Stepping out of the elevator onto Floor One, it was the same long corridor. The only difference was that the previous stairway or ladder Kain had placed there before was missing.

Since they could use the elevator now, it was unnecessary.

The group stepped out, glancing around briefly, as if looking for something else that might have changed. Seeing nothing, they walked to the door.

On the front of the door, there were only the words Floor One.

The door swung open without a sound when Kain pushed it.

Stepping inside, they couldn’t help but gasp. Inside the room was nothing like it had been before. Rather than the plush carpet and sofas, the room had become a structure of steel.

Rows of reinforced steel tables were placed in specific sections of the room as far as the eye could see. Each was equipped with its own drainage channel that carried blood, residue, and cleaning fluids into a filtration system.

There was a section dedicated to skinning, another for separating muscle from bone. A third had equipment used for slicing through the skeletons.

The bones they had previously cleaned were placed into crates.

The entire setup filled the room.

As they walked around in the room, staring at the marvel of engineering, someone spotted another door.

"I think there are other doors," Vincent said.

Everyone crowded, waiting for Kain, their eyes eager to see what other wonders the new place might hold.

Vincent was right; there were other doors. One on the left and another on the right. Both were heavy sliding doors.

Kain wasn’t sure what was in either room. He simply picked the one closest to him, the one on the left.

They all gathered inside. This room was different. It wasn’t all steel. It was mostly workbenches and shelves that were labelled. As Kain and the others drew closer, they could see the labelled items.

Mosquito wing membranes, mosquito shells, and assorted bones. These were things that Kain had placed in the space before.

He glanced at the understanding that this was a materials workshop. Whenever they finished deboning and cleaning, the things could be sent to this room to create weapons. They didn’t have much of an assortment now because they hadn’t encountered that many creatures.

"Another one," Avery said, pointing to their left.

Another one meant another door.

Stepping into this one, it was obvious what kind of room it was. The ready-made harpoons and weapons they had been trying to make were piled up in this room. Some had already been finished, and others were in the process of being finished.

This one was the equipment room. After things were refined in the other room, they could be taken to this room to be completely remade.

There weren’t any other doors on this side, so they walked out.

Everyone made their way to the right. Just as they were eager to see what was on the left, the same was true of the right.

But as they approached the right, they realized it wasn’t so easy to enter.

Kain had allowed someone else to try to open it. The door wouldn’t budge. It wasn’t until Kain stepped forward to press the panel that they could go through.

"Testing," Kain said when they looked back at him.

Kain didn’t actually know it wouldn’t open. He called out to the system as they walked in.

"System, why can’t they access the room?"

[The host needs to assign personnel to each room. Whoever is assigned to a specific room, that is the one who can access that room. Take, for instance, those living on Floor Two. If working in the workshop, this person will have access only to the workshop and Floor Two. All other floors are off limits.]

[Permissions can be given for a specific period of time. For instance, a cleaner needs to access Floor Three to clean. Based on an estimated time of three hours to clean, the cleaner is permitted to stay for three hours.]

[Should they attempt to stay any longer, the system will impose punishments such as gravity induction, electroshock, and so on.]

Kain listened as he walked into the room.

The conversation with the system didn’t take long.

Kain looked around the room. It wasn’t like the workshop; it was actually a research lab.

Walking in gave people an eerie feeling, most likely because of how sterile the room felt. It was spacious and brightly illuminated.

The light reflected off smooth metallic surfaces and polished floors. The sounds of their footsteps clacked in the silent space.

Research stations could be found throughout the entire area. Each section could be configured depending on what project they would be undertaking.

Transparent containers could be found on the walls. Some were empty, while others had organs like hearts, brains, and lungs.

Kain’s brows knitted together, wondering where these organs could have come from. Then, something flashed through his eyes. He watched the others as they walked around the lab, careful not to touch anything.

It seems they haven’t thought about where the organs came from yet.

He didn’t dwell on it and continued to look around. He saw several observation rooms near the middle of the lab. Towards the back were a row of what looked like vaults. Near the ceiling, there were ventilation systems.

The one who truly appreciated the items here was Ashton. Even having been in a lab his entire life, he didn’t show the kind of fear one would expect. Instead, the light in his eyes threatened to burst outwards.

"So cool!" he said. His voice carried and was heard by everyone in the room.

Dominic and Avery also looked around. They weren’t as enthused as Ashton, but they also didn’t show signs of trauma.

Kain watched them as they moved around, inspecting the different instruments.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized they didn’t mind being in a larger lab. Ashton’s lab in the space was one thing, but being around other people in such a large lab, he wasn’t sure whether it would trigger back memories.

Seeing there was nothing else to see, Kain’ called out.

"Let’s check the other floors."