75 – Brief Farewell (2)
“A machine rebellion?”
“…Something like that.”
It would probably seem foolish.
Ilia, who used to mix her body with mine and work on missions together, suddenly declaring war on the city and corporations.
If I only talked about it without any context, everyone would surely see me as crazy.
Except for the team leader in front of me, and a few others.
“S-So, you mean to say that rumor is true?”
“I don’t know for sure. But one thing’s certain, there was a collaborator.
Whatever it was, it seemed like they were precisely controlling numerous CI units –
You could say it was threatening.”
“Then, what about those pictures…”
“It was Ilia. She didn’t deny it. No, she admitted it.”
The nomad who ransacked my home met a miserable end as a result.
By the steel shells controlled directly by Ilia.
Her face, smiling proudly at me, saying she did it because she wanted to.
…It wasn’t difficult to imagine that it would contain a sense of despair.
“Senior.
Just how amazing do you have to be to make a machine eagerly engage with a corporation?”
A futile joke, and a forced laughter escaped.
Maxwell, the team leader, knew all too well about the small talk thrown around before a mission.
Except for Miguel, who was always cleaning or maintaining his sniper rifle – the atmosphere was always this light.
But when things went down, everyone had to keep their mouths shut.
“It seems like you had a great night’s sleep. If that’s the case, I understand why you growled at me like that.”
“I was rather upset on my end, though. At first, I was. At first…”
Pouring coffee into the drained energy.
A magical drink that took more than it gave, bitter as it was,
at least for a while, he had to think and move tirelessly.
“Well, yeah. So, um… By now, it’s probably going wild, right?”
“Most likely.”
The sigh that pierced through the raindrops was human.
The emotions of a being named Ilia.
The guy who claimed to pursue rational judgment – did it take less than a year to reach this point?
So, what would happen from now on?
…What obstacles lie ahead for me?
“Terrorists made up of CI units. Just thinking about it gives me the chills.”
Even if they are outdated, those mercenaries, dealing with mediocre mercenaries is relatively easy.”
“It’s a precise attack targeting corporations. In response, enhanced humans will likely appear.
In the worst case, Tonho and Mircis – “
“Not that. Yeah. That’s not it.”
With one remaining arm, tapping fingers, he sipped his coffee,
Shaking the burnt-out cigarette into the air –
“Oh, damn. Would you consider paying off some real debt, senior? What do you think?”
“…If Ilia and whoever is behind her cause trouble…
I might need some help.”
“Work for the price of an arm? Be kind. Nowadays, there’s nowhere to borrow money.”
The gaze penetrating through the smoke, and beneath it, dark circles.
Still, somehow the expression seemed to have lightened, better than before.
“Since quitting the company, it seems like your complexion has noticeably improved.”
“Really? I’m surprised every time I look in the mirror.
Being unemployed suits me. Especially being an unemployed popular mercenary with a reliable water supplier.”
“Talking about me?”
“Well, there’s a popular mercenary in this city, so charming that even machines are enchanted.”
Unable to spit on the smiling face, like a chemical substance, he swallowed the scent of a new cigarette and then lowered the glass.
After putting a candy next to it and putting it in his mouth – it felt like pieces of a puzzle falling into place one by one.
“Where does the underground waterway connect to?”
“It’s connected in all directions. Considering the closed subway network, there’s practically no inaccessible place.”
“…I should contact someone who knows about the back alleys. That might help.”
If those CI units are hiding, the residents of the slum and smugglers will encounter them, whether they like it or not.
Of course, if we could access the city’s CCTV.
And if we’ve hijacked the internal canal management drones – the story might take a different turn.
“I’ve seen several Mirsys trucks being hijacked.”
“That’s too common to say anything about. Dozens have been hijacked by the Nomads alone.
This cleanup operation eventually crossed a line, you know?”
But Ilia seemed to have bigger plans.
Something inside those heavy boxes.
What would it mean if those things were scattered all over the city?
Shoot people randomly like in a movie?
There must be a purpose.
“If she’s planning to subjugate the city…”
“There are plenty of targets. Power plants, communication networks, corporate security zones, Mirsys Incheon Branch, Tianhu Group Construction Incheon Branch…
If we include the subsidiaries below, well, it’s a hell of a list.”
Even for that reason alone, it was necessary to stop Ilia.
Jumping into a fight with no chance of winning was strange in itself.
But, even a human like me knows a certain fact.
Would Iliya, who used to belong to Mircis, really not know?
If I missed it, could it be the contents of that box?
It would be nice if it were just a simple weapon.
… But what if it’s not?
“Oh, surprised me.”
The phone placed on the table began to ring.
… A welcome name, Seok Ja.
[Received. Hello?]
“Long time no see, Dayeon. How have you been?”
[Taehyuk, are you okay? More importantly, where are you right now? And Iliya?]
“Not here. She’s gone for a moment… dropped.”
[I had a feeling. I’ll send you a video. You should see this.]
I pressed the promptly sent message and lightly tapped the play button.
What appeared was a certain facility.
[It’s a facility of Life-Tech, which we were monitoring. Originally, we were planning to request research data here. However…]
In the perspective that seemed like a drone entering the facility, fleeing scientists were visible.
Then, even those collapsing on the ground without any strength, bleeding.
… CI, units.
And they were emitting a red light.
[An attack happened at midnight today.]
[But even Life-Tech hasn’t grasped the fact of the assault yet. Quiet. Completely.]
In the following footage, the robots smoothly opened the sealed doors, pulling triggers in a natural manner.
Corpses painted the floor red as they were dragged somewhere,
And the survivors limped behind them.
[Could Mirsis have carried out the attack?]
“No. That… wouldn’t be it.”
From Noble mtl dot com
It was Ilia.
But why they attacked this facility was crucial.
It couldn’t be for city disarmament; there was no reason to attack a biotech company.
“…Are they planning a chemical war?”
“What?”
[Oh? Who is the person next to you?]
“He’s Taehyuk’s junior. Little miss.”
Maxwell, now with another cigarette lit, swept his hair back and continued talking.
Refilling my cup with another cold coffee.
“Although they’re in the field of biotechnology, those guys have been conducting a lot of human experiments at the same time.
If you want to know what substance is straightforward for humans, this is the place.”
“Even now, with gas masks in common use, why resort to poison gas – “
“Who said anything about gas?”
There was something in that face, smiling with a hint of bitterness.
Ten years ago, I was a corporate soldier.
And now, there was a big difference for her, who was also a soldier.
Does the same go for the corporation?
“They’ve got their urban disarmament plans, one after another. You know?
I mean, if this leaks, it’s definite trouble.”
Amidst the billowing smoke, a sense of relaxation emerged.
Simultaneously, the half-smoked cigarette crumpled and fell to the ground.
“One thing among them caught my attention, a terror through water.”
A finger stretched out.
Goosebumps spread across the skin.
“This precious water, ingested and absorbed into the body.
Imagine if something terrible spreads from there.
How long do you think people can endure in the city?”
Even if everyone in the slums died, it wouldn’t matter.
The upper class would be fine. But…
“Even if people replace their bodies with machines, when the organs fail, they die just the same.
Seems like our senior regards others as mere flies. Even that artificial intelligence.”
I never thought it would completely ruin the city like this.
Was it more than just one corporation getting in the way?
City, all of it?
[Wait a moment, I… I didn’t understand anything. What are you two talking about?]
“…Dayeon, we’re about to depart, so scrape together the facility information from Life-Tech as it stands.”
[Huh? Right now? As the Tech Boys?]
“Yeah. And Maxwell Team Leader -“
“Call me Yuria, senior. You know I got fired.”
Putting on the helmet that was hanging, syncing the phone, and grabbing the luggage, he headed out.
Even though he hadn’t finished speaking, the team leader – no, the junior, turned towards him, moving on his own.
“I’ll throw in an extra month’s pay, so help me out.”
“Uh, I wanted to freeload a bit longer.
Well, fine.”
The closing door. And the uninterrupted call.
The fingers that grabbed the phone to put it away were cold and heavy.
“I need to take the call too. I might have information to share.”
Easily passing that off, he moved his feet towards the elevator.
…If it were in the past, Ilia would have silently stayed by his side with just one sync.
[I’ve infiltrated a few more drones for now. The field of vision might not be very clear.]
[I don’t want to get shot down in an ambiguous location like before, but I don’t want to miss it either…]
“Keep telling me what’s inside that facility. What are they really planning to infiltrate? Are they actually planning a terror attack through water or what,
“Where have the survivors been taken?”
[Understood. Is there anything else you’d like to ask?]
“Verify everything entering and leaving that facility, Dayeon.
Vehicles, people, machinery, everything.
If it’s the Life-Tech Research Center… it’s rural. Right?”
The face that was once friendly disappeared, replaced by a stern expression.
Casually opening the car door, I wondered why he was hesitating to let me in.
“Senior should be driving. Still have one hand free, don’t I?”
Illya, whose presence had become ingrained in my body, suddenly.
Unshakeable sensations.
…Gulping down those sensations one by one, I took hold of the steering wheel.
He might not know what to think, but this was undoubtedly for our sake.
Challenging the corporation was not the solution.
***
“Yes, confirmed.
Prototype module. Compatible with my body.
…With this, please…”