20 Chapter 19
"Bobby?... You mean the one who work for sir Richard?"
"Right, that's me! Wait... you know sir Richard?"
Seeing how the stranger has an afro haircut, his claims of being the Bobby person has been conformed. With said case solved, I lay down my pistol and relaxed my guard. Good thing, nothing dangerous was hiding in the locker.
"Somewhat... We were tasked by him to look for you"
-Sigh
"Thank god... You aren't some raider"
"Anyway, what were you doing hiding in a locker"
"Right... You see I was chased by Psionic Blue Ants when I was catching some Cave Bunnies. So, I decided to hide here for my safety"
"You know... that they navigate using sounds, right?"
"I know... that's why in a few minutes from hiding I decided to leave the locker. But when I tried leaving, I found out that I can't get out. And that I basically locked myself in a locker"
"I see..."
"I thought I was going to die in there, man. So t-thank you very m-much.. Y-you s-save my l-life..."
Grateful for what I did. Tears fall from Bobby's eyes and he started hugging me. Not having any energy to bother with what was happening. I just let Bobby hug me all freely, while his tears soaked my shirt.
-Sniff-sniff
"Seriously... T-thankk you so much, dude. You're a life saver"
"Right... that locker must have been traumatizing. But I don't think that you should be thanking me, just yet"
"W-what do you mean?"
"We're still stuck in this place"
"Huh?"
"Basically, the Ants are still outside waiting to kill us all"
"W-what... you mean you haven't gotten rid of all the ants"
"Sorry... we never anticipated to encounter that many Ants. And the worst part is that my companion was injured by one of them"
Hearing my words, the relieved look of Bobby from earlier, quickly went away and was replaced with a look of despair. I can quite understand his reaction considering that it was the same reaction I had earlier.
"Oh god, oh god, oh god... We're so fucking dead. Why, why, why"
"Calm down will you"
"What do you mean, calm down. Don't you see that we're trapped here, with nowhere to go"
"The more reason to calm down and be level headed. Does panicking here will help solve our problem in any way"
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"...Shit! Even if you say that, we still have no way getting out of here"
"I'm already on it. So please, calm down for a moment"
-Sniff-Sniff
"F-fine... So.. W-what do we do now?"
"Before that, my companion is currently bleeding from the injuries she received. Do you have anything in you that can help her in anyway"
"Sorry but I don't have anything that can help your friend. Most of my items were left behind when I was being chased by the Ants and all I have in my possession is my stun grenade"
"I see... I guess I have hurry and find a way out. Hey you"
"Y-yes?"
"You've been in this room more than us correct?"
"I-I... think so"
"So, have you seen any vents while you were in here"
"Sorry but I pretty much spent most of my time being locked in the locker, so I wasn't able to fully explore this place"
"I see..."
"Why are you looking for vents, anyway?"
-Sigh
"It's the only way I can think of getting out of this place, without engaging the ants from outside"
"Ah! I see. That's actually a good idea. M-maybe I can help you with that"
"Hmm... Not a bad suggestion. Let's split up and look for any vents, then?"
"Right!"
After our little talk, we began searching the area for any vents we can find. Going to the rooms that I still haven't explored; I began scanning the areas bit by bit. Seeing how I still haven't found a single vent despite all the rooms that I have exhausted. I got a bit annoyed at the lack of progress.
Seeing how there's nothing more than I can do. I leave the current area and began looking for Bobby.
"Let's hope that his luckier in his search than I am"
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Arriving at the place where me and Bobby split up, I've noticed that he was already there waiting for me. Judging from his depressed look, I quickly assume that he probably doesn't have any good news.
"Any luck?"
"I got nothing on me. All I found were just rubbles and dust"
-Sigh
"Quite the lucky day we're having, ain't it?"
"Oh god... you also don't have anything, aren't you?"
"Right... No vents in my side either"
"...Fuck... Are we going to be trapped here forever?"
"I'm not certain, but looking all depressed in here won't solve our problem. So, how about we go and see how Evee is doing. Maybe in there, we can plan some way of escape"
"Evee? Wait.. Don't tell me that the companion of yours, that was injured was miss Evee?"
"That's right?"
"Why didn't you tell me sooner!"
Hearing Bobby suddenly shout with all his voice, I was caught quite surprised by it.
"Jeez... You personally know her or something? That shout was very unneeded"
"Of course, I know her. She's my c- A-ahh.. S-she helps us quite a lot in the Agronomy. Of course, people in there will know her"
"Right..."
"Anyway.. Let's go and see miss Evee now. I can't believe that you actually left her alone, while injured"
Hearing Evee's current state, the depressed look of Bobby seems to have disappear. Looking at his current look, it seems to convey a look of concern than anything. I guess Evee must be really important to him, to easily let go of his gloomy look.
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Arriving at where I left Evee, I was relieved to see that she's still around. Laying from where I left her, Evee's body seems to be getting weaker than before. Judging from her looks it seems that her condition is getting worse.
"Oh god, it is you miss Evee!"
Seeing Evee's state, Bobby hurriedly rushed from where she was.
"We need to quickly treat your injuries miss Evee, there's blood everywhere in you"
"We don't have any first aid kit at the moment, so we aren't able to do that. But I already bandage her injuries using a make-shift one. That might stop her from bleeding much"
"I see, that a relief. Wait... what do you mean you bandage her"
"What do you mean"
"You fucking cunt, I know that you know what I'm talking abo-"
"Please shut up! Both of you. I can't bloody rest!"
"Sorry"-2x
Hearing Evee's sudden shout, we both immediately became quiet. It seems that despite her injuries, she can still exert enough energy to scold us.
"Ohh.. Y-you're back? How'd your search go?"
"Quite terrible... I didn't find anything that can help us, nor a way out"
"I see... that quite a shame"
"Miss Evee, I don't think that you should be talking too much. Your body is already getting weak"
"...Ummm.. who are you?"
"Ehhh!! Miss Evee it's me Bobby. I work at the Agronomy, don't you remember?"
"...Sorry, but your face doesn't ring any bell"
"Ehh!!"
Faced with the fact that Evee doesn't know or remember Bobby, he remained silently still in where he was. With a stunned look at his face, I think he was quite shocked at what he heard.
'So, tell it straight to me. Are we indefinitely trapped here?"
"I think so"
"Not even a single way out of this place?"
"We tried looking for any vents that might lead to our escape, but sadly we didn't even find a single one in here"
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"I see... -pffttt.. Ahahaha..ahhaha"
Despite the hopeless situation, I was quite shocked at how Evee just laughs it off. Despite the injuries she received, I guess laughter is her way of coping things.
After a few seconds has passed, Evee's laughter eventually stopped Leaving the place quiet and despondent again.
"S-sorry... that was very uncharacteristic of me"
"It's okay, it's not like we can do much anyway..."
"...It's quite funny don't you think?"
"What do you mean?"
"Being trapped here... with no escape, nor anyone that can help. It's quite funny to me"
"How so...?"
"...I promised myself to become strong and protect anyone. I even trained for a majority of my life, striving for that goal. Yet... here I am, bleeding and about to die. Not because of because of some grand effort of saving anyone, but because of some monster got the best of me... It's quite irritating to be honest... being this weak"
"What are you even talking about? You pretty much saved me multiple times already, in our encounter with the ants. And as far as I know, out of all the people I meet. You're pretty much the strongest person I've known"
"Flattering the one who's about to die, I never knew you were this cheesy new recruit"
"I-I..I was being serious with what I said. You're not very good with compliments are you, miss Evee?"
'Could you stop calling me miss. I'm not that old you know"
"Sorry I'm just keeping our formalities"
"Right... If you keep that up, I might die to your corniness, instead of bleeding"
"Formalities isn't your thing, huh?... I guess I should start calling you Evee from now on"
"Good for you. But I don't think that you would be calling that, for very long"
"Stop with the whole dying part will you. Nobody's going to die today"
"How optimistic of you... Then I assume you also have a plan that goes along with what you're saying?"
"A-ahhhh..."
"I thought so..."
With nothing much to do, I tried sitting in some corner of the room to get some rest. Maybe due to boredom or hope of finding any solution, I began opening the Character Building Tool for some reason.
Seeing all the points I've spent in this thing, I can't help but be reminded of the many headaches I suffered just thinking of any good build that might suit me. But seeing how the build I choose can't even help me in this situation, I guess I made the wrong choice...
Flipping the screens one by one, I managed to reach the Quest Section of the tool.
Right... I almost forgot about this.
Seeing the cleared Psionic Training Quest, I was reminded of how I still haven't claimed the quest rewards yet.
200 exp... It's enough experience to level me up by one level. That's quite nice... I guess. I still don't know what this Psionium thing thou.
Seeing how accepting the rewards won't do me any help. I began mindlessly switching the screens again. In my mindless act of boredom, I arrive at the Skills section of the tool for the second time. Seeing the perfect row of 35's in Psionics, I was reminded of the little incident from earlier.
-Thought Control Skill Too Low
That was what the text said when I tried using Dominate Mind in that odd Ant. If I follow what it said, that would mean that reason why my ability failed is due to how low my skills were to control the creature.
Thinking more about it, some questions quickly formed in my head. Which Bobby might know some answers.
Seeing Bobby remained still from where he was and still shocked at what Evee said. I tried snapping him out of it, to ask some questions.
"Hey Bobby"
"..."
"Hey! Stop day dreaming, I have some questions"
"W-what is it..."
"Earlier when me and Evee were being chased by the Ants, we encountered an odd looking one that attack us in swift speeds. Do you have any knowledge about what that Ant is?"
"...I don't really know what you are talking about. But if you can give me a description of what it looked like; I might be able to identify it"
"Well... Its body structure looks very different from the average Psionic Blue Ant and its larger in size as well. The most interesting part of the creature is the fact that it has a tail"
"A tail, huh... It seems that the one you've encounter is a Psionic Blue Ant Queen. It would explain why the sudden increase in number of Psionic Blue Ants in this place"
"An Ant Queen... Why would one show up here?"
"I don't know, but coincidence can be one of the factors considering Psionic Blue Ants tend to migrate from area to area"
"I see... Then considering that said Ant was a queen, is the Ant able to control or at least order the other Ants"
"Well.. yeah. I'm not really an expert on Psionic Blue Ants, but from what I studied. Most Worker and Soldier Ants tend to follow any of the Ant Queen's commands. Examples of Ants following their Queen would be again, when they're migrating or when Workers and Soldiers are tasked on protecting the Queen's eggs or safety"
"So what you're saying is that the Ants will certainly follow in any order that their Queen will command"
"A-aahhh... Yeah.. Sort of"
"Just be clear to me here. Are you certain or not"?
"Ok-ok-ok... I'm certain.. But I'm just an apprentice. So, don't blame me if I'm wrong"
Having my questions clarified, a struck of idea suddenly formed in my head.
"I see... It's gamble if whether you're right or wrong. But... seeing how you're certain about it, the chances are pretty high... It could work.."
"What are you talking about?"
"Bobby you mention that you have a stun grenade. Do you still have it in you?"
"A-ahh.. Of course, I still have it. I wouldn't have even escaped those Ants without using them"
"How many do you have?"
"I already used one earlier, so I only have one left"
"I see... this could work"
"Again dude... what the hell are you talking about?"
"Bobby give me the grenade; we're escaping this place"
"What!!"
Hearing my sudden proposal, Bobby and the quiet Evee was suddenly bewildered with what I said. It seems that they can't believe such outlandish idea being proposed in our current situation.
"W-what the hell are you planning, new recruit?"
"R-right.. What do you mean that we're escaping? Can't you see that we're trapped here with many Ants outside"
"I have a plan that will ensure our escape of this place. All I need is your stun grenade for that plan to work"
"What are you going to use my grenade for?! Don't tell that you just going to throw it outside and escape just like that"
"...Sort of"
"W-what...?"
"Precisely what you just said. I'm going to lure a majority of Ants in here by making some noise and throw the grenade to stun them. After which we can make our escape"
"W-what the.. Are you crazy?"
"I-I agree... What you're planning is s-suicidal, new recruit"
"Right! Even if your plan work. The Ants are just going to chase us, after they recovered. And how are we going to deal with that? Especially with Miss Evee here, who is injured"
"Please! Just trust me on this. I'm certain that with my plan, you all can escape this place... So please..."
"W-what..."
"..."
Not convinced with my idea of escaping. Both Evee and Bobby stayed silent for a moment to assess some things.
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"...Are you certain that we can escape this place?"
"Miss Evee!"
After a few minutes of thinking, it seems that Evee is willing to hear my suggestion.
"I'm certain that with my plan all of you, can escape this place with no problem. The only thing that can mess up this plan, is if our luck is extremely bad"
"With how bad our luck has been in the past hour or so... Do you certainly believe that this will not backfire?"
"I don't know... that's why I mentioned that this plan of mine is a gamble"
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-Sigh...
"Fine... I'll follow you in this plan of yours..."
"What are you talking about, miss Evee!"
"Please shut up"
"E-eehhh"
"Bobby! Please trust me on this. I beg of you"
"But-but-but..."
"I know that you're scared. Cause I am too... But I'm not letting myself die in this wicked place. And I'm sure that you are too.."
Still not certain with the plan. Bobby again tried assessing the plan of mine. After a few seconds of thinking, Bobby finally decided on his decision.
"Goddammit! Fine! If miss Evee is certain about that plan of yours, then I'm in!"
"Thank you, Bobby"
"Goddammit! H-here's the grenade that you've been looking for. Just promise me, that miss Evee escapes this place safe"
Receiving the stun grenade from Bobby's hand. Most of my plan's preparation is complete. All that is needed now, is to lure the Ants in this place.
"You can be certain that both of you can escape this place. I promise you that..."
-End of Chapter 19
