Глава 16

<p=1>Central Far North Mining District Laboratory, Ursus</>

Ugh...

Ksenia!

Ksenia, are you awake? How are you feeling?

Feeling? I don't know. Am I supposed to feel something?

...You...

You're not Kal'tsit.

No... you were never her, why did I even ask you that...? <i>Suka,</i> my head—what am I even saying?

I'm Mon3tr, an Operator of Rhodes Island... and also a companion to Kal'tsit.

Mon3tr, a familiar name, though I don't remember where I heard it... And what about you? Why are you—

*cough*, *cough* *cough*!

Easy now, no need to rush!

I am {@nickname}.

We're from Rhodes Island.;We need your help.

So you're indeed connected to Director Kal'tsit.

Rhodes Island... Serafina talked about the place. What sort of help do you need?

What help can I even give you, as I am now?

Take this back.

Oh, <i>bog.</i> Burn it.

I thought I'd be awake enough to destroy it myself... but it seems staying sober did not save me from this headache anyway.

This was written for the dead, and I hope it did not cause you any offense.

Sorry, but we read it.;We have questions.

You were a Sarcophagus researcher in Chernobog.;Your writing and way of addressing Kal'tsit prove this as well.

That was a long time ago...

I was just an assistant then, following Professor Ilia around and running basic data analyses. I barely had any significant ties to the project...

But now I see it is the very link to my ruin. I'd rather all of that had never happened at all.

But you still treat Kal'tsit as your director, and the research is still on your mind.

Do you know where the Sarcophagus is currently located, or where it possibly could have gone?

It's complicated to explain, but we really have to find the Sarcophagus, we—

No, wait. Explain. What do you mean by 'currently located'?

Is it not in Chernobog?

—What?

So, not only is the Sarcophagus no longer in Chernobog, the city itself has completely changed...

I don't know what happened, and I have no clue where it went either...

Sorry, I can't help you.

Then, do you know of...;Artyom Chaadayev?

You... how do you know this name?

Let's skip that first! You know him, right? Did he ever tell you anything about the Sarcophagus—

No... I've actually never met him.

You what...?

After the incident in Chernobog that year, someone with that name contacted me by mail...

He called himself a friend of Professor Ilia, expressed his condolences about what happened, and showed a willingness to help out a student of his old friend and recommend me to some other laboratories within the country.

I once thought it a nasty joke... until the well-funded labs mentioned in the letter actually came looking for me.

This would happen a few more times. Indeed he gave me many rare opportunities... but even now I have no idea who this man is, or why he helped me.

He contacted you again recently.

Yes... He invited me to Deity Grypherburg, claiming there was an important project I could deploy my skills on.

But I was tired, what could I even do...? Looking back on what I did, all I could bring was more calamity.

If I had to choose where to end my miserable life, let it be the frozen soil out here in the Far North.

(Doctor... what do we do now?)

(That project in Grypherburg sounds somewhat suspicious.);(It sounds like she doesn't know much about it either.)

Ksenia, how did you come to know Serafina?

The lab had to supervise the mobile medical team in the mining district, so we got acquainted rather quickly.

Though we never spoke much to each other. They don't allow researchers to get too close to anyone unrelated to the project.

It's a bit too late now, if you wanted to find her. She left the lab with your people.

With that group of miners...

That's all I know.

What is the 'Oka' mentioned in your writing?;What kind of experiments did you do on the Infected miners?

A wretched mistake...

I didn't know... I had no idea they would use 'Oka' to do those things...

Calm down...;There's still time to rectify mistakes.

<p=1>Central Far North Mining District, Ursus</>

The Central Mining District is huge, and all eleven mines are connected by a surface transport system.

Stations are installed at every mine to deliver raw ore to be washed, processed, and stored in the warehouse.

The map seems to indicate this is the largest warehouse, and the worker dormitories are right next to it, with the south mine exit behind.

This layout...

Storing Originium in a warehouse so close to the dormitories does not mean they trust the miners, but that they absolutely do not care about the hazard posed by active Originium particles.

Amiya.

Yes? Did you find something?

A chip.

I saw it from the research lab terminal. Every miner here has a positioning chip in them. This could be why the miners we met earlier were found by the Patrol Unit.

Before the miners we were chasing chose to leave, they must have gotten rid of these.

Did they tear out the chips themselves?

(Shakes head)

You were right, Captain! In the south dorms, we found bandages, hemostats and other medical equipment, all Rhodes Island issue.

There's blood on the bandages and equipment. They turned the metal beds into a makeshift operating table, and might have performed surgery on it.

I suspect quite a big fight happened here, and the injured had to patch up their wounds.

So those are normal findings.

(Shakes head)

Captain's asking if you've seen any tracking chips that were forcibly removed.

No sign of any such thing.

No, we've swept this area.

As Eloysius says, the man-made damage inside and outside the warehouse seems to imply a fight broke out.

But I think it was a minor scuffle, unless the fresh snow is covering up some of the aftermath...

(Nods)

Alright, good work!

Captain, should we go take a look?

There is no answer, but the Phidia walks straight in the warehouse's direction.

The soldier pauses, then follows the group's footsteps.

Looks like you figured it out. To be honest, I called it a big fight, because—

The Guardswoman steps to one side and motions Elysium to help lift a waterproof sheet.

The revealed hole is filled with uneven matter covered up with a white substance that at a glance appears to be thick and dirty snow.

This smell... doesn't seem to be snow.

Correct. It's limestone.

And below it are corpses.

I told your Operator earlier I already investigated the area, and they took it as-is, and did not search the place any further.

I wasn't going to tell you about this...

They probably wanted to burn the bodies first, before realizing they couldn't get a big enough fire going and resorted to whatever was around. Quicklime to cover the stench, and the waterproof sheet to hide the hole.

It worked, since we didn't smell the blood, yes?

(Shakes head)

Captain's saying the dead are Patrol Unit members.