“Yes,” Hazel replied, determination in her eyes.
He nodded.
“Tap on the corner of your helmet to connect to the communication group.”
She did this, and almost immediately, floating texts appeared on her helmet screen.
“Welcome to the group, Guide Hazel.”
“Hello, Guide Hazel.”
“Hi, Guide Hazel.”
“Thank you,” she replied.
Then a message appeared with a captain badge.
“Alright, is everyone set?”
“Yes, Captain,” flooded the screen.
“Let’s go.”
They then entered the hover car, which drove straight to the front of Contamination Zone 009.
While they were on their way, Simon sent a document to the communication group.
Hazel clicked on the file and noticed that it contained information about Contamination Zone 009.
The main theme of this contamination zone was a time loop.
Time would always reset after three days.
Anyone who entered had to blend in with the zone, or else the mutated species would attack.
Hazel read all she needed to know about the contamination zone when Louis began speaking.
“What do you think is up with Contamination Zone 009?
It has never expanded before, after all.
It is one of the most stable contamination zones among all the contaminated zones.”
“Besides, even when other contamination zones expanded, it did not.
The Imperial City even came to check the possibility of its expansion, after which they said it would not happen for another century,” another team member, Clide, added.
“I’m just happy that the captain checked the perimeters it could expand to and didn’t allow people to build houses there, other than farming,” another member added.
“The people from the Imperial City…” Louis began but kept quiet after a glare from a member of the team.
[Arrival at the front of Contamination Zone 009.]
The hover car landed, and they all came out.
Afterward, they entered the foggy entrance of Contamination Zone 009.
Hazel, entering a contamination zone for the first time, expected it to be filled with ruins and for mutated species to immediately attack.
She was already holding her gun, ready to shoot at any attack, but what she saw was different from what she had expected.
It was daytime, and the place was lively.
Unlike the real world, with its pink sky, the sky here was blue, just like that of Earth.
A supermarket stood not far ahead, and high-rise buildings could be seen in the distance.
‘People’ with briefcases were going to work.
Students wearing uniforms were talking with their friends.
There were cafés, restaurants, and hair salons.
Walking further, she reached an open market.
People had opened stalls displaying their goods as their owners called out to passersby, just like in any normal city, save for the people whose heads had different animal forms.
Mutated species.
Hazel would have thought she was back on Earth.
Though she entered the contamination zone at the same time as the team, no one arrived at the same place.
[Is everyone okay?]
[Yes, I am currently in front of a school.]
[Guide Hazel, what about you?]
[Yes, Guide Hazel, where are you?
I could come find you.
Trust me, we would protect you.]
[I am okay.
No need for that,] Hazel replied immediately.
[Shit, someone is staring at me.
I have to go.]
The familiar captain-badge message came in.
[You should all be careful and try to rescue as many survivors as you can, but know that your life is still the most important.
Guide Hazel, stay safe.]
[Thank you, Captain.]
[You should be careful too, Captain.]
[I will, and you too,] Hazel replied.
Then she disconnected after noticing eyes on her.
Staying in one place for too long was not allowed.
Wanting to blend in, she walked forward, going with the crowd.
Then she saw a building with a sign that read, “Havenbrook Children’s Home.”
She entered through the gates, where she saw children playing.
She walked past them and headed into the building.
Hazel had not reached the second floor when she saw a headless girl standing in a corner.
Yes, Hazel was sure the headless figure was a girl because of the blue blood-stained dress with flower buttons that the body was wearing.
If it were an ordinary person, they would have screamed, but Hazel calmly asked, “Hi, can you direct me to the director’s office?
I came to work as a kitchen staff member.”
“Knock!
Knock!”
“Come in.”
A gentle voice came from inside the room.
Then Hazel entered and saw a cockroach-headed woman with glasses sitting in front of a desk.
“I saw a signboard at the front of the gate, and I came to apply for the kitchen assistant position.”
The woman smiled as she stood up.
“Then let me take you over to the kitchen.
The chef would be the one to decide whether to hire you.”
Hazel nodded as she followed behind the director.
The headless child who had directed her to the office was no longer present in the corner.
Entering the kitchen, the chef was a middle-aged cockroach-headed woman, and she was currently cutting and chopping a fat human leg.
“Someone wants to apply to be your kitchen assistant.”
She glanced up from the meat, then stared at Hazel before grunting, “Go take your uniform from the store.
You are hired.”
Hearing this, Hazel went in the direction she pointed.
Behind her, she heard the director saying, “It’s meat we’re having today.
The children would definitely be happy.”
Hazel put on the tattered-looking apron, then went to join the chef as the director left them.
“Rinse the meat and throw it into the pot of soup.”
Hazel walked to where the bowl of chopped human leg was.
It seemed to be wriggling, and she felt nauseated.
The chef stopped chopping and looked at Hazel as if expecting her to make the wrong move so she could use the cutlass in her hands to kill her.
But Hazel calmly poured water into the bowl and put her gloved hands into it.
[Turn off physical sensation.]
Then she began to rinse the meat without any expression.
Seeing this, the chef continued chopping, and Hazel went ahead and put the moving meat into the soup.
The aroma of the soup increased after this, making one want to eat from it.
[Ding!
Food containing a high contamination level.
Do not eat.]
Hazel removed her face from the food, turning her attention to the rest of the meat, which she had been told to put in the fridge.
Once the food was ready, the cockroach-headed chef ordered Hazel to go inform the children while she carried the huge pot to the dining hall.
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