Shrouded Seascape

Anna thought that she'd be furious and frustrated at her current situation, so she was surprised to discover that her predicament seemed unable to affect her that much.

Was I too aggressive? If I had been more discreet, disguising myself as a denizen from the start, could I have avoided their attention? Anna thought. She began reviewing everything, seeking the reasons for her failure for her next attempt.

Anna pondered for a long time, but she eventually stopped. Her speculations were pointless without a thorough understanding of the so-called IMF. Anna didn't even have any idea when they noticed her. Was it when she crossed over from the Subterranean Sea? Or was it when she first left the country?

How aware were they when it came to relics? Were they aware of the Subterranean Sea's existence? They had planted three moles among her people, and that was all Anna knew about them. She knew nothing else.

There was a chance that they had a way of detecting denizens of the Subterranean Sea as soon as they appeared on the surface.

They even have their own armed force, so this IMF must be a massive organization. First of all, I need to know whether their principles are similar to the Foundation's principles or not.

While Anna was deep in her contemplation, the computer screen on the desk lit up with a beep.

Looking up, Anna saw an Asian woman on the screen. She looked amiable and friendly. The woman was a bit fat, and her cheeks were chubby like a baby's. She was also wearing round-framed glasses.

Overall, she resembled an elementary school teacher.

"Hello, my name is Stewart. Did you have a good sleep? Are you hungry?" As soon as her words fell, a gap in the wall opened, and a steaming bowl of what looked like beef stew was pushed into the room.

"According to 2 and 8's reports, you're very casual when it comes to food. For you, any food is fine as long as it fills your stomach, but that's not good. You won't be able to maintain that nice figure without proper nutrition."

Anna sat up, but she didn't move. She merely stared coldly at the woman, waiting for the latter to speak about the reason behind her visit.

Stewart smiled faintly and said, "We mean no harm, really. First of all, you must understand that your actions were wrong. Your actions were against humanity. Human sacrifice is absolutely forbidden here."

Anna's eyes revealed a tinge of mockery, but she remained silent and watched Stewart's "performance."

"Agent 2 said that you admitted to being a monster in your seascape, but I'm aware that there are many people out there who refer to themselves as monsters.

"At the same time, I'm also aware of the possibility that their words are probably influenced by a psychological disorder or perhaps hallucinations from excessive drug use. Regardless, we can help you—we can help you become normal again.

"First of all, you need to tell us where you learned all these," Stewart said. She picked up some papers off-screen and showed them to Anna. The pieces of paper depicted the sacrificial arrays that Anna had used before.

"Where did these things come from? Where does your heritage come from? How come we can't replicate these?" Stewart asked.

Hearing that, Anna finally spoke. "Didn't you just say that my actions were against humanity? The rituals require sacrifices, so what would you call your attempts to replicate them? Is it not against humanity?"

Anna realized that she had a bargaining chip in hand, and it was the fact that they wanted the knowledge that she possessed.

Fortunately, Anna had decided to burn everything she had written down. In other words, what they wanted could only be extracted from her head.

The bargaining chip in Anna's hand was a chip that she couldn't give up, as they'd definitely kill her once she was no longer useful.

"Since you're so eager to have a conversation with me, why don't you tell me who you really are first? I want to know who bested me," Anna said.

Stewart smiled slightly. Anna noticed her glancing upward and realized that she was clearly waiting for approval from someone off-screen.

"IMF—that is the name of our organization. I'm sure you're aware that there are certain 'items' capable of posing both physical and psychological danger to just about anyone. Those items can influence the entire world by impacting the personal beliefs of people and disrupting their daily lives.

"Our job is to control and contain those anomalous items while making sure that the world will not learn of our existence."

There are relics on the surface world? Anna immediately grasped the key point in Stewart's words.

"You have to understand that if those Anomalies were not contained, civilization would vanish in no time. After all, there are some powerful Anomalies capable of destroying human civilization. 𝖗åΝÖꞖÈŚ

"There are some Anomalies in our ranks, and we are working together to achieve our great vision." Stewart paused briefly. She stared deeply at Anna before saying, "You could become one of us."

"There is a solution to your predicament. If you tell us everything, we're willing to recruit you into the organization. Of course, you must tell us your identity and background before anything else.

"We need to know everything to make a proper evaluation."

Anna fell silent once again. They had spoken in a roundabout way, but their goal was Anna's one and only bargaining chip.

Noticing Anna's reluctance to speak, Stewart didn't insist and said, "You can think it over. We're not in a rush. Eat first, and we'll talk more later."

The monitor darkened just then, but Anna's eyes remained glued on the screen. It was clear that she had to change her priorities. Finding the entrance to the Subterranean Sea entrance could wait; she had to escape first from this wretched place.

And just like that, Anna spent an unknown amount of time confined in the tiny room with no colors other than white. Stewart would occasionally appear to talk to her.

Their topic of conversation did not always involve serious matters. Sometimes, Stewart would visit her and complain about the food in the cafeteria; she'd also share some gossip acting as if she were Anna's friend.

However, Anna understood that it was all pretense and that this was just the beginning. Once they were convinced that the easy way wasn't going to work, they'd definitely go about it the hard way.

Of course, Anna was learning many things through their conversations. At the very least, she learned that she was being held in a containment site.

Stewart wasn't saying anything about her organization, but based on the Subterranean Sea's Foundation, Anna became certain that this containment site contained other relics apart from herself.

After all, using an entire containment site to contain just one relic was impractical, except for when the relic in question was extremely dangerous.

Unbeknownst to Anna, detailed information about herself and an analysis of her psyche had already been transmitted to the IMF's Adjudication Department.

The Adjudication Department was using supercomputers and precedents to evaluate Anna, a humanoid Anomaly. Once the evaluation was done, the IMF could then proceed to recruit, interrogate, or eliminate the humanoid Anomaly.

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