Shin Hayato glanced at Grigoriy and Efim who were still busy debating.
Efim waved his hand and showed Grigoriy his notebook,
"We need to help her ! She has amnesia or something ! If we don't help her, Boss will lose her forever !"
Grigoriy took a deep breath and sighed,
"She could be faking it. She is literally from Elysium Ark. Those people are cunning !"
Efim widened his eyes and pointed to the exit,
"But she looks and sounds genuine ! Absolutely no way she is lying ! Plus Boss didn't argue !"
The bald man slammed his fist to the table, joining Efim,
"I agree with the loud one ! He got a point !"
Grigoriy pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes,
"What if she is lying ?"
Shin Hayato decided to join in,
"What if she has mental problems ?"
Everyone stared at him. Efim leaned in closer while the bald man placed a hand on the table.
Grigoriy stuttered,
"What ?"
Shin Hayato placed a hand on his chin,
"It's the logical answer. But what Efim said could be true. Even though I've just met her for a few days, she has been saying she has longed to meet her."
Efim jumped to his feet and landed on the table,
"Tell us more !"
The whole cafeteria dropped their task. The chefs behind the counter rushed over to our table. Everyone was squirming and gossiping, curious about Sheng Yue and Vera's relationship.
Shin Hayato smiled a little as he rubbed his chin,
"Well, that chaotic girl you saw indeed is a friend of your Boss. They just got separated. But either way, due to an incident that she once mentioned, her head hit the railing."
Everyone let out a loud gasp. A waiter twisted the hem of his shirt. A few of them leaned in closer. Efim continued to write on his notebook, waiting for more "information".
Efim tapped his foot rapidly,
"And then what happened ? Don't keep me waiting !"
Shin Hayato shrugged as he continued to pretend what Sheng Yue said was true,
"Sadly, that's all she ever told us. She indeed has amnesia and has met your Boss."
Before anyone could ask more, Grigoriy raised a hand,
"Hold up. Let me get this straight. How do I know you're not lying ?"
The crowd stared at each other, nodding as they realized it could also be a lie.
Shin Hayato pointed at the door,
"Go ahead, ask that girl if you wish. But I do have to say that the girl said they met at a young age. And logically thinking, the Boss could have forgotten her since it has been a long time."
Efim stomped on the table and raised his notebook high,
"Thank you so much Sir ! I shall now set the ship to sail ! Who's with me ?!"
The crowd cheered with Efim.
Grigoriy shook his head,
"Wait wait wait. Are all of you seriously trusting them ?"
A man spoke up and shrugged,
"We have enough proof anyways. Come on Efim, tell us your next move !"
Efim marched proudly to the exit,
"I will continuously send notes to that girl ! Now help me distract the Boss !"
Everyone cheered at the same time, following Efim to find Sheng Yue. Grigoriy groaned and threw his hand, stomping to catch up with the crowd.
With the time we have and the empty cafeteria, Shin Hayato stared at me,
"Have you read the paper ?"
I took the paper out and shook my head,
"You could have told me earlier. But either way, we need everyone to gather first so we can discuss."
He sighed and crossed his arms,
"Cassandra is most likely packed with schedules, she won't see the note. Sheng Yue is being an idol. But yes, I shouldn't have waste paper since I could have just asked you directly."
I tilted my head and observed the paper,
"Well, since you asked to collect informations, how about you show the things you've found ?"
He crossed a leg and thought for a moment,
"I didn't really do much. I was just carrying crates from S-Storage to Room Mechanic A, District W."
I blinked and narrowed my eyes,
"What ? Repeat it again."
Shin Hayato took out a piece of paper, pointing at the route he drew,
"This is the S-Storage. This is District W. Get it ?"
I analyzed the paper, holding it high,
"'District' is supposed to mean a large space or group while Rooms are specified. Am I right ?"
Shin Hayato nodded and waited for my response.
BEEP BEEP
On top of Shin Hayato's head, IRIS flew around the cafeteria. It scratched itself and flew to my shoulder. It let out a sorrowful beep while raising its hand.
It snuggled on my neck while showing "(╥﹏╥)". I gave it a little pat and continued to observe the paper. The more I look at it, the more I realized I truly don't understand the layout.
I sighed and returned the paper,
"Just... use whatever is available. My mind is burning by looking at it."
Shin Hayato sat closer and showed me from the paper,
"So, I managed to find informations about the layout from Efim. We're below the surface, yes all of us know that. Upon arriving, we entered District C."
He aimed his finger through the exit,
"It's close to the cafeteria. Shall we go check it out ?"
I watched IRIS nodded happily as it let out an excited beep. Shin Hayato smiled slightly and led the way. At the same time, IRIS hovered around and flapped its hands.
Its screen changed to "(-_-;)・・・" as it protested with beeps. I tilted my head, unable to understand what it meant. IRIS jabbed a finger to the hallways and changed its screen.
Shin Hayato stopped at his tracks to see what IRIS had to say. The screen showed
[This Place Is Like A Maze !]. IRIS flew to my head then lay on my hair.
Shin Hayato signalled me to get closer as we took a sharp turn to the left. Eventually, we arrived at a room. I peered at the nearby HoloSign that showed [Information Room].
The room was empty, probably because of Efim leading almost everyone to find Sheng Yue. The Information Room is a wide circular chamber.
Shin Hayato walked ahead and looked around,
"This room is located in District C. As you can see, unlike most rooms in Elysium Ark, this place is more practical and worn out. Such a shame that Elysium people always look down on Earthlings..."
I lowered my head, what Shin Hayato said had been happening for a long time. It's as if Elysium people ate a huge feast and left only tiny pieces to the rest. I recalled a memory when I was young.
It was foggy yet I remembered a faint of it. My parents mumbled words I couldn't comprehend. But I was certain their voice had anger and sorrow in it.
Shin Hayato dragged his hand across a large circular information console,
"I'm surprised that these workers manage to build this."
I walked across Shin Hayato while IRIS scratched its head,
"Is it hard to build ?"
Shin Hayato shook his head, strolling to the workstations that curve around the console,
"No, but it definitely took many years. Especially in such environment."
He bent over to a monitor and used the mouse to scroll down,
"This console and monitors are used to display schedules, supply records, district statuses, and much more."
I sprinted to check the other monitor,
"Wait, how'd you know ?"
Shin Hayato stood up and returned to the console,
"I already told you. I asked Efim and took some notes. Surprisingly, he didn't ask why I wrote down what he said. As you can see, this console is in the center of the room and projects a small holographic map."
I gazed upon the map that showed the districts and their connecting corridor. IRIS hovered and spun around the map, giving an excited tweet before freezing in spot.
It analyzed the map with what it had captured. The screen showed [Checking Similarity Progress: 10%]. IRIS twitched violently, its screen switching to "ಠ,_｣ಠ".
It tried attacking the console. I hurriedly held IRIS back before it can land a hit. I took another glance at the map.
Perhaps this place is more complicated than it seems.