entities in such a short time.
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These damned things were probably roaming wildly throughout the facility. If Robin was unlucky, even taking side paths could cause her to stumble upon clusters of them. There simply was no “safe path”!
Shi Rang stuck as closely as possible to his earliest planned route, adding a few not-too-complex detours along the way to ensure Robin would only traverse containment chambers rated CD or lower, then sent the route to her.
Next, he took the simplest but most reliable approach—he copied all the brief profiles of these entities over as well.
“I’m sending you the manual directly. Next time you send me a report, study the map and data yourself!”
[“You really sent me a walkthrough, huh!”]
[“So supernatural creatures really exist? Does that mean urban legends about aliens and such are true?”]
[“Do you have technology that can bring the dead back? What about that guard?”]
[“Oh, I know I’m not supposed to talk about this now, but my mind is full of dumb ideas—so can I just start a fire, right?”]
“Control your timing; it may counter fire faster than you expect.”
[“Understood.”]
[“I haven’t been idle either—I dismantled the tablet from your server. I don’t fully understand how it works, but it’s designed in parts.”]
[“So, I’m justified in taking it for emergency escape, right?”]
[“Alright, I’m going to start.”]
“Waiting for your good news.”
[“Wish me luck, benefactor!”]
“You can call me ‘Dump Truck.’”
Leaving behind a message that sounded cool but became oddly amusing because of the nickname, Shi Rang returned to the event page while Robin had yet to report her progress, quickly brushing up on information about the entities along her route to prepare for any sudden challenges requiring improvisation.
Without unexpected incidents, it wouldn’t be a real tabletop escape game!
[CVA-C-888 individuals must be contained in...]
Suddenly, the entire webpage refreshed automatically. A stark red-and-black pop-up filled the entire screen.
[! Unauthorized Access!]
Instinctively, Shi Rang clicked the pop-up with his mouse, but nothing happened. He pressed F5 to refresh.
The refreshed page revealed something every internet user knows all too well.
[404 - Not Found]
What was going on?
He tried to return to the Archive Headquarters from his bookmarks to rejoin that unfinished adventure, but no matter what he did, all he got was the 404 page, as if everything before had been a dream.
Where was the website?
At that moment, there was a knock at his door.
Someone was standing outside.
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Robin pressed against the machine room door, feeling the heat radiating through the metal and hearing the crackling of plants bursting.
There was definitely a blazing fire outside. Before the door had fully closed, the flames had already risen to the height of her eyebrows.
“Burn to death, you damned thing! Damn murderous plants!”
Unfortunately, the heat on this side of the door soon softened from scorching to mild.
Robin recalled the information her benefactor had given her—the “Doomsday Seed” was actively suppressing the flames.
She tightened the knot on her shirt wrapped around her front, ensuring the thick tablet was secured tightly on her back. Taking a deep breath, she covered her face with the long pants she had removed earlier.
Compared to concerns about wet clothes and dignity, survival mattered more!
If it helped filter the toxic gases in the fire, it was a blessing.
Counting silently three-two-one, Robin knocked open the machine room door, wielding a welding torch in her left hand and a wrench in her right, plunging headfirst into the scorching, smoke-filled corridor with eyes closed, sprinting blindly.
Out the door, she turned right, ran straight ahead to the end, then turned left, curving around to find the stairwell...
Her heart pounded so hard she felt it might burst from her chest. Her exposed legs scorched by the heat, she occasionally stepped on writhing, strip-like objects but paid them no mind. Reaching forward with her left hand to touch the wall, she pressed on with her escape plan.
Not athletic by nature, she almost forgot her surroundings, her mind focused solely on moving forward. Running faster with each breath, she held her breath and kept her head down.
Finally, Robin burst through the smoke and entered an unsettling red-lit area.
The cursed plants were gone, but there was no time to celebrate. Confirming she hadn’t gone astray, Robin turned several corners and dove into the stairwell.
[I made it! I made it! I burned that damned thing badly, and I’m inside the stairwell!]
After the adrenaline faded, her hands and feet trembled uncontrollably. Her fingers spasmed as she typed, hurriedly reporting her success to her lifesaver.
If you ignored the pants hanging from her arm, she was practically in her underwear, her head down as she climbed the stairs—an oddly inspiring scene.
...But no one could see it anyway!
Turning a stairwell corner, Robin pressed send and continued climbing, waiting for her benefactor’s reply.
A reply box immediately flashed in her peripheral vision.
Robin looked down at the next corner, ready to read further instructions, but the moment she saw the message, she froze as if struck by lightning.
“Unable to locate signal address.”
Scrolling up, all previous chat messages had vanished. The panel was empty, as if the entity she had been communicating with was nothing but a ghost.
[“Are you still there, Dump Truck?”]
[“Is anyone there?”]