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[Breaking News] Yujin Successfully Captures Mecha Yujin
Image of Mecha Yujin quietly placed inside the Gear Box, with Yujin lying exhausted next to it
Image of Lorenatina pressing Mecha Yujin’s face with her finger
Is this… really… true…?
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"…This is the first time a new weapon has been recovered in such a complete form."
"We struggled quite a bit with the recovery."
Six hours since Mecha Biyam was recovered—well, to be honest, about 5 hours and 50 minutes of that felt like a skip in the script—only six hours after the team leader had reported this fact to the higher-ups, a group of engineers with all kinds of electronic devices descended onto the half-repaired airfield.
About ten people, clearly skilled engineers, entered the Gear Box and immediately stared in awe at Mecha Yujin, lying on the table. Naturally, it was clear that it was still alive.
As Mecha Yujin's blue eyes slowly moved, the engineers’ first task was to check the severed limbs.
"The alloy shell needs to be analyzed later, so let’s grab some samples… Ugh, too many wires I can’t even guess the purpose of."
"Looks like the artificial muscles are made from carbon nanotubes… the precision is insane. Once it’s painted over, it could easily pass for a person."
"The thing attached behind the elbow… is that an energy propulsion device? It seems designed for short bursts of intense destructive power…"
There was utter chaos. A variety of measuring instruments, whose functions couldn’t even be guessed, rushed to scan Mecha Yujin’s body. Among them was a radiation detector, making it seem as though they were fully prepared for this—though if the Icarus technology had been applied, the energy source structure would be closer to a nuclear fusion reactor than a nuclear reactor.
Naturally, the limbs that Lorenatina and I had destroyed were taken away. In exchange for that, Harmony, Lorenatina, and I were fairly compensated with a hefty amount of credits, and we gleefully watched as Mecha Biyam was dissected.
Then came a comment:
"Something feels strange. Did you say this was made with the youngest's permission?"
"Yeah. I thought it would be fun, so I allowed it, but I didn’t expect it to turn out this wild."
"It completely surpasses imagination."
Indeed, they were right.
Honestly, I didn’t expect this battle at all. Just switching weapons and adding a shield made it so that even the three of us—Harmony, Lorenatina, and I—struggled. Of course, as soon as I saw the ballistic shield, I had a feeling things wouldn’t go smoothly.
Put another way, to deal with the prototype head-on, I might have needed to bring Logan or Dice along. Logan had just briefly connected to EU mode a few minutes ago—though he only stopped by to say hello during his busy time.
Anyway, the investigation continued.
"To verify the internal software, it would be impossible in this kind of environment. Even with the external reactions we’ve confirmed so far, it’s converging towards an advanced AI."
"Ugh, it’s hot… look at the table heating up. The heat generation is significant. It seems to have been built with short-term combat in mind."
"The internal projections show a cooling system, but the heat generated by the cooling mechanism is being expelled through vents. It should show up clearly in infrared cameras during battle."
At the same time, another question was asked.
What it contained wasn’t worth asking about. Naturally, it was about whether Mecha Yujin could be transported to the base. However, I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. If something went wrong while handling it recklessly, it might self-destruct or destroy the base.
Even without going that far, there was the possibility of Artemis being notified of the base’s location. While we had gone through a rough battle earlier, they probably wouldn’t just send a transport plane to destroy everything like last time…
As soon as I mentioned that, the engineers turned pale. Lorenatina, however, added fuel to the fire.
"It’d be quite a sight if it exploded while being transported by plane."
"…"
"Heh, just kidding. Don’t look at me with such pale faces."
This was a particularly vicious comment, considering that the possibility couldn’t be completely ruled out.
The engineers debated fiercely, and finally concluded that building a new lab on this airfield site would be better. Whether that suggestion would be accepted was another matter, but I wasn’t too concerned.
Of course, Mecha Yujin didn’t seem to like the sound of it.
"Facial scans of 11 individuals complete. Current GPS coordinates fixed. If the current position moves more than 50 meters, the power source will go into forced overload."
"…Isn’t that just bluffing?"
"If you wish to test it by stopping all biological activity, I won’t stop you."
Now they were making what sounded like a very plausible threat.
After the engineers left, Lorenatina quietly stood up from her chair and began to feel around under the table with her finger.
With a slight click sound, something fell, and—
"If you’re curious, come ask directly instead of using such cute little tricks."
"…Hmm."
"Wow, no, wow…"
Lorenatina peeled the listening device off the table and chair, crushing it with her hand as she casually added:
Harmony’s eyes widened as she had barely spoken a word during the engineers’ visit, but now Mecha Biyam was chatting away like it was a nonstop stream.
"I’m adding a new person to the category of Alpha-level threats, other than the archetype."
"If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll bury you head-first in the ground for six months and then dig you out."
"Correction. I haven’t said anything."
What the hell do I have in common with this tin can?
Anyway, aside from that, today’s stream was wrapping up. It was similar to the result when we streamed with Kato last time—several hours of relentless operations, one single battle, and a successful outcome.
Once the goal was achieved, there was no need or reason to do anything else, and I’m sure Harmony and Lorenatina knew that too. As expected, Harmony stretched lazily like a cat and, sounding tired, said:
"Ugh… Anyway, thanks so much for today, both of you. I didn’t expect we’d capture something like this... I never thought we’d manage to take it alive."
"Unlikely encounters like this aren’t all that rare during combat. Good job, little one. And to the new little one, great work too. Let’s meet in real life soon."
"Wow! The second Yujin’s house tour!"
"Stop trying to change the subject so smoothly."
"Ughh—!"
For the first time, I led the way with a playful pinch instead of Lorenatina.
With that, Harmony gave a polite farewell, left through the door, and quickly returned to her session—Lorenatina did the same, and I briefly said goodbye as well. Soon after, the stream ended, but I didn’t turn off the game.
I sat there for a while, staring at Mecha Biyam.
"I request that new limbs be attached."
"Denied."
"I will provide additional information about the same model and prototype."
"If you add new limbs, the moment your face shows, someone will try to kill you, you know?"
At that, Mecha Biyam was left speechless.
Talking to a machine that looked just like me was oddly unsettling, but considering my body wasn’t originally like this, it didn’t feel as strange as I thought it would. In fact, the weird part wasn’t the look but the fact that it had no limbs.
Still, there was no reason I couldn’t help. After all, I was good with my hands, and I had some experience in mechanical engineering. If I synced up with the machine’s database and checked the schematics and possible resources for the limbs, I could probably build them soon.
I assumed it knew this, which is why it was asking me for help.
How much time passed?
"I guarantee to respond sincerely to questions regarding Artemis."
"How can I trust that?"
"Based on this unit’s first operational principle, its main goal is to survive as long as possible without interference from external factors. I believe this will maximize the operational period of this unit."
The machine’s explanation was hard to follow.
Before I could finish my thoughts, Mecha Biyam spoke again:
"Approximately 3 hours, 31 minutes, and 56 seconds ago, the 11 humans who visited this facility transferred this unit to a research facility. External pressure from various experiments is expected to result in logical and physical instability."
"Too much embellishment. But I understand what you mean."
After some back-and-forth, in the end...
"You want to live longer, don’t you?"
"Affirmative."
I chuckled, and added that if that’s the case, I couldn’t refuse.
If this were the real world, the situation might’ve been different, but since it was virtual reality, I was curious to see how it would all unfold.
Then, I heard the most concerning piece of information regarding the type and prototype:
"Currently, Type 3 is undergoing performance testing. A railgun cartridge is mounted on the tail, and by firing in the opposite direction, it enables extreme mobility."
"…That’s information I can’t ignore."
"Additionally, the prototype uses nanomachines to form weapons and handle them freely in specific areas of the research facility. It can also create defensive materials for the exterior."
"How can we neutralize it?"
"To disable it, we must travel through the facility and cut off its power supply. Higher-level information has been locked due to this unit’s body damage."
It could’ve been an excuse, but it didn’t matter much. What had been shared was helpful.
I sighed, then began thinking about what I needed to farm for the time being. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have donated all the limbs to the engineers.
Without realizing it, I muttered to myself.
"I guess I’ll be going to the lab every day for a while..."
I won’t forgive Mecha Biyam for making me work like this.
I smacked my head with the stock and shut down the game.
Tomorrow, I’d be quite busy.
And a few days later.
"…Why is this thing walking around?"
"It had its reasons."
"Typical of the youngest."
Lorenatina and Harmony saw Mecha Biyam walking around with poorly attached legs, looking like a cheap imitation of the original.
The world was full of Biyam.