Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: Mod7
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Chapter 6 - The Engineer
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It took five more days to find Amy.
She was waiting for me in a corner of the rubble, deactivated,
And our reunion filled me with a sense of relief. I hugged her, silently seeking comfort in her presence.
“Doctor.”
“It’s been a while. I apologize.”
Amy always apologized. Having lost her body, she was unable to perform even the simplest tasks, and I understood her sense of helplessness.
Of course, even the word “helplessness” was a human construct. Amy’s expression remained unchanged.
Her face was as impassive as ever. I was the one projecting emotions onto her, assigning meaning to her words and actions.
“…There’s no need to apologize.”
I hugged Amy closer, and Isaac, respectfully, remained silent, allowing us our moment.
“Amy, listen carefully. In a few days, I’ll retrieve your body and bring it here.”
“What?”
But Isaac was alarmed.
“Juho, stop! Listen to me! Why are you doing this? I told you I’m fine!”
He didn't believe in my plan. Or rather, he was too afraid, too eager to dissuade me.
Perhaps his reaction was the normal one. Perhaps I was the abnormal one, and Isaac, the sane one.
“Isaac, look at your leg. The spiders broke your prosthetic today, but next time, they might break your arms and legs.”
But I couldn't leave Isaac here.
Even if he claimed to be content, I knew it wasn't true.
“Just because you’re doing this for me…!”
“No! That’s what I should be saying. You think I’m grateful for your… resilience? Don’t be ridiculous.”
I interrupted him, my voice rising in anger. We both needed to express our true feelings.
“I have nothing left. I’m alone. But you… you have a wife to return to…”
And,
In this argument, I held the winning hand.
“So please, just listen to me. I’ll make this work, so don’t worry.”
Isaac had to leave.
I, at least, wasn’t in any immediate danger. Arachne wouldn't kill me.
“Jenny has Amy’s body, and she and Arachne are enemies. We’ll align ourselves with Arachne, hunt down Jenny, and retrieve Amy’s body.”
“That monster?”
Isaac shook his head, doubting the feasibility of my plan.
But I could do it.
I knew it.
“…We won’t kill Jenny, we’ll just… chase her away. She’s smart, she won’t do anything that might get her killed. We’ll scare her off and retrieve Amy’s body.”
“Okay, fine. Let’s say you succeed. But do you really think the spiders will just give us the AI’s body? What’s our leverage?”
Isaac and Amy,
Both looked at me skeptically.
But I had already calculated everything. This plan would work.
“Let’s… break your leg completely. Then, we’ll tell them we need Amy’s body to repair it.”
The real challenge would be after we succeeded.
“…And then, we’ll secretly rebuild Amy, enhancing her combat capabilities.”
We would pretend to use Amy’s body to repair Isaac’s leg, while secretly rebuilding her, making her stronger.
***
Morning, Day 87 of isolation.
09:27, planetary rotation standard.
Overcast.
13°C, chilly.
I joined the spiders’ hunting party, tasked with tracking down Jenny. Arachne, worried about me, insisted on coming along…
“The blood trail is still fresh.”
But her presence was actually beneficial.
We followed Jenny’s trail, discussing how to capture or kill her.
“Fortunately, she’s bleeding quite heavily. Tracking her shouldn’t be difficult. She’s not very good at covering her tracks.”
Arachne and the spiders didn't question my observations. They simply scanned the area, reporting the direction of the blood trail.
“This way.”
We followed the trail to a tree, its bark scarred with deep claw marks, evidence of a struggle.
There was even a pool of blood nearby. We confirmed it was spider blood and paused, surveying the area.
“She devoured everything, not even leaving the bones.”
“Incredible jaw strength. She ate their legs and torsos?”
Jenny didn't reveal her hiding places. She always ate her prey in random locations, to avoid being tracked.
But,
I was different.
“Look, the grass here is unnaturally bent.”
“What?”
I saw things the spiders couldn't.
I had a keen eye for detail.
The spiders didn't need such skills. Their strength, their webs, were enough.
But I had used every advantage I could find to survive.
And I would do the same now.
I had to track Jenny down,
To catch her.
***
A few hours later, several spiders reported finding a cave. There were clear footprints leading inside.
Good. Now, we would send a few spiders to investigate, to prevent Jenny from escaping.
While Jenny was wary,
She wouldn't flee from a single spider.
She was strong now.
She wouldn't be intimidated by a weaker opponent.
“Confirmed.”
The spiders returned, their reports identical. We exchanged nods.
Thanks to our rapid progress,
The spiders’ attitude towards me seemed to have shifted.
They looked at me with a newfound respect. Only Arachne, her face beaming with pride, dared to pat my head.
“As expected…”
But I couldn't fully commit to her expectations. I wasn't going to capture Jenny.
“Good. Then let’s assemble a hunting party and enter the cave.”
I made a subtly aggressive suggestion.
And the spiders, believing my reasoning, didn't question it.
“She’s strong and cunning. We should overwhelm her, end this quickly. The longer we wait, the more dangerous it becomes for us.”
Even though Jenny had lost some of her childlike tendencies, she wouldn't engage in a direct confrontation.
Her attack on the injured spider had proven as much.
She was cautious, always trying to avoid being cornered.
So, if the spiders suddenly attacked,
She would flee to protect herself.
“Alright, three of you will enter the cave. The other two will wait outside. If she tries to escape, attack her.”
Arachne followed my suggestion, formulating a plan, but the outcome was already predetermined.
I wasn't going to lose Jenny here.
She was a valuable asset.
Ten minutes later,
A sharp cry echoed through the forest.
“Kyaaagh-!”
It was Jenny.
Birds scattered, fleeing the sound of her roar.
Then, the spiders returned, their faces grim, their bodies dragging something behind them. But it wasn't the [monster]’s corpse.
“W-we’re sorry… she was faster and more agile than we anticipated…”
This wasn't my or Arachne’s fault. The spiders, having failed to capture Jenny despite having tracked her to her lair, were now under scrutiny.
“But we found this in her cave.”
Unable to return empty-handed, the spiders had retrieved Amy.
I stared at her familiar form,
Maintaining my facade of indifference.
“Sigh, did she escape?”
I couldn't show any interest in Amy’s body.
That would come later.
“Let’s just take this and go back. I’m tired…”
***
We returned to the spiders’ territory and took a short break.
While the spiders were disheartened by their failure,
I maintained my confident demeanor, enjoying Arachne’s favor.
“About that… thing your subordinates brought back. If you don’t need it, could you give it to me and my friend? We might be able to use it to fix his leg.”
“His leg?”
“Yes. Those incompetent spiders broke his leg yesterday.”
While parting with a female body was probably unpleasant for Arachne,
She understood my concern for my friend and agreed to my request.
And judging by the spiders’ reactions, they had indeed broken Isaac’s leg. I hadn't lied.
“Fine, take it. How long will it take to repair his leg?”
“About a week.”
And I had been the most valuable asset today.
Arachne had to reward me.
Clang- clang-
Isaac and I began working on Amy's body, using the pieces of his broken prosthetic.
Clang- clang!
The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the cave.
Clang!
One week.
Within a week,
We had to enhance Amy’s combat capabilities and reconnect her to her head.