Morning came with a loud alarm. The sound of a long siren woke the entire Sector-7 dormitory.
Rin woke up with a still-throbbing head.Last night's dream still hung like mist. The fungal forest, the large figure, the voice whispering, "Come home." But this time something was different.
She could smell fresh fungi,even after waking.
Rin raised her left hand,checking her palm. No spores. But the scent remained, as if absorbed into her skin.
Akira was already up earlier,sitting on the edge of his bed with a tired face.
"Today...the Yellow Zone simulation. You ready?"
Rin got up slowly.
"I have to be ready."
"That's not an answer."
Rin looked at Akira for a moment,then answered honestly.
"I don't know."
Akira smiled faintly,a tired smile.
"At least you're honest."
Training Facility, Sector 3. 07:30
Team 07 gathered in front of a large gate labeled SIMULATION ZONE- RESTRICTED ACCESS.
Six people stood in formation.Jian at the front with an upright posture, Mei beside him with a sharp gaze, Rin and Akira in the middle, Shun at the back with a tablet in hand, and Kai who smiled even though her face was pale.
In front of them stood Instructor Yashida with a clipboard in hand and his usual serious expression.
"Team 07,"he said in a flat tone. "You will enter the Yellow Zone simulation in five minutes. Your mission is to survive for six hours and reach Evacuation Point Alpha located three kilometers from your starting point."
Yashida pointed to a hologram screen that appeared in the air.A rough map with a red dot in the center and a green dot at the end.
"You will face real conditions.Low to medium-level spore mist, Class-D and C Mycelites, and unstable environmental obstacles. Communication with the outside is only available in emergencies. You must rely on yourselves."
He looked at them one by one.His gaze lingered slightly longer on Rin.
"One more thing.You will be given limited weapons and one medkit per team. Use them wisely. If you are severely injured or lose consciousness, you will be forcibly evacuated and disqualified."
Silence.
"Questions?"
Jian raised his hand.
"If one of us dies inside,what happens?"
Yashida didn't answer immediately.He looked at Jian with a flat expression.
"This simulation is designed not to kill.But accidents can happen. So don't treat this as a game."
Jian nodded slowly,but his face was tenser than before.
"Alright.Enter now."
The gate opened slowly with a heavy mechanical sound.
Behind the gate,there was no bright room as Rin imagined.
There was only darkness.
Greenish-gray mist flowed out from the gate's gap like a living creature.The smell of damp earth, fungi, and something sweet-rotten, like overripe fruit, wafted in. Rin felt her throat tighten just from the smell.
"Damn,"Jian muttered. "And this is just the door."
Kai took a deep breath,then coughed lightly.
"The smell...it's like the real Yellow Zone."
Mei glanced at Kai.
"Because itis the Yellow Zone. They just replicated it inside a sealed dome."
Shun held his tablet tighter,his hands trembling slightly.
"S-so...the Mycelites are real too?"
"Yes,"Mei answered flatly. "So don't relax."
Rin looked into the darkness.Something in her chest began vibrating again, like a response to the spore mist ahead.
A small pulse.A faint echo.
But this time it was different.Not just a sensation. She could feel a direction. As if there was an invisible path pointing into the mist.
Rin shook her head,trying to focus.
"Let's go,"she said. "We're going in."
They stepped inside.
The gate closed behind them with a loud CLANG.
No way back.
The mist grew thicker.Visibility was only about ten meters. The ground under their feet was soft and wet, like thin mud. To the left and right grew small fungi with strange colors. Pale blue, dark purple, bright orange.
Kai crouched for a moment,touching the air with her hand.
"Spore particle density is quite high.But not dangerous if we're not here too long."
"How long is'not too long'?" Akira asked.
"Six hours should still be safe,"Kai answered. "Provided we don't enter a high-concentration zone."
Shun opened his tablet.The screen glowed blue in the midst of the mist.
"The map shows us at the Starting Point.Evacuation Point Alpha is northeast, distance 3.2 kilometers."
"Fastest route?"Rin asked.
Shun shifted the map.
"Two routes.The first route goes straight through the fungal forest. Faster, but more dangerous. The second route detours along the zone's edge. Safer, but longer."
Jian looked at Rin.
"You decide."
Rin thought quickly.Six hours sounded long, but if they were too slow, they could run out of stamina, or worse, get trapped when the mist thickened during the simulation's night.
"We take the first route,"Rin said. "But we move cautiously. Kai, you're in front, detect Mycelites. Jian, you guard the vanguard. Mei, Akira, you take left and right flanks. Shun, you stay in the middle with me. Don't separate by more than five meters."
Everyone nodded.
They began to move.
The first ten minutes went smoothly.
They moved in tight formation,passing through a small fungal forest with trees about three meters tall. The fungi grew like giant umbrellas, with gills underneath emitting faint light. Blue, green, purple.
The sound of their steps was muffled by the soft ground.No other sounds, only their breathing and the whisper of a thin wind carrying the mist.
Too quiet.
"This isn't normal,"Akira whispered.
"What do you mean?"Rin asked, remaining alert.
"Usually if there's an ecosystem,there's sound. Insects. Animals. But here there's nothing."
Mei added in a flat tone.
"Because all the small creatures are dead.Only the predators remain."
Shun swallowed.
Kai suddenly stopped.She raised her hand, a sign to halt.
Everyone immediately froze.
Kai knelt,touched the ground, then felt the air with her hand.
"Something ahead.Distance about twenty meters. Slow movement, large."
"Mycelites?"Jian asked. His hand was already on his weapon's handle, a heavy machete with a thick blade.
"Maybe,"Kai answered softly. "But I can't see clearly because of the mist."
Rin looked in the direction Kai indicated.The mist there was thicker, like a wall.
And behind that wall of mist...
A large shadow was moving slowly.
Rin felt the pulse again,stronger this time.
Something was there.Something alive.
But not just that.She felt intent. Not words, but raw emotions translated directly into her mind.
Hunger.Searching. Hunting.
Rin tensed.
"We have to avoid it.Now."
"Why?"Jian asked. "We don't know what it is."
"Because it's hunting,"Rin answered. "And we're in its territory."
Mei looked at Rin with a sharp gaze,as if she knew where Rin got that information. But she didn't ask.
"Rin is right,"Mei said. "Let's retreat slowly. Don't make a sound."
They began to retreat,slowly, very slowly.
But the shadow moved.
Approaching.
"It knows we're here,"Kai whispered with a trembling voice.
Then from the mist...
Out came a Mycelian Stalker,a monster like a giant spider with eight legs made of hard fungal stalks.
Its body was covered in dark green fungal armor with patterns like roots.Its compound eyes glowed a faint red. From its mouth came spore mist thicker than the surrounding fog.
Class-C.
The Stalker stopped.Stared at them with its head tilted, as if assessing.
Then it made a sound.Low click-click noises that echoed in the fungal forest.
"It's calling others,"Mei whispered.
"What?!"Akira looked at Mei quickly.
"Stalkers are pack hunters.If it's calling, there will be three to five more within a minute."
Rin cursed inwardly.This was too fast.
"We have to kill it now,"Jian said, ready to advance.
"Wait."Rin raised her hand. "If we attack now, it will fight back and its sounds will get louder. We have to make it quiet first."
"How?!"Akira asked.
Rin looked at the Stalker and felt the pulse again.
Small vibration.Low frequency.
She could feel the creature's intent.
Not attacking.Just observing.
But there was something else.She sensed hesitation. The Stalker wasn't sure if they were prey or a threat.
"It won't attack if we don't move,"Rin said softly.
"You sure?"Jian asked skeptically.
"No,"Rin answered honestly. "But if I'm wrong, we run as fast as we can."
Silence for a moment.
Then the Stalker turned.
Slowly.Its legs moved with small clicking sounds.
Then it walked away,back into the mist.
Everyone held their breath.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
The shadow disappeared.
Kai let out a long sigh.
"Oh god...I thought we were dead."
Jian looked at Rin with a different expression.No longer skeptical, but suspicious.
"You...how did you know it wouldn't attack?"
Rin didn't answer immediately,because she herself wasn't sure.
"I just felt it,"Rin answered softly.
"Felt it?"Jian narrowed his eyes. "You 'felt' that monster wouldn't attack? That's not ordinary intuition, Rin."
Mei spoke up before Rin could answer.
"We'll discuss this later.Now we have to go before that Stalker comes back with its friends."
Jian looked at Mei,then nodded slowly, though his gaze was still dissatisfied.
They continued their journey,but the atmosphere changed.
Everyone now looked at Rin differently.
Especially Jian,who kept glancing at Rin with a suspicious look.
Thirty minutes later.
They had walked more than a kilometer.The mist didn't thin, it grew thicker. The temperature dropped a few degrees. Their breath began to look like thin steam.
Shun checked his tablet.
"Spore concentration has risen 15%in the last ten minutes. If it keeps rising, we'll start experiencing mild hallucination effects."
"How long until the effects are felt?"Akira asked.
"Thirty minutes.Maybe less if we enter a zone with higher concentration."
Mei looked around.
"We have to be quick.But still careful."
They quickened their pace,but didn't run. Running in thick mist like this was suicide.
And then...
Kai suddenly stopped again.
"Something's wrong,"she whispered quickly.
Everyone immediately became alert.
"What?"Jian asked.
Kai knelt,her hand touching the ground. Then she looked up, towards the giant fungi around them.
"Spore particles suddenly spiked drastically.And the wind direction changed, as if something is controlling the mist's movement."
"Controlling?"Rin frowned. "Can Mycelites do that?"
Mei answered in a serious tone.
"Yes.If it's an environmental manipulator type of Mycelite."
CLICK.CLICK. CLICK.
The sound came from behind them.
Slowly.Rhythmically.
Like footsteps.
Everyone turned.
In the mist,about twenty meters behind them...
There was a large shadow.
Larger than the Mycelian Stalker they encountered earlier.