After managing to evade every roaming threat, Julius and Yuliya finally reached the intersection that led to the restricted zone's exit.

What awaited them was unlike anything they had ever expected.

A crowd had gathered near the sealed doors in a state of panic.

——Are you just going to let us die?!

——Open it! Let us out!

Yuliya composed herself and stepped forward. "What in the world is going on?!"

A professor who recognized her pushed through the crowd at once.

"Professor Yuliya!"

"What happened?" she demanded.

"The exit won't open," he said quickly. "Command sealed it from the outside. They said military assistance is already on the way. They ordered us to stay put until the area beyond the restricted zone is secured."

Julius raised a brow. "What?"

Yuliya frowned. "Stay put? Are they insane?!"

——There are monsters roaming the facility!

——They expect us to wait here and die?!

Yuliya clenched her fists. "Who's in charge of this decision?"

"The external command center," the professor replied. "They're prioritizing containment. Anyone inside the restricted zone is considered… expendable until the situation stabilizes."

Julius's eyes darkened. "...Expendable?"

Several people turned toward him, fear and anger evident in their expressions.

"The researchers believe if they open the gate now," the professor continued, "whatever escaped might break through with us."

Yuliya looked at the sealed doors, then back at the crowd. "And how long are we supposed to wait?"

"No timeline," the professor admitted. "They just told us to hold."

Another distant crash reverberated through the facility. Screams echoed somewhere deeper within the complex.

Julius stepped forward, placing himself slightly ahead of Yuliya without thinking.

"And what about Professor Artyamov?" he asked. "Surely he's against this, knowing his daughter is right here."

He gestured toward Yuliya.

A brief silence followed.

The professor who had approached them earlier let out a strained breath.

"He is," he said. "Professor Artyamov voiced against the decision the moment he learned the restricted zone was sealed."

Yuliya clenched her fist. "Then why—"

"Because it isn't his call anymore," the professor continued. "Once the military took over external command, the facility ceased to be under academic authority."

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

"He demanded they open the exit," the professor said. "But they refused."

"Why?" Julius asked.

"Because this is the price of experimenting on Glasshearts."

The words fell heavily in the air.

"Just like them, we are being contained as well," the professor went on. "They believe that if even one escaped entity breaches the outer zone, the consequences would extend far beyond Zima-12."

"...."

"In their eyes, this is containment damage control. Reap what you sow," the professor added. "That's what command said. This facility existed because we were willing to cross lines others wouldn't. Now we're paying for it."

Julius clicked his tongue.

Yuliya grabbed the professor's collar. "So they expect us to wait here and accept it?"

The professor did not answer, choosing instead to avert his gaze.

"How is it that the escapees haven't found everyone here yet?"

At Julius's words, the surrounding voices died down. Heads turned toward him one by one. It was a question no one else had dared to ask, too afraid of what the answer might imply.

The hallway stretched openly in both directions. There was nowhere to truly hide. And yet, they were still alive.

A different professor finally spoke. "For now, the suppression fields here are enough to deter prolonged contact."

Julius followed the man's gaze and studied the distortions in the air. He hadn't noticed them during his time working in the restricted zone, but the technology wasn't unfamiliar.

Suppression fields. He recognized them instantly.

They were identical to the ones placed throughout German concentration camps, designed to suppress Glasshearts down to a manageable threshold, preventing them from manifesting the crystals.

That explained it.

The fields had likely not been deployed across the entire facility because they would interfere with the testing chambers. Those chambers required Glasshearts to manifest their abilities fully. Suppression would have rendered the experiments meaningless.

But suppression fields required power.

A lot of it.

"How long until it loses power?" Julius asked.

"The auxiliary batteries were designed to last six hours."

Anything beyond that and their output would begin to degrade. Not an immediate shutdown, but a gradual loss of stability. Like oil that had gone too long without being changed.

"And how long has it been since activation?" Julius pressed.

"…Almost four."

"...."

"The main generators were compromised during the initial breach," the professor continued. "Once the backup drains, the fields will break down immediately."

Julius glanced down the open corridor, watching the distortions in the air move more erratically than before.

"So we have roughly two hours," he said. "Less if the system continues to destabilize."

The professor swallowed. "Command expects the military to arrive before then."

Julius's expression did not change. "Hope is not a plan."

At that moment, Julius moved.

Yuliya caught his sleeve at once. "Where are you going, Dimitri?"

"Insurance," he replied. "The German mech should still be in the testing facility. Knightframe, was it?"

The words drew immediate reactions.

"That's insane! The testing facility was one of the first areas to fall!" the professor said. "Last time a team tried to cross it, there were already creatures roaming inside. We lost contact within minutes!"

Words of agreement followed.

"That area is practically a nest now," someone added. "Even the suppression fields don't reach that far."

Yuliya tightened her grip on Julius's sleeve. "Dimitri…"

He looked at her, calm as ever. "If we stay here, we die when the batteries run dry. We might as well give ourselves a fighting chance."

"Fight?" One of the professors raised a brow. "Do you even know how to pilot it, Professor Mikhailov? None of us knows how to operate that thing properly. And going there is basically suicide. You won't make it far!"

Julius did not respond right away.

He glanced down the corridor leading toward the testing facility, listening to the reverberations echoing through Zima-12.

"No one wants to do it," Julius said. "Might as well let a junior professor like myself become a needless sacrifice, no?"

No one responded.

Despite the title, no one here truly believed Julius was expendable. Junior researcher or not, his value had long since surpassed that label. Everyone present knew it.

"Will you come back?" Yuliya asked.

"I intend to."

The memory of his irregular movements earlier surfaced in Yuliya's mind. The way he had fought as if this kind of situation was not unfamiliar to him.

Something clicked. If anyone were capable enough to pilot the German Knightframe, then it would be Julius, undoubtedly.

For a brief moment, there was hesitation before Yuliya gave him a short nod.

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