Origin (1)

"Roxy, if you come back with the shuttle trashed again this time, it's both our necks on the line. No, forget that. I'll just die myself. Just let me know in advance—say the shuttle exploded and is a wreck."

Kyle muttered ominously, pressing his face right up against the shuttle cockpit window. He didn't even care how distorted his features got, so his face looked like someone had rolled over it repeatedly with a rolling pin.

Honestly, it was a little scary. It was because he seemed insane. But Kyle's opponent was Roxy, who was an actual madman. Roxy grinned nonchalantly, replying calmly. The bruise from the day he'd returned after smashing the shuttle was still faintly visible.

"Brother, you know what I'm capable of?"

"I do. And I also know that you lose it every time you grab the controls."

"Come on, don't be like that. Last time it was because the shuttle was too flimsy. Thanks to you upgrading it, it's sturdier now, so that won't happen again. Probably?"

"... You really shouldn't have added that last bit."

Kyle sighed deeply and pulled his face back. He wasn't angry just because the shuttle had been wrecked. He was upset that with Roxy's skills, he could have chosen a safer, easier route, yet purposefully chose the more difficult and perilous path.

Whether they bickered or not, I carried out my pre-launch duties. There was no time to be distracted. There wasn't even enough time for a proper check. Normally, this was something I could've done leisurely, but with how unpredictable the situation was, there was no time to waste.

For reference, Nadia seemed back to normal, as if the massager's effects had worn off. When I asked if she remembered anything from yesterday or the day before, she just turned her head slightly and dodged the answer.

Judging by how her tail twitched awkwardly, she clearly remembered. Her cheeks were a little flushed, too.

"Battery status: good... Nadia, I think that nozzle there is a bit off. Can you check?"

"Ah, I checked that before. It's not misaligned—it's that the internal structure's changed—Eep...!"

Nadia was speaking seriously, then suddenly let out a breathless squeal and shrank into herself. When I wondered what was up, I noticed Kyle, who had changed his focus to us, was looming over us as we checked the equipment in the box.

There's nothing creepier than someone just silently staring. Startled, Nadia crawled over and managed to hide behind me. I could see her ear tufts trembling—she was pretty shaken.

"Did you check all the precautions I wrote down?"

"... Yeah, I looked through them all."

Unlike most people who would toss the manual without a glance, we had to check everything carefully—if something went wrong with the tools, it could cost us our lives.

"Then I'll keep the explanation short. The flamethrower I mentioned last time wasn't that hard to make, so I temporarily attached it to Carry. Since it's mounted, you can ditch it if you have to. The flame can be ignited with the auxiliary laser as needed."

【(⌐■_■)-︻╦╤─】

Carry lifted the flamethrower attached to his auxiliary arm. There was a metallic click as the equipment locked in. For some reason, I felt like there was a "piiiing—" sound and a glimmer from his imaginary sunglasses.

Originally, we considered adding a shockwave emitter we hadn't used before, but given our priorities and the circumstances, the flamethrower seemed like the better choice.

I'd heard Kyle hadn't made it—the engineer responsible for our gear was confident in his own work and handled it instead.

"We allocated part of the cargo box for the fuel tank. There's a spare, so reloading is possible, but you'll have to do it manually. There's a slot for it; replacing it isn't complicated, but don't expect to do it under fire. Don't push it."

"I'll play it by ear. Oh, how long will one tank last?"

"At maximum output, assuming continuous spray, you get three minutes tops, with a range of about 15 meters."

"... That's all?"

It sounded a bit iffy. Sure, spraying in bursts would make it last longer, but realistically, in a fight how often do you get to use controlled bursts? You'd likely use it nonstop in chaos— and it'd run out fast.

"You might have surplus fuel, but the pipe will overheat. Strong winds could cool it quickly, but don't gamble and risk it if the direction shifts. Save the leftovers—roast some marshmallows instead."

If it was a finalized build and not a prototype, efficiency would likely be higher, said Kyle. He reassured us that since it used special fuel rather than the standard, performance wouldn't be disappointing.

Truthfully, the laser is more powerful. Carry's auxiliary arm has a laser emitter, so bolstering that would increase his combat power even more.

But we chose a flamethrower instead, and the reason was simple: intimidation. We'd come to understand that ghouls, like humans, possessed emotions. If that was the case, they might feel fear or terror as well.

Combat meant more than one-on-one; it meant facing a swarm. Breaking the tide of ghouls would improve our odds.

Visual impact is an element of battle, too. An area-of-effect flamethrower would make them hesitate. They'd likely thrash around, trying desperately to extinguish the flames.

Carry's cargo capacity was reduced, but his response capabilities had increased, boosting overall survivability. The cargo-bot Carry was no more. Now, there was only the killing machine Carry.

'I'd always wanted to mount gear like this.'

Additional modifications outside a robot's intended use were illegal, so until now all I could do was dream. But today, my wish came true—at least this once, Carry didn't look on protection bots with envy.

Nadia tapped me on the arm.

"... Hyun-woo, you're thinking something weird again, aren't you?"

Busted immediately.

"No, I'm not."

"Yeah, right... Carry, strike a pose and get set up. It's time to go."

【ヾ(๑╹◡╹)ﾉ"】

Folding up the deployed flamethrower, Carry headed for his designated seat. We followed. Kyle's "Be careful out there," gave us a little push.

Me, Nadia, Carry, two Alpha series, Eric, and an unnamed man. We had a new addition inside the shuttle. Since our main goal was cargo recovery, we needed extra manpower.

The man was nervously jittering his legs. He looked mature, but his real age turned out to be about the same as Eric's. I couldn't compare, not knowing my real age myself.

Roxy pressed various complicated buttons on the control panel and fiddled with his helmet microphone. His voice then rang out in the cargo sector.

"Everyone's on board, cargo's loaded—departing. Buckle up if you want or don't if you don't care. You're all past the age when you need to be told."

Since you never knew what Roxy might do, we all fastened our seat belts. Roxy chuckled at the sight. It was an ominous laugh, as if he'd absolutely try something if we hadn't buckled up.

Soon, the newly reworked shuttle powered up and began to rise. There was hardly any shaking during liftoff. Whatever else could be said about Roxy, you had to admit his piloting skills were for real.

However, inside, a faint vibration continued. The reason was the man leaving town for the first time to go to Heaven. He tried to act nonchalant, but it was obvious he was scared.

Should I say something? While I hesitated, Eric broke the silence first.

"Don't be so nervous. Just focus on your own task."

"... So I don't have to join the fighting?"

"Correct."

"I saw the videos—ghouls come in swarms. What if I have to fight myself?"

"We're here to prevent that. Also, the Alpha series assigned to you isn't just for show. If it comes to it, they'll even self-destruct to protect your life—or ours."

"..."

The man wore a bracelet that glowed green—a symbol of grass. He glanced at the two standby robots by his sides. Realizing he had support seemed to calm him somewhat—his eyes stopped fluttering, though he still looked tense.

While Eric said he could blow up the Alphas at any time, that was a last resort. Even though we'd recovered twelve Alpha security robots from Licorice's warehouse in the residential area, that didn't mean we could just blow them up.

We didn't have the infrastructure to build new robots ourselves. Even if we reverse-engineered them, the essential core couldn't be manufactured with current facilities. The frame could be replaced with other materials, though.

- What's with this mood?

"Red."

Using 'Red'—Licorice's alias rather than her real name—I changed the subject naturally, asking if the broker had finished her work. Licorice didn't understand people's feelings. If she got involved, it might make the man even more anxious.

- I deployed multi-legged tanks to the outer wall. Since they used to be military, they had heavy system restrictions—probably because they ended up on the black market. I'll have to rewrite their OS soon. Right now, I can't even update them.

"It's reassuring, though."

Once again, Licorice was the only support we had. According to Eric, Celestia was off wrapping up something she hadn't finished last time. I didn't know the details, but it seemed important—likely connected to searching for her lost brother.

She didn't seem to be having much luck; her expression darkened by the day, and she'd started to tell me things then suddenly stopped several times.

Whenever I tried to ask why, she'd vanish before I could even see her face.

I listened to Licorice's boasts about her own prowess with one ear and let it out the other, then spoke to the man.

"You volunteered, right? Why? It's dangerous."

"... There's something I have to save."

There's something to save. He boarded this hell-bound shuttle for that very reason. Meaning, whatever it was he wanted couldn't be found in the Level 2 Store in town.

'Did he come out hoping to use a Level 3 Store?'

What a shame. The place we were going had all its stores destroyed by that bastard, Derek or Darren, or whatever his name was. Besides, level 3 Stores weren't just installed anywhere.

They were placed according to the ranks of workers assigned to that sector, so most of the cargo sector was Level 2 at best.

If anywhere had a Level 3 Store, it would be the cargo sector's shuttle control center. We hadn't been there yet, so its state was unknown. But since we were heading there today while clearing the deck, we could check it out—assuming it survived.

"You can use the Store if you want, but the noise it makes will attract attention. If that happens, don't expect it to end well."

"That's not why I came. I mean, I do need the Level 3 Store, but it's not essential. I can get what I need elsewhere."

"What do you need?"

"Medicine. I have a chronic illness and need to take medication every day. I'm running low, so I have to get more. Even if there's no Store, I've got spares in my locker—I can last for a while with those."

A chronic illness? Needs daily medication?

It wasn't a pleasant thought to have a sick person along—almost like he was forced into joining us. Nadia seemed to think the same, judging by her frown.

Sensing our looks, the man waved it off, saying he still had medicine left, and as long as he took it, he'd be fine. Honestly, he didn't look sick at all—he was rather robust.

"Which sector's your locker in? Most things are trashed now."

"It's my personal locker—not in a regular lounge. It's in the comms sec—"

Before the man could finish, Roxy's voice cut in over the comms.

- Buddy, better save the chitchat. We're almost there. You're not getting off right away, are you?

"No. Don't go in too close—just gain more altitude from here. I need to check something."

- Okay, that's easy.

As we neared the cargo sector of Heaven, the shuttle stayed at an altitude far beyond ghoul detection range. A reckless landing wouldn't work.

I got out my binoculars—Carrot had given them to me for stargazing, but they turned out to be very handy. I reminded myself to ask for more for everyone someday, as I carefully surveyed the base through the lenses.

"Nadia, we took photos here last time, right? Can you bring them up next to me?"

"Right away!"

I compared the holographic images to the current view. The angles were a bit different, but with multiple photos, comparison wasn't hard, and without the snowstorms like we had in the residential area, it was easier to check the surroundings.

The conclusion came quickly. As expected, the cargo sector shuttle station was crawling with ghouls. I winced immediately at the sight.

Some of the cargo had vanished, too. The moment I realized that, I cursed under my breath.

There were visitors before us. That much was expected, so it wasn't a problem in itself—the cargo sector wasn't isolated, and ghouls wouldn't just sit around either.

But it wasn't just a random visit—someone had clearly targeted something.

And if what was missing was cargo, that could mean survivors or pureblood supremacists weren't far away.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=Machine Gun Carry.【(⌐■_■)-︻╦╤─】

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