Standing in front of the single door marked with a strange circular pattern of red and orange paint, Unit D-3 and F-5 stared at it.
"Did the management or the initial investigation team explain why we need at least eight personnel to enter this supernatural space?"
Nica could not help but ask, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"From start to finish, there are a total of nine recordings. Apparently, each audio tape can only be handled by one person."
Adrian was the one who answered her.
"After consulting several cooperative supernatural entities with abilities related to information, A.E.G.I.S. was warned not to play the final recording. Thus, the minimum entry requirement is eight. We have no verified information about what happens if it is played, so the instruction is to leave it untouched."
Nica seemed to take that answer quite seriously. However, it did not stop her from raising another question.
"But if there are nine recordings, and the entities A.E.G.I.S. cooperates with have specifically warned us against playing the ninth one, why didn’t the management set eight as both the maximum and minimum number of personnel? That way, there wouldn’t be anyone left to handle the final recording in the first place."
Samuel was the one who couldn’t help but chuckle.
"Ah, I miss when I was as kind and naive as you guys."
He glanced at Nica, his smile remaining as friendly as ever.
"A.E.G.I.S. doesn’t actually care whether we follow the warning. If we end up playing the ninth recording and somehow survive, they’ll get another piece of information to study and learn from."
"After that, they’ll probably start thinking about how to profit from it, or how to gain control over the entire supernatural space."
"Of course, if we don’t survive, then I suppose the report will simply be shorter."
Hearing Samuel’s reply, I couldn’t help but agree. Although it sounded harsh, it was actually quite true.
My team, Unit F-5, was still naive in its belief that A.E.G.I.S. was an honorable organization.
Team D-3, on the other hand, seemed to have experienced quite a lot already. Thus they were able to make cold comments like these without even batting an eye.
Well, whatever...
I was sure Response Unit F-5 would eventually become just as cold as these people in the future, too.
After checking the maintenance of our packed food and equipment,
Adrian finally gave the signal to begin the mission.
"Let us enter now."
...
Once every single one of us had entered the place, which seemed to contain no light, the door behind us shut.
After a few seconds, dim lights suddenly appeared on the ceiling, illuminating a small and rather dirty living room inside an old apartment.
The walls were painted brown, and the furniture inside looked as though it had been left untouched for years.
In the middle of the room was a small table with an old recording player on top of it.
Right beside the table, a box filled with audio tapes had been placed on the ground.
Adrian stepped forward and briefly examined the recording player before turning toward the rest of us.
His gaze then fell upon the box of tapes, and he seemed to be making sure that everyone understood what we were about to do.
"We’ll determine the order of the recordings through volunteering... Each person is to handle only one tape."
"Once you’ve selected yours, do not touch or move any of the remaining recordings. Before playing it, confirm the number written on the label and report it to me."
"Afterward, place the tape into the player and proceed with the recording. Do not attempt to play another tape, even if the first one finishes early. We’ll follow the established procedure and make sure each recording is handled separately."
Adrian said, giving everyone a clear set of instructions before the investigation began.
Although it was quite insulting to team F-5’s intelligence that they had to be briefed like this, they also knew that they were just an F-ranked team that was being baby sat for a promotion, thus they did not say anything.
Adrian’s tone was professional, and he made sure to speak slowly enough for everyone to understand.
Considering that each recording could only be handled by one person, it was important that we did not make any unnecessary mistakes.
We had already been warned about the final tape, so there was little reason to take any chances with the others.
No one objected to his demands, as they seemed reasonable enough.
"I will go first."
Saying this, Adrian carefully picked up the first audio tape, which had the label "1" on it.
After checking the number one last time, he turned toward the cassette player.
He pressed the small button to open its compartment, then carefully inserted the tape inside, making sure it was properly fitted before closing the lid.
His hand hovered over the buttons before he pressed play.
A mechanical clicking sound came from the device, followed by the soft hiss of static.
Soon the sound of a relatively young and raspy voice began talking.
...
"Hm hello...? Is this working? Erm... I think it’s working..."
"Do I have to introduce myself? Everyone in my class already knows my name... ah whatever. Hello, this is Daniel!"
"Today is the first day of my stay at the Backwards Farm."
"Well, to be more specific, this is actually an assignment for my class. We’re supposed to document our experiences while staying at a farm, using audio recordings to capture the daily life and activities of the place or something..."
"Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to end up somewhere this far away. My mother knows the owner of this farm. They’re old friends, apparently, and when she mentioned my assignment to him, he offered to let me stay here for a while."
"Of course, I accepted. It’s not like I had many other options, haha."
"According to the owner, I can record pretty much everything that happens around the farm. The livestock, the workers, the daily activities... all of it."
"He even said that I could record our conversations, as long as I didn’t disturb anyone while they were working."
"..."
"Anyway, I arrived here a few hours ago. The farm is located quite far from the nearest town, and the road leading here was... well, let’s just say that I wouldn’t want to drive through it again anytime soon."
"Fortunately, the owner was waiting for me at the entrance. He was a rather friendly fellow and he helped me carry my luggage and gave me a brief explanation of the place."
"I don’t really remember what he looked like... I’m a bit tired, maybe that’s why."
"Apparently, there’s only one main building on the entire farm. Everything is handled inside it, from the storage of supplies to the livestock and the workers’ living quarters."
"I was a little surprised by that. Usually, farms have separate buildings for different purposes, but the owner said that this arrangement was more convenient."
"Well, I suppose I can understand that."
"The building itself is quite large. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary barn. The walls are made of wood, and the roof is covered with what appears to be old metal sheets...?"
"There’s a large entrance at the front, which leads into the main working area. I could hear some animals inside, although I haven’t actually seen them yet."
"The owner told me that I could explore the building after settling into my room. He also mentioned that I should avoid disturbing the workers while they’re busy."
"Which brings me to..."
"..."
"Uhm..."
"This is quite a long hallway..."
"..."
"I’ve been walking for a while now, and I still haven’t found my room."
"The owner said that it was at the end of the hallway, but I don’t remember the building being this large when I first entered."
"Actually, now that I think about it, I haven’t seen a single window along this corridor... The walls are just wooden panels, and the lights are spaced rather far apart..."
"I’m not really farm-savvy so I don’t know if this is how these types of buildings are supposed to be built... quite interesting though!"
"..."
"Well, that’s strange."
"I suppose the workers’ quarters are located farther inside than I expected... Sigh. I’m not very athletic so I’m already tired out."
"Ah, there seems to be a door up ahead."
"..."
"Alright. This should be it."
"The room is rather small, but it has a bed, a table, and a few other things... Oh, there’s even a small window."
"At least I can see the outside from here."
"..."
"Well, I think that’s enough for today’s recording."
"I’ll begin documenting the farm’s daily operations tomorrow. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly."
"Oh, and one last thing."
"The owner told me that I should make sure to record everything, even the smallest details."
"He was quite specific about that."
"..."
"Well, I suppose I’ll do just that."
"Goodnight for now, everyone!"