Han watched as Lulu dashed ahead of them, occasionally stopping to check the ground. It wouldn't take too long before she would rush forward. Seeing how she was able to spot identifiable markers left behind by Abigail quickly made Han appreciate those who are appropriately trained. It was different for him, especially with the help of Julia, who promptly detected the footprints and highlighted them for him to see.

"This is going faster than I expected," Han's eyes tracked Lulu's figure a hundred feet ahead of them.

Responding to his words, "It's more impressive how she doesn't require an AI, like myself, to spot the difference between natural and unnatural." Jade's voice amazed. "Though AIs are supposed to be ahead of humans in numerous regards, I still find it fascinating how humans can process information just as quickly in some respects."

His eyes widened upon listening to Jade's commentary. "How about the other AIs used by everyone else? Are they able to detect the trails?" Until they started, Han hadn't thought about the AIs being able to track the route used by Abigail. If Lulu hadn't volunteered, Han was worried about having to use his abilities.

On the screen, an avatar of Julia appeared. Shaking her head, "The other AIs are purposefully limited, not allowing players to follow a trail at such speeds." Tilting her digital head, "There is a simple tutorial made available to help players develop the skills, but only a limited number have accessed this tool."

Turning his head, Han observed the surroundings. While listening to Julia's words, his eyes caught the serene beauty of the floor. Before, they had been exposed to a twilight sky, but now it mimicked daylight. He even caught sight of animals commonly seen on the surface, prancing about.

"It seems like people still have their bad habits, not taking advantage of resources made available to them," Snorting at the memories during school, where classmates would purchase books without having read them. He remembered having to listen to their complaints about the difficulty of classes when a simple reading of the chapters would have provided sufficient guidance.

Passing by a tree, Han noticed a bloody handprint on the bark. Though he passed by it quickly, Julia was still able to put up on the screen an image of Abigail's face.

"I'm getting curious about what we'll be facing. Even more so learning about the girl and where they came from." Han felt the itch to pull up details about the girls and her comrades.

"Would you like me to provide some potential scenarios? I do have details of this floor already logged into my database." Julia gave a playful smile on the screen.

Clicking his tongue at seeing Julia teasing him, "You know I don't want such information. The whole purpose of coming to this world was to emulate other humans. What fun is it if I take a peek, using my powers?"

Julia's avatar transformed into a buxom blonde waitress, holding a tray in her hand. On it was food, steam slowly wafting up into the digital air. "But this information is pretty delicious. Are you sure you don't want a slight taste? Just a little one?"

Laughing, "I'm glad to see your programming is sufficient enough to mimic the relaxed behavior of people. I might need to give a compliment to whoever designed you." Han diverted his eyes from the digital food, feeling as though he was an obese man trying to stay away from temptation in an attempt to lose weight.

"Message already sent," Julia giggled.

Seeing Julia's reaction, Han wondered whether it was one of his Creations or companions gained during his journeys. His mind went through the list, guessing at the one responsible for making such a playful AI. It made him glad to see Julia acting more natural, instead of the strict program she started as. Interacting with her made it feel as though he were talking to an actual person.

"Han! She's awake!" Jackie's voice came through the com.

Looking back at Lacy, who was currently holding onto Abigail, he could see her head looking around her. "How's she doing?"

Instead of Jackie, Lacy's voice was heard. "Doing great considering." There was a pause before Lacy continued, "She recognizes the area. Jackie is talking to her about something. Just a sec, the girl is super animated about something."

Han frowned, not liking the turn of events.

"Not sure what she's talking about," Jackie was the one who contacted him this time. "She keeps on talking about staying away from the animals." Her voice turned serious, "I think we might be in a situation. Han, her face looks terrified."

Taking a deep breath. He glanced over to where Lulu was, "Lulu! Come back!"

Lulu was currently checking something on the ground, "I think there's a problem."

It took a second to realize what Lulu had said, being too preoccupied with what Jackie had told him. "Wait. What do you mean?" Han watched as Lulu's figure grew as he caught up to her.

Turning his head to observe the area around Lulu's feet, an imprint of a foot was seen. "Julia, could you make the image bigger?"

"Sure," Julia proceeded to blow up the image, making it easier to view.

In addition to making the image bigger, Julia had isolated it from the grass. "What the hell? Is this a new monster?" Han stared at the track, which had what looked like toes surrounding the entire leg. "Compared to what we've encountered, this one is completely different."

Turning away from the footprint, Han glanced about to try and locate Ji-Min. Upon seeing her and her companions, he waved a hand, motioning her to approach.

With little emotion, Ji-Min casually walked over. "I'm assuming you found something?"

"Don't try to sound too apathetic," Han rolled his eyes. Pointing at the print, "Do you see the print?"

Ji-Min was quiet, as she studied what Han pointed towards.

"It's completely different from anything we've come across so far. With how the toes are set up around the leg, I can't imagine what this thing looks like." Han urged Ji-Min to voice her thoughts.

"We've seen something like this before..." Ji-Min's voice became quiet.

Venessa hugged her arms, "Are those things in here, too?"

Hearing Venessa's words, it clicked inside of Han's mind. "Are you referring to the modified humans inside of that cave?"

Ji-Min tilted her head, as though it was a hard puzzle to crack. Slightly shaking her head, her helmet raised to look at his. "It looks similar, but I doubt those things would be inside of this place." Taking a deep breath. "Even if this place was an actual world, I feel it would be strange for those things to be found here."

"Han, the girl wants to go to where you guys are standing. Do I?" Lacy's voice interrupted the discussion.

Pulled out from his thoughts, he blinked a few times. "Yeah. Sure. Maybe she knows what's up?"

His eyes saw Abigail running towards where they were standing. Just the way her eyes were wide, he could tell she was under stress. Adrenaline was likely being pumped inside her system with how she was acting.

Instead of asking what her thoughts were, Han merely let her approach the print. Han noticed her shoulders were shaking.

"We need to quickly get out of here," Her voice was fragile and delicate.

Raising his eyebrows, he felt his senses tell him the girl was likely being realistic towards the danger they were facing. "Do you recognize it?"

Abigail didn't make eye contact, continuing to stare at the print. "This thing is a monster, nothing like anything I've seen before. I... I had to run away from them, leaving them behind." She started to cry, remembering her past.

"I don't know about how strong this thing is, but I'm sure we can handle it," Jackie was heard as she joined their group.

Shaking her head back and forth, flinging her hair about, Abigail was able to voice her thoughts. "This thing is different from the other monsters we encountered, though Helen... and her group were the ones that found the others."

"Helen?" Han repeated, wondering if it was the name of the girl's friend.

"Helen ran back to check if our group was okay, but shortly after, something worse found us."