The Prototype's Limit.

To activate a critical machine, I navigated the HRA lab, but initial attempts failed until Marshall arrived with instructions to restart the punch card terminals. After a complex puzzle involving five specific cards and their corresponding consoles, the machine briefly stabilized before a crystal shattered.

After leaving the Protective Studies area behind, I headed toward the HRA lab. I encountered a puzzle lock that required a specific sequence to open the lab's boiler system.

Once inside, I attempted to activate the HRA machine, but it wouldn't engage. At that moment, Marshall arrived to explain that we needed to get the machine back online by manually restarting the punch card terminals throughout the room.

I began searching the lab for the necessary punch cards. I managed to find a total of five unique cards and inserted them into the five consoles scattered around the area, but the machine still refused to activate.

I noticed several whiteboards displaying different punch card configurations. The logic was quite complicated, so I checked a YouTube gameplay guide to ensure I was matching the symbols to the correct terminals.

After a quick reset, I got them in the right order.

With the terminals properly sequenced, I returned to the HRA machine to try the activation again. This time, the system responded and began to cycle up as it should.

Both Jesse and Marshall stood close to the machine as it reached full power. A crystal inside began to glow with intense light, but the energy was too much for the prototype, so the crystal suddenly shattered and disappeared.

Marshall noted that Darling's prototypes are notorious for having stability issues. She explained that we would need more Black Rock Prisms to make the machine functional and pointed me toward Darling's secondary lab in the Black Rock Processing site.

Marshall advised me to keep an eye out for any trace of Darling himself, as he might hold the key to stopping the Hiss. I was shown a video clip of Darling's research before setting my sights on the maintenance sector to find the processing site.

To be Continued...