I’ll be the Red Ranger
Chapter 164 – 31st Floor

- Oliver -

"Cassius Blackstone—Asteroid Mining Entrepreneur."

Oliver studied the man's face; there was no resemblance between them whatsoever.

The hologram appeared like a short video, showing Cassius on an icy planet with a few rocks around him. His figure looked imposing, dressed in orange mining gear. At the same time, his belly was slightly protruding, as if, despite exercising and working on something so exhausting, he still had a monstrous appetite.

His face, hardened by time, had a few wrinkles and was framed by a thick, graying beard speckled with white strands. His brown eyes were stern and piercing.

"Born on Luna, made a fortune through gambling. Nowadays, he runs Ad Astra, a company that leads asteroid mining operations," Oliver read aloud, trying to imagine himself in this person's shoes. "He's headed to Cygnus to purchase mechs for future explorations."

It didn't seem like such a challenging role to assume, especially since Cassius was from a place Oliver knew quite well. His biggest concern was that Cassius was from a House, not a Nameless like himself. He wondered if there were any specific behaviors that might give him away when compared to someone from a House.

Oliver thought about contacting his friends, but when he glanced at his gauntlet, a glaring "No Signal" message greeted him on the chat app.

"Damn," he muttered, rising from the bed to begin practicing. He tried introducing himself, engaging in conversation, mimicking a slightly different voice, and crafting a background story.

As he started to feel more comfortable, Oliver shifted his focus to studying the asteroid mining market. He didn't need to become a genius on the subject—just knowledgeable enough to hold a conversation.

Oliver remembered that it would also be essential to study the mecha market. Although he had a superficial knowledge of piloting and maintenance, he didn’t know much about the models or even which ones were used in mining and their characteristics.

While Oliver was deeply engrossed in his studies, the door to his quarters slid open without warning. Darius stumbled in, his posture weary, before throwing himself onto his bunk with a theatrical sigh.

"Still studying?" Darius asked, his voice tinged with exhaustion.

"Yes. I need to learn more about this identity they've assigned me," Oliver replied, not lifting his gaze from the holographic data floating above his gauntlet.

"We've got all day tomorrow. There's plenty of time," Darius said, rubbing his temples. "I'm too tired; my brain feels like it's going to melt. I prefer it when we have combat training or Energy control classes."

Oliver glanced briefly at his roommate, then refocused on the streams of information cascading before him.

"Ah, come on. Every day, it's just training and more training," Darius grumbled. "You know you can take a break, right? Even I, who spent my whole life in the Silo, know that."

A sad chuckle escaped him as he watched Oliver with a mix of empathy and mischief.

Hearing this, Oliver felt a twinge of pity for Darius. Only the stars knew when he'd be able to leave this place. Who knows what the Empire had done to these children? Receiving a Unique Crystal had been a prison sentence for them rather than the liberation it was supposed to be.

Oliver lowered his gauntlet for a moment.

Darius lay sprawled on his bed, gazing at Oliver upside down with a sly grin.

"So, what do you suggest we do? You're not just telling me to go to sleep, are you?" Oliver inquired.

"Aha!" Darius exclaimed, leaping off his bunk. "Of course not. We're alive in here; we're not just waiting for our time to rot."

He strode over to the door and peeked into the dimly lit corridor. "We just have to wait a few more minutes until the lights are out."

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Oliver watched as Darius scanned the hallway a couple of times. Then, with a conspiratorial wave, Darius beckoned him. "Come on, quickly."

Curiosity piqued, Oliver hesitated for a fraction before standing up. "Where exactly are we going?"

"You'll see," Darius whispered, his eyes gleaming with a hint of rebellion. "Time to show you that there's more to life here than protocols and holograms."

"Over here," Darius whispered as they darted through the labyrinth of corridors, their footsteps muffled against the cold metallic floors. They wound their way to the back of the mess hall. Oliver followed closely. Darius slipped through a door into the kitchen, navigating confidently past stainless steel counters and dormant appliances until they reached the far wall.

They stopped at what appeared to be an old storage room. Chains crisscrossed the rusted metal door, securing it firmly in place.

Darius pulled on the chains and tapped twice on the door.

Oliver watched, eyebrows raised.

Two knocks echoed from the other side.

Darius responded with four quick taps.

As soon as he finished, the clanking sound of bolts being drawn back reverberated, and the heavy door creaked open from within.

On the other side stood a child, perhaps eight or nine years old, peering cautiously around the edge of the door to identify the visitors.

"Ah! Darius. Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" the child whispered.

"I didn't have time. They've been watching me constantly," Darius replied, starting down the shadowy staircase beyond the door.

As they descended the dark, narrow steps, each wooden plank groaned under their careful tread. The air grew cooler, carrying the scent of dust and a faint hum of static electricity. The only illumination came from a few sparse light bulbs strung overhead, flickering intermittently as if signaling their imminent demise.

At the bottom of the stairs, an enormous chamber unfurled before them.

"Welcome to the Thirty-First Floor," Darius said to Oliver, a hint of pride in his voice. "This is where the worst of the worst from the Silo end up."

Oliver's eyes widened. The vast room was hard to fathom—hidden all this time beneath their feet. Walls upon walls were adorned with analog monitors and archaic CRT screens, their glass surfaces reflecting the dim glow. Pinball machines shimmered softly in various corners, emitting the gentle clatter and chime of their games. Elsewhere, vintage arcade cabinets stood sentinel, their pixelated displays showcasing games older than Oliver himself.

Children and teenagers crowded every corner, elbowing their way in for a chance to play vintage games and converse with others. The soft glow of outdated screens bathed the room in a nostalgic light, and the air hummed with excitement.

Oliver stood in disbelief, taking in the surreal scene. He couldn't quite fathom where he was or how on earth there was so much ancient technology—even artifacts over a century old. In one corner, he spotted an armchair precariously stacked with a teetering pile of VHS tapes and floppy disks, all blanketed in dust.

There was a sense of timelessness as if the room had been abandoned decades ago yet somehow remained vibrant and alive.

"Where are we?" Oliver asked, his voice filled with wonder.

"We're in the last vestige of freedom within the Silo," Darius replied. "One of the secrets even the highest-ranking officers have no idea exists."

"B-but how?" Oliver stammered.

"Everyone here is so restricted, so closely monitored, that they forget every system has its flaws," Darius explained. "For decades, when they turn off the power, they end up turning off the cameras. But no one bothers to fix them. After all, what could kids and teenagers possibly do down here? We’re just cattle for them."

“In the worst-case scenario, they can always check if we use any technology with Z Crystal. However…” Darius continued.

"However, they have no way to trace this technology," Oliver observed.

"Exactly!" Darius responded gleefully. "Usually, people are more surprised when they see these relics."

Oliver offered a faint, awkward smile at the comment. They were relics now, but where he came from, they were just old.

"Without a connection to the Net and not Z Crystals, this technology slips right under their noses," Darius said.

"But how do you even get your hands on stuff like this?" Oliver asked.

"Every so often, we have training exercises outside the fortress. During those times, we take the opportunity to scavenge whatever we can smuggle back," Darius explained.

"I see," Oliver replied, stopping beside an arcade machine flashing the title ‘Marvel vs. Capcom.’ "Shall we play?"

Darius grinned broadly. Little did he know that Oliver was used to games like these, especially before he was frozen.

By the end of the night, the score stood at 10 to 2 in Oliver's favor, leaving several boys and girls of the Sixth Division astonished at the outcome.

"He's not half bad," Darius admitted, eyes widened in surprise.

As they headed back to their quarters, Oliver reflected on the evening. Darius wasn't so bad after all, he thought before drifting off to sleep.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't have the same leisure time tomorrow. With preparations needed for the upcoming exercise, tonight had been a brief respite; a momentary breath of freedom; before the next days passed, and the time came for them to depart for Cygnus.

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