It's not love, but sheer lust fueled by their overactive imaginations. Rebecca squats down, clearly intending to do something to Litzy's muffy that your wildest daydreams wouldn't even dare to describe. But suddenly…
"Bang! Bang!!!"
"Ahk?"
"What the hell was that?"
The two freeze, their mood completely obliterated by the loud gunshots. Grumbling while putting their dresses back on, they then stumble out of the room, along with everyone else in the mess, to investigate the commotion.
At the source, they find Jack proudly dragging in a dead mole chimera like a cat showing off its latest kill.
"Not even an hour, and I already bagged one!" Jack announces with a grin big enough to make a toothpaste ads jealous.
Lily steps closer, squinting. "Is that it? This little thing?"
"It doesn't even look like a monster," Maya says sympathetically, staring at the chimera like it's a wet puppy that wandered into the wrong neighborhood.
Jack huffs, clearly offended by the lack of applause. "So, uh, who do I report this catch to?"
The group exchanges glances, realizing someone's missing.
At the moment, Barry the cop, the one issued by the Fracklosk Governor to supervising this team, is now busy looking for diesel oil to fuel the motor boat. It's not that easy to explore this complex, not when the sky is getting darker during the sunset.
Unbeknownst to everyone, the mole chimera Jack killed was just a decoy. The real deals, some sneakier moles, are causing chaos at the dock.
Crack!
Brak!!
Splash!!!
In what seems a coordinated act of vandalism, the chimeras break the motorboat engine and chuck it into the water like a group of mafia operating dead man disposal with "cement shoes". Not satisfied, they also claw holes in the boat and canoe before vanishing into the ground, presumably off to write their memoirs.
***
Back at the research center, Oughan finally gets the generator working, flooding the place with light and replacing the oppressive darkness with a flicker of hope. Broken bulbs are swapped out, alarms are tested, and the building seems momentarily secure.
Or so they think. Before dinner time…
"Aezel! Oughan! Could you come with us for a sec?"
Lily and Maya, assigned to dinner prep, burst into the lounge room, looking concerned. They lead Aezel and Oughan to the storeroom, where an unsettling discovery awaits. Part of their food supply has mysteriously vanished. And the culprit behind the crime is still unknown.
"Did you lock the room before?" Oughan asks, raising an eyebrow.
Lily and Maya exchange guilty looks, their silence louder than any excuse.
"You had one job," Aezel says, her voice dripping with disappointment.
"Sorry!" Lily blurts. "But there's no one else on this island except us!"
"Could it have been the chimeras?" Maya suggests hesitantly.
Aezel frowns. "If it were them, there would be a trail of mess here. They're failed lab experiments with squatted IQ, not masterminds of…"
She trails off, her eyes narrowing as Martin's testimony about the underground tunnel comes to mind. Without another word, she starts searching the storeroom, eventually finding a section of broken tiles on the floor.
"There!"
Beneath the tiles lies a dark, deep tunnel that seems to stretch into the abyss.
"Shiiit!" Aezel clenches both fists, looking so irritated. "What good are the alarms when they can just dig under us? Lily, Maya! Move all the remaining supplies to the lounge room. Oughan, take those useless cops and sweep this building. Those monsters might still be here."
In the lounge room, tensions run high as the team waits for food. Oogorim, infamous for his bottomless appetite, grows increasingly irritable.
"Hey! What's taking so long? I'm starving over here!"
Right at that moment, Lily trudges in with a sack of wheat and a box of eggs, followed by Maya, lugging canned fish and vegetables. Their expressionless faces make it clear they are over this day.
Oogorim isn't impressed, thinking that he would be served the food raw. "What's this? Not happy with your assignments?"
Lily doesn't respond, walking right past him without a word. Furious, Oogorim loses his patience and lashes out, throwing his clenched right fist at Maya who is currently walking towards him.
Kyaaa!!!
Terrified Maya hits the ground, her hip colliding painfully with the floor. But soon, as she opens her eyes, she finds a magnificent hero saving the day by catching Oogorim's fist mid-swing.
It's Irvine, who is sitting nearby. And the truth is, the move happened so quickly that even Irvine himself seems surprised. He soon releases Oogorim's hand, looking unsure if he's just made the dumbest decision of his life.
Oogorim, however, isn't about to let this slide. He grabs Irvine by the front of his uniform, lifting him off the ground with one hand. And indeed, he is bigger, more than 20 cm taller than Irvine.
"Oh, so you think you're tough now?" Oogorim growls. "Strong enough to challenge me? If you want to prove yourself, why don't you just declare war on me? That way, I'll have an excuse for the higher-ups after accidentally killing you!"
Despite several witnesses; Elea, Jack, and the two medics, no one steps in. Only Maya, still on the floor with a frightened expression on her face worrying about the lovely hero's fate, and Lily who finds the need to explain their situation.
"Oogorim! Please, calm down! We are currently having a serious issue right now!"
Still holding Irvine with his right arm, Oogorim simply swings his left arm to the back. It hits Lily's face, slamming the elf girl to the table.
Maya holds Oogorim's feet, and starts begging. "That's enough, Oogorim! We will prepare the food for you and everyone. So please, stop it and let him go!"
But suddenly…
"Shut up!!!"
Maya is shocked by the scolding, because it doesn't come from Oogorim, but from Irvine himself.
"I don't need you begging for my safety! I can protect myself just fine!"
The rejection is so harsh and personal, making Maya so out of place, not knowing who should to side on.
On the other hand, Oogorim smirks, looking amused by Irvine's defiance. "Oh, really? You? Saying you can protect yourself? From me? What can you do now? Huh? You incorrigible, squishy ass cockroach!"
Answering the Orc's taunt, Irvine grips his arm with both hands. His fingers are turning white as he squeezes with all his strength. At first, Oogorim doesn't take him seriously, smirking at the effort.
But then…
Grrrrrt!
"Urgh!"
Oogorim's arrogant smirk fades as he feels his arm going numb. Slowly but surely, his grip on Irvine's uniform weakens. And soon, Irvine's feet touch the ground again.
"None of your friends are here!" Irvine says, his voice low but steady. "There's only you and me now! Let's see how far you can handle this weakling!"
Oogorim stares at him, stunned. This wasn't the Irvine he knew, the pathetic skinny guy he could toss around like a ragdoll. For the first time, the Orc wonders what's changed, where this strength comes from.