As Rain and Siobhan descended to the 10th floor, the atmosphere shifted noticeably. The hum of activity and relative order from the upper factory floors faded away, replaced by a bleak stillness. When the elevator doors opened, they stepped out into a dimly lit corridor where the air felt heavier, thick with a mix of humidity and industrial fumes. The people they passed seemed worn down, their clothes frayed and ill-fitting, reflecting the harsh conditions of life on this lower level. Unlike the bustling energy of the factory floors above, there was a distinct air of desolation here.
Rain scanned the surroundings, noting the hollow expressions on the faces of the residents. Their eyes lacked the spark of vitality he was used to seeing in most people. These weren't just tired workers—they were people beaten down by circumstance. Many looked malnourished, their skin pale and gaunt, and their movements slow, as if even the act of walking was a burden. The industrial grime stained their clothes and hands, and a few stared vacantly at the newcomers, offering no acknowledgment. It was a stark contrast to the well-maintained sections of the city they had been in earlier.
Siobhan glanced at Rain, her brow furrowing. "This place... it's worse than I imagined," she whispered, her voice tinged with concern. "It's like the life has been sucked out of everyone here."
Rain nodded, feeling the weight of the place settle on his shoulders. "Yeah. It's clear things aren't right down here. No wonder it's the perfect spot for the kind of dealings we're after. No one here has the energy to ask questions, much less fight back." As they made their way toward G6, the waste treatment plant, they both understood that whatever they were walking into might be more complicated—and more dangerous—than they had initially thought.
As they reached the waste treatment plant, the scene was chaotic. Crowds of people had gathered around, and signs of recent battles were evident throughout the facility—walls were scorched, machinery damaged, and debris scattered across the ground. A perimeter of robots stood guard, ensuring no one unauthorized entered. Rain and Siobhan navigated their way through the crowd and into the facility, where police and other officials were already at work. But what caught Rain's attention the most were the bodies lying on the floor, fully covered, an unsettling reminder of the violence that had occurred.
Rain spotted Damian amidst the chaos and turned to Siobhan. "There's Damian," he said, gesturing in his direction. They walked over, and as they approached, Damian noticed them and said, "You've arrived."
"What happened here?" Rain asked, his gaze shifting from Damian to the large gate ahead.
Damian nodded toward the gate. "That huge gate leads into the sewers, but the passage was blocked and needed repairs. The Weird Research Institute turned the inside into a pseudo Weird Domain."
"Pseudo Weird Domain?" Rain echoed.
"Yes," Damian replied, his tone grim. "It's a low-level C-rank Weird Domain. I was waiting for you both before we entered."
As they started moving toward the sewer gate, Siobhan asked, "Why are we the only ones going inside?"
Damian explained, "This Weird Domain may be pseudo, but it's still dangerous—lower C-rank. The others aren't from the Ghost Department, and their spiritual defenses are only D-rank. They wouldn't survive."
Entering the sewer, Rain noticed how the environment changed. The concrete walls of the sewers quickly gave way to something far more unnatural—it felt like they were inside the trunk of a massive tree. Vines twisted and curled overhead, and a strange staircase led them upward. As they climbed, Rain's eyes widened at the sight above. Dozens, if not hundreds, of cocoon-like structures hung from the ceiling, vines attaching them to the tree-like walls. Inside each cocoon, a human figure could be seen, suspended and trapped.
Rain spotted Sky, Lily, and other officers pulling down the vines, carefully freeing people from the cocoons. His heart raced as he took in the surreal scene. "What happened?" Siobhan asked, her voice tight with disbelief.
Rain, staring at the mass of hanging cocoons, echoed her question. "Yeah... what happened?"
Damian's face was tense as he explained. "The Weird Research Institute experimented on people. They replaced their bones with ironwood."
Siobhan's eyes widened in shock. "What? How could they even do that?"
Damian's frustration was evident. "They'll do anything if it furthers their research. Anything."
Rain's thoughts shifted to the mission. "Did we catch the two brothers?"
Damian shook his head. "No. We tracked them here, but we didn't realize there was a pseudo-domain. They vanished before we could catch them."
"So, what do we do now?" Siobhan asked, her eyes scanning the horrific scene around them.
"Pull these people out of the cocoons," Damian said. "If the domain starts affecting you too much, retreat to recover, then come back in."
Rain and Siobhan nodded, feeling the oppressive energy of the Weird Domain pressing on them as they moved deeper inside. For a brief moment, Rain heard a familiar, eerie melody—a song he'd heard before—but it didn't seem to affect him. Without delay, they began their work, carefully pulling down a cocoon and freeing the person inside. Then they moved to the next, determined to save as many as they could.
As Rain continued pulling bodies from the cocoons, he mentally counted each one. Fourteen people so far, but there were still hundreds of cocoons hanging above, seemingly endless. With the number of people currently working, it might take days to free everyone. His mind raced, wondering, *How did they experiment on so many people in just seven days?*
To his surprise, a voice responded to his unspoken question, "The pseudo domain has a time delay effect."
Rain blinked, realizing he must have accidentally spoken his thoughts aloud. He glanced at the man next to him, someone he didn't recognize. "Time delay?" he asked, curious.
The man, who introduced himself as Rohan, nodded. "Most Weird Domains have either a time delay or time acceleration effect. In a time delay, for every day that passes in reality, several more days pass inside the domain. In this pseudo domain, it's about twelve days inside for every one day outside. Time acceleration is the opposite."
Rain processed the information. "That explains a lot... I'm Rain, by the way."
Rohan gave a brief nod before they both returned to their grim work. After some time, when Rain's count reached thirty-three bodies, he began to feel the strain. The eerie, haunting song that had been playing in the background for so long now seemed to grow louder, grating on his nerves. His body felt heavy, and fatigue started to creep in.
The relentless tune made it hard to concentrate, and he realized he needed a break. Feeling drained, both mentally and physically, he decided it was time to step outside for a while. Pausing his work, Rain made his way toward the exit, eager to escape the oppressive atmosphere of the domain.
As Rain walked out of the sewer gate, he spotted Lily standing nearby, her expression unreadable. He approached her quietly, hoping to spark a conversation. "Lily," he said.
She simply nodded in acknowledgment, her face distant.
Searching for something to say, Rain asked, "Have Hector or Jules recovered?"
Lily's voice was flat and emotionless. "Yes, but both of them have been taken to the hospital. They're in comas."
Sensing that Lily wasn't in the mood for conversation, Rain decided not to press further. Her tone suggested she didn't want to talk, and after a brief silence, Lily excused herself and went back inside the sewer.
Rain stood there for a moment, letting the cool air clear his mind. The fatigue and irritation that had been weighing him down began to lift. Feeling more grounded, he took a deep breath and followed Lily back into the pseudo domain, ready to continue the grim task ahead.