It was night.
"Ring, ring, ring-"
"Ring, ring, ring-"
Piercing alarms echoed through every floor of the Research Institute, accompanied by flashing red warning lights.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
"Where's the fire extinguisher? My lab's on fire!"
"Mine too!"
"Save the lab equipment first!"
"The archives! Quick, can someone get to the archives?! All our data is stored there. We can't let the fire spread that far!"
Amid billowing smoke, researchers in white coats rushed through the corridors. Some carried fire extinguishers, putting out fires wherever they could, while others worked together to move things out of the labs.
They had no choice. This sudden fire was simply too big. Only a few minutes had passed between its discovery and its spread. With the blaze threatening to spiral out of control and the labs beyond saving, the researchers made the swift decision to move the expensive equipment and invaluable research materials somewhere safe first.
After all, these instruments were so delicate that they had to handle them with extreme care even during ordinary use. Quite apart from whether the rising temperatures would cause them to malfunction, their presence alone hampered the researchers' efforts to use the fire extinguishers.
Flames continued to rage, filling the entire Research Institute building with an acrid, scorched smell and thick black smoke. As the researchers made trip after trip, gray-black soot settled over their white coats until their original color was barely recognizable.
"Have you still not found the source of the fire?!"
"No! We have no idea where it started!"
"Dammit, did all these fires start at once? Have you contacted the higher-ups for help?!"
"We can't reach them. The calls won't go through! It looks like the signal's being jammed!"
"Those bastards at the Scientific Research Institute must be behind this!"
"Where's the