Mark had been waiting for the moment the teen fell asleep to think upon his plan. The insects would not kill themselves but he did not actually want the teen to see what he would be researching - a mess genocide against the monsters.
In the original files of the game, the way to clear this mission had been suggested. It was not clearly written that this had been the solution but once you read between the lines of the story and the hints provided once the group revisited this palace, it was clear what could have happened.
There had been a gas leak that had caused everyone to suffocate.
Which gas it could be, Mark did not know but the power plant manual had the solution for it. One look at the map provided him with the available information. There was only one gas tank which was to the room below - radon.
Mark was sure that was not due to how things actually worked but as a design choice of the developer of this world as a way to clear this mission.
While Alan was sleeping, Mark searched the storage place to look for the protective suits they would need. The chamber would be sealed once the gas was leaked but it was better to be safe.
Quite frankly, they were lucky that they had spiders as their opponents and not cockroaches who had an almost immunity to this stuff and that had been a big factor that had clued Mark in on the nature of what had happened.
In a future mission, the main team visited this place back only to find monster cockroaches who had survived - the only ones left here among the debris of half-eaten corpses. But that was a problem for the future and someone else to deal with.
He had his own priorities to look after.
The suites were inside the safe which he broke with the help of the sword. Its sharp edges made quick work if the metal lock and Mark 'borrowed' the ones he felt were the right sizes with a few extras.
There were some for animals too and he took the ones for Kuro that was available. Again, this would have to be a strategic choice for the game since pets were an integrated part of this world.
Alan was awake once he came back, his back straight as he looked at Mark. His unwavering gaze fell on Mark causing him to doubt himself.
Had he underestimated the maturity of this teen? He seemed to have gathered himself pretty well.
"Are the preparations made? What are we going to do now?" but the words contradicted Mark's feelings, that the voice's user was still very reliant still on him.
"To get the monsters away from this place we will seal this place and release a gas that would cause suffocation. Once it's all cleared out, then we will grab the goods" Mark made it sound simple, his voice not betraying his beating heart.
He felt like a hypocrite, not wanting to tell Alan everything to preserve his innocence but still waiting for him to play his role.
"So, we need to get to the gas room now? It's on the other side of the mezzanine floor. How would we get there without being seen?" Alan's question was valid since the second they try to move on the floor, they would be caught.
And there was no other way to reach the gas room than to cross the corridor.
"We'll have to rely on luck. I'll take the right side and you take the left. I'll divert their attention to myself which would give you enough time to reach there. Ping me as soon as you reach there and then count to 30 before releasing the gas and sealing the chamber" 30-second window was hardly big enough to achieve his escape.
However, they only had 1 day and a few hours left and Mark would survive.
"Are you sure? What if you get stuck inside with them?" Alan sounded horrified at the conclusion and Mark was happy that the child thought about that.
"I have enough oxygen with me to last if that happens - you should not care about that. Just focus on the time and open up the chamber after 4 hours. I'll take care of myself" Mark's voice was full of confidence but the child still did not look convinced.
"Alan, you're doing this for your brother - don't forget that fact. Now get to work" Mark was not sure if it was the shock of being yelled at or the words themselves that caused Alan to jolt.
But he did without question.
"You don't get to decide that" the teen seemed to almost whisper but the defeat was visible in his body language. Of course, Mark did not compare to his brother at all and between them, Mark was the inferior choice.
"I made the choice to come here in place of your brother and you agreed to follow my lead. I do get to decide this but I can promise you this - I'll make it out alive" his words finally seemed to knock some sense inside Alan.
"I'll play my part for now but one day soon I'll surpass you and you will no longer be in charge. Just try to pull stunts like this then" The teen looked determined but Mark knew that he would follow his lead for now.
No matter how this world flew, the story would flow as it was intended and as long as people were under the system's control there would always be a way to make them follow the set course.
Mark was just abusing it right now but he wondered how long it would last.
"Alright. Now go - hurry up" Mark urged the teen to go while he made noise in his space. Monsters were looking at him now, his voice overtaking the low volume Alan's steps made.
The first gunshot was aimed at the centre place where the densest concentration of monsters existed.
It caused an almost riot between them, hissing noises reached his ears as monster heads turned to him as if one. Mark felt himself sweat inside his attire but he could not risk opening it at all.
It was enough time for Alan to make his way through to the other side and then Mark started to run toward that direction too. The monsters sensed his moment but he made sure to shoot the ones in-between him and the door.
"Alan, close the door now. One of them is about to escape" Mark knew his voice was not loud enough to reach Alan but the voice message would reach.
And it did.
The door closed with a bang and hissing noise began, different from the ones the monsters emitted. This one was artificial and relieving.
Radon was filling the place up fast and now it was a game of time.
It would take about 10 minutes for the chamber to be filled with radon but spiders could live up to 24 hours without breathing and this was an overall stupid idea if this had been real world. But despite having that knowledge present in this world, the governing principle was entirely different.
The game developers or the gods or whatever was governing this place seemed to have omitted that information from the database. Right now, these spiders were no different than humans and would not survive past the one hour mark.
The next 3 hours were a precautionary measure to make sure that these spiders did not 'revive' themselves.
Mark just had to last that long.
Most of the spiders had already lost their rationality and had decided to huddle near the centre pot to protect it from the gas. They formed a protective shield over it to prevent the gas from reaching it at any cost.
Mark was so curious about what they were protecting but he would not take the chance right now. The chance to investigate it would come soon.
A few spiders did attack him but he disposed of them quickly enough. It seemed to scare the rest of them and they backed off but seeing that he was not attacking them if they did not approach him, they left him alone.
Mark had not expected that at all, this level of rationality from those creatures but maybe it was their survival instincts that had evolved when they mutated.
The one hour mark passed before he saw the first one fall and then one after another, they all fell to the gas. It was a horrible sight, to be standing on top and watch a group of creatures suffocate.
'Please turn the setting too high - the one from earlier Mark was not sure he was doing this right but the washing over calm feeling reassured him.
And then he waited for the time to be over, shooting the monsters that moved a little too much. A few would survive, being too low for radon to reach but he would take care of them soon.
Once the time was near, he made a few shots over to the spider pile which did not move. And then the door opened and the gas began to leak out, being replaced by oxygen.
And the pile came to life, the upper dead layer exploding to give way to those who survived the onslaught of the gas. Close to 10 remained and they dashed toward the open door where a shadow was now visible.
They were aiming for Alan who was on the other side of the door.