Kill the Sun

After an unknown period of time, Nick started to feel tired.

Obviously, night hadn't arrived yet, but the lack of any and all stimulus had tired Nick.

Nick kept thinking about his life, but no matter how much he thought, he just couldn't find a real solution to his problem.

His mind kept trying and trying to find a way to make peace with everything, but it just kept going in circles.

It was like Nick's mind was caught in an inescapable maze.

The more Nick thought, the more hopeless his situation seemed.

After a while, his mind started to drift away and think about things that Nick couldn't discern.

He felt like his mind was working right now, but Nick had no idea what his mind was working on.

For a long time, he just looked into the nothingness beside him.

He started to get hungry, but it seemed so unimportant again.

It was like all of Nick's power and care had left him.

None of this mattered.

'Sleeping in here might be dangerous,' Nick thought as his eyes were closing.

'However, I don't think that the Fog kills people in their sleep. At least, the chances are extremely small.'

'When we caught it, I kept attacking it for hours with my ability, and it still didn't let me go, which means that it was producing a ton of Zephyx, which in turn means that it's producing Zephyx by isolating living beings.'

'Killing me would stop its Zephyx production, and that's not what it wants.'

Under normal circumstances, Nick still wouldn't take the risk and go to sleep inside the Fog, but with his current mindset, he just didn't care enough to spend more time inside its domain while being awake.

So, he decided to go to sleep.

Surprisingly, the Fog felt so comfortable.

Its temperature was just perfect, and Nick felt nice and warm.

Even more, he didn't even feel thirsty.

Sure, he was starting to get hungry, but as someone who had grown up in the Dregs, Nick was used to sleeping while hungry.

And finally, Nick fell asleep.

A dreamless sleep.

It was almost like no time had passed.

When Nick opened his eyes again, he wasn't even sure if he had actually fallen asleep or not.

He had no idea how late it was.

He had no idea how long he had been in here.

Had he actually slept?

'I must have fallen asleep,' Nick thought. 'I feel quite a bit hungrier.'

Nick slowly sat up and took a deep breath.

'Well, I don't know how long I have been in here, but I already learned one important thing.'

'People can sleep inside the Fog.'

'That means that the shifts can be extended.'

'Maybe we'll go with one person going in for 24 hours and then getting two days of rest. I bet several of the Extractors would love such a timetable.'

'The Puppy and the Dreamer are both being worked with 24 hours a day in three eight-hour shifts. The Lover is being worked with by Kiara. That means that seven Extractors are constantly busy, and I only have seven Extractors.'

Nick sighed.

'As far as I can see, the Fog needs another three.'

'Seems like I have to get at least three new people.'

'I might as well use the opportunity to find out what kind of abilities the Puppy, the Lover, and the Fog give to new Extractors.'

'But first, I need to check a couple of things.'

After that, Nick stood up and readied himself.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Nick unleashed many punches and kicks while turning into fog and back.

Huge gaps appeared in the Fog, and Nick rapidly moved forward while unleashing attacks.

BOOM!

Nick hit a wall, and his entire body vibrated.

After that, Nick started to attack the wall while traveling along it.

Eventually, he found the employee exit and the button for opening it.

After unleashing a punch, Nick quickly pressed the button.

WHOOOOM!

The Fog around him was pushed to the back as the Containment Unit strengthened its forcefield.

The door shot open, and Nick quickly walked through, which was followed by the door closing again.

Then, Nick stretched a bit in relaxation.

He was glad that he was done working with the Fog.

Nick grabbed his things and walked to the lobby of the building.

After asking the receptionist about the time, Nick knew how long he had been in there.

'About twelve hours,' Nick thought. 'I guess that's a good metric.'

Nick walked back to the sixth floor and checked the Zephyx container.

'67 grams in twelve hours?!' Nick thought with raised eyebrows.

'That's good!'

'That's like 130 grams per day. If we deduct the five grams or so needed to contain it per day, that's still something like 125 grams or so.'

'The Dreamer is barely producing 70!'

But then, Nick furrowed his brows.

'I need to test if the Fog always produces this much or if it is dependent on the power of the person inside it.'

Nick replaced the Zephyx container and walked to the third floor.

After walking through two doors, Nick was greeted by a blonde lady playing with a cute puppy.

This was Marvila, one of the Zephyx Extractors they had gotten from Ghosty's Lab.

When Marvila saw the door open, she furrowed her brows.

She had to stop already?

But when she saw Nick, her eyes shot open.

"I didn't refuse to leave!" she immediately shouted defensively.

"I know," Nick said. "I'm here for something else."

"Am I in trouble?" she asked.

"No," Nick answered. "I need you to test something for our new Specter. Are you fine with staying a couple hours longer today? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Oh? What for?" she asked.

"I want to see if the Fog produces less Zephyx if it is working with weaker Extractors. I want you to stay inside the Fog for just as long as I have, which is twelve hours. Naturally, if there are any issues, I will get you out."

Marvila furrowed her brows.

"Am I getting paid for that?"

"Same thing as always," Nick said. "You get 10% of what you produce."

"Hmmm," Marvila uttered as she fell into thought.

"Sure, but I need someone to tell my family that I won't be coming home on time."

"Of course," Nick said.