Karen headed to the laboratory. Perhaps due to the bustling preparations for the experiment, he encountered a few people on the way, but they were too busy with their own tasks to notice him. Entering the section where the long curve of the facility met the straight line, he looked left and right before spotting people at the end of the hallway. Beyond a large glass window, he could see something. It looked like an observation room. Inside, a few engineers had just finished preparations and were closing a massive door.

  He quickly went to where the engineers were and naturally tailed them. Having finished their work, they walked along discussing today's experiment.

  "I just can't understand what the mathematicians or physicists are saying. Smashing two objects together releases massive heat? Does that make sense commonsensically? They even say you can split atoms."

  One engineer spat out cynically as he walked down the hall. His colleague beside him responded.

  "If that were really true, wouldn't we, who spend our lives around high-temperature and high-pressure equipment, have noticed a sign of such a phase change? Do you think I believe it? But they say the data from the last Fluid Computer room experiment matched the calculations. So I can't just drive it into a corner calling it completely wrong."

  At his partner's rebuttal, the other engineer asked again.

  "But only one of the two derived formulas has been proven so far. Is there any guarantee the other one is right?"

  The colleague nodded lightly and looked at the end of the hallway.

  "Well... It's the first time theory has outpaced observation like this, so I'm bewildered too. Isn't science originally observation first?"

  Hiding behind a wall, Karen felt a strange sense of doubt listening to their conversation. He had judged this facility to be for an intercontinental ballistic projectile. But based on their conversation, it was a massive experimental facility. And a large-scale collision experiment at that. It was an experiment he couldn't immediately understand.

  Whether the engineers knew Karen was following or not, they walked down the hall and stopped in front of a door.

  The signboard read 'Measurement Room'. Thinking the experimental data would be there, he waited quietly for the door to open. Although it was a security facility, perhaps because it was an experimental site, there was no separate lock; it was a structure that opened just by turning the knob.

  The moment the first engineer entered and the second was about to follow, Karen stuck right behind him and pressed his gun muzzle tight against his back. The second engineer froze instantly and stopped moving. Karen pushed the muzzle forward, urging him to enter. The engineer slowly walked in. The person who entered first was adjusting settings here and there without thinking, then turned around to see one more person entered. He looked surprised, but when another gun was pointed at his face, he just gulped and slowly raised his hands. It was an expression that he wouldn't provoke the opponent.

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  Karen took out two pairs of handcuffs from his waist, threw them, and motioned for them to put them on themselves. The two men handcuffed themselves without a word. He sent them to a corner and asked.

  "What experiment is this?"

  "We don't know the exact details either. We are operators for this device and the measuring instruments."

  One of the two engineers said.

  "Still, you must know what you're measuring and what kind of equipment this is, right?"

  Karen asked somewhat coercively.

  "Simply put, it's an experiment colliding two of the same materials at high speed. We heard they are looking to see if atoms change mass and release energy equal to the reduced mass. So we will be checking that heat yield here."

  "So you're saying you're not firing a projectile or anything like that?"

  Karen asked again.

  "If we were, we wouldn't be checking heat yield here."

  The engineer answered again.

  Karen pondered his answer. If it were a high-speed projectile firing experiment, an ejection port should be visible, but nothing like that was seen. And heat yield? It didn't make sense, but he decided to find out the technical progress first.

  "Then where is the experimental data?"

  The two engineers glanced at each other. One person pointed to a cabinet in the corner with his chin.

  "Over there... there are files. But most are at headquarters..."

  Karen approached the cabinet and opened it. There were several files. They contained experimental data and facility schematics. Looking briefly at the blueprints, there was no rifling structure, and the content had nothing to do with ballistics.

  Truly a pure collision experiment...

  He felt slightly hollow. What do they gain from this? he thought.

  Suddenly, an alarm rang.

  Pardin input values into the remotely controlled Fluid Computer and raised the pressure gauge. The data used for calculation wasn't complex itself, but the electromagnetic integration formula used a calculus method he wasn't used to yet, so coding took a little time. Perhaps because the pressure was focused on the rotor, the intermediate calculations took longer than expected.

  "Tank compression reserves are running out."

  The fluid pressure operator reported.

  Rilke looked at Pardin anxiously. Receiving the silent pressure, Pardin quickly converted the remaining formula into code using the intermediate result he obtained. Seeing the time adding up, Pollack sighed and looked at Rilke. His palm was hovering over the emergency stop button. He was ready to press it whenever Rilke gave the signal.

  Rilke looked at Pollack and shook his head.

  "3 cells until control."

  Pardin said while looking at the output values.

  "Is it possible to inject additional pressure into the tank?"

  Rilke looked at Pollack and asked.

  Pollack clenched his molars and slightly turned a valve on the right. A hissing sound of injection rose from somewhere.

  "There's a possibility of the inlet rupturing, but it's better than stopping for now. Worry about the damage later."

  Then, the sound of equipment partially over-expanding due to pressure—ting, ting—echoed in the control room.