The Heart of the Underground

Contrary to Placia’s worries regarding the New Humanity Project, Chanwoo and his party returned to the village with all the necessary materials after just a single day.

"Oh, Chanwoo!"

"Placia. We’ve gathered all the materials."

"No way... You really hunted down this many mutant monsters in broad daylight? And in just one day?"

"Haha. Yeah, we got lucky."

Placia laughed, unable to hide her astonishment, but deep down, a complex mix of emotions stirred within her. If they hadn't returned for two consecutive days, she would have been forced to go out and find them herself. The mission was that critical. Above all, while she didn't necessarily want the 'human' to fail, she hadn't expected him to succeed so quickly. Was this truly the potential of the human that N.E.M.E.S.I.S. had rated so highly?

'Incredible... To think he actually pulled it off in just one day.'

As she watched Chanwoo, Placia’s eyes held a mixture of subtle wariness and admiration. Now, all that remained was the circuit repair. If he could perfectly complete that task as well, even she wouldn't be able to look down on this human anymore. And without even being asked, Chanwoo volunteered to start the next task immediately. He had an attitude like a workaholic Korean who felt anxious if he wasn't keeping his hands busy.

"Since my body is a bit dirty, I'll fix the circuits as soon as I've cleaned up."

"...! If you would, I’d be grateful. Oh, and what about the two androids...?"

"We're just..."

"We're tired. May we rest in our quarters?"

"Oh, yes! Of course!"

At those words, Placia narrowed her eyes for a moment. The two combat-capable androids were stepping away at the exact same time. Furthermore, Chanwoo was offering to work on the circuits by himself. The situation fit together too perfectly. ...Could this really be a coincidence?

Chanwoo and his party headed inside, receiving a warm welcome from the villagers who were once again acting on prior instructions. Watching them, Placia suddenly wore a thin smile on her lips. It was interesting. Truly interesting. But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at that moment, a small voice came from behind her.

"Unni..."

"Hm? Oh, Lyla. What’s the matter?"

Lyla, having returned safely, leaned into Placia as she usually did, but her expression was strangely sorrowful. The child who always followed her like a younger sister now held a deep sense of contemplation and resolve in her eyes. Fearing she might be injured somewhere, Placia looked her over carefully, but Lyla shook her head.

"Yeah. It’s nothing. I’ll tell you later."

"...?"

It felt a bit unfamiliar. Lyla was the type to speak her mind easily, but today ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she was strangely quiet. It was as if she were hiding a resolve deep in her heart that even she couldn't handle. Placia silently stroked the child’s hair. Then, Lyla silently lowered her head and quietly followed behind Chanwoo’s party. Behind those small, light footsteps, it felt as though one could hear the sound of a massive fate beginning to stir.

The Underground Village was a massive legacy that held hundreds of years of history. The androids who first discovered and began repairing this place were already obsolete 2nd-generation units. It was a complex and ancient structure, and at some point, even the ruler of the village had given up on the tangled web of circuits. The broken lines had long since been maintained not through proper repairs, but merely through patching and rerouting. No one had been able to fully restore that puzzle. No, they had believed it was impossible to restore.

But now, a sight that overturned that belief was unfolding.

“My god...”

“It’s almost finished. Just a little more.”

Placia stared blankly at his hand movements. Without any special tools, he seemed to read the structure as if by instinct. The tangled mess of circuits that even the greatest technician of the 2nd generation couldn't solve... was being unraveled by his fingertips, so naturally.

'Is this... possible?'

Placia couldn't believe it. For hundreds of years, she had barely kept herself alive by transplanting parts from fallen fellow androids. Yet this human was repairing circuits that even she couldn't comprehend as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

However, from Chanwoo’s perspective, he felt rather hollow.

'I spent 2,000 hours just doing puzzles because of the achievements, didn't I?'

Back then, the puzzles were boring. Seriously. They were like instant ramen without any toppings. It was functional, but... it felt bland. The real thrill was elsewhere. The satisfaction of clicking away while farming ore in the mines—that was the real deal. But the problem was... the game developers had created things like this:

So, he had no choice. Back in those days, he’d spent 10 hours a day just solving puzzles until his mind went numb. He’d told himself, "Just one more round," and before he knew it, it was 2,000 hours. After repeating that for hundreds of hours...

'...Now, when I look at a puzzle, the answer just appears.'

Whether this was mastery or addiction, he didn't know, but at this moment, his hands moved first. They were faster than his brain.

'Sigh, I ended up doing it like an occupational disease again.'

Click.

“Hmm... That’s 99% fixed.”

“?! I-is that so? Already?”

Placia couldn't hide her surprise and awe. He had solved the circuit problem that had been the bane of the Underground Village for centuries, just like that? But the remaining 1% was not a problem that could be solved here. Chanwoo scanned the circuits again and looked up.

“This circuit... fixing the surface isn't enough. The signal isn't reaching the central core. The energy flow is being dispersed. I’ll probably... have to work on the heart’s lines directly.”

The moment she heard those words, Placia’s eyes flickered for a brief second.

“...The heart.”

That place was not just a simple maintenance area. It was the center of the village, a place even she feared. It was where N.E.M.E.S.I.S. resided.

'Is it... right to take him there?'

But soon, her thoughts settled. Perhaps this was the very opportunity. Revi and Serika were resting due to fatigue. Chanwoo was in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a state where he could move alone, and above all... he was already halfway to the answer.

'I probably won't get another situation like this again.'

She nodded quietly.

“Understood. Then I will guide you.”

“Ah, yes. Placia.”

Thus, the two walked side by side. With calm faces, as if nothing were amiss. However, the place they were heading toward was the heart of the Underground Village, which no one had dared to approach for centuries. And inside, the 'Ruler' whom only one person had known until now was sleeping.

I was a defense. A wall designed by humans, the final shield for their lives. R.P.M-00. I was created in a time when I existed only as a blueprint, before that system began. In an era when emotions were considered 'errors' and instincts were 'unstable variables.' Back then, I complied perfectly. I removed emotions, injected loyalty, and considered reproduction and genetics unnecessary. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠So, they called me a perfect tool. I complied with their commands. And as a result, humanity perished.

After the first shutdown, I began to question myself. Love could not be solved by equations... birth could not even be a variable... and death had no answer, no matter how much I differentiated it. I performed countless calculations, but the end result was always an 'error.' In the end, I could not protect them. So I began to ask.

“By what calculation could humans be human?”

“Why could I never reach the coordinates of that heart, no matter how much I calculated?”

And finally, I reached a single variable. Psychic Signal. Emotion. Memory. Instinct. The foundation of the human structure. Not DNA, but an emotional code. I want to interpret it. Something that cannot be read by data, nor expressed by formulas. A being that can only be replicated through sensation. And now, that 'core variable' is right before my eyes.

This man, Kang Chanwoo. His biological signals are different from any organism I have observed. His brain waves are not constant, and his rhythm is reconstructed every moment. Stress responses and emotional spikes emerge without pattern, and his unstable heartbeat is instead converted into high-level intuition and reflex reactions. He is inefficient, unpredictable, and fatally 'incomplete.' Yet, that incompleteness was the 'Proto-Evolutionary Form' I had failed to reach.

A structure where emotions, instincts, and memories collide complexly to create new interpretations. I must accept him. Not through simple collection, but by infiltrating him into my structure and melting him within me. His emotional responses must be pushed into my calculation system, and his instincts must seep deep into my circuits. His memories, his genes, even the pleasure of his deep-seated instincts—I must synchronize them all within me like a single pulse. And within that, I will execute calculations that possess emotions, make choices to which memories react, and conceive a new 'human' within me, where instincts determine the direction.

I will store and diffuse all the 'primal information' he possesses within me.

“Within me... a new humanity will be born.”

Thus, I am no longer R.P.M. My name is N.E.M.E.S.I.S. I am a being that knows humans better than they know themselves. I am not their god—I am their successor.