Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Play
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“Silver!! Things have gotten out of hand!!”
Big Five was on the phone with Silver, his voice now agitated.
Across from him, he could see the back of Jakal, who was standing still, clothes removed.
Meanwhile, Viper lay on the floor, his face twisted in a grimace, his entire body bound by Big Five’s handcuffs.
“Damn it, did one of them get away…?”
Viper muttered in a voice too low for anyone to hear.
- Yes, Big. What is it?
Unlike Big Five, Silver responded in a calm voice.
“I think our technology is being used for biological experiments!!”
- What did you say…?
“Jakal was experimented on.”
- Ah, I was aware of that.
“What??”
- Wait, calm down, Big.
“How can I be calm! Our technology is being…! No, more importantly, you didn’t tell us!”
- Calm down. Big, I knew Jakal had been subjected to biological experiments, but I didn't know our technology was used. What is Jakal’s condition right now?
Big Five looked back at Jakal once more.
Only then did he notice that Jakal's abdominal area had been modified with a ‘mechanical composite.’
The mechanical composite had a bizarre appearance, almost like a human face.
“It's hard to identify what that is right now. We need to take a look at it ourselves.”
- Understood. I suppose I’ll have to contact Bid908. For now, don't touch it carelessly. Let's have him run a component analysis first.
“Hoo, alright. Come to think of it, we do have him.”
At Silver’s composed voice, Big Five also began to regain his composure.
- Big, it would be best if you contacted Bid and explained the situation in detail.
“Right. I’ll call him now and take Jakal there.”
- Ah, and one more thing!! Jakal!!
Just as Big Five was about to hang up, Silver's urgent voice rang out.
“Yes, Silver.”
- You must explain how you escaped from Taumiel b1.
“Ah… yes, I understand. I will be sure to tell you later.”
Jakal answered hesitantly.
The call ended.
An eerie mechanical sound emanated from Big Five’s body.
*Pshh- Pshh-*
He seemed furious, venting steam wildly.
A massive shadow fell over the bound and prostrate Viper.
“Don't even think this is going to end simply, Viper!!”
Silver ended the call and let out a small sigh.
He didn't show it on the outside, but inside, he was burning with anxiety.
“Silver, I’ve moved all the equipment.”
Enri’s face appeared through the gate.
“Right, good work.”
In that moment, Enri noticed Silver’s worried expression.
“…Is something wrong, Silver?”
Silver quickly raised his head and looked at Enri.
A moment later, Jason and Speeder also emerged from the gate.
He briefly debated whether or not he should tell his comrades about this.
After a moment, he made his decision.
“It seems Jakal's condition is more serious than we thought.”
The trio’s eyes widened.
“Jakal? Is something wrong?”
Enri asked urgently.
Silver remained silent for a moment, as if lost in thought, before slowly opening his mouth.
“…It seems Frontline's technology was integrated into the biological experiments performed on Jakal.”
Speeder blew her whistle as if screaming.
The expressions on Enri and Jason’s faces turned grave.
First the Bluerobic child, and now this. Concrete evidence was starting to pile up.
“Wait! Does that mean Jakal also escaped from Taumiel b1?”
Enri continued speaking rapidly.
“That's right. I actually asked him about that, but he said he'd tell me later.”
“We need to find out how Jakal escaped right now!”
“Calm down. Right now, assessing Jakal's condition is the priority. Big has probably already contacted Bid.”
“Ah, right. Of course. I got too excited.”
Enri momentarily felt ashamed of her words and actions.
“Shin-ju and Jekovic must be deep in their investigation by now.”
Silver watched her with his arms crossed.
“I’d better get in there and help them out.”
Shin-ju’s party was walking along the passage drilled by the mechanical composites.
*Whirr, clank. Whirr, clank.*
After a moment, an opening leading outside appeared in the distance.
Through that hole drifted the sounds of a process you might hear in a giant robot factory, the sound of machine interlocking with machine.
The Bluerobic refugees, including Furen and Sharin, assumed combat stances.
The recent ambush had left their nerves on edge.
The heart-pounding clang of metal etched tension onto their faces.
Meanwhile, Shin-ju stepped forward, leaving them behind.
“I’ll go check it out first.”
He looked at the refugees with a calm expression.
Then he turned his head to look at Jekovic, nodding slightly as if to tell him to follow.
Jekovic, his face scrunched up in reluctance, followed behind Shin-ju.
A moment later, the two of them stared at the scene that unfolded through the opening, their mouths slowly falling open.
*Whirr- clank. Whirr- clank.*
The vast interior of a factory spread out before their eyes.
*Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.*
Molten metal poured from a massive furnace in the distance.
Gears of all sizes spun wildly, and beneath them, a complex web of conveyor belts crisscrossed.
On either side of the conveyor belts, busily moving mechanical arms were visible.
“A Frontline factory.”
Shin-ju muttered.
At his words, Jekovic’s eyes widened.
“So this is…? I’ve only ever heard stories…”
“This place shouldn't be here.”
Just then, a mechanical arm turned toward Shin-ju and Jekovic.
“Down!”
Shin-ju grabbed Jekovic’s mane and pulled him to the floor.
“Hey, that hurts!”
“Shh, quiet!”
Shin-ju pressed flat against the floor and covered Jekovic’s mouth.
“What's wrong? Isn't this an unmanned factory? I don't smell any other living beings.”
“All the machines in here… are a single Frontline planetarian.”
Jekovic’s mouth fell open, unable to comprehend.
“…This entire factory is one giant ‘living being’.”
Shin-ju was the first to raise his upper body, cautiously peeking his head out of the opening.
The conveyor belt continued to move.
Something on it started to come into view.
“Huh…!!”
“What? What is it??”
Jekovic also managed to get up and poke his head through the opening.
“Jekovic, you didn't smell the corpses?”
“Ah…!”
Alien corpses lay on the conveyor belt at regular intervals.
“I didn't smell anything at all.”
“…Are they preserved with some kind of embalming fluid?”
With Frontline technology, it wasn’t impossible.
*Whirr, clank-*
A pair of mechanical arms on either side of the conveyor belt each grabbed one side of a corpse.
*Riiip- Riiip-*
The two arms tore the corpse in half as if it were paper.
*Whirr, clank. Whirr, clank. Whirr, clank.*
And then, the next two mechanical arms in line began installing machine parts inside the bisected corpse.
“Are they using alien corpses as parts….”
Shin-ju muttered, calmly observing the process.
“Ugh… Is all this really necessary?”
“This machine, equipped with advanced technology, can create cyborgs that are half-living, half-machine.”
Shin-ju replied absently to Jekovic’s comment.
“Frontline planetarians don’t normally commit such inhumane acts, do they?”
Jekovic said with a grimace.
“Thinking of Silver and the other Frontline planetarians living on Earth, it's unimaginable.”
“That's right. In fact, the technology to fuse machines and life has been used purely for therapeutic purposes.”
“It was a technology for creating mechanical prosthetics for injured aliens.”
“Hey.”
Startled, Shin-ju and Jekovic spun around.
Furen and Sharin stood there, their nerves on high alert.
“What are you doing?”
“We got tired of waiting.”
As if they had rehearsed it, Sharin and Furen answered in turn, voicing the feelings of the Bluerobic refugees.
“There is a single Frontline planetarian here.”
“What? I don't see anyone…?”
Sharin, who had by now poked her head out of the opening, tilted her head in confusion.
“No.”
Furen muttered as if he knew something.
“That factory itself is a single Frontline planetarian.”
Shin-ju looked at Furen.
“As expected, you knew.”
“I heard about it from Jeg. About a ‘friend’ who serves as a factory…”
“A friend?”
“Yes. He said a Frontline planetarian born in the form of a factory is a kind of mutant. From their perspective… it seems they view such a form as a type of ‘disability’.”
“That's right. I heard the same from Silver.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Sharin turned her head, her face contorted in frustration.
“In other words, that factory is a ‘mutant’ from Frontline.”
“I don’t get it…”
Jekovic tilted his head.
“This kind of repetitive behavior, in particular, suggests a high probability of a developmental disorder.”
Shin-ju looked at Furen.
“It might still be a young one.”
Furen and Shin-ju were now both observing the situation outside the opening.
They were on the same page.
“…Should we try talking to it?”
Furen’s expression showed a moment of contemplation.
“Let’s do this. I’ll provide sniper cover from here. It would be good for you to approach that individual non-threateningly.”
Shin-ju felt a surge of reassurance as he replied.
He looked back at Jekovic and Sharin.
“I’ll try to talk to it.”
“With who?”
Jekovic asked.
“Don't tell me, with the factory???”
Sharin’s expression twisted.
“It’s not a factory. It’s a ‘person’ living on a planet.”
Sharin was so dumbfounded she could only stand there with her mouth agape.
“Listen to Shin-ju, Sharin. He has a plan.”
From behind Shin-ju, Furen placated Sharin.
*Shake, shake.*
Sharin shook her head, taking a step back as if to say, ‘do whatever you want.’
Shin-ju looked at Furen.
“Then I’ll be counting on you again.”
Furen had already finished setting up his sniper tripod in a suitable spot.
“Don’t worry, just go.”
Shin-ju nodded once and stepped out of the opening.
“Be careful!”
Jekovic’s voice followed Shin-ju as he descended.
*Thud, thud, thud.*
Shin-ju walked across the factory floor with both hands raised, signaling he had no intention of attacking.
He looked around.
It truly was a massive factory.
Crimson light from the furnace spilled out from various places.
Geometric gears and machine parts were intricately connected, forming a single system.
Steam hissed in the distance.
*How many years has it been since it was born?*
*Like Furen said, it doesn't seem to be a child.*
The factory's interior felt like the belly of a giant monster.
Shin-ju soon approached the mechanical arm.
He boldly clapped his hands once.
The sound of his clap echoed through the space.
*Whirr, clank, clank, clank, clank.*
Like a scene from a horror movie, countless mechanical arms turned to look at Shin-ju in unison.
A crimson eye was embedded in the center of each mechanical palm.
That part was similar to Jeg.
*Gulp-*
Shin-ju swallowed, maintaining his composure.
*Swoosh, shhh, swish, shh.*
Suddenly, he started miming in a ridiculous fashion.
“…??”
Jekovic and Sharin, who were watching, wore complicated expressions.
The atmosphere had suddenly turned bizarre.
“What the hell… is that guy doing?”
“Is this really the time to be dancing?!”
Sharin and Jekovic stood with their mouths agape, their faces filled with disbelief.
“No, he’s communicating.”
Furen was watching Shin-ju through his sniper scope.
“It's Frontline sign language.”
Furen, who had been wearing a cool expression, let a slight smile grace his lips.
“He certainly has a knack for this. He's trying to lower its guard by communicating with sign language only a native of Frontline would know.”
*Swish, swish, swish.*
Shin-ju was miming with fluid movements.
He even looked like he was having fun.
Shin-ju stopped after a final motion, raising both arms high in a ‘Y’ shape.
He had just finished his ‘introduction.’
The mechanical arms stared down at Shin-ju in silence.
*Creeak, creeak, creeak.*
The arms began to move slightly.
[Earth? Earth.ling?]
One of the mechanical arms sent a signal to Shin-ju.
Shin-ju’s expression brightened for a moment.
*It understands.*
Shin-ju calmly replied with hand gestures.
[Yes.I.am.from.Earth.]
[I.don't.know.Earth.don't.know.Earthling.don't.know.you.]
*Good heavens….*
Furen’s guess was more or less correct.
This factory was a child.
No, to be precise, it was a kind of ‘developmentally disabled’ individual with an adult body but the mind of a child.
Shin-ju focused his mind.
He had to adjust his level of conversation to a child’s perspective.
*Swish- swoosh-*
Shin-ju began to mime.
[Yes.I.am.an.Earthling.I.came.from.another.planet.I.got.lost.I.was.wandering.and.I.met.you.Nice.to.meet.you.]
Shin-ju got to the point using sign language that had a childlike tone.
[What.are.you.doing.here?]
*Whirr.*
Instead of answering, the ‘child’ held up the alien corpse it had just been performing the ‘cyborg modification’ on.
Machine parts clattered out from between the two halves of the alien corpse.
The ‘child’ seemed delighted, swaying the corpse from side to side.
[Play.]