’Alright... alright. This is fine. How would they even attack me? Those cells are literally built to withstand anything.’

After clearing his throat quietly, Blake forced himself to continue walking with more confidence.

Even if most of it was just an act.

The hallway stretched endlessly ahead of him.

Blake kept his shoulders straight, trying his best to appear calm while scanning the cells carefully one by one.

The closer he got, the more details he started noticing.

At first, he had only focused on the bars.

"...Hm?"

There was something else.

A strange blue barrier flickered faintly across every single cell entrance, it almost looked electrical.

The transparent layer distorted lightly every few seconds, crackling with weak pulses of light.

’What the hell is that...?’

He stared at one of the barriers longer, then he figured it out.

Probably to stop prisoners from reaching through the bars, or throwing things outside.

Honestly, considering this place, it could be anything.

Stil, the barrier somehow made the cells look even less human.

Then finally, as he walked past another row, he managed to properly look inside one of the cells.

And immediately froze.

"...What?"

The prisoners were sleeping, just, unconscious.

One man lay curled against the corner wall unmoving.

Another farther inside the neighboring cell had an arm thrown over their face.

One woman was leaning against the wall with her head lowered completely.

None of them reacted or lunged at him. In general, none of them even looked remotely threatening.

Blake blinked slowly.

’Are they pretending?’

That had to be it, right?

But then again, would all of them simultaneously pretend to sleep?

That made absolutely no sense.

And more than anything, it wasn’t like they could do anything anyway, not with those barriers.

Blake let out a quiet breath.

’Okay.’

Maybe he had panicked for nothing.

The further he walked, the calmer he gradually became, though the unease never fully disappeared.

Inside the cells, there were no actual beds.

No blankets.

No furniture.

Nothing.

The interiors were almost completely empty apart from the prisoners themselves.

Some sat against walls.

Some laid directly on the floor.

Others simply stared blankly upward.

Blake frowned harder the more he looked.

This place looked less like a prison and more like storage.

And surprisingly enough, there were a lot of women.

Blake slowed again slightly.

Online, every confirmed criminal shown connected to this place had been male.

Actually, the internet heavily implied the facility only held men altogether.

Yet now that he was here, the cells were filled with all kinds of people.

Young.

Old.

Men.

Women.

Different ethnicities.

Different appearances.

All in the same cells.

That bothered him more than anything.

Until suddenly, Blake stopped walking.

Someone was awake, watching him.

Blake’s breath hitched slightly.

At the very end of one nearby cell, a figure sat crouched unnaturally close to the barrier, perfectly still.

The person’s head tilted slowly upward.

Their eyes looked horrifying.

Wide open, bloodshot and completely unblinking.

The corners of their mouth twitched slightly upward in a way that didn’t resemble a smile at all.

And somehow, despite the flickering blue barrier between them, Blake immediately felt cold.

The figure looked starved.

For several seconds, neither moved.

Then, the prisoner inhaled sharply.

And screamed.

Not yelled.

Not shouted.

Screamed.

A raw, ear-piercing scream exploded through the hallway so suddenly that Blake physically jumped backward.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—"

The sound echoed violently through every corridor.

Blake’s heart nearly stopped.

"What the fuck?!"

Immediately afterward, everything changed, because very single prisoner woke up instantly.

Some started crying immediately.

Others began trembling violently where they sat.

A few simply stared blankly into space with horrifyingly empty expressions.

And some, some screamed too.

The hallway descended into complete chaos within seconds.

"No, no, no—"

"Please—"

"Don’t take me—"

"Please don’t—"

Blake’s eyes widened completely.

"What is wrong with you people?! Keep it down!"

His voice echoed harshly through the corridor.

Panic immediately gripped him.

If the guards outside heard this, they would absolutely come investigate, right? He’d be done for if that were to happen!

’Why are they reacting like this?!’

Blake looked around frantically at the crying prisoners.

Some were clutching their heads.

Others curled into corners.

One woman had started hyperventilating violently.

An uneasy feeling slowly settled deep into Blake’s chest.

Were these people abused?

Were the guards torturing them or something?

Because this wasn’t normal fear.

This looked like an istinctive reaction, basically.

Blake hesitated briefly before approaching one of the prisoners trembling near the bars.

The woman looked young, just a little older than him.

The moment Blake got close, she immediately stood up, shaking violently, now directly in front of the bars.

Blake stared awkwardly.

"Uh."

What exactly was he supposed to do here?

The woman kept her head lowered completely.

Her hands trembled badly at her sides.

Blake cleared his throat.

"Who are you?"

Without lifting her head, she replied quietly,

"17429."

"What?"

"17429," she repeated weakly.

Blake scratched the back of his head nervously.

"That’s not what I meant..."

Then, after hesitating slightly, he asked,

"What’s your name? Like, the legal one."

The woman went completely still for a second.

"Lunette Nealia."

And immediately afterward, she dropped to her knees.

Blake nearly choked.

"Hey, no, get up!"

She remained there trembling.

"Why are you kneeling that close to the bars, you might get hurt."

Slowly, Lunette looked up at him.

Her expression seemed genuinely confused.

As though the answer should’ve been obvious.

"To be taken out."

Several nearby prisoners who overheard immediately quieted down slightly.

Blake’s confusion deepened instantly.

"To be taken out?"

Lunette nodded faintly.

"Well, why would I take you out?"

The moment he asked that, something shifted in her face.

"To the room..."

Then suddenly, she clutched her head violently, a horrifying scream tore out of her throat.

"AHHHHHHH—!"

Tears streamed down her face instantly.

"I DON’T WANT, I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK!"

Blake physically stepped backward in shock.

"What the hell?!"

The surrounding prisoners started panicking again too.

Some began crying harder.

Others covered their ears.

Blake genuinely couldn’t understand what was happening anymore.

What was the room? Why were they reacting like this?

’What is this place? I assumed it was a prison but...’

Eventually, unable to handle the chaos around him anymore, Blake started jogging further down the hallway.

The corridor extended deeper underground than he expected. At one point, stairs even appeared, leading slightly downward into another section.

Blake hesitated briefly, then continued anyway.

Though by now, anxiety sat heavily in his chest.

He just needed to find one recognizable person.

Or at least someone stable enough to talk properly, that didn’t scream or froze in terror the second they looked at him.

"Hey. You."

Blake immediately stopped.

The voice sounded rough and calm, completely unlike everyone else.

Slowly, he turned his head.

’Wait, I recognize that face!’

Not personally, obviously.

But from television and documentaries.

The man sitting inside the cell had once been one of the most infamous technology-based criminals years ago.

No, more than years.

At least ten to fifteen years ago, from what he remembered.

News stations sometimes mentioned him as one of the first major criminals to use advanced tech manipulation publicly.

Blake couldn’t remember the alter ego name.

The actual name was never released online either.

Still, it was definitely him, or at least what remained of him.

Compared to the old pictures circulating online, he looked awful.

Much thinner.

His cheekbones protruded sharply now.

Heavy dark circles rested beneath his eyes.

His hair looked unkempt.

And despite sitting casually against the wall, exhaustion practically radiated off him.

Still, his eyes looked terrifyingly aware, unlike everyone else here.

The man stared directly at Blake for several long seconds, then bluntly said, "You’re not from here."

Blake’s heart skipped painfully.

"What?"

"No soldier would panic just because prisoners screamed."

Blake immediately went silent.

Well.

That was fair.

Honestly, he didn’t even know what to reply.

Should he deny it?

Would that even matter now?

And technically... he came here for information, so maybe exchanging some in return wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

After hesitating briefly, Blake slowly approached the cell.

"Yeah," he admitted quietly. "That’s true."

The man watched him carefully.

"I infiltrated this place."

The prisoner stared at him another second.

"Whoever connected you to this facility is going to die soon. Along with you, obviously."

Blake grimaced.

"Nobody connected me here. I entered on my own."

That finally made the prisoner’s expression shift slightly.

"How?"

Blake shrugged lightly.

"I infiltrated."

The man frowned deeply now.

"You got ahold of the blueprints?"

Blake opened his mouth automatically, then stopped.

’Wait. Why am I answering all these questions?!’

Blake narrowed his eyes immediately.

"No, hold on. This isn’t the time for you to interrogate me."

The prisoner looked mildly amused as Blake crossed his arms slightly.

"I’m here because I’m like you people."

Which was absolutely a lie.

"Crimes, illegal stuff, whatever."

Still a lie.

"And I wanted to dig into AL-TECH."

"You’re not."

Blake blinked.

"You wouldn’t know that?"

"You aren’t like us."

"Yes, I am."

"No."

The prisoner’s tone remained calm.

"You can’t be."

Blake frowned harder.

"And why exactly?"

The man stared directly at him.

"You’re neither first generation nor second generation."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"So why would you be digging into information you should already know?"

Blake went still briefly.

Second generation.

Again.

Alfred Hicth had said something similar during that strange call at Calliope’s birthday party.

Back then, Blake hadn’t understood it either.

"I’m not."

The prisoner remained silent.

"But," Blake added quickly, "I do know one of the current criminals out there."

"Oh?"

"So I kinda qualify too."

The man tilted his head slightly.

"Which one?"

Blake hesitated briefly.

"UD."

The prisoner blinked once.

"...Who?"

Blake sighed.

Right, of course he wouldn’t know, this guy had apparently been imprisoned since Myles was around three years old.

"UD’s younger," Blake explained. "So it’s normal you wouldn’t know him."

The man stared quietly at him.

"Do you know this... UD’s identity?"

Blake frowned immediately.

"Why would you even ask that?"

"Because I need to know whether you’re worth speaking to."

"Seriously?"

"Otherwise I’m not telling you anything."

Blake groaned softly, honestly, this guy was exhausting already.

"I can’t just expose him."

"Just a last name is enough."

The prisoner leaned back slightly.

"I wouldn’t reveal it. Never."

His voice lowered faintly.

"This is all shared between us."

"...Cortez."

"What?!"

The man practically lurched forward.

"If you’re lying to me, I’ll kill you somehow."

Blake frowned harder.

"I’m serious."

The prisoner stared at him in complete shock. Then, he slowly fell backward against the wall again, covering part of his face with one hand.

"...Unbelievable."

For the first time since meeting him, the man genuinely looked shaken.

After a long silence, he looked back at Blake again. This time, his expression seemed almost anguished.

"How much do you know?"

Blake scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"...Basically nothing."

"That’s impossible."

The man frowned immediately.

"You should at least be that kid’s colleague if you know his identity."

Blake immediately stiffened slightly, because he obviously couldn’t explain the entire system situation.

"He’s my lover."

The prisoner stared at him completely deadpan.

Blake coughed awkwardly.

"I’m serious."

The man slowly rubbed his forehead.

"Second generations really are too soft nowadays."

Blake frowned immediately.

"What does that even mean?"

The prisoner remained quiet as Blake stepped closer to the bars.

"What’s first generation? What’s second generation? What even is any of this anymore?"

"What exactly are you planning to do with this information?"

Blake lowered his gaze slightly.

"I need it to help him."

"Your lover already knows this information."

"Yeah, well."

Blake grimaced.

"It’s complicated."

The prisoner sighed quietly.

"Well. Since you managed to intrude into this place alone, you must possess some pretty outstanding abilities yourself."

Blake stayed silent.

Then the man looked around the corridor briefly before speaking again.

"The people here aren’t prisoners."

A pause.

"Well, not all of them are."