The soldier that Blake shot slowly sat up and, with trembling hands, dug into one of his pockets before pulling out a small communication device.

Something between a microphone and a radio transmitter.

Static crackled loudly from it.

"That bastard covered in blood is the intruder!" the soldier screamed into the device. "He got information out of 00001! Priority has changed! Kill him immediately, he’s in section five!"

The words echoed through nearby speakers.

Then silence. One horrifying second of silence.

And suddenly, alarms exploded throughout the underground facility again.

Red emergency lights flashed violently across the hallways.

Footsteps immediately followed.

There were dozens, no, way more than that.

Blake’s chest tightened.

"Shit."

At the end of the corridor, soldiers began flooding in almost instantly.

From behind too.

And the sides.

He was surrounded before he even properly realized it.

But Blake didn’t hesitate.

The moment they raised their guns, he ran.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bullets slammed against the invisible barrier around his body, ricocheting away with metallic sounds.

’Hurts!’

One soldier stepped directly in front of him, trying to block the path.

Blake slammed into him full force.

The soldier crashed backward into the wall before Blake grabbed him by the armor and punched him straight in the face.

Crack!

The visor shattered instantly.

The soldier collapsed.

The others reacted slower than they should have, and not because they were incompetent, but because Blake’s skill was affecting them.

They could see him.

But their focus felt distorted every time they tried locking onto him. Their eyes lagged behind his movements, reactions delayed by precious seconds.

One soldier fired too far to the left.

Another turned toward where Blake had been instead of where he was now.

"Where the hell is this—?!"

Blake shoved one soldier aside hard enough to send him into another before forcing himself through the opening.

"Stop him!"

"Shoot!"

More bullets came flying.

Bang!

Pain exploded through Blake’s foot.

The bullet bounced off the invisible barrier immediately, clattering loudly across the floor.

But the impact still stung badly enough to break his balance.

"Agh!"

Blake stumbled sideways, his shoulder slammed into one of the soldiers, making him crash hard onto the ground.

"Got him!"

Several soldiers immediately piled onto him.

Heavy arms pinned his shoulders.

His wrists.

His legs.

One knee dug painfully into his back.

"Hold him down!"

Blake thrashed violently beneath them.

"Get off!"

A soldier grabbed his helmet roughly.

Click.

The straps came loose, and panic shot through Blake instantly.

The helmet was fine, that didn’t matter.

But the mask, if they removed the mask, his actual appearance would be exposed.

AL-TECH would know exactly who he was.

"No!"

The sudden desperation in his voice made one soldier hesitate briefly.

"Take the mask off!" another barked.

Blake’s heartbeat pounded violently.

’Absolutely not!’

One of his arms slipped free from a soldier’s grip after much effort and, without thinking, Blake reached for his gun immediately.

The man on top noticed too late.

Bang!

The bullet tore through the soldier’s shoulder.

He screamed as blood sprayed onto Blake’s chest, the pressure pinning him down loosened instantly.

Blake shoved the injured soldier off himself before kicking another directly in the stomach.

He forced himself upright desperately.

"Shoot him!"

Gunfire erupted again.

Blake ducked instinctively before sprinting down the hallway once more.

His breathing had already become uneven.

The defense buff protected him from fatal injuries, but his stamina was draining fast.

Every bullet impact chipped away at him.

Every second spent fighting made his body heavier.

Still, he kept running.

Left.

Right.

Another right.

Then left again.

Blake barely even processed where he was going anymore.

He only cared about losing the soldiers behind him.

The underground hallways blurred together into endless red lights and metallic walls.

"Split up!"

"He went that way!"

"Don’t let him escape!"

Their voices echoed everywhere.

Blake gritted his teeth harder.

Freddie’s dead eyes kept flashing through his mind.

"You need to make sure this world ends."

"Shut up..."

Blake clutched his head, turning another corner sharply.

Then another.

Eventually, the shouting behind him became more distant, so Blake slowed slightly, chest heaving violently.

’Did I lose them?’

No.

Not completely.

But enough for now.

He pushed open the nearest door he could find and slipped inside before shutting it quietly behind him.

Blake stood there breathing harshly for several seconds before finally looking around properly.

’A storage room?’

The room was ridiculously small.

Shelves lined the walls messily, filled with cleaning products, old boxes, gloves, buckets and random equipment.

Blake immediately locked the door before turning on the light.

The weak yellow lamp flickered overhead.

That was when he noticed it.

A cleaner uniform hanging from one side of the room.

There were dark dried stains on it.

Blood.

Blake immediately began searching the room frantically.

Cameras, there had to be cameras.

He started trashing the place apart almost instantly.

Boxes were thrown aside.

Cleaning supplies crashed onto the floor.

He even dragged several containers into a pile just so he could climb and inspect every upper corner of the room manually.

Nothing.

Still not trusting it, Blake ripped the lamp from the ceiling and checked inside.

No hidden camera.

No microphone.

Nothing.

Finally, he exhaled shakily.

’Okay.’

His mind raced rapidly.

’What now?’

Running around endlessly wasn’t going to work forever.

There were soldiers everywhere.

And worse, they now knew he had spoken to Freddie, or who they call 00001.

They would hunt him down no matter what.

Blake looked slowly toward the cleaner uniform again, then he made up his mind.

Closing his eyes tightly, Blake concentrated hard on his transformation.

His body slowly shifted.

Height shrinking slightly.

Build becoming thinner.

Hair color changing.

His facial structure altered carefully.

When he opened his eyes again, he no longer resembled himself.

Now he looked like a tired cleaning staff worker.

The uniform was the same as the one hanging, just completely clean.

He pulled the cap low over his face, as low as possible.

The mask underneath became almost impossible to notice unless someone looked carefully.

"This has to be good enough."

He picked up a broom casually before unlocking the door and stepping back into the hallway.

Immediately, soldiers rushed past him.

Dozens of them, with weapons ready, shouting into transmitters.

None of them even spared him a second glance.

Blake kept his head lowered.

’That actually worked.’

Needless to say, his skill was still active too so, unless he acted suspiciously, people naturally lost focus on him quickly.

So Blake simply started walking aimlessly, at a normal pace.

The problem was, where the hell was he now?

Blake frowned slightly beneath the cap.

In all the running, he completely lost track of direction.

He escaped the soldiers successfully, but now he was lost underground in a massive AL-TECH facility.

Blake sighed internally while continuing down another corridor.

People passed by constantly.

What were probably scientists, soldiers, staff workers.

Nobody paid him attention, which made his stomach churn, heart still beating as fast as before.

One hour ago, they were all trying to kill him, but now he was practically invisible.

Blake turned around another corner, and immediately slammed into someone.

"Oof—!"

He fell hard onto the floor, the broom clattering beside him.

A rough hand instantly grabbed him by the collar and yanked him upward.

"Are you trying to die?!" the soldier snapped angrily.

Blake immediately lowered his head further.

"N-No, sorry..."

The soldier looked him up and down suspiciously.

For one horrible second, Blake thought he was done for.

"Tch."

The soldier shoved him away carelessly.

"Watch where you’re going."

Without another word, the man ran off again with the others.

Blake stood frozen for several seconds afterward.

"Holy shit."

That had been way too close.

He picked up the broom again before continuing to walk through the halls.

Time passed slowly after that.

Blake checked the watch on his wrist eventually.

3:00 AM.

He stared at it blankly.

"It’s already been an hour?"

One full hour since he transformed into cleaning staff.

And Spoon still hadn’t dragged him out forcibly.

Well, to be fair, Blake wasn’t exactly in immediate danger anymore, at least not compared to before.

The real issue now was different.

Blake wanted to check on the blueprints, so that he could figure out where to go next, but how was he supposed to do that with soldiers everywhere?

And cameras too.

Paranoia had completely settled into his brain, since every corner felt watched, every hallway felt wrong.

Then suddenly, a loud announcement echoed throughout the facility.

"All staff members are to gather immediately at the main hall."

Blake blinked.

"Huh?"

The announcement repeated itself again.

’Actually, this might be useful.’

A main hall probably meant information.

The problem was, Blake technically shouldn’t go there.

He still had the mask on underneath the cap, it just wasn’t visible unless someone looked closely.

And a gathering meant lots of people, lots of chances to get exposed.

Still, with his skill active, most people naturally ignored him anyway.

As long as he didn’t act suspicious, he should be fine.

’Let’s not forget about Spoon, it wouldn’t let me die.’

Blake sighed softly.

’Well, no point standing around, just, where is this main hall.’

Before he could even ask himself properly, a soldier suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

"You deaf?" the man barked. "Move. Main hall."

Blake immediately nodded.

"S-Sorry."

The soldier shoved him forward roughly before continuing onward with several others.

So Blake simply followed along with the crowd.

The deeper they went, the larger the hallways became.

Eventually, massive reinforced doors appeared ahead.

They opened slowly.

Blake’s eyes widened slightly, the room beyond was huge, far bigger than anything he expected underground.

Hundreds of staff members gathered inside already.

Scientists.

Workers.

Cleaners.

Armed soldiers lined the walls heavily.

Blake quietly moved toward the section where the cleaning staff stood.

He kept his head lowered the entire time and, as expected, nobody questioned him or looked twice.

The room slowly grew quieter.

Then, a man stepped onto a raised platform at the front.

His expression was stern enough to make the entire atmosphere tense instantly.

And somehow, the moment Blake looked at him, a terrible feeling settled into his stomach.