“Is this really the place...?”

“Why does this look like a train station to me?”

Before long, Merka followed Turing to the edge of the β-layer.

A rundown train station was embedded in the edge of the wall, completely out of place.

Turing and Merka hid around the corner outside the station, cautiously peeking inside.

“A train station built inside a building... That’s so weird.”

Merka whispered to Turing.

Faced with Merka’s confusion, Turing only gave a slight shake of her head.

“In that girl’s memories, this station really is the way to the third layer. And it’s the only way there.”

“Once we reach the γ-layer, the illusions will become completely intertwined with the surrounding space and time. They’ll be impossible to tell apart.”

“You saw it yourself on the first layer, didn’t you? There’s a building there that connects every area of the first layer.”

“The lab has technology like this. They can fold distorted spaces together.”

Merka was taken aback. Then he nodded to Turing.

“...I see.”

“Oh, right. There’s one more thing I need to tell you before we go to the next layer.”

Merka felt around in the inner pocket at his chest and pulled out a flat lozenge wrapped in paper, shaped like a piece of candy.

He handed it to Turing and said,

“We’ve been walking for so long... and we still haven’t run into aside. I’m a little worried.”

“But if this really is the only way to the third layer, like you said... I can’t see why aside wouldn’t be waiting to ambush us here.”

“I found this lozenge after searching all through Prometheus’s office. It can protect you from backdrop’s hallucinogenic effects.”

“It’s the last one I have, so you should keep it.”

“aside will definitely send those killer-bee-like angels after you again... I hope this lozenge can help.”

Turing took the lozenge from Merka and put it in her skirt pocket.

“Okay... I understand.”

“Let’s go.”

With that, Turing entered the station ahead of Merka.

A cloud of icy air rushed toward Merka, making him shiver.

A sleek train, coated in a thick layer of frost, sat motionless on the tracks.

It looked like a giant beast hollowed out by the ice, hunkered motionless in a corner of the station.

“Can this train still run...?”

Merka stared in disbelief at this monstrous marvel of modern technology. He couldn’t begin to imagine how the people in the lab had managed to get something like this up to the second floor.

“I don’t know. Let’s go take a look.”

Turing walked toward the train without a second thought.

Several tentacles on her back shot out like heated expansion bolts, then ripped the frozen train door straight out of its frame.

She stepped into the train without hesitation and headed straight for the driver’s cab.