Chapter 43

chapter 43

‘the enemies still have some time to arrive. before that, let’s think about how to prepare the meal.’

currently, i’m in apartment c3 in block c. the structure here is a corridor-style apartment, with a corridor on each floor, and each floor has six apartments, allowing for a total of six households.

the apartment structure goes up to a total of six floors, excluding the basement, where facilities like generators and shared laundry are located. there are no elevators, and movement is possible only through the stairs at both ends of the corridor.

‘they’ll probably check the structure over there as well.’

even if they don’t, it shouldn’t be a big issue since they have an android that can input apartment data.

‘but androids have their weaknesses.’

androids are very smart but lack autonomous thinking since they operate based on predetermined programs. for example, if you tell an android to guard a building, it will easily eliminate anyone trying to approach or attack from a distance. however, they can’t properly handle unconventional attacks like planting a bomb underground or bombing from the sky.

in fact, when i melted the cooling system of the pirate ship with acidic blood, the android didn’t recognize it as an attack.

human intervention can compensate for the android’s lack of thinking ability. the enemies are likely to deploy a mix of androids and enhanced police officers wearing combat suits.

‘in the game, megacorp players were evaluated based on their ability to balance hulk mutants, humans, and androids.’

megacorp is considered a powerful species in the game due to its flexible playstyle. players could either modify their own genes to play like the cultists or use the ‘hire’ ability to command a large number of troops like the outspacers.

‘this place isn’t a space fortress, so there won’t be hulk mutants. it will probably be a combination of humans and androids.’

the problem is the level of their armament. i recently confirmed that the androids are armed with gauss rifles. assuming the police have similar weapons, they are likely to be equipped with combat suits along with gauss rifles.

‘since this city is wealthy, they’ll probably come wearing intermediate or higher-level combat suits.’

if i were on earth or mars, i would have to fight elite soldiers equipped with plasma weapons and advanced combat suits. however, this place doesn’t have weapons that advanced.

‘still, it won’t be easy.’

laser weapons can’t harm me, but gauss rifles are a different story. i can defend against the main ammunition of gauss rifles, tungsten rounds, thanks to the flesh reinforcement type.

however, the real advantage of gauss rifles lies in their ability to switch ammunition to suit various threats. if they use specialized rounds designed to enhance penetration, my outer shell won’t stand a chance.

‘i need to finish this quickly before the enemies realize.’

i calculated where in the apartment to target the enemies using my auxiliary systems when i noticed 26 and adhai entering my sight.

‘come to think of it, these guys are also predators.’

both sea demons and gallagons belong to the category of high-risk npcs. one is treated as a sub-boss, and the other has a nickname – dragon.

both of them are still young, but it shouldn’t be too challenging for them to hunt the police.

‘number 26 has recently matured, so using psychic powers shouldn’t be too difficult. adhai is a gallagon, so as long as it doesn’t get attacked, there shouldn’t be any major issues.’

if they can accurately target vital spots, even with modest psychic abilities, they can easily kill their enemies. i just need to instruct them on where to aim.

[zz zzzz zzz z (come here, guys)]

i gathered them around.

***

night had fallen in the space city just like any other time. as the black curtain adorned with starlight descended over the entire city, the residential zone was an exception as it lay outside the curtain’s reach.

unlike usual, the residential zone was illuminated as if it were an entertainment district created by humans. there was a profusion of lights on armored trucks, headlights mounted on the reinforced suits worn by the police, and a multitude of colorful lights emanating from various electronic devices that banished the darkness.

but the commotion wasn’t just about the lights. sounds more fitting for an entertainment district than a residential zone filled the apartment complex: the police radios, the heavy footsteps of armed androids, and the sirens of police cars.

“hey, william! are you out of your mind?”

the head of the harbor district security team yelled at william. william, who had been silently inspecting his own reinforced suit, looked at him with an indifferent gaze.

“what’s the matter?”

“why in the world did you call the armed police just to catch one run-of-the-mill troublemaker working with a broker? don’t you realize this will escalate the situation?”

william knew well that the head of the harbor district security team was as greedy as his round belly. he was also aware that a considerable sum of credits had been squandered by broker s among the bulging layers of fat.

“moreover, you searched the material storage team, which has nothing to do with this! this is a clear abuse of power!”

william, who had left the apartment during the day, immediately relayed the information he had collected about broker s to higher authorities, not the harbor district security team, but further up to the earth general security team.

as a result, due to the sudden arrival of the police, the material storage team was in complete chaos. broker s, or rather, sander, was urgently arrested, and those connected to him were one by one locked up in custody.

the material storage team’s sander displayed unusual symptoms following his arrest, seemingly shocked by the fact he was being apprehended. currently, he is in a state of unconsciousness.

having completed the inspection of his reinforced suit, william checked the special ammunition for the gauss rifle and asked, “how did you know about that?”

“which location?”

“apartment 105 on the first floor. m04, who is on standby on the first floor, please check immediately.”

[111, i’ll check.]

m01 gave calm instructions without panic. shortly after, a transmission came from m04.

[m04 reporting. m06’s power unit is destroyed.]

“do we have information on the attack method?”

[m04. it was destroyed by strong physical force. detailed analysis is required.]

william felt something was off with this information. clearly, the first floor had been thoroughly searched, including him, 13 people, and six robots. there shouldn’t have been any hidden spaces for the enemies to sneak into unnoticed.

“please report any unusual findings. we’ll continue the search.”

[111, understood.]

[m04, confirmed.]

as they were about to resume the search, the officer designated as 101 suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“101?”

“...”.

he stood frozen in place as if his body had been forcibly immobilized. then, his head began to turn slowly.

observing this familiar sight, william shouted, “crazy! psychic pow...”

before he could finish, the officer’s neck made a snapping sound as it turned 360 degrees. the police officer, with a completely broken neck, collapsed to the floor like a broken doll.

“it’s an attack!”

“all armed police, activate the psychic shields. androids, be on guard...”

“aaaaargh!”

at that moment, a scream came from behind.

william quickly turned his head and saw the foot of the police officer designated as 112 hanging in the air. some unknown force was coming down the exterior wall of the apartment, dragging the police officer with it.

“open fire!”

seeing this, the police officers and androids began to open fire fiercely. however, the assailant didn’t pay them any mind and continued to drag the police officer away.

william and the armed police officers pressed against the corridor wall and looked up, but all they saw was the pitch-black void.

“the abducted person is officer 112!”

“we’ll check. 112, please respond.”

[chijik, aaargh, chijijik, ah, chijijijijijik.]

amidst the noise, a pained scream mixed in with the sounds, and william clenched his teeth in frustration. m01 mechanically repeated the same words without displaying any emotion.

“112, if you are alive please respond.”

[chijijijijik.]

“one final check.112, if you are alive, please respond.”

[chijik, i’m on the 4th floor. that guy took me.]

“4th floor, confirmed.”

with 112’s response finally coming through with great difficulty, a collective sigh of relief passed through the police officers. everyone empathized with the fact that 112’s life hung by a thread, but being alive was better than the alternative.

“we’ll split into two teams. 102 to 105, along with the chief and me, m02, will search the 2nd floor. the rest will continue searching the 4th floor.”

within less than 30 minutes of entering the building, one police officer and one android had fallen victim, and another officer’s life was in jeopardy. despite the challenging situation, thanks to m01’s command without a hint of hesitation, the atmosphere did not worsen.

however, unlike the other police officers, william found it difficult to shake off an inexplicable sense of unease. could it be that it was a mistake to bring only the police here? such thoughts began to creep into his mind.

it wasn’t because he was a coward; it was something else. when 112 was taken, he had seen it clearly.

the one holding the officer had four arms.

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