ch4

• Farewell, Miss Anastasia. –

That quiet declaration sent shivers down my spine.

The electric current that had been running through my naked body, which I had been desperately trying to ignore. The fear and tension I had barely overcome tightened their grip once more.

“W-What does that mean?”

• It is as I said. Bio-implant installation is perfect. Cyberware aptitude and application ability verification complete. According to the experiment protocol designed by the Doctor, it is time to move on to the next phase of the project: measuring the combat capabilities of the modified human. –

Clang… Clang…!

Crack…!! Bang!

He walked over to a cabinet in the corner of the operating room and violently ripped open the locked storage door.

The mangled metal plate was thrown into the corner, and the contents of the cabinet were tossed at me.

“Mmph?!”

A wad of black cloth covered my face.

My vision was obscured, so I couldn’t see exactly what it was, but several hard objects fell onto the operating table.

• Prototype Hyper Combat Suit from Heilong Black Dragon Corp., automatic pistol model Peacemaker and spare magazines, and… standard combat rations. Please put everything on and come out to the hallway, and we will begin the experiment. –

“?! …Hey! Wait!!”

The guy, who wouldn’t listen to a word I said, coldly left the operating room.

I really appreciate him bringing me clothes… but I was given so much ominous information at once that it was hard to stay calm.

If ExaTech is the best company in robotics, and Heilong in military equipment, then Enama (Eternal Life) Corporation is the most psychopathic of all Mega Corps, leading the way in human experimentation and modification. If… just if, the experiment to develop the prototypes of the countless modified humans from the game is currently underway…?

The fact that the android deliberately healed me and brought me here. If all of that was part of the experiment protocol’s variable control…?

“Hngh… Hngh…!”

My hands started to tremble again, but I took a deep breath to calm them down a little.

Worry about that later. First, it’s a priority to check the items I’ve been given.

Even though my body is small. I wondered if this would even fit… but the black sports bra and panties stretched as I put my arms and legs through them, clinging to me without any gaps. It’s a little loose and baggy, but the black jacket and pants, and finally the work boots, were clearly prepared for this body as well.

Beep… Beep….

The Cyberware installed with the Implant flickered, analyzing the material and purpose of the clothes I was wearing. Carbon nanofibers… fiberglass… bulletproof fiber… even photocurable resin. Shit, it’s really bulletproof armor and combat gear.

“……. Don’t be ridiculous…!”

I didn’t even entertain the arrogant thought of enjoying my favorite cyberpunk world from the start. The apocalypse dominated by iron, gunpowder, and money was a comedy when viewed from afar, but it was a fucking tragedy from the moment it hit me.

But… I just finished preparing myself, and now you’re trying to kill me right away…?

Click!

I picked up the Heilong Corp. Peacemaker automatic pistol and removed the magazine to check it.

The helpful Cyberware told me the remaining number of bullets even when it was just attached, but now that I thought of it as my only lifeline, I couldn’t bear it unless I saw it with my own eyes.

[ The Peace Maker. Semi-automatic Pistol. Black Dragon Corp. 17/17 ]

“Only 17 bullets…?”

If you include the spare magazine I received as a favor, that’s 34 bullets. It might be enough if the experiment opponent is human, but judging by the way our cocky tin can talks… the answer was already decided.

Gritting my teeth…!!

“As if I’d lose…!”

Early Anastasia is by no means omnipotent. But since she is a combination of traits using all the Neo Haven knowledge I have, there was definitely a victory plan if I used it.

Clang…!! Clatter…….

As I violently shoved the magazine into my jacket pocket, I dropped something next to it. The identity of the object rolling around on the cold operating room floor was… a can.

This must be that combat ration thing….

I don’t know why they gave me MREs when they set up conditions that are hard to endure for even a minute.

Whether it was because of the tension ahead of a potential bad ending, or because of the fishy culture medium that was still bothering my stomach. I didn’t really have an appetite, so I was about to ignore it and go out into the hallway, when the Cyberware’s message popped up again, not even considering the user’s mood.

Beep!

[ 100% Pure Potato Salad Canned ]

[ Bread Canned – Jelly Pie Version ]

“…… Huh?”

……… This is combat rations? I can only laugh in disbelief. Funny… funny.

Did this android bastard think I was a joke…! I’m going to show him the terror of someone who’s really lost their dick.

Thump, thump. As I walked out into the hallway filled with white light, the care bot’s mechanical voice greeted me.

• Specimen Number RoTG-71214 Explanation of combat ability measurement rules to the modified human. Item 1, the participating subject must go to the training bunker at the end of the hallway and try to survive. Item 2, considering the imbalance in armament, the droid will not begin pursuit until 30 minutes have passed. Item 3, the experiment will continue until one side is inoperable. Do you have any questions? –

“…… Okay. What does inoperable mean?”

• In the case of the droid, destruction of the power source Main Core or the central processing unit. In the case of the subject, destruction of the central nervous system. May I begin the experiment? –

…He only says scary things until the end.

“Then… what if I do this! What happens…?”

Click…!

I pulled the Peacemaker out of the holster on my thigh and pointed it straight at him.

• ……. –

“……”

The red scanner blinked again, and the silence grew longer.

Whether he saw that I had no intention of shooting, or he knew that the main parts wouldn’t be damaged by a girl firing a pistol in bursts. As expected… bluffing in front of a machine was too much.

“Haa… Okay. I’ll run away quietly. Is that okay…?”

• Thank you for your active cooperation. Specimen Number RoTG-71214. Then, Wednesday, July 15, 2195, 11:34 PM. Combat ability measurement ex… –

Bang!!

Just before he finished speaking, I kicked off the hallway floor and ran out.

Indeed, the Hyper Combat Suit of the future Chinese friends. Even someone like me, whose physical abilities are at rock bottom, was able to approach the droid at a fairly fast speed.

• That is a violation of the rules. –

Crackle…!!

He approached, almost completely grinding up the floor tiles. As if to make me realize what kind of disaster I had brought upon myself, the saw blade attached to the mechanical arm rotated terrifyingly, and the muzzle was aimed at my head.

But… the only things directly targeting me were the arms and pincers that could be operated safely and delicately.

Whoosh!!

• !! –

My knees throbbed. I suddenly slammed on the brakes and leaned back. If this continued, I would either be caught in the broken debris and my pretty body would be torn to shreds, or I would be seriously injured by the threatening saw blade, or I would fall and crack the back of my head, one of the three.

Of course. He had no intention of really harming me, so he almost jumped and wrapped his arms around me, rolling down the hallway.

Crash!

• What the &*%^(&…?! –

“Oh my god…! A stupid tin can that tries to gloss over ridiculously expensive natural food cans! By calling them simple combat rations needs to be taught a lesson by a human!!”

The CPU of a human-like care bot is usually in the head. The CPU of a spider-like droid is usually in the torso, so I put my hands on his neck this time to make sure I gained control. And activated the prepared traits.

Trait: SLI Syndrome

With an electrical signal that can be emitted at will, you can attempt to hack any electronic device that you touch. However, your location is always exposed to electromagnetic wave detection.

Trait: Born in a Lab

Intelligence and all bio-implant compatibility are maximized. However, affinity with all characters starts at -10, and you are always chased by corporate pursuit squads.

My will flowed through the fingertips gripping his neck and into the android’s circuits. Although there was no connectable network, so I couldn’t install a hacking tool to help me… there was no need to break through a complex security system here.

It’s just that, I need him…! He gave me a scare under the guise of a despicable experiment! I’m just demanding a detailed explanation from the tin can that tried to make me escape to the bunker first!

“Imprint the priority commander’s order!! The droid must stop all actions and is prohibited from evading or lying about the given questions!”

• …Priority commander’s order confirmed, switching to standby mode. –

As the mechanical arms that had been supporting my body released, my body tumbled to the floor. I would have been hurt in a strange way if I didn’t have the suit. But there was no time to hesitate. AI with an ego can overwrite the code themselves, so if I don’t continuously try to hack them, they will quickly break free from control.

“Okay…. Why did you hide your name?”

• The Doctor expressed concern that a newborn bird might regard and follow the first object it encounters as its mother. Forming an excessive attachment with an android will not help Miss Anastasia’s survival at all. –

“…… Then what are these cans?”

• A gift from Doctor Macrovich for Miss Anastasia. He said it was a birthday food from one of the old countries, Russia. –

“……”

I bit my lip.

This was also for me…. That was also for me…. Anger surged. I may not know much about the world, but I’m not a lab rat.

“Last question. By any chance… are Enama Corporation’s Seekers already here?”

• ……. –

Thump…!

Without answering, he arbitrarily released standby mode and jumped up.

Yeah… I knew it. Now that the great Mega Corp has noticed that there are assets left, there’s no way they wouldn’t try to recover them.

• …A one-person escape pod is prepared in the bunker. –

“If I get out safely in that. Do you know how I should live? If you want to help me that much, stay alive and stay by my side until the end. Don’t stupidly fight the pursuer squad alone and get completely destroyed!!”

• …. –

Looking at me, panting after pouring everything out. He finally changed the protocol.

• There are still unneutralized defense systems and turrets on the upper floors of the laboratory. If you can block the pursuer squad’s system access by hacking from the control room, I will use all the equipment to resist as much as possible. –

“Now you’re talking…!”

The mechanical arm, still cold but feeling much more human than before, wrapped around me.

Thump, thump, thump…!

And just like that. Through the elevator shaft, our tin can, carrying the person to be protected, came up to the ground floor of the laboratory and left me in the empty control room, saying he would go to the hangar to get additional weapons. The monitors in the control room were already showing pursuers approaching on hovercrafts.

Additional weapons that are essential in this situation. What could it be…?

In truth, even with the ExaTech parts bolted onto his original, simple caretaker robot frame, there was a slight sense of unease about facing the corporation’s hounds.

Beep…!

[Main system access confirmed, identity verification…. Welcome, Miss Anastasia.]

Using the forged employee ID left behind by the Doctor who spectacularly self-destructed underground, she accessed the lab’s mainframe.

Since she was suddenly thrown into a real-world situation, she decided to practice operating the touch panel and manipulating electrical signals a bit more, and also to satisfy her curiosity. She called up the list of items stored in the hangar…

This… you damn tin can! You have stuff like this, but you only gave me a single pistol…?

I’m just speechless…!

• To form the final defense line for the Enama Corporation Research Lab, initiating the combination of discarded droids and external weapon mount, Goliath. Miss Anastasia, are you ready? –

“…Not as ready as you are.”

• Recalculating Miss Anastasia’s survival probability…. 63%. That’s not enough. –

She answered the incoming communication as curtly as possible, but our brilliant tin can seemed preoccupied with preparing a welcoming greeting for the approaching pursuer squad.

Wreeee—!

With a tremendous roar, assault rifles were loaded, and red lights simultaneously illuminated the bodies of the robots that had been powered down.

• Miss Anastasia’s dedicated carebot Tin Can, activating extermination mode. –