79 – The Battlefield Resurrected Like That Day Ten Years Ago (2)
“Nothing on the radio.”
Even turning the dial manually, it only crackled – no voices came through.
At least short-range radio should have picked something up. What exactly is happening in the city?
“… How was Ilya during CI-125?”
“How was he?
…Just an ordinary war machine, no different from other units.”
Even when spoken to, the response was stiff.
Presenting the cursed pumpkin-flavored pre-packaged meal as a gift.
“Did you even hug me when I had a rigid body?
Your taste is truly unique.”
“No, I didn’t! Well, I did lean on your back.
…And, we were shoulder buddies.”
If only he had treated me as a comrade, would he have said he would destroy a city to be with me?
Or perhaps, thinking of me as a nerd who has been teased since forever, did I start to go astray from that moment?
Approaching the guy who was just standing guard, I rambled on about nonsense.
“…Who in the world talks about building a home in front of a robot, saying they want to live a normal life after the war?
If anyone heard that, they would think it’s a love confession.”
“What?!”
I barely managed to catch the cigarette butt that was about to fly out of my mouth with my lips.
Trying to hold back a cough, I shed tears while exhaling through my nose.
This unhealthy snack I was tasting after a long time was incredibly spicy.
Nevertheless, the sweet aroma at the end made it hard to let go.
“Ilia said such things?”
“She played a few recordings for me using the CI unit body. She bragged about the affection she received from a long time ago.
She said it was regrettable that she couldn’t comfort me when I was teased as a machine nerd, and she even shuddered when complaining about the crappy sound quality.
She said something else…”
In front of my eyes, red lines were drawn in the sky.
Countless transport ships soar here and there, engulfed in explosions.
“Oh, well.
Since you’ve chosen yourself, don’t even think about overlooking it like a dream.
He was insisting on understanding what it means to dream, giving me goosebumps.
Must be nice to be loved like crazy. It’s hard to meet a woman like that these days, isn’t it?”
What I was hearing was not the events unfolding in the city but rather the threats Ilia harbored towards me, shaped by her emotions.
While the break room was filled with my scent.
Dirtying the blanket, holding hands…
In the end, I must have given assurance that I would carry out this task.
“Oh, by the way. Do you know where you’re going and stepping?
If you foolishly say something about saving as many people as possible – “
“I’ll start with restoring the relay.”
“You’ve really lost your mind. I thought you’d say something romantic about taking Ilia out.”
Somewhere along the way, the car turned into a smoking room.
Others would have called it a foul habit, seeing me light one cigarette after another within the embrace of the car.
“By the way, are you ready for a sharp scolding? If you get caught smoking harmful cigarettes, it won’t end well.”
“I was like you ten years ago. Would smoking one now really make a difference?”
“So, is that how you’ve been looking at me all this time with those eyes?”
A cold breeze seeped in through the open window.
Rather than sweet, it brought a much spicier scent that made my eyes blink.
“What kind of eyes are speaking?”
“It was strange from the first meeting, looking at people so comfortably, so gently.
Were you thinking of comrades? Of the training unit.”
I couldn’t hide the bitter laughter that flowed.
A person so similar to my past days of living with a cigarette.
Another cigarette crushed, and a sigh escaped.
“We do look alike, don’t we?
Lost all our comrades, yet still stuck in this damn city.”
“That’s right.”
“Well, I’m here thanks to someone, after all.”
The conversation in the car that never seemed to end also resembled the past.
While I held the steering wheel, the squad leader was next to me.
Other members, armed and loud, occupied the back seats –
In the spacious trunk, Ilia folded her body, maintaining a silent vigil.
“Keep an eye on the surroundings. Don’t want to be ambushed just because of a failed alert.”
“I’ll handle it. Instead of worrying if the damn AI will cause an error and shoot us.
Oh, right. Since our esteemed senior has reconciled with Ilia, we should be safe, right?
I even received threats, you know.”
About to laugh at the grumbling, I suddenly closed my mouth at the dark shadow looming in front of my eyes.
Something was floating above the car.
A shadow like this is undoubtedly… a transport ship, right?
“Ilyan?”
“Well, I’m not sure what it is, but it doesn’t feel good above our heads.”
A shotgun was held in the hand of the person next to them.
Axel was trampled under my foot.
But the shadow didn’t disappear.
Rather – it advanced. Towards the direction the car was heading.
“Mirzis transport ship. Ilyan, right?”
“Even if you ask me…”
“Having received the kiss mark.
Don’t you feel a tingling sensation?
Like your heart pounding and all?”
At least, the sight of Incheon turning into a sea of flames again makes the body tingle,
Though the knee, which shouldn’t hurt at all, aches.
… The heart feels heavy.
It’s different from the pounding. Totally different from facing Ilyan.
As if the silence just before the shelling.
Like the stillness in the ruins that should be filled with gunfire.
Heavy.
The transport ship that should clearly disappear did not look good as it turned sideways, opening the door.
Maxwell, the team leader in the co-pilot’s seat, had a gleam in his eyes.
After his pupils twitched a few times, he turned to me.
It wasn’t good.
“…No, it’s not Ilyana. Wrong, wrong!”
That was when it happened. A white spotlight poured into my eyes.
Why does it remind me now of the times when Migu said he would reveal his location,
tormenting my eyes with lenses?
Gunshots echoed.
And then, the window shattered.
My body swayed, and so did the car.
Just before the steering wheel would snap completely, a third hand grabbed and turned it.
No one was hit.
“Sniper! There’s a sniper inside the damn transport!”
“I figured that much…!”
Another shot.
This time, a sharp wind grazed my shoulder.
The sensation of the bullet tearing through the plush seat and piercing through the trunk froze my hands.
“Step on it, step on the gas!”
“This is the max—”
– Thud.
The pedals suddenly felt lighter.
No matter how hard I stepped, the speed didn’t increase.
The handle moved, but there was no sound of the silent electric engine.
“Damn it…!”
I couldn’t hit the brakes.
The chance to escape vanished with a single bullet long ago.
The shotgun fired, but there was no way a slug could reach from what seemed like a distance of 200 meters.
– Ssaeak!
“What?!”
There was a hole in my arm, the one I had carefully prepared, and sparks flew.
The speed of the car slowly decreased.
And the shotgun fell to the ground along with spent casings.
The sniper was still looking in my direction.
And this time, it seemed to be my turn.
“Get down!”
I grabbed the body with the trembling arm and pulled it down.
Once again, a bullet flew and hit the handle perfectly, piercing the seat.
The wind I felt on my back was undoubtedly the bullet.
I had no choice but to hit the brakes.
I had to get out of the car, even if it meant risking my life.
It was better than not being able to avoid anything even in the slowing car, he thought.
[Nowhere to run, gunslinger.]
Until the radio, which couldn’t catch any sound, emitted light.
And until that radio, before spitting out a familiar voice.
[Look around.]
[You can clearly see dots squirming in this direction.]
A powerful voice emphasizing the word ‘dots.’
Was it a coincidence that the man who used to wave his hand with an unpleasant face while running around with a rifle came to mind?
From Noble mtl dot com
[Where is ‘Dot,’ Lee Taehyuk?]
Or was it a sign that the old comrades were oddly surfacing?
The name, that name ‘Dot,’ clearly…
[Squad leader is David, Kim Dohyun is scrap metal, Kwon Hyunmin is bulk.]
[And you, assigned the name 125, are Ilyas.]
“…Miguel.”
A name attached to someone who should have disappeared as the building collapsed.
Like a nickname given by the man who taunted me during our shootout.
[Since the sounds dots can make are small, it would be nice if you raised your voice a bit.]
There was no answer to the question of how he was still alive.
As if slamming fingers on a calculator, and weird symbols revealing the answer, only empty spaces remained in his mind.
Therefore, he clung to it. The radio.
“I thought you were dead.”
[It’s regrettable that the gearhead is alive.]
[Let’s cut to the chase. Your ‘woman.’ Give me the location.]
The distant transport ship showed no intention of narrowing the gap.
Simply pushing its body away from the ground, it floated low above the road.
The bright lights still pointed towards the car.
Whether the cooling system was malfunctioning or not, smoke continued to spew through the perforations and gaps.
“It’s still the same. Doesn’t seem to have changed since ten years ago.”
[It seems even the gearhead found it difficult to wipe off the CI unit.]
[The body changed. Number 125.]
The reunion with the comrade he thought was dead was a mess.
Especially uncomfortable was the fact that somewhere on his body… probably on his head, a cross was drawn.
Did the bodies falling in the corridor ponder such thoughts?
[It’s just a dot in the end.]
“That damn dot talk still, uh, persists.”
His hands and voice stopped trembling.
With his arm held, Maxwell, the team leader, crouched beneath the co-driver’s seat, appeared to be the reason.
The heart didn’t easily settle.
Fear and excitement… there was a significant difference.
[The point I aimed at was always shivering, I used to say.]
[You didn’t believe me.]
Could the pellets that spat out from the short gun barrel fly far away?
If I run from here, can I catch Miguel inside?
…No matter how mechanical these legs are, can they really move faster than a car?
[If you see dots wriggling inside a point, dismiss any futile thoughts.]
[If you mention the location of your woman, early -]
A loud honk interrupted my thoughts.
And then, the consecutive sounds of gunfire.
Considering that there was no sound of bullets grazing or hitting, it wasn’t directed towards me.
A loud honk.
And with each echo of gunfire, some vehicles deviated from the road.
Inside them were red-eyed robots.