69 – Retributive Measures (4)
“Judging by your surprise, it seems you haven’t received this information yet.
The android next to me, who promised to tell me anything, stays silent.”
“No, I’ve heard about defective products. Tengu, Mersis, they’re all collecting ‘defective products’ showing abnormal behavior.”
As the cold wind blew from the fan, the gentle sound of the car engine was overshadowed.
Illya turned her head forward again, as if uninterested.
“What does that have to do with Illya.”
“One question for you, senior.
“How long did it take for the CI unit to become Illya?”
“…It was a long time ago. I gave it a name and treated it as such.”
I still remember our first meeting.
The first mission, and the first repair.
Kim Dohyun, who used to put out the cigarette on its body,
Miguel, who said, “Isn’t it all the same from a distance?”
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And Captain Jeffrey Parsons, who drew a line and said it was a replaceable consumable, appeared and disappeared one by one in front of his narrowed eyes.
“What I’m asking is the point at which it started showing these ‘human qualities.'”
“Taehyuk, you don’t have an obligation to answer.”
“This is not a court.”
“Like this.
This one seems to have a much more interesting reaction than the cases I’ve seen before, don’t you think?”
Taking one more drag of her cigarette, she exhaled the smoke forcefully through her nose and flicked the shortened cigarette into the air.
…She still hadn’t fully realized that my arm was still there.
It was a common sight on the battlefield.
“Recently? So, in… about a week or so?
Did it rush in because it liked you, or push you away because it disliked you?
But judging by how well it’s wearing the necklace, it’s the former. Right?”
“It’s been a while. And it’s not a defective product.
It’s my comrade. And… there have been some things happening recently, though.”
There’s probably no need to talk about how one person died due to the factional fight.
It’s nothing to be proud of.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
Maybe since before the facility self-destructed?”
Frozen.
With a stiff neck, it didn’t turn back.
But I should say no.
As if time had slowed down, things reflected in the eyes began to murmur.
I should ask what facility it is. If it’s the facility Mirsiss soldiers are talking about, there should be only one.
Do I have any other options?
If the security team leader, who hasn’t been laid off yet, knows about this, what will happen?
Should I go back and report? Tell Ilia that something is wrong?
No, why is Ilia involved with that facility in the first place? I extracted the information.
…Did something really happen while I was unconscious?
Everything was a mess.
Squeezing thoughts every day, it might have led to a shortage of patience.
…But why does Ilia have a revolver?
“Yeah, that’s right. And Ilia, don’t.”
Reaching out with my left hand, grabbing the shoulder, I turned my head to look into Yulia Maxwell’s eyes.
But even if I did that, it wouldn’t stop Ilia.
The woman who spoke those words chuckled and pulled out a second cigarette, placing it in her mouth.
“Patient Zero was here.”
“Taehyuk, the cylinder of a revolver can cause injury upon firing. You might hurt your hand.”
“That’s the point, you jerk! Just try shooting, and you’ll see my hand smashing you!”
Through Ilia’s side window, the hotel street was visible, but the car showed no intention of stopping. Despite passing buildings at high speed several times, the pace didn’t decrease.
“What were you doing? In the IT facility. What were you looking for there?”
“I won’t say that I and Ilia were there.”
“I didn’t mention that. Well, I had a feeling.”
She stopped. Completely.
It was undoubtedly not a bad idea to let Ilia put a hole in that head. Of course, the car would be a total mess, and there would be things to consider, but no – would it lead to more pursuit?
Wasn’t it a bad idea to take him from the start? Damn it. How did things end up like this?
“Taehyuk, revealing additional information can make the assassination more difficult.”
“It’s too late. I’ve already finished putting together the information on this side.
If I die here, it’s as a ‘Mirsyss soldier,’ dying as a mercenary. Isn’t it obvious who will come after me? No?
I think it’s much more convenient for both sides if I tell your master the information I have right now.”
“What are you trying to say?”
The advantage lies over there.
But why negotiate?
“Taehyuk, I just confirmed the dismissal of Julia Maxwell.”
“Oh, and don’t forget that ‘former’ is still valid. You know, leaving more traces in the already messed-up city because of the Nomads would be troublesome.”
Dismissal? And so quickly?
Why?
Even if it was due to an injury, they must have had their reasons on that side.
If they were leading the security team, they would have had decent profits.
…Could it be that their assets were seized for responsibility in a security failure?
“Sorry. Senior seems like a decent person, even though things turned out like this.
I won’t ask you to watch over us for long. I promise.
Once on board a ship, even this mouth won’t be able to grumble. How about it?”
“Taehyuk, you don’t need to comply with the deal.”
Judging by how he speaks, it seems my prediction is correct.
What does Ilyas believe in to keep pulling the trigger relentlessly?
Hacking skills? Money? Backing?
Even if they have all that, shooting someone with corporate ties within the city is never an easy task.
Even if Maxwell Team leader died for some reason related to their actions one day, don’t worry…
“I won’t touch your lover.”
“How am I supposed to show what I can do with this body? And, although there are more people who love machines now…
If you cherish it enough to give accessories as gifts, then it’s genuine.
I’m not so stupid that I can’t distinguish that.”
This time, after properly puffing on the cigarette, I flicked the end, tossing the butt outside.
Although the hand I calmly rested had once again reached towards the shoulder hit by a bullet — the complexion was getting worse.
“The information I have, and maybe a portion of my profits after recovery.
I’ll pay off the debt properly today, including the interest.
Let’s entrust it to the senior who has become independent from the company. As a junior who has a lot to learn. Alright?
That should be enough.”
It wasn’t me who made that decision.
Why did that silver-haired woman address Ilyia as if I had lost control, given the situation?
“First, considering the treatment of that injury, it doesn’t seem to be a penetrating wound.
Let’s stop running and find a place to stay, Ilyia.
Rest there for a while, and then think about the next steps.”
“…”
“If thinking about future tasks brings in income without actually working, it’s not a bad condition.
You know, I need that damn capital if I’m going to completely let go of this job.
I’ve risked my life sitting here for this long for a reason, you know.”
In the end, the gun couldn’t spit out fire and sank.
At the same time, the two humans present could exhale a deep sigh.
In the empty street, the car roared loudly, turning once again towards the forest of buildings.
“Well, while you’re getting treated, I’ll make sure to entertain myself once in a while. It should be fine to keep smoking during that time, right, senior?”
“Let’s begin the contract by first confiscating those cigarettes.”
Why is it that a bright future is not visible? Perhaps it’s because of the weather. But then, does that mean a bright future never existed in the first place?
***
“So, you’re saying there wasn’t anything special found at that facility?”
“Yeah. There didn’t seem to be anything significant in the experiment records.”
“Interesting. Very interesting. It seems something has escaped from there.”
What was in the facility.
…I wonder if Illya knows.
The one who carried me out and put me in the car must know.
“We conducted experiments on artificial intelligence ethics. The ones unleashed in the market now are, as you know, fools who are tied with various leashes and only follow orders. When told what to do, they think about how to do it within the confines of the fence we’ve built, choosing one of the open paths.”
“That’s not the artificial intelligence equipped in CI units, is it?”
A hand naturally slipped into the pocket.
But there was no cigarette case to be found.
Even though she looked at the trash can as if she regretted it, her face, which started to regain her appetite, eventually put a piece of gum that Ilia had bought into her mouth and started chewing it with a dissatisfied expression.
“The CI units don’t have many fences. Of all the things developed by Mirsis, it’s the most free.
Well, that’s because they were made for war. It would be a big problem if we couldn’t do it because of ethics. Right?”
“Why are you saying that in relation to Ilia and the facility?”
“Because they had everything inside with only one physical fence left.”
Blowing up a balloon and then pop, the gum fell to the ground.
She stumbled, covering her mouth slightly, and when her eyes turned towards me.
When Maxwell, the team leader, realized where my eyes were directed.
Ilia dropped a single bullet onto the plate without a word.
“Why are you doing this?”
It wasn’t in the USB.
…During the time I was unconscious, Ilia was the one moving.
Did that guy get hold of the most important thing?
All the constraints and rules that I thought I had unraveled.
If she had unraveled all of that on her own?
“Well, you can say that, but it’s just gossip. Of course, it’s information that will drive Tonho crazy.
They will rush into the remains where everything is destroyed and there’s nothing left.”
I think Matthew and Dayeon sent me away.
And Omniss also sent their enhanced humans.
But I didn’t know that fact.
I couldn’t properly confirm whether they existed or not.
Only Ilia…
“The disposal is complete.”
Wiping blood from medical tools, pouring alcohol, and cleaning up somehow felt eerie.
…Really, is there something about that guy as the team leader said?
Is it right to believe in someone who was originally a corporate executive?
“Oh, right. The robots asked exactly what was strange, didn’t they?”
The hand that went back into the pocket pulled out a phone again,
With a few touches, the eyes moved to the bright white screen.
But.
“Huh. This can’t be happening.”
“What’s wrong?”
A few more flicks of the finger.
And soon, the skin turned dark, with a slightly bluish tint.
“Senior. Think logically.
I just mentioned that something was wrong with artificial intelligence until just now, right?
The reaction was strange, and there was an incident in the IT facility – I didn’t know it was you, senior, but anyway.”
“So.”
“But why did the higher-ups at my former workplace decide to use CI units for nomad handling, I wondered when the news came out.
Sure, we had donated them to the city for maintaining public order, and they were products sold to civilians, but…
Why machines now instead of people?”
There wasn’t anything particularly unusual about it.
The more defective a product, the more common it was to boost confidence and sprinkle it with discounts.
Whether it was finding a piece of rubber in your food, they’d discount the item and promote it further.
“Those AIs not obeying commands and such… those things – well,
Those things don’t happen.”
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“Right. Defects don’t bother with third parties unless it’s the relationship between the user and the AI.
…Maybe they thought it wouldn’t affect this situation much – oh, the news is down.”
“They work fast.”
By now, Ilya should be entering to interrupt our conversation.
However, the guy who should be disrupting it was just standing there, silently staring into the distance.
“Oh, the live broadcast is on.”
“They broadcast Mirsith operations live these days?”
“Of course, crazy broadcasters do it. People thinking about how to get paid by companies and how to attract more attention to themselves,
and lunatics thinking about how to handle topics like that with drones. Look, watch.”
Several drones seemed to be somewhere on the outskirts of the city.
In various regions with no apparent consistency, like an outdoor parking lot, starting from the place where numerous cars were parked to the abandoned factory building – the background is diverse.
Among them, a transport ship emitting searchlights along with red lights was visible.
With six thrusters turning the ground forcefully, stirring up the steel body that raised sandstorms.
Inside, the entities that had become the bodies of the previous Ilyas one by one struck the floor.
Was the scanner glowing red to give an imposing presence?
However, as the orange flames illuminated the surroundings, the screen suddenly turned black.
“Ah.”
The broadcast has ended, it said.
…It was a predictable event.
However, why does Ilyas keep staring blankly outside?
Everything that has happened so far and what was discussed just a moment ago.
When all those things come together, I can’t help but feel uneasy about Ilyas.
My long-time comrade and now my lover.
“Lord Taehyuk?”
Did he notice my gaze?
With one hand gently holding the necklace, Ilyas turned his head towards me.
Even if it turns blue, what situation could possibly make his eyes turn red?
…Watching the fading light, I forcefully suppressed my anxious and pounding heart.
Please, let nothing more happen beyond this point.