Leaving Sebastian behind, we followed Junkhead back toward the Subplate.
With the lights of the Upper District at our backs, we boarded the elevator and rode out the familiar vibrations as it descended. Eventually, we arrived before the stronghold owned by Eradicata.
It was the same place where I’d been shown the clones of Cecily.
The tower was a grim assembly of rugged steel frames and dull armor panels. It looked as imposing as ever, though the late hour meant the usual crowds were thin. The security guards at the entrance caught sight of Junkhead and me and immediately snapped a salute. They opened the gate without a word, ushering us inside.
"This way."
Junkhead took the lead, guiding us toward the passage that led to the Executive Floor. While the interior was more populated than the outside, the walls of the corridor we walked were made of one-way mirrors. I felt no prying eyes as we moved deeper into the facility.
Kaya and Lucia followed close behind, their eyes darting around at the strange sights.
We reached the end of a hallway lined with thick, bulletproof doors. It looked like nothing more than a featureless steel wall, but as Junkhead stopped, a section of the metal began to glow.
He pulled a single coin from his chest pocket—a gold piece with a skull embossed in relief.
Tossing it lightly between his fingers, he held his other hand up to the wall. A faint electronic beep chirped. A segment of the wall slid aside to reveal the slit of an antiquated authentication device. He slid the coin into the slot; after a few seconds of silence, a low thud echoed as the wall split open.
Beyond lay a vertical shaft elevator that looked more like an industrial exhaust vent than a passenger lift.
"After you, Rei. Ladies first."
"You're using that phrase wrong," I grumbled, stepping inside.
Junkhead’s shoulders shook with a silent, mechanical chuckle. Lucia and Kaya followed me in, and Junkhead entered last. The doors hissed shut.
Almost immediately, the elevator dropped, leaving my stomach floating for a brief second. The lighting was minimal. Pipes and cables running along the four walls blurred into vertical streaks as they whipped past. The silence was filled only by the hum of the motor and a ringing sound from the air conditioning.
"It’s... incredibly deep, isn't it?" Lucia murmured, her knuckles white as she gripped the handrail.
"Yeah. If it’s on the same level as the Order’s hideout, we’re dropping several hundred meters."
"Honestly," Kaya chimed in with a smirk, "if they had an elevator like this, I wish we’d used it to get to the Order's place earlier."
While we exchanged quips, the sensation of the rapid descent suddenly eased. The elevator came to a halt with a heavy, metallic thud.
The doors opened.
This was the world beneath the Subplate—the heart of the Lowest District, under the absolute control of Eradicata.
It was a total departure from the idyllic, pastoral atmosphere of the Order’s underground farm.
What greeted us was a sprawling, chaotic industrial expanse. The massive pillars that supported the Lowest District were present here as well, but their bases were webbed with electromagnetic rails suspended in mid-air. Unmanned cargo containers glided along these rails in a never-ending stream.
It wasn't just metal boxes being moved. Transparent tanks filled with fluorescent liquids drifted by, silhouettes of unknown objects swaying within them. On another lane, steel pods moved in a rhythmic sequence; they stopped at designated stations to spew a pungent, stinging mist from connected nozzles. The various vapors mingled into a sharp chemical odor that bit at the back of my throat.
"Still not a fan of hiring people, I see."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Junkhead let out a muffled laugh.
The "figures" moving through the facility were all work androids. They were nothing more than inorganic frames with numbers spray-painted on their chests. Their faces were clusters of lenses and sensors, devoid of even a hint of human expression. Yet their movements were unnervingly smooth, carrying out their tasks with the terrifying efficiency of a swarm of insects.
The lack of human presence was jarring. A facility of this scale would normally require at least a dozen supervisors, but as far as I could tell, we were the only living souls in the room.
"As I mentioned upstairs, I’ve made this a restricted zone for 'select personnel' only," Junkhead explained as he opened the door to a small air-car parked in the shadow of a pillar. "The entire operation is automated. The main control system is completely stand-alone. Even if the power to the upper levels fails, this place runs on its own independent grid. If Neo Babel were half-destroyed, this sector would remain untouched... presumably."
"That’s a disturbing level of resilience," I said.
"Everyone who builds a nest underground feels the same way, don't they?"
Junkhead climbed into the driver's seat with a dry snort. The air-car was a compact model with two rows of seats and only the most basic armor plating.
"Sorry for the tight squeeze. Usually, I'm the only one who uses this, so it suffices."
"Doesn't matter to me. My car isn't exactly a limo either."
I took the passenger seat and glanced back. Kaya and Lucia were squeezed together in the rear, their shoulders touching.
"You two okay back there?"
"Mmm, a little tighter than Rei's car, maybe," Kaya joked.
I had a feeling I’d been driving nothing but cramped vehicles since I was a kid.
The air-car rose silently and began to glide forward. Conveyor belts and conduits blurred beneath us while cargo lanes intersected above like a giant spiderweb.
"The Lowest District is divided into eight equal sectors around the central shaft of Neo Babel," Junkhead explained, gesturing with one hand as he drove. He moved his fingers like he was slicing a pizza. "Just like a pie. This is Sector 1, where we are now. The Order is currently occupying the neighboring Sector 2."
I synchronized the map data to my terminal as he spoke. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kaya’s expression. She was staring out the window in silence.
The massive pillars, the flowing containers, the smoking pods... she had been quiet since the elevator, and though she’d cracked a joke earlier, her face was now cold and analytical. She looked like she was dissecting the facility with her eyes.
"Years ago, there was an agricultural sector intended for self-sufficiency. We used artificial light and water cycles to grow crops down here just like they do on the surface," Junkhead said, his voice tinged with a hint of nostalgia. "But it didn't pan out. We lacked the manpower, and the elites 'upstairs' preferred cheap imports. So, it was left abandoned—and the Order managed to make very clever use of it."
"I don't think that's something to laugh about."
"If us old-timers didn't laugh at our failures, we’d never get through the day."
I sighed as Junkhead chuckled.
"I plan to tighten management down here after this mess is settled," he continued, his mono-eye glowing a bit brighter. "Besides, this is a perfect opportunity to drag everyone squirming in 'The Deepest Below' out into the light."
"On that, we agree."
The air-car skimmed the base of a titanic pillar and approached the outer edge of the industrial zone.
"We’re nearing the edge of the sector."
The holographic map in my vision began to overlap perfectly with the physical terrain.
"If we take the connecting passage from here, we should reach our destination. Assuming nothing goes wrong, of course."
Kaya knit her brows. "What does 'assuming nothing goes wrong' mean? Is there a problem?"
"Well, it was built many years ago," Junkhead said, shrugging noncommittally. "Parts of it might be collapsed or blocked off. But I’m counting on our 'Repairman' for that. I don't mind if you have to break a few things to get through. You have my word."
I shook my head at the machine-headed executive. This was exactly why he was so difficult to deal with.
After a short flight, the lights of the factory district faded, replaced by a monotonous stretch of rugged concrete walls. Eventually, a massive tunnel appeared—a cylindrical passage bored into the earth.
The walls were lined with flickering guide lights and obsolete warning signs. At the entrance sat a decommissioned cargo elevator gate, bearing a faded, peeling Eradicata logo.
"This is it," I muttered.
Junkhead slowed the air-car to a crawl. "Yes. From here, we enter the transition path to Sector 2. The tunnel the Order dug for themselves has to connect to this line somewhere."
A faint breeze drifted from the depths of the tunnel—cold, damp air. Somewhere beyond lay that peaceful underground village and the darkness lurking behind its facade.
"Well then."
The air-car came to a full stop, and the hum of the engine died away.
"I expect things are about to get violent," Junkhead said, his mono-eye narrowing as if he were smiling.
Kaya’s expression turned grim, and Lucia caught her breath. The pitch-black mouth of the tunnel sat before us, waiting.