The narrow passage lay beside the industrial plant like a wound cut into the earth.
It was darker than the rest of the compound, thinner, tighter — two cracked concrete walls pressing so close together that it felt like the space itself didn't want anyone walking through it. Wind slid through the alley in low, uneasy breaths, carrying the smell of damp soil and rust.
Chuya stopped in front of it.
"There it is," he said quietly. "The narrow passage… the one written in the puzzle."
Rei stared down the thin corridor. Shadows tangled inside it, long and stretched, and for a moment he had the strange feeling that the darkness was deeper than it should be.
"Is it safe for us to go there," he asked softly, "or did that man just want to trap us all?"
Koma stepped closer to him.
"Rei," she said gently, "at this time even kidnappers would think of their own safety before thinking about kidnapping and getting money. So… I guess it's safe for us to go into it."
Kai shifted slightly. A faint breath escaped him.
He tried to hide it, but Koma noticed immediately.
She turned, lightly holding his arm. "Does it hurt?"
He nodded. "Not too bad… but it's still burning."
She adjusted the wrap carefully and squeezed his arm reassuringly. "We'll be careful, okay?"
Kai forced a small smile. "Yeah."
They stepped into the passage.
The walls closed in around them as they walked deeper. Their footsteps echoed strangely, bouncing unevenly off the concrete. Every few steps, loose stones crunched under their shoes.
The alley stretched farther than it looked from outside.
Then, slowly, the gray walls began to open into something darker.
Trees.
Tall, tangled, and dense.
The passage ended at the edge of a jungle.
It rose like a silent ocean of leaves and shadows — thick branches tangled together, vines hanging low, the ground disappearing into uneven roots and dark soil. The air was cooler there, carrying the faint smell of wet earth and leaves.
All four of them stopped.
No one moved.
The jungle didn't feel empty. It felt watchful.
Rei swallowed. "Guys… we don't have enough time to hesitate. It's now or never."
Koma took a breath. Chuya tightened the straps of his bag. Kai slowly nodded.
This jungle wasn't visited much. It was almost outside the city limits — a place people avoided because of rumors, because of how easily someone could disappear in it.
But they stepped forward anyway.
Chuya went first.Kai and Koma followed.Rei walked last.
Leaves brushed against their arms. Twigs cracked underfoot. Every sound felt louder than it should have been.
Ten minutes passed.
Nothing happened.
No movement. No voices. No shapes in the shadows.
Just trees.
Rei let out a slow breath. "Guys… how is there a rabbit here? Didn't the zoo capture them all?"
They froze.
A small white rabbit stood between the trees ahead, ears twitching, eyes reflecting faint light.
Koma blinked. "Ah, yes… but since we saw one now, let's follow him and see where he goes. We still haven't found anything, so… we can at least see a rabbit."
Rei hesitated, then smiled weakly. "Well, Koma, at this time we should focus on finding the scientist… but— let's follow the rabbit."
They moved forward.
The rabbit hopped away.
They followed.
Then—
The ground vanished.
All of them fell at once.
They landed hard, tumbling onto dirt and leaves, the air knocked out of their lungs. Rei hit his shoulder, Kai groaned, and Koma cried out softly.
They were inside a pit.
Not a natural one.
Wooden planks lined the sides. Metal bars reinforced the corners.
It was a cage.
A trap.
Chuya scrambled to his feet. "This isn't normal… this is man-made."
They tried calling out.
"Hello?! Is anyone there?!"
Their phones barely had signal. Messages wouldn't send. Calls wouldn't connect.
They waited.
Minutes stretched into hours.
The jungle remained silent.
Two hours passed.
Then… footsteps.
Slow. Careful.
A shadow appeared above the pit.
Someone stood there, wearing a dark mask that hid his face completely, a girl whose clothes blended into the forest like camouflage.
she lifted something in his hands — something dark and metallic.
Rei's heart dropped.
But then the girl paused.
She leaned forward, staring down at their faces.
She hesitated.
The weapon lowered.
They didn't know why.
Slowly, she pulled out a rope and dropped it down.
One by one, they climbed out.
They were free.
Kai stared at her. "Why did you save us?"
The girl's voice came low and rough from behind the mask.
"I made this trap for alterds," she said. "When I saw you were humans… I helped you escape."
She turned slightly, as if about to leave.
Then she stopped.
Not because Rei spoke.
Not because anyone moved.
She froze because his eyes fell on Rei's open backpack — and the edge of the briefcase inside it.
For a single second, her entire body stiffened.
Slowly… very slowly… she turned back toward Rei.
"…Where," she said quietly, "did you get that case?"
And the jungle seemed to fall completely silent.