Ever since I first became aware in this life, I've been in this place. I've never seen the sun. Nobody has ever called me by my name... only by cold numbers.
Maybe they never knew my name to begin with, after all, it was the system that showed it to me.
Compared to this life, my first life wasn't that bad.
But why did my memories come back now? "If only they'd come back a few days earlier..." I muttered.
And why did they come back at all?
Many questions and thoughts swept through my mind, each one trying to grind the other down to find its place in my head, but among them, there was one above all.
I have to get out of here.
Just one day ago, this thinking was impossible. I didn't have any information.
But now...
I knew where I was. And I knew where the exit was.
This laboratory is located inside the Solaria Empire — one of the four Empires in this world — hundreds of meters underground, near the northern borders that separate the Empire from the death lands, which are areas full of monsters.
Still, the only entrance and exit to this place was the teleportation gates... it's a place completely cut off from the outside world.
I knew this from the game.
The main character will discover this laboratory later and learn a lot about the experiments... and about the ship.
And since I'd explored this place while playing as the hero, I was familiar with the general layout, and the location of the teleportation gate.
There weren't many guards here. And there weren't many people stronger than me.
The reason?
This place was nothing but a small branch laboratory of the Void System.
And the second reason...
The chip in my head.
Every experiment in this place has a chip implanted in their brain... its purpose was to stop us from attacking anyone here, or getting out of their control.
So yeah, they can kill us instantly with the press of a button.
On top of that, the walls and doors of this facility were made of materials I can't break with my current strength.
And for me, escaping alone wasn't enough.
I need to destroy all the data related to me... especially the latest analysis results... otherwise, the moment I escape, the entire Void System will come after me.
"Heh..." A bitter laugh came out of my lips.
Freedom? It sounded like an impossible dream.
But if there was even the slightest chance of success...
I was ready to risk everything.
After all... I don't have anything.
Except my life.
I took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed, resting my chin on my hand, sunk in deep thought while my mind worked at full power, looking for a way out of here.
There was another problem...
Time.
I had to act before that doctor finished his analysis and contacted the headquarters.
Time passed, maybe two hours.
And finally...
I had a plan.
Reckless, dangerous. But there was no time for caution.
I went back over every possible scenario in my mind, thinking about all the ways my plan could fail.
I let out a held breath, an excited smile forming on my lips.
I muttered as I stood up and headed toward the door. "Success or death."
There was no third option.
I stood in front of the reinforced door, which can only be opened with the guard's card. Beside it was a call button.
After I took a deep breath, I pressed it.
The first step... I deal with the chip in my head.
After a moment, a man's cold voice came from the speaker mounted on the wall.
"What do you want, 01?"
I adjusted my tone to sound like I'm in severe pain.
"There's unbearable pain in my head... I think there's a problem with the chip, it's moved out of place."
Silence fell for a few seconds. Then the cold voice came back.
"Is the pain severe?"
"Yes!... I feel like my head is about to explode."
My heartbeat sped up, and a churning feeling rose through my stomach as I waited for the answer.
"Understood. I'll contact the doctor and see what can be done."
The call cut off and the voice disappeared, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
They have to examine me. After all... I'm number one.
There was a chance they'd ignore me. And if that happened... my plan would end before it even started.
I waited, clenching my jaw, I felt like my heart would escape my ribcage with every second that passed.
"Come on... come on... aren't I important to you?" I muttered under my breath.
And finally, the call came back to the speaker.
"The guards are on their way to escort you to one of the doctor's assistants." With that short statement the call cut off.
I let out a long breath of relief. "Huh..."
After a few minutes, the door opened, and two guards stood in front of me, each of them with a big build, and each of them was taller than me by at least a head.
One of them spoke coldly. "Let's go, 01."
I followed him outside while making sure to show the pain on my face and the weakness in my steps... the guards didn't care, they just signaled for me to walk ahead while they followed me from behind a step away, one on each side.
The sound of our footsteps echoed through the corridors, bouncing off the cold steel and coming back... in the meantime I assessed their strength.
"Rank 2... intermediate." Exactly like me.
They led me in silence to one of the doors on this floor, one of them opened the door and gave me a push inside.
I pretended to shake and stumble, while one of them spoke.
"Mr. Arthur, we've brought 01."
Inside, the screens and workbenches were everywhere, each of them holding glass tubes and containers... who knows what's in them.
In the middle of all that was a medical bed, and above it many mechanical arms hung, frozen in place.
From among all this, a young man came out wearing a white lab coat and small-framed glasses. He looked innocent...
Too innocent for this place.
And that was a strange thing, plus I hadn't seen him before.
A newcomer?
Maybe... that was in my favor.
He nodded to the guards, and spoke trying to be as firm as possible. "Come, 01. You two, wait outside."
The guards sighed and turned to leave, closing the door behind them.
I stepped forward unsteadily, coming closer to him, pretending I'm getting weaker with every step.
With his hand, he signaled for me to lie down on a medical bed.
I walked toward the operating bed, putting my hand on it and leaning heavily like I'm about to collapse.
"You said you're suffering from severe pain in your head, right?" he asked me while keeping a distance from me, I noticed the creasing at his eyes as he looked at me... it looked like pity.
I nodded my head. "Yes."
"Alright. Lie on your stomach, I'll examine you. It might be a simple malfunction in the chip."
He turned toward one of the computers and started pressing the keys... but I didn't follow his instructions.
I dropped to my knees, holding my head, my expression twisting in pure agony.
"The pain...! I... it's too much!... my head is going to explode!" My voice came out twisted between my clenched teeth.
At that moment, Arthur turned around in panic and rushed toward me, trying to help me up.
"Let me help you lie down—"
I screamed, cutting off his words. "Doctor! Stop! Stop! I'm going to die!"
The panic spread across his face, with some hesitation.
That's when I gave the final push.
"I'm—I'm number one... are you going to let me die in your hands?!"
The panic consumed him completely, his face turning pale. "Alright! Just a moment! I'll shut down the chip!"
He rushed to the control unit, pressed several buttons, then pulled a card out of his pocket and scanned it.
"Alright... it's stopped. Do you feel better?"
I felt the change immediately. The restraint, like something had stopped in my head.
He really did it.
He came closer and put his hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay now?"
I raised my head slowly and looked at him with a smile... not a kind smile.
The essence moved inside my body responding to my will, reinforcing my muscles.
And in a heartbeat, my hand pierced his heart, came out of his back, and crushed it completely.
The blood flew with a disgusting tearing sound.
He didn't get a chance to resist... or even to scream.
The disbelief froze on his face, as I pulled my hand back. His body collapsed on the ground, forming a small pool of blood.
I stood up and wiped the blood on my hand onto his white coat... or it used to be white.