『So we all know that they made androids in U City.
Recently, they even conducted a test run using those androids to suppress villains, with support from Evilus Agent, so their performance was solid.
…
Anyway, as things were progressing fairly successfully, the androids suddenly fell into the hands of the villains, lol.
What do you think about this so-called "perfect AI" getting hacked so easily by villains?』

The post’s contents were essentially this: U City had created androids that performed reasonably well. They were test-launched to suppress villains, but in the process, the androids’ AI was completely hijacked by a villain.

‘What? This isn’t even Evilus Agent.’

The AI referred to in the post wasn’t my creation, Evilus Agent. It was the AI embedded within the androids made in U City.

However, the author had deliberately framed it to be misleading. I noticed a few people, duped by this, spewing curses in the comments.

—Knew this would happen.
—What’s Evilus? Just a bunch of idiots, lol.
—Ever since they did that weird update last week, they keep screwing up.

I paused for a moment, contemplating how to respond, only to realize that responding itself would be the issue. Evilus Agent already faced plenty of controversies.

Right now, there were countless people convinced Evilus Agent was violating their privacy. If I retaliated against every one of these commenters? It would only fuel their suspicions…

Anyway, hundreds of posts like this appeared daily. Historically, the best way to deal with these was simply to ignore them.

‘…But maybe I should at least check who it is.’

There were some oddities about this post that couldn’t be ignored. Despite the hundreds of similar posts each day, this one was unusually popular, with high views and comments.

The massive spike in similar posts after this one, and, most suspiciously, that Ayle—who normally spent her time making inappropriate magical girl illustrations—found it.

Logically concluding, I hacked into the site to identify the author of the post. Unsurprisingly, it came from an IP address in U City. Digging further, I discovered they worked for Utopia, the major corporation ruling U City.

“Ha, these bastards…”

The comments.
The follow-up posts.
All of them originated from Utopia Group’s IP addresses—I realized this was some sort of attack on me.

They likely couldn’t do anything to Evilus Agent itself, so they were probably trying to shift blame onto me, hoping I’d help resolve their situation…

“You’re all getting banned.”

Fake posts? Give me a break. I suspended all Evilus Agent access for Utopia’s employees. This was a perfect chance to see what would happen when those dependent on AI suddenly lost it.

The Angel series.
The androids created by Utopia Group were equipped with semi-artificial intelligence developed with Evilus Agent’s assistance.

Despite being semi-AI, it was not to be underestimated. These androids had repeatedly outperformed human abilities in combat simulations. In battle, they possessed judgment superior to any human.

Having passed numerous hacking tests, Utopia Group had relaxed their guard, feeling secure in their defenses.

“How did someone hack our androids? We’re managing them from our own servers!”
“Well, we… aren’t sure…”
“Are you suggesting the robots were brainwashed or something!?”

Of course, they had already determined that hypnosis and brainwashing abilities didn’t work on machines. While earlier Evilusloids and Dragon Bone Soldiers were susceptible, the more advanced Angel series was immune.

With robust hacking defenses and resistance to psychic powers, Utopia Group had taken all precautions. Expecting an ability beyond their imagination would have been unreasonable.

“It appears to be some form of machine control ability…”
“Where on earth does such a power exist!?”
“It’s rare… Just an ability that didn’t gain much attention until now…”

Abilities manifest in complex ways. Abilities don’t follow genetic inheritance but rather emerge randomly. A child with ice manipulation might be born to parents with fire manipulation.

Some even theorize that abilities like fuel-free machine operation or endless bullet firing could have existed back in medieval times, making it pure chance what powers appear.

This villain’s power, for instance, would have been insignificant a few decades ago, barely capable of producing static electricity from his fingers…

But with the rapid technological advancements over the past decades, a once useless ability could have transformed into something godlike.

“─So what’s your point?”
“We cannot stop him on our own. It would be best to request the heroes’ help…”
“We’ve already asked the association.”
“Then, isn’t it settled?”
“…They said they couldn’t help.”

“What?”

The director clenched his lips before answering.

“They say he’s not registered in the association’s database. In other words, he’s not officially recognized as a villain… And the heroes are busy rounding up registered villains. They don’t have the manpower to spare.”

“B-But we confirmed he was a villain before we acted! He’s definitely a villain!”
“He must have hacked the association’s database. Using that so-called machine manipulation ability.”
“So, the association’s just going to let a dangerous villain run free!?”
“─How much damage has he actually caused?”
“What? Well…”

The researcher paused, calculating the damage caused by the villain who had seized control of their Angel series.

Firstly, their Angel series, and then—and then…

“…Just the Angel series, it seems.”
“Right. There’s been no harm done outside our company’s property, so sending heroes after someone unregistered could make the association look like our corporate puppet. They’re avoiding that risk.”
“Then… what should we do?”
“We’ll have to do something. Anything, really.”

The director assured them not to worry, as they were exploring various solutions. But just as he finished speaking, a beep sounded from his smartphone. Curious, he pulled it out, his expression hardening.

The researcher, puzzled, checked his own suddenly buzzing phone moments later, realizing why the director’s face had gone rigid.

[Unauthorized access attempt detected against an administrator.]
[User access will be suspended until the issue is resolved.]

“W-What the—!?”
“Why isn’t it working?”
“M-My dear Miu… She’s… gone…!”

Screams echoed from all sides. The researcher looked silently at the director, whose face grew increasingly grim.

“You’re not serious, right?”
“…”
“You’re… not serious, right? You didn’t…?”

The director couldn’t answer. And with that, the researcher understood one thing: Utopia was about to fall.

[Unauthorized access detected.]
[User access has been suspended.]

“Hm… Blocked again.”

The man who’d been looking at the screen put his phone back in his pocket, seemingly satisfied. He’d never encountered a machine that could resist his power. Or rather, to be precise, his power worked, but it was immediately undone.

He didn’t understand how they could block his ability, but one thing was clear…

“Well, I can just ask directly.”

He could go straight to the one who created it. After all, he had an army.
A legion of machines, forged in steel and circuits.

“Evilus Corporation… in E City, huh? Looks like it’s going to be a long trip.”

Confirming Evilus Corporation’s location, he scratched his ear in irritation before waving his hand. Under his command, the army of machines began to march forward.

Towards E City, where the mysterious technology capable of withstanding even his power awaited.