The Gnawed [Data Deleted]

"Damn it, why isn't anyone handling the meltdown in [Data Deleted]'s containment unit? Do you want that thing to get out and kill us all?!"

A level-four employee from the Training Team clawed bloody scratches into his scalp with both hands, roaring at the communal monitor in the Rest Room.

To help employees identify the Abnormalities' locations and the units undergoing meltdowns, every Rest Room displayed surveillance footage of the corridors and the areas outside the containment units.

Footage from inside the containment units, however, was accessible only to the manager and higher-ups.

"Kill me now! I don't want to see that damn thing!"

"Please protect me. Don't let the roulette pick me."

Because of [Data Deleted]'s extremely high fear level, only level-five employees could complete work without panicking.

The other, lower-level employees received only one related order-sacrifice.

The manager would use a roulette wheel to select a victim, then have them please the Abnormality with their life.

As the meltdown timer for [Data Deleted]'s containment room dwindled, fear swept through the entire company. Quite a few people had already rushed to the Security Department.

"Ron, your psychological stress is already above ninety percent. Under no circumstances are you to enter the Abnormality's containment unit," the head of the Security Department ordered over the communicator.

"Exactly," Sam said with an awkward laugh. "Ron, you're in such a bad mental state right now. If something goes wrong during work and that thing gets out, we're all done for."

"Sam's right. Ron, you're the company's strongest combat unit right now. Leave this meltdown to the other employees..."

"Shut up!" Ron suddenly roared.

"I'm the only level-five employee! I'm the only one who won't go mad looking at that damn thing! Only I can handle it!

"Let the other employees handle it? Oh, I get it. You want to use that wheel again, don't you? Heh. I'm not letting you have your way."

"Ron, do you want to be fired?" Sam demanded.

"Fired? I've wanted to die for ages. You think that scares me?" Ron chuckled, tearing the seal off his right hand and revealing the indescribable weapon beneath it.

"Hee-hee, let me tell you this: as long as I'm alive, no other employee is going in there. Get out of my way!"

With a roar, Ron lunged at the human wall. He drove a kick into Sam's stomach, forcing him to double over, then vaulted over his head into the crowd and punched the employee on his left backward.

Meanwhile, X stared at the screen in utter bewilderment. After processing by the Cognitive Filter, the footage looked like this:

A cartoon Ron charged at Sam, whose lower half then clipped into the floor. Next, Ron began sliding upward and to the right. After landing, his body jerked backward, and another employee started sliding back.

What the hell was this?

Forget it. I'll do it myself. Shen Yu, sticking out of the Rest Room, pressed a hand to his forehead and had his duplicate issue him an order:

Employee Shen Yu was to proceed to [Data Deleted]'s containment room.

As the order rang out, the employees throughout the company calmed down, though a question arose in their minds: why hadn't the manager used the roulette this time? That doubt was instantly washed away by the joy of having survived.

The other Control Department employees immediately breathed sighs of relief and gave Shen Yu sympathetic looks, though two wore smug smiles.

"This kid's pretty lucky. He hasn't been here long, and they already issued him a high-grade HE-class E.G.O. set. You know, I've never even worn one. And now he's got such a high-level assignment. What a 'bright future.'"

A level-four employee wearing the THTE-class E.G.O. Red Eyes smiled, giving Shen Yu a mocking look.

"Hey, don't say that. Maybe the kid needs it to work up his courage," added a level-two employee wearing the ZAYIN-class E.G.O. Delicious Soda.

With a sigh, Shen Yu shook his head at the pair and noted their names in the little notebook in his office. Then he picked up Little Knight and turned toward the passage.

"Wait."

Just as Shen Yu was about to leave, he suddenly heard a voice behind him. He turned to find the bald level-four employee in Hypocrisy from earlier.

"Do you need something?"

"Take off your E.G.O. first. That's HE-class. Letting it get destroyed like that would be a waste."

Mm, one more for the list, Shen Yu thought. Ignoring him, he turned and walked out of the containment room.

After Shen Yu left containment, the employee wearing Delicious Soda E.G.O. asked the level-four employee beside him:

"By the way, sir, what Abnormality produces this E.G.O. I'm wearing? Without the manager's orders, we Control Department employees can't go to other departments at all. I still don't know."

"You mean Soda Machine? It's in the Intelligence Department. Things are a little more relaxed at noon, so you can go then. But if our department head checks the surveillance..."

The level-four employee in Red Eyes chuckled. Making a gun with his right hand, he pointed at his temple and leaned closer. "Bang. And you're gone."

"U-understood," the level-two employee said timidly, though his eyes drifted toward the elevator ahead.

Along the way, quite a few people saw Shen Yu's level-one badge and offered him a silent moment of mourning. We don't know who you are, but we'll remember you for three days.

"Poor guy." Wu Ke sighed, giving Shen Yu a deeply sympathetic look. Then he blocked the surveillance camera with his clothes, took out an object that radiated light, and placed it against the shelter's keyhole.

The instant he heard the order, Ron's actions grew even more frenzied, and he roared at those ahead:

"Have you ever thought about those employees who get picked? Do you know how desperate and terrified they are?!"

"What choice do I have?!" An employee scrambled up from the floor and lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Ron's right leg. "We don't want to die either! But that damn thing is worse than death! Do you want us to kill ourselves?!"

By now, the Security Department's Rest Room had descended into chaos. The other employees were doing everything they could to stop Ron from entering the containment unit and causing another disaster like last time.

Once an employee's psychological stress exceeded eighty percent, it would erupt when they faced an Abnormality, causing a breakdown. The previous accident in the Intelligence Department had killed dozens.

And this time, it was an ALEPH, the highest danger class. If the thing inside escaped, no one in the company would survive.

But Ron wore the highest-grade E.G.O. equipment. Their current gear stood no chance against his, leaving them no choice but to watch him inch closer to the containment room.

Almost there. Almost! Ron chuckled under his breath, trudging forward with three people clinging to his waist. Then he saw:

A level-one employee wearing HE-class E.G.O. walked into the containment unit, holding a rag doll and humming a tune.

At that moment, every employee, Ron included, froze. They suddenly felt as though they were dreaming.

Did this guy have no fear?

Holding Little Knight, Shen Yu stepped into the bloodstained containment room and finally saw the so-called [Data Deleted]. (Image)

Before this, Shen Yu had imagined more than once what [Data Deleted] might be. An indescribable higher being like Cthulhu, a grotesquely nauseating mass of organs, or whatever each person feared most deep down.

Yet it was all of those things.

To be precise, [Data Deleted] was an enormous mass of information, like countless tightly packed screens displaying everything bizarre, twisted, and insane.

Even with [Hornet's Protection] shielding his mind, Shen Yu couldn't help feeling nauseated and spat a mouthful of sour fluid onto the floor. Little Knight looked up from his arms, puzzled by his condition.

This thing was practically fear made flesh. Shen Yu wiped his mouth and gazed at [Data Deleted], which was currently "CENSORED," in wonder.

Wait. Fear made flesh.

Shen Yu suddenly remembered a character from Hollow Knight, a vessel or avatar of an ancient god. That ancient god's domains were precisely flame and fear. And Little Knight happened to be able to summon his child.

"Little Knight," Shen Yu said, looking down, "call out the Grimm Hatchling."

Little Knight nodded, removed the Shaman Stone, and equipped Grimmchild instead.

The Charm resembled a bat's head. Set in its white face, those crimson eyes seemed to connect to another world, creating a stark disconnect from the surrounding reality.

The instant Little Knight equipped the Charm, the space before Shen Yu abruptly melted. A ball of crimson flame emerged, then rapidly coalesced into a strange creature.

The creature had a batlike head, large crimson eyes, and a white face. Below was a slender body covered in crimson armor. Its cloaklike wings flapped as it let out cries of "Yah~ ah~." (Image)

The moment the Grimm Hatchling arrived in this world, [Data Deleted]'s grotesque body caught his attention. Flapping his wings, he flew over and studied it from top to bottom with his crimson eyes.

At the same time, [Data Deleted] stopped moving and reached for the Grimm Hatchling with that indescribable appendage.

At this, the Grimm Hatchling suddenly flapped his wings with delight. His crimson eyes curved into crescents, and he circled [Data Deleted], chirping happily.

What was going on? Friendship across worlds? Shen Yu watched their interaction in bewilderment.

Just as the two drew closer and closer, the Grimm Hatchling suddenly opened his bloody maw and bit off [Data Deleted]'s "CENSORED." After chewing a few times, he swallowed it whole and chirped with delight.