MEMELAND

Kai sprinted through the corridor.

The sounds of battle grew louder.

Gunfire.

Explosions.

Steel clashing against steel.

He rounded the corner—

And nearly collided with an Outlaw.

"Kai!"

"The Captain!"

Kai didn't stop.

"What happened?!"

"The experiments!"

"They're everywhere!"

Kai pushed past him.

The battlefield had changed.

The first experiment lay motionless against a collapsed wall.

Its enormous body riddled with bullets.

Several Outlaws surrounded it.

Breathing heavily.

One laughed weakly.

"...That thing just wouldn't die."

Another wiped blood from his forehead.

"I emptied half my ammunition."

Further ahead—

The Cult fared far worse.

One of Dr. Z's smaller creations had torn through their formation.

Burned robes littered the floor.

Broken staffs.

Bodies.

The surviving cultists slowly retreated deeper into the laboratory.

One shouted,

"Fall back!"

"We've lost this section!"

Another answered,

"Protect the research!"

Within moments—

The remaining cultists disappeared into the darkness.

Silence settled.

Only heavy breathing remained.

Munnu reloaded his revolvers.

"...Cowards."

One Outlaw grinned.

"They're running."

"No."

Munnu shook his head.

"They're regrouping."

Kai looked around.

Something felt wrong.

Too quiet.

He counted.

One.

Two.

Three.

...

He frowned.

"Weren't there more of us?"

The Outlaws looked at one another.

One slowly spoke.

"...Jabir?"

Another turned.

"Where's Omar?"

Silence.

A third voice answered.

"They were behind us."

Everyone immediately looked toward the rear corridor.

Nothing.

Empty.

Munnu's expression hardened.

"Search."

The Outlaws split up.

Minutes later—

A shout echoed through the laboratory.

"Captain!"

Munnu rushed over.

Kai followed.

The scene froze everyone.

Two rifles.

One broken lantern.

A trail of blood.

Leading deeper underground.

No bodies.

No footprints returning.

Only drag marks.

Munnu crouched.

Touched the blood.

Fresh.

"They're alive."

Persia sighed.

"We're wasting time."

Munnu stood.

"They're my people."

"They knew the risks."

"They're still my people."

Persia folded his arms.

"And if the Cult wanted us to chase them?"

"Then we'll chase them."

"And walk into another trap?"

Munnu smiled.

"Probably."

Several Outlaws laughed.

Persia didn't.

Kai noticed.

Persia hadn't laughed once since entering the laboratory.

He simply watched.

Calculated.

Measured.

As though every outcome had already been considered.

Kai's head pulsed.

Not a memory.

A feeling.

Unease.

The same feeling he'd experienced before.

Back in Asphyxia.

When something was about to go wrong.

He looked toward Persia.

"..."

Persia noticed.

Their eyes met.

For only a second.

Then Persia smiled.

A perfectly ordinary smile.

Kai couldn't explain it.

But...

Something about it felt fake.

Munnu clapped his hands.

"Listen up!"

Everyone gathered.

"The Cult's retreating."

"Our missing men are somewhere below."

"We're finishing this."

Several Outlaws cheered.

"We go together."

"We come back together."

"As always."

More cheers.

Kai smiled.

For such a chaotic group...

They really did trust one another.

Persia quietly looked away.

"...Yeah."

"As always."

No one noticed his hand.

Slowly reaching toward the large radio strapped to his back.

His thumb brushed against a concealed switch.

He didn't press it.

Not yet.

Instead—

He quietly asked,

"Captain."

"If things go wrong..."

"...would you sacrifice the mission?"

Munnu answered immediately.

"I'd sacrifice the mission."

"The treasure."

"The laboratory."

"The loot."

"I don't care."

"My people come first."

Persia lowered his head.

"...I figured."

Kai looked between them.

The conversation seemed normal.

Yet...

His chest tightened.

Another feeling.

Another warning.

He couldn't explain why.

He couldn't explain how.

Only that every instinct screamed—

Remember this moment.

Because something was about to break.