I exited the staircase and immediately see the security office. The guard inside is also dressed in military gear and asks to see my ID. This area must be classified. I hand him the ID and the guard checks it.

[You are clear], he says.

I pass through the metal detector which beeps right away, but since I am carrying a Particle Rifle, the guard disables the alarm without causing commotion.

This area looks much more complete than level 06, with carpeted walking areas, fully painted walls, finished ceilings, ever present railings on the edges and not just temporary barriers. I pass by large ventilation shafts which extend the full height of the walls, although they were separated from the rest of the room by wire fences with a door leading to a concrete area which is 10 cm lower than the rest.

I pass by a guard smoking a cigarette while leaning on the railing which is overlooking the shaft. I continue through the right walkway until I reach the main area of this level. It’s around the same size as the level 06 main area but this one is fully complete. Well there are some workers putting in the final boards on the ceiling but for the most part it isn’t in that middle phase where everything is gray and from concrete.

The shaft of the main area is covered by railing with two gates too, but has large concrete pillars sectioning off the gates and the entrances from the two walkways. The ceiling of this level is considerably higher than the previous ones, standing at 7 meters tall and it has large signs with room names on them which are being lit by reflectors coming out of small holes in the ceiling boards.

There is also a reception area in the middle with a round wall surrounding it. The wall comes to around a meter in height and then transitions into 2 meter tall glass windows. It doesn’t connect to the ceiling. There are two computers, some beverage cans and a lot of paperwork on the desk and the receptionist looks like he had a rough day. While passing by the desk, I glance at the paperwork and it seems to be just regular transfer forms.

On the signs, I see a few notable rooms. The holding pens, which is where I presume the specimens are held, the train station and the cafeteria. Why is there another train station underground when they have one above ground? Are they transporting in just the POWs or is there something more to it? These questions may get answered when I venture further down.

I first head to the holding pens. There seems to be heightened security around them and I have to show my ID to another guard there.

[Show me your ID.]

“Here you go.”

[I thought you guys already took enough samples, why are you back?]

“I need to check if we have enough for the next round, and if we need to place the order for more.”

[Alright, but make it fast.]

I pass the security area and the tone of the room suddenly changes. The floor is covered in metal grates again and the walls are just barebone concrete. The ceiling is stripped of its boards and the lights are covered with metal bars for protection. The wires are going through suspended channels again and the ventilation is visible but covered with a metal mesh.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The walls are just large concrete pillars with metal bars and prison gates in between them. The cells seem to be quite small and only contain a bed, a toilet and a vent on the ceiling. The vents are also protected by thick metal bars. Inside the cells are alive aliens. They all seem miserable and in bad condition. I wait for the guard to look away from me so I can take a photo. The prisoners don’t seem to mind as it is the least of their worries now.

There are at least 15 of them left and I head out, saying that we might need more specimens. Then I continue on to the cafeteria to get something to eat, I am starving.

I pass by the reception and notice a schedule board hung up over the gates that lead to the platform elevator. It looks like the elevator has scheduled stops on each level and it seems that it will arrive in 15 minutes to this level again. Continuing forward I turn into a corridor to the left and enter a large room with tables and chairs. There are already a lot of people in it and the food doesn’t seem that bad, looking from what people eat.

I come to the menu and see that there are really not many options, there is the standard meat patty, there are fries, there are sandwiches, there is ham, there is spam, there is even bean soup. I am skeptical on how many of these items actually contain meat in them, but I order the patty with fries and a salad nonetheless.

I sit down at an empty table near the windows which overlook the train tunnel. The tunnel is dimly lit and consists of two sections. The lower area where there are three parallel train tracks and the raised area where there is a walkway with railing and occasional ramps and stairs leading to the lower area. There is one large indent in the walls not far from here which is a cargo area, and there are some people there.

While I was eating, another guard approached me.

[You are new here, right?]

“Yeah, how could you tell?”

[I haven’t seen you before and you are sitting all alone in the cafeteria, nobody here does that unless they just arrived.]

“How can you guys live with a view like this?”

[Heh, you get accustomed over time and as far as I am concerned it is much better than what the guys over at the waste disposal section look at.]

“Wow, do you ever see real sunlight or are you always down here?”

[Don’t worry, you get your time outside from time to time and it’s not like you can just take the elevator to the surface. Anyway, what's your name newbie?]

“It’s Paul.”

[Nice to meet you Paul, I am Tom.]

I finished my meal and I parted ways with him. The next stop was to look at the train station in more detail. I leave the cafeteria and pass through the corridor and the main area again. The train yard looks to be protected too, but I think I saw some other paths I can take to get there. I doubt that the guards would allow me to aimlessly wander through the tunnel. There seems to be a door leading to that cargo area from the corridor where the cafeteria is. I will go there.

I get to the corridor and turn right to continue. There seems to be another warehouse here, but smaller. I go there first to see if there is anything of note. There doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary here which I haven’t seen in the larger warehouse at level 02. Just crates of supplies and empty tanks. There must be a reason all these tanks are laying around here.

I continue to the offloading cargo area and it looks like the people who were here haven’t left. They seem to be the logistics personnel and I pose as a guard inspecting the area. They don’t seem to mind as this thing happens regularly. There is also nothing notable here and I start to walk to the tunnel and check if there are any trains going or staying here. There are none. After inspecting the cargo here I leave the area and get back to the main area to wait for the platform.

Thankfully the main area also has nice and comfortable sofas, potted plants and vending machines so I am not bored waiting 30 minutes for the platform to arrive.