Yoru Kamidera said with an unchanging expression, “The terms of this god-given opportunity are very simple. Back when you guys were enlisted into our operations, you’ve already signed an agreement which proclaims that you’ll cooperate with us to complete certain experimentations in exchange for a reduced sentence and increased welfare benefits during your stay here.”
“Really?”
There was a beam of joy in one of their eyes upon hearing this. “You guys can offer us a reduced sentence? What will we have to do?”
“Do whatever I ask of you.”
Yoru Kamidera turned to the other subject. Although the official language of Namibia was English, most of the tribesmen who lived in the Northern region led isolated lives and did not speak English. He noted. “Mr. Comozer, please relay my message to Mr. Monar over here.”
“Yes.”
The man named Comozer nodded before turning to his countryman beside him and unloaded a string of incomprehensible sentences. What he said turned out to infuriate the other man, which caused him to raise his voice irritably. In the end, even Comozer turned to Yoru Kamidera, clearly looking irritated as well.
“What did he say?”
Yoru Kamidera asked, frowning.
“Monar said that you people are liars, there’s no chance of you granting us freedom…”
There was a hint of hesitation in Comozer’s voice. “We’ve had so much of our comrades taken away and none of them returned. Monar is asking about the whereabouts of these people, he suspects that you killed them.”
“Of course not!”
Yoru Kamidera darted a glance at Chen Chen as he said this. When he saw that Chen Chen was not planning to get involved, he started to explain patiently, “Gentlemen, have you heard of the saying that you have to pay for what you get? Most of you are criminals sentenced to at least two decades, ranging up to life sentences. Barring any external circumstances, there’s no chance of any of you ever making it out.
“And now, all you have to do is to participate in our experiments to receive a reduced sentence, isn’t that as simple as it gets? Do you feel like you have to ‘pay’ too much to ‘get’ too little in return?”
Yoru Kamidera continued. “At the end of the day, there’s a definite degree of risk involved in our experiments, we wouldn’t have offered reduced sentences for your participation otherwise. What’s stopping us from looking for volunteers out there? After all, there will be people lining up to participate in our experiments so long as it meant they could put food on the table for another day.”
Comozer displayed a thoughtful look, seemingly convinced with this argument. However, Monar continued expressing his dissatisfaction by yelling a stream of babble and the two started to argue again.
Yoru Kamidera waited patiently for them to finish at first, but when he saw that they were not going to stop any time soon, he gave a signal to have the Black Knights drag them away. The man called Monar was piping red by then as he glared viciously at Yoru Kamidera with eyes like poison.
“Monar says that all of you are liars, that there’s no such thing as a reduced sentence.”
Comozer wailed pitifully, “He says you people will never let us go.”
“Do you believe us?”
The perceptive Yoru Kamidera spotted Comozer’s weakness and exploited it. “If you don’t believe us, then so be it. We’ll immediately send you back there and find more suitable participants. You may never see these participants again because they might be enjoying their newly-found freedom very soon!”
“I believe you!”
Comozer stated immediately, afraid of being sent back by Yoru Kamidera, “I’ve had enough of this place for some time now. If you people were going to kill me, you’d have done it a long time ago instead of waiting until today. I believe you!”
“Excellent!”
Yoru Kamidera heaved a sigh of relief. He glanced at Monar who seemed to realize that his comrade had submitted to the organization. Monar immediately saw red and tried to charge at Yoru Kamidera. As soon as he did that, the collar strapped to his neck emitted a powerful electric current.
Before Monar could step an inch forward, he clapped against the ground with his body twitching uncontrollably and his excrement staining the floor below him.
Yoru Kamidera only glanced at the lifeless Monar briefly before turning back to Monar. “There’s still a chance for you if you cooperate with us. Your mission is very simple. All you have to do is enter the room you see over there and lie on top of the bed. Continue to follow our orders regardless of what happens. That’s all you need to do.”
“Bed?”
Monar stared blankly at the Faraday combination cage in front of him and the dirty metal bed inside it. “That metal bed? Or the wooden bed?”
“The metal bed, of course.”
Yoru Kamidera stated.
“Alright, I’ll head there right away…”
Monar hesitated for a brief moment before he slowly stumbled to the Faraday combination cage.
Monar stopped suddenly when he reached the entrance and turned around. “Researcher Yoru, will this… Will it be dangerous?”
“There is a certain degree of risk, but it’s nothing to be concerned about. There’s even a chance that nothing will happen at all.”
Yoru Kamidera was losing his patience. “Mr. Comozer, do you want to earn a reduced sentence or not? The length of the reduced sentence is up to us to decide. This means that the more satisfied I’m with your overall performance, the greater the chances of you receiving a better deal are.”
“Alright, I’ll go right now…”
Comozer finally stepped inside, fearful of upsetting Yoru Kamidera.
“Alright, now follow my orders. When I tell you to lie on the bed, I want you to lie down immediately.”
Yoru Kamidera slowly stepped backward as he said this. Based on the information they had gathered from the analysis, there was a chance the bed may create an alternate dimension with a diameter of more than fifty meters. Anyone who was inside its range may be dragged into its effects.
Meanwhile, Chen Chen put some distance between himself and the bed as well to prevent a repeat of what had happened previously in the underground laboratory.
“Hold on, why are you guys retreating backward?”
Comozer started to panic when he saw what Yoru Kamidera was doing. He looked at the bed again and started to cry. “Please don’t abandon me, alright?”
Yoru Kamidera only stopped when he reached the entrance of the factory. He looked at Chen Chen who only responded with a nonchalant shrug, implying that Yoru Kamidera should proceed.
Left with no choice, Yoru Kamidera had to go with the strong-armed approach. “Mr. Comozer, please respect your profession, your duty is to lie down on the bed, I guarantee that it’s not dangerous! If you’re unwilling to do so, I’ll have you replaced!”
“I understand, I’ll lie down now…”
After being repeatedly threatened by Yoru Kamidera, Comozer finally lay down on the bed against his will. The moment he lay down on the bed, he could feel the indescribable, greasy texture seeping into his back. He also caught the scent of an awful mixture of rot and sourness.
However, he knew that he had no right to complain in this situation. He remained on the bed, still trembling while waiting for his next orders.
Meanwhile, Chen Chen and Yoru Kamidera who were outside the factory at this point were baffled.
“Nothing’s happening?”
Chen Chen took two steps forward and looked at Comozer and the Black Knights who remained inside the factory. All of them did not seem to exhibit any strange symptoms nor did any horrific sequences similar to the events in Silent Hill occur.
Was there something missing? Perhaps some form of unique trigger condition?
Or could this suggest that this bed was nothing more than an ordinary bed, perhaps he was overthinking it?
Chen Chen considered for a moment. His eyes caught the sight of Monar who was still lying on the ground. He saw the hateful glare swelling inside Monar’s eyes. An idea suddenly occurred to him.
Chen Chen had a bold idea out of nowhere.
“Replace him.”
Chen Chen noted suddenly, catching Yoru Kamidera by surprise. “This Comozer isn’t going to trigger the memetic effect of the bed anytime soon, let Monar do it.”
“Alright.”
Yoru Kamidera replied and shouted inside the factory while giving a signal, “Unfortunately, Mr. Comozer, the experiment is a failure. I’m afraid you’ve lost your chances at a reduced sentence.”
“No, this isn’t fair!”
Comozer felt like he was going to break down at any given moment. He participated in this ominous experiment with eager hopes of a reduced sentence. It turned out that just moments after he was forced to lie down on the old and worn down bed, he was informed that he failed the experiment. He could not handle this any longer.
“Don’t worry Mr. Comozer, there’s always next time.”
Yoru Kamidera was not going to waste time with any more explanations. He had the Black Knights drag him out and had another Black Knight drag Monar into the Faraday combination cage.
Monar started to struggle as soon as he realized what was happening. He howled at the top of his voice like he was livestock about to be taken to the slaughterhouse.
Unfortunately, the Black Knight boasted incredible strength that made him look like a harmless little rabbit. He could not free himself no matter how much he strained.
The Black Knight dragged it into the room and forcefully shoved him into the bed within seconds.
“Humm…”
There was the sound of metallic surfaces rubbing against each other that echoed across the factory. It was extremely dragged out and unnatural. It sounded like aged machines slowly coming to life.
Chen Chen felt himself getting goosebumps the moment he heard this voice. He could not place into words this sensation he was feeling. It was as if something primitive inside him was warning him of the looming danger coming his way…
Yoru Kamidera had the same sensation as well — he felt as if he had returned to his childhood, to the treacherous and nightmarish world he had spent his younger days in. He took a deep breath and turned to Chen Chen. “Sir Godfather, it looks like… It was triggered…”
“That’s right. It has to be ‘hatred’.”
Chen Chen squinted as he said this and peered into the factory. He could see light slowly being drained away from inside the factory. Although it was daytime outside and there were skylights installed around the roof of the factory, the skylight still dimmed out without any reasonable explanation. It was as if there was a time-space ripple between the factory and the outside world which shaped into a separate space inside.
The darkness was continuously expanding.
“Is the memetic effect only triggered by anger-oriented emotions?”
Yoru Kamidera drew the connection instantly. It was true, even the movie Silent Hill went into this detail as well. The author was consumed with bitter hatred which metamorphosed into countless monsters that existed to avenge her.
Upon witnessing the slowly darkening factory, Yoru Kamidera’s first response was to retreat further backward but he stopped when he saw Chen Chen remaining in place. He felt like he had to ask, “Your Excellency Chen Chen, should we abort now? Something terrible might happen next if we don’t take action immediately.”
“No need.”
Chen Chen shook his head and answered with determination, “I can sense that the space affected by the metal bed will not expand beyond the factory range. That means we’ll be safe out here.”
Chen Chen suddenly turned to Yoru Kamidera and revealed a bold smirk. “Besides, I’m curious to see what happens next…”
Yoru Kamidera had no choice but to suppress his nerves and wait with Chen Chen.
During their conversation, light continued to be drained away from the factory until it became so dark that one could not even make out the outline of one’s fingers when standing in that darkness. It formed an extremely bizarre contrast. Although it was high noon, the entrance to the factory was drowned in darkness. It was as if there was a thick cloud of black mist swallowing all sources of light and obstructing sunlight from entering the factory.
“Sir Godfather, we’ve lost contact with the Black Knights.”
Little X suddenly informed, “The God chip signal inside the factory is muffled.”
“That’s not surprising considering the space inside has become an alternate space.”
Chen Chen did not find that surprising since that was the same thing that occurred when he was stuck underground previously. The only question he had was whether the two Black Knights would survive in the world conjured by the hatred-filled Monar.
Chen Chen turned to the other two Black Knights standing beside him and instructed, “You guys head in there as well and then find a way to make it out.”
The two Black Knights nodded briefly before immediately stepping into the entrance of the factory.
Chen Chen and Yoru Kamidera watched as the two Black Knights stepped through the dark mist. They looked like they were swallowed by the pull of the darkness and vanished without a trace.
After that, well, there was no after that…
The two of them waited for half an hour and yet there were no signs of any emerging Black Knight.
“Looks like we have a confirmation.”
Yoru Kamidera checked how much time had passed and announced gravely, “This created space can be accessed, but it’s extremely difficult to make it out. Even superhuman-caliber combat troops like the Black Knights cannot manage to do so. There’s no telling whether they could hold their ground against the monsters conjured by Monar’s inner hatred…”
“Very unlikely. The creator reigns supreme inside the space in which he has created, especially considering that it’s the central strength that stems from the essence of his being…”
Chen Chen shook his head, clearly not optimistic about the Black Knight’s chances. “Let’s keep them locked in here for now. Wait until either Monar comes out himself or if something happens to the factory, whichever happens first.”
Chen Chen did not appear too bothered about losing four Black Knights. The only thing on his mind now was just how long could Monar last inside there without any food or water?
From what he could recall, the passage of time flowed differently inside the Otherworld. Previously, he had spent half an hour inside the Otherworld when only four minutes had passed in the real world. As it may appear, time flowed at an excruciating ten to one ratio.
Assuming that Monar did not have control over the rate of time flow, he should have spent more than six hours inside the Otherworld by now.
Chen Chen was not in any rush. The only one who was racing against the clock was Monar.
By this point, a large number of Black Knights had arrived at the scene. They proceeded to seal up all other passages leading to the factory, leaving only the main entrance accessible. After that, they set up layers of barricades around the main entrance.
All that was left now was a duel of patience.