Fortune Cookie (13)

Thud! Rrrrrrr-!

My body, unable to withstand the momentum of the hover bike, skidded right across the floor, bouncing along the way. Every time my body rolled in a mess, a groan escaped me.

The uneven ground brought me pain, but I couldn't help but laugh. I'd witnessed with my own eyes the explosion that occurred inside the mimic after it swallowed the oblivious hover bike whole.

"I knew it'd turn out like this!"

Of course, the fake door was a mimic disguised as an object. While it stung to have blown up a brand-new hover bike right in front of me, figuring it out—the loss wasn't worth more than my life.

The most important thing was whether I could survive. If I didn't know about mimics that impersonate objects, I might have gotten caught, but knowing about the creature and how dangerous it was, there was no way I would've walked into such obvious danger on my own.

'Or... did I?'

Well, I did walk into the residential area on my own. Into this hell, where thousands of ghouls were said to be lurking.

- Alright. This is great and all, but what now? Surely you had a plan, right? Hm? You made such a grand commotion, now even the blizzard is meaningless. How are you going to deal with all these ghouls after causing a ruckus like—

Licorice's voice was trembling slightly. About 10% concern, 20% agitation, and the rest was all anger. A blazing fury. Apparently, she wasn't pleased with my actions.

"What do you mean, 'what now'!"

What I was counting on were the security robots stored in the warehouse. After all the trouble I went through, if the warehouse turned out empty, or the robots were inoperable, then I'd just have to close my eyes and accept it. Either way, I'd die.

'No.'

If I was going to die anyway, simply resigning myself didn't suit my temperament. If death was certain, I'd flail every way I could first. Maybe in struggling, a way out could reveal itself.

I immediately ran toward the real door, shouting.

"I'm counting on you!"

- Don't think that line's going to get you off the hook!

"Sounds like you're pretty mad!"

- Yeah! Press the slot in the middle of the left wall!

"You're still helping me though! Even when you're angry!"

- That and keeping you alive are *completely* separate issues! And I'm angry because you've gone *completely* insane! I thought you'd be okay, even with the original crystal's influence!

"Look, I'm only this crazy because it's me! If it were anyone else, you'd see what crazy *really* meant!"

- I'm learning what that means right now!

Half-laughing at the thought that maybe my behavior really was unusual, I listened as Licorice continued over the comms. She insisted I needed to get out of the blue crystal zone quickly and explained how to operate the door.

It was a manual method for opening the door in case of a power loss, but if the steps weren't followed in order, the lock would reinforce itself. It was like a password lockout system.

I followed Licorice's instructions, pulling hidden levers in the proper order. With every 'clunk', the sound of the lock loosening echoed.

【Screeeee!】

Right next to me, the mimic was going wild. Its tentacles, burned and wrung as if someone had twisted them, stretched in every direction. It seemed less like an attempt to catch me and more like a seizure.

It had swallowed the hover bike instead of me, and the explosion inside seemed to have done significant damage. The mimic still hadn't regained its senses. I knew now was the perfect time to finish it off, but I didn't have the luxury to deal with it just then.

【Screee!】【Graaagh!】

Ghouls, drawn by the explosion, as well as those already in pursuit, merged into a single horde converging on me.

Death converged at a point, forming a vortex—a tidal wave overwhelming the streets with destructive power, not a mere ripple.

The fierce blizzard could no longer hide my presence. I'd hoped the wreckage zone I'd crossed by hover bike was large enough for them to lose track of me, but with the ghouls now appearing one after another, it was clear they would have pursued me even without the explosion.

"Hrrk!"

I began to manually open the door, the lock now released. The mimic raged beside me, a swarm of ghouls screamed behind. Anxiety gnawed at me. The aches in my body intensified with every moment.

If only I could take a dose of mid-rank medicine or something. Yet there wasn't even time to take off my respirator—nor did I know if it was safe to do so—so I could only grit my teeth and bear the pain.

Adrenaline was running high anyway, dulling some of the pain. The aftermath would be a problem for future me. I had to do my best now, because if I didn't survive, there wouldn't even *be* a future.

Creak, creak, creak...

"Damn, why is this—so heavy!"

It looked ordinary, but it must not have been made from just any alloy—the effort required to open just one door was absurd. Struggling, I pried the door open just enough to squeeze my body through, not hesitating for a moment.

As my cramped body straightened and slipped through the gap, I turned around and forced the door closed again—to buy even just a little more time.

What I saw inside the new space was a sealed area, a corridor plunged in darkness. I sensed no presence other than my own. Only a sterile, inorganic atmosphere filled the space.

I turned on my flashlight and hurried forward. There was only one way through—no need to look around and waste time.

- There'll be another door ahead!

"Are you obsessed with doors? Why is there *another* one?!"

- Let me finish! Once you're inside, I can handle everything with my authority! ... As long as you activate the emergency power supply!

Licorice, full of confidence, suddenly seemed hesitant and quickly added another sentence.

"Location!"

- It's hidden in the central corridor wall! Break the wall!

Desperately catching my breath, I grabbed the plasma cutter. The tool, at maximum output with a simple adjustment, painted the corridor blue.

Fssch!

The ultra-hot plasma sliced ruthlessly through the wall. Not even dust fell.

- Don't destroy the device inside! Stop cutting where the corridor wiring ends!

"You should mention things like that *beforehand*!"

The blue plasma blade cut through the wall without hesitation, but at a twist of my wrist, I stopped it. The scored section glowed red-hot.

Ignoring that, I grabbed the gap and pulled with all my might. The wall crumbled, and I could see the device buried within.

Kiaaaaah...

With ghoul howls echoing in the background, I hurriedly activated the emergency power supply. The bulkhead at the corridor's end switched to an open state.

As the power supply hummed louder, the underground warehouse's lights flicked on one after another, illuminating what had been concealed in darkness.

The warehouse contained a sizeable number of containers that began to open as power flowed in. Inside were some 100 security robots.

Unlike the chaos of the residential area, the sight of these robots lined up in order was impressive—though the ever-closer wails in the distance wiped the awe from my face.

"Licorice! What do I do now?!"

- Authenticate with your bracelet!

The moment I held up my bracelet, the core of a security robot powered up. With bated breath, I watched the robots begin booting up.

Security robots. Not the standard model either—these were custom units, each easily costing millions of credits. And there were 100 of them. Even ignoring the cost, 100 was a significant number.

But the ghouls converging here, and still arriving even now—there were tens, maybe hundreds or even thousands of times more.

The SSTC security robots had been torn apart. Could *these* hold back the ghouls? As I caught my breath, the heat in my head subsided, and what filled its place was a sliver of reason.

'... This probably isn't going to work just on willpower.'

I realized why Licorice had been so angry. Or rather, I knew now. As I stared at one unopened container, Licorice, now holding full control over all the robots, spoke up.

- Security Robot Alpha Series. System online. From now on, they'll move under my control.

"Is that everything?"

- To a degree. The support systems aren't installed. But it's fine—they're not simple buckets of bolts, and they've got their basic armaments anyway.

"Oh..."

- It's too soon to be impressed. There's still one unopened container. I had no idea I'd end up needing even this. Guess my foresight is amazing after all.

Suddenly praising herself, Licorice. It was a relief she couldn't see my face right now. Had she, she'd have said something for sure.

- What's with that look on your face? Why do you look like that?

"..."

I suddenly remembered, with the security robots now active, Licorice could once again see the residential area through the video cameras.

- Your expression makes *me* nervous, so wipe it off. And scan your bracelet at the container. It's fortune cookie time.

I composed my expression and approached the last, largest container—demanding top-level authorization. Unlike the others, this one was not only bigger, but as soon as I authenticated, it opened up as if wings were unfolding.

I'd wondered what could be inside that required such security, but as the container opened, the question answered itself.

Thick armor protecting vulnerable joints, a curving chassis, twin laser guns mounted on the upper body and a massive battery pack, and numerous supporting legs—it was a multi-legged military tank.

'Are you kidding me...'

I was struck speechless.

"... You had *this*? I thought there were only security robots?"

- I picked it up used at the Enceladus black market. Outdated for unfinished-terra Titan, but you never get military hardware on the open market, so I bought it on the spot. You'd never get another chance—how could I not?

"... You kept something like this? In the residential area? In Sector A?!"

- Impressive, isn't it? Do I seem amazing?

If "amazing" was the word, she was. I could barely believe the SSTC would allow so many security robots, let alone a military-grade multi-legged tank model.

If I'd been caught, I wouldn't have just faced jail time—it'd have been an immediate execution offense.

'Isn't this exactly how the first-generation colony towns ended up with riots?'

Unbelievable. The thought just popped into my head.

"... I always thought you were like this."

- R-really?

As Licorice gave a small, awkward cough, I ran my hand over the tank's armor. The cold touch of metal. Sure enough, the armor's thickness marked it as military.

"The guns mounted on top—those are real, right? Not just props?"

- High-output laser guns. It originally had small plasma cannons, but I couldn't sneak those in, so I swapped lower models in. Still, they're useful enough.

The autocannon and missile pods had to be removed, Licorice explained, a little annoyed. But even this shocked me—I'd never seen anything like it. I was suddenly bubbling with confidence.

I composed myself and checked the situation. I'd gotten everything I could from the warehouse. Now, it was time to break through the horde outside.

- Stay put where you are. When you came in, there was no power so the door was the only way, but now it's different. Take the "Kkungkkung-I" express route out.

"... Kkungkkung-I?"

- That's the tank's nickname. Because it goes "kkung-kkung" as it moves.

"..."

Despairing at the ridiculous naming sense, I opened my mouth, then shut it. I couldn't tell if I was supposed to find it endearing, or if Licorice, like me, was also affected by the blue crystal's influence.

Then, at last—

Ku-goong—

The building shook as the floor rose. Dust rained down from the ceiling. The sounds from outside became ever-clearer. Air trapped inside was forced out, and the external chill whooshed in.

Turns out, the building was collapsing. The camouflaged exterior crumbled as the warehouse rose.

【Screeeee...!】

Debris rained down, and the ghouls outside—along with the mimic holed up in the building—screamed in pain. As the floor gave way, unable to find their footing, debris pounded their heads mercilessly.

- Hm. The building wasn't supposed to collapse. Well, whatever. It's not like anyone's in there now.

I looked like I was about to say something, but managed to swallow the words. A security robot beside me gave a look as if to say, "Go on, say something," but I remained silent. Just moments ago, she'd scolded me for making such a scene, and yet now it was Licorice who'd kicked up a much greater commotion.

Soon enough, the warehouse had fully ascended to the surface. The raging blizzard swept over us and the horde of ghouls. A suffocating silence followed. We stiffened in anticipation; the ghouls, in confusion.

But the standoff was short—something caught everyone's attention. In the sky, of all places.

Piiuu—Boom—!

A signal flare burst from the direction of the central tower, banishing darkness. A plea for aid, a warning of danger. Seeing it, I took a deep breath and shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Wipe them all out!"

【Command received. Escort target and fully subdue unauthorized lifeforms.】

At my order, the security robots and the tank began mobilizing as one. Their mono-eyes blazed red in combat mode.

They were intimidating in their fearlessness.

Not as much as Carry, though.-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=Kkungkkung-I, annihilate!【༼ ᕤ◕ロ◕ ༽o:【】:::::::〉】

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