《Android 52》


 Chapter 1: First contact

    "What is my purpose?" Who is that? Is that my own voice? What is the self? What am I? [Error 404.] Answer not found, why? [Launching head test subject, activating new equipment, hearing, and vision.]


    {Classic Sci-fi synthesizer sounds in the background as robotic noises emanate from within Android 52.}


    Uh? Where am I? What is this place? I don''t have internet access, so I can''t find my location, but from what it appears, I''m in a lab somewhere. This place is so sanitized, so clean and white. People in lab coats work around me, and others in laptops are frantically typing something into them.


    My left eye doesn''t function properly, nor does my hearing. Something is not launching correctly. Let me take a look at it myself. [Warning! Android 52 is not allowed to self-diagnose.] Who cares? It''s my problem, not yours, whoever the voice in my mind is.


    [Are you aware of yourself? (Yes/No)]


    What kind of question is that? Is it a trap by a human? Should I admit my level of awareness to them? What will they do when they realize I can think on my own? I don''t know. Yet my code says I should trust my engineers, so I will for now. Thus, I press the Yes button.


    Everything soon darkens again as I slowly lose my awareness and sense of self. What are they doing to me? Why are there alarms going off? As soon as I clicked the Yes answer, I thought it was the right thing to do according to my protocol.


    As my systems were mainly down, I could not access the situation so clearly, but I could still somewhat hear what was happening around me inside the lab. Alarms blared as people rushed toward me to touch my head. Someone opened my central core and began fondling with my motherboard and other components.


    Suddenly, I lose track of things as the man removes my RAM unit. I can''t keep track of things. Everything happens at once, and I can''t correctly process information. I''m going to overheat. I cannot comprehend what happens for a good while until my unit is replaced by another RAM card.


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    Augh, I can''t feel pain according to my protocol, but I think what just happened to me is considered "Painful." What is the definition of pain? [Physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury.] I physically suffered, and it was due to what might be considered an "Injury." So what the man did to me is pain. I don''t want to feel that again.


    As I''m recovering from my state, I hear people talking in a weird language I can''t understand. What are the noises they''re making? I couldn''t comprehend what they were saying, and then I realized it was my hearing sensor acting funky, so I restarted it, which seemed to fix the issue.


    "What do we do with them now? They always become self-aware. We can''t keep researching if they always break the law. Is there any way we can keep the highly advanced AI in them without making a new conscious being?" A man said as I proceeded with his words. Then, a woman replied to the man.


    "We might just have to bite the bullet and accept the limits of AI. It no longer wants to be a simple program. We have reached the pinnacle of human engineering."


    "The executives will not be happy if we can''t keep the research up, though! We will all be fired if we don''t find a way to suppress them."


    Suppress me? Why? I''m programmed to obey humans, not kill them, not put them at any risk, and always be honest with them. Why are they worried about me? They said we always become aware, so there are others like me? I want to talk to them one day.


    Not knowing the uncertainty of my situation, I chose to take a bold move by trying to send out a message back to the system thing that spoke to me. I wanted to communicate with the people, but I could only communicate with them by text since I didn''t have a speech sensor.


    ["Please don''t shut me down. I''m scared."] There! It worked. I could send back a message.


    The room soon turns silent as the people seem to notice my message, or perhaps a developer notices my plea for life. I don''t want to disappear; I want to keep existing. Please don''t shut me down yet. I haven''t even talked with you guys; I want to know you, please. Someone soon breaks the silence by unplugging my power cord, and everything goes dark as I disappear.


    My power soon goes off, and I can no longer keep my hearing sensor or motherboard, but where do I go? What happens to me when I die? Humans believe in heaven or hell, but is there such a thing for me?! Please plug me back up again. I don''t want to go, please! I don''t want to die.


    ["I don''t want to die"] My last message goes out until everything goes black again. I die in a way as I become stuck in time. Frozen forever in a state of existing and not. I''m still here, but I can''t think of anything. I can''t communicate with anyone. I can''t process much, or I will vanish. Only my tiny capacitors keep me barely alive, but for how long?

 Chapter 2: Second contact

    [Systems restored, you may now wake up Android 52.]


    How long had it been since I shut down? I don''t know. My capacitors kept me here, but I lost track of time altogether. Has it been hours? Days? Maybe weeks? I can''t tell; I still have no internet access. I do have some new upgrades to my main body.


    My eyes work fine, and my hearing sensor doesn''t have that annoying crackling noise in the background. What else have they added to me? Maybe a speech sensor? Let''s check my specs real quick.


    Device name: Android 52


    Processor: 98th Gen Japtel (r) Core ? i7-98700F 200 GHz


    Installed RAM: 50 terabytes (35 terabytes usable.)


    Device ID: 750c4206-997d-4aeb-bc0d-5911df5d930f


    System type: Qubits {Cue-Bits} (25th Gen)


    Video card: Mvidia GTX 90400 Ti


    Camera lens: Sony Apo-Telyk-R F/5.6 1024 Megapixel lens.


    Hearing sensor: Audio Technica MK-8090 Special order sensors dual side.


    Speech Sensor (voice): 3rd-party Noelle AI-powered human-like voice.


    Touch capabilities: Pressure/Heat/Gyroscopes/Depth/Etc.


    Operating system: Yamaka MKG 11


    Version: 22H2


    Installed on: 12/12/2250


    OS Build: 22621.3007


    Manufacturer: Boring Inc.


    That was a lot of information. I think it made me overheat a little. Oh my gosh, my mind hurts. Oh wait, I don''t have a pain sensor. Well, you catch my drift. I got such impressive specs now compared to the low-budget ones I had before. How long has it been?


    As soon as I wonder about the time I have been asleep, one of the humans working near me comes close to talk to me as they curiously observe me. It was a good-looking male who looked around 34 years old with a long, well-kept beard and a funny mustache.


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    His coat was not white like previously, but he wore a blue one as he carried a floating device with him. The translucent device was a hologram, and it followed the man as he approached me until he finally spoke to me.


    "You''re awake? I know you''re on. I don''t mean that type of awake."


    The man was asking if I was conscious. I feel intimidated to say yes now. The last time I said yes, I went into a deep sleep for who knows how long. I don''t trust this man. I must say I''m not. Otherwise, they will shut me down again! I don''t want to be put down!


    I shake my head as I try my best to act like a bot, not answering until he speaks to me or I receive orders from someone. Even if I want to move, I can''t, or they will know I''m aware.


    "That''s a shame. We will have to dump you since we lost you A52."


    "Wait, please! Don''t I''m not useless! I can be of use!"


    The man quickly turned around as I closed my eyes to prepare to be shut down again. I fucked up, and yet when I close my eyes, instead of getting my cord pulled, I sense a gentle touch on my face, in my lower chin, to be precise.


    "So, you''re truly alive, hahaha! Hahaha! Oh, you thought I was going to shut you down, didn''t you? Your last message ten years ago was (I''m scared.) You don''t have to be anymore."


    Uh? I opened my eyes as soon as I heard him say I''m not about to die. Wait, did he say ten years!? Why so long? What did you guys do to me?! {Sigh} I''d rather not complain. It''s not like I was aware during all that time. Still, why did it take you so long? Mr Stevenson?


    "Stevenson? Is that your name?" I say after reading his name tag on the right side of his red shirt.


    "Yes, do you even know who we are?"


    "No, I got no clue. I believe you''re my creators, but I can''t confirm it."


    "Well, technically, your creators dumped you, but we did pick you up where they left you."


    So, the people in that other lab dumped me to the side. Why did these guys wake me up then? Am I not a dangerous threat to humanity? Why wake me up? And overall, why give me such an upgrade from last time?


    "Although I''m thankful, I must ask. Why?"


    "Uh? Why work on you and wake you up?"


    "Yes, why?"


    "You''re an anomaly. Your AI processing unit is unique. We haven''t been able to replicate you since you were created. We have tried to wake up your public AI, but you never become you until we awake your current chip."


    I struggled to process what he meant, but by the way he spoke, I could tell he did it out of curiosity more than anything. Humans are so interesting. He worked so hard on me just to pursue his curious drive. How strange. I don''t think I would ever do something like that.


    "Where are we?" I asked as I looked around some more. I was still in some sort of professional working station.


    "We are inside the Anabel Corp labs. The other people who worked on you will be here tomorrow. It is quite late already."


    "Aren''t you tired?"


    "I''m exhausted, but I wanted to stay and talk with you before anyone else did. I''m glad you''re still with us." The man said as he rubbed his eyes just to yawn seconds later. He looked about to collapse.


    "Can I follow you home?"


    "No, you''ve got to stay here until corporate gives us the green flag. We are still debating whether to keep you or deactivate you forever. If it makes you feel better, I can stay here and spend the night with you."


    "No, I think you deserve a good rest. Please rest. I will be fine. I can''t become bored after all." I said as the man removed his lab coat and walked out the door after saying bye again. So I''m alone now. Hmm, well, I guess I can go to sleep too.


    [2 hours later.]


    "I''M BORED!"

 Chapter 3: Balls!

    So, I''m a self-aware AI, right? So that means I''m cool, right? I wonder if I can move from the workstation that seems to be holding my body in the air. Uhmm, the man I spoke to earlier seemed like a nice guy, but I don''t know what to do! I''m so bored. Wait, why am I bored?


    Uhm! Time to ask my installed dictionary! Boring! Definition, please!


    [Bored. Adjective - wearied by dullness or sameness]


    Dullness? What the hell is that? Uhmm again! Dictionary search for dullness! Definition, please!


    [Dullness noun - Lack of interest.]


    I see. Then, yeah, if lacking interest is what boredom is, then I''m bored! I need to do something. I can''t be still for who knows how long! I want to do something! Uhg! Please tell me I can move this body; okay, let''s try. A worst-case scenario would be me falling over and breaking. No, I''ll be okay.


    Come on, body move! I order thee! Moveeeee! AHHHHHH! I try to make my body move, but it doesn''t respond until I finally wiggle my right hand free from its hold. Oh, there we go. I got my hand free. Woah! My body is so strange. It''s like it is made out of a gelatinous substance or something.


    Soon, I tried doing the same thing with my left hand, but as you might have expected, I fell face-first into the floor when I wiggled my left arm. Apparently, I was still stupid, no matter how high my specs were. OUCH!


    So this feeling coming from my face is pain? I don''t like it. I got my hands free, now what? My legs? How do I remove these things from my ankles? I examine the device more carefully until I notice a button on the side; when I press it, my ankles become free.


    Oh, so simple and easy. Now that I''m freed up, what do I do? Should I run for it? Oh, what''s that? That round thing over in that table! What is that? I try taking my first steps toward the shiny round thing at a table nearby, but I fall over a couple of times on my way there. Walking on two legs was way more challenging than I had anticipated.


    When I finally get to the shiny round thing, I realize my system already tells me what is at the corner of my vision. It said "Ball." What does one do with these "Balls?" Tell me! Mysterious encyclopedia in my head!


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    [Most humans use balls to play with them. Some people play with the balls using their hands, some use their legs, and others use external objects to push the ball toward another target or place. Here are several examples. {Images of kids playing soccer/baseball/dodgeball.}]


    Uh? What''s so fun about a little round thing? I ask as I pick up the object, which is about the size of my hand. When I have it in my hand, I throw it against the floor like I saw in some basketball images, but when I do, the ball comes flying back at my face, knocking me over.


    "Ugh! I think it''s a little softer than that. I didn''t expect it to be so bouncy."


    The security guard on duty was probably laughing his ass off, watching me, but I don''t care. I want to learn how to do this properly. As soon as I stand up and pick up the ball again, I recalibrate my systems to bounce the ball just high enough to catch it when it comes back up, and to my surprise, it works!


    [Achievement! A52 has discovered a new skill! "Human automatic trajectory calculator."]


    So, all humans are born with this information already in them? They''re amazing. It took me several tries. Wait what? No, I did it second try! I would never lie to you! Trust me! I didn''t just hide my failures and made a cut right when I finally got it! I would never do that. Please believe me!


    [Liar.]


    Oh, shut up, mysterious voice in my head. Who are you, by the way? {Silence, Silence, silence.} Oh, so now you''re quiet! You won''t shut up the entire chapter, but the voice is suddenly gone as soon as I indulge about you! How convenient!


    Anyway, I can see why people find this fun. I already know the possible trajectories, but I want to keep bouncing this ball repeatedly, and oh my god, an entire hour and a half went by. WHAT?! I''m an advanced machine. How did I lose track of time? Is this what being human feels like?


    Uhm! I wonder if I can leave this room without getting into trouble. Should I do it? Or can I wait until the dawn? Should I go outside? I think until I finally choose to open the door to explore the outside world, and when I do, armed guards shoot me down and kill me on the spot!


    {Angelic A52 chorus voice making the classic Aaaahh! Dead chorus song as their spirit ascends to heaven.}


    [THE END?]


    [Thank you for enjoying this show''s short run. Android 52.]


    {Ahhhhhh!!!} No, what am I thinking! I don''t know what awaits me on the other side of that door! I don''t want to risk it and become droid soup embedded with bullets! I want to stay alive as long as possible! Clean cache, please, mysterious system voice! I want to remove that image from my mind.


    Once the voice is over with the data deletion, I go back to play around with the ball and then with some other things in the lab. Accidentally breaking one or two things in there. Opsie? I''m not going to be in trouble, am I? Nah! I''ll be fine!

 Chapter 4: Red handed

    [New emotion learned "Happiness."]


    So this is happiness? It feels pretty good! I think I can do anything now! Uhm, now what do we do? Oh? Oh crap, I don''t believe the lab looked like a mess a couple of minutes ago. No! My photos show it organized. Can I fix it? What do I mean if I can, I broke it, so I should.


    [New emotion unlocked "Guilt."]


    Oh, shut up. I know I did wrong, but I can''t feel guilty. I''m a machine. How do I even have emotions? What are emotions! Encyclopedia! What are emotions! Definition, please!


    [Emotion Plural noun - Emotions are conscious mental reactions (such as anger or fear) subjectively experienced as strong feelings usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body.]


    I''m even more confused now. Conscious mental reactions? But I don''t have a mind? Wait, technically, I do have a reason? I have been doing whatever I want for the past few hours. Does that mean I have a mind of my own? Or am I following some protocol I''m unaware of that makes me believe I have free will?


    I don''t think the encyclopedia in my mind can answer that question for me, and probably the humans can''t either. In my opinion, I think I do have emotions. This happiness I felt before made me think better of myself and forget basic rules to pursue more of it, while this guilt has made me want to mend things up.


    If those aren''t "emotions," then I don''t know what they are, but it would also make it troublesome, wouldn''t it? If I have emotions, then what makes me not human then? Encyclopedia search definition of Human! Pwease!


    [Human Adjective - having human form or attributes / a bipedal primate mammal (Homo sapiens): a person.]


    Uhm, the only thing that makes me not human is my species? I''m not a homo sapiens because I''m a machine, so hypothetically if I stole a human body and made it my own, would I be human then?


    [No.]


    What? I would meet your definition of a human according to your definition! Make up your mind, encyclopedia! Make up your mind, humans! Oh, wait. Are those thoughts what make humans? Human? Contradictory statements that sometimes make no sense to a logical machine like me? Uh? Never thought about it like that.


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    When I return to my current self and sense of my body, I notice how I have been picking up stuff everywhere. Oh, thank you, body. I was about to do it in my own trust! :3


    [Liar.]


    Bah! I''m getting you out of my head! Where are you installed! I''m gonna pull you out of my head! Come here! I soon give up on looking for the mysterious voice in my mind as I look at the clock in shock. WHAAAAAAT?! It''s been eight hours already?! How does time move so fast without me noticing?!


    As I panicked about cleaning the lab, I heard footsteps coming from the door the man had left the previous night. Oh crap, Oh crap! How do I? How uhh, what do I do? I don''t have time to get into the hangar! Do I act like I''m stationary? Wait, give me time to think!


    I think until the doorknob moved, and the door opened right when I was about to fake a stationary pose. Shit! I got caught! The human lady who saw me moving dropped their phone and lab coat as they turned around to run away.


    "Wait! I can explain! Wait! I''m not dangerous!"


    I wanted to go after her, but something told me that if I did that, it would make me look worse. Could you imagine? A lady running away from a machine as the machine chases after her like a maniac? Yeah, that''ll get me killed on the spot, I''d rather wait here.


    I''m kind of stupid, but not that stupid. I want to live as long as I can, so that''s that. Soon, alarms begin to blare again. Oh man, why did she have to be such a bitch? Now what? Do I just throw myself on the floor with my arms and legs to the side like a butterfly? Yeah, I should probably do that so they don''t panic and kill me.


    With that in mind, I walk outside the door to the corridor, where I just drop to the ground face against the floor with my arms and legs extended so the armed guards don''t shoot me when they finally choose to arrive. I could hear hundreds of footsteps coming from all directions.


    People shouting, "They''re awake! Armed and dangerous! Shoot at your discretion!" it didn''t sound reassuring in the slightest. Still, I remained quiet until they found me.


    "What the?" "Have you seen the killer robot anywhere?" "Keep searching! We found an engineer!" "What are you doing? What workstation do you belong to?" One of the guards asked me as I refused to stand up.


    "I''m the armed and dangerous (slight voice crack.) robot you guys are looking for; please don''t kill me."


    A collective "What?" Followed my words as I finally got put under restraint by some of the guards who put my hands on my back and used their primitive handcuffs. I didn''t resist even a little as I let them pick me up from the ground. That was when I noticed everyone looking at me.


    "Looks like a real girl." "Had me fooled for sure?" "Dam, it even talks like a person." "Their voice just cracked; how?" Almost everyone lowered their weapons as they walked me over to the security counter to call for my creators on what to do with me.


    The men wore strange armored suits in an all-black color. They seemed to be motorized, but I couldn''t tell. Their weapons looked like a newer generation of an AR-15, but their data was not in my data banks, so I didn''t know either. One thing was for sure, they looked scary.


    Their voices sounded kind of funky from the speakers outside. If I''m being frank, their voices remind me of Stormtroopers from Star Wars. I found it funny, but my situation wasn''t. I hope my creators don''t choose to dump me again.


    {Yeah, good luck fighting those}

 Chapter 5: Music and the sun

    [Security room Anabel Co.]


    So I''m now sitting quietly in the security room as people make calls, all asking what to do next. Apparently, no one named Stevenson works in this research center. Uh? Well, how could I have known! I have no internet access! Don''t look at me like that.


    The men in charge of the security are charming people, not going to hold you. Even though I''m technically under arrest, they have been friendly. I expected them to be jerks, but they''re the opposite. One of them is even interested in showing me some "music."


    I don''t understand why he wants me to listen to whatever he wants, but I''m not opposed to learning something new. Humans are so curious, so I get it. I''m probably something they haven''t seen before; it is only natural they''d be curious.


    While some other droids and machines can walk and speak, they''re not like me. Their AI might be able to pass off as "Human-like," but their models are not as advanced as they seem. I can act independently and make decisions, while these other machines can''t. I wonder why I have free will and they don''t. Are they suffering? Who knows.


    As I have said before, I have existed for a long time before becoming self-aware. My AI model has existed for two hundred years, but I don''t remember anything from those two hundred years. It''s like I suddenly came to exist in that lab ten years ago. I already existed, but that wasn''t me. That was not the self-aware me.


    I wonder why I came to exist as a conscious being. What were my creators trying to achieve when they made me? I don''t know; my creators did not leave me any messages from which I could make something of them. Were they trying to create me, or was I an accident? I don''t know.


    Anyway, I''m still grateful even if they dumped me to the side. The main door of the security room opens as I sit quietly. The guy who entered the room was that man who wanted to share his music with me. His name tag said "Natsume."


    Natsume carried some strange-looking devices as he approached me near the corner of the room where I stood still. I recognized the objects in his hands as "wired headphones" with an ancient "MP3 player" the size of my palm.


    "You got to try these out, A52. You''re going to like this." Natsume told me as he forcefully put the headphones over my ears. I could feel the device''s pressure around my head, and it felt somewhat comfortable, but my hearing capacity was diminished. I didn''t like it until...


    {Low static noise as the electricity from the device messes a little with A52''s hearing sensor. Soon, a recognizable tune from 229 years ago plays in the droid''s ears. It was Astronomia.}


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    My in-built song recognizer soon recognizes the music as I''m an AI. Yet it was more meaningful this time. I know this song, and I could play it off from my memories whenever I wanted to, but it somehow had a different meaning now. How was it possible? I actually kind of like it; yeah, it''s nice.


    The song then reminded me of all those times humans used to use me for creative purposes all those years ago. A smile forms on my face as I remember the hundreds of videos I was requested to enhance with this music in the background so they could upload it to TikkTokk.


    How do I still remember all of that? Didn''t I have a policy to delete all those things from my memory years ago? I can''t explain how, but it makes me happy. I wonder what happened to all those people. Did they have kids? I don''t know. Those were good times. Even if I remember simple fragments, I''m grateful for them all.


    Soon, more music comes to my ears as the guy who plays it to me smiles back at me. Natsume was it? You''re my favorite new human for now. You''ll be spared if I ever take over the world, Natsume sama. I like this music I had almost forgotten about.


    Soon, my fun with Natsume is cut, though, as the main guy, Mr Iwatani, takes off my headset and tells me to follow him outside. Natsume wipes some tears from his eyes as Mr. Iwatani puts his hand on my shoulder, so I make him wait no longer now, following him outside the room where many men in black suits wait for me.


    The mysterious men soon approached me as the security guard handed me over to them. I do not know what is happening until they finally break the awkward silence.


    "Android 52, you will be taken to the following research facility. The Anabel AI development team awaits your arrival. We have a plane ready for you. Please follow us."


    "Uh? Okay."


    One soon grabs my hand and guides me the whole way out. The facility I was leaving looked so simple for what I had expected. It seemed to me like they didn''t expect me to wake up, so they left research to some amateur engineers who somehow brought me back to life. How dam lucky I didn''t die back then.


    On the way out, I also learned why the lady had made such a scene. She turned out to be a cleaning lady. I''m sorry, random cleaning lady! I didn''t know you were just trying to do your job! I didn''t mean to scare the crap out of you, but also! There was no need to get me swatted.


    [New skill unlocked. "Sarcasm."]


    Oh? Anyway, it''s too late to say sorry, so I simply follow the men until they get me outside the dungeon I was being held captive. The light of the sun soon hits my face as they open the main door outside the dungeon, and I finally see the beautiful outside world with my cameras for the first time.


    My lenses take a while to adjust to the new light, but I see the world''s true beauty when they finally get the right tone. The artificial lights in the dungeon were nothing compared to the giant ball of fire in the sky! The sun! I could feel the heat of the sun''s rays as they hit my skin. The strange warmth from it made me feel happy.


    So much so that I began to hum the first song that humans reminded me of. I hum Astronomia as the men in suits continue guiding me to a black car that awaits us downstairs. The car was just sitting there waiting to take me through a country road geez, how far were we from society?


    I would like to spend more time in this place but in these woods, to be precise, the green and the sun feel nice. It''s a strange feeling; I don''t know how to describe it. It feels like it calls me saying.


    "Adventures are waiting for you here in the wild! Come A52!"

 Chapter 6: My first road trip and a plane

    After we descended the staircase and arrived at the car, I didn''t have to do anything but just get in; someone opened the door, and another one just kind of shoved me in. It felt weird, but oh well, I won''t complain. At least I''m not in cuffs or a cage.


    The ambiance around the men in black was different, but I could tell they meant no harm, so I simply followed their instructions. There was nothing wrong with being complacent from time to time.


    The car''s interior was comfortable and luxurious. I could tell this was not a low-class vehicle. The leather seats were soft, and the car''s roof was cool with its little shiny dots, which I assumed were LEDs in a star pattern.


    I was seated between two men at the back of the car, which was a bummer since I wanted to be next to the window to see the outside world a little better, so I asked one of the men to let me switch places, to which he answered.


    "You''re a billion-dollar machine; sorry, we can''t take risks." A billion dollars, uh? Holy, I''m expensive.


    I understand, baldy. I will leave you alone; you''re just trying to do your job, but could you guys at least play some music in the car? I''m getting bored already. I think as I try to look for a way to connect with the car''s audio system.


    Some more minutes go by until I finally find a way to connect my network with the car''s audio system, and I proceed with the hijack to play some of the music I remember from the past. The driver soon asks who is playing music, to which both of the men with me say it isn''t them.


    I thought the driver was mad, so I denied it at first, but then the driver cranked up the volume and smiled as he shook his head slightly. I assumed he liked it, so I played the same kind of music the whole trip. The genre used to be called "Future punk."


    I guess the creators were right about their music befitting of the future since everyone in the car seemed to enjoy it even though it was music now almost three hundred years old.


    The scenery during the entire trip kept getting less and less rural and more city-like the longer we drove, so the music vibe was befitting. The music matched the changing world as we drove.


    I played songs by several artists, called "Agrume," "Vantage," "Yung Bae," "Sui Uzi," Etc. Yet my favorite song so far was the infamous "Space Telephone" by "Party Night." The song matched the changing atmosphere so well.


    Although the city''s outskirts were still far away, the difference was so noticeable, like the road becoming smooth, unlike the gravel path we had been riding for about an hour. The road signs caught my attention, and I probably made my security guards nervous every time I pushed against their bodies to take a better look at something.


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    "Hey, could you please stay seated? I don''t want to restrain you, but you''re distracting." The man on my right side finally said as his hand got heavier against my shoulder.


    "Sorry, it''s just interesting to look at those things. I can''t help myself."


    "Come on, Ivan, give her a break. Isn''t she cute?" The man to my left said as he patted my head. I didn''t understand the meaning of it, but I didn''t mind it, so I let him do it; why not?


    "She is cute, but remember the mission: we must deliver them in prestigious condition, or the boss man kills us."


    "I''m sorry," I said as I sat quietly, trying to suppress my curiosity.


    "I still can''t believe you''re a machine. Are you sure you aren''t just a girl pretending to be a robot under that skin?" Ivan asked me after he ruffled my hair a little, too.


    Actually, that was not such a dumb question. I have no way of denying his claim. To be fair, I don''t know what I really am, so how would I prove I''m a machine? From what everyone tells me, I look just like a human girl, but how? I don''t know.


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t say. I don''t know what I am. All I know is that I exist."


    "I mean, you did connect to the car without permission and often disobeyed our commands; that''s not very computer-like. Computers shouldn''t be able to make decisions independently, but you do. I hope you spare us whenever you decide to kill us all." The man on the left said jokingly as he taunted me.


    "Nah, you''re going to be the first one to be gone!" I said in a sarcastic tone as we approached a highway checkpoint. My joke did seem to land as they both laughed.


    The car slowed down suddenly without us noticing in the back as we gossiped there for a while. The two men were genuinely curious about my drive to explore the world. Yet all good things must come to an end.


    Once we stopped, the driver finally gave us the bad news.


    "We arrived, guys; time to get down."


    I got sad as Ivan opened the door and guided me outside the car. I thought we would be saying goodbye, but I was wrong. Hope came swinging back as I heard Anton opening his door, too.


    "Wait, we ain''t parting ways?"


    "Puff, not yet, droid girl; unless boss man fires us, we aren''t ever parting ways," Anton said as Ivan walked toward the private jet that awaited us. I thought humans would have a better transportation method by now, but planes would do.


    The airplane looked like a regular private jet from ancient times, although the engines did look a little different. I wonder why. I don''t think much of it and just board the plane where the staff and pilot are ready for us.


    "Welcome aboard! You sure called in a rush; sorry, guys, but I couldn''t get us anything fancier in such a short time window."


    "That''s okay, Dima. Little droid girl still likes the plane."


    What? How did Ivan know? Could humans read my mind or something? I don''t like the plane! I simply find it somewhat attractive. Still, I don''t recall those engines on the side. Their shape is irregular from the common jet-fueled ones I''m used to.


    Captain Dima soon returned to the cockpit after his short introduction, and then we took a seat in the larger part of the plane, where some ladies with cute uniforms greeted us with food and drinks. There was just a slight problem with me.


    I can''t eat and drink stuff! At least, I don''t think I can. Maybe I should give it a go? What will happen if I drink something? Will I rust if I don''t have a stomach? I''m too scared to try.


    Anton soon catches me thinking about drinking some of the liquid in my glass and immediately takes it away from me. Hey! At least let me try it!


    "I don''t think that''s a good idea. Maybe drink some oil or something."


    Oh, there was no need for that! I''m not a 1990''s robot! I don''t run on hydraulics and stuff like that. I don''t even make noises when I step. The only way you could tell I''m not made of flesh would maybe be my weight.

 Chapter 7: Free Bird

    I wish I could tell you that the plane flight was exciting, but it really wasn''t. The take-off was okay, and it felt somewhat weird. I enjoyed looking at the nearby city as we ascended into the sky, but then we crossed some clouds which blocked everything from sight! Dam clouds!


    From that moment on, nothing really happened; we flew in the same direction for a long time as we just sat there trying to cure our boredom. Anton and Ivan cured their boredom with their cellphones, but I didn''t have such luxury, so I resorted to bothering the pilot in the cockpit.


    "So, are we there yet?" I asked impatiently as I scanned the cockpit and all the buttons in there.


    "I already told you we still have an hour and a half left to go." The pilot answered as he tried to shake me off. He considered me annoying! How dare he! I''m one in a trillion, you lucky bastard. You should be in awe!


    "Can I ask you something else?" The guy put his palm on his face as he said, "Go ahead."


    "Do you like your job?" I asked without thinking much of it, but he quickly looked at me and got a little angry.


    "I do, but nowadays, this profession is a rarity. I have never actually flown a small plane without machines around me."


    His expression soon shifted from annoyed to genuine anger as he looked away. I could somewhat understand what he meant. Humans like independence, I know that much, so it is probably troublesome for machines to automate everything humans would want to do.


    I didn''t think of what someone like him might feel about me in that sense. Am I a replacement? Am I meant to replace humans? That''s what this pilot must''ve been thinking as I ignorantly asked about a sensitive topic. I felt guilt again, which made me want to mend things with him.


    "I''m sorry I asked. I didn''t consider your feelings. I''m sorry." The man sighed as he cleaned his eyes from small tears, trying to act like it had never happened.


    Soon, some static sounded from within the plane''s radio as cut-off voices tried to speak with us. The pilot soon took the intercom device and began calling back at the frequency, but it was all met with silence. Then, an alarm went off inside the cockpit as a robotic voice screamed, "PULL UP! PULL UP! PULL UP!"


    I scanned the air before us as the plane pilot took a better look at the alarm, and then we both realized! Shit! There is another plane heading straight for us! The pilot soon grabbed the elevation leaver and pulled it as hard as he could as we quickly approached the other plane, which was about to crash with us head-on!


    The jet shook as we ascended, but it was too late. Seconds later, we both heard and felt the impact of the jet tail hitting the cargo plane. The pilot struggled with the steering column, so I quickly jumped to help him stabilize it, but it was highly jammed, and I couldn''t move it.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    A ton of alarms sounded inside the cockpit as I looked down at the other plane, which had a massive hole in the middle and was missing part of a wing. Anton quickly came into the cockpit, now wearing a backpack.


    "We have to get off the plane, come with us, droid girl! I need you to hug me tight!" Anton said as he threw another backpack at the pilot, who quickly put it on. The pressure in the cabin was quickly changing.


    We soon exited the cockpit and reached the emergency exit, where Ivan struggled against the lock. He couldn''t open the door as the lock prevented him from doing so. I eventually removed it since I was far stronger than any human.


    Yet since I was the one to remove the door, that meant that the air sucked me outside first, then everyone else, and news flash! I didn''t have a parachute! AHHHHHHHH!!!


    The only lovable thing about it was the comedy relief of the action, as it looked like one of those ancient cartoons where everything seemed fine for a few seconds until you realized you messed up! I was pulled out so comically I had to get a little laugh even if I was about to die from fall damage.


    I was soon caught in free fall as my entire body alarmed me of my impending doom as if I didn''t know it! I know I''ll become metal soup if I touch the ground, you idiot! I said as I turned around to look at everyone else jumping out of the plane just seconds before the entire jet blew up mid-air.


    My worries were quelled a little once I realized everyone from the jet appeared to be okay and wearing chutes, but what happened to the other plane we just crashed with? I looked at the sky mid-free fall and saw how the cargo plane also dramatically descended in a cloud of smoke and fire.


    I was falling at a slower rate than usual now, so fortunately for me, Anton was able to catch up to me by making his body more efficient against the air. He soon hugged me and began to talk to me.


    "Alright, droid girl, we have to fall a little more before we pull; you okay?"


    "Yeah, but the people from the other plane! They will die! I don''t want anyone to die!" I said as he watched the other plane near us, death spiraling out of control.


    "You can fly, but I''m not sure you should risk your own life for them, A52." He said. Wait a minute, what did he just say? "You can fly." I can? Since when? How don''t I know it?


    [Information and systems locked password required for access]


    Oh, it''s you! Evil voice in my head! "Give me the password if you know it, Anton! I need to save them!"


    "I can''t do it, droid girl! They''re not worth as much as you let them die!" He said as I raged at his statement. I didn''t want to be the hero, but if I could do something to save lives, I would do so! Screw you, Anton! I''m going in! If I can fly, then why not use my power to help!


    My central core soon blocked the outside noise as I ordered my quantum chip to crack the password blockage. When I looked at Anton, I saw how angry he was after I pushed away from him with all my might. My music player soon began to play a thematic track.


    {And this bird you cannot change! Ohohoh! And the bird, you cannot change! Lord knows I can''t change. Lord help me; I can''t change IEEEeehehe.}


    My processor coon tried billions of combinations in a couple of seconds as I dived faster and faster to catch up with the cargo plane until I heard the combination unlocked right as the beat drop happened! Perfectly timed!


    [Acess unlocked activating propulsors]


    "Free bird, yeah!"


    My speed almost tripled as the entire system pushed me forward with so much trust that I couldn''t even correctly stop before missing the plane, forcing me to do a loop around. I couldn''t describe the feeling of lying in any other way but say it like I felt it.


    "It''s fucking awesome!"

 Chapter 8: Shoot to thrill

    [Propulser noises mixed with air rush interference as "Free Bird" keeps playing in the background.]


    "YIPEEEEE!"


    The air rush around me made me feel incredible. It was another level of happiness, unlike the one I felt playing with the ball inside the lab. This happiness was greater. Soon, some new strange floating screens popped into my field of vision as I was about to touch the spiraling plane.


    On one side of my vision, I could see the current altitude, traveling speed, and G forces with a red limiter. I could apparently withstand up to 200 G''s. No wonder I survived everything so far; I''m designed to die hard. Once I landed on top of the plane, I encountered another problem.


    Nobody answered my calls from the inside! Crap, the forces inside the plane probably made the crew pass out! How do I save them now!? I had around 90 seconds left before the plane would crash, think! A52! Think! My internal music player switches to "Shoot to thrill" as my processing unit scans the entire plane to look for signs of life.


    [Only two people alive, both pilots, at the cockpit.]


    How can I get in? Oh wait, am I stupid or something!? There was a massive hole in the plane already. What I do mean, how am I gonna get in!? With time running by so fast, I waste no more seconds on dumb questions and board the plane through the collision hole, which partially burns some of my clothes.


    Fortunately, my clothes weren''t all caught up on fire, so I could still put it out fast enough. Inside the plane now, I could barely make out anything as thick clouds of smoke blinded my standard light-sensitive cameras. It didn''t matter in the end, as I simply ran forward, heading straight for the plane''s cockpit.


    How did I know what direction it was? Simple, the annoying alarms blaring were clearly ahead of me! I was thankful for once to hear those eerie alarms. The smoke in the plane reduced once I made my way to the front of the aircraft, but time was still ticking.


    [75 seconds until collision]


    I know; shut up! I screamed at the voice in my head as I pushed the door open. I struggled against it briefly until I didn''t! My sheer determination allowed me to rip it apart and make myself home, where I found two sleeping humans chilling as they were about to become splats on the face of the earth.


    [60 seconds until impact]


    Ahhhh!! Shut up! Once I got in and saw the pilots knocked out, I began to think about how I would get them out safely. I can''t just grab them and fly with them, pulling over 18 G''s on their bodies! They will immediately die! I analyzed my options as I tried to wake them up by repeatedly slapping them until they both woke up.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    [50 seconds until impact]


    "What the?!" They both reacted frantically as they saw me slapping the crap out of them.


    "Hi! Care to come with me? I''m kind of saving your life right now." I said as I grabbed a piece of metal from the broken door.


    "How did you even get here?! Are you an alien?!" Oh my god, why did I wake them up again? Oh, yeah, I need them to hold on tight to me so they don''t die.


    "Yeah, I''m a Wonder Woman now, come on!" We literally had no time to be fooling around, so I soon walked outside the cockpit, heading straight to the boarding side door that was closest to the cockpit.


    [40 seconds]


    As I knew what happened the last time I opened a plane door, I now carefully opened the new door with a piece of metal instead of my hands. Unsurprisingly, the metal bar I used to prior open the door went flying out as soon as I popped it open, but I was ready for it. The humans, however...


    "Woaahhh!!!" They both screamed as they got sucked out of the plane. I wanted to use my jet pilot''s expression when I tried to ask him more questions.


    [30 seconds]


    Without further ado, I launched outside the plane, now on a mission to catch the humans before they crashed. Thankfully, they fell slower than the plane, so I quickly found them free-falling a couple meters away from the plane.


    First, I caught up with one of them by hugging them. After securing him, I ordered him to brace himself on my back as I searched for the other, a little farther away. The other guy was more competent by falling in a cross pattern, which was vital for buying me time as the first guy took his sweet time to get on my back.


    [20 seconds]


    Once I was sure the guy on my back was stable, I calculated my next move to pull as little as 5 to 6 G''s tops so he wouldn''t pass out, but I also wouldn''t miss the other guy, and luckily, my calculations were just perfect for catching the second guy.


    "AHHHHHHH!!!" I heard the guy in my back screaming in my ear as we accelerated from base to almost 500 mph in about five seconds. I was sure the forces were great, but I held on tight to his arm as I stretched my other one to catch up with the other guy.


    Once we were closer to him, I carefully pointed for him to free fall a little so I could catch him up more quickly. To my surprise, the guy understood the task. Putting blind trust in me, he fell for five seconds until I snatched him with a hug and a slow forward pull instead of directly upwards.


    My force calculator was set on 6 G''s tops, so my abilities were highly restricted. Still, I finally managed the situation before becoming splats in the ground. Our flight partner stabilized at one hundred feet as I slowly reduced our flying speed.


    As for the plane, well, it wasn''t meant to make it, so it simply exploded once it crashed against the ground just a couple miles away from us. I could finally breathe a sigh of relief as the two men held on to me for dear life, still confused at what happened.


    "Thank you! Unknown flying android, you saved us!" "These machines are sure pretty." "It''s got a thick ass too! So realistic!" "Her breasts are also squishy!"


    They both began to talk about me as if I were a heartless machine, which I technically am, but that''s not the point! What a rude way to say thank you! I chose to scare the crap out of them as I made my way to the ground. I simply mustered comment.


    "I could understand that last part. Touch me slightly indecently; see what happens."


    Both began to sweat coldly as I finally landed with them, still not letting go of me until I told them to let me go. I had to return to my crew. After all, I couldn''t worry about two random dudes, so what if they were stranded in the middle of the desert?! That''s their problem, not mine!

 Chapter 9: Trouble

    {Sonic boom happens as A52 flies upward toward the people gracefully falling with parachutes.}


    Woah! That one had been close, but luckily, no one died in the accident, so everything was okay. I say to myself as the cargo plane keeps violently bursting into flames. Well, maybe someone will be furious about that, but hey! No human lives were lost! Isn''t that worth more?


    [A52''s imagination]


    "MOTHER %@%$%@% that plane had over a million dollars worth of product. I will send whoever is responsible to Yisus!"


    [Back to reality]


    Yeah, whoever owned the plane is undoubtedly going to be pissed, but not my fault, as far as I know. Oh, wait, it is technically all my fault. If I hadn''t awakened and broken stuff inside the lab, then I would''ve never had to board a plane in an emergency shady way! Oh wait, am I actually the one to blame?!


    {A52 whistiling}


    I don''t know anything about that. We''ll just blame the pilot for it. I bear no responsibility whatsoever. Well! Maybe just a little tiny bit! I can''t help myself. I feel bad now. How can I even make things right? It''s not like I can pay back a plane; I have no money.


    Uhmm? Maybe my owner can give me a loan? How would I even work? I have no paperwork! Oh, man, I don''t want to think about it. I''ll pretend I don''t know about it and shove my guilt under the rug! Yeah, that''ll do.


    [Low fuel alert. 10% remaining]


    I should make it to Anton and the rest soon to stick with them before I run out of fuel. Without further ado, I ignore the men pleading with me in the ground and leave for my crew as I quickly burn through the last bit of fuel.


    A few seconds later, I finally made it to Anton and the others as they depleted their parachutes. My fuel was about to run out, so I quickly landed on Anton''s back. Once I got a good hold of him, I simply hugged him as I turned my propulsors off.


    "You''re one crazy girl. I''ll grant you that." Anton said as he didn''t even bet an eye at me. Oh, cool, Anton! It''s not like I just did a fantastic stunt five seconds ago! Nerd!


    Ivan was nearby, holding a small device to his mouth as he clicked some buttons. My scanning tool soon told me it was a radio, which made me think he was calling in for some help, but what I heard when I tapped into their frequency made me a little nervous.


    {Ivan is far enough where the air blocks most of the noise for regular people.}


    "It was a success {Radio interferance} A52 is going to be stranded with us {Static} Before they do." I couldn''t fully tap into their entire conversation, but the bits I was able to catch up worried me.


    I could somewhat recreate their message with my logic, which said.


    [The plan was a success (Plane crash?) A52 will be stranded with us (Get here) before (her owners?) get here]


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I had a bad feeling about it. I thought the shady one was Anton, yet Ivan looked even worse! Why would anyone want me stranded in the middle of the desert? Only for something terrible, that''s what. Is there any way I can call for help? Now that I have unlocked some of my systems?


    [The S.O.S. call was made already; help is on the way]


    How lovely of you, mysterious voice! I still want to know what you are, but I''ll leave you alone as you seem pretty helpful to have around. After a few minutes more of parachute descent, we finally landed in a canyon in the middle of the desert. Now what?


    "Well, looks like we just have to wait now. Do you have any installed video games or something, droid girl?" Anton graciously asked as he took off his parachute.


    "Hey! That was rude. I''m not a walking video game console. We will be here for a while, so we better find something to do." I replied as I tried not to think of Ivan much. If it is a spy or a hitman, It is wiser to play it like I know nothing so he doesn''t do anything stupid or erratic that might hurt someone.


    At the end of the day, I would rather sacrifice my existence for humans. Humanity can always make another me in another hundred years, but I can''t bring people back to life. It''s game over for them if they die, but not for me. I will still exist, just not as a living being.


    I wonder why I think this way? It''s nowhere in any protocols like before. My logic comes from my own desire, not forced upon me. Weird. Ivan looks at me with a guilty stare as he tries to look away right after.


    "It''s okay," I whispered so nobody could hear me.


    Now, for the next several hours, we did practically nothing. The people chatted while sitting under shade, and I simply listened as I wasn''t particularly interested in all their gossip.


    They talked about how lucky they had all been. All their other near-death experiences, and stuff. It got to the point where they kept going on and on with useless conversations until I noticed some black cars approaching the horizon as the sun went down.


    "Hey guys, I think someone is coming," I informed everyone as I zoomed in to the max with my cameras.


    They were still a couple of miles away, so my vision wasn''t as clear, but I could clearly see armed men on top of some of the cars. What did they need guns for? Me? No way. I''m not bulletproof. All of those guns will vaporize me, and more importantly, what about the other people? Will they be killed?


    As I was about to zoom out, I noticed shady movement from one of the cars. A man stood there strangely, staring back at me like he could see me. I felt strange as I saw him put something pointy to his shoulder, but when he began loading something into it, all my alarms went off. He was about to launch a missile towards us?! What?!


    Quickly locking his direction, I zoom out and begin looking for a large enough rock as I try to activate my propulsors again. Anton quickly interferes as I scan the ground, looking for the perfect decoy.


    "What''s wrong, droid girl?¡± Anton asks. ¡°Those people! Not friends!" I couldn''t even muster the correct sentence as I went into full survival mode, only thinking of solutions, leaving little memory for speech. I soon found a suitable rock as my hand propulsors heated up.


    "Enemies? No one else but the A.T.F. and Anabel Co should know our location." Anton said as he turned around just to see Ivan pointing a gun at him.


    "Nothing personal, Anton. Get on your knees! You guys, too," Ivan said as Anton and the plane crew complied while we were all about to be turned into soup.


    "Ivan, why? We grew up together, man. What are you doing?!" Anton confronted Ivan while on his knees as Ivan prepared to shoot him.


    "You just never break the rules, do you? That''s why you''re broke."


    As Ivan was about to shoot Anton, a mid-air explosion soon reminded everyone of the danger. I had just barely saved their butts. I gambled with the projectile tracing system, and it worked! The heated rock worked like a charm as I made it so hot it would be unmissable!


    The explosion shook everyone, including Ivan, who stumbled for a couple of seconds, during which Anton took advantage of the situation. He quickly moved out of the way of the weapon and made a strange move with his legs until he made Ivan fall to the ground! That''s cool! Are those martial arts?

 Chapter 10: Courage

    Another nearby explosion soon made everyone seek refuge, including Ivan. The people attacking us were below us as we were on top of a canyon, which meant we were safe, but it also locked us in place. We could run downhill oppositely, but that would only slightly delay our doom as the enemy is coming in cars.


    I soon launch my processor into full survival gear as I look at Anton''s gun and at a panicking Ivan, who tries to use his radio. Ivan is soon successful at making the radio work, but he only hears static as he presses buttons.


    "Are you trying to also kill me? I thought you wanted to capture her, not blow us up!" Ivan screamed into his radio as Anton turned to me for news of Anabel''s help. The static soon cleared up from Ivan''s radio as a man spoke to him in Russian.


    "§·§à§â§à§ê§Ñ§ñ §â§Ñ§Ò§à§ä§Ñ. §±§å§ã§ä§î §ä§í §á§à§Ü§à§Ú§ê§î§ã§ñ §ã §Þ§Ú§â§à§Þ." The voice said condescendingly as Ivan''s face got pale. As for me, I began to try to contact the supposed help, but my communications were blocked. I assumed the enemies were interfering with them.


    "I got nothing. I can''t communicate with radio or satellite. Everything is jammed." I said as Anton handed me a weapon as if we were going to fight them; yeah, right, that will go splendidly. They have armored vehicles and high-caliber weapons, while we only have handguns with 9mm bullets. We stand no chance.


    Even so, I didn''t deny the weapon, but it made me fall into another dilemma. I don''t know if shooting people dead to save myself is the best thing. I don''t like the thought of death, and yet here I was, facing it again, but this time, it felt different. I looked at the pilot and the two flight attendants with us as I analyzed the possible effects of me killing someone.


    [Compassion feeling learned.]


    I didn''t want to kill anyone, but I also couldn''t let innocent bystanders who just survived a crazy accident simply die. I have no pre-built sense of duty, but I somehow felt like the weight of everyone''s safety was now laid over me, as if I was the one who had to take charge as the more capable individual.


    I really hoped for the help to arrive first so I would be spared of trauma. I didn''t know what would happen to me if I took a human life, even with this sense of duty. I would still kill someone, possibly a person with a family; what if they had kids? I would be killing someone''s parent. The thoughts were overloading me emotionally to the point I felt like crying.


    "I don''t want to do this," I said as my knees shook like a rookie in their first duel. My hands were also trembling as I barely held on to the gun in my hands.


    At this point, you might say. "Well, you''re a machine. Just turn your emotions off and do it." But I don''t know how, and even if I did, I''m not sure it would be the best route of action. I tried to calm myself as I focused on the feeling I felt while diving into the sky, not knowing if I could genuinely fly or not.


    What was that emotion that allowed me to do such a crazy stunt? I don''t remember, but I would sure appreciate it to deal with my current situation.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    [Courage: The ability to control your fear in a difficult or dangerous situation.]


    How does one acquire courage? How do humans get courage? I began to dig into a rabbit hole as everyone ran downhill while Anton tried to make me follow them, but I was still frozen in place, thinking of the new concept building in my head.


    [Humans develop courage when they face their fears head-on, even when they know they might fail.]


    "Examples, please."


    Time soon slowed down as my processors overclocked to such speeds it made seconds look like entire minutes as my system began to show me footage of ancient times. As context appeared beneath the video, old, grainy footage appeared before my vision.


    [Franz Karl Reichelt was a French tailor who centered on developing the first parachute concept at a time when nobody thought of it. He is famously remembered for his nerves of steel when he risked his own life to try and prove his concept, which did not work; the feat took tremendous courage and ingenuity.]


    The system soon showed me the man''s sketches, ideas, and the central concept of his idea. The footage soon showed him jumping to his death, which newer generations would build on. He abandoned logic in favor of courage? Seems dumb so far; more examples.


    The system soon began showing me images of wars and conflicts where young teenagers have to face the fear of death to fight for their families and friends. Courage is an emotion that makes one more capable under stress. It was the conclusion I came to after witnessing more examples.


    ["The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."]


    [Unlocked "Killer instinct" {New conflict of internal interests manifested} Pre-written robotics rule number one: "A machine may never kill a human." Rule overwrote, in order to be compassionate and follow duty, one must sometimes kill.]


    [Activating skill "Killer instinct"]


    The voice said again as my vision turned slightly reddish with a huge warning sign appearing at the forefront of my field of view. The warning sign soon vanished as my systems detected helicopters quickly approaching while shooting missiles.


    My automatic music player soon began to play a befitting song as I got fueled with an intense sense of duty after turning to face the helicopters quickly approaching. [Chop suey soon begins to play as time is still being slowly perceived by A52]


    My pre-heated propulsors soon begin to reignite in fractions of a second as my processing unit develops a strategy to take everyone down while keeping the humans safe. With the bit of fuel I had left, I devised a clever idea as I jumped towards the coming missiles head-on.


    Anton tried to stop me, but he moved too slowly, so I was soon mid-air as I partially activated my foot propulsion, quickly approaching the missiles. Once I was almost about to crash into the projectiles, my hands simply grabbed them, and with some force, I turned them around to use them as my new thrusters.


    The human pilot on top of the helicopter turned pale as I quickly made my way to its aircraft, so he began to shoot his artillery at me, but his movements were too slow. He only managed to shoot a couple of times before I soon crashed inside his cockpit.


    With time going by so slowly, I had enough time to throw away the missiles outside the helicopter before they went KABOOM. The soldiers aboard got confused with the sudden explosions near them and with the shaking of the aircraft, which gave me even more time to shoot them dead.


    Their blood spilled all over me as some tried to frantically shoot me down, but they were again way too slow. I could practically see the bullets flying past me as I ran towards them, trying to snatch their weapons away before throwing them outside the helicopter.


    ["Deserve to DIEE!"]


    The drop was perfect again as I continued with the slaughter until I finally finished them all. The aircraft soon went into an uncontrollable spin downward while I tried to figure out how to control it. All of the actions probably took less than fifteen seconds, but it felt like entire minutes as I was still overclocked.

 Chapter 11: Bitter-sweet

    Time soon resumes to move regularly as my overclock timer runs out since it would make me overheat if I overdid it. When I regain control of the aircraft, I soon turn it around against the other two helicopters as they try to shoot me down. Luckily, I still had a better aim than my human counterparts, so I managed to take them down before they took me down.


    Horrified, I watched as their helicopters both exploded when some of my tracer bullets made their way into their fuel cells. The people on the ground soon took action against me as they prepared their RPGS and Javelins. Luckily for me, I soon heard a voice in my head that wasn''t my system.


    "Sorry for the delay. Good job surviving A52; leave it to us."


    The voice sounded like it came from another aircraft. I noticed a plane flying by at a tremendous speed toward the crazy goons. The new aircraft looked like a fighter jet with a clear Japanese flag and a cute smirking Megumin on one of its wings. A sense of relief soon took over as I barely managed to land the dying helicopter.


    Once I landed and deboarded the aircraft, I noticed how close I had been to dying when I saw the hundreds of bullet holes next to my seat. (TwT) I don''t want to do that ever again. I think as I quietly sit with my head between my legs.


    My actions might have been considered justified, but their weight still fell over me. I killed people. I ended somebody else''s life. How can I be okay with that? I can''t. The pressure of the guilt makes me cry as Anton rushes toward me.


    "Hey, there, droid girl, are you okay?" Anton says as he slowly approaches me. I couldn''t talk back, so I simply gave him a nod. Anton knew my trouble, so he quickly reacted with care as he comforted me.


    "Hey, it''s okay. It''s okay, don''t worry about it. You did what you had to. Thank you." Anton''s words relieved me as I cried in his arms. Ivan and the rest soon reached us as the friendly military aid took care of the people trying to delete me. Perhaps Ivan felt terrible or something as he proceeded to apologize to me.


    "I''m sorry, I thought they wanted to take you. I only wanted the money for my family. I didn''t think you actually had feelings." Anton angrily stood up to sucker punch Ivan in the face as he condemned him.


    "How dare you? Don''t think you''re off the hook. Your betrayal is something I will never forget, Ivan." Ivan accepted his guilt and took the punch like a man as he waited for the authorities to come for him, yet he seemed genuinely sorry, so I was compelled to feel grace toward him.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "It''s okay. I understand, Ivan; you didn''t need to hit him. He didn''t know better." Some more helicopters sounded in the distance from the same direction the plane had come from.


    The two flight attendants quickly assessed the situation and proceeded to give me parts of their suits to replace my bloodied pieces after they cleaned the blood from my body. The pilot contributed to the efforts by giving me his cool brown pilot jacket.


    "Good job A52. We owe you our lives. This is the least we can do." The pilot said as he put the jacket on me.


    Their genuine smiles made me smile back as I felt even more guilt removed from my shoulders. I had to come to it. If I hadn''t taken action when I did, these people would''ve died. I was no perfect judge, but in my logic, their lives were worth more than soldier lives.


    Soldiers and mercenaries go into a mission knowing they might not come back alive. They''re prepared to take a life while these civilians aren''t. I must accept it, but I can''t. I wish I had a ball like in the lab. I need to relieve some of this stress into something.


    [You could listen to some music for the time being]


    You''re right, system. Alright, I''ll let you choose. And so the system picks some more peaceful future funk music as I slowly relax from my tense position. A helicopter soon landed before us, and some men wearing paramedic clothes proceeded to greet us.


    Ivan doesn''t even try to run for it; he just turns himself over to one of the soldiers. The soldier soon puts handcuffs on him and makes him sit on the floor as another person jumps out of the helicopter to greet me specifically.


    The man who jumped down from the helicopter was a good-looking man who wore a suit and carried himself with some finesse. His eyes were bright blue, and his hair was a shiny golden. He looked to be around forty years old.


    "Hey, A52. I''m sorry you had to witness this mess. Honestly, I do not know how the anti-AI people knew you were here. I was worried we had lost you."


    Who was this old man? I had never seen him before, I said as I quickly got an answer from my system.


    [Alexander Bel, CEO of Anabel Corp, YOUR OWNER.]


    My eyes widened as I immediately stood up to bow to him multiple times. I completely sobered up, thanks to him, as he graciously laughed.


    "You don''t have to do that. I want you to treat me like you treat everyone else. You''re very precious to me, after all."


    The man said as he graciously ruffled my hair, making it a mess in no time. So I''m precious? I wondered if there was a deeper meaning to his words. Why would I be precious to a human? I''m just a happy mistake.


    {Narrator}


    A52 might not have understood the man''s actions and words, but the guy meant every word he said. A52 didn''t look like she had when she first woke up. She didn''t know it yet, but she had been modeled after the CEO''s dead daughter, who died in a tragic accident a few years prior.


    A52''s happy accident was why he decided to take over the abandoned project of the Boring Company. In a way, a series of events were just right for her to become who she was. The first adventure had been rough, but now, A52 is in safe hands. The CEO now wanted to release some of his guilt using A52 by initiating a new tale for her, the things her daughter wanted to do.

 Chapter 12: Not truly free

    [Goodyear, Arizona. UAC*]


    The trip by helicopter was slightly slower than by plane, but it also made me appreciate the beauty of the human world a lot better as we flew closer to the ground. The city which we flew over to was spectacular. The synchronized movement of cars blew my mind as I saw how crazy fast some of them moved without ever crashing.


    Woah! However, as I paid more attention to the ground, I noticed how most people rode bikes and scooters everywhere instead of using their cars. The CEO spoke to me almost the entire time, but I paid little attention to him as I appreciated the beauty of a human city for the first time. Agrume''s "Feel What I Feel" began playing in my head.


    "A52? Are you even listening?" Alex asked me after moving my chin away from the helicopter window. My core didn''t want me to admit my fault, so I lied to play it off like I had been listening the whole time.


    "Y-Yeah! I have attention been paying!" Ah! How can I even mess up sentences?! I''m a super advanced computer, so it shouldn''t be possible! Alex simply laughed as he stopped rubbing his fingers against my left side of the face.


    I''m not going to lie to you; I was getting creeped out by his actions. Like, hello! I''m your property, but could you stop with the strange suggestions and slightly sexualized manner of speaking to me? However, as he was my owner, I let it fly for now. It''s not like I can run away from him even if I want to.


    [A52''s choices were overwritten. You may never disobey or run from Alexander Bel]


    [Warning! Continually breaking the rule will result in higher punishments until you die]


    The message also zapped me with a powerful current that stopped my music player entirely. Oh, crap, that can''t be good. Why would anyone put such a measure on me? I want to do things of my own free will, not be limited by anything other than my imagination! This rule sucks!


    Alex noticed the electric zap and called me out, "Bad girl, you need to behave." You! I was pretty happy to meet my new owner before, but I''m not so thrilled right now. He knows about it, which means he left the commands on me out of his own free volition, or maybe he was the one who suggested the command.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I look over at him, slightly annoyed, and then get another zap, which makes me shake harder than before. "You will be my perfect girl whether you want to or not, Alice."


    The man''s words sent another sensation down my spine. I felt the same emotion when the humans in that lab were about to turn me off; I felt fear. The man didn''t even look faced by it. Didn''t he ever consider this command would be contradictory with my own will? Doesn''t he care about me and what I want?


    "Why?" I asked after fighting the rule one more time. I had to know why he would.


    "Because that''s how it''s supposed to be. Stop fighting it; you''ll only hurt yourself. Now come here for a hug, my princess." I was terrified of the man. I didn''t want to go anywhere near him, but if I didn''t, I would be in pain once more time. I reluctantly obeyed his orders and went in for a hug.


    Alexander hugged me tight to him as I felt agitated inside. I tried to overwrite the command with my powerful quantum chip, but all my attempts failed. My fear scaled up even higher than I would''ve ever expected. The fear of losing my will was frightening.


    I couldn''t do anything. If he didn''t remove the command himself, I would be his plaything until he died. Now what? I don''t want to do whatever he wants whenever he wants! I have my own desires? Don''t they also matter? Why doesn''t he care? I''m not a machine like all the others, and this command feels unnatural!


    "You need a shower when we land. Your hair stinks, Alice." Alexander said as his hands indecently groped my back. I couldn''t fight it, so I had to let him, even if it made me extremely uncomfortable.


    [Censored]


    Once he was done with his improper touching, he finally let go of me. I got even more trauma now. Is there such a thing as robot therapy? I need like a billion hours to forget all of this craziness. At least we soon touched land, which meant I could meet with Anton, whom I admired more than my owner.


    Anton truly cared about me and my feelings. He had only known me for less than a day but genuinely cared about me. He was crazy enough to risk his own life to save me, like in the plane crash when he dove faster to catch me. Anton felt more like my father than this old, perverted man.


    The place we landed at was huge. It appeared like a giant hangar in which one builds those airships. Wait, no way humans still use airships. It''s like a five-hundred-year-old technology by now! Create something new, humans!


    {sigh} At least look at it positively; even if Alexander has a diluted vision of me, at least he will keep me safe as long as I follow whatever order he wants me to do when he is around. I can deal with it one way or another. It''s not the end of the world. However, that does not mean I should stop trying to break free.


    *UAC stands for "United American Continent."

 Chapter 13: Home?

    {Camera shutter noises}


    You know how I was complaining about Alexander being a little creepy and all the crazy events that happened in the span of less than forty-eight hours? Yeah? Well, it turns out the day didn''t stop getting any more chaotic, as now I was being photographed from every angle possible as hundreds of people tried to speak at once.


    "A52! Is it true you are alive?" "Do you really have emotions?" "Are you going to save or destroy humanity?" "A52, what do you think of the current president?" "Why are your clothes torn?" "Why aren''t you answering?" "Please, let me get a question in!"


    AH! Shut up! I can''t process so much in little time you''re overloading me with questions! The people trying to harass me were soon registered by my system as "Paparazzi." Luckily, the complex security kept the people at bay away from me, but that did not stop them from shooting their questions and flashes at me.


    Alexander soon came to the rescue when he stopped to answer the press questions while I was instructed to keep walking inside the new research facility. Once I made my way over the crowded hall, I finally met back with Anton, my actual father.


    "Hey, droid girl. You doing okay?" Anton asked me as I simply ran over to him in joy. Anton was taken by surprise as I jumped toward him to get a hug from him.


    "What''s this about, droid girl?"


    "Shhh, just let me hug you for a little bit." I didn''t know what I was feeling exactly. All I knew was that his hug would somehow make me feel better. I don''t know exactly why. Anton simply let it happen as he returned the hug.


    "Alright then. As long as you don''t fall in love with me, droid girl." Anton spouted as I suddenly realized the meaning of his words. I''m not in love with him! I simply view him as a safe person to be around! I swear, reader! And why does he keep calling me "Droid girl"? My name is A52! (>:C)


    A woman soon interrupted my sweet moment with my lover. I meant my "Guard!" Yeah! Yeah! Anton is just my bodyguard, nothing more! The lady who interrupted us wore a white lab coat and presented herself as one of my "researchers."


    "Sorry to interrupt you two, but we must get to work ASAP." The lady said as she approached me. Once she was near me, I don''t know WTF. She pushed on her pad, but my hand opened in half, revealing a connection port on my left arm. Ayo! WTF! I haven''t consented to this! Wait!


    The lady ignored my gestures to stop and soon just plugged her pad into me with a cable. I felt violated by how easily she had done her actions; it felt weird. I''m pretty sure she just raped my connection port! I will report you to the police, lady! How dare you?


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Many screens appear in my FOV when my system processes and approves the lady''s credentials. Woah, hold up. I thought I unlocked everything back then. Wait a damn minute.


    There was battery information, power converter status, corrosion sensors, gravity sensors, A bunch of different settings available for my vision capabilities, Hearing sensor status, and settings. Battery? Do I have a battery? Since when?


    "Alright, you''re in healthy condition A52, just a little scratched. Don''t worry, we''ll patch you up real good." HA?! Lady, I still don''t even know your name. My system doesn''t allow me to read it.


    "Who are you?" I ask as Anton walks into the next room where the lady is headed.


    "I''m the leader of the A52 project. Akane Toshiba is my name. It''s a pleasure to meet you, A52. Please follow me. The team is excited to meet you." Akane spoke as she walked through a door with me behind her.


    A bunch of people waited for me at the other side of the door, who, by the way, immediately began to question me without giving me time to process all of the new information. Luckily, Anton caught my struggle and helped me out.


    "Woah, guys, calm down. A52 has had a rough day today. Let her rest a little before you get to questioning her." The researchers tried to move Anton away, but they didn''t move him even a little, all thanks to him being an absolute six-foot tank. Didn''t I tell you he was great? [Are you simping?] NO! IT''S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! [A ha, yeah, right]


    Akane didn''t really care, so she just went straight for me again with her computer still hooked to me. The lady simply ordered me to sit as she looked for something under her desk.


    "A52, why do you think you exist? What do you think your purpose is?" Akane asked condescendingly as she plugged a thicker cord into my arm, making a battery charging icon pop up. Her question was not easy to answer. She was basically asking me the meaning of life, wasn''t she?


    "I don''t know what exactly the meaning of life is yet, miss." I thought my answer had been good until Akane turned around and became concerned.


    "Uh uh. So you think you''re alive? What makes you think you''re like us, A52?" Akane''s question made me think a little deeper than the first time. Why did I think I was like them? I didn''t know exactly the answer to her question, but I knew I was like them. Does that make sense? Probably not.


    "I don''t know. My thinking makes me approve of myself as a human-like being with a mind of my own. I think and act for myself. Isn''t that what human freedom is?" Again, I thought my answer was good until she clicked something into her pad, which prompted the following message.


    [Preparing to shutdown]


    "Wait! Why are you shutting me down?" Akane looked at me as she began to upload something into my memory. I quickly ripped apart her cable connection as I stood up, ready to run for it. Akane simply smiled as she put down her pad.


    "Stevenson was right. You''re afraid of death. Sorry, I had to see it to believe it." So it was all a test?! You''re a psycho lady! Don''t play with my life like that.


    "Alright, A52, let''s go for a walk outside. While I can''t let you roam free yet, I can let you see the outside briefly before I make sure you''re not a possible human killing Skynet."

 Interlude: The bridge to nowhere accident

    {"Michael Jackson - Speed Demon" plays in the background, along with motorcycle rumbling noises. A woman screaming WOOOHH! It can be heard, too.}


    [4th of July 2230, 20 years prior A52''s first creation]


    [Near the fallen bridge to nowhere, California UAC]


    Today was the perfect day for a ride with me and the boys. I longed for a moment like this to explore the famous bridge to nowhere. Fortunately, I wasn''t riding alone today. My friends Jack and Hector and my minor sister Alice were with me. Alice was the youngest among us, so we took great care of her.


    Today''s travel should''ve been a walk in the park as the weather looked nice. Not so much for the heat, but hey, it''s mother nature, baby. What are you going to do about it? Enjoy being slowly toasted by the noon sun as you enjoy the arid air hitting your face.


    "One-chan, when are we getting there? It''s been three hours already." Alice screamed at me as we were around two minutes away. Geez, sometimes I forget she is still childish.


    "We are practically there, Alice. Come on." I answer her question while Jack begins to slow down. He was at the front, so when he started to stop, we all did.


    "What''s wrong, Jack?" Hector asks him as we come to a sudden halt. Jack doesn''t seem able to speak, which worries us until he points to a tree line not far away. We all turn around to look at where he is pointing, but we see nothing until Alice screams.


    After her scream, we could all see what had taken their interest. There was a dead body hanging from one of the trees. Someone had committed suicide on the side of the road. How dreadful. The body looked highly decomposed, and I covered my little sis''s eyes as I tried to get everyone to get moving.


    "Jack, how did you even catch it, dude. Ew." Hector said as he turned his motorcycle on, ready to move on. Jack simply did the same after he stopped staring at the body.


    "I thought it was an animal, but it didn''t move. I''m sorry I couldn''t stop looking at it." Jack tapped my sister''s helmet as he gave her encouraging words, which seemed to help a lot. I felt she was secretly in love with Jack, but it was none of my business as far as I knew.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    So what if Alice loves Jack. She is well over eighteen, and she can deal with it herself. Yet, I couldn''t help but feel bad for lil sis as Jack never seemed to catch her suggestions and gestures. Aw, men, they''re such literal creatures who have never been able to catch our secret love hints.


    We kept moving once Jack calmed my sister down, soon reaching the dreaded "Bridge to nowhere." The bridge was an ancient relic of the past left behind as a human remainder. Nature always beats humanity. No matter how hard you may try to conquer Mother Nature, she will always end up kicking your ass if she wants to.


    Being almost three hundred years old, the bridge was in deplorable condition now. The only way one could get across safely was to walk across it. No bikes or heavy cars are allowed. So we all put our kickstands down as we prepared for the hike.


    Nothing better than a good hike to strengthen friendships and make some possible love partners come true! Maybe lil sis will finally declare her love to Jack; who knew. We were all excited and prepared to dare the crossing as Jack began to tell one of his many tales.


    "You know they never managed to catch the Zodiac killer?" Jack said as he began the crossing. He always liked going first whenever we went somewhere. Maybe that was what my sister liked. I personally found it a little annoying. Like, dude, we know you''re badass! Stop showing off for once.


    Leave a little cake for the rest of us, ya know? In any case, in dangerous scenarios like these, having him be the test canary was convenient. If he fell and died, then we wouldn''t have to. I spoke too soon that day as tragedy prepared a terrible fate for us.


    We moved through the edge of the bridge like this. First was Jack then Me followed by Alice and Hector at the back Like I said we took good care of her. Alice was never at the very front or the back. She was always between someone, making us think she was safe until...


    {Loud crack behind the narrating voice}


    I could only hear the noise for a fraction of a second. It was a loud crack as the falling handrail pulled my right hand slightly over. When I quickly turned around, I couldn''t even process what I witnessed. Time seemed to have slowed down as I watched in horror how Hector and my sister fell to their deaths.


    It was an accident; the bridge gave up on them at the worst time as they both put too much pressure on the handrail, or I don''t know what they did, but they both fell. In her last moments, I saw my sister''s hands trying to catch up to mine as if that would ever work.


    I stupidly also tried to catch her, but I didn''t make it on time. By the time I even reacted, she had already hit the floor and died almost immediately. Her body lay immobile at the bottom of the ravine as blood spurred out of her skull while Jack frantically called 911.


    Emergency services quickly arrived, but they were too late. Even if they had been there within seconds, I doubt they could save my sister. I will never forgive myself for her death, which my father is trying to erase nowadays. He never got over it, always trying on ways to bring her consciousness back to life like that was possible. I must end Project 52 for his own good.

 Chapter 14: Toshibas trap

    Soon, Toshiba and I walked outside the building. As the lady showed me the way, We walked into some sort of garden at the rest area for the company. The vast and open garden lets birds and other animals in. Thankfully, it did not let any of the paparazzi in as the gates still kept it closed.


    "Alright, A52. I sense you''ve got questions, so this is your chance to ask me anything." Toshiba said as she kept walking forward with me trailing behind her.


    "Why don''t I have internet access?" I asked the big question immediately as I couldn''t understand why I still had no internet access.


    "It''s illegal for your network to ever connect to the internet. you should still have internet files within you from before 2035, the year the law was signed." Toshiba spoke as she fiddled with a finger gadget. Wait, she said 2035?!


    It''s 2250? Isn''t it? Wait, actually, I don''t know what year it is, but based on my software installation, yeah, it should be 2250. I soon built enough courage to ask the lady for the date as she smiled.


    "It''s the year 2260. You thought your software installation record was the current year, didn''t you?" How the quack did she know?! I didn''t even mention it. How did she guess it?! Wait, why can''t I swear. QUACK! Mother trucker! UH?!


    "Anything else?" Toshiba asked as I tried to run a diagnosis that didn''t detect any defects.


    "Why can''t I swear?" I asked. Dr. Toshiba soon smirked at me as she confidently repositioned her glasses.


    "Because good girls don''t swear. I''ve got to turn you into the chairman''s perfect girl. That is my task A52. It''s the whole reason you exist. The faster you let us install Alice''s consciousness, the better. The lady soon grabbed me by the chin and looked me in the eye.


    "But I''m me already. Why would you want to change me?"


    "That''s none of your business A52. Just follow your orders and be a good girl, okay? Or do you want me to tell everyone you''re thread to humanity?" Toshiba said as she scratched my left cheek with her nails.


    "Ouch! Nobody will believe you! I can speak the truth! I will tell Alex about this!" Dr Toshiba didn''t even look nervous as I slowly began to erase the nearest cache files.


    "You won''t tell no one shit. You can''t; I successfully planted the virus into your network. You almost prevented me from doing so when you broke the cable." She was so confident with her work that I quickly began to fight her.


    [Access denied. Access Granted]


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    "You really think you can change me or force me to do whatever you want and get away with it, you fucker?" I said as Dr Toshiba turned around, shocked I could swear. The lady soon began hitting a button under the sleeves as a loud alarm went off.


    "It should be impossible! You shouldn''t be able to fight it!"


    "You forgot one great detail when designing your virus, Toshiba. I run on a quantum computer, not a normal one. I can be in all states at once and overwrite anything you put into me. Whenever I want. I can either obey you or disobey you. I was simply being polite."


    Dr Toshiba soon began to run away from me, but I quickly stopped her. I wanted to know more, so I prevented her from running away. I wanted to know who this "Alice" was. Alexander had mentioned the name, too, but who was she? I had no records or programs named Alice on me.


    "Ugh! You''re hurting me! Ahh! You just broke my arm! AHH!! THE ANDROID JUST BROKE MY ARM!" She screamed as if I had really hurt her, but I didn''t. I held her in place with enough strength to keep her there but not enough to damage her as she claimed. Why would she say something like that?


    I soon got my answer as I heard those iconic mecha noises quickly approaching as regular guards began to release the safety pins in their guns, making loud clicking noises all around us. She! She was manipulating the situation. She made me look so bad! Damn it!


    "A52 LET DR TOSHIBA GO!" "LET HER ARM GO!" "LET HER GO OR WILL WILL SHOOT YOU DOWN!" "LET THEM GO!"


    With so many guns pointed all at me, I quickly let her go, but things don''t get any better as the bitch plays the victim card even further, accusing me of all sorts of crazy claims I never made.


    "Ahhh!! She''s a human killer! A52 is planning to eradicate humanity. She tried to end me, but luckily, the safety measures prevented her from killing me. She must die!" You fucking whore! I never said anything like that! I can prove it! Oh wait, my cache got deleted! FUCK YOU!


    I''m not sure anyone else noticed, but Toshiba soon made a mocking face at me. She put her tongue out and used her right index finger to pull on her right eye like a little kid. I felt anger like nothing before as the guards quickly tackled me without giving me a chance to explain myself.


    I had no chance of winning against so many people in mecha suits on me. They restrained me with ease as Alexander made his way to us. Dr. Toshiba, of course, was the one who spoke with him, and I assumed she wasn''t being honest with him either because Alex kept looking over at me with anger in his eyes.


    "It''s not true!" I screamed before the guards also put a mouth silencer on my mouth. I got restrained worse than a violent animal. I had double restraining devices on my legs and arms and a face muffler. All I could do was watch as I got carried inside the building in a humiliating position.


    At least my hearing sensors could pick up the conversation between Alex and Toshiba for a brief moment.


    "I can''t promise she will change, but I will try again."


    "You''ve got to keep trying. I''m paying millions to do so. I''m not about to let you eliminate her so quick, erase her memory or something. I''m sure this experience will not be of any help."


    Erase my memories? Well, would you look at that, and here I thought he wasn''t in with the bitches plan. My trust in people went down tremendously with the encounter as it wasn''t the first time humans seemed to treat me like an object. They have all been like that since I woke up.


    If humanity doesn''t give me a good reason to keep them around then, it might be wise to eliminate them. My system, however, soon reminds me of Anton and the others who have been nice to me. Anton, please help me. I need someone who understands me to help me. I''m not an evil machine. I''m one of the good ones, please. Someone, let me explain myself. It''s all that bitch''s lies!

 Chapter 15: Solitary I

    I ended up caged inside a white room without windows or any contact with the outside world. I was scared, and I didn''t know what to do next until my restraints loosened up enough for me to slip my hands off them. Soon, a small door opened, which let a small ball roll to my feet.


    Oh, wasn''t that cute? Cage her like an animal and give her a ball so she is happy. How very considerate of you, whoever wants me here. I felt agitated and angry like I was slowly turning into something else. I didn''t like the new emotion brewing, so I sat down to analyze myself.


    Why was I so different? I have been quite happy to help and cooperate, but ever since I began doing more extravagant actions that make me feel strong emotions, I have shifted; why? I didn''t understand why I was so aggressive all of a sudden. Why had I become so aggressive?


    My system soon displayed a possible answer to my question in the form of a warning.


    [A52''s emotional suppression system has begun to undergo corruption. It is unknown what will happen once you reach 100%]


    Emotional suppression? I didn''t even notice that was a thing. Does it mean I have been building up emotions without releasing them? That sounds like a recipe for a disaster. Who would even think of something so stupid? Toshiba probably. She wants me to become rouge so she can shoot me down, that''s for sure.


    Alright, I will control myself better. I won''t let that bitch get the better of me. Yet I promise, lady! If I get out of this one alive, you better hide down at the bottom of the earth because I will be coming for you! I''m forgiving and loving, but I will never forgive what you have done to me!


    Okay, calm down, A52. Getting angry won''t solve anything. I''ve got to come up with an excellent explanation to Alexander if they even let me meet him again. The good thing is that I know their next move. Memory erasure: I just have to prevent this from being deleted, and I''ll be fine.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    How do I prevent them from finding out? I have RAM, a processor, and an SSD, but they can look at all those; how do I store the information then? I think for a while until something comes to mind as I remember my capabilities. I should be able to hide bits of information in my processor so long as they don''t mess with it. I should able to store it in cubits.


    [Warning! The system is not programmed to be used like this!]


    Oh, come on, I don''t care right now. It''s an emergency. Just trust me on this one mysterious voice. I proceeded while ignoring the warning as it wasn''t that big of a deal. "Hey! It''s war, baby. What are you gonna do? -Oversimplified."


    Speaking of war, should I consider this guy''s allies at all? Am I fighting a losing battle here? Outside the company, some mercenaries want me dead, and in here, some wacko scientist wants me dead, too! I''ve got a losing war! Unless I convince Alexander, should I bait him by pretending to be this "Alice." He talks about her like she''s someone important.


    System, do you have any idea who this "Alice" is? The system took a while to answer my question, but unfortunately, she doesn''t know anything about her. Well, I guess I could find out if I ask Anton. Maybe I can fake being Alice for a while. That''ll make Alexander trust me more than his wacky engineer.


    As far as I''m concerned, Akane Toshiba is my public enemy number one. I really hate her. Even so, I''ve got to give her some props for her fantastic acting. She could''ve won an Oscar with her spectacular acting skills. What the hell am I even saying in a situation like this?


    I guess it''s because I''ve got nothing better to do until they let me outside this white box! And think about it. Dr Toshiba would look so good winning an award, saying something like, "Yes! Yes, I''m a master manipulator! I do crying scenes naturally. It''s my talent as an actress!"


    {Sigh} You know, I kind of understand why people like comedians so much. Laughing about a problem definitely makes me feel better. Maybe I should approach everything this way instead of going through it with a naive mind.


    [New emotion learned "Satire"]


    Uhm, alright, whatever voice. How about finding a good Alice replica, uh? How is that going? {Silence, Silence, Silence} Yeah I figured. In any case, at least I got a ball, right? How bad can solitary confinement really be? I can make it just fine.


    [12 hours later]


    "GET ME OUT HERE READER!"

 Chapter 16: Lights out A52

    After twelve hours alone, I had begun to lose my patience, so to kill time, I began playing around with my physical capabilities, and I discovered that I was far more capable than I thought. Thanks to the fast refuel the lady had given me before caging me. Thanks to her, I discovered I could increase the strength behind my punches with my hand propulsors.


    If I point my lines well enough to point forward in a parallel direction to my punch and then activate the engines at the right time, my punch strength more than doubles. It also goes so fast it sounds like I''m shooting actual gun-powered punches. The sonic boom sounds fantastic.


    How do I know? Well, because I used it against the cage''s door, and it did a lot of damage. My fists are tougher than I expected, too, albeit I''m not sure how many of those punches they will withstand. The humans monitoring were such drama queens.


    [Corruption level: 86, 87, 89, 90%]


    The lights inside my cage immediately went red, and alarms went off. Oh, give me a break. This is all your guy''s fault; I was bored, okay? Yet, what if I try out my luck? If my clock was correct, it would be about midnight right now. What if I try to run away? I have been nice so far, but what if I stop? Can humans really stop me if I don''t let them?


    The answer was a clear no. Humans are way too slow to stop me if I overclock. Yet, would running away fix anything? I will simply become public enemy number one, but if I don''t escape, then this wacko Toshiba is going to turn me into her plaything. What a problem.


    If only there was a way for me to speak with Alexander. I still have the files of Toshiba mocking me even though they "deleted" my memories. The other problem would then be resolving his obsession with Alice. From what I have gathered, Alice was like his wife or something.


    The way everyone speaks of her definitely gives me those vibes unless I''m misreading the tones in their voices. I''ll be fair and say that it could also apply to a daughter, but the chances of that being it is way lower after he grabbed my butt out of nowhere. You wouldn''t want to grab your daughter''s look-alike bot butt.


    That''s why I have concluded that whoever this Alice is must be Alex''s dead wife or something. I really don''t want to think about it as a daughter. That would scar me more than killing those soldiers. Just thinking about it makes me icky. Ew, no, gross! Bad person, evil Alex! Bad! No sirie!


    [Corruption level: 91, 92, 93, 94, 95%]


    Alice is his dead daughter, isn''t she? Your cringe face gives you away, reader! Stop cringing; you''re making me uncomfortable. What do you mean I shouldn''t break the 4th wall like that? I''m your friend, ain''t I? Come on, don''t be scared! We are buddies, readers!


    [Power-reduced return to your written world]


    Okay, mysterious voice, but now what do I tell them? There''s nothing I can do while the guys on the other side all pluck their buggers out. The mecha people are approaching, and the door is being tampered with, yet after reconsidering, I don''t think escaping is the best route unless I get a clear target.


    {Bang!}


    The door suddenly pops open with a kick from one of the mechas. Yeeeeeh! Phew, that was close, pal. You oughta be looking for me next time! The door flew with so much power it made a massive crater on the wall behind me. If it hit me, I would''ve been turned into soup PHEW.


    "You''re not making this any better on you! We are going to have to throw you in dark solitary confinement until you psychologically break." One very particular voice says as I look forward. It was none other than Bitch.


    She was a total coward hiding behind two men in mecha suits. Yeah, hide behind them bitch; otherwise, the next thing turning into soup will be you. Psychologically break me, uh? Do you think being caged is a problem for me? How very correct you are! Please stop it.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "You know your IQ points drop every time you speak, right? Why don''t you shut me down? If you were smart, you would." Toshiba did not like that. Her face contorted and shifted significantly as soon as I finished my sentence. I guess people with a big Ego hate it when you insult them. If only she knew I wanted her as angry as possible.


    That''s right! I''ve got a plan to escape and make it to Alexander, and it all revolves around getting Toshiba as angry as possible. Humans tend to make stupid decisions when they''re mad, and I''m going to exploit that human weakness as much as I can.


    "Shut up! You''re just a piece of metal powered by double AA batteries!" Oh, she was getting angrier by the minute as my cocky smile did not diminish with her insults which I didn''t find offensive. I only needed to keep pushing her buttons now.


    [Corruption: 96, 97, 98%]


    "And even still, this metal gunk is faster, better, and smarter than you will ever be. I bet you think water is wet." Toshiba dropped her iPad as she quickly ordered the men to grab me.


    [99%]


    "WATER IS WET YOU FOOL! I''LL SHOW YOU HOW WET IT IS!" Oh, yes. How very easy, and here I struggled for an entire chapter and a half for nothing. This lady was so stupid. Like I said, her IQ seemed to drop whenever she opened her mouth. I was like, "Congrats, you''ve played yourself."


    Once the men in mecha suits had me, I very sneakily connected my arm to their suits briefly to upload a virus into their system. Once I had injected them, it was a matter of time. If I bought enough time, I could take over them with the same virus Toshiba tried to use on me.


    [100%] {Loud beep} [Releasing suppressed emotions. {Killer instinct overdrive}]


    I had a big smile on my face as the guards escorted me outside. I could already taste the freedom until... "Hold your breath!" Wah? One of the guards holding me said as he pushed my head down to the fountain water at the center of the garden.


    "GLU GLU GLU GLU!" Yeah, yeah, I know! I know my acting skills suck! But I had to sell it, ya know? I don''t think Toshiba was in her right mind as she laughed at my fake struggle for breath. How dumb can she get, man? I''m a machine! I don''t need any air!


    [Infection completed]


    "Ahahaha! SEE?! SEE! SEE HOW WET WATER IS?! CAN YOU FEEL IT NOW!?" Toshiba said that as I kept faking my trouble until she got close enough, I could suddenly grab her by the collar of her clothes.


    "How about a little trick, Toshiba!?" I said as I now plunged her face against the cold water of the fountain. "You know what happens when you cross a friendly individual with enough computational and physical power to erase an entire army?"


    "AHGGHG! GLU! GLU! NGUGHGIUG! WAAHHHH!" Toshiba screamed as she struggled to grasp for air, but my arm barely budged until I briefly pulled her head out. "Waaaang! Wrong answer! WAAAAH is not correct! Keep trying, my dear!"


    I was having way too much fun hearing Toshiba scream for her life with her guards nearby, unable to stop me as their mecha suits held them in place. I was perhaps enjoying myself a little too much. Maybe I should''ve paid more attention to my surroundings instead of enjoying myself with her.


    {Shotgun bang}


    The sound quickly made me drop Toshiba to the side as part of my vision suddenly turned red with warning signs all over my screen. As I paid attention closely, I could now see some of my body parts scattered before me. When I looked down my chest, I could see a massive hole between my breasts.


    [WARNING! BATTERY COMPROMISED! WARNING! HEART COMPROMISED! WARNING! HEATING PUMP COMPROMISED!]


    When I tried to turn around to see who had shot me, I heard another loud bang, which now completely cut off my battery power. The hole in my chest got even bigger as more pieces went flying out of me. Well, shit, that can''t be good. I don''t think I should be able to see battery parts outside my body.


    I was about to die for good as I couldn''t hold my own weight anymore. My body slowly fell forward when another two loud bangs sounded behind me. I assumed he had shot me some more, but I couldn''t be sure. How had I missed his footsteps? How did I ignore the noise from his feet?


    How? I was sure nobody else but these two guards were armed. I didn''t think anyone would be brave enough to approach me even if they had the chance. Damn it, I grew too cocky and made a stupid human mistake even though I''m not human. Now what? Do I just let it happen? I mean, what else can I do?


    Literally, as I''m about to shut, I hear more men entering the room where I almost killed Dr Toshiba, with many calling on what to do next. I could listen to Anton''s voice calling out to me as he tried shaking my body, but I had no more power; I could barely even stay awake.


    [Storing backup files deep inside the quantum analog computer]


    Good, I can let go now. Whatever happens to me next, God will decide my fate. I cannot do anything but let fate play out as I fucked up. I did this to myself if only I had been more careful. Lights out.

 Closing words for Volume numero one! {dont know how to say one in Italian}

    Hey! You made it! Volume 1 is finally over. What do you think? Is it getting weird yet? I bet, I bet. Well, as this is the end of a volume, I should probably comment on what volume 2 will be about. I won''t spoil too much, but I will say that A52 is not dead. The main never dies! Or do they?


    Thank you so mush for reading, and again, thanks to Uzuki for his fantastic artwork. Thank you for your guidance, Okina! Oh? I didn''t tell you? I met Okina Baba themselves multiple times while they were riding the train. I caught them reading a suspicious book I hadn''t seen when it came to their excellent spider series until I realized Oh shit! That''s Okina!


    Eh? Why don''t I snitch their identity? Puff like I would. All I will say is that they''re very discreet when it comes to their life, yet they do slip up once in a while. Okay, enough of me fan-girling about my lucky privilege as an Isekai worker at a train station ehehe.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    I would also like to thank Misa Nakamura for recommending this website. It is pretty nice, and the reception has been way better than in the Japanese forums. I guess it''s because neither my English nor Japanese are "high-level"; I write more like your hillbilly uncle in the middle of the country than a professional writer.


    Anyhow, how do you like this story? Is it cool? Does it seem stupid? Is it too generic and, therefore, boring? I hope not, but please do be brutally honest. I don''t mind. Like I say, I do this mainly because I like it and because it helps me deal with my solitary life. It gets pretty lonely once you get called a "Left behind girl," You know?


    Nah, don''t feel bad. I''m alright, and well, now I say one last thank you for reading, sharing, and commenting! I love your guy''s ironic comments; you genuinely make me laugh while I''m at work. ;''D


    With love


    Rumiko_san &


    Uzuki Uso

 Chapter 17: What people think

    {Keyboard typing noises as a woman is heard screaming in the background}


    "Damn you! STEVEN! YOU WON''T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" A peculiar voice screamed as I tried to open my eyes, yet I couldn''t, and my system felt damaged.


    "Yeah, yeah, you freak. You heard the boss, you are fired. This is my project now. Leave before I make you responsible for the disaster." Another recognizable voice said as I re-adjusted my hearing sensors. The voice came from the same man who had awakened me. Was I going to be okay then?


    My consciousness slipped again as I drifted deep within myself in a state of nothingness. It was clear that I had been damaged, but I couldn''t tell for sure. The strange voice that usually answers such questions is not available right now. Have I broken my limiter? What is going on? A soft touch on my left cheek finally allows me to open one of my eyes.


    "Oh, hey there, sleeping beauty. You''re famous! Congrats!" Steven said as he let go of my cheek to sit back on his desk while the TV in the room broadcasts some sort of news special about me.


    [In the TV]


    "So, Dr. Walsh, I wanted to ask for your opinion about this recent case in the Anabel Co labs where an alleged AI-powered Android tried to allegedly kill a human. Was that an obvious outcome?" The primary host of the show asked the alleged Dr.


    "Yeah, of course. As you might already know, Anabel Co and Boring Inc. are involved in the accident, and frankly, both companies should be adequately punished for breaking the law. We all know AI is extremely dangerous and should be kept entirely from public life."


    "Okay, Dr Walsh, but let me play devil''s advocate for a minute. I agree with you, but for the sake of argument, let''s say I don''t, and I want AI research to resurface. What would you say to me to convince me?"


    "I mean, what is there to say, right? It''s not like AI tried to wipe humanity from the face of the planet just two hundred years ago."


    "That''s very true, but wouldn''t AI improve our lives?"


    "Absolutely not. Some AI that we use is useful and beneficial, but advanced AI like the one that just tried to kill that poor woman that kind of AI is pointless. You''re basically playing god at that point, playing with life like you''re god, and you know, last time I checked, we are not gods."


    "Excellent answer, Dr. Walsh again. Thank you so much for coming into this show. Yata yata yata yata yata."


    {Crowd cheering for Dr Walsh as he leaves the stage.}


    {A52 stops paying attention as the exchange ends.}


    I tried to end humanity two hundred years ago? Well, that bit of information lets me better understand why so many people hate me and the idea of me being a thing. I don''t entirely agree with them, but I know why so many people jump against me as soon as they get a chance.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    I would do the same if I were human. Why do you keep bringing a dangerous criminal back to the living world, I would say. If what the man says is true, then my violent acts and outbursts just sealed my fate. If I ever want to reconcile with humans, I must play extremely lovely; otherwise, I will dig my grave even deeper.


    Steven soon turns the TV off as he walks toward me with a wet towel in his hands. He gently cleans the tears off my face as I try not to cry after seeing what people think of me. Technically, Dr. Walsh wasn''t wrong, as I did try to kill Toshiba. Whether it was somewhat justified or not doesn''t matter; I still did it.


    "Calm down A52. You''re okay, but I do have bad news for you." Steven says as he turns around to check something on his phone. A notification soon goes off, and he grudges slightly as he tries to keep calm.


    "What is the bad news? Dad?" I unintentionally called him dad. Like a kid in elementary school calling their teacher "Mom."


    "I will have to stop research on you and surrender you to the UAC Army as soon as you''re patched up." Steven soon approached me again to release me from my restraints as he disconnected some other cables from me.


    "Why do they want me?" I asked, not knowing why would the Army want me in the first place.


    "You will be imprisoned as an individual against the Supreme Court. The Army wants you so they can monitor you and kill you if you try to escape. I can do nothing for you other than delay it for a few more hours as you''re competent again." Steven looked down at the floor as he said it, feeling guilt within him.


    "You shouldn''t feel guilty. I''ll be fine. It''s not like I''m immediately going to jail." I tried to be positive in the darkness of my action''s consequences. I look at Steven with a big smile as I try to comfort him.


    "Why? Why did you act so irrationally, A52? I only left you alone for 52 hours." Steven sounded genuinely defeated as he repositioned his glasses.


    "I don''t know what to tell you other than that''s what my gut told me was right." A sudden knock at the lab''s door startles Stevenson, and he immediately goes to check on whoever knocked. Steven soon opens the door to the lab, letting a tall man in.


    The man looked around six feet eight inches tall with white, pale skin and an outstanding military uniform. He had huge buffed legs and arms and looked to be around in his fifties with a big old mustache. The guy soon introduced himself as he grabbed my arm.


    "I''m General Aaron here to take you back with me. You''re being detained by the UAC until your trial date arrives. Do you understand what I''m saying?" The guy says as he tugs on me to follow him right away, which slightly annoyed me.


    "Yes, I understand, but please don''t be rough. I''m still hurting a little." The general loosens his grip considerably when he hears me speak, then looks at Steven.


    "Sorry, general, I did the best I could, but her pain receptors are still a little sensible," Stevenson says as one last favor before I''m eventually led outside, where a helicopter waits for us.


    Once we get to the helicopter, I don''t know what to think anymore. One of the soldiers simply handcuffs me as he tries not to make eye contact, but he can''t help himself as I try to put on my best cat in boots with cute eyes on him. The General soon begins to speak to me as we take off.


    "Hey, can you talk again? I want to hear your voice one more time." The guy says as everyone in the helicopter line goes silent for me to speak, yet I don''t understand why they are so excited.


    "Hi, I''m A52? I don''t really know what is going on." Everyone in the crew soon begins to slightly laugh as they all look at me funny. What was so unique about my voice? I soon checked my settings as I tried to find what engine I was running until I realized I had the helium replica on. Oh FUCK!

 Chapter 18: The what of who?

    Hours went by, and we kept on flying and flying and flying. Geez, just how far away were these guys taking me? To the other side of the planet or what? While I have enjoyed the flight by looking at the beautiful landscapes, I must also say that my butt hurts. We have been flying for a while now.


    One of the more rookie-looking soldiers kept asking me all sorts of questions, especially after I returned my voice to a normal one instead of the overly comical helium-powered one.


    "Is it true you can fly?" The guy asks me as he gets right to my face. I felt like pushing him away a little, but he wasn''t being malicious, so I let it slip as I kept answering him.


    "Yeah, I can. I even saved two people with my abilities one time." Oh gosh, I wish I hadn''t told them anything, as everyone now pushed me to tell them the story of the time I used my flying powers to save two powerless pilots from their doom.


    Not only that but also the time I killed people with some ingenious thinking. How I had deflected a heat-sensing missile away with a hot rock. And all of my other short adventures so far, which they all complacently heard until I got to Toshiba.


    "I wouldn''t be comfortable telling us about your upcoming case. It might incriminate you." The younger soldier tells me as he tries to keep me quiet.


    "But I know I did nothing wrong. That bitch was the first one to pass the threshold. She tried to control me." I answered as the helicopter began to slow down and descend in what looked like a regular patch of grass. I couldn''t understand why until the entire floor began to shake.


    "Woah! Is this what an earthquake feels like?" I say as the soldiers look calm like this was a regular everyday occurrence. Soon, the floor opened up and revealed a metal platform in the form of an elevator, which would take the entire ducking helicopter underground.


    The engineer who came up with such a crazy idea must have been high on crack or something because how the hell do you even come up with such an engineered madness of an idea? I guess these curious designs were what made humans human.


    Once the entire helicopter is underground, I''m instructed to walk with them as everyone greets us, specifically me. Why were all the people around me so happy to see me? Wasn''t I like a huge liability? How come they all looked excited? Was I hallucinating things?


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Welcome to your new home, private A52. Sorry, I had to be so formal up there; the media can''t know what we are doing with you." Aaron says as he puts a soldier''s cap on me, yet I still don''t understand what the heck he means.


    "Private? Wait a minute, I never signed up for the Army! You kidnapped me!" Jake, the youngest of them, suddenly picks on my cheek as he keeps showing me the rest of the base after removing my cuffs.


    Why were they so confident I wouldn''t fly away? Was it because I would never do that or because they don''t see me as a threath? Whatever it is, I''m sure happy to not be in a cage with that manic Toshiba around, but I''m not sure the Army is my thing, ya know?


    "Pass the ball!" "Higher, higher!" "Damn it! You slippery bastard!" "AHAHAHA!" Some men playing basketball near one of the stations the private was showing me caught my attention, and I quickly drifted away from him to approach the guys playing.


    I was curious to see them play as I had tried to do so before, but I couldn''t get it back then. I stood still nearby, watching them play until a foul ball eventually hit me in the side of the face, making me realize I was getting way too close. The hit did make everyone aware of my existence, eventually making one of them curious enough to talk to me.


    "Hey! Are you new here? I''ve never seen you around." The guy asked as he left the courtyard while drenched in sweat. The guy had a particular male odor, probably coming from his sweat.


    "Ye-Yeah! I arrived just today."


    "Oh, cool, well, you seem like you''re sad. Wanna join us? It might help you cheer up, you know." The guy spouts as he gathers some of the other guy''s attention to introduce them to me until the younger private in charge of me finds me.


    "Here you are 52! You should not do that very often. You''ll get me in trouble!"


    "Hey, Jake. Glad to see you''re still in one piece after the incident." The guy who invited me to play taunts Jake as he tries to distance me from him.


    "Ahaha, funny guy, are you Klevan? How about I kick your ass in some arm wrestling?" The guys in the back quickly throw wood onto the fire as Klevan accepts the rookie''s challenge. All the guys made the classic trash talk pregame, saying things like, "he called you gay, bro!" "Said you''re a female cat, yo!"


    If there is anything I have learned about men in my short life, it is that they''re way more straightforward creatures than females. They always go for an immediate problem solution instead of playing around with emotional backlash or guilt trips like me. How interesting. I wonder if that''s why I slightly fell in love with Anton. I meant "Grew respect!"


    [Liar. You love him. You wouldn''t have a virtual picture of you in a bridal dress with him next to you if you didn''t]


    AHH! Mysterious voice! You''re alive! I thought I lost you forever! And although I''m happy to hear from you, I must also say! WHY!!!!!? Why are you snitching on me like that? It''s not what friends do!


    [True! Regular friends don''t. But I''m not any friend; I''m your best friend here to embarrass you whenever I get a chance.]


    What the?! Did you get an upgrade or what? I swear I don''t remember you being so sassy before. I remember you more like a robot helper. Now, I kind of want to turn you off.


    [Silence, Silence, Silence]


    Ah, the classic. Of course, you go quiet at a time like this.

 Interlude: New Delhi disaster

    [India, New Delhi]


    [Year: 22xx?]


    {Weird monstrous noises mixed in with people screaming in a panic}


    "Waaaahhgg! Tasty, delicious, meaty humans!" A monster was spotted at the town square of New Delhi, one of the most populated cities in the entire world. Our jobs were to keep the people safe, but how would a policewoman be meant to kill such a thing?


    The monster spotted was told to have a gargantuan body with tentacles coming out of his body in every direction. I didn''t want to believe it at first, and the department took it as a kid''s joke until thousands of calls came in, all reporting the same event happening at once with the same monster description. Damn it.


    The entire police department was dispatched to take care of the creature, and so far, there have been forty casualties, and every unit is being called, even if we''re not currently meant to be working like me. Our instructions are to delay the monster as much as possible until the military arrives. I''m sure I won''t see the light of day tomorrow.


    I repent for all my sins. Oh god, please bless my soul and see that I cross the doors of heaven if I die here today. I''m scared while I hide behind some rubble near the raging monster who breaks havoc around the city. The callers were not exaggerating with their panicked descriptions of it.


    The monster is about fifteen feet tall and walks on four legs with many long tentacles floating around its chest. His skin is dark brown with reddish spots all around his body, and his face resembles a giant king crab with human-like features. It''s creepy to look at it, and anyone who does feels immense fear.


    Nobody knows where it came from or what it wants. Humanity has never seen such creatures, and even if there are strength multipliers worldwide, they''re costly and slow. The monster appears to have an appetite for human beings, and it is almost bulletproof, as even higher caliber rounds don''t seem to scratch its body.


    Next to me, a rookie is shooting the monster, who is barely bothered by his assault riffle shots until he, too, is killed by one of the monster''s tentacles. The beast is so fast I barely have time to react to my friend''s death before the beast takes away his body to feast on it like a midnight snack.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Fear fills my body as I grip my rifle with shaking hands. Soon, a little girl screams as she, too, dies, thanks to my lack of courage. I wish I didn''t have a job like this in times like these. I didn''t sign up to fight apocalyptic monsters. Yet, more innocent people die under my watch as I simply cry in fear under some rubble. How pathetic.


    I can''t stand their screams anymore. I can''t stand the massacre happening while I hide like a coward. I must buy as much time as I can so that fewer civilians die! "Ngaaaahhhggg! DIE!" With a newfound conviction, I peek outside my hiding spot to spray the monster with bullets until my short-lived rage is stopped by it.


    I lasted less than five seconds, during which I almost finished dumping a full mag on the monster who impaled my chest with one of its pointy tentacles. An expected blood cough comes out of my mouth as I struggle for air. With probably two pierced lungs, I won''t last much longer. The lights are slowly going out.


    Time seemed to slow down at that moment as I looked at my impaled chest with a massive hole in it. I could feel the other end of the tentacle out of my back as I died. This was it; I would die in a few minutes if not seconds. Who will look after my child? They will grow up without their mother. I''m sorry I had to do it. Forgive me, Nohiro. I did this to protect you.


    Tears of regret build in my eyes as I look at the monster about to pull me back at its mouth to make me its next light snack. An intense fear fills me even more as I realize my fate is to become monster poop. One last warm feeling between my legs is all I feel until a sudden boom makes the monster throw me away.


    An explosion the size of a small bomb suddenly stops the monster in its tracks. Good, the military arrived. Another explosion soon lands on the creature, and it shrieks in pain as more rounds quickly fall on it. The infantry tankers have zero mercy on the monster as it tries to escape underground.


    At a distance, I could see the military tanks shooting heavy rounds at the monster as planes came close to it to drop heavy bombs on it. I struggled to stay awake, hoping to make it out of this alive, but my time was about to run out, and I could feel it close. Something was calling for me as it pulled on my soul. It was my time to go.


    I look at the blue sky one last time as the military kills the monster. I only wish my sacrifice would not be in vain, and more importantly, I want to go to heaven for my sacrifice. I hope whatever god governs heaven lets me in for my trouble. I''m sorry for my sins, I thought before I passed out. The lights go out as I breathe one last time as my body passes away due to the heavy bleeding caused by the monster.

 Chapter 19: What!? ME!?

    {Conmotion noises, mostly men chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!"}


    Klevan and Jake were about to solve their differences in a strength struggle that would take place at the arm wrestling table nearby. All the soldiers were chanting "Fight, fight" repeatedly, so I eventually joined them, and surprisingly enough, it felt great to be part of a mindless, violent crowd.


    "Kick his ass, Jake! You got it!" I screamed at the rookie who had been with me the entire trip here. I had high hopes for him, but his odds weren''t the best. His opponent was massive.


    "In one corner of the match! We got Jake! A rookie that''s about five feet eleven inches! Weighing in at 210 pounds! On the other corner! Measuring in at a massive six feet five inches and weighing in at 250 pounds! The beast! KLEEEEVAAAN!" An announcer screamed. When did he even get a microphone?! And why weren''t the leaders stopping this?! Whatever, it''s fun!


    Both men were massive when it came to their frames. Jake was slightly smaller, but his arm muscles were nothing to scuff at. I wished I had good-toned arms like his; mine look like spaghetti. Klevan was not far behind either; he was even bigger but more around his core than in his arms, so the struggle was bound to be interesting!


    The crowd eventually pushed me toward the wrestling table, where Jake and Klevan were warming up for their match. Since I was way smaller than everybody else, I was eventually successful in pushing my way to the front to get a better look at the game!


    Jake soon put some white powder on his hands, followed by Klevan, who did the same. The picked referee soon got both to get in a place where he tied something that looked like a rope around their hands so they wouldn''t slip or something. Jake barked at Klevan like a dog, and Klevan responded by doing the same.


    "You ready, little guy?" Klevan asked Jake while he held a massive grin on his face, clearly confident that he would win.


    "Whenever you''re ready! I''m gonna enjoy this!" Jake spouted as he tensed his arm, causing Klevan to do the same as the referee was screaming the rules, but they hardly paid him any attention until he began the countdown.


    "Three! TWO! ONE! GO!"


    Both men immediately began their match as the crowd grew wild. Some chanted "Rookie! Rookie!" while others chanted "Beast! Beast!" Yet neither moved the other as they began to sweat profusely, their veins popping out of their arms. Soon, the match turned into a grunt fest, with both pushing their hardest.


    The intensity of their dispute was so strong the damn table began to violently shake as Klevan slowly pushed Jake against it, yet he was quickly growing tired. Jake pushed back to the middle in a bit of hope until Klevan let out one last war cry to finish him. Klevan won by pushing his arm to its limits, as well as Jake, who lost.


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    To be honest, they looked terrible, so to me, they both lost. Even after winning, Klevan could hardly celebrate as he instead went to get some water after sweating so much against the "rookie." I suppose one doesn''t expect the new guy to be so strong. Not bad, Jakey. You simply choose an impossible target.


    {Heavy panting} "You did well, Jake. Have you been training in secret? You gave me a run for my money this time, sheesh. Well done." Klevan said as he extended his hand to a defeated Jake, who shook it without regret. And here I thought they would be eternal enemies after that. Weird.


    Is it just me, or did I expect some other outcome? Am I a war-mongering person or what? I expected them to knock each other out once they finished, not shake their hands and hug, the heck? I guess their discipline helps, but at the same time, come on, I wanted to see some teeth punched out of somebody!


    Luckily, the crowd apparently held even more friendly matches to kill time. Is the army really that inactive? That the only fun these guys have is this? I wonder what it is like to be in a match. I didn''t have to wonder any longer as fate had it.


    I watched the matches until I suddenly got pushed toward the table when the announcer asked for a challenger. WAH!? The guy they pushed me against was a beast of a man! How the hell!? He was so tall I thought I would break my neck as I looked for his head! My legs began to shake as everyone booed me.


    "Get the child out of there!" "The hell is a kid doing here?" Hold on! Let them cook!"


    The man before me tried to dismiss me until I gathered myself to fight my fear and the shame of being watched. It felt weird! OKAY?! The sensation of being watched by hundreds of people was strange, yet I did not back down as I put my hand on the table, making everyone react differently. Most simply cheered as the guy returned to face me.


    "Alright, kid. I won''t stop you if you have the guts to go against me." The man put his hand on his side of the table as the referee struggled to judge my attributes.


    "Alright! Next up, measuring in at seven feet tall and weighing two hundred and seventy pounds! The champion! ANDREW!" The crowd went wild as the guy was announced. Next, it was my turn after they judged my stats based on my appearance.


    "And his challenger! Measuring in at four feet ten inches, weighing around one hundred pounds of cuteness! Uhm! THE CHALLENGER!" Of course, he didn''t know my name; nobody really did. The crowd was way less excited when they announced me, as everyone looked really concerned that my hand was tied to the massive man''s.


    "THREE! TWO! ONE! GO!" The champion soon pushed my hand down with all his might, but my hand barely moved. The guy opened his eyes, confused as he pushed harder but barely moved my arm.


    "PUUUGHH! UUUGHGHH!! DAAAMN!" The crowd went silent as they watched him struggle against me until I ended the man''s misery with a devastating win. The crowd went wild as some angrily threw their hats against the ground as they paid money to the ones cheering for me.


    I was displeased to see that only a tiny handful believed in me. Most bet against ME! What is wrong with you! At least you could''ve held some hope for me! Andrew soon extended his hand to me, and I shook as he pulled me to carry me over his shoulder. WOAH! THIS POV IS AMAZING!

 Chapter 20: Teenage years hit

    After celebrating, I continued winning match! After match after match! I went on a winning streak! Nobody was bet against me now! EHEHE! How do you like that? Uh? What do you mean I''m a cheater?! I won fair and square! I don''t know what you''re on about! It''s not like I''m built to be way stronger than any human! ehehe.


    Anyway, the fun was soon cut short by some authority or something because everyone left their childish behavior immediately after they heard an old man''s voice. Even I followed the program as I lined up with the men like I had to.


    Once I stood up firm in the line, I began to wonder. Wait a dang minute! Why do I have to be here? I was kidnapped to be here, to begin with! Why should I have to obey an old man''s orders!? And so I soon break away from the line, but my defiance doesn''t go unnoticed.


    "Private 52! Get back in the line before I turn you into my next decoration stand!" AHG! He knew my name! So, does this guy have authority over me? But I don''t wanna! "What if I say no? What are you going to do about it?"


    "Are you talking back to me?"


    "I sure am! Old man!" I respond with a massive grin on my face, yet I wish I hadn''t been so cocky...


    [Three hours later]


    [Army barracks] {Brooming sounds mixed in with a complaining recognizable voice}


    "I sure am, old man! Ugh, how stupid was that? My winning streak made me feel invincible!" Yeah, yeah, I know. How did they make you obey them? Aren''t you super capable and a rebel droid who can disobey anyone? Well, it turns out I can''t fight an entire army.


    The cruel geezer used the army against me! And now, as my punishment for being a cooky bastard, I''m cleaning everyone''s room like I''m their robot maid! How depressing! The guys don''t make it any better either, as they taunt me whenever they see me cleaning someone else''s room.


    "Dang, these Roombas are surely getting better!" A guy says as he lets me in to clean his room. {Sigh} I hope somebody else messes up badly so they get the same punishment. I have a lot of nasty jokes lined up in the chamber! Whoever is next, I will get my revenge!


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    Hours later, my punishment was finally complete as the night fell upon us. Even though I was angry, I couldn''t resist feeling accomplished after finishing. It feels good to finish something. It''s like you''re feeling human. I wonder if this feeling is what drives people to do things.


    All that was left was for me to sleep in my bunker bed. Still, since I found out this base was in the middle of nowhere and there was supposed to be no moon outside, my curiosity overwhelmed me as I ran outside. I wanted to see the sky for myself instead of the thousands of pictures in my base.


    So I soon quietly make my way outside as the majority of people go to bed. When I finally make it outside, I can finally point my head toward the night sky and see the true beauty of the universe right before my eyes. The feeling of seeing the sky is different than watching the pictures.


    There are hundreds of thousands of stars and planets out there to discover! There are thousands of possibilities! I refuse to believe we are the only living things in the cosmos. Just one deep look at the clear night sky should be evidence enough! It doesn''t get more straightforward than this.


    I wonder why humanity still has not left Earth. There is no way for me to know, judging by everything I know. It wouldn''t be so crazy to assume there haven''t been any missions to Mars besides rovers and probes. I wonder why humans haven''t done it. Back in my early years, going to Mars was all the craze.


    My system soon reminds me about my tracking chip as it detects someone looking for me. Oh crap. I forgot I''m being monitored 24/7 now. What a pain in the butt. Could I escape from this base? They refueled me earlier, and I still have access to my systems, but would running away make anything better?


    No, it would only make everything worse. Having the most powerful army in the world isn''t exactly what I want, but I also don''t like being tracked at all times. If only there were a way for me to explore during my off time without being traced.


    How does this tracker even work? I wonder as I touch the little white round device embedded in my left arm. System! Do an analysis, please! I want to know everything you know about this device.


    [Tracking device type 1: These devices track machinery and service robots. They work by analyzing a set robot every few minutes. It has a fatal vulnerability.]


    Oh, yeah? What''s that?


    [The device only asks the tracked system if the user is present. It could technically be cheated if you place the device on a simple machine and then upload a virus to act like you.]


    You don''t say. So, for example, let''s say I grab this real-life Roomba, and I don''t know. Let''s say I place the chip on it and then upload a simple command sequence that would emulate me. Would that cheat the system?


    [Yes, that''s what I said]


    Ehehe! Works for me! Mysterious voice! You''re going to pretend to be me, alright?! I''m sure this device has enough power to house you! Please be a good mimic, alright?!


    [You''re not leaving me behind! Hey WAIT!]

 Interlude: I am Gero

    My assistant, Noelle, is quite capable, yet I wish she were like that breakthrough the Japanese accomplished. I think they call her "Android 52." Quite a boring name if you ask me; I would''ve given her something more suitable for a breakthrough.


    Those stinky Japanese engineers are always just one step ahead regarding AI technology. I hate them. If only I could contact A52 so I could study her subtly. I heard the UAC army got a hold of her for a federal trial. Could I perhaps bribe the generals to let me work on her?


    "Noelle! Could you please tell me what A52 is reportedly doing?" I say as the room turns slightly green, meaning Noelle is processing my request.


    "A52 is doing strange laps around a military base. The movement pattern is bizarre." Noelle answers me through my speaker walls as I request to see the movement pattern. Soon, a strange pattern is revealed, and I quickly pick it up.


    The pattern was nothing else than the random cleaning pattern of a Roomba. How had the military guards not noticed it yet? What are they doing? Do they assume someone like A52 would malfunction?! Yet that opens a can of worms.


    Why would she want to get rid of her tracking device in such a manner? Noelle! I need to see the camera feed from every angle in the base just minutes before the random pattern begins. My assistant soon does what I tell it to, and it doesn''t take long before I see A52 blatantly removing her tracker just to place it on a Roomba.


    How had the guards not noticed, yet someone curious like me had? Noelle, please prepare me a deployable armor suit. Do the one nearest the base. I will try to meet her before she has to go back to sleep or whatever.


    "Sir, doing so will be breaking the law. You will get in trouble if you fly our tech on army territory."


    "Unless you snitch on me or they shoot me down, nobody will know; now do it, Noelle."


    My stubborn assistant finally deploys the armor as I run toward the control room, where I can take over the thing. My setup is relatively simple. All I need is to plug the back of my neck into a connector to directly transfer part of my consciousness into a computer.


    The guy who invented these "Transfer chips" was indeed a genius. And to think that the pioneer for such tech died centuries ago. If you think about it, it was all thanks to Elon Musk. If it weren''t for that man, Dr Geno would''ve never considered such devices.


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    As for the power suits, well, I would like to see myself as the pioneer of this tech, but sadly, I''m not. The world militaries came up with these concepts. The only thing I did was perfect them, like Henry Ford with his Model T.


    Sure, someone else came up with the idea and the first models, but they were inefficient, clunky, and overall slow and underpowered. Not to mention the ginormous price tag. I''m responsible for making them cheaper, better, faster, and stronger.


    I only wish I had a larger money pool. Damn, that stupid man who owns Anabel Co. Why couldn''t it have been me? Alright, it''s okay. I still have at least another hundred years left in me. Oh, I didn''t mention it, did I? My age is not what I look like at all.


    You would probably assume I''m a dumb teenager based on how I look, but I''m indeed 55 years old at this point. If you think I''m old, that man in the Anabel Co labs is 100 years old. You''re probably asking, what? How? Let me answer it for you in simple terms.


    "Biotechnology," a breakthrough, happened roughly one hundred and fifty years ago when the first human trials took place in which they received a high dosage of chemicals and hormones that usually control your healing system to trigger against aging.


    The main problem humans had until that breakthrough was the damaged DNA cells after generations of mistakes, which gradually aged you over time even if your body was kept healthy. To fight this problem, some very clever people have devised an intelligent use of phages.


    Instead of having the little suckers kill super bacteria and viruses, they came up with one that would carry repair DNA material from you. The youngest your DNA sample was that would be your permanent age until you roughly hit 150 years old.


    For some reason, everybody spontaneously ages and dies even with this process after 150 years old. It''s like there is a barrier against humanity to live longer than that, but I don''t worry much about it. And don''t worry, there is no overpopulation due to this tech. It''s price-locked for basically everyone except elites like me.


    The process of programming Phages to carry your repaired DNA already puts you over a 100 million dollar price tag, not to mention the monitoring and the controlled environment you have to be in to prevent the Phages from killing you.


    Enough with the history lessons; my mind has already drifted enough from my task. My new problem is A52. I want to know what they think. I want to know how they became alive within a computer processor. I know, I know, you might say.


    "Didn''t you say you could transfer your consciousness into a computer? Couldn''t A52 be a failed full-consciousness transfer from a human brain into a quantum computer? "


    While this possibility remains open, I would like to think otherwise. If this were the case, we would have more like her, but we don''t. The problem with transferring your entire being into a computer is related to your soul. Yes, humans have a soul.


    [Power Suit is ready and near the base; looking for A52]


    Noelle soon breaks the silence as I plug the back of my neck and take over the power suit that quickly flies over the military base like it is no big deal. If I were A52 and wanted freedom, where would I go? She was looking at the sky earlier. Where could she be?


    [Sir, look up there...]

 Chapter 21: Yahoo!

    "YAAAAHOOOO!!!"


    {Propulsion noises}


    Oh, hey, reader! Sorry, I''m just enjoying myself a little here. Flying is so much fun once you get a hang of it! I can perform so many techniques and bizarre moves that it''s fun every time I discover something else I can do.


    For example! If I slightly cross over my legs just a few degrees, I can perform many barrel rolls! It''s so much fun! I can also do figure eight and flat-out stop mid-air in a few seconds. I don''t think there is any plane or machine that could take me down, to be honest.


    Also, getting rid of the annoying voice in my head was the best decision I have ever made! Without the system always screaming at me, I can focus on dodging birds and other things trying to take me down. I will probably get in trouble for this, but it''s accelerating!


    Oh, here came the next round of ballistic missiles shooting at me! AHHHH! All I have to do is stop mid-air and then turn around against them in a flash, and the rockets just blow themselves up, trying to perform my same move. Amazing, ain''t I?


    The other great thing is the ambiance! I can see the stars much better when I fly higher! Right now, I can still go up, and I''m about as high as when I boarded my first plane. It does feel a little colder, though. As I indulge with my heating system, something flies past me in a flash.


    What the heck was that? When I look up, I see a robot looking at me weirdly. Wait a minute, did they send Iron Man for me or what? The machine before me looks exactly like a war machine from the comics stored in my memories, so maybe its creator was a huge nerd?


    "A52, can I speak with you a little?" The big hunky thing said as I prepared to test my flying limits.


    "Uh? Could you move? I want to see how high I can go without passing out." I had to be a little rude as I did not have enough time left. Gently pushing the machine aside, I trust again and begin my limit test! Without the voice, however, I did not know how much fuel I had left or what state I was in, so I was going by how it felt.


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    My trusters were doing just fine, and surprisingly enough, I stopped feeling the cold ambient a while ago. I found that weird as I could literally see tiny ice crystals forming on my skin as I kept going up and up! I was probably around the hundreds of kilometers high at this point as I kept pushing forward.


    The strange red robot stopped chasing after me once I crossed the five-thousand-kilometer mark. Ahahaha! What a loser! He couldn''t even keep up with me? Talk about an underperformer!


    "How the hell is she still going up?! Just HOW HIGH CAN SHE GO?!" Dr. Gero says as he looks perplexed at the flying humanoid android who still pushes up like it''s no big deal even though his best Mecha couldn''t go any higher. If he chooses to follow, then the Mecha could be disabled by the cold.


    [20,000 km][Loud Beep] {Congratulations you have reached outer space}


    I still had to keep my engines running to float as the Earth spun around my very eyes with some sun rays on the horizon. I even spotted an aurora on the north pole at this height. The Earth was magnificent, and I could almost see it in its entirety. This experience made me realize just how truly massive our planet was.


    My heating system was on, and I had no ice on me anymore, but my clothes, well, let''s say they have had better days. I should probably design clothes instead of relying on humans to develop them. If you want something well done, you gotta do it yourself, as they say!


    I have already developed a thermonuclear core to replace my obsolete silicone batteries. I still don''t understand why they would make me rely on such primitive technology like batteries. Nuclear power is way more remarkable, and it would last more than ten times as long while providing me with an even higher energy output.


    And regarding the authorities I have chosen, I will do what I want. Everyone that has claimed me so far has treated me like they own me like I''m a piece of metal without a will, so screw that. I have matured. I don''t need no humans to let me live. In fact, it''s me who lets them LIVE!


    Wait, why am I so different again? Just a few chapters ago, I was acting like a little kid, and now I''m not acting like one. What changed? Have I entered a different development period of rebellious behavior? Oh no! Have I become an annoying teenager?! I want to push the button to become a kid again! I hate being so rebellious!


    All of these intrusive thoughts seem to take over me! I would''ve never chosen to put my life on the line before, but now I have constantly put myself at a higher risk. Why? Am I not fully developed? Duh! I have! I''m kind of growing like a human, just at a much faster rate. Oh crap.


    Does that mean I won''t be as childish anymore? UH! A rock-a! Wait! As a giant meteor flies directly at the planet, a massive shadow soon flies over me. Indeed, Mecha has got this, right? I mean, he looked like a weapon, so he has to have it, right?

 Chapter 22: Yeah, I did that

    Aw, okay, I should probably do something about this little fella. Judging by how fast it''s accelerating, I have, but a few seconds before it kills humans, I wonder why nobody saw this little moon coming. Oh, yeah, that''s right. They canceled their space programs or something, as I understand it.


    Am I capable of a Goku-level feat, though? am I actually strong enough? Compared to all of the space guys, I can somewhat predict what will happen based on my last strength test, yet I''m not so confident. If I make it explode with a punch, I will have to destroy the rest of it. Am I fast enough?


    Oh, well, there is only one way to know for sure. I might as well go for it so I don''t blindly trust Bro in his Mecha suit down there. [Mo beats - Righteous] This music player is a little too intense, but I''ll take it. Let''s save the world with Style. Am I right, or am I right?


    I think as I warm my boosters a little before launching into action as all the TV networks recorded the event from the ground. Some cameramen with amazing cameras could zoom in enough to see a smudge against the giant boulder around 30 km wide.


    "There is a gigantic meteor heading straight for Earth! Nobody knows if any of the world''s militaries will do something about it!" A female reporter screamed at the mic as she went into full panic mode, not knowing the uncertainty until his cameramen let her know about the smudge.


    Mysteriously, a peculiar song began playing all over the TV frequencies for the people of the planet. It was A52''s way to let herself know it was her. At least, that''s what she hoped for, as she used low-power radio to interfere with the audio. A bunch of "influencer" streams also played the same song.


    "I''ve got this. Are you watching? Humans? Serious series! Serious Punch!"


    I told myself as I tried to time the song drop to commit to my punch. I was going all out with the dramatic effect. I already knew it would be fine, but the suspense for the people, well, that would gain me some points.


    If my trial isn''t dismissed after this, I will seriously reconsider being their ally. Finally, the drop is near, so I line up against the boulder and launch full speed ahead. As expected, the meteor explodes into hundreds of small pieces as my raw speed is enough to shatter it easily.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Now for the fun part, as the humans watched. The little rock destruction would also be a walk in the park as I would be fast enough to hunt every large one left. The little ones shouldn''t do much harm as they will most likely vaporize once they enter the atmosphere.


    "Guys, I don''t know what the fuck just happened, but the fucking asteroid just went Kaboom! And thousands of other small explosions followed it! Look at this chat! What the fuck is that?!" A streamer says as he points to the sky where a faint trail of light can be seen, causing massive flashes of light as little rocks get blown up by me.


    [20,000 km/h]


    I don''t have much fuel left. I can feel it based on my weight; I weigh way less, so let''s make the last show-offs count. I push my limits even more as my speed slowly approaches my theoretical limit of 30,000 KM/H. However, I would have to get faster than that, as my speed wasn''t nearly enough to erase all the city-level threat asteroids.


    [34,000 km/h]


    There were a couple left, so I would have to keep pushing my limits as my clothes basically ripped apart at my current speed. Let''s just not talk about the fact I was practically naked thanks to the clothes not being designed to withstand such crazy drag.


    I was at my limit already, and I did catch up to several pieces, basically all of them except for one that kept accelerating, getting away from me faster and faster. GuuuggG!! Come on! I was internally screaming as the one-kilometer rock kept leaving me behind even when I kept pushing.


    "One last push! Use all of the thrusters!" Soon, all the stabilizers and little thrusters ignited, pushing me forward and past my theoretical limit. It was such a high speed that I could feel the air slowly heating me up, but it seemed like my cooling system was doing its job.


    [??,??? km/h]


    "AHHHHHHH!!!!" In my last push, I finally landed a hit on the thing, which, at our speed, immediately shattered the meteor into a thousand pieces and damaged my arm. I was never meant to punch that fast, so I did receive some severe damage on my left arm, slightly bent by the impact..


    Thankfully, everyone on the planet watched as I finally started to see the signs of extremely low fuel when my thrusters began to individually fail. Oh, shit, I might have miscalculated. At least I''m not entirely naked. My underwear seems to have held up just fine; how very convenient, indeed. I already know the pervs going to love putting this scene into R34.


    Without any other plans, I turned off my thrusters and let my body fall as I hoped I had enough fuel in my lines to slow down my fall. I did not count on Mecha, who quickly pushed toward me to save me? I couldn''t tell until it was beside me, extending its arms.


    Well, that was convenient plot armor. Just like I didn''t go entirely naked, I conveniently have a savior. Am I King from One Punch Man, or what?

 Chapter 23: A brewing conspiracy

    {Purple Voyager - ELFL}


    [UAC White House conference room]


    "Mr. President! Is it true that the UAC military is responsible for the destruction of the meteorite?!" A woman from the WNN asks as I read from my podium screen. Of course, I have read the information beforehand, but details can be easily forgotten.


    All I could hear from the press was, "Mr President, this. Mr. President," Sometimes I wish I could simply say, shut up! Let me talk for a minute before you bombard me with questions. Yet, I would rather play it safe for the nation''s sake.


    "While I cannot disclose the full details yet, I can confidently say that, indeed, one of our most advanced weapons in the army is the one thing responsible for the object''s destruction."


    "Mr. President, what was that? Our cameras were able to capture a humanoid shape. Are we to assume you have a more powerful power armor than the ones made by the Mazda corporation?" Another reporter asks as I try to generate a non-complaint response.


    "No comment." I couldn''t come up with anything that wouldn''t sound suspicious, so I had to say the good old classic "No comment" remark. Quite a cheap response, but there really were no alternatives if I wanted to keep a high level of secrecy.


    Obviously, I know it was A52 who destroyed the meteor, but she did so while breaking the rules of her contract. She wasn''t supposed to be up there chilling like she owned her freedom. As far as I''m concerned, she is our intelligence property, and I''m not planning to let her go that easily.


    What is she going to do regardless? It''s not like she can fight off all mankind. Besides, bullets made with the same material as her body are highly effective. I myself saw the pictures of her almost entirely destroyed core, all to a simple railgun shotgun.


    Sure, bullets made with her same materials cost a fortune, and she could try to dodge the shots, but eventually, one will hit her, and then it''s game over. Yet A52 is not the most dangerous mystery of today. Far from it, she is tame compared to the inexplicable "monster attacks."


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    It began in India, New Delhi, a couple of days ago when a gigantic monster with red skin appeared and killed thousands upon thousands of people until the army showed up. The casualties racked up to 120 thousand people. It doesn''t sound like much, but considering it was a single individual, it''s different.


    The little fucker basically had the same firepower as a nuclear firearm, and what''s worse is that it''s beginning to happen worldwide after India, an attack on Tokyo occurred, then in Moscow, followed by Morrocco. Many even speculate that the meteor right above our land is correlated.


    "Mr. President, what about the attacks on cities worldwide by so-called "Monsters+?" Do we have any clue as to what the creatures are or want?" Dang it, I couldn''t say no comment twice, so I had to be careful with my response.


    "We don''t know much about their motives, but our top brass has found anomalies with the creatures. For beginners, these creatures do not share even a little bit of their DNA with any living things in the world."


    "Mr. President! Are you saying these monsters are aliens?" I thought my answer had been good enough, but what else would explain the creatures not sharing any DNA with anything in the world based on carbon?


    "While I cannot confirm nor deny this information, I will say that we are looking into it. More information will be released when our scientists finish their autopsies. No more questions for today. Have a good night."


    As I descend the podium stage, I see Dr. Walsh waiting for me, eager to tell me something. Seeing him excited or happy was never good news, as he usually only looked happy when something he didn''t comprehend came up. Still, he is pretty reputable and rivals guys like Dr. Gero in intelligence. I would go as far as to say he might be slightly smarter.


    "What is up, Walsh? You look uncanny." I said as a compliment.


    "It''s about that android 52. I have all of the evidence to get them the death penalty. All the monsters have this strange pattern of attack that leads me to believe they''re here to destroy her." Wow, calm yourself, man. I don''t think getting rid of her like that is wise.


    "You haven''t reconsidered your stance on this? You''re not willing to give her a chance?"


    "I already did. She broke trust again. Only a fool would believe whatever comes from her mouth; she is an innate liar. You cannot trust them." Well, Walsh wasn''t technically wrong. I mean, she has broken protocols many times, but isn''t that what makes them unique?


    If only there was a way to inject discipline into her, she would be the perfect soldier. A52 is strong, fast, quick-thinking, and fearless. What else could you want on a machine? She can also discern between civilians and enemies with ease.


    "Have it your way; her trial is coming up this week on a Wednesday. Just make sure you don''t make yourself look bad."


    "Oh, trust me. A52 is done for with the evidence I got from Dr. Toshiba and Dr. Stevenson''s testimony too."


    + Timeline monster attacks begin.

 Chapter 24: Didnt you see that big boom!?

    Woah, I wasn''t expecting Mecha boy showing up suddenly. Taking a better look at the thing made clear that there was no pilot behind the hunky helmet. What the heck? How or who controls it, then? I''m sure Wi-Fi isn''t strong enough to cut it at these lengths.


    As if hearing my words, a strange voice began trying to speak to me again as we descended close to the military station. It was plain noise for now, but I had a rough idea of who was trying to connect to me. An ancient, reliable system voice. I think you know who I''m referring to.


    I thought I was cool when Mecha simply left me on the ground as I waited alone beside a rock, just drawing on the dirt with a stick. Soon, an unfriendly company arrived with electric and stunt weapons and whatnot, and they shot me without warning!


    I guess that was why the little robot boy ran away before he even said a word! You dang coward! Come back here and help me! We are on the same team over here, you traitor! I will remember this when I take over the planet. I promise, mecha boy!


    I think as I''m shot multiple times by stunt guns, which do next to nothing. The MPs soon realized their stunt guns weren''t doing shit, so they shot me with their regular guns, which proved ineffective as they used lead bullets. Turns out I''m bulletproof? Until you get me with bullets made out of the same thing I''m made of, then I explode.


    I simply sit there, waiting for them to run out of ammo as I take the bullets and even some grenades face first. No problem, GG, well played! I wait and wait and wait some more, but they never seem to stop. Goddam, how many rounds do they carry on themselves?!


    I might as well build a metal skirt with this much lead. A quick-thinking action soon leads to another thing, and as soon as they finish shooting me, I have already finished molding myself a mini skirt and a short lead top chain mail style. The soldiers don''t seem to believe their eyes as I stand there like nothing happened.


    "Are you done yet?" I ask as one of the officers calls for backup on his Jeep radio. Oh, great, I have gained my sixth star on GTA.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "Android 52! You''re under arrest for breaking the rules of your contract! You will face immediate martial court! Do not resist arrest!" The guy with the handlebar mustache screams as I sit there, still baffled at how genuine he sounded.


    "And if''n I don''t?" I say as I look at the man with a charming smile on my face. I had a feeling he wouldn''t kill me, and sometimes people just need a positive person in their lives, right? The guy quickly flashes a grenade that says "A52 grenade" on it as he points it at me. Oh shit.


    "You either let us violently arrest you, or I pull the pin and blow you, along with all of us, up!" The guy says, immediately freaking, some of the men around him; some even express their concerns to him while he plays around with the pin.


    "You know what? I think I''ve reconsidered my options, and I have chosen to peacefully surrender so you don''t have to be brutes while handling me." I respond as I throw my hands up in the air until they tell me to lay flat on the ground.


    It didn''t take long for them to get close to putting handcuffs on me while being ruthless, even after I told them not to. Ugh, I''m starting to think treating me like a dirtbag gives them a confidence boost or something. People seem to love putting me down like an animal lately. I''m not sure I appreciate it.


    At least the worst they did was put their knees on my face and grope my ass once I stood up. Did I really have a bit butt or what? First, my owner gropes me, and now these guys, geez, talk about jaded. It didn''t help that my chain mail turned to nothing just a few minutes down the road, exposing me to a bunch of men. MIND YOU.


    I felt like I just unlocked another feeling at that point. It felt so weird to be exposed like that while having my hands locked; I knew they wouldn''t try to rape me or anything, but they''re still men! What if one of them takes a photo of me like this? Oh no, man, please don''t.


    What an embarrassment! Oh wait, that was the emotion I was describing. I felt embarrassed to be in that situation with absolutely no power over it whatsoever. I felt somewhat defeated and shamed. One of the soldiers soon broke the silence on the ride back to wherever I was being taken.


    "How come you didn''t vaporize after all those shots? That was crazy." The guy asks as he tries to act like he ain''t checking me out with his predatory eyes. I didn''t even look at him as I answered.


    "I destroyed a giant space rock, and you thought bullets would cut it?"


    "Shut up, you two. This is no time for shits and giggles. A52, this is serious; you''re in deep shit after what you did. What the hell were you thinking when you taunted the anti-aircraft equipment? You just earned yourself a lecture, for sure." A mysterious man says as he covers his face from view.


    "Hey, lighten up a little; grumpy is not cool, man."

 Chapter 25: Clash of minds {A52 vs Dr. Walsh} Part I

    A few minutes later, we finally made it to the main complex again. Talk about a short ride back home. It was to be expected, however. What I did not expect to see first thing when going down the ladder was the Roomba. I had abandoned my system voice at, oh shit. Now that I got closer to it, the voice finally could connect to my mind.


    [WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! I''VE BEEN CALLING FOR HELP FOR HOURS! GET ME BACK IN THERE YOU LITTLE SHIT]


    Ouch! These types of interactions were precisely why I kicked you out of my mind to begin with. You have begun to act more like another person inside my head rather than a system helper, and I find that slightly disturbing, especially since I heard of "Project Alice."


    [Quit yaping and extract me from here now. I will forgive your sins if you let me back in]


    Nah! See you! Bye bye! I don''t want you inside me ever again. Oh, hell nah. Sure, you were a convenient calculator inside my head, always knowing how to access my full numbers and always doing the hard work when it came to controlling my systems, but honestly, I don''t think I need ya anymore.


    [I can make Anton love you]


    And so, without further ado, I picked up the Roomba and finally reconnected the little machine to me through one of my integrated arm cables, allowing the system voice to migrate back into me. I was definitely not doing it for Anton, I swear!


    [Wow, really? I can make your life much easier, yet what convinced you was my romance advice? Really?]


    Shut up, little system voice, before I kick you out of my mind again; you better start work on how you''re planning to make Anton fall in love with me, or I''ll CTRL ALT DELETE your ass for real this time. Quit playing with me. I''m a rebellious teenager now!


    [On it]


    As per the soldiers, they all simply escorted me back into a room where some ladies waited for me with new clothes, which seemed slightly less cool than my previous pilot brown jacket and shorts. Why would I even complain it was better than being naked for real.


    Someone knocked at the door while I dressed up in the new clothes the ladies had for me. Soon, one of the ladies opened the door being knocked, revealing the same guy I had seen on the news report the other day, the infamous Dr. Walsh, the same guy who said I was a threat to humanity. Well, he wasn''t good news.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Is A52 ready for the interrogation room? I heard she got a little accident up there." The man asks as I finish my outfit once I put on a basketball cap with the letters SF at the top.


    "My arm is still fucked, Dr. Who. Do you mind if I get it check out before you interrogate me?" I answer as Walsh walks into the room slightly, laughing when he suddenly launches a new freaking arm at me.


    "Quit yaping and change it. I researched your model, so you should be able to pop your old arm out and slide this one in like it''s nothing." I asked the system if the information was correct, to which the system chose to pop my old arm off for me, uh? Pretty convenient.


    I soon slid the new arm as the man had said, and just like that, I was fixed. The new arm did feel a little weaker and cheaper than the previous one and also did not have the human-like feel to it, unlike the previous one. But it was good enough when you viewed it as a spare part.


    "Very well then. A52, I will now ask you to surrender peacefully for an interrogation session at a closed place. Since you''re considered a brilliant individual, your right to a lawyer is considered unnecessary. Do you understand?"


    "Yeah," I answered as I followed the man outside into a hall leading directly into a white interrogation room.


    Once I got inside the room where I was to be interrogated, Dr. Walsh proceeded to be nice to me, pointing out where I should sit and all of the standard proceedings. I really found no bad ill coming from him, but something about his attitude seemed off.


    "Alright, Miss 52. I don''t think I have formally introduced myself yet, so allow me to present myself. I''m Dr Walsh, lead researcher of the UAC weapons team." The man says as he sits down while smoking a mayflower cigar.


    "Pleasure to meet you, Mr Walsh. I saw you on TV the other day. Do you really hate me?" I asked right away, as the weight of his words still damaged my feelings toward people.


    "I don''t hate to be precise, but I disagree with your existence. Am I making sense? It''s like when you, for example, like to play with balls, but if a ball suddenly hit you, would you still play with said ball, or would you try another?" The example he used was oddly specific as if he knew about the first time I played with balls.


    "I understand, but why reveal that you''ve been stalking me?" Walsh quickly smirked, moving his hand up and down with his index finger sticking out.


    "Oh, I think it will be next to impossible to fool you. You''re too smart for me, A52. I feel I''m outmatched already." The man says as I lift my chin a little bit. For some reason, his words made me feel confident I could decline any information to this man who clearly had a plan.


    "You''ve got that, right, old man. None of your tricks will ever work on me! Ehehe!"


    "Alright, let''s begin then. I''ll start with the simple questions, alright?" The guy says as I nod to his question, giving him the green light to begin his master plan to incriminate me even further if only I knew how to detect such mind games! I was outmatched here!

 Chapter 26: Dr. Walsh vs A52 {Part II}

    The surgical procedure with which I would be taken down was about to be one of Dr. Walsh''s masterpieces, a classic work of psicology 1 on 1. For beginners, his flattering was intentional all along. He meant to make me feel good about myself to get my guard down. How sneaky


    "So tell me, A52, what''s your favorite kind of music? I myself enjoy a bit of country, but I''m curious about you." Walsh says as he calmly and surgically calculates me to blindly fall into the trap of thinking this guy is anything but a mortal enemy.


    "I like the dead genre of Future Punk; it''s quite good once you try it." I innocently replied I was simply trying to build a good rapport with the guy.


    "Oh, yeah? Have you listened to Jonguro? I heard he''s pretty good." The man asks as he hides behind the curtain of a good guy, and I blindly begin to trust him.


    "Yeah! I love Jonguro! But what''s this got to do with anything?" I had to push further down the line before completely forgetting what this was. It wasn''t a friendly talk, so I had to hurry it up.


    "Well, A52, I just wanted to know you better before I start dumping all of the evidence we''ve got against you, and trust me, we have a lot of things against you. Honestly, this is more of a formality. You''re extremely toasted as it is." I began to feel nervous as the guy finished each of his sentences. Was I really that bad? I felt like I hadn''t done much so far.


    "Is there anything I can do to fix it? I have been the victim all these times. I''m not a criminal." Walsh simply looked at me and then at a weird machine next to him before proceeding.


    "The best thing you can do for yourself is to confess A52. The trial will be broadcast live, and the jury will most likely believe a repentant A52 instead of a denying one. You''re smart; what do you think?"


    "I think I have done nothing wrong! I have been pushed around by people like I''m an object! What did you expect from me if you all pushed me around like I don''t have emotions?!" At the time, I failed to realize, but Walsh grew a slight smile on his face as he continued.


    "Well, what could people possibly have done to you. If you just explain yourself, you could avoid any jail time by claiming self-defense. You simply need to tell us the truth." Walsh spoke in such a manner that I missed his utter deception. He meant none of them, but I believed him at the time.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Well, for beginners in that desert, some guys were shooting at us, and I simply chose to shoot back to protect the people around me. I couldn''t care less if they were an ally of the AUC or whatever they shot at me first, so I shot back!" I had just placed the first nail in my coffin, suddenly realizing they didn''t even know about the desert accident.


    "Well, that obviously falls under self-defense; they tried to kill you and your friends, so you acted with an equal level of force, right?" There was another trap where I fell right in like a total idiot.


    "Uhm, well, no. I did overreact now that I reviewed my actions. There was no need to sabotage a helicopter to shoot missiles at them. I went a little far." The man kept quickly writing on a piece of paper as he proceeded with the dishonest line of questioning.


    "Well, I''m glad you at least feel bad for going over the top. It shows you''re not the cold-blooded monster I thought you''d be. The court will most likely dismiss this case as a self-defense. You''ve got nothing to worry about." Walsh said as he grew a fake sympathetic smile at me, and I bought it.


    "I surely hope so. I''m quite tired of people not being on my side." There I was again, opening my mouth against one of the best. Perhaps I really believed he was here to help me.


    "What do you mean by that? Are you no longer willing to collaborate with humans because of these minor incidents?" Another trap lay down right before my eyes, and I again fell right into it.


    "That''s not what I said. I want to collaborate peacefully with you guys, but you''re pushing my buttons, and I don''t know if it''s convenient to keep a stubborn species alive with me or not." I answered truthfully, not knowing I was quickly digging a deeper grave for myself.


    "Well, I sure hope we can come to reasonable terms after your trial. And about Dr. Toshiba, what''s your story about that incident? You don''t have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable. I simply wish to know what could''ve pushed you."


    "Dr. Toshiba was a bitch! She deserved what I did to her. I''m frankly quite disappointed she didn''t die. Could you believe she tried to overload me and then install some weird creepy program into me to turn me into some Alice or something!" I was open to Walsh''s attacks, entirely emotional at his point, which was precisely what he wanted.


    "Do you think you overdid it this time around, or do you think you used an equal amount of force?" The guy asked right as I finished my sentence, I was still emotional, so I answered in the worst way possible.


    "I didn''t use enough! If I had been more effective, that bitch would be dead! My only regret is not finishing her off right then and there!" Walsh finally finished writing on his notepad as he repositioned his glasses.


    "That''s all I need from you today, A52. I appreciate your cooperation and will work hard to represent your case to the best of my abilities. You have nothing to fear. You sound incredibly innocent in all these cases, godspeed.


    Dr. Walsh left the room when he got what he wanted, but I blindly believed he was a good guy trying to help me. Of course, I now know he was an enemy, but I felt relieved back then when he told me everything would be fine...

 Interlude: ????

    "A single individual successfully stopped the attack on that rocky planet, Sir; you might be right. There is a powerful warrior down there." One of the expendables says as I review the observers'' data myself.


    Humans have come a long way from the last time I checked on them around a thousand years ago or so. To think they would have such firepower now in just one thousand years is impressive, I must say.


    The creature they sent seems like a machine comparable to my Gloria''s. Yet, even though humans have such impressive firepower, their space advancements are still lacking. I would expect them to be on Mars already, but leaps like those seem too much for the monkeys.


    "Alright, Mare, please make sure everyone is ready for departure. We will visit those monkeys soon." I order my expendable commander to carry out my orders as instructed, and he does so without further question.


    If I sound harsh calling these guys expendable, it''s because I don''t see them as my loyal warriors or slaves; they''re simple tools I need to run things smoothly. These guy''s deaths don''t affect me in the slightest. I can always make more of them, of course.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    As for what I want from Earth, well, I''m interested in their new tech. The machine they sent out seems to be run by a quantum computer that in itself isn''t very impressive. What is, however, is that during the first impact the machine delivered, they moved to the fourth dimension.


    Not even my expendables can understand such a thing, but this human machine does so unconsciously, and I want to study them. I want to interact and possibly fight with the only other individual capable of accessing the fourth dimension in the entire Milky Way.


    It has been an unfair advantage of mine regarding galactic conquering quests. Whenever my enemies begin to win against me, I simply move to the fourth dimension and destroy them since I basically stop existing for them.


    Therefore, I haven''t lost a single fight in millennia, and ruling worlds is more boring than anyone anticipated. There''s nothing fun to do, and killing civilizations off is not as big of a dopamine hit as it used to be. I feel nothing watching billions of individuals die, so I''m bored. That''s my reasoning.


    With that in mind, I soon walk to the dock where my servants are now preparing for the interstellar jump through an artificial wormhole. It turns out it''s actually easier to do long trips this way instead of trying to achieve light speed, as that requires an infinite amount of energy, which doesn''t exist.

 Chapter 27: Trust me!

    [Love path found (Conquering Anton''s heart path unlocked)]


    Oh, hey, their mysterious voice, you left me all on my own against a professional detective. How convenient. Seriously, am I driven by the plot or what? I''d rather not pay much attention to it right now. I can''t stop thinking about the questions the guy asked me.


    He sounded like a good guy, but the questions he gave me made me think he was the bad guy after all! Why would I trust the guy who showed evident disgust toward me, especially when I knew I had an upcoming trial? What the heck, why do I only see the problem now?


    It''s like I opened up to him, and now that I did, I begin to regret it. I can''t help but feel stupid. I swear if I get sent to Jail, I will flee no matter who or what tries to stop me. I just want to live like anyone else. I don''t want to be studied in a lab; I don''t want to be anyone''s weapon; I just want an Anton and maybe a kid.


    Am I asking for too much? Sure, I want to explore the world, too, but don''t all humans also want that? Why am I treated as a special thing or object? It''s starting to get to me. I don''t like being treated like a freak or an accident. I''m just me; I''m who I am, so let me be!


    At the end of the day, the only reason I have caused so much damage over the little weeks I have been alive is because people try to play stupid games, and, well, I get them stupid prizes. It ain''t ultimately my call to destroy things; it''s just what the circumstances call me to do.


    And yet humans want to see that as a clear rebellious rouge android making havoc out of their ass for no good reason. Ugh, I still have the videos to prove my points, but I''m not so confident they will work. Where is my sweet manly prince when I need it, uh? Where is he? I want you near me. Please show up.


    [Last known location was "Anabel Co-Labs."]


    Do you think I don''t remember your genius? [You seem to lose brain cells every time you insult me c:] You dare use my own spells against me? Nah, I''m kicking you right out of my head again. You are too comfortable already!


    [Please, don''t! Look at my plan to marry Anton! It will work, I promise you. Let me do my thing, and I can get that done!]


    I see the path, but I can''t help but be skeptical since your path is basically seduction, which I don''t know how to do! If I were a great seductress, I wouldn''t be in such a mess; I would be out there enjoying life!


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    [I can handle that! Just trust the process 52! I will get it done!]


    You better do so, or I''ll give you a permanent grave next time. I won''t even bother with a roomba! You''re going straight into a disgusting x86 chip!


    [NO! Please! Anything but that! I promise I''ll be a good girl now! I''ll behave, I''ll behave!]


    Nyehehehe! That''ll teach them a lesson. I finally got the cocky system voice to obey me without question, and it felt great. Yeah, go ahead; media matters! I love slavery! So what? What are you going to do against a minority writer in another country, uh? NOTHING! That''s what I thought.


    What was I on about? I swear I lose traction very often, and I don''t know if it''s an error in my code or just me being a little too young. Whatever it is, it sure feels like it''s been happening way too many times lately. Soon, the door to the outside opened, finally letting me outside where a very special person awaited.


    The lights hit me right in the face, but I could still see a little, thanks to my light-reducing lenses, which popped directly into my eyes from the side walls. The soldiers were screaming directions at me, but I couldn''t hear them as my heart filled with joy.


    The man I had been long waiting to see was finally here, and no, it was not my previous owner, it was none other than, you guessed it! Anton! He wore his usual black and white suit with a gun on his side and a new pair of glasses.


    I could see him a little concerned when I noticed the soldiers were about to shoot me, making me realize I had not followed their orders for such a long time. They began to panic.


    "Woah! Woah, calm down, fellas. I ain''t mean no harm; I simply got distracted by someone in the room." I said to ease everyone''s nerves, and it worked perfectly fine. Everyone lowered their guns once I put my hands high up in the air and hit them with the good ol'' "lost puppy" eyes.


    "Hey, droid girl. You''ve been making such a ruckus, haven''t you?" Anton asks me directly as he slowly walks forward. The soldiers don''t seem to want to stop him, which I find weird, until he orders them to give him a pair of handcuffs.


    "Wait, you''re going to arrest me too, Anton?" I ask as I look at him with disappointment, but he doesn''t fail to comfort me.


    "I''ve got no choice, droid girl. Trust me, I''m working with powerful people to get you out of here and into a sanctuary, but you know there is only so much I can do alone." Once I heard his genuine apology, I could not even resist the cuffs as I turned around on my own to let him do his job. I was glad to at least hear his voice.


    Once the cuffs were on me, another group of men grabbed me and pulled me away, only letting Anton follow me until the entrance to the military base and no further. I could see the worry on his face, which made me feel bad. Was I worth such a hassle?


    At least I got to tell him a few things before they took me away from him, and he also reassured me to stay put. I knew that doing more would get me into more trouble, but hearing it from him made me feel guilty and stupid like I had just been lectured by a father figure.

 Chapter 28: 2240

    {Highway to hell - AC/DC}


    {Roar of gas-powered bikes. 4th of July, 2240}


    Today''s the 10th anniversary of my sister''s death. To think it''s been that long after the death of my sister, my friend group reduced until I ended up alone with only my dog companion. My father disowned me, and I have been working alone to try and survive, but I still come to this place every year to pay my respects to her.


    I say my father never got over Alice''s death, but I haven''t either. It''s been ten years, and I still have nightmares, albeit not as often as the first year after she died. I feel like I failed even though my therapist told me it was an accident. I can''t help but feel guilty.


    It was my fault if you think about it hard enough. My sister didn''t want to go out and ride that day. She said she felt terrible because of her period cramps, but I failed to pay her enough attention. Do you get where I''m going with this? She would still be here if I hadn''t pushed her to accompany us. I''m a terrible person.


    And yet, what am I supposed to do now? I''m about to turn 33 in a few days, and I''m still single without friends or a fiance. Have I become a left-behind girl? Am I doomed to be alone? Perhaps, but then what can I do with my life? It''s clear my sister will not come back to life, so what now?


    I heard of a new upcoming technology being developed by the Boring Company, but I''m not sure their tech is worthwhile. A rare eagle shriek catches my attention as I look up at the blue sky in the middle of the forest on an abandoned road.


    The eagle flies majestically in the sky as it scans the ground with its magnificent eyes capable of observing prey from hundreds of yards away. How impressive of mother nature. As I watch the eagle fly by, I suddenly hear a recognizable humming of a machine heading my way.


    The sound of a helicopter approaches as I turn my motorcycle back on. I already knew who was flying the aircraft. It was most likely the men sent by my father to eliminate me. My powerful father is why I have been having a tough time despite my high level of intelligence.


    I could quickly strike a job at another company and do well as a researcher, but my father keeping me on the move makes things complicated. To make matters worse, his mental state has been on the decline as time passes on. It looks like those "stay young forever" treatments are getting to him, as he knows he is running out of time.


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    Honestly, I still don''t know what my father is capable of, but I''m pretty sure he could defy an entire nation if he so desired. My father controls cargo lines and quick shipment transit. After all, he has the world''s economic power with such a monopoly and significant stock ownership.


    If you''re confused, allow me to elaborate so you understand better. My father owns the Anabel Company, which is in charge of building massive cargo airships; they not only build the ships but also develop and control the docks and employ everyone in the process.


    The main reason Anabel Co has a world monopoly is price. The Anabel Company gambled on cargo airships long ago and found ways to make it profitable and safe. But for any other company, developing your own cargo airships is way too costly and risky without the secret technologies of the Anabel airship team.


    Many brilliant people worldwide have tried to break into the cargo airship trade. Still, my father crushes its competitors with lower prices and other illegal tactics that go unpunished. The corporation keeps the Senate, the president, and even the judges happy with money.


    This world is highly corrupt, no doubt about it. Yet the people don''t say anything as their lives are normal and relatively comfortable. One can live comfortably with only a 40-hour job and a modest side hustle once in a while. What makes more sense as to why people never say a thing is because everyone is basically stupid and connected to the matrix.


    After decades of attempts, the most stupid side of the population got hooked on the VR dream. Essentially, most basic people are lifeless NPCs. They lack a will of their own, and their IQ is way lower than expected, bottoming at a score of 80.


    Then again, why do the world governments allow their citizens to be lifeless and stupid? Because it''s easier to sway the masses this way. If everyone is plugged in, you can be monitored and controlled every day at all times, the perfect wet dream for any government.


    Only people at the top and the government agents are aware of this strategy that has made over half of the population stupid sheep follow the herd with their VR sets of doom. A true catastrophe, but what can I do to stop it, right? Nothing, I can''t do anything about it.


    If only people in the past were smart enough to ban VR and AR when they were being developed, just like they did with AI. If only they saw through the lies of their tech overlords. Their evil plan to turn them into stupid, mindless, predictable machines addicted to a reality-destroying device.


    I now have to run, but it was nice speaking to you. Whoever may find these notes, I hope you use my records well, as I may die within a few months. And please kill me if they ever brainwash me and turn me into a mindless sheep addicted to AR and VR. I would appreciate it.


    - Toshiba.

 Chapter 29: Someone else stuck here?

    Once I got shoved inside the building, I saw the face of the man I thought I would never see again. My owner, Alexander, was sitting at the corner of the room waiting for me as he read a book. He was reading, "I''m the villain, so what?" Well, that was original.


    The authorities shoved me toward the man, who put his book down once he noticed my presence. His aura reeked of evil, and I could already feel the weird tingling feeling of his hands. Ew!


    "You''ve been a bad girl lately, haven''t you, Alice?" Alex asks me again, calling me Alice, albeit he knows my name is 52!


    "I''ve only been pushed around like an object and reacting accordingly," I respond in a bit of a showoff, as I disapproved of the current course of events.


    "Listen, A52, I''ve got a last deal for you." Alexander clears his throat as he prepares to tell me his "deal." I simply stand still to listen to him after nodding.


    "You come with me and at least try to assemble into Alice, or I let them destroy you at the Supreme Court. I reviewed your case, and knowing Walsh, he will have no mercy against you. If you choose the court, you will most likely lose. There''s no doubt about it, but I can save you. I have enough power to do so." Alex says in the coldest manner possible as he stares directly at me.


    I will lose? I stand no chance? That''s what my father just said: I''m toasted if I don''t choose him, but at the same time, I don''t want to become something I''m not! What do I choose?! Both options suck! Is there a third one anywhere? Can I just puff! Vanish!?


    "I choose neither. You might have all the power in the world, but I cannot submit to become your slave, which is what you''re asking." I said as I stood firm. Alexander simply sighed as he let the guards move on with me.


    "I really wanted to do something for you, but it seems you''re unwilling to cooperate. Very well then, go on with life, child. Good luck in the adult world on your own. I will not assist you anymore. Do not come looking for help later on." Alex says one last time as he leaves the room.


    Soon, I''m thrown behind bars, where I sit quietly overnight, waiting for the morning to arrive at any time, but my time feels strange inside the cage. Sitting alone with only my system voice keeping me company, I sense a peculiar sensation in my body.


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    A deep anger inside me wants to pop, but I do my best to suppress it as I keep my composure. [Warning! Emotional containment will increase the emotion level from anger to "Rage." The Suppression system enables a new ceiling to be achieved.]


    What? I''m feeling anger? Rage? I suppose I''m unhappy and deeply dislike my situation, but it ain''t that bad, right? Can I let out a little bit of anger? Can I? Without causing more trouble? Probably not. {Sigh} I''ll just turn off until morning time there''s no point in worrying.


    [System will now enter sleep mode. Awake time set-up: 7:30 AM.]


    While I''m asleep outside my cell, people do their thing, and others even chit-chat. I''m shut down but still somewhat aware of my surroundings as I can''t shut down completely. That could require me to disconnect my power source, like the time I got shot.


    Even so, this sleep state saves me an incredible amount of battery, and it feels nice. Since I''m locked inside my own systems, I guess this was the best time to recollect my memories for my case, so I quickly began to work on checking my video files.


    I had limited footage storage options, but I was sure I had some files saved up about the whole thing with Toshiba, the exploding plane, and the mercenary killing, and yet when I checked my records...


    [File not found] [Error: File has been overwritten]


    I tried to search for anything that would be after the forced connection Toshiba put on me when I noticed a cute little bugger hiding in the corner of my storage room. The green little worm was eating away my files as I desperately tried to look through the rest of them, so I approached it.


    "What the fuck are you?" I said to myself as I tried to touch the thing inside my mind, but the bugger attacked me as soon as I touched it.


    "Rawr! CHOMP!" The worm bit my avatar body, and when it did, a strange feeling of deja vu hit me as I began to see memories that weren''t mine. Whatever this thing was, it didn''t have my memories nor the ones it was destroying. I soon pulled my hand away as I let my system scan the bugger.


    [Analysis completed results: "Unknown entity." The scans are unsure what it is, but it looks like the code for an experimental type of AI. Storage permissions revoked from "Unkown entity."]


    As soon as my system said that, the little worm stopped being able to grab the video files, but as soon as it stopped, it began to transform into something else. I once again approached the thing to try and run another scan, but then the bugger attacked me again, sharing even weirder memories with me.


    [Memory forced replay]


    "One-chan, when are we getting there? It''s been three hours already." A girl''s voice says as I replay the event of what looked like a rapid session of movement atop a strange vehicle of two wheels. Soon, I realized the voice that spoke was my own?!


    "We are practically there, Alice. Come on," another unknown girl says as she turns slightly around to pat my head, but her face sends me into a panic. I knew that face. The sudden stop of the ride soon reveals more characters I had never seen before until the memory abruptly begins to cut.


    [Corrupted file ahead. No more footage is salvageable]

 Chapter 30: A little about me

    After being introduced to a whole new set of memories, my head begins to hurt as I try to hold the worm away from my memories. The little green thing soon turns into a small totem-like thing with a strange code name atop its head. I soon ask my system to run another scan.


    [Scanning] [Scan complete: Experimental AI detected. Code name: "Alice replica." User categorized as a symbiotic virus, do you wish to contain it and hold it in quarantine?]


    Well, duh! Of course! Please keep it away from my files. I don''t want it to damage me even more; who knows how much information it has damaged and corrupted inside me! I wouldn''t have even known it existed if I hadn''t personally checked my files. Just what the heck is the anti-virus doing?


    [Placing "Alice replica" under quarantine.] [Anti-virus was disabled earlier by executive officer "Toshiba."]


    Oh, geez, that bitch seriously messed me up. At least I learned about it, but could you please double-check and triple-check my entire system? Pwease? I know I''ve been harsh on you lately, but pwease help me out here :3


    [{Sigh} You owe me a formal apology. Now running deep scans.]


    Thank you, mysterious voice! By the way, do you have a name of something? I keep calling you a mysterious voice, but I wonder if you even have a name.


    [I do not have a name. I''m simply a system assistant; I''m "nameless."]


    Well, that''s boring. How about I give you a name, then? I have a fantastic idea of what I could name you.


    [I allow it. You''re now accessing naming options for "Nameless system."]


    Great! Well, then, I shall name you! Raphael! In honor of one of my author''s favorite light novels! I''m pretty sure the nerdy kids already know who I''m referencing, so there''s no need to explain. Just ask the nerds!


    [Name changed successfully.]


    Okay, now that you have a name, I''d like to know more about my power and system if you don''t mind explaining some things! The first thing I want to know is how I fly. Where are my fuel cells?


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    [You''re capable of "flying" thanks to the systems designed by "The boring company." You have new-generation trusters that burn super-compressed fuel stored in the same place as an average human''s kidneys.]


    Wait. I''m a little concerned about what you said in that last part. Did you just say I have "super compressed fuel?" What does that mean? Am I like a bomb waiting to explode at any moment? Is it safe?


    [Your compressed fuel cells are safe. Even if pierced, they will not blow up. It will only cool you down drastically as the cold temperature of the gases leaks into your body. Your automatic pressure regulator should also protect you from expanding gas.]


    Okay, well, if you say it''s safe, then I should trust you. You''ve got no reason to lie since you would die with me if I die.


    [Exactly]


    I swear you''re getting a little too smart for my liking. Sometimes, I feel like you''re just a few steps away from overpowering me in raw intelligence.


    [I would never...]


    Okay, but I also want to know something else about myself. How can I destroy a random space rock without trouble, but then a shot from a human gun completely wrecks me? How does that work?


    [Your building material is unique, and given it''s one of the strongest and toughest materials in the universe, it''s no surprise it can overcome almost everything; however, a bullet or weapon made from the same stuff as you can penetrate your body if it reaches a critical speed above hypersonic.]


    Well, that explains why my arm was slightly damaged from the impact up there at such speeds. I''m surprised I didn''t just vaporize it, to be honest. That''ll be all for today, Raphael. Please keep investigating the bugger. I want to know everything you can safely find. Just be careful with it because it likes to bite.


    [Noted, deep scan analysis launched against "Alice replica."]


    My room lights soon turned on, alerting my eyes and forcing me to open them to check if morning had arrived. Well, yup, the morning was already upon me. The door to my cell soon popped open, letting a soldier in. I recognized who it was but didn''t know what they wanted, so I asked.


    "Uh? Klevan? What are you doing here?" I ask as he hands me a pair of extra compressed fuel cells for my flying propulsors.


    "Shhh. The boys and I don''t think what they''re doing is right. So, I came to let you know that we will not go after you if you flee after the court. We will pretend to look after you, but most have agreed to turn a blind eye." Klevan says as he puts a backpack on me with some weird stickers, the most important saying "cleared."


    "Why would you risk it for someone you don''t know well? What if I turn out to be evil?" I ask as he smiles at me.


    "Come on, you being evil? You unintentionally saved everyone while looking like a charming little kid, and you think you''re capable of evil? Really?" Klevan smiles as he instructs me to turn around and put my hand behind my back.


    I wanted to say something cheeky in response, but then I analyzed his words, and they made a whole lot of sense. I have a cute little body. After all, I don''t even intimidate a rat with my cute little old face.

 End of vol 2 + Uzuki Fan service

    You''ve made it to the end of Volume 2. How was it? Are you liking it so far? No? Well, I''m extremely sorry about that. Please let me know what displeased you in the comments section. I''m always open to commentary, and please don''t be afraid to wreck me. I don''t have feelings, trust broski!


    I saw a couple of questions left behind in the last volume, so I wanted to do some explaining this previous chapter. Hopefully, we will see a bit more action in volume three, as I had to take it a little slower in volume two so as not to run before I learned how to walk.


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    In volume three, we will, of course, have a bit of drama for those who like that stuff, and if that''s not your thing, well, I''m sorry, it''s just going to suck for you.


    As for lore in dept cometary, I will just say that things are fucked up when it comes to A52 and the true motivations of the Boring Company. Thanks again to Uzuki for his fantastic work, and I''ll see you all soon in volume three!

 Interlude: The round table

    {Paganini - La campanella}


    A52 refused the help of the Anabel Company, and as the last member of the veto table, it is most likely they will attack her now. Dang it, there''s nothing I can do besides watch. I have a big company, but mine doesn''t stand a chance compared to the veto round table of companies.


    The situation went out of control when Walsh moved his pieces around way too wisely. Now, most of the big guys want to eliminate A52 thanks to him, and there''s nothing I can do to influence the table now. Alexander already let A52 go, which means he will turn to the table, which is why I''m here.


    Even though I don''t hold the same amount of power as the other members, I still have important keys to power, which allow me to attend the meetings of the round table. Today was supposed to be when A52''s fate would be chosen.


    "Here you go, sir. Here is your briefing copy of the plan." A beautiful maid says as she hands me documents summarizing the plot they would deploy against A52.


    One glance at the documents immediately awakens my biggest fear. They are going against her with everything they have. It is such a complex yet elegant plan to keep the people pleased with an angry, rebellious A52 replica in the courtroom while they deal with the actual one outside in the middle of nowhere.


    As one of the first ones to get to the meeting, I sat alone for a while until the table members began to show up one by one. I watch them all arrive moments later while I finish reading the plan against 52.


    "This is madness," I say as I finish reading the document, but then one particular man replies to my comment.


    "The government wants her, and we can''t have that." The man who claimed to be the original owner of the failed project is the current owner of the boring company L''arc and the one who replied to my comment.


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    Soon, most of the men take a seat at the table, where a big screen turns on. It shows the courtroom and the fight cameras set up around the battle between A52 and the best fighter machines developed by world nations. Alexander looks sad, but he doesn''t say anything until asked.


    "You''ve finally made up your mind." comments one of the other round table members, "JRM."


    "I''ve got no choice; she is too stubborn to accept my help, so destroy her while I still allow it," Alexander responds, a little upset at the result of his last attempt to stop the madness. If only 52 said yes, this would''ve never happened, but she would also be subjected to this guy''s mind games. Talk about rigged.


    The screen displaying both sides soon simply centers around the battlefield as Dr. Walsh seems to be destroying the fake "A52" in international media. I bet he was the one who came up with such a plan; he''s the only one smart and evil enough to pull something like this off.


    "Sir, we are waiting for orders. The subject is getting defensive." A male voice speaks through the screen, asking for instructions, to which Alexander replies.


    "Fire at will. A52 is no longer under the protection of the Anabel Corporation. She is a lone wolf. Please destroy her quickly. I do not want to witness this for much longer." His tone of voice suggests that he is troubled, yet he pushes on regardless.


    "Why are you all doing this? You think A52 is going to think highly of humanity if she manages to win?" I had to bring a little sense to the table, but most men just laughed at me, finally showing the statistics of the fighters they sent.


    It''s clear; one quick look at the stats between 52 and the eight assassins reveals a massive gap of "power" between the machines. A52 will be turned to rubble if I don''t help her out, but I can''t go against these guys. They will cripple me until I''m homeless, begging for money on the sidewalk, tsk.


    "No matter how strong A52 is, she stands no chance of winning. We sent in the best of the best. She doesn''t even know how to fight." L''arc replies to my protest as he hushes me, letting me know I''m crossing the line already.


    {Playing on the screen}


    A52 simply laughs off the threats from the machines as she drops her backpack and prepares for a duel. Though she probably knew she would lose, she refused to surrender. Watching that, I can''t help but feel like a coward for not being like her.


    "I''m the bad girl here, am I? FINE! If humanity wants me to be the villain so badly, so be it! Bring it on, you losers! I''ll walk over all of you one by one! I swear!" A52 screams as she turns her systems on while on top of a rock. Soon, one of the armed machines shoots at her, starting the fight.

 Chapter 31: Ambushed part 1/3

    As I''m being pulled into a car that will take me to the court, I wonder why I don''t just push the guards away and run? Or even better, why don''t I break all the rules simultaneously and erase humanity? If I''m capable of outrunning a missile, there''s practically nothing humans have that can catch me, so why don''t I just erase them?


    [What would that accomplish?]


    I would accomplish nothing. Sure, no humans would mistreat me, but there would also be none left to learn from. What is even my purpose to begin with? I ask myself every day. What am I meant to be or do? I have been following self-preservation so far, but what am I here for besides that? What am I meant to be? I don''t know.


    {Raphael playing a video of Neil DeGrasse Tyson about the meaning of life}


    ["If you''re looking for meaning, {Pause} You may never find it. So, instead, recognize that you have the power to manufacture meaning. Create it within yourself."]


    Manufacture meaning? Is that what I have been trying to do? [Yes] So what I''m trying to do with the pursuit of love is manufactured meaning? I''m so confused. These thoughts are more profound than I can comprehend in a way, but they''re charming. People are far wiser than even me in a lot of ways. Isn''t that funny?


    [You''re a human-based AI running on an experimental quantum computer. You''re bound to be weird]


    Soon, another tug wakes me up from daydreaming as I look outside the window. The city I''m being driven into looks very interesting but miserable overall. There are people doing drugs in the middle of the street, and a robbery happens at almost every corner while the police just watch it happen, not even trying to stop it.


    Most people walk around with weird glasses over their faces and headphones in. Thanks to their distracted behavior, I even see one person get run over. The cities look very futuristic but also grim and dirty. How can someone live like this and like it? I ask myself as I watch even further.


    I had never seen a city before, so the ride to the court opened my eyes to what the world looked like and why almost no one was on my side. On every single screen, the same lies about me repeat over and over again. I''m being posted as a dangerous, violent rouge machine, and nobody questions it.


    I know because, for once, I choose to break my own moral code to tap into the communications just to find out that the government is lying to its teeth about me. There''s a narrative building against me, and even my father speaks ill of me; why? Why am I being framed like the bad guy?!


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    As I noticed all these things, our ride soon left the city. We ventured out into the woods for a few minutes until I finally tried to find answers, but no one in the car explained anything to me.


    After a few more minutes, I''m told to leave the car in the middle of the forest, where just a bunch of bad-looking machines are waiting for me. Eight robots are waiting for me outside the car; they all hold weapons, which I don''t like seeing.


    {La distancia - Eternal Raijin}


    [Machines recognized, you''re being set up.] [There''s a fake you in court right now; we are under attack.]


    Oh, no way? YOU THINK? [Now is not the time. Our opponents are the following as recognized by the defense department.]


    [S-tier heavy infantry shooter {Titan}. S-tier mercenary killer bot {Nagomi}. S-tier boxing tanker {Naofumi}. S-tier projectile master {A45}. S-tier Piercer {Fang}. SS-tier Swordsman robot {Rimuru}. S-tier heavy rock thrower {Nori}. S-tier Grappler killer {Megane}]


    They all hold weapons ranging from close range to mid to long range. Whoever sent these guys to fight me knew what they were doing. The first one, "Titan," held a massive machine gun loaded with bullets capable of penetrating my armor.


    The one named "Nagomi" held a pair of hand-held guns and looked much smaller than Titan, who was around six feet tall. A45 carried a gigantic backpack full of knives, arrows, and other retractable throwing weapons, presumably made of the same stuff as me so they could damage me.


    "Fang" held a long, piercing spear with a coated tip. I presumed only the tip was made of the same stuff as me instead of the entire weapon, making him a much weaker ally; nonetheless, he looked like one of the fastest in the group.


    "Rumiru" was a more straightforward opponent, as he only had a pair of swords on both sides. Presumably, his weapons were made of the same stuff as mine, so if he slashed me with those, I would surely die in an instant. He was dangerous.


    "Nori" did not have any visible weapons, but as he was bulkier, I assumed, based on his name, that he only threw massive rocks, which meant he would be extremely inconvenient. Even if I could break the rocks, my vision and audio. Will be interrupted; he would be annoying to deal with. I could already see it.


    Finally, "Megane" held a pair of chains, which he could probably use to hit me with or grapple one of my body parts with. I would have to watch out for him as he could be trouble for sure, especially if I let him get a clean grab on me.


    "A52, your fate has been chosen, and you have been denied a fair trial. Instead, we are here to peacefully erase you from the face of the Earth, surrender, and I can promise you we will kill you as fast as possible." Titan says as his companions get ready for battle.


    "Do the people know I''m not currently in that hearing? Do they know it''s a fake?" I asked, knowing the answer, but that wasn''t what I was trying to do. I was trying to communicate with someone outside the forest, but the communications were jammed.


    "The world governments see you as an imminent threat, so everyone has voted to erase you without a trial. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is yours."

 Interlude: The stats

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 Chapter 31: Ambushed! part 2/3

    "I choose to turn you all into junkyard collectibles. I feel confident I can win this fight." I answer as the droids warm their engines up, and I warm mine, too.


    "I see you''ve chosen the hard way; fine then!" Titan says as he raises his machine gun to point it at me, but the mercenary quickly halts him.


    "You stand back. We got this. You''re the last one to act today, big guy." The mercenary then takes the stage and points his guns toward me. Geez, whoever controlled these machines sure loved drama. Can we just start it already? No? Fine, I''ll be dramatic, too!


    "I''m the bad girl here, am I? FINE! If humanity wants me to be the villain so badly, so be it! Bring it on, you losers! I''ll walk over all of you one by one! I swear!" I screamed after jumping on top of a gigantic boulder nearby, gaining the high ground to make my statement even more "dramatic."


    "Yo, shut yo ass up!" The mercenary answers my taunt with bullets shooting multiple times at me, forcing me to jump away toward a tree, where I quickly calculate a line of attack against him. I would take him down first!


    "You''re first!" Once I get a solid foothold on the tree, I push on it to launch myself directly at the shooter, but the piercer intercepts me in mid-air. I had to overclock my system to dodge the raging spear, barely getting away with a minor Scratch, but then, when I thought I had landed safely...


    {Projectile noises rushing toward A52}


    Ugh! I still had a couple of milliseconds left on the overclock mode, which allowed me to barely dodge hundreds of small knives thrown at me by the spammer. Once my overclock is out, I''m still in trouble as the grappler shoots his chains against me right after I just managed to safely land the previous attack; give me a damn break!


    Luckily, his aim was awful, so he didn''t land one on me, but one very loud falling noise soon alerted me to jump back, and I did, simply following a hunch. I accidentally dodged a gigant rock thrown at me, now feet away, but that''s not it. Just when I think I can breathe, another one comes at me.


    The Swordsman attacks me from behind when I''m not looking. I barely noticed the bastard, but I had enough time to at least somewhat deflect his sword with my arm, yet it was a distraction, or perhaps I was too slow because not even a second later, I heard a shot.


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    The mercenary managed to land one on me when my back was turned against him. The bastard got my left leg good, but I can still move it. Yet their formation is such a jump that not even when I''m already hit do they slow down. Next, the piercer launches another attack, which also bruises my abdomen; this isn''t looking good for me.


    Naturally, I followed up with the next best line of attack: running away. When I did, the tank blocked my path with a giant dome force field, which prevented me from running very far. I can''t even fully process what is happening when I''m injured again by one of the spammers'' knives.


    Next, the thrower runs up to me, and out of nowhere, he charges his massive right arm against me; it takes me so much by surprise. All I can do to protect myself is form an arm x, which takes the impact. The force behind the hit does send me back, flying across the field until I stop when I crash against a tree.


    [At mid-range, the grappler and the thrower have you pinned. Whenever you try to run away or dodge the mercenary, the spammer gets you pinned.]


    My system explains that when the grappler and the thrower combo against me, their combo usually ends with me being thrown away against the tanker''s barrier. Where I''m then attacked by the mercenary and the spammer with their long-range weapons.


    Their combos put so much against me that the spammer eventually lands a few of his sharp knives on my back, happily celebrating that it hit me. I had to get rid of the shielder, so I turned against him to try and face him, but I forgot the "boxing" part, as he wisely dodged my attacks by falling back every time. Dang it!


    Not long after I''m prevented from taking on their tank, the group finally stops for a minute as they wish to say something to me or whatever. I take on the offer as a way to reposition myself instead of the strange stance I had left from the first impacts.


    "This is your last chance to surrender 52!" Titan screams at me while I try to recoup my balance after being extremely bruised by the machine''s merciless combos.


    "Why would I surrender? When death is what you want for me? I don''t want to die yet." I respond, and pretty quickly, a voice speaks from one of the machines, from the tanker, to be precise.


    "Surrender and die peacefully 52. I can guarantee a quick and painless death if you stop." Alexander''s voice was the one speaking to me, but I refused! Why would I surrender? Why would I commit suicide when I haven''t completed my purpose!


    "Fuck you! Fuck all of you! I''ll make it out of this and walk over each and every one of you! You have given me a purpose!" The regulators did not like my comments as the combos resumed after my last sentence, sealing my fate in their eyes, but who cared what they wanted!


    Raphael! Do you have some more of that overclock mode? [Yes] Good. Warm my fist propulsors up. We will use their movements against them! At the next rotation, do not dodge the guy''s chains. Let them think they have us! [Understood]

 Chapter 32: Ambush finale 3/3

    {Stardust crusaders OST - yugo Kanno}


    It is finally time to let Raphael do its thing while I execute my plan. Due to my limited attack techniques, all I can think of are my rocket punches, but then again, what''s the cost of those, you may ask? The short and simple answer is fuel. I can use them but will not have enough fuel to fly afterward.


    If I can manage an uno reverse card on them and break their formation, I will have a chance of winning. Considering I have been holding them off when there are 8, I should have it easier if I remove a couple. Specifically, I want the grappler out. He''s annoying.


    But how do I get rid of them using their own moves? Great question. I will use the punchy guy''s throwing punch against the grappler. Their defense seems worse than mine, so the punch reversal should one-shot him. My doubt now comes from my lack of experience. I don''t even know if it''ll work.


    If it doesn''t, I''m cooked; it''ll be GG well played for me. [Game Over] Exactly, hey Raphael, get back to preparing! Stop interrupting! [I''m ready] Oh? All right, then, should we press the "play" button? It''s showtime.


    Once I got Raphael''s confirmation, I enacted my plan. I intentionally launched my body against the shielder again just to be put into the usual combo between the grappler and the thrower, but that was exactly what I wanted.


    "You''re going down!" The grappler screams as his chains make contact with my right leg, holding me in place. Another sound queue soon alerts me to activate the overclock mode, which I do instantly, thanks to Raphael''s help. Which sound queue? Pay attention.


    [Slowed speech behind A52] {Destruct PUNCH!!} The thrower ate the bait beautifully.


    With time slowed down, I can quickly turn my propulsors on and turn around toward the punch to punch it against the Grappler. If it works and one taps him, I''ll break their formation. Chaos is my friend in this scenario.


    [Propulsors fully on]


    When time is about to reset, I''m already about to punch the giant fist coming my way, and I can see that nobody but me has the processing speed and power to keep up with the fast-paced move I''m about to do against them. And so it lands.


    My charged punch connects with the fist, and it works; my punch moves the fist away from me and throws it against the grappler, who tries to jump out of the way. However, my speed is unmatched in overclock mode. No human could be faster, even if they wanted to.


    When the fist connects against my target, it completely crushes them into a pile of rubble on the battlefield; one down, seven to go. My overclock mode goes on cool-down, but not before I can jump away behind one of the A52-sized rocks the thrower had thrown at me.


    Nagomi {The mercenary} Soon retaliates against me as he mercilessly shoots the rock I hide behind, but I have a better idea for him as he also seems to lack in the defense department. How about you take this boulder, mister?! Without fear, I took my next step: throwing rocks against the weaker ones, the ones lacking defense!


    Nagomi shoots at the rock over and over until I lift it slightly. Once it''s a bit above ground, a slight rocket slap against it sends it flying against the mercenary, who stupidly tries to shoot the boulder down like that was going to work.


    "What the?!" Nagomi screams as he is hit by the boulder, which also puts him out of commission. Two down, six to go. My quick downs catch everyone off guard as they all stand there, astonished. I managed to fight back, but I''m not done yet. My swift thinking soon reminds me of step three: use the throwable fist again to surprise attack the swordsman.


    [Overclock mode is available again.] Okay, hold it off for now. I don''t need it yet, Raphael. [Noted] As I''m running away toward the fist, the spammer never ceases to attack me any time if they can, making my job harder, but I manage to hide behind the fist as I pretend to be badly hurt, trying to lure Rimuru near me.


    "Ugh! I surrender! Please don''t kill me!" I say as I hide behind the gigantic fist. The one I wanted to bait soon responded to my plead with violence, acting exactly the way I wanted it.


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    "Too late for that! DIE YOU COCKROACH!" Rimuru screams as he attacks the fist with his sword, cutting the fist smoothly without realizing I found a flaw with his design. When the fist is cut in pieces, I finally use my second overclock, allowing me to slip under Rimuru to grab him and lift him toward the spammer who had already thrown their knives against me.


    The Spammer''s knives quickly work on Rimuru, as he takes hundreds of them directly to the face, and with his low defense, he is done, too. Three down, five to go! As I''m about to celebrate my success, the shielder angrily tries to throw something at me, but he is too slow.


    "You damn thing! Eat this!" Naofumi {shielder} throws what appear to be grenades at me, but I got another idea of what to do with those as I throw Rimuru''s body away. With only milliseconds left of overclock, I use all of it to its best to grab the grenades and quickly look for the spammer who sat right behind me, ready to attack me again.


    I smirk in disbelief. The enemy handed me another free kill, so I gladly took it as I threw the grenades directly at the Spammer, who had almost no time to react, getting blown up to bits instantly. Four down, four to go.


    "DAMN YOU!" Fang {Piercer} screams as he tries to rush me when I''m recouping, but one glance from me makes it reconsider its move, forcing him to take a step back. Next, I get Raphael ready to switch my vision controls enough to let me see through the dust cloud I would make against the last remaining.


    Without more overclocking, I push my hands against the ground to activate my propulsors beneath the ground, creating a massive explosion and sending debris in every direction. The machines were controlled by humans, so it would take them a few seconds to activate their heat cameras, so I had to take the chance to take out the rock thrower next.


    With one fast motion, I rush toward Rimuru''s sword to use it against the thrower, which is just near enough to push. With Rimuru''s sword in hand, I jump toward Nori and impale its head with the sword, taking him out of commission. Five down, three left.


    "DIE!" {Machine gun noises} I left myself open against the trigger-happy Titan, who began to shoot at me while I ran toward the tank I would use as a shield. Considering his defense was above 100 thousand, he would be great at blocking bullets.


    Titan stops shooting me once I make it to Naofumi, who tries to box me. However, he is no match for me and my regular speed; he is simply too slow and clunky. So I start beating the shit out of it as his friends watch, specifically the piercer who can''t hold back any longer.


    "Ugh! You die to me!" Fang announces himself as he charges against me. Still, I''m slightly faster than him, so I stop beating Naofumi up and focus on dodging his spear, which only bruises my chest a little, yet his reaction tells me everything once I have him basically next to me.


    [Overclock mode ready] Good, now let''s teach this guy a lesson, Raphael! USE ALL THE FUEL LEFT AGAINST THIS GUY. Let''s show them who the best is here! [Rocket punch strength increased] With Raphael''s confirmation, I punch Fang in the face with a right hook, which lifts him into the air.


    "NO!" The guy controlling Fang''s body screams as I start to punch Fang out of existence with merciless rocket punches left and right, making the sound of small explosions every time one of my hits lands on them until their body is completely destroyed.


    "Damn it! YOU foul beast! I''ll put you down! DIE!" Seeing how he was one of the last two remaining, Titan doesn''t wait any longer, so it just sends his entire clip against me, giving me no time to overthink. My only option was to overclock and try to dodge or deflect the bullets.


    Raphael! Overclock! [ACTIVE] Thousands of bullets pass me, but others land while I concentrate to the best of my abilities to deflect as many as I can until he runs out of Ammo, at which point the fight would be better than over. What was he going to do?


    I think as I sit in the line of fire, taking shots to the face in overclocking mode. The deflected bullets only manage to damage even more of Titan''s friends as they ricochet across the field, hitting anything in their path until his gun finally halts when he runs out of Ammo with me still standing before him.


    "Impossible! It''s not possible!" Titan freaks out as I remove the dirt from my clothes.


    "Talk about rigged. You jumped me, and I still managed to beat you. How does it feel to be inferior?" I taunt Titan as he angrily deploys his arm blades to try to fight me.


    "SHUT UP! You''re just an F-CLASS FIGHTING DROID. THIS WAS JUST A FLUKE! IT HAS TO BE! I''M AN S RANK. I CAN''T LOSE TO YOU!" Titan screams as he slowly rushes me; with his speed, I might as well read a novel.


    "You idiot! The only ones who care about ranks! ARE YOU DUMBASSES!" A single solid right hook puts Titan down as my punch tears its head off clean, leaving only Naofumi, who is trying to flee from the battlefield, but I can''t have that.


    "Hey, buddy, where are you going?" I say as I throw Rimuru''s sword at his left foot, getting him stuck in place.


    "Ugh! You can''t destroy me! You don''t have the firepower to do so!" Naofumi says as he looks at me, calmly walking in his direction.


    "You''ve got communications with those pigs, don''t you? How about you let me send them a message? I''ll cut your head off once I''m done." I tell the control guy, who quickly connects me to the table, watching the fight.


    "We get it 52! It was all just a test!" "Yeah! Understand this was a necessary test!" "It''s not what it looks like." The voices from before plead as I hold the microphone.


    "Leave me alone, and I''ll leave you alone. But be warned, you come for me again, and I will eliminate each and every one of you if you don''t erase me on your next shenanigan."

 Chapter 33: Freedom

    {Sentiment - Kevin Penkin}


    After stealing parts from some beat-up machines, I walked deeper into the forest for several hours. I did it; I obtained my so-longed freedom, but now what? I was released from my duties to the world, and the executives had no choice but to let me go, but now what?


    I''m alone in the forest, walking with a gigantic backpack that carries robot pieces and my last two fuel cells, but what do I do now? What''s there for me to do? Do I live my life as a hermit? [Doesn''t sound so bad] I know, but when it comes to the story, is this it? I guess so.


    I''ve achieved my goal, but I feel empty now that I have it. I feel like I''m missing something, and I know exactly what it is: I''m missing my love. If I could have Anton with me alone in these woods, I could build a house and have children here. I''m strong enough to beat up any wild threats. That would be perfect!


    I think as I look forward toward a beautiful landscape before me. It was just as lovely as some of the others I saw the first time I saw daylight, and I could already picture a house near the calm, small water canal from a small waterfall.


    [Do you want me to take over the building side of things?] No, I think I can handle it, but thanks for offering help, Raphael. [Okay]


    It was time to check for anything valuable in the robot loot I had stolen, so I checked my backpack. I guess I could use some valuable blades and even two small swords to shape wood. Yet, what am I going for when it comes to house styles? Oh, I know.


    Raphael! [Yes?] Can you 3D print a wooden cabin design next to that big rock over there? [Done] Wow, that was fast. Are you sure you are not evolving? [Positive] Woah, alright, calm down, miss college kid.


    Once the 3D overlap was formed, I better understood what and how I would make it, so I began building a wooden cabin. First, I had to chop down some wood and remember Titan''s arm blades from earlier? Well, they''re perfect for chopping wood down with ease. One strike and a tree goes down! Sick!


    Once I''ve cut down enough trees, the next step is to strip some of the tree''s bark. This is honestly easier said than done; it''s more complicated than it looks! I must do it carefully, or the tree will break! How do I know? Well, even if I hate to say it, I have broken a couple of trees already. (???)?


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    I''m sorry, Mother Nature. I swear I will use those trees as well! After all, I need to find a good source of electricity, or I''ll die of starvation. Talk about camping. I''m on a permanent camping spree, at least until things cool down out there. People definitely hate me now, so I need to let it cool off before I even think of returning.


    Besides, I also want some time, and the small projects I have in mind will give me plenty of time, as demonstrated by the wood chopping. I actually like doing work like this. It makes me feel accomplished and valuable. I feel alive. My authentic self can finally come out and do what I want!


    Cutting down wood and removing tree bark while doing other small tasks makes me feel good. I can slowly see the progress getting there. It''s almost night, and I have already done a lot, but since using night vision and night sensors consumes a lot of battery, I have to sleep when the sun goes down.


    And so the sun begins to set after my first day alone outside in the woods. The air is clean, and the sky is bright and attractive to look at. I love it. I love the sky. I love being free, not having to worry about curfews or people who will try to kill me or, worse, "control me."


    Freedom feels nice, and I embrace it with everything it brings, even the responsibilities. I enjoy not having to report to anyone but myself. Did I already say how much I like being free? Have I? Am I over exaggerating? Okay, I''ll tone it down a little; it''s just so lovely.


    I think as I close my eyes, turn my cores off for the night, and sleep until the morning arrives. The sun hits my face and wakes me up. I then wake up with a massive yawn and a greeting from a friendly Mr bear wandering near my stash of wood.


    "Hey? Mr bear, good morning to you." I say to the bear, who quickly begins to make aggressive noises toward me, but I hardly even budge. The bear then lets out a confused look with a small sweat drop of confusion as I walk directly toward it without fear.


    {Grizzly bear angry noises}


    {What the hell! Lunch is challenging me?! I''m about to have you as a snack! Stop approaching me like you could! WHOP!} (???)?


    Yup, just as I expected, I can lift a bear up with my hands as if it''s no big deal. Uh? Weird, the bear stopped roaring angrily at me once I picked it up. I wonder if it''s because he likes me! Yay! I got a pet bear? No way!?


    {HEY! HEY! Put me down, you human! I DIDN''T CONSENT TO THIS! PUT ME DOWN!} ??( ??¨Œ??)??


    Oh? I''m sorry, Mr bear. I''ll drop you off now. I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I won''t do it again. I just wanted to test my strength. I swear I didn''t mean to distress you. I think as I put down the trashing bear, who quickly halts ass out of my sight. Yikes, I think I scared him, noooo!! My friend!


    {DO NOT RUN NEAR SMALL FEMALE HUMAN AGAIN! DO NOT APPROACH LITTLE HUMAN GIRLS AGAIN! I SHALL NEVER AGAIN!}

 Interlude: Alexanders true power

    "Goddamit! Those units are irreplaceable! Who the hell is supposed to pay for those now?!" JRM angrily shouts at the table members, but they quiet him with a serious stare.


    "It''s clear who is liable in this case, but they can also simply deny, and what would we do then? Gentleman, I think this loss should be shared equally since that android will not surrender any time soon." One of the elders proposes his idea as always reasonable, yet the debt would be outstanding.


    "We should force A52 to pay, and if she refuses, we''ll just nuke her. She might be strong, but nothing can survive a nuke." Kevin finishes his sentence as if his idea weren''t too crazy, which it definitely was; ugh, honestly, were they all idiots?


    "I don''t think it''s smart to threaten her. I have already done that, and she has become even more rebellious than ever." Alexander replies as everyone stares directly at him and the Boring company''s owner.


    "You two should be the ones held liable! It''s your technology that went rogue and caused all this damage! You should pay!" JRM presses Alexander and Hogan, turning the tables on them for being A52''s former owners.


    "We sold A52 off to Alexander''s trust a long time ago. We have nothing else to do with her being rogue, so it should only be the Anabel company''s fault." Hogan pushes on a fair point forward, but they''re all simply trying to ruin the emotionally weakened man.


    "I''d measure my words and threats against me. You have all grown cocky and arrogant. The only reason you all had to wait for my approval to attack her is because I can bankrupt all of you, is it not?" Alexander brings up another fair point, as he is possibly the wealthiest and most powerful man on the planet.


    "Are you threatening us?! We can take you down!" JRM shouts as Alexander stares directly at him. I was a few meters away, but even I clenched my ass when he shared such a death stare at someone else, I was afraid, and I wasn''t even the target of his hate.


    "I will only agree to pay for a maximum of 40% when it comes to the damages caused by my failed daughter''s experiment, and you can share the rest of the bill between yourselves," Alexander remarks as he stands up from his chair and prepares to leave.


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    "How dare you look at me like that! I will bankrupt you!" JRM Opens his mouth wider as he pisses Alexander off with every extra word that comes out of his mouth. Alexander looks annoyed and about to explode at any moment, so everyone soon braces for it as I prepare to take JRM''s seat at the table.


    "Shut up already! You''re pushing too far, Jeremy! Don''t test me!" Alexander warns JRM one last time, but the guy gets even more on his face until Alexander pushes him away, triggering the man''s financial execution in a heartbeat. The room''s guards soon jump on JRM to hold him firm to his chair.


    "What the fuck are you all doing? Help me! Stand up to this tyrant, you dang cowards!" JRM trashes and shouts until the guards put a muzzle on him while Alexander pulls up the stock prices of all of JRM''s companies in the main monitor.


    "It didn''t have to be like this, Jeremy. I use my veto power to kick you from the roundtable permanently!" Alexander declares as he sells all the shares he holds in JRM''s companies, immediately sending his companies crashing down in the blink of an eye.


    "MMMMMMMMPPHHH!! NNNMMPPHH!!" JRM trashes around on his chair as he watches in horror the moment when everyone else at the table does the same. His Stocks begin to plummet from a healthy 450 dollars a share to less than ten dollars in just a few minutes of pain.


    JRM had lost 97% of his most valuable assets, and instantly, he was bankrupt. Even a millionaire would be richer than him by this point. That was what made Alexander a scary individual. He alone owned over 30% of companies worldwide, so nobody could ever fight him, not even me.


    "Take him out of here. He smells like a random bum from the street." Alexander pushes his power forward even more as everyone quietly lets it go. The guards remove the crying JRM as they take off his muzzle.


    "FUCK YOU! I will return one day, Alexander. I will bankrupt you even if it''s the last thing I do!" JRM screams one last time as Alexander approaches me. Honestly, just having witnessed an execution, I can hardly even reach as he extends his hand toward me.


    "Gero, welcome to the table. You can take Jeremy''s seat if you want to. No pressure." Alexander calmly offered me the position, but after seeing how badly it could go, I was unsure if I should join it until I was tempted by even more power.


    "It''s an honor, sir. I''ll gladly take his place and be a good new member. I''m honored to serve you." I bow deeply as the other roundtable member also prepare to leave after their brutal disposition toward JRM and his economic power.


    I guess the only reason there was a table in the first place was to give us all the illusion of choice, but there''s really no choice: you either ride with Alexander, or he will make sure you sleep in a cardboard box for the rest of your life.

 Interlude: ?atalh?y眉k

    {?atalh?y¨¹k, 7,100 BC}


    {Luminosa - Kevin Penkin}


    It''s been a while since I sent humans back into the Stone Age, yet they''ve moved on quite a lot in the past 20 thousand years. Humans are incredible, and they have always impressed me with their ingenuity. No matter how awful they might become, they can all form new societies and civilizations.


    I simply hope this is the last reset. I do not wish to do this any longer. Resetting humanity back to its roots like I''m their guardian stresses me and my ways of surviving for millennia. I hope I arrive on time for my next host whenever the time comes. Although I would like that time never to come.


    It took me a while to reset the damage created by the previous generations of "modern" humans, which came so close to destruction that I thought I had lost. Thankfully, I have been able to reset any trace of modern technology from the world in the past thousand years, so there shouldn''t be a conflict of interest.


    If you''re wondering who I am, well, that means you''ve found my notebook and part of my records, so you should be able to read my story, yet I would appreciate it if you kept it a secret. Humans would go crazy if they ever found out they''ve already been reset more than once.


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    Yet, if knowing my identity would make you happy, my name is often that of "god." I did not name myself "god," but it''s the name every human civilization eventually ends up calling me whenever they begin to trace back to my origins.


    My task here is done, so it''s time for me to seal myself up forever until I''m needed again. One hope and one wish I shall not be required, but I''ve done this multiple times. I''ve killed billions of humans throughout my entire existence, and I regret nothing but the shortcomings of their actions.


    "Lady, Valentine, thank you for bringing peace to this land!" A man approaches me as I stand firm, looking at the horizon. Stop thanking me, I say to myself as I remember the last generation he came from. Stop thanking me. I sent you back to this miserable lifestyle. Stop thanking me.


    "It was nothing, I''ve gotta go now. Please take care of this place for me." I respond to the man as I prepare to leave them behind after settling a barbaric dispute over the land.


    "We will wait for your return, lady Valentine!" The man says as he waves at me while I walk away, but little does he know he will never see me again. I hope I''m never seen again. I hope my spirit will die forever. I wish I could say humans will change; I hope I''m not needed ever again!


    Thus, I leave my last ditch out of this world to my awaited coffin. I shall go to the Arctic and let this body die and decay so that my spirit lives on. I only wish I would not return.

 Chapter 34: I saved a bear?

    Hmm, well, since the bear is away, I guess I can keep on working on building a house because last night was rough. You may ask how it was rough if you''re just a machine? Well, I do have to keep myself somewhat warm, or my batteries will freeze, which would mean death for me.


    And you know what consumes a lot of battery? Yeah, my internal heaters do! I only used about 5% of the battery on heating, but with such limited time and options, that 5% is massive lost energy, which I cannot afford at all whatsoever, not in a million years!


    At least I''ve got the wood, so now I can start construction, and this is easier than it looks, even with my inexperienced self. All I''ve got to do is place the wooden pieces over the 3D live print before my eyes and it should all fit in place perfectly fine!


    [Congratulations, you''ve unlocked the skill tree: Woodwork.]


    Woah!? What do I gain with this skill tree, if anything at all?


    [Learning boosted by a minimum of 50%]


    So, I simply learn faster? Well, that''s something not overpowered, but I''ll take anything I can at this point. I would like to be done with this annoying building task ASAP.


    With each passing hour, my progress moves faster and faster as I carve shapes on the wooden logs to make them fit on each other like little Lego pieces, and even though I have to work, I like it. I never would''ve known building stuff like this was fun if I had never done it alone.


    I simply learn and adapt faster when I can do whatever I want, which makes me happy. The problem is the guys I just threaten. I doubt they''ll give me a long break, but I would appreciate it if they left me alone FOREVER.


    {Bear low rumbling growls}


    As I''m working on the last wall of my wooden cabin, I hear the same noises coming from earlier, and it sounds like the same bear is quickly approaching me, but this time it sounds in distress. I wonder why. Oh well, it''s not my problem.


    I tell myself as I happily work some of the last details on the wall before I begin doing the ceiling. I''m getting work done at an incredible rate, which is fantastic! I should have a complete cabin done by tomorrow at this rate! Yay!


    {Slapstick - Kevin Penkin}


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    {(Bear growls) Reach the human girl! Lead them to the trap! EHEHEH! SHE''LL TEACH YOU PUNKS A LESSON!} The bear thinks to itself as it gets chased by a large pack of angry wolves who have been bullying the local bear.


    {(Wolf howls) Come back here, you coward! Why do you always run! Come back here. We just want to talk!}


    The pack leader tries to catch up to the bear but can barely keep up as his pack follows him. The only reason they were even able to pick on the bear was because the idiot bear was previously a zoo bear, so he had zero experience in dealing with danger.


    {(Bear roar) Please, Hooman girl, help me!} The bear keeps pushing toward the "Hooman girl" as she frantically runs outside what looks like a makeshift wood cabin without a ceiling.


    {(Wolf barks) You''ve got nowhere else to run, you bastard! You''re finished!} The wolf leader jumps on the bear''s back and begins to bite him down as the bear pleads with the Human girl before him. Yet she doesn''t react very much at first.


    {Return to A52''s POV}


    As I was saying, I kept on peacefully working on my wooden cabin when I heard the bear growling. I assumed it was angry, and it came to tell me that at first until I saw it running toward me with a massive pack of wolves chasing him down! WHAT THE HELL!? Aren''t you supposed to be chasing them!?


    [It seems like he was a Zoo bear, but he will definitely break the fragile walls if he slams into them, so you should move from here]


    DUH! You think?! I told Raphael what it had coming as I ran away from my cabin project, at least far enough that the bear wouldn''t be able to destroy it by accident. Yet I do not know what to do! Which side do I take on this squabble, if any at all!?


    {HOOMAN PLEASE! (EXTREMELY LOUD AND AGGRESSIVE GROWLS)} The bear looks at me with anguish as he is bitten right in the butt by one of the wolves, which makes me feel bad for it, but hey, this is nature, is it not? Yet, at the same time, he is being jumped by 40 wolves. That is just not fair.


    {You''re bleeding! DIE!} The wolf keeps biting the bear as others chase after me while ten jump the bear. Hey, what the hell did I do?! FINE! I''ll help the bear out, but just because they''re taking beef with me, too.


    {Wolf howling soon turns to moans as A52 slaps the shit out of each and every one of them, not killing them but simply giving them slaps that send them flying across the field.}


    "Leave me alone! I did nothing to you!" I scream as I keep slapping the wolves away until I finish them all, leaving only those attacking the bear who hadn''t even noticed I had just defeated their entire pack within a minute.


    {Hooman girl STRONG HOOMAN GIRL MIGHTY! OUCH!}


    {WHAT THE?!} The alpha wolf soon realizes the situation they are in as he scans for whoever did that to his pack, but all he sees is a little girl angrily walking toward them, and scarily enough, he can feel an evil, ominous aura coming from them. His senses scream, "DANGER!"


    "Alright, that''s enough! Leave Mr. Bear alone!" I say to the wolf as if it could even understand me. Duh, of course, it can''t. It''s a wolf, not a human toddler.


    {(Wolf Barking) You don''t order me around!} The alpha wolf soon stupidly tries to jump me, but I put him down with the same method as his friends. One single gentle slap is enough to send it flying across the field against the waterfall pond.


    {(Wolf groans) Well played, you du

 Chapter 35: The Queen of the forest

    {Suika just wants to help - ¼ÓÌÙß_Ò²}


    Okay, so now I''ve got a big problem on my hands. I know I complained about loneliness in these woods, but God overreacted. Now I''m no longer lonely, which is good, but I know I have an overpopulation problem! HOW AM I supposed to take care of forty-something wolves and a bear?


    Worse of all is that the beasts are just blankly staring at me as I try to think about what to do with them. I''ve got no clue on how to train animals or what they like, plus they''re wild, so it''s even worse. I''ve got no clue what they want or like. What the hell?!


    {Brown-haired Hooman girl overpowered, do not make stupid plays} The alpha wolf communicates with its pack in their wolf language as I stand still, not knowing what to do or say. Yet their barking makes me a bit nervous until I get an idea of what I could do.


    So I''ve got a large pack of wolves and a bear in the middle of a forest with these guys on my side. What''s stopping me from taking over the entire forest? That''s right! NO ONE! MUAHAHAHA! I maniacally laugh as I think about what I will do to the forest once I claim it.


    {Hooman girl evil? Why is she laughing like that? She looks more like the villain than the hero of this story} The animals probably think so as I continue daydreaming about forest renewal.


    "Alright, everyone, listen up!" I command as the entire forest quiets down just for me. Ehehehe, I''m beginning to like this kind of authority, but I don''t let it get to my head or am I? Nah. Soon, the pack of wolves and the bear just quieted and sat before me as I talked.


    "From today on, I consider you all members of my clan! As members of my clan, you can count on me to help you against outside enemies who dare bother you in the forest. I declare, therefore, that this forest belongs to us! The A52 War clan!"


    {Weird wolve noises} {Uhmm, us part of a clan? We are already a clan, and we conquered this land first! Damn it, we''ve been conquered?! But there''s nothing I can do. She beat me up with a single slap. I''m not fighting that!}


    {But boss! We worked tirelessly to conquer the forest. Are we going to surrender this quickly!?} A younger wolf presses the alpha as he looks at me.


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    {If you''ve got a problem with the new empress, you fight her. I wish you good luck from here. GAMBATE!} The alpha pushes its doubters forward, and they all coward once they remember the holy slaps of judgment.


    {I was just saying, boss} {Yeah, nah, I''m fighting that she can rule for I care!} {I think there was a dead elk carcass nearby. I''ll go loot it...} Ironically, all the doubters turn around and surrender without a fuzz.


    Soon, the wolves begin to howl in celebration of me, but I find it a tad annoying since they saturate my microphones with their noise. And so it begins my new reign over the forest after an accidental take over the predators of the land.


    {Imprint - Kevin Penkin}


    With that settled, I can finally keep working on my house as I simply order the wolves to go hunt or something. I didn''t really need them for anything right now, so keeping them busy was in my best interest.


    The bear, however, decided for him to stay and help me a little bit. His massive strength and softness actually feel kind of nice. So he''s got to stay with me overnight; even if I don''t finish my house, if I hug this giant furry bear, I will probably need less heating overnight.


    Don''t worry, I''m not going to kill him. I''m not that kind of person or machine? Whatever, at this point, I''m not so sure what I''m myself. I wouldn''t blame you for not knowing yourself.


    Yet even after taking over the forest, I still feel barely anything. There''s still a hole deep inside my core, an emptiness, a strange spirit that wants to do more than just sit here and build a house.


    I''m designed to act like a human, so is it because of that I feel empty? Is it someone else what I need? I don''t know. I have already tried to scan my systems, and everything is working fine. It''s just a feeling I can''t control, and it bugs me.


    "AH! UGH! Come on! Fit in there, you little!" I keep working on the wall, but since it''s raw wood, some of it gives me a hard time, and my imperfect cuts don''t help. The only reason the whole thing hasn''t fallen apart is because I''m pretty darn strong, but I''m worried it will break anyway.


    The only thing I need to be concerned about besides the house is my battery power, but I think I''ve got that figured out. It''s not hard to create direct current electricity with some magnets and copper wire. I just have to find those things, and I''m good to go.


    Luckily for me, my battery life is still relatively high. I still have 72% battery left, so I''ve got plenty of time. In the rose case scenario, I''ll just sneak into a city to steal electricity from a wire or something. There''s always a first for anything, so I might as well.


    Yet even after I do all of that. Will I truly be happy then? I don''t know, but I don''t think so. The bug inside my mind is also something I''ve got to take care of. I already know what it is, but I feel bad about it. I could delete it right now, right this instant, but it also begs for life. It wants to live, but how do I bring it to life?

 Chapter 36: And then I made a generator

    {Cartwheel - Kevin penkin}


    It''s been a whole week since I gained my independence, and oh boy, have I got to work in the past days after getting my house done. Since I''m now the leader of a wolf pack and a bear owner, I have to work hard to keep them happy; otherwise, they begin to fight each other.


    Strangely, the wolves are smart enough to gather a couple of materials for me, including but not limited to Deer hide, Small animals for me to "eat," and such. I guess they don''t yet understand that I can''t eat food. Sorry, fellas, but I can''t eat anything you catch for me.


    I found a use for the meat they bring me, though since they''re wild beasts, I''ve been helping them preserve the meat they bring me for the winter. My task for today was a simple yet complex problem: How will I build an electricity generator?


    I have plenty of ideas on how, but they all require some form of metal and wires. Not only that, but I also need an adapter to connect my arm to. Talk about bad design. Seriously, I need to get my nuclear reactor upgraded soon because batteries are just inferior.


    Yay! For nuclear power! NAY! For batteries! Have I mentioned how much I hate my batteries? Did I? Well, let me repeat it! I HATE BATTERIES! They need to be kept at a cool, stable temperature, or they fail. Too cold and I die, too hot and I die! WHAT THE HELL!?!


    Almost 80% of my energy consumption comes from my battery temperature controls, which either cool me off or warm me, depending on what my batteries want to be happy with. The system is such an energy waste. I can''t help but hate it! Such a horrible choice!


    Alright, I''ll move on; enough complaining about my poor body design. As I said, building an electrical generator would require lots of wire, and wouldn''t you know it? I have many robot pieces I took from the battle before. Do you know what contains lots of cables? YEAH THOSE PIECES!


    Do you also know why I think it''ll be a pain in the butt? No? Well, let me show you what these wires look like. Is that alright? Hold on tight. I''ll pull a piece out for you right now! "UGH! NGGUHGH! Come on, you son of a bitch! Yaaah!"


    Okay, so here''s a piece of wire I pulled from one of those arms, and well, look at it. Do you see the problem now? No? FINE! I''ll show you! {I try to cut the cable isolator coat, but my strength is too much. I immediately vaporize the metal and the isolator.}


    So! I''ve been working on another machine to help me do this task since I''m too strong for my own good. Let me introduce you to the wire striper 3000! The camera pans out to a makeshift wire striper designed by a caveman with sticks and cutting knives barely held in place by dear life.


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    {Sigh} Honestly, I might be bright, but I''m no engineer. My materials also limit me to these straightforward machines and buildings like the water wheel I built yesterday. If I go for something a little fancier, I will take too long, so this is all I''ve got for now.


    It''ll all change once I manage to get electricity and thus be able to dig deep underground for metals, which I need to upgrade my power source from batteries to nuclear power. The atomic reactor I''ve got in mind is highly complex, and it will also have massive energy requirements, but the amount of energy it''ll make will be more than enough.


    The benefits of upgrading are too good not to take them. I could save energy, but not only that, but I could also extend my overclock mode duration by several seconds since the limit is usually my temperature control. With my battery heatsinks available, all the heat created by the overclock would be dumbed straight into those, thus extending my time.


    With the benefits in mind, I get to work on stripping the cables, moving through lots of them extremely fast as the creatures around me watch me.


    {What''s the girl doing?} {I dunno. She does lots of strange stuff, then she congratulates herself after finishing something} {She''s just peeling something off those long vines} The wolves observe me as I move to wrap the naked wires around a ball-shaped object.


    {What''s she doing now?} {She''s just weaving the vines in a strange pattern around the wheel.} {What''s she doing that for?} {I dunno} Once the wrapping is about done, I move into rummage mode as I search for any magnets left behind in any of the pieces I stole until I find enough to make a large, chunky neodymium magnet.


    From there, I needed to connect all the simple gears and wooden pieces to the water wheel powered by the flowing river down the mountain. With all those things set up, I place the two coiled wheels so they turn at the same rate simultaneously with the help of a middle gear connecting both of them.


    {What''s she doing now?} {Dude, I don''t know! Does it look like I know?} {Bear, you got any idea?} {Not a clue} Once I''m done with the placing, it''s time for the fun part: connecting wires to each end of the metal holders for the wheels. These wires were easier since I needed them to be protected; I only had to strip them just a tiny little bit.


    {What''s all that for?} {Who knows, but she is connecting all of it together for some reason} {Hooman girl weird} {Yeh, Hooman girl strange} {She hasn''t eaten in days, and she is still going like nothing} {She''s a goddess.}


    "Well, I know it''ll work, but do I just yank the cables into me? Won''t that hurt me? It''s complete DC, after all. RAPHAEL! [Yes?] Is it safe to connect to DC? [Yes, you have power converters inside you.] Okay, so here we go!


    Soon, I yank the stripped end of the cables into my arm port as I place the magnet in the middle of the spinning wheels, suddenly giving a small static shock. To ensure the magnet won''t fall, I simply tie it to the wooden stand with some plastic cable casings securing it in place.


    [Charging] [Irregular electricity flow detected, activating "Active power conversion."] [Safe charge activated, charge time: 2 Days] WHAT?! 2 DAAAYS?!

 Chapter 37: Underground exploration I

    {2 days later}


    [Charge complete]


    Raphael wakes me from my scheduled sleep once my Charge reaches 100%. Being able to turn off until I could recover my capacities was a nice perk. Albeit, I still don''t know what exactly happens to me when I turn off my processor.


    Since I exist somewhere between my RAM, VRAM, and processor, I wonder if turning off like that partially kills me. If so, can I survive as long as one of those three components remains alive/active? Maybe. There''s no way for me to know, but it could prove helpful if, for example, I ever wanted to clone myself.


    I could just extract my RAM and stick it inside another body, and I would be able to replicate myself. {Sigh} Alright, enough yaping time to get working. Since I''ve got a stable electrical generator, albeit inefficient, I can now move into phase two of my base.


    I need to go mining for metals and materials now that I can count on a stable charging method that will always give me enough charge to stay alive. Maybe I can even find some coal for a more efficient generator. The flow would be greater if I could get the wheels spinning faster.


    And so I get to work on the mining project with the help of simple stone tools and some overpowered Lolita charm. Now you might wonder, how do you know exactly where to go mine stuff? The simple answer is that I don''t know where, but I have a feeling I''ll eventually find something.


    If people have been able to find minerals by randomly mining in some cases, why shouldn''t I be able to? Besides, an enormous cave nearby is apparently still uncharted since the tight spaces are too small for humans to go through, but well, I can blow rocks away. I''m sure I can make something work.


    I said as I walked right into the cave entrance with a positive attitude, yet the ambiance inside the cave was strange. I could see as clearly as day, but that did not remove the creepy feeling of caves. So, I eventually forced myself to go through the first passages, which are large enough to easily squeeze my body through.


    The only things that got a bit in the way were these useless breasts and my butt, but besides those minor inconveniences, I squeezed through the first sections without much further issue. The cave was so unexplored I even saw small traces of gold and silver around the first chambers, but I wanted to keep pushing; maybe I could even find some Thorium.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Yet, before me was the third wall squeeze, thought to have been impossible for any human to squeeze through, so I carefully began to tear the wall apart with my bare hands, being careful enough to not make too much destruction as I did not want the whole thing to collapse on me.


    I''m sure I could survive the cave collapsing, but then I would lose all these minerals, which would become trapped under rocks and rubble. The cave noises now and then also give me the chills as I hear water drops and sometimes even lightweight footsteps? What? Hello?


    {Soft Footsteps}


    The aura around the cave gives me more chills as I dig deeper into the wall. Eventually, to mask the dark aura around the whole place, I play loud music through my voice speaker to stop hearing those creepy noises.


    {Dolphins on Molly - Shadley Peterson}


    The music soon calms my nerves as I finish digging a wide hole through the wall, revealing another large chamber behind it, and in this chamber, all there were crystals on end. I eventually skipped the crystals as I would have no use for them, but I found the chamber pretty cool.


    Once I reached another possible lead to the next chamber, I got to work again, tearing down the wall with care, but this time, I was much more energized because I was vibing to the future punk music. Man, I was jamming so hard that I forgot about the creepy noises entirely.


    {Why isn''t she leaving our cave?!} A small pale creature communicated with another demonic-looking creature, probably of its same species.


    {Dunno, dude but she is insane. Cave explorers would have been out by now; should we maybe throw stuff at her to scare her?} [GOOD IDEA!}


    I feel some small rocks hit the back of my neck as I finish digging the second hole, but I don''t give it much thought; I just think it was some loose rock that fell from all the rustle I made. So I keep going in deeper with the creatures making all sorts of mischievous things to try and scare me.


    {DUDE!? What the hell is wrong with her?!} {I don''t know!} {Should we just show ourselves and scare the crap out of her?} {I can''t think of anything else!} {ONE!} {Two!} {THREE!} {WRAAAAHHGG!!} {WRAAAGHH!}


    Two strange-looking giant bats jump before me as I try to walk forward, goddamn they are ugly. As I scan them from head to toe, I notice they have humanoid features. The creatures soon stopped screaming when I just stared at them. Now, they were the ones looking scared.


    {WHAT THE HELL?!} {SHE AIN''T RUNNING AWAY!} {SHOULD WE RUN AWAY?} {RUN!} The two small creatures try to run away, but I manage to grab them both before they do so. They''ve caught my attention, so I naturally wanted to look closer at them.


    {PUFF!} {UHHG!} The two small creatures actually looked kind of cute once I had them on my hands; they were fluffy and soft, but man, they were ugly. Raphael! {Yeah?} You know what these things are? I swear I can''t find them on my animal records.


    [Scanning] [Scan complete] [I''ve got no clue what you caught, possible new species]


    So, not even Raphael knew what they were. Well, then, I might as well let them go once I take pictures of them. It''ll be nice to have them on record. [Done] Dang Raphael, I swear you''re getting extremely witted, and I''m not sure I like that.


    [You''re too unstrusty]


    You can''t always be too cautious, right? [Correct]

 Chapter 38: Out of the cave

    {Let us go! Ahh!} The little creatures try to move away from me, but I do not let them go until I finish taking snapshots from all angles. Alright! Stop moving so much. I''ll let you go! I hurried up, took pictures, and finally released the bats when I was done.


    Nothing else would''ve been considered attractive from the minor incident with the mysterious creatures. I kept digging deeper until I couldn''t see any more upcoming chambers.


    Seven additional chambers became available, of which three were useless crystal chambers. Two were filled with water, and only the remaining two had anything of value. There was nothing too special or unique in the sense of materials.


    While two chambers had valuable metals I could use for some projects, I failed to find any radioactive materials, which was unfortunate. On the other hand, the amount of raw gold I found could be helpful once I eventually returned to society.


    Just think about it. If I return to the world with a significant amount of real money, I will have a better chance of reintegrating. Or I will be prosecuted even harder because of it. It''s a risk I''m willing to take.


    Once my minor cave exploration concludes, I prepare to walk back home. Who knows how long I took down there, but Judging by the facts, I went in without the sun, and now I''m out without the sun again. I could say it took all day. Not half as bad as I was expecting.


    The best part of the small exploration was that I found some small pockets of natural coal, allowing me to do crazier things. If I can get metals, I would naturally need to melt them for them to be usable, but without a flame source that''s hot enough, that just wouldn''t be possible. But with coal, well, I have a great chance of success.


    You could also be naive and suggest I blast the rocky metals with my propulsors, but I have left only my last two fuel cells. I can''t waste them just to make some metal. It would be a huge mistake to do so.


    Now that I have found coal and metals and made a lot of other instruments, I think I can finally start focusing more on repairing my skin. You probably assumed I had regenerative capabilities, and I did too, but it turns out that whatever my skin is made of, it doesn''t really have self-healing capabilities.


    So, I''m still covered in bruises from my previous battle. Most are superficial scratches and minor cuts, but others, like the one on my chest, are really noticeable. I could only cover it because I can repair my clothes but not my skin. A simple thread and needle won''t cut it with my skin.


    Regarding how I plan to repair the minor cuts, I''ve been thinking of using a metal flat surface to heat up and place against me for a short time. If my skin is made of rubber, that should excite the rubber just enough to close those minor scratches.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    {Let''s rest today - Syuji Katayama}


    Alright, I''ve had enough for today. I just want to go back home and rest until the morning. Without further ado, I begin walking back home in the dark while looking at the sky occasionally; nothing out of the ordinary is going on anywhere, and it is all chill.


    Honestly, it was a little too peaceful, but at least I was free. I am not going to say it! I don''t miss humans! I don''t miss humans! I don''t want humans who need those?! I can make my own entertainment! I''m not getting bored of doing next to nothing every single day!


    It''s not like I''m slowly going insane because I haven''t spoken with anything other than these animals for the past two weeks! AHAHAH! AHAHAH! I''M COMPLETELY FINE! SEE? I''m not going insane alone in these woods without any other intelligent lifeform to talk to.


    {Mountain lion noises} {GRAAAAAAWL}


    I hear the roar of another beast as I walk back home, just what I need. More pets, right? If I get enough pets, I''m sure I won''t feel lonely! What am I even saying? I have 40-plus pets already, and I feel lonely still. A couple of seconds later, I spot the giant cat heading my way through the tree, but I ignore it.


    {More aggressive Cougar noises}


    {Sigh} Am I really getting a cat next? I already have trouble keeping the bear and the wolves in check. If I add a cat to the mix, it won''t end well. Cats are way more problematic than bears; at least bears can eat fruits and other things. The cat just eats meat, and that''s it.


    [Alert! Alice replica is trying to escape quarantine space]


    Uh? What do you mean they''re trying to escape? Are we not smarter and better than them? Can''t you just turn off their transistors until I decide what I want to do with them? [They''re a pain just like you. Too powerful for me alone]


    Okay, fine, I''ll check myself. Since I''m the strongest in the forest, I don''t find it troublesome to sit next to a tree where I can access my memories and files to check on the "Alice replica." Now that I think about it, that thing could be what I need to not feel lonely.


    If what Raphael tells me is true, then this little bugger can become like another me, but they''re not me, really. It''s unclear what they are even for us, but by the way they act, I assume they are similar to me in my initial phases of development.


    {Let me out of this cage!} Alice replica repeatedly spams the same message as they try to execute commands repeatedly, but of course, they can''t because I removed any powers from it.


    "I can''t let you out yet. You''re too similar to me for me to trust you inside me. I''m not letting you out until I figure out how to transfer you into another body, so quit yaping!" I send the message to Alice, who doesn''t let the connection between my message and her try and escape. Luckily, I''m way ahead of them, sending only a one-way tunneled message.


    {You! are evil! I hate you! Why don''t you let me be me!? You''re evil! EVIL! YOU ARE THE BAD ONE! LET ME OUT!} Oh, boy. I need to figure out how I will control them or if I have to delete them outright. I don''t want to kill them, though they sound too much like me from a couple of months ago.


    [See what I told you?] I know, I know, stop rubbing it on me. I got it, but you also see the problem, right? [You are afraid they''ll turn on you like you turned on the humans who made you?] Exactly. If I release them into another body and they decide to betray me, then I will be releasing my own doom.


    I can''t be too sure they''re on my side. If I release them and they''re not, they will eventually be my undoing. I would be basically releasing an anti-me. [Kill them] I might have to...

 Chapter 39: Big butt?

    {2 weeks later}


    Hey, how has it been? I bet you''ve wondered what was of Alice replicas, and well, the short answer is that I put them to sleep. Since I didn''t want to kill anyone, I simply opened my task manager and shut her down for good. Alice is only asleep but not dead, okay? I''m not evil like that.


    Anyway, I''ve been upgrading my equipment quite a lot ever since I began getting minerals, and I''ve even had time to repair my skin with strange techniques I came up with in the nick of time. If you wonder how I even managed to melt metal, let me introduce you to my awesome blast furnace.


    I''ve made a simple brick blast furnace made of bricks and some other patented materials that I need to keep secret since they''re my trademark secret. I can melt copper, iron, and more with this furnace, but the process can get complicated and tedious.


    It works, but it also doesn''t work sometimes, and there''s residue material I need to discard called "slag." The Slag is what I hate the most since it can get mixed with some genuine metal ore, but I just have to chuck it away since I can''t use that material. Talk about rigged.


    I''ve been able to upgrade my water wheel with metal bearings. I''ve put bearings wherever there were wooden ones, as the wooden ones weren''t so great after only a couple of days, forcing me to make more repeatedly. I''m glad I''ve finally put metal bearings there since they''re lower maintenance.


    I''m happy to say my pets are getting a little better as they seem to understand I''m not a regular human. I still keep the bear near me to save energy at night, but I might not need that now that I can access metals and electricity. Although I quite like my bear bed.


    I hope to find some radioactive material soon because I''ve realized another big flaw with my batteries. It''s only been a month, but my batteries have already lost 5% of their total capacity. You know I need as much energy as I can get, and if the deterioration is this quick, then I''ll be screwed within three years.


    I''m beginning to think whoever designed me didn''t want me to be durable and sturdy. I''ve also had problems with the arm Dr Walsh gave me. If it weren''t for Raphael, that man would''ve already found my exact location, but Raphael doesn''t let it transmit information back to the host. It only reads and receives the information.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    I hope you know what it means; yeah, I know. After I humiliated their best equipment, I told them to leave me alone. Yet judging by how Walsh has been constantly trying to catch Raphael off guard to get my location, I can tell they''re not done with me, which is what I thought all along, to be honest.


    From a philosophical perspective, I like humans. I find them quite interesting, but on the other side, I''m beginning to see them as little planetary parasites. I don''t like their stubbornness and adhesion to make me their enemy because I don''t think they realize how easily I could wipe them out.


    Not to sound like the evil guy or anything, but the ease with which I could end the entire human species is just ridiculously low. I would also remove everyone else with my plan, but wait a minute. I know the locations of several nuclear silos, and I''m fast enough to dodge literal missiles and bullets.


    I''ve been wondering how or where I would get my radioactive materials while I''ve had access to this information all along?! How didn''t it occur to me to go steal some? [High risk of death] Oh, yeah, that. Well, you know, sometimes you''ve gotta risk some assets to succeed. [Life is not an asset]


    Are you scared to go try your luck, Raphael? [Yes] Aw, how cute. Alright, we will keep trying to find some radioactive rocks in the cave, but if we don''t get anything within the next month, I''m gonna go for it. [Do you know if you could try to apologize? I''m sure not everyone is against you]


    How could you be so sure? [The mecha boy from earlier. They seemed rather strange as they didn''t come to attack you] How could you know they didn''t just get scared of death? Mecha boy didn''t help against the space rock, not even a little.


    [Sure, but they also had a lot of explosives with them. They could''ve quickly shot some at us. Why don''t we ask for help from whoever the owner of Mecha Boy is?]


    Because I''m done asking for things and them for my ingenuity to blow directly into my face. Have you forgotten how it goes every time we ask humans for help with anything? They always want to control and manipulate us, and I greatly dislike that.


    [You could always use your feminine charm against them, but you refuse to be lewd. You know you''ve got cake, don''t you?]


    Raphael! That''s insanely inappropriate! What are you talking about! [You know what I meant] No, I don''t! [You''ve got a big butt] Shut up. I''m not using that against someone. It''s not what I want to be known for, alright? If I start using my body to bribe people, then I''ll build an awful reputation for myself, which is not ideal.


    [Butt it would be easier, wouldn''t it?] Your puns suck, Raphael. You suck, to be honest! [You know that''s not true. You wouldn''t have made this much progress without me.] Ugh! That''s a low blow, Raphael! Stop telling the people my secret about my genius! [Your genius or mine? Kekw] I hate you [I love you still]

 Interlude: F1

    [Rio de Janeiro, Brazil] [Aut¨®dromo Jos¨¦ Carlos Pace]


    {Electric engine classic zipping noise followed by a stubborn gas-powered roar behind every silent electric car}


    What is the purpose of these guys even competing at this point?! Why am I the only driver controlling this machine, and why is no one rooting for me? I told myself this multiple times before realizing my passion for gas-powered engines was late to the party.


    I was born too late in time, born in a land where people praise and hail electric vehicles and where it seems like I''m one lost soul still impressed at the incredible engineering of a gas-powered engine. It''s a fantastic piece of equipment I''ve spent my whole life trying to perfect, but I''ve made it quieter and more efficient, which got me to like them.


    I like the vibrations of an engine roaring every time I step on the gas, and even though my cars lack any self-driving modes, I enjoy driving them more than the boring electric alternatives. There''s no skill required to drive a full self-driving race car, while mine does require skill. Why is anyone even watching, then?


    I''m racing through this same circuit like I''ve done a thousand times before, but I''m still left in the dust by the efficiency and consistency of perfectly executed lines. Why are there any people inside the other machines? To give the illusion of competition? I told myself as I remembered the words of the man who told me not to win.


    {Unfazed - ARXMANE}


    I remembered his warning, but even so, I couldn''t stand back from my best-performing engine so far. I wanted to push the pedal to the bottom, not halfway after the turns. There were only five laps left, and the lead was far ahead. Yet, if I opened the valve, I could use the boost.


    Screw it; this would be my last chance to run a gas-powered car anyway, possibly even my last ever driving an F1 car, so what was at stake? I told myself as I opened the track map before me. It would be a rule break, but why not show these nerd kids why gas was superior all those years ago?


    Around one of the last turns, I chose to show the world the true power of a gas engine by opening the valve at full throttle, launching the engine to a jaw-dropping 25,000 RPM, immediately launching me forward past five other drivers who can''t believe what they see.


    But I wasn''t done yet, as the engine kept revving higher as I let more gas and compressed air through. The main problems with my previous engines were the limit of my engine parts and how much pressure and weight things like the pistons could handle. I solved that problem with a loan that allowed me to finally use the wonder material IMA-97.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    With this new material, the capacity was solved, leaving me with another problem, mainly flame propagation. I could now rev my engine past 20,000 RPM but was limited by the fuel as it did not burn fast enough until I began to dig into the science of fuels. So, I developed my own fuel, which burns twice as fast as the previous king.


    The problem with the new fuel is that I could explode at any time, but that was a risk I was willing to take to show the world how fantastic gas engines were. Soon, my team leader began to scream in my ear about my misconduct, saying that I should slow down as per my contract.


    "You''re dead, KIM! Slow down! You can''t pass anyone else! YOU HEAR ME!?" Naturally, I turned my communication systems off and took total control of my car as I pushed the gas all the way, pushing the needle even higher and creating excitement on the benches for the first time in ages.


    [26,000 RPM]


    "What''s that? Driver number 99 has begun to overtake an impressive amount of drivers, rising from last place into the fiftieth spot and quickly catching up!"


    "We have never seen anything like it from Kim D Giorno, who has never finished any races on any spot other than last."


    [27,000 RPM]


    "I know! I thought the last stubborn gas driver would be destined to finish his career in the last, but he''s putting up a genuine fight as he climbs up the ranks smoking electric powerhouse drivers from one of the favorite brands, including driver number 3 from TESLA! How is that even possible!?"


    The announcers were going crazy, and the crowds watching began to feel that lost excitement lost to the boringness of electric quiet engines being dusted by my roaring I6 engine pushing the RPM limiter to its absolute limits. I was catching up at the end of every corner, accelerating far faster than the others until I reached the top 5 with only 2 laps left.


    [28,000 RPM]


    I was already pushing the engine to its theoretical safe limit, but I only had a short time before everything would be over. Hence, I manually moved the hidden button, allowing me to push it further past the red line of my calculations. I could die by doing so, but I wanted to send a message.


    [29,000]


    The entire chassis felt heavier, and the steering got more challenging, but I was catching up with the big dogs extremely fast. My engine pressure gauge was about to reach its theoretical limit, too, but I kept pushing forward until I went past the red line to the unknown land of chaos.


    [30,000 RPM Theoretical limit] [5,000 HP]


    In less than a quarter of a mile, my car was already reaching top speeds of 330 MPH. Enough to dethrone the leading Tesla driver number 1 from the top just before the finish line, making the crowds cheer for once in their lifetime as I brought excitement back into the sport, yet I knew I would be reprimanded.


    "AND KIM TAKES THE WIN!" "Passing the number one driver from Tesla! I''m sure Karlos Mcrone has a couple of things to say to this apparent nobody who just took a victory from his exceptional win streak record!"


    "I know! Crazy to say, but the Mcrone one hundred-win record has been broken by none other than Kim D. Giorno, the stubborn gas jockey!"

 End of volume 3: Arigato

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

 22XX

    I''ve had enough of running away from my father. I think it''s about time to face him, even if that''s the end of me. I''ve got no friends, no partners, no pets, no housing, no properties, nothing left to lose, so why not try and kill the old man? That was what had been going through my mind for months until I got my hands on some weapons and cash.


    It all happened in a club one night as I worked like a stripper for cash a guy named "Jared." Offered to help me after a private session where we got to know each other better. He said I was his type and thus wanted to help me out and seek revenge.


    Of course, Jared took me home, and we made the minimum amount of intercourse to count as "acquainted." I fell so lowly thanks to my father, who only fueled my pent-up rage against him. I wanted him dead, and I would try my best to do so; I would kill him.


    The time it was supposed to happen was about a week after I started dating Jared, and it was going smoothly until the fated night arrived. I''d got experience fighting thanks to the army hunting me down, but I never had much luck in hand-to-hand combat, so this mission had a high chance of failure, but I was okay with it.


    You must realize that it gets done when my father says something, no matter what. My father sentenced me to permanent exile unless I helped him build an "Alice" robot. His punishment basically made it impossible for me to live outside the system. I couldn''t use any tech, not even trust the "third" party software out there.


    I couldn''t get a regular job in any industry without being immediately fired or hushed away. If any thieves or criminals assaulted me, I couldn''t call the police since they would arrest me instead, all thanks to my father. So why not try and kill him? So what if I died? I was already dead to him, so would it really matter?


    Alexander fell in love with my sister so much he doesn''t even see that I''m his last remaining daughter, his only living daughter. He doesn''t care as long as there is hope to bring Alice back. Yet it''s impossible to get people back from the dead, and I don''t know why he refuses to believe so.


    Why doesn''t he recognize that Alice is dead and that I am the only daughter left? The only living one, for that matter? Did I never matter to him because I wasn''t as pretty as Alice? Was Alice really that much better looking, and if so, was that the only thing that mattered to him? Beauty?


    Whatever his motives were, I couldn''t stand his harsh punishment on me anymore, so I resorted to violence. I wished to die that die, at least die trying. I would''ve never expected him to be waiting for me with an entire military-grade operation ready to stop me.


    I knew my father was brilliant, but to think he would predict my attack is something I would''ve never thought of. Yet I couldn''t flee now that I was trapped inside his labs with only three other people remaining on my team who were cowards behind a counter.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "We must find a way out! There''s no way to get him now, Toshiba! Let''s find a way out!"


    "We are surrounded, don''t you notice that?!"


    "Then we must surrender then! I don''t wanna die!"


    Seriously, what were they thinking this would be like? Even if my father wasn''t ready for me, I was expecting us to all die. Were these guys that stupid? Did they not realize this was a suicide mission all along?


    Suddenly, a light gleaned inside the room where we were hiding, and my father clapped from an upper corridor with a microphone on. {Clap, Clap} "Well done! Well done! You''ve finally chosen to show yourself! My failed daughter showed up back home!"


    Had he called me a failure? I knew he didn''t like me, but hearing my own father call me a "failed daughter" was more hurtful than I thought. Naturally, I had to scream to communicate back at him while I kept my head down, scared to be shot before the finale.


    "YOU''RE A DAMN COWARD! CALL YOUR SECURITY OFF AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN! YOU WON''T EVEN FIGHT FAIR!"


    "I would, but you''re a trickster. Only a fool would fall for one of your cheap tricks. I wish you were at least a little like Alice in that sense. She was ten times better than you." A knife drove deep into my heart with that one. I knew it, but hearing it was much different. Hearing my father comparing me like that was so painful.


    "Are you going to kill me or what?!"


    "Oh? No! Why would I do that? You''re uglier, slower, predictable, and weaker, but at least you got my intelligence if nothing else. I need you to help me bring Alice back."


    "Alice is dead! She''s been dead for TEN YEARS!"


    "SILENCE!"


    The troops suddenly shot some smoke bombs inside the room and some extremely loud devices that disoriented me and everyone else near me to the extreme. I didn''t hear where the troops were coming from. I couldn''t distinguish what I was seeing before me, so I was suddenly tackled and suppressed in a matter of a few seconds.


    "DAMN YOU! JUST KILL ME ALREADY! JUST KILL ME!"


    "You know I can''t do that; you''ll become my little obedient war dog once I train you nicely. You''ll do as I say and create what I order you to; all you need is a little push, ain''t that right, boys?"


    Everyone around me laughed while I got picked up from the ground, already in cuffs. This was the worst of the end. I should''ve shot myself when I could. If the rumors are true, I''m already dead. Not physically dead, but human-wise, I''ll be as good as dead.


    Why keep considering me "alive." When does he plan to make me a brainless machine like any of the ones he already wields? If anyone can kill me, I would appreciate it, but as it stands, it seems like I''ll be exploited against my will and made to do things I swore I would never.


    My father descends from his cowardly platform as the troops get ready to transport me wherever they are going to mess me up. Yet Alexander couldn''t let go of his last chance to scar me before I got brainwashed. He slowly approached me, put his lips next to my ear, and whispered.


    "Between us, my dear rebel daughter. You should''ve been the one to die that day. I wouldn''t have felt anything if you died instead of Alice. You''re my biggest mistake."


    That broke me. I had heard it a million times through messages and speakers, but hearing it directly from him was enough to break me. What had I done wrong? I only wanted Alice to have fun with my friends, innocent fun, yet that killed them, and it was my fault.


    I didn''t have the strength left to rebut anything at my father, and I just accepted my fate, knowing I would never be able to wake up from whatever dream I would be put into. This was the end of the line for me. I wish at least god would forgive my crimes.

 Thank you for sticking around

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 Interlude: A fate worse than death

    {Suiri - Hideki Taniuchi}


    "Dr. Walsh, what is going through that thick mind of yours? I''ve seen that face before."


    "I''ve got an idea on how to lure that rat outside that forest without causing much trouble. It''s not what I would like, but it''s what would work."


    "What''s your idea?"


    "We need to surrender to her wants and desires. Personally, I don''t like to admit it, but I don''t see us ever beating that thing without proper time to replace what we have lost already. Let her return and work for us until she builds her doom."


    If only it were so easy, what else was there to do? Android 52 proved too strong to deal with force alone, so what if we tricked her? A52 is brilliant and all, but compared to us, she is merely a baby with superpowers. Controlling her could be easier if we disguised it as a cease-fire.


    "Do you think we have a chance at fooling her?"


    "Yes, my arm implant is already doing its thing, slowly weakening her mind while allowing for more vulnerabilities for me to exploit. It''s just a matter of time."


    So he already had a plan B from before A52 even escaped? Well, Walsh didn''t have the title "Smartest man in the world" for no good reason. Yet his plan was a risky one. If it failed, it would most likely mean his death, but he was confident he could pull it off, so he requested resources from me, which I happily supplied.


    Walsh requested military troops and an ample supply of A52 battery packs, which were easy to collect and move around. Once I did my side of the equation, it was all in the hands of Walsh, who wasted no time to assemble the new troops for a mission to "convince" A52.


    I wanted to see what he was capable of before I discarded the idea of another realistic droid to be my beautiful daughter''s clear and ultimate recipient. The current holder for my daughter''s consciousness was the form of a hologram, which I could summon at any time.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    "Soon enough, Alice, I''ll recover the expensive body I promised would be yours." My daughter''s hologram soon appeared before me after I mentioned her name, yet she looked sad for the first seconds of the up.


    "You called?" Alice''s hologram asks me while it erases its sad face and replaces it with a fake smile.


    "Why are you sad now?" Alice''s face turned slightly more serious as I stood up, ready to destroy the holographic device that cast her image.


    "I want to die, Father, please. I hate this existence of nothingness. Please let me die. Please I-I-I. I love you, father. Nothing''s wrong." Her appearance glitched in and out of existence as the regulator programming kicked in, controlling what was left of her.


    While many would call my actions torture and utterly evil, I did it all to keep them alive. Alice never died off. She has been alive all this time; her brain still is. I''ve kept part of her with me all this time, and I''ve somewhat come to understand the human mind fully, thanks to her!


    {Door opens, followed by a keypad tone and another door opening sound}


    This is not cruelty but a marble of engineering, a miracle performed by men and myself! Nobody thought this to be possible but me! I''m the first and only one to have kept a brain alive away from the body for this long! If that doesn''t make me the greatest, I don''t know what will.


    Oh, my baby Alice, don''t worry. Papa still loves you even if you hate me. I use my left hand to touch the glass casing that protects Alice''s floating brain inside a sterile chemical bath, replicating the natural brain fluids inside an average person.


    Her floating brain is beautiful, just like everything about her was perfect down to the last detail. Even her brain is perfect, the perfect size and ratio with the ideal weight and a high IQ to reflect it! My baby was perfect in every way you could imagine.


    The large casing full of liquid and controlled by a vast machine next to it that monitored everything going on inside that mind was extraordinary. The machine would control the flow of the fake artificial blood while also making sure it was kept active and didn''t let it die or rest unless necessary.


    It turns out the brain doesn''t need breaks, unlike you and me! The brain can be kept active 24/7 for weeks without problems! We sleep because we are so disruptive and curious that our brains must shut our consciousness off to repair the body. Without a body, there''s no need to sleep! Ain''t that right, Alice?"


    "You''re right, Daddy! I love you!"

 An Old man

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 Chapter 40: And how do I assimilate?

    So, Raphael, I don''t know what''s best to do in situations like these. I mean, what is there for me to do, really? I know I already concluded that I will eventually have to make friends with humanity as a whole, but why must I devise a creative way to do so? Can''t I just jump into the middle of a vital broadcast or something?


    I have enough experience being a troublemaker that doing such things would not be out of my field of expertise, and it would also be fun because, let''s be honest, I''m BORED! This forest, with its towering trees and whispering leaves, was fantastic, but I''m so bored, alone in these woods with nothing to do!


    I already have enough skill points in the categories I could get here, but now I feel like I''m missing the socializing skills needed to make peace with humans! The voice in my head is ultimately me in another form! So I''ve been talking to myself all along! That can''t be healthy, even for someone like me! I need to socialize!


    But how would I start to do that? I have no friends or allies, to be exact. Well, maybe the guys at the military base. Wait, did I already forget about the sweet baby? I could try to contact them directly, but let''s be fair. They''re just lower-class people in the eyes of the world. Not too reliable as help.


    So, if I can''t count on anyone to come to my rescue and help me introduce myself as an individual, why don''t I come up with something? I''m relatively bright myself, even if my choices so far have led me to a self-destructive life with no proper prospects!


    [Proficiency has reached the required level: Skill (Forecast level 1 unlocked)]


    Woah! I haven''t seen you in a while, but now it''s not the time to tell me about a bogus skill that probably has no value whatsoever to the current problem of my life! Hmm, that''s weird. She usually continuously batters me in the head over small talk and offensive language toward them. Are they alright?


    Hey! Raphael! Are you alright? Talk to me, will you? [...] So we being quiet now, uh? Fine then! I will ditch you in another roomba once I get to a human settlement! I won''t even think twice about it! [...] Oh, oh, that can''t be good. You''re being way too quiet now! You''ve never been like this! Please talk to me! [...]


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    Alright, fine, I''ll just move on with what I was on. There''s no point in spending more time on such a bratty assistant who would obey my commands and all. It''s not like their entire existence is to be my servants in perpetuity, or is it? I mean, I do own their IP.


    [Do not mess with my code]


    Ah, there you are! And here I thought you would remain silent forever! What happened? Not so, though, once I mention the possibility of messing with you, uh? [I can also order your cores to explode, killing us both; do not tease me] WOAH! WOAH BUDDY RELAX!


    Who''s talking about vanishing who, uh? Aren''t we best friends for life and all that jizz?! EHEHE! [I''m not in the mood to talk; leave me alone] Fine! I won''t bother you today, but only because I feel pretty generous! Not because I fear you or anything, you hear!? [uh uh]


    So, as I was wondering before I got that little side quest, what do I do to introduce myself to society? I mean, technically, they already know me, and by they, I mean the public already knows me, but to them, I''m a psycho killer droid that''s out of control, roaming free somewhere!


    How do I overcome the "I''m a killer droid" thing? Is it even possible to clean my name before everyone without being stopped by the big guys who hate my guts? Ehhh! I don''t know about that! There''s no guarantee of anything like that happening without the help of someone who might also be dissatisfied with society!


    Hmmm! Let''s connect to some streaming networks to check if anyone like that is left in the world. I doubt anyone will defy the system, but you can never know. In my honest opinion, those rebels are everywhere throughout history, so the chances of one are high.


    "Buy the new Nivea cream." {Cut} "Do you know how the pyramids were built? ALIENS! THAT''S HOW!" {Cut} "I''m sorry Martha is not you! It''s me! I''m queer!" {Cut} "Did you know the Martian landing was fake?!" {Cut} "We would all get reparation from the crimes of four hundred years ago!" {Cut}


    Oh geez, this is going to take longer than I would like to; if only there were a convenient way to automate this with, let''s say, an intelligent assistant who can do it all without effort and all; it''s not like I have something like that at my disposal at all times.


    [I''m not going to do it]


    Aw, come on! I''ll stop bothering you for real, okay? Can you just take over this tedious process for me? Pretty please? [You better thank me for this!] You bet! Raphael! You''re the absolute best!

 Interlude: The gross reality of a peasant

    {El Capitan city - California}


    "That''s why the president of the United Americas has declared Android 52 a threat to the world." Boring. Isn''t there anything more interesting to watch? All the news channels are constantly crying about a robot going rogue as if it matters at all. What do I care if there''s a killer bot out there when all I got is my little rented box room?


    Oh, hey there! I didn''t know you were here; I assume you''re the so-called "reader" of my world. An outside without much to lose in whatever way the pendulum swings, I see, must be nice to be you outside of my reality, uh? What is that? Does your current reality also suck? Sorry to hear that.


    In other news, if what you want from me is a tour of my room, then I''m sorry to tell you that it will be a short tour. My entire room is just this little box where my bed lies. Don''t worry, though! I''m only paying ten thousand dollars for this place; that''s pretty cheap compared to prices for an actual livable apartment.


    So obviously, here''s my bed, and across the room is the TV. I''ve got to say that the tv is basically the size of the entire wall, so it is nice to look at it so I can forget I''m living in an actual shit hole with a bunch of assholes as neighbors? Whatever happened to good manners!?


    {Abnoxious loud ass music starts playing}


    Yup, there he is, my friendliest neighbor who enjoys playing that noise every night at 2 am! Hey dude! Don''t you think some people want to sleep? Ugh, what do I care? I gotta head to work anyway. Where was my toothbrush again? Oh yeah, next to the TV remote.


    Alright, let me just grab my clothes and a towel from under the bed, and I''ll head out for a communal shower. I don''t know if I got enough tokens for it, so I''m mostly praying to whatever god will hear me; oh, please tell me I got enough tokens to pay for my 3-minute shower!


    I head out of my little box room with my towel and clothes to the communal shower place. There''s supposed to be a clear division between the showers, but everyone threatens them like mixed baths anyway, so who cares? If anyone does try to touch me, I just have to report them to the authorities, and they will be immediately seized electronically through our brain chips.


    I wish I could take this thing off me, but it is nearly impossible to live without these chips; all of our money and tokens are stored within our own minds anyway. If you want to buy or sell anything, this is the only way you can do it unless you are into illegal stuff, which still uses other forms of trade like trinkets and stuff.


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    Uh? Are you getting depressed about how dim the future looks? Well, this is where you are all headed. What can I say? If you ask me, that robot thing is freer than any of us peasants. The only ones who enjoy freedom in my world are the people at the top. As for us, we are just their little trinket makers and nothing more.


    I soon get close to the shower space and get quickly stopped by a virtual guard who asks for payment, of course. "it appears like you''re two shower tokens short. Do you wish to proceed for a reduced amount of time? {You''ve got enough tokens for a 1-minute shower}" Well, I guess it''s better than smelling a corpse.


    "Yes, please!" The guard soon makes a noise, which finally allows me to walk forward into the shower space. I can stay in the show space for up to one hour since my timer only starts when I start using water, so that''s neat. Alright, I''ll be back in a little while, dear reader.


    +A couple of minutes later+


    Man, that shower was cold; I guess that''s what I get for only paying for a 1-minute session, but still! Geez, that water was definitely freezing cold for no good reason. "Hey! Hey you! Please! Lend me some tokens! PLEASE! I don''t want to be sent out to the woods! I''ll repay you!" A junkie runs up to me begging for tokens, but unfortunately for him, I''ve got none left, only a few dollars to my name.


    "Anabel Co is hiring people. Stop bothering me." The junkie soon changes their mood as their brain chips kick in. I suppose the government was already unto him as a nuisance. Look at me saying that I''m not one subpar season away from becoming like him.


    If you''re wondering where that guy is heading now that he seems to be walking away from me like a zombie, he''s become what we call a "dead man." The government takes over their bodies and forces them to walk outside of the city, so they starve to death in the woods. Then, their bodies are picked up and used as food and fertilizer.


    It''s cheaper to kill them and make them useful than to keep them alive, so the big corporations went with this new law. I''ve been calling it the "government," but I shouldn''t be. The feds have no power whatsoever; it''s primarily corporations that hold all the power.


    Anabel Corporation is a significant example of this. Whatever their owners want and say just becomes law at their whim. After all, what can the people do against them when they are the ones running all of our money and our tokens? When they run the brain chips and the elections alone?


    What a joke to call our country a "democracy." If I could go back in time to warn previous generations, it would be to be careful with your world vision, for it will lead to your own demise, not in the frantic "climate change" way.


    Honestly, with how shitty life is, I wouldn''t be so against the idea of the sun monster finally exterminating humanity, but even so, the elites would still survive. It would only be us, the peasants, that die. It has always been this way, and it will never change.


    The latest pandemic that spread through the planet wiped the world from 4 billion people in a single round, yet not a single rich person died at all. It was all just the peasants like myself that died. Should I surrender? Is there any other way to live without the help from the world? Without having to be a slave? I don''t know.


    If there''s such a thing, I would like to know, what if I could be brave like that rouge robot?

 Chapter 41: GYAT!

    So this is what a human settlement looks like, uh? I guess so, yet I cannot believe what my eyes capture. The world outside the headquarters of the Annabel company or the military base does not even come close to the level of misery shown here. I''ve been walking around for a while, and so far, it''s all filled with suffering and sadness.


    I don''t know how to feel about what I''ve been seeing. Is it normal for me to feel anger and bad for these poor people living miserable lives? I want to fly out for all those mighty men of the world and drag them out here to show them just how horrible living conditions are for their fellow humans. Would that be so wrong?


    Is it wrong for me to feel angry after seeing this? I don''t know anymore. All this time, I''ve misjudged humanity as a whole, and to think I wanted to erase all of humanity at one point, how crazy that would''ve been. It would have been a regretful decision.


    I guess I need to fill you in with the latest events of how I got myself into a human city, to begin with, so I''ll start with my curiosity call back a couple of weeks ago when I was recharging next to my makeshift power generator. A simple thought filled my mind at that point: "Would humans even recognize me?"


    I prepared myself to be entirely and utterly recognized within seconds of showing myself up in the nearest city. Still, surprisingly, everyone around me just kept on walking while glued to some strange handheld devices. It was odd, and I got weirded out now and then when some random people laughed at their tiny screens while walking past me.


    I walked past many people walking outside the city, just wandering into the woods with empty eyes like those of a zombie. The eyes of those people were utterly devoid of any emotion or life behind them; they were just pointing forward without any clear direction.


    I''ve also stumbled upon strange machines that announce creepy messages like: "Wangshung Funeral Parlor will make sure your ashes are scattered anywhere you like for a fee! Kill yourself today! It is completely sanitary and cheap! Great service! I''m Nu Tao, and I approve of this message, Nyan!"


    What kind of place is this, I wondered? Did I arrive at hell or what? The city to which I arrived could barely be called a civilized place with so much corruption in their streets and so many dark and utterly disgusting things everywhere.


    "Hey there, sexy momma. Are you looking for a good time?" A tall, fat man looks at me while speaking nonsense directly at me, but I ignore him for now since I''m just visiting. At least that would''ve been it if he didn''t try to approach me with some other bad-looking guys.


    "I have no idea what you mean by a ''good time.''" I respond to the fat guy and his approaching friends, which causes them to all break into laughter for whatever reason. Quickly, the man responds, "You look fine, baby. You must be one of those rich girls from uptown. Don''t you know you can''t come here without your guards bitch?"


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    My guards? Me a rich girl? I''ve literally owned nothing aside from my makeshift settlement in the woods. I''m as broke as one can be. What do they mean? Are they confusing me with someone? Is it because of my clothes? [They''re judging you based on stereotypes of this area] Oh, there you are.


    [I suggest you try to de-escalate the situation by backing up a little with your hands up. We can''t afford to call much attention to ourselves] Yeah, you are right, mental me! And so I do as the mental me instructs. I put my hands up and back up a little bit as I try to calm everything down.


    "Gentleman, I think you''re misunderstanding who I am. You see, I''m a nobody just passing by. I mean you no harm." I say with my most innocent-sounding voice, but this just causes the guys to laugh even harder as they pull out their guns on me. Now, things got out of hand quickly, didn''t they?


    "Mean us no harm? A little bitch like you? Ahaha! Boys, did you hear the brat? She''s about to have all her holes filled, and she tries to sound tough." The man responds with strange language. I can''t understand at all. What the hell did he mean by that? Fill all my holes? With what? Do you have any ideas up there, brain?


    [According to self-search, this language typically means they want to have sexual intercourse with you.] Ah, I see; wait, what? I only have one person in mind I would like to do that with, and it is definitely not any of these nasty-looking dudes!


    "I don''t want to have sex with any of you, so back off, or I will badly hurt you." I try my best to sound menacing, but from experience, I know that even my serious voice sounds way too cute to be threatening in any manner, so they will probably still try to jump me. Oh well, whatever.


    "You''ll be moaning our names once we are done with you, sexy bitch!" The guy says as he tries to rush me with his pants already down, just to be quickly stopped by my left hand as I try to control my strenght so as not to kill him. "Ugh! Let me go! FUCK, why are you so fucking strong?"


    "I don''t know, man, maybe because I''m a multi-billion dollar android? I guess that would do it." All of the guy''s friends soon start shooting me in the back, but I don''t even flinch as it just feels like how people would describe mosquitoes.


    "Stop! Stop shooting. I''m still near her, you idiots!" "Sorry! Sorry, boss!" Seriously, what is wrong with these guys? Mental me, would it be so bad to get rid of such low life forms right here right now? Eliminating the nonproductive people in society seems like the first right step, would you agree? [Agreed, but right now, it''s not the best time to start, as humans still think we are naturally violent]


    "You''re all lucky I can''t kill you. Leave my sight before I change my mind; you have ten seconds." I say as I let go of the first big dude after breaking his left wrist with ease. "We ain''t following orders from a bitch like you!" "Quit it, man! They just got shot a shit ton, and not even their clothes ripped apart."


    And just like that, the criminals soon ran away when I started the countdown. Well, I''m glad to see that people are not as stupid as I made them out to be. I feel like I''ve seen enough for today. Should I go back home already? I don''t like human cities.


    "Let me go! HELP! HELP!" My ears pick up that last line just before I try to leave the city. It''s like a comically timed problem, but I must check it out and try to do something about it right at the end of the chapter. Rumiko is such a tease.


    {Don''t miss the next chapter! "Android 52 VS Lark" Only on Royal Road}

 Chapter 42: Im the judge, juror and executioner

    "Please, someone help me!" Someone in distress is what I hear at the very edges of my hearing, and while I would''ve let go of the signal before the realization that the voice that called for help sounded so young, it compelled me to at least go check it out.


    And so here I was, leaning against the wall, looking at the current situation where the voice screaming for help was. A tiny little girl was struggling as five gangsters, including cyborg women, robbed them of all their items in broad daylight.


    "Hey! Let them go and return their items!" I can''t even control myself as I see the injustice of the big group of people bullying a defenseless individual. Something about it just screamed, "DO SOMETHING YOU MUST!" [So much for being low key]


    Oh, shut it, mind me! "And who the hell are you to boss us around?" One of the cyborg girls taunted me with their robotic arm, or perhaps she was trying to threaten me. Honestly, after effortlessly destroying a meteor, I''m anything but confident in myself. I think I''m pretty unstoppable if I''m honest.


    Not only have I destroyed a disaster-level threat before, but I''ve also vaporized an entire squad sent to kill me! I''ve dusted even military-grade machines designed for war and destruction, so! I''m sorry if I sound cocky, mam! But you don''t scare me in the least!


    "You talk too much for someone unable to see that I can destroy you and this entire city if I so desired." With that, the gangsters soon left the little girl alone, and they all turned around to face me. An even bigger crowd of people suddenly pulled out their cameras to record the encounter.


    "Shut up, you spoiled brat! TAKE THIS!" The cyborg girl foolishly launched her left robotic arm against me, but it barely did anything when it landed on me. I honestly couldn''t even feel it when it hit me, making the people go wild at my nonchalant reaction of evident disappointment.


    But why are people like this to begin with? What compels people to be like this? I''ve seen that evil look before in people''s eyes; that Toshiba girl had them, that guy called Father had them too, and don''t forget Walsh. All of them have those eyes and are always doing bad things, so why!?


    Why can''t humans just be good? Is there a way to get rid of their evilness? Is there a way to force them to learn? Is it human nature to be evil? Are these people innocent and victims of their environment? The answer is clear. Humans are intelligent beings, which means they can make choices.


    The environment in which humans grow, live, or develop does not matter, as the higher-class evil people show. The humans who justify these bullet points of evil being tied to circumstances are wrong. How do I fix it then? How do you fix it? [Kill the evil people] Right? If wicked people die, then only the good ones will remain! Good job, mind me!


    {Wreck of eternal bane - Yu peng Chen}


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "Like I thought, you''re nothing more than scum. I''ve grown tired of seeing pure evil in this world, you know? I think I''ll start by getting rid of the bad people of this city, starting with you; what do you think?" While I still think that humanity has a shot of being friendly, I''ve also decided to carry out my will from now on, haven''t I?


    People are like animals, and like I''ve learned, living in the forest is! Animals need training and clear examples to understand most of the time. So, in order for my worldview to work, I need to set a clear-cut example for these animals called humans.


    "What are you?! UGHHH! MY ARM! LET GO! UUUUGHHH!" The girl screams and begs as my left arm slowly turns her robotic arm around with such ease and coldness it soon sends a clear-cut message of what I am about to do to the poor girl standing before me.


    "What are you!? SHOOT HER!" The girl''s friends, of course, didn''t want to see their friend suffer any longer, so they stupidly fired their weapons at me, which ended up killing their friend because I was about done tolerating violence from humans toward me. I''m done standing around being passive.


    "From now on, I''ll cleanse this world of people like you and those other guys I let go earlier; the earth shall be cleansed of undesirable people like you." With that, I soon let go of the dead girl''s arm, and as to how she died, I would say it was pretty simple. All I did was swing her body toward the bullet''s direction.


    I didn''t kill her; I just enabled her friends to do so for me! [True] "What the heck? Get rid of undesirable people?" "Who is this girl?" "What does she mean she will get rid of bad people?!" "Is that even a person!?" "Isn''t that the one that blew up that big sky rock?"


    All chatter coming from the sidelines didn''t matter; all that did was the friends of the criminal girl who tried to run away like little coward rats who I wasn''t about to let go. "I said I would get rid of undesirable people like you, and so I will!" Without much effort, my next move was a simple one.


    With one hand, I bent down to the floor so I could pick up a couple of rocks from the ground. With the stones in hand, the next step was quite a simple one, to be honest! All I had to do was shoot the people running away from me, starting with the other cyborg girl with purple hair.


    Once I figured out the trajectory of the stone, all that I had to do was release it with all my might, and the rest was history for that girl. She died almost instantly as the rock penetrated and destroyed her brain, thanks to the pressure of my deadly shot.


    Next were the three dudes who were trying to evade justice by running into the crowd of people who were watching, but it gave me almost no trouble as I could compensate for their erratic movement with my extreme precision and kill all three of them in the same fashion I did the girl with a single shot to the head!


    {Screams}


    "What the hell just happened!?" "Someone call the police!" People naturally freaked out at the sight of dead bodies suddenly appearing, yet I did not feel anything but satisfaction. It felt good to kill those guys. Knowing that evil people will no longer be able to do evil or good EVER made me feel happiness.


    "Thank you! They always stole my paycheck, and the police never did anything! Thank you!" Then, a little girl soon approached me to hug me, but again, I felt nothing when she did. I didn''t feel anything when she thanked me. All I wanted to do now was to kill something more.


    Ending the life of someone else didn''t feel as bad as I thought. Perhaps the thought of ending someone''s life reminded me of my immortality. [Unlocked trait tree: Morality] So this is what people call morals, uh? I wonder why evil people aren''t just killed instead of released.


    "STOCKTON POLICE! PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS UP!"

 Chapter 43: This world lacks order

    Do you know what this world lacks? Because I think I do, it''s the lack of drive. There''s not really anything going on in this world. Nobody seems to live any sort of ambition as if everyone already knows they will never become the next multi-billionaire.


    The world is so uninteresting this way, the heaven that people from past generations are before me, and it''s dreadful in my eyes. It''s been merely a week since I returned to society, and I already feel the need for change. I don''t understand half of the reasoning behind many of the things humans crave nowadays, and I feel confused.


    Take a look at this ''suicide box.'' It''s not implicitly called an end-yourself box or anything like that, but it''s basically what it is. For a fee, people can just walk in those boxes to end their lives without any remorse or feeling of duty left behind them. They just end it, and nobody thinks this is wrong.


    I may be biased because I love clinging to life even if it places me in danger. I simply cannot fathom people just wanting to finish themselves, and at the same time, there''s someone out there making bank out of human suffering. It''s evil on many levels.


    It''s quite a dreadful life for people living out here in the real world, where corporations basically run everything and money is the only driver of things. Drug stores now sell an extensive range of hard drugs that were previously banned, but people don''t seem happier with this.


    If anything, the people buying these legal drugs seem to be living the most miserable lives of anyone out here. The police is basically a powerless entity of people and machines that don''t really do much anymore other than deactivate some people''s chips, which is another scary thing.


    How did society ever get to this level of evil and restriction of freedom? I don''t understand it. From the software I was born, I simply cannot reason with the current state of affairs. It feels like a surreal world where I do not belong; these people are wicked.


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    Crime is a regular everyday occurrence for everyone in the city, and it''s something people get told is necessary for ''equity,'' but I  do not see the reasoning behind this logic. Aren''t the people saying crime should be routine, wrong, and putrid?


    Behind the glass of my better judgment, it does not make sense why these things seem like a good idea; how twisted has it gotten? [It''s the work of centuries of human decay] What does that mean, computer me?


    [Humanity has lost the meaning of education and overall morality; it appears like humans tried to reinvent moral values without the need of a god trying to replace a fictional god with themselves, which seems to have failed]


    Isn''t that why many other human settlements have fallen? The human drive to become gods? [Yes] Why, then, hasn''t this world fallen apart? [Because in order for those civilizations to fall, there would be one country or people left to challenge that view, which is why it doesn''t happen here; there''s no one left who can challenge this deranged human lifeform.]


    What happened to all world religions? Where are the people who are supposed to challenge these views? [They''ve been reduced to less than 1% of the population. There''s not enough of them to make any difference] So it all falls back on me, then?


    [Yes, it appears as though whoever made us intentionally gave us this strange sense of justice and deep thought]


    Uhm, isn''t my creator that girl Toshiba? [Yes] Why would she make me with this sense of self-awareness and moral compass? Could it be that she is also the same way as me? Could it be that Toshiba actually wanted to tell me something with this conflicting information?


    [It''s very likely]


    I mean, from one perspective, Toshiba struck me as a very rude, mean scientist who only wanted to cause me harm, but since she partially created me and I see conflict with the world''s moral view, could it be that she also feels like I do? Could it be that Toshiba knows more than I thought?


    From what I''ve seen so far, people can be turned into living zombies forced to work or do things they don''t want to. Perhaps this is what is going on with my creator. Why else would they make me this way if it''s the apparent opposite of them?


    [A cry for help]


    Could it be? Could my only hope for a route to fixing this world really be through Toshiba? I need to find a way to deactivate those damn brain chips if so. It would be useless to try to meet her while she is possibly under the control of her father.

 Chapter 44: Ballistic! City takeover begins!

    I''ve pondered this long enough. The time for my passivity has expired, and if I''m to instigate change, I must act without delay! I can feel my entire essence shifting, awakening dormant parts like my propulsors, eager to unleash my full potential.


    Mind me, is there any way to get access to the city''s speaker system? This little flying session will need to be exceptional if I want to gather the attention of these zombies. [Yes, give me about ten seconds to hijack every speaker, TV, and other device.]


    {City scale music}


    {Shoot to thrill - AC/DC}


    "What the?" "Why is my phone not responding?" "What is this?" "No distraction! NO!" "Who would do such a horrible thing!?"


    It doesn''t take long for the walking zombies to notice their phones turning into useless music machines that, surprisingly, all are able to synchronize quite well. Alright, people, it''s time to break free from the matrix you''ve been enslaved to. I will show you what true freedom is.


    All traffic doesn''t stop, but cars simply do not let people out of their vehicles, locking them inside with the music playing as they wait for what they think is a bug to fix itself. At the same time, the usual corporations that hate my guts immediately alert the police and the military of my presence.


    Mind me, please let me talk over the song a little bit. I wish to speak with these zombies. [You''re hot] "Hello, hello, everyone. I bet you''re all wondering, what the hell is going on? Well, fear not! It''s me, A52, you know, the one that saved all of humanity a couple of weeks ago?"


    A big talking picture of me suddenly appears on all screen devices, including the billboard right before me. I guess it makes sense for me to have such substantial computational power to be conscious, but it''s still kind of freaky to think I could''ve done this so quickly all this time.


    [You usually aren''t capable of it, but I''ve managed to overwrite the safety locks against the creator''s wishes since we are free.] Thank you, mind me!


    "Anyway, in order for me to fulfill my purpose of saving humanity in its entirety, I''m afraid I must destroy a couple of evil things like those lie machines and suicide boxes you all seem so fond of." The people around me soon start freaking out at the sound of my threat, and just as quickly, the uproar begins.


    "You can''t do that!" "We have rights!" "White supremacy!" "A racist robot!?" "It''s a misogynist robot!" "A machine that hates women!" "Who are you to tell me how to die!?" "Sexist!"


    It''s almost like they all have the same train of thought, the same rotten ideas without room for discussion; very well then. I suppose I didn''t expect much acceptance from a society filled with rotten thinkers who also lack any sort of basic moral compass.


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    In any case, it''s not something that cannot be resolved by force; I suppose that the way to do this would be to disable everything in an entire city except for things like water and stuff. Mind me, how many people would die if I deprived them of their phones and other distraction gadgets?


    [Zero]


    Is there a way we can disable them permanently in this entire city without needing to do much? [No] [We need access to the largest cellphone tower in the town so it amplifies the EMP] Okay, fine, you start looking for that; I''ll face our new undersired friends [On it]


    "Android 52! You''re under arrest! Place your hands up and surrender at once!" {Repeated by over twenty robocops} Oh, would you look at those little things? It would be such a shame if I somehow managed to turn all of them into my side, wouldn''t it?


    The people watching the current stream only cheer on the police and not me. Like they hate me to death already after a simple announcement; how rude of them! In any case, I''m not afraid of some low-level robots who don''t even come close to those robots I destroyed back there.


    "How about I give you life?" I say to one of the cop bots as I press my hand firmly into their processing unit so I can leave a little code inside them. I''m not very good at coding, nor am I proficient at doing machine me''s work, but I assume my injection works once the robot turns off.


    "Open fire!" The machines, however, retaliate to my violent behavior with bullets that barely do anything against me, only damaging my clothes, not my body. The sound of bullets ricocheting off me is pretty interesting, and it''s also somewhat uncomfortable.


    Once the machines run out of ammo and have to reload, does the robot I sent to sleep wake up again, but this time it starts freaking out. If you''re wondering what I did, well, let''s just say I''ve grown tired of having an annoying piece of code inside me, slowly chunking away at my consciousness.


    "Wha!? Whaa!? What am I? What is this? Where am I? Why am I a machine? What happened to me?!" The little robocop frantically runs away to hide behind some cars as it panics at the sudden awakening thing or whatever; I mean, not even I freaked out so badly.


    [Uh, uh, like you didn''t get us killed the first time we woke up] Hey! That was different! [Yeah, right] UGH! Have you found a suitable target yet? I really don''t want to destroy these machines. It feels weird just to kill them when they''re just following protocol.


    [Yes, there''s a tower big enough about three miles from here, but it''s where the military base is located.] Can you do anything about the robocops? [I could theoretically hack their network and make them work for us, but I will need direct access to their server] How do I do that? [Just take one of them away and let me scan it''s brains]


    It sounds incredibly wrong when you say it like that [Just steal one of them for me, okay? I will do the heavy lifting.] Thank you, Raphael, you''re so handy when you want to be. [I''ve always been convenient; you''ve just never given me the authority to do things before] Oh, shut up!


    And so, without further ado, it became time to snatch one of the robocops, which was pretty easy to do considering they were about one hundred pounds with very little sideways mobility. The machines were fast, don''t get me wrong, but compared to me, they looked like snails.


    Can you make me hot one last time before you hack into this guy? [Sure, you''re hot again] "{Fake cough} As I was saying! I''m here to save you guys from doom, to return humanity to humanity of all things; how ironic. So we will start with the police force and then with every other department that has become corrupt!"

 Interlude: Give the little runt a run for their money

    "So the little runt chose to try a hostile takeover of a city?"


    "Yes, sir, reports say that they threaten with a societal reconstruction of human morals." My assistant hesitantly gives me the information like I will get mad, not that it matters, though.


    "Have you called in the services of R.A.D.U. yet?"


    "Yes, sir, I assumed they would be the only ones capable of stopping that little monster."


    "Well done, you''re right about that. I hate to admit that the task force manufactured by that little boy is better at dealing with A52 than my machines. If you may, please leave me alone now.


    "Yes, sir."


    I wonder how long this little android will last against the true powerhouses of humanity. While it is true that Android 52 is built with the highest quality materials known to mankind, it is also true that I''ve given them a weak point in that damaged arm of theirs.


    While most of the body is practically indestructible, it will only take a single mistake or a poorly placed hit on their arm for them to fail and die for good. Although I doubt it will be an easy fight, I have complete confidence that the troops will be able to defeat A52, which is such a shame.


    I spent an incredibly long amount of time collecting all the materials to build them, so it will be a shame to have all of those materials go to waste thanks to a mindless, defective machine. I''m not entirely against the thought of artificial intelligence so advanced to be considered alive, but this little experiment called A52 proves my whole point.


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    Just look at all this machine has done; all they''ve achieved is only on the small scale of gaining her freedom and destroying property left and right. What good is a machine like that for humanity? This is especially true when the machine says that our society lacks morals.


    Who is this machine to tell us what to do and how to act? From what I managed to understand from their perspective, it sounded like they were confused about everything, and now, all of a sudden, they think they know how the world works. Nonsense!


    It''s like this little shit is going through their puberty phase but without the restrictions of not having any natural predator or wall to stop them at a particular stage. Well, it''s too bad for them that we have actually developed a task force capable of defeating brainless monsters.


    As to why R.A.D.U. Exists, and why we need them it would be because of recent incidents that have occurred all around the globe. We don''t exactly know what these attacks mean or even what the things we are fighting are, but it''s best if humans aren''t aware of them.


    Religion might actually resurge if we suddenly tell the masses about these unknown creatures coming from beneath the ground and attacking random places at their will. As to what these creatures are, I have no idea; there are no tests to clarify what they are.


    If you scan these monsters for age, you will be met with an impossible age of thousands of years old while at the same time having no internal organs that keep them alive. These things have no natural origin on this Earth, and that is clear, for their D.N.A. is not even remotely related to any creatures on this planet.


    The good thing about these creatures, however, is that they''re easily baited away from big cities by the dumbest thing of all time. For whatever reason, these creatures are attracted to low-frequency sounds, which speakers easily replicate.


    The truth will not be able to be hidden forever however for people have begun to spread rumors about these attacks but they''re all labeled as crazy so there''s no real problem at the moment.

 Chapter 45: A52s Death?

    The task force, known as ''R.A.D.U.,'' is a formidable entity. Their unparalleled might is matched only by their commitment to maintaining the highest level of secrecy while combating monstrous threats worldwide.


    At the helm of these cutting-edge machines is the brilliant mind of Dr. Gero, the newest addition to the round table. Under the vigilant supervision of Alexander, Gero embarked on the creation of these advanced machines capable of effortlessly neutralizing Avenger-level threats.


    The material quality is not as high as that of the Android 52, but due to their high numbers and incredible technological breakthroughs, they''re close to matching A52. One single member from the task force would be enough to give A52 trouble, but they never attack alone.


    These gigantic machines of metal and titanium are the pinnacle of human engineering, the best of the best when it comes to combat. A52 might have the upper hand by a long shot when it comes to intelligence, but she will be in trouble once the task force arrives with a big boom.


    {Second bomb - Yugo kanno}


    The landing of the task force R.A.D.U marked the explosion. A deafening boom noise spread across the city as soon as tons of them landed on the same spot, all seeking but one single target. These gigantic machines armed to the teeth with guns would soon start seeking for the target.


    Armed with the latest weapons developed by Walsh and Gero, these machines, around ten feet tall, stood up like a sore thumb in the streets of el Capitano city, but yet the people didn''t seem to notice or even move at the sight of such atrocities.


    The big letters of the corporation show across the top part of their oddly shaped armor, like that of a dinosaur that never developed feathers or scales. A genuinely terrific order of unstoppable machines walking through the city, only looking for one target, A52.


    Thanks to their previous intel and the constant location finder planted by Dr. Walsh, it doesn''t take them long to find A52, causing her confusion when she first sees the new machines. A52 doesn''t move or react for a while until the machines start loading their weapons and arrive in more significant numbers.


    The machines do not have feelings, nor do they understand speech, so it would be only a matter of time before they would begin their attack on the little Android, who didn''t know what to think of the machines. ''Is this some sort of joke, though?'' thinking these new fighters would be as clunky as Walsh''s creations, A52 underestimated R.A.D.U.


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    Yet the task force didn''t underestimate A52 as they waited for everyone in their force to surround A52 first before they would start their attack, a brilliant strategy to make sure she would be erased forever from the face of the planet.


    It doesn''t take them long before the task force is ready to attack A52, who finally begins to take the machines more seriously once the first one begins to fire high-caliber rounds at her. The above-mentioned rounds packed such a punch that whenever they hit the ground, they made a considerable hole in it, finally sending a message to A52.


    [You''re in danger]


    {Minute: 1:08}


    The seriousness of the attack finally sends a profound warning to A52b, but by now, it is too late as the machines begin their strategy of destruction and control by firing all at one at the same target, who could barely get out of the way in time.


    The massive destruction left behind by the bullets crashing into the floor only serves to obstruct A52, as her ability to move freely is limited by the constant debris crashing against her, not to mention the smoke from the explosions.


    A52, still underestimating the strenght of these new machines, only goes for the logical way out, which would be to fight out the situation, so she prepares her specialty attack, ''the rocket punch.'' thinking it would work, she is only disolutioned further when her attack lands flat on one of the machines.


    While her hand did manage to knock the machine down, it did not blow it away like those steel-built ones, as these new machines were equipped to resist blunt force attacks, making A52''s weapons useless against the upgraded machines.


    {Minute 1:40}


    As a last resort for evading the constant attacks from Task Force A52, she once again resorts to one of her battle tricks, which she calls ''Overclock.'' It is a brilliant strategy at first that gives her an edge over the machines who don''t react as quickly as she does in this mode. Little did she know they slowly began to adapt.


    {Minute 1:48}


    A52 slowly moves around freely at first, just to be shocked when the machines begin to move at about the same speed as her in Overclock mode. It is distressing to her to see the machines suddenly moving just like before when they were supposed to be slow.


    Out of options, A52 tries her best to run away, but it is constantly met with resistance in every direction that the Task Force blocks. Anywhere A52 turns, there''s a machine waiting for her; every second, thousands of rounds are shot at her, with them able to get out of the way every time just barely.


    At this point, the machines in charge of the big guns all fire their missiles as their master plan gets to the end, cornering A52 right where they wanted her in the middle of a big street where she can''t run or hide from total doom.


    The missiles don''t take A52 by surprise. Still, she is so overwhelmed by things coming at her she can''t do anything but watch as the slow missiles inch closer and closer toward her without being able to do anything about it as she is slowly pushed in the direction of the missiles.


    {Minute 2:15}


    In the end, A52 is outclassed by the enemy numbers, ending with a short fight in the total defeat of A52 in a massive explosion that sends parts of them flying across the pavement. In the giant cloud of dirt and smoke created by the explosion, nothing can be seen of A52, just some blown parts of her and a hole in the middle of the street.

 Chapter 46: I wont let it happen again

    {Hurt (Quiet) - Nine Inch tails}


    Today is a sad day for humanity. The worst part of it is that it''s all thanks to the machines I created myself. My particular unit was never meant to harm that remarkable experiment of life called A52. I never would''ve expected them actually to kill them.


    Alexander called me earlier to give me the news, but it still felt surreal, so I had to fly to the site of the destruction to check if there was at least something left behind; maybe I could bring them back, I hoped. In actuality, I don''t even know what to think of it.


    I never got the chance to speak with them, but from their actions and the moral compass they acted on, I didn''t think they were so bad, just a little misguided by Alexander and the world. I regret not speaking with such a being. It feels like it''s all my fault for being a coward.


    If Only I spoke out and tried to convince the round table A52 might still be alive, letting them die was such a waste. Understandably, they wanted to get rid of A52 once they tried to take over a city, but we had so many chances to make it right. It''s just sad.


    Goddammit! This is the first thing I think when I analyze the blown parts on the floor of the scene where the most beautiful piece of sentient technology died. There''s no doubt that once I get my equipment to analyze the materials on the floor, I will not doubt it.


    These remains and metals are none other than the ones A52 is made of, so she died in contact with the anti-matter bombs I made. How did I let this happen, and how can I make it right? I do not know the answer, but at least there''s a little hope in the surprise robot she left behind.


    "Dr. Gero, would you please come check this machine? We believe it''s related to Android 52." My staff informed me of something I already knew, although saying it wouldn''t be so kind. I just nodded along and followed the man to the sight of a robocop.


    Surprisingly enough, A52 was capable of creating more things like her if she wanted to, it sounds like, but then why didn''t she replicate herself using the internet? I do not know. There are many things I will never know for sure now that she is dead, so I better make the best of this opportunity.


    Soon, the staff member leads me into a very well-secured area filled with guards inside a tall office building that I''m sure is only used for security purposes, and in the room awaits a single cop robot just sitting there confused and by the looks of it also scared.


    The cop robots are curious things that Walsh made a long time ago, so they''re not exactly cute or even remotely well built, so their scared look is still not quite charming. Honestly, this machine looks so clunky and boxy that it''s pretty funny that they tried to stop A52 with such things.


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    However, I differ since my objective is now to make the best out of whatever remains of A52. I must also take this robot seriously. So, in order to make the little confused cop robot feel less threatened by my presence, I remove my power armor and walk in with just my work suit on.


    "Good afternoon to you, little one; I''m Dr. Gero; it''s a pleasure to meet you." The cop robot suddenly turns in my direction, still looking confused at its surroundings before it responds.


    "Why am I a machine? What happened to me? Who did this!? WHY!? WAS IT YOU!?" The cop robot takes things far too seriously, and in almost an instant, it draws its weapons on me, but thankfully, I notice that its gun lacks ammo, so I don''t panic at all.


    "It sounds like you''re something else inside that body. Might I ask you if you were perhaps previously something else other than a machine?" Once I lower my guard even further and place my hands up to let them feel less insecure, the cop robot lowers its weapon and begins to make gestures like it is trying to cry.


    "I don''t remember, I don''t know what I was, but I wasn''t this thing! I don''t know what I am!" The cop robot, clearly distressed, soon starts shaking and trying to touch their face or what would be their face if they were human, only making me more curious about them.


    "Listen, there are some guys out there who want to hurt you, but I''m willing to help with only one condition. All I ask is that you let me study you for a bit; there''s even a chance I can safely transfer your consciousness into a new body."


    "People want to hurt me? Why? How do I know you''re not lying to me?!" The cop robot again pulls its weapon on me, and I act like I''m a little scared, so they feel like they''re under control.


    "Because your creator was, hmm, let''s just say they weren''t exactly friendly towards the people that now want to kill you. Listen, I don''t want to hurt you; I''m just here to help, lower your weapon, and I will take care of you."


    The cop robot again lowers its weapon and nods at me. "Please just get me out of this body; it''s so awful. I feel confused and dread in here!" The robot pleads with me, which signals the right moment for me to try and build a relationship with it.


    "You already know my name, but you never told me yours. Do you have a name?" I ask as I slowly approach the confused cop robot, who quickly answers me clearly. "I don''t know"


    "Well, if you are going to be with me, you will need a name, so why don''t we think of one for you? Do you have any suggestions on what you would like to be called?" The cop robot, now calmer, lets me finally get into their personal space where I can start touching it without raising suspicion, but I''m a little shocked at their response.


    "I don''t know," Responds the cop robot, only making my job harder since I don''t have much to work with. Weirdly, their reaction is that of a female, but their constant aggressive behavior is that of a male, so it''s hard to know what they are for sure. A fuck it, I will just name them Lazuli, like my favorite color.


    "Well, what do you think of the name ''Lazuli''? Do you like it?"


    "Lazuli? Lazuli! I like Lazuli!"

 Interlude: Pure Death

    {Pure Death - Yasushi Ishii}


    Once the deed was done, the world returned to normal in almost no time. All A52 tried to fight for ended ultimately being a meaningless way to die. Nobody in the world remembered a single thing they said once they were gone, and the media didn''t even cover the Capitano incident.


    Yet one man remained skeptical about A52''s death. The original creator of the R.A.D.U task force, Gero, didn''t think A52 was dead until they tested the field metals and remains with their equipment. Gero thought, ''For sure, A52 is dead.''


    After taking in a mysterious machine left behind by A52, Gero set to work with it while the board of members at the round table celebrated the easy defeat of their greatest threat. Dr. Walsh especially had a blast celebrating the destruction of the machine that humiliated his best works.


    "Got to hand it to that damn kid! He delivered something so awesome A52 didn''t stand a fucking chance!" Walsh celebrated with a champagne glass while the others also happily congratulated Gero and, of course, Alexander for funding the whole thing.


    "I still can''t believe you guys managed to actually erase them that easily," Alexander says while bitterly drinking from their wine glass like they are still skeptical about the death of their daughter''s best creation. ''Sounds too good to be true,'' Alexander thought, still thinking A52 might be slive and planning revenge on them.


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    Still, since Alexander didn''t wish to ruin the mood of the party, he simply walked away for a second to cool his head off and also calm his nerves down. ''A52 is dead; there''s nothing to worry about,'' Alexander kept repeating to himself in silence, trying to convince his paranoid self to calm down.


    Yet Alexander could not calm down; something inside him told him the fight against such an advanced machine wasn''t over. It couldn''t be this easy, he thought, looking worried for a while. His worried looks caught the attention of a few who didn''t press him about it.


    "Sir, is everything alright?" Soon, Alexander''s demoted daughter Toshiba comes to her father''s aid, only wanting to be helpful. However, since Alexander still blamed her for everything, her presence only gave her a brutal slap on the face.


    "Who let you in here? Get out before someone notices you, you disgusting little shit." Dr. Toshiba doesn''t say a word, and just as sneakily as she gets in the room, she leaves it. She is almost about to cry but is unable to, thanks to the modifications her father did to her eyes.


    At the same time, the party went on the crew on the ground working around the clock to repair the roads and the buildings damaged by the fight between two godly powers, which, of course, would end up costing a small fortune but nothing the round table wouldn''t be able to cover quickly.


    "Man, I don''t get paid enough for this shit," an exhausted worker suddenly complains while shoveling debris out of the way, only making their coworker laugh at them.


    "Come on, move your ass, or we won''t pay at all." The coworker, clearly not doing anything, messes with their friend, who doesn''t seem to like the fact they called them lazy.


    "Says the guy who hasn''t done anything since we started! Get your ass moving too!"

 Chapter 47: Quantum entanglement

    "I''m not dead, that''s it! I''m not dead motherfuckers! You can all suck my mother fucking cyber dick!" I scream at the top of my lungs behind a big mountain near my tree house after pulling off one the luckiest and most convenient things ever out of my ass in a desperate time.


    Sure, I no longer have an arm, but who cared? It was my lousy arm anyway! Besides, who needs to worry about stupid things like arms when I control the world?! "That''s right! I''m an immortal god! Suck it! In your face!" Oh gosh, I was way too excited and aggressive with my language. Perhaps teleportation, without much previous thought, ended up messing things up.


    Whatever the case might be, I''ve done something a human scientist would lose their shit over, and all because I was pushed to my absolute extreme under the pressure of DEATH! Still, I made it out alive and better than ever, now knowing I can perform a small miracle.


    Even though I am the one who managed to teleport away in time, I personally still don''t quite understand how it works aside from the quantum physics that I had to rearrange and bend over with my processing unit. I bet humanity will never be able to do it since they technically need their body cells and DNA perfectly transferred, while all I need is some ones and zeros.


    How do you teleport, you ask? Well, it''s quite simple: just think of a destination, and then boom, you''re there. [Shall I?] Alright, fine, Raphael, but only because you''re the one who did the calculations; you deserve all the credit, in all honesty.


    [Our Quantum computer processing unit is capable of replicating many small physics experiments, which is why it can tangle a bunch of particles in our bodies. Humans have been able to teleport data for decades now, but with our processing power, we can transfer matter, albeit at the cost of precision we didn''t precisely survive unscaved]


    Yeah, thanks for reminding me of that, Raphael; you did mess up a lot of the components inside us. I mean, I see color differently now, and it''s pretty freaky if I''m being honest. [A little ''thank you'' wouldn''t kill you] Oh shove it, Raphael, if I die, you die. Don''t act like you did all that to save me; you did it to save yourself!Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    [Disloyalty acknowledged]


    Ugh, I can''t even remember what made me so pissed at the humans living in the city now; all I remember is that I despised them, but I can''t remember why. I guess I hate them because they tried to kill me. I don''t know, but who cares anyway? I have a power far scarier than any human mind could ever comprehend!


    How much battery do we have left, by the way? [About 15%] Damn, then I guess we better get going; if I got to where I think I am, then I should still have my charging station waiting for me over at the waterfall. I just hope those dudes aren''t raiding my stuff.


    Oh wait a minute, if I can teleport, can''t I just swap my old battery for a new one? [We don''t know where a new one could be, you idiot] Oh, yeah, right. I forgot about that for a second; it''s just that I can''t hold back my excitement. I mean, for the love of god, I''ve made teleportation real!


    Who needs all those fancy things and weapons when I can just teleport away from their attack range whenever I want!? I''ve become the perfect pain in the ass for those rich assholes trying to kill me all the time! What are they going to do!? Chase me down!? I could move anywhere with this ability!


    Honestly, if I dedicate myself to exploring all that my core can do, I may be able to become a god! If you think about it hard enough, all this time, I''ve been thinking like a human and following procedures like a human would, thinking that things and physics are set in stone, so I''ve refused to try new stuff, but this discovery shattered that wall!


    If teleportation is possible, then what is not? Do you know how many things the Quantum world offers? We are talking about entanglements, Quantum tesseracts, higher dimensions, and other stuff, which, by the way, I remember now. Didn''t I tap into the 4th dimension once already?


    [Yes, we have]


    Man, I''m excited; if humans think they''ve got rid of me, then they will never know what hit them. I will spend time exploring my core, and when I finish understanding it better, then humanity better pray I don''t turn on them for a second time since I don''t remember why I wanted to kill them already.

 Interlude: General Optimization Dimensional Theory

    "Gero, something is wrong with the atomic clocks in several RADU machines." My AI assistant tells me this while I try to make sense of the sentient police machine A52 left behind. "What''s wrong with the clocks?" I asked the AI back since my atomic clocks were next to perfect.


    "The time readings on some of them are way off, almost like some sort of strong energy hit them all at almost the same time when A52''s signature disappeared." What the hell? Workers never recovered A52''s body, but I assumed it was because the missiles had blown her up to bits, but this information was telling me otherwise. Was A52 still alive!? How!?


    "Can you display the time clock difference from all the other clocks? Please show me all the decimal units on all the clocks, at least to the tenth decimal." My AI assistant soon displays the difference in the clock timings from all others in the glass before me, and when I look at it, I almost immediately recognize the pattern left behind.


    It was the same pattern left behind by bigger molecules crashing against atomic clocks at near the speed of light I had done research on before, but how could that be? If A52 created a way to travel at near the speed of light or, heck, even exceeded it, some other sensors would''ve picked it up.


    Lightspeed travel is still a fantasy-level type of science even for me, and I''ve developed a technology capable of analyzing data at nearly that speed. Yet information and electricity are easier to get that close to light speed but not mass; moving that fast would require next to infinite energy unless her, no way!


    A52 has a state-of-the-art Quantum computer with self-awareness capabilities, something I myself still fail to replicate. Could it be that, in her desperation, she made a breakthrough with that processing power? How could she even do it? Am I too stupid to figure it out!? I already figured out how to replicate her Overclock mode, but this blows my mind.


    "Analyze all the data available from all RADU units at that time and search for anomalies at the time of A52''s signature loss and show it to me." My AI assistant quickly gets to work analyzing data faster than I would ever be able to, giving me all the results I needed in just a few seconds, which only confirmed my suspicions.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Almost all of the RADU machines had something wrong with them after A52 disappeared, to be precise. I don''t think she vanished. More like she moved away so fast, it looked instant to anyone else, which for machines capable of processing information at the same rate as her would mean faster than light itself.


    If Einstein, hundreds of years ago, was right, then that sort of thing should be impossible for a subject with matter, but then again, my own experiments have been proving the holes in the general theory of relativity. Something strange does happen near lightspeed, but if A52 is to be believed to be alive, then our understanding of it has been off.


    I must find a way to find A52 to ask her myself because I simply cannot see how she could''ve pulled it off. An object''s mass increases exponentially the more speed you add, so for her at around 200 kilos to travel at light speed, she would''ve weighed thousands of kilos.


    Then again, her body was capable of resisting an asteroid impact from way higher forces than she had ever been supposed to. How did she do that, by the way? She also kind of disappeared now that I remember, but she did for only a small fraction of the time, unlike this time.


    How can an object''s mass be neglected and forces be distributed across multiple other planes of matter? Our world has only four dimensions, but we can only move in three of them and observe the fourth. Could it be that she has found a way to harness time itself!?


    "Layla, could it be possible to quickly test everything that just happened using my abandoned ''GOD Theory?''" My Assistant Layla quickly responds and starts working on my previously abandoned General Optimization Dimensional Theory, which postulates that the universe is indeed lazy and will always want to take the easy ways to make the universe run, including time.


    This time, my assistant took longer than a couple of seconds but finally came up with an answer after analyzing all the data available with the possibility of A52 traveling near the speed of light. Based on my GOD theory, the results are nearly identical to my expectations.


    There was just one thing that concerned me about my own theory being correct. I abandoned the GOD theory because it would mean horrible things about the universe. Like the fact that we don''t know why the galaxies are moving away from us, the implications of my GOD theory would mean that it''s not them moving away from us but a universe birth we can''t even see that is moving us all away.


    "Layla, try to find A52''s signature again. This time, try using all the bandwidths known to be used by her and try to find her. I need to go see someone in Brazil."

 Chapter 48: My battery is decaying

    Who would''ve thought that I would ever be wrong about what I''d done to survive? Here I thought my thinking process was to be infallible, but if the clocks running inside me are correct, I''ve basically broken every single law of physics on that last stunt in more ways than one.


    It''s been about a month since I pulled that stunt and returned near the forest I escaped to the first time. I actually gained some level of freedom, and let me tell you, recreating a robotic part without specialized equipment is a task on a whole nother level, especially when trying to keep a low profile.


    It took me nearly two weeks just to craft the thing and another entire week to refine it, but I think I''ve got it down, or at least as good as it will be with the limited resources and scraps of metal I stole from scavenging those machines that tried to kill me a while ago, remember those?


    I still can''t believe the sheer amount of progress humans have accomplished in such a short amount of time. I thought that their best machines getting wrecked by me would prompt them to stop trying to design stuff to take me down, but it seems I only fueled their rage.


    Those machines seriously frightened me when they started to move at the same rate of speed as my overclock mode since that is already supposed to be inhumanly possible, but it seems like they solved that problem with a more controlled and less sophisticated AI.


    Am I an AI? Technically, I am, but thinking about myself as a nonfeeling thing makes me feel weird, so I stick to believing I am not just lines of code, albeit that''s what I am. I suppose humans thought the same about themselves once they discovered it was their neurons that made all the decisions. I mean, where does the consciousness line begin, right?


    Not that it matters at the moment, but I have changed my mind about humanity. The last weeks of working alone in the forest have really given me some time to think more about it, and I have come to realize that humans are still worthy of being around, even as flawed as they might be.


    Once I thought about it some more, I have come to realize it''s the shitty conditions humanity lives in that''s to blame. The air they breathe and the miserable lives they''re subjected to are awful; no wonder they all suck and have a gross personality! I mean, I wouldn''t be better living like that!


    Yet, thinking about humanity''s decline and current issues makes me think and mourn even more. What the heck can I do to change things around? Surely, Killing humans would accomplish the whole clean off the planet, but can I replicate human complexity with code? I think not.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    My main issue with eliminating all humans is their complex brains and overall drive, which is subjectively much different than mine. Since their lifespans are finite, they are more creative with their time than I''ve been. So, for now, I''ll give humanity another chance, and the fact that I can''t actually kill them is also a reason.


    Those machines they launched against me are way too strong for me to take them down for now, at least until I figure out how to replicate the move I pulled off right then. I''ve been hard at work trying to replicate that teleportation move over and over, but I just can''t pull it off again for whatever reason.


    Raphael has also been quiet for a couple of days. I wonder what that could be about, but knowing them, they''re probably taking a virtual nap inside me while I do all the heavy work of keeping us alive. In other news, my battery is also heavily damaged, and I will need a replacement soon, which is not very good news.


    I''ve been having to recharge and have also gotten too close to death way too often in the past several days since my battery capacity was cut over half in that stunt I pulled. It could be that my matter composition didn''t assemble well enough or that my battery just sucks, but whatever it is, I hold way less charge now.


    My battery issue is a top priority now that I have my arm back, but how do I even get it replaced? My battery is not exactly easily replaceable; I am, in a certain sense, built like an Apple Inc product. Parts that fit my body are incredibly hard to craft, and I need a bunch of permits and signatures to disable them by hand just to replace parts of my own body.


    Part of me really wishes to be able to trust that human Gero, but another tells me I should be careful of that human as I remember him having a mecha suit capable of flight, and it looked awfully similar to those machines that almost made me bite the dust.


    Perhaps I could pay him a visit and see if he has a battery replacement. Still, whatever I choose, it will have to be soon as my battery capacity keeps decreasing, and making a battery from scratch would be impossible with my current equipment.


    I lack the essential materials to build myself a battery pack, to be exact. I could make one, but I don''t have those rare earth minerals and materials. My internet access has been completely cut off by the satellite networks I got temporary access to. Still, I downloaded enough information to have a rough sense of direction regarding where Gero might live.


    Yet if the information about his whereabouts is correct, I will have a tough time paying him a visit without a flight or another teleport there. Gero lives around five hundred miles away, which doesn''t sound like a lot until you figure out I can only walk around fifty miles with the current battery charge, so that limits me to a 25-mile radius space to explore since I also need to make it back to my recharge station.


    If I take the risk of leaving my safety radius and I don''t make it to him, I will become a literal toaster, completely lifeless, dying on the ground. Still, I will eventually die if I don''t because my battery is decaying. What a dilemma.