02.50 - week two, saturday

[afflictionmods]

W2 SATURDAY

Like last Saturday, everyone will get an announcement on their tablets; this time, the announcement is preceded with a bell of some sort before Lorelei appears on the screen again.

"Good morning, everyone. This is an announcement to let you know that today's lesson will take place starting at 8:15 tonight. Again, today's lesson will be starting at 8:15. Please meet at the lower campus exit near the lecture by 8:00pm; Florence will be waiting for you there.

If you have a bag for some snacks and, perhaps, an item you can use for self-defense in the case of an emergency, please arrive with those things on you. We will provide you with an overview of what to expect when you arrive at 8pm.

Thank you."

The alert ends.

You have the day to prepare, ask each other what the hell is happening -- Florence and Lorelei do not seem to be available, strangely enough. There's a lot to take in with the information you have now. But before you know it... night falls.

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[fabulation]

Hmm...interesting.

[ Okay, but are there any places that look forbidden or even closed doors of interest? ]

[afflictionmods]

[Doesn't seem like it. There are no doors at all asides from the one you entered from. It doesn't seem quite right, but no matter how hard you look there's no doors to be found.]

[fabulation]

[ That doesn't seem right, no.

...Nothing out of the ordinary with the walls, either? Such as if one searched for a particular secret passage or any kind of that nonsense? ]

[afflictionmods]

[Nope - there are winding corridors and several exhibition halls, but the walls are just solid concrete that's been painted over to be more visually appealing.

There is definitely something incredibly odd about this, beyond the displays.]

[fabulation]

[ How solid/hard is the concrete? Because he will knock his fist against it to check if it is hollow or not.

Then, Xingqiu will swing a hard kick at one of the glass displays—particularly the one that has the screwdriver—to shatter it and then extricate the object from it, assuming that nothing stops him from being able to do this!!

Also, is there a hammer or something heavy lying around anywhere? ]

[afflictionmods]

[It is as solid as normal concrete... which I don't know if Xingqiu is familiar with, actually. There doesn't seem to be any hollow areas, though.

He can, however, kick the glass and retrieve the screwdriver!

There's also nothing in the way of hammers - the heaviest thing he seems to be able to find is a wooden rolling pin in one of the displays.]

[fabulation]

[ It's all good. All he needs to do is mainly check how hard/hollow it is anyway, which is the most important part. Though there not being any hollow areas doesn't necessarily mean nothing is there behind it; just that there is potentially a very thick wall he's dealing with.

In relation to the statues in the display cases, how close are they to the walls?

Because if what he does next doesn't work here, there is always a plan b. He will go to pick up the wooden rolling pin after busting that display as well, though.

But next, Xingqiu will first attempt to jab the screwdriver into one of the walls. ]

[afflictionmods]

[The distance varies display to display, but barring the paintings they are all two feet or more from the wall.

Jabbing the screwdriver into the wall gets it to chip, but it’s hard to tell how much thicker the wall is behind that chip.]

[fabulation]

[ Xingqiu will note the distance, not sure if that will come in handy later or not.

But, he's going to do the following, then:

He will back up, then dash forward, and deliver a powerful kick at the spot where he chipped the wall. Then, thrust the screwdriver into the wall as hard as he can...more than a couple times. Up into about ten times.

For good measure, Xingqiu will toss the wooden pin at the spot of that wall pretty hard as well. Just to see if it will break against it or something else entirely. ]

[afflictionmods]

[
Xingqiu right now, holy shit.

Anyway. He successfully manages to create a small hole in the wall, congratulations! He earned it.

What will he do now? ]

[fabulation]

[ With the power of determination and chivalric justice on his side—!

Okay, jokes aside (?), Xingqiu will first peek into the small hole. Does he see anything on the other side? ]

[afflictionmods]

[ He sure does.

Several humanoid figures can be seen just sort of aimlessly wandering around in the distance. They look similar to the bus driver – very hollow and absolutely not okay. They do not seem to notice Xingqiu at all. ]

[fabulation]

[ But it's a way out. Maybe.

Xingqiu will attempt to flag down someone else so that they can see this with him.

In the meanwhile, he will also attempt to continue to hit at the spot surrounding the hole. With the foundation weakened, maybe he can make a bigger hole, and the figures are far enough that he shouldn't have to be concerned about causing too much trouble where they're concerned as of the moment... ]

[afflictionmods]

[ Sure, he can make a larger hole since he's got the foundation weakened. Granted, this is still tough stuff, so it won't be as massive as the hole that was made for him he'd probably like, but it'll grow nevertheless.

And no, they don't notice him. But he'll be able to see one pass by that's closer.

And, if he looks carefully, that sure is a familiar marking on their arm...like the one he has. ]

[fabulation]

[ It sure is!

It's...not exactly a comforting discovery to make, and it does make his lips curl downwards into a frown. But he'll keep going at it. If only to make more of a way to an exit, and get a closer look on the surroundings as well... ]

[afflictionmods]

[ He'll essentially see what Shin sees here and feel a more toned down version of the bad vibes, since the hole is much smaller than the doorway.

Seems like this is what's waiting for them beyond this particular museum. ]

[exofractured]

[Phantom's been watching Xingqui's destructive attempts from the side in the first place, so after just a moment's cautionary pause he strides over.]

What is it? I have a textbook, but I don't think it's any more robust than your... rolling pin.

[The things they're making do with, honestly.]

[fabulation]

Ah, well, not that.

I think in this case the sight alone speaks a thousand words.

[ Xingqiu will direct Phantom to chance a peak at the hole so he can see what he does, and also add due to the recent discovery: ]

...Those people aimlessly standing around have marks like we do.

[ So, yeah. Not exactly the greatest information to discover. ]

[exofractured]

[Phantom eyes Xingqiu for one more moment. But he doesn't see how this could be a prank setup, so he does lean in to take a look.

You know what? He's not even surprised. It's that kind of night.]

The missing locals, or a previous class just like ours, I wonder.

[fabulation]

[ IT REALLY HAS BEEN THAT KIND OF NIGHT... ]

Yes, either or.

I wonder if that was the point of sending us out here. For us to see this or them testing if we'd be able to survive this.

[exofractured]

The latter, I assume. Or they would have informed us to be better prepared.

[Also they probably didn't foresee a tiny martial artist making a hole in the wall?? Maybe. Maybe they should have.]

Considering the driver from before, I doubt we could get their attention enough to learn anything from them.

[fabulation]

I suppose they would've.

[ Xingqiu also wishes that it'd mean they could make their way from here via this, but noticeably, he's stopped from making any further attempts...on account of the Void being there.

So. Yeah, there's that too. ]

Yes, they didn't seem to notice even with all of the racket I was making here. It makes me wonder what exactly made them like this in the first place.

[exofractured]

[Phantom, being a Rays character, is very well familiar with Voids. He kind of moves to poke his fingers through the hole and then... seems to think the better of it.

Sure are some interesting vibes from that. This is fine.]

If we had anyone disposable to test with, I imagine we could find out quite a bit by putting them outside in that. Or perhaps whatever that is is the result of the people becoming like this, rather than the cause.

[fabulation]

It wouldn't be right to put anyone out in that.

[ Xingqiu says almost immediately, though he is very much not fond of their captors right now, putting it lightly. He doesn't want to think of what could possibly happen because if it was a torturous result, then... he will just shake his head. ]

It could be the result, yes. If we were able to figure out the cause, that'd be ideal.

...Unfortunately, we'd need to get out of here first.

[exofractured]

Not with the limitations we currently have.

[It's what mirrites were literally made for, after all. Although it's absolutely also Phantom just being Like That. He sighs as he moves a little away from the hole.]

Agreed. If this is like the previous exercise, they should call an end to it eventually. We can make plans to prepare better for the next investigation.