Bakerlon Main Story: Barrier and Breakthrough
Overview
- Stage Cost: None
- First Clear Rewards:
Commemorative Etiquette Ticket x350
Guide
- Hover to view spoiler content.
Script
Get some rest. Progress the story in the morning.
The next day, the bright dawn lifts the night fog and illuminates the carriages.
After a night's rest, the discomfort that plagued your body has disappeared.
But the puzzles that remain repressed in your heart are still as confusing as ever.
After washing up as quickly as possible, you leave your room and meet up in the separate lounge area belonging to NXX.
Artem: Morning. Why are you up so early?
Artem puts down his tablet, getting up to talk to you.
You: Good morning, Mr. Wing. I'm already used to it.
You: It's difficult to rest with peace of mind under these circumstances. I see that you're also up early, Mr. Wing.
Artem: ...I'm used to it as well.
Artem: Incidentally, I wrote a brief summary of what happened last night and what's happened in the meantime.
He points to the mind map on the tablet screen.
Artem: We can discuss it in more detail when everyone is here.
You: Sure.
Vyn, who is used to getting up late, arrives at the lounge area last...
Artem places the tablet on the table, projecting its contents.
Luke: You wrote all this last night?
Artem: Not in a night. I woke up early.
Marius: Look, Vyn. Early to bed, early to rise...
Vyn: Sometimes, it is not a good habit to lecture others.
Vyn stops Marius' teasing with just one sentence.
Well aware of their dynamic by now, you change the subject.
You: Shall we start the discussion now?
Artem: No, let's do that after breakfast.
Artem stands up to turn off the tablet screen.
Marius: Eh? Then why did you show us...
Artem: Just to show everyone what our discussion will be about later.
Just then, there is a rapid knock on the door.
???: Is anyone there?
You: That sounds like... Emmy?
Opening the door, Emmy is standing in the corridor.
He nervously scans around him but looks relieved when you open the door.
Emmy Muller: C-Can you all come see Dr. Ronson with me?
Emmy Muller: Th-There's something wrong with him.
You: What happened to Dr. Ronson!?
Emmy Muller: I don't know! I think he's sick...
You: Sick?
Emmy Muller: Yeah, when I asked Dr. Ronson if he wanted breakfast, he said he was too dizzy to eat.
Emmy Muller: When I came back from the dining carriage, I saw him coughing pretty badly...
Emmy Muller: I-I tried to call a crew member for help, but he told me off for being nosy.
Emmy Muller: So I don't know what to do, and I don't know the others well...
Luke: Come on, let's check it out.
Follow Emmy to check on Dr. Ronson.
Dr. Ronson: No... this method isn't right.
Dr. Ronson: That won't work either...
Dr. Ronson: No, none of these steps are right... *Cough, cough*...
Upon entering the room, you find Ronson standing at his desk, his face stricken with pain.
There are stacks of paper in front of him, many of which he has already rifled through. Several pages have fallen to the floor in disarray.
Emmy Muller: Dr. Ronson, how are you...?
Dr. Ronson: I'm fine, *cough*... Where did you go, Emmy? Have you finished reviewing the data?
Dr. Ronson: If you're not going to focus on work, go find another job!
Ronson looks around while cursing, but his eyes are fixed on you and the others.
Dr. Ronson: Why are all of you here!?
Dr. Ronson: Emmy, didn't I tell you to stay away from them!?
He angrily slams his fist on the table, which seems to shake the whole carriage.
*Thud*... A glass bottle falls to the ground and rolls to Artem's foot.
Artem is about to bend down to pick it up when Ronson comes charging from behind the desk...
Dr. Ronson: Don't move! Everything in this room is very important and confidential!
Dr. Ronson: You're liable for any damages and compromised secrets!
Emmy trembles in fear, cowering in a corner where Dr. Ronson can't see him.
Artem picks up the bottle and puts it back on Ronson's desk.
Artem: Emmy was worried about you and called us here.
Vyn: Dr. Ronson, anger is detrimental to your health, especially when you are sick and on medication.
Dr. Ronson: Thanks for your concern *cough*... I've never felt better.
You: (With a cough like that, he's not very convincing...)
Vyn refuses to comment but inspects the bottle on the table.
Vyn: Aminophylline release capsules? Dr. Ronson, do you have asthma?
Ronson narrows his eyes.
Dr. Ronson: No, I needed to go down in the mines when I did research in the past...
Dr. Ronson: I wasn't careful in my youth, and my lungs paid the price.
Dr. Ronson: Are you done? I have work to do here. Please leave.
Vyn: Is it COPD? Aminophylline can help alleviate the symptoms of COPD to some extent...
Marius: With all due respect, Dr. Ronson... you seem a lot worse off now.
Marius: Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor?
Dr. Ronson: No need. An old illness like mine is bound to have its ups and downs.
Luke: Dr. Ronson, is this a new bottle of pills?
Luke points to the stacks of documents on the desk.
Luke: There is an empty bottle of pills that you forgot to throw out.
Luke: I'm guessing you recently finished a bottle of aminophylline pills, correct?
Dr. Ronson: So what if I have?
Luke: On a luxury train such as the Mobius, there are housekeepers responsible for the carriages...
Luke: That means the carriages should be very clean and devoid of anything that would worsen your condition.
Luke: And yet, your condition has suddenly worsened. Don't you find that strange, Dr. Ronson?
You: !!!
Ronson's face grows grimmer, and you can't tell if the expression in his eyes is one of shock or anger.
Dr. Ronson: What are you implying?
Artem: If I recall, aminophylline can be toxic... Right, Vyn?
Vyn: Yes, aminophylline toxicity can cause digestive and psychiatric symptoms.
Vyn: Dr. Ronson, if you have been medicated for a long time, you should know the side effects of aminophylline better than me.
Dr. Ronson: Y-You mea...
You: There might be something wrong with this bottle?
Dr. Ronson: Nonsense! How could there be a problem with my medication? Yang gave...
Ronson's voice trails off as he looks down at the bottle.
An eerie silence spreads through the room.
The silence isn't really quiet, but feels like a hook in your heart, making you feel uneasy.
Dr. Ronson: A-All of you charged in here, spewing all that nonsense... Where's your proof?
Luke: We don't have any. What we said is merely conjecture.
Ronson sneers, as if he had finally seized a loophole.
But Luke is one step ahead of him, retrieving a capsule from the bottle.
Dr. Ronson: What are you doing?
Luke: Looking for proof.
*Beep*
Luke's modified device seems to work, detecting an abnormality in the capsule before Ronson flies off the handle.
Dr. Ronson: What is this? You're lying to me!
Luke calmly looks at the middle-aged man, who is furious that the result was not what he expected and shows him the report.
Luke: The probability that a machine is lying is far less than the possibility of a human lying.
On the cold, electronic screen, the test results are abnormal.
Vyn: The aminophylline dosage in every capsule is several times more than normal...
Vyn: If the patient follows the normal slow-release capsule dosage, there will be symptoms of poisoning.
Dr. Ronson: Who... is trying to poison me?
Dr. Ronson: Could it be him!? No... how could it be...?
You: Dr. Ronson, you said Yann Kahn gave you this bottle of pills?
Marius: It seems you know something that he doesn't want anyone else to know. And he wants to keep it that way.
Marius: Everything that's happened on the Mobius is tied to him.
Dr. Ronson: What a joke. That's impossible! Impossible, I say!
Despite his claims that it's impossible, his eyes waver.
Artem: Nothing is impossible once money is involved.
Artem: There have been three victims on the train.
Artem: And you are more fortunate than them... You're still alive.
You: Dr. Ronson, would you like to tell us what you know?
Ronson falls silent, then looks at Emmy, cowering in a corner.
Dr. Ronson: Emmy, go back to your room. This has nothing to do with you.
Emmy Muller: Y-yes.
Emmy jumps up like a frightened kitten and runs straight for the door.
With Emmy gone, Ronson manages to control the anger on his face.
Dr. Ronson: I know you are investigating Kahn Corporation.
Dr. Ronson: You suspect that Yann Kahn is behind everything, and perhaps that I'm his accomplice.
You: (They are indeed suspicious.)
Dr. Ronson: But I can tell you that there is no conflict of interest between me and Yann Kahn.
Dr. Ronson: Dennis and Ernst, on the other hand, had some problems.
Luke: Are you trying to say that you had nothing to do with this and you're a victim too?
Luke examines Ronson with a blank expression.
Dr. Ronson: You won't believe whatever I say. This is the keycard to the safe in the luxury carriage...
Ronson opens a locked drawer in his desk and takes out a card, slapping it on the desk.
Dr. Ronson: That safe is mine, and everything in it belongs to me. Go see for yourself.
You: ...
All this time, he has been so cold to all of you. His sudden calm attitude leaves you puzzled.
You: (Is he willing to cooperate with us because he believes something is up with Yann Kahn?)
You: (But he said it so ambiguously that it didn't seem like he's actually cooperating.)
You: (And he has yet to mention Hill... Is it deliberate, or does he not realize we already know something?)
Seeing you in a daze, Marius waves his hand in front of your eyes.
Marius: What's on your mind, [Player]?
This gesture interrupts your thoughts.
It happens with confusing thoughts sometimes, where they become even more difficult to decipher when interrupted.
The best thing to do in this situation, of course, is to give up thinking and deal with the problem at hand.
You: No, it's nothing. Let's go to the luxury carriage first.
