Jack was walking behind the commander alone in the wide white corridors. Jack noticed that this place, whatever it may be, was truly enormous. From their previous conversation, he deduced the existence of sections, and the guard he had previously killed had written "Section Two" and something else on his card, which seemed to be his rank. Although he wasn't entirely sure about the classification system in this facility, it was evident that the commander outranked Jack. However, the extent of this difference remained a question.
After walking in a deadly silence for several minutes, the commander finally spoke without looking at Jack with any liveliness in his tone. He approached a black iron door and used some kind of card to open it, revealing what was inside.
Inside was a large white room accented with black, with some people in white lab coats walking around strange machines. Clearly, they were scientists conducting their studies using those machines. However, for some reason, Jack felt a sense of unease at the sight.
Then, the commander called Jack to come closer to see something. On one of the large screens was a black list with many names written in white. The commander asked Jack to enter his name into the machine to calculate the points. Jack did so, and when he typed "Maro's" name, all the other names disappeared from the list, leaving only Maro's name. The commander entered a code, and a number hundred appeared next to Maro's name, making it light up briefly before returning to its previous state.
"And with that, you have been rewarded, soldier. Well done. You may leave now," said the commander without paying much attention to Jack in a lifeless tone.
"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!" Jack thanked him warmly before leaving. However, he didn't know where to go next. In fact, he thought he would be killed the moment he entered that room, but apparently, he hadn't been discovered yet.
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"Hmm, maybe he is pretending to be ignorant to lower my guard? ...Wait, can I ask you something, System?" Jack thought, trying to gather more information.
"The system cannot form an answer due to insufficient information," the system replied.
"Well, it doesn't matter. I won't decrease my caution, and I still have my skills and weapon," Jack thought, realizing something. If nobody could enter or leave this place, it meant they slept here. This explained how the soldiers benefited from these merit points. The question now was how he would find his way home. Checking his card again, he found no information except for his name, rank, and section. So, he decided to go to Section Two and try his luck there.
He was currently in Section One, where he had gone with the commander, so he needed a map of the current area. As he roamed the corridors, he waited for an opportunity to find a soldier walking alone. Fortunately, when he turned at his fifth corner, he found an inscription on the wall that said "Section Two," and luck was on his side again as he saw a person leaving that area alone.
"Ah, good. I was starting to feel bored," Jack muttered as he cleaned his knife and approached the soldier with curly black hair.
"Hmm, what's the matter with you?" asked the soldier.
"Nothing, my friend. Don't worry about me. I'll just cut your soul," Jack replied, summoning his dagger and activating his ability. He quickly waved it in front of the soldier, causing him to stop moving and talking, entering a state of bewilderment and lethargy.
In this state, Jack proceeded to ask several important questions, "Who is the leader of this place? What is their goal? Are the patients contagious? How advanced is the research? How many people are here, and what is their average combat strength..." These were some of the questions he started with, but unfortunately, the foul-smelling, broken-toothed, big-lipped curly-haired imbecile had no knowledge of any of it. So, Jack shifted to inquire about Maro's whereabouts, and to his surprise, this polite gentleman with curly hair knew Maro personally. This part of the questioning went smoothly, and before Jack finished, he made the soldier forget who Maro was and made him experience severe diarrhea without actually releasing anything. Then, without wasting any more time, Jack swiftly went to a place that resembled a courtyard, filled with doors and soldiers. He slightly lowered his head without arousing suspicion and reached a specific door numbered 13, his new apartment. He placed his card as he knew, and the door opened. Jack quickly entered and closed the door, waiting for a moment to ensure that no one noticed him.
"Good," Jack spoke after feeling safe. He looked around the small apartment and found it more human-like than he imagined. There was even a bathroom, a drainage system, and a bed, which was a stark contrast to the last time he was in a secret place as a soldier.
Jack relaxed on his bed as he didn't notice any surveillance cameras, allowing him to act comfortably. He began contemplating his next moves from this point onward.