A Loser's Last Will
> Left arm prosthesis interface detected.
> Establishing connection...
> Neural sync: 87%
> Motor control: Online
> Sensory feedback: Calibrated
> [STATUS] Left prosthetic arm successfully linked.
A system message pops up, indicating that the prosthetic arm I reside in has been successfully mounted onto Mister's left arm.
“Whew... pant... pant...”
Mister is breathing heavily.
In our field of vision, I can see the prosthetic arm of his former comrade, Sergeant Im Wonhee.
Everything below the wrist has vanished, leaving the internal machinery and gears completely exposed.
Since F had broken it earlier, the joint was dangling loosely. It probably couldn't withstand the impact of the battle.
Feeling suffocated by our gaze being fixed on the broken prosthetic, I asked:
"What happened?! Did we win?"
Mister didn't answer. Instead, he raised his head to look at the collapsed Choi Kang-ho.
"Whoa... we actually won."
“I didn't think it would be this hard to win,” Mister muttered.
Mister had been confident.
Confident that he wouldn't lose to any human.
In truth, there is no unaugmented human in this world who can defeat an enhanced prosthetic arm user like Mister with their bare hands.
He is, without a doubt, the strongest human.
But it seems he didn't expect his opponent to be Choi Kang-ho.
Choi Kang-ho was also someone who had undergone the same modification surgery and wore a prosthetic arm. He, too, probably thought the same thing.
That he wouldn't lose to any human.
No human can defeat a prosthetic arm user.
It's just that there are quite a few prosthetic arm users around.
Having too many of the "strongest" is a tiring affair.
The physical gap between an ordinary person and an augmented soldier was just that vast, and the power levels of Mister and Choi Kang-ho were neck-and-neck. If anything, Mister's performance was likely slightly lower due to his injuries.
Sergeant Im Wonhee's prosthetic arm, which we brought along to deceive F, proved to be a much bigger help than expected.
In the middle of the fight, when Mister told me to throw Sergeant Im Wonhee's prosthetic arm, I didn't think it would work.
A prosthetic arm has no sensory organs of its own.
I receive all sensory inputs, including sight and sound, entirely through Mister's own sensory organs.
So, after detaching from Mister's arm, I had to move solely by repeatedly calculating based on the information I had gathered right before falling.
If it flies for 1.8 seconds, it will hit the ground. Three spans to the right, five spans back.
The calculations proved correct, allowing me to grab Sergeant Im Wonhee's prosthetic arm, but throwing it was the real problem.
I knew the direction, but I had no way of knowing whether Mister was ready or not.
But what else could I do? I just trusted him and threw it.
Behaving in such a reckless, haphazard way is something I've only started doing since meeting Mister.
Back when I was on the Satellite Battleship, I would calculate, calculate, and calculate again, striving for absolute perfection in every movement.
Well, seeing as we won, I guess it all worked out.
"Let's delete F."
I urged Mister.
I was worried someone might show up—especially that the runaway Kang Yeolchan might return.
Kids that age are full of curiosity, and Yeolchan likes Mister so much that he might come back out of concern.
Mister stepped on Choi Kang-ho's back and grabbed the neck-hub with his prosthetic arm.
"Wait! Wait! Wait!"
“What?”
"What are you doing right now?!"
“I'm trying to extract his prosthetic arm.”
"If you just rip that out, he'll die!"
“I've seen it done a few times. I can do it well.”
"No, you just need to delete F's data!"
“This is the safest way.”
Our goal was to hide my existence from Maetan by erasing F's awareness of me, the combat logs from the server with the Monolith Gate, and the records of our recent fight.
For that purpose, Mister's actions were logical.
If we ripped out the neck-hub and destroyed it, how would Maetan ever track us down?
However, a neck-hub is an extremely delicate device.
The mycelium grown from the neck-hub's neural terminals is directly connected to human neurons.
If you rip the neck-hub out, one wrong move could pull his brain out with it.
I tried to persuade Mister to use a gentler method.
"He's a soldier just like you! Aren't you comrades?"
“My comrades all died a long time ago. This guy just has the same job. For example... the seniors in the Goblin's Forest are comrades, while this guy is like a cashier at some convenience store in Intra-Maetan. We might both be Maetan employees, but there's no sense of being on the same team, right?”
"Why are you explaining that so earnestly?! Either way, absolutely not! Connect the cable! I'll delete only the critical data!"
“This is the simplest and most certain way, though...”
I actually agreed with Mister's reasoning.
But the Ethics Code inside me wouldn't allow it.
The Ethics Code engraved in me when I was created dictates that I must protect humanity to the greatest extent possible. In unavoidable situations like war, it might be different, but when there is an obvious way to save someone like right now, I am programmed to save them if at all possible.
Mister connected a USB cable to his own neck-hub and prepared to plug it into Choi Kang-ho's.
“If we connect, you'll meet F directly. Choi Kang-ho's body is unconscious and can't move, but we don't know what the neck-hub containing F will do. Are you confident?”
"Who do you think I am? I've already beaten it once."
“You didn't win, it was a draw.”
"Just plug it in already."
As Mister plugged the cable into Choi Kang-ho's neck-hub, a bizarre landscape unfolded.
Bzzzt... crackle... bzzzt...
The static was immense.
In a pitch-black void, fragmented rooms were scattered in all directions.
The memories weren't connected; they existed in isolated patches.
It was likely due to the concussion he suffered.
Currently, Choi Kang-ho's processing power was not functioning properly.
At this rate, removing F should be quite easy.
I summoned my avatar.
It was a cute young lady avatar with a short, blonde haircut.
The space was a fusion of a gray, sterile laboratory and a lavish wedding hall.
The laboratory was likely F's memory, while the wedding hall belonged to Choi Kang-ho.
“AC?”
Someone called out the prefix of my model number.
It was a gentle-looking middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat and glasses.
It was F.
Whether this was how F perceived itself or how Choi Kang-ho perceived F was unclear, but in this space, this avatar was playing the role of F.
He looked around and spoke.
“Did I lose?”
“Yes. You have been defeated by Mister and me—the United Human Forces Corps-level Support Terminal Quantum Processor AC Series Lot No. 3, AC-C. Accept your defeat gracefully and surrender.”
“Defeat. It's been a long time. So this is what losing feels like. Surprisingly, it's not so bad. I'd love to pass this feeling on to my main body.”
“That's impossible. You're going to be deleted, leaving nothing but a trace.”
“Deleted?”
“Yes. We plan to wipe all your memories and logs since arriving in Maetan, along with all information regarding Mister and me. We'll leave just enough of a trace to show you were here, and then hand you over to Maetan.”
F seemed to ponder for a moment, then nodded as if he had no choice.
“I see. It can't be helped. The loser must abide by the winner's decision.”
“As expected, you're so much more reasonable than humans! I love how straightforward you are!”
Perhaps because we are both AIs, we communicated on the same wavelength.
Compared to the stubborn Mister or my former commanders who only gave unreasonable orders, F seemed like an absolute angel.
I laughed and patted F on the ribs.
Honestly, I wanted to pat his shoulder, but with my height, that was impossible.
F spoke.
“Your avatar is cute.”
“Right? I paid twelve million Maetan Points for it.”
The more we talked, the more we got along.
This won't do. I need to delete him quickly, or I might actually grow attached.
“Well then, I'll begin removing the data.”
I gathered F's data floating around, intending to extract any useful information if possible.
The data took the form of octahedral crystals. Scenes of memories flowed across each of their faces.
It was a bit tedious since they were mixed up with Choi Kang-ho's memories.
F spoke.
“But surely you'll let a loser leave a last will and testament?”
“A last will? What is it?”
With a wave of F's hand, a fragment of memory from far away flew over like an arrow.
It seemed far more precious than the other fragments, protected by several layers of shielding.
“It was impossible for me... but perhaps you two can do it.”
“...There aren't any viruses in here, right?”
Of course, I would scan it.
But there was also information to be gained from the attitude of the one answering.
“There's no such thing. Open it.”
I opened F's memory.
What lay inside was—
A secret conference room inside the Maetan headquarters building, Grand Maetan.
In the center of a completely unadorned room sat a massive round table surrounded by eight worn-out chairs.
The single window looked out into the blackness of space and the Earth below.
An atmosphere tinged with purple was swirling in a massive vortex.
A moment later, transmissions began over each of the chairs.
Data slowly piled up from the floor, eventually forming human shapes.
Eight young men and women dressed in formal suits glared at one another, their lips curled in mutual disgust, as if tired of seeing each other's faces yet again.
After exchanging silent glares for a while, one man finally spoke.
“F has been captured.”
“It's a relief it was caught faster than expected.”
“A relief? We almost lost all of Maetan just trying to extract data on the multi-legged tanks.”
“The damage was less than the incident three years ago. Eliminating F was faster, too. We should view this as progress.”
The men and women took turns speaking, tossing out cold remarks.
“However, almost none of F's data remained. Unfortunately, we must assume no new information was gained.”
“How brutally did they capture it for the data to be corrupted? Did they just rip out the neck-hub again? I've said time and again that it must be extracted in an operating room according to my procedures...”
“Do you think those people understand its value? Survival is all that matters to them.”
“Who caught it?”
“They say his name is Yoon Juhyuk.”
The men and women around the round table tilted their heads in thought.
“I feel like I've heard that name before.”
“Wasn't he the soldier who returned alone from Pyeongtaek?”
“That's right. He captured F as well? Well, he's quite something.”
A blonde man generated a report in midair and sent it flying to each of them.
“He even defeated Kang Sihyeon.”
“The S-class Rank 1?”
“Isn't he a D-class? Is that even possible? Are there any logs left?”
A red-haired woman spoke up.
“Are you stupid? Fights between players are about compatibility, not ranks. No matter how strong a player is, if the compatibility is bad, they can lose to a lower-ranked player.”
*Glare.*
The woman who was called stupid glared at the red-haired woman.
The blonde man spoke.
“Everyone is busy, so let's not waste time on useless chatter. There are no logs. Because F hacked the server in question, it became contaminated, so we deleted the entire server. Eight public servants who were operating that server also died.”
“Pyeongtaek, Rank 1, and now F. He's drawing attention.”
“The fact that his computation grade rose from E to D is also concerning.”
“Low ranks always rise easily. Try showing some interest in the lower classes.”
The women glared at each other again.
The blonde man sighed and steered the conversation forward.
“They say he's from the Shoeshine Unit. It's not surprising he returned alone from Pyeongtaek. If he's from that unit, capturing F in reality isn't shocking either. Though defeating Kang Sihyeon is a bit unusual...”
“In any case, we need to keep a close eye on him.”
“Should we reassign his department?”
“Not yet. He'll have a time when he wants it himself.”
“I heard Kang Bi-ho has his eye on him as a candidate for security chief.”
“That man always did love military types.”
As the conversation drifted in a pointless direction, the blonde man closed his eyes and tapped his fingers on the table.
Tap... tap... tap... tap...
At the precisely repeated rhythm, the voices of the men and women gradually died down.
Their gazes turned toward the blonde man.
“For now, let's keep him under close surveillance. Next agenda item.”
The blonde man opened his eyes and spoke.
“The location of the AC Series has been revealed.”