Night Sky descended in grandeur, and after the sun departed, darkness blanketed half the world.
Though the sea of lights from human civilization shone brilliantly, beyond the city limits, the night still retained its most primordial form—pitch-black, vast, and boundless.
Lake Superior stretched endlessly through the night, silent as a sea.
One of North America's five Great Lakes, the world's largest freshwater lake by surface area, with the fourth-largest water reserve—enough to cover the combined area of North and South America to a depth of thirty centimeters.
Somewhere along its frozen western shore, several hundred kilometers from downtown Minneapolis,
the facilities and buildings across an entire complex stood silently in the night.
Centered around a research institute-like building, with factories, workshops, warehouses, and an open central area, everything within the facility was tightly enclosed.
With the vast lake at its back, it stood alone in a remote, desolate stretch of land.
"Is that it?"
Having driven through the wilderness beneath the Night Sky, Serica slammed the car door and stared at the buildings ahead, which were little more than silhouettes in the darkness.
"Looks like it. Just as the agent described."
After checking his equipment, confirming his physical condition, and making preparations for battle, Ryder spoke steadily.
"Those reconnaissance and detection devices don't match any model on the market. There is at least one technologist above B-rank among them. We may not be able to handle them."
The mechanical bird carried over the sentry posts it had removed along the way. With the operation imminent, Sean's smile had vanished, replaced by the calm sharpness of a Participant.
"It really makes you wonder how a real-world corporation got tangled up in something involving so many Participants."
"Don't concern yourself with irrelevant matters. We're only here tonight to fulfill the agent's request: