Edited by: Kuro and Lille

After the earthquake that day, there were no more aftershocks or earthquakes, but there were a lot of buildings and homes that were destroyed. 

Construction crews came in and did their best to fix homes and buildings. Many people were displaced and living in government-associated buildings for the time being. 

Luckily, Grey and Cyan’s home was safe from the earthquake. They did their best to help out their neighbors who weren’t as fortunate. This was normal and expected of them, so they did their best not to arouse suspicions. 

After that, there wasn’t much Grey and Cyan could do. It was all a waiting game for them. They continued on with their lives and observations of the situation. 

From time to time, Grey would check in with System 225. Within a month, System 225 and the others were almost halfway through the data. It was more than just getting the data. System 225 had to filter and organize them as some of them seemed useless, like day-to-day things. What they wanted were the secrets of this city or at least evidence to conclude what was going on. 

If anything stood out, System 225 would tell him, but other than that, much of the data was redundant or had few connections to one another. 

The ones’ System 225 paid attention to the most were the data after every natural disaster and the materials used for redevelopment. They all wondered if they were testing these building materials in their city, but for what exactly? Why not say anything to the people? There were many people who had died during the natural disasters and many who were displaced from their homes… What was the point of all of this? 

Even though Grey had a lot of questions and some possible hypotheses, he didn’t have enough evidence to conclude his suspicions.  

Well, he could only wait and see… 

*****

One random morning, Grey entered the classroom and noticed that half of his students were missing. He checked his emails and saw many parents reaching out to him about their sick children. 

All the children in his room were wearing masks, leaving only him without one. He quickly excused himself and went to the nurses' office for a mask. When he came back, the students were still in their seats. No one moved or talked, they were just as spiritless as the first time he taught them. 

According to his emails that he had forgotten to check, there was an outbreak of a flu-like virus that was highly contagious. The ones who were the most at risk were the elderly and children.  There were no physically disabled populations. Apparently, they all died with every outbreak.  

Everyone was required to go to the pharmacy to get their vaccines. Those who didn’t were locked up, fined, and forced to take the vaccine.

There was a new outbreak every year or so, hence no one was surprised by this. But for Grey, it was utterly frightening. He really felt that this city was just a place to raise guinea pigs to test out different products. He almost didn’t want to use the vaccines, but he knew that would only be detrimental to his mission. 

‘System 225, be sure to check out the data for the vaccines and viruses every year as well. I can’t be sure if they are connected, but it’s worth a shot.’ Grey said while he turned on his laptop to begin the class. 

In times like this, the class would be shortened and the kids could leave early. There was also no school for the next week, so he had to send small assignments for the students from time to time. 

Urgh, just thinking about it made him want to hit his head against the wall. It was already tough to be sick, now he had to send them homework! It was annoying but there was nothing he could do. He had to follow the instructions his supervisors gave him. 

His day went by quickly with fewer and fewer students in his class. Some students even felt sick but still went to school, only to be sent home. 

Cyan was also able to get out early, picking him up just before lunchtime. They were both wearing masks even while in the car together. Cyan was taking them to the local pharmacy to get their vaccines. He had made an appointment earlier, so they didn’t have to wait. 

When they got home, they disinfected everything before taking off their masks, which they were told to do. 

Grey was finally able to give a sigh of relief. 

“Let me go make us lunch.” He headed to the kitchen while Cyan went to clean the living room space and fold their already cleaned laundry. 

They didn’t talk the whole time, but they didn’t find it awkward. Even if they wanted to talk, they had to save everything for the bedroom.  

It didn’t take Grey very long to make lunch, so the two ate in silence before going to their room. 

Grey sighed, “It sucks we can’t talk wherever or whenever we want…” He couldn’t wait to get the hell out of this place. 

“I couldn’t agree more. It’s hard to flirt when we are being watched all the time.” Cyan sighed while taking off his coat. 

That wasn’t what Grey meant, but he would let Cyan have that one if that made him feel better. 

“Cyan, don’t you think there’s something strange about the virus outbreaks and the vaccines?” 

“Strange? I do find it a little strange…” 

“Well, to explain what I mean, usually, if there are yearly viruses, the viruses would be almost the same, just different strands. It makes sense to update the vaccines every year to accommodate for the virus mutations. But for this, each year, there’s a different virus every time with new vaccines coming out to match those viruses. We don’t even have a virus that comes around every year like the common cold or flu virus… Isn’t that just weird? It’s almost like someone is planting a person with a virus and testing to see how medicines and vaccines will react.” 

Grey and Cyan felt a chill go down their spines. 

“I feel you aren’t too far off, but how about the natural disasters?” 

“Earthquakes of high magnitudes  usually happen if they are close to tectonic plates or volcanoes. But from what I can see on the map, there’s no such thing. Also, you said there are tornadoes and they are intense, but usually, powerful earthquakes and tornadoes are not found in the same places, maybe if they were small without causing much damage. However, from what I can see, the ones experienced in this town are extremely dangerous and people die every year. That’s the strange thing.” 

“Not only that, only a select number of people can leave this city. What’s outside of this city? Who is allowed outside? Why are we trapped in this place and no one even questions it?” 

For Grey, everything about this place was extremely weird. It was like they were all caught in a simulation and there were people controlling the lives of these people. 

The thought of being lab guinea pigs was not too far off in his opinion. 

“You are right… This whole place is very strange. What happens if the Lord is not an actual lord… but a group of scientists or researchers? If we are guinea pigs, it would make sense to keep us constantly monitored while they collect data on us. But what are they researching and why?” 

When Cyan finished talking Grey heard a familiar chirp. 

[*Chirp Chirp* This is an automated message: Congratulations, Host, you have found out some of the secrets of this city. To be able to see the side missions, please figure out the rest. Hint: Who are the scientists and why are they doing this?]

“It seems we are on the right track…” Grey nodded at Cyan’s deductions. “For now, we need to wait and see who these scientists are and what their aim is.” 

They were getting one step closer to finding the truth. He hoped that he could leave this place soon so he and God System could live their lives in peace… 

Grey: This world sucks because there’s no freedom and privacy.

God System: This world sucks because I can’t flirt everywhere, every time.

kuro_kama: This world sucks because of everything.

Lille: What if COVID and the pandemic were all just part of an experi—

Also Lille: *gets her mouth stuffed to silence her crazy shenanigans*

Grandpa Marky: Hello my grandchildren! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. :D I've been feeling pretty stressed out because of my home situation but I do got some good news! First, I started taking this online course for proofreading so I hope to freelance and get a bit of income. Classes have been nice and I've been taking it easy and slow, which has been helpful on my migraines. Secondly, my MRI appointment is finally this week! I will keep everyone posted on that haha. 

Anyway, that's it from me. I will see everyone next Sunday <3 have a lovely day/night my beautiful grandchildren!