Chapter 220

Kki-gi-gi…!!

With the scraping sound of metal on the nerve line and the floor, the hunting dogs, which had been in standby mode nearby, rose to their feet. The drones… were just left quietly in their places.

Given the positions of the damaged Unit 1 from the initial ambush and the destroyed Unit 2 during takeoff, it seemed they were prepared to fire upon movement closing in from all directions, so activating them now wouldn’t even serve the purpose of diverting attention.

Although faint lights from streetlamps and the adjacent buildings glimmered from afar, there was no guarantee that something wouldn’t happen before my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

Still, imitating a human generator to turn the office lights back on was out of the question. Even if they had a rough idea of my location, I didn’t want to carelessly reveal myself.

…Wait, don’t frontline Exatech droids have night vision or thermographic systems equipped as standard?

Surely even the hundreds of drones Leonardo deployed had laser pointers, so it seemed overly optimistic to think their detection systems could be worse than my own…

Tuk-wang——!!!

“Are you insane!?”

With a shrill scream, I dove beneath the desk.

As expected, tearing blast sounds resonated, and simultaneously, the office wall and the area above my head exploded, pouring fragmented building finishing materials and interiors into the room.

Though a bit shabby, the wall that clearly separated inside from outside began to be systematically blown apart, scattering broken pieces, reminiscent of scenes in a Western movie where bullets rain down on a wooden structure.

I never thought I would want to experience something like this as a character. Especially not from the hiding side.

Crap…! That freaking stings! It hurts like hell!! Just look at how it’s only blasting the office! They definitely know where I am!!

– This is a notification to the individual hiding inside the Coldplain resource development building. You are currently being charged with unauthorized intrusion into the Exatech network and infringement of strategic asset rights, along with unauthorized access to data. Surrender now. If you voluntarily surrender, you may be subjected to a labor sentence of around 50 years or an equivalent type of punishment… –

“Get lost!!”

I shook my head defiantly, rejecting the most ridiculous unpaid labor proposal I had ever heard, unsure if my voice even reached them.

In that fleeting moment, I ignored the unpleasant sensation of debris and dust trickling down from my head and shoulders and assessed the state of the broken building.

The bullet marks were rather sloppy for specifically pinpointing my exact location.

It was certainly destroyed mercilessly, but it seemed far from the precise shooting needed to reduce a target to a mass of flesh that couldn’t even resist. Considering my height while sitting in a chair, I’d say it missed by a long shot.

Simple threatening fire? Or did they give me a chance to surrender according to protocol?

I couldn’t guarantee that the next attack wouldn’t be fatal. If that’s what happened when building materials were torn apart by fragmentation rounds, I might not just end up with a hole in me but could actually die instantly.

Additionally, I couldn’t allow them to casually open fire on humans. They had to be rendered harmless while making sure my atypical abilities stayed hidden. I had a long way to go, and living on the run didn’t sound appealing.

I could erase the evidence in the computerized data later if I was careful.

Though I couldn’t assure it would remain a secret forever, up until now, the information I had concealed never resurfaced again, so perhaps the community folks would express it as, “Even if they burnt the hardware, it wouldn’t have been as wrecked as this,” right?

However, it seemed like shutting the operator controlling these forces up was going to be quite difficult; I would need to be either in a dive or in a state where I could concentrate calmly.

The opponent wasn’t watching me like Zero from back in the day, and as someone with merely average physical capabilities, ambushing the droids from cover would be a futile endeavor.

So… let’s turn the tables on the source of threat here.

Even if they came for me, after experiencing something like this once, focusing solely on one girl would be tough…!

“Alright, come here…?”

Kki-gi!

It was somewhat laughable to call them merely artificial intelligence. The hunting dogs, following basic combat protocols, moved forward and lowered their bodies. If they had tongues, they would probably be panting audibly.

I reached out and stroked the smooth surface of their back with my hand, then grabbed their swaying tail.

This steel tentacle, long and segmented like a snake, seemed natural for the sake of dynamic movement, combat, and balance. However, Leonardo had once briefly mentioned that it was designed for another function.

Though it was perfectly suited for this event, if we were to assume we were facing humans, the claw-like talons and razor-like teeth had such lethality that subjugation would require additional armament.

I didn’t entirely understand his designer-like and engineering mindset, but I did glean that the option to use the tail for electrical shock was incorporated with residual battery power.

…Electrocute the enemy? In other words, the tip of the tentacle must be made of non-Newtonian material.

Furthermore, it also had the function of releasing electricity without needing further touch, making it a perfect predator for me.

Zzzz-!!

Blue and white sparks erupted chaotically, engulfing the Houndroid’s body.

The current flowed from the end, rushing through to its head in an instant.

Soon, the phenomena torturing my eyes and ears settled, but I could tell the intended purpose had been achieved.

With its joints creaking oddly and ominous colors flashing around its eyes, it seemed the injection of programs had made them a bit more aggressive.

Well, as long as they showed no sign of baring their teeth at me, it should be fine… No, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to argue about whether it was ‘excessive’ or not at the moment of legitimate self-defense.

“……Go and stab anything you see!”

– @%^&#$%——!!!! –

With that roar blending electronic sounds and mechanical noises, the hunting dogs burst through the broken wall and out into the open.

In contrast, I kicked open the office door and changed my hiding spot to near the maintenance team, which would somewhat serve as cover.

The image that had served as my motif had turned out to be a bit… too intense, it seemed, as the aggressive noises from the Houndroid echoed all around, which should ideally have made no sound at all.

Would 23rd-century friends unfamiliar with wild animals realize how frightening rabies could be nowadays?

– ?! Engaging in combat! Beast-type droids discovered. Free fire is permitted! –

– Pay attention to feint operations! There may be more than what’s detected… Wait, why are they so fast…! –

The side wall was being destroyed, but surprisingly, there seemed to be no intent to just bulldoze through entirely, as there was a commotion coming from the warehouse entrance. Of course, they didn’t seem inclined to share the situation with me inside, as the external speakers cut off right away… but that was fine.

Having heard the noise, I sent out all remaining drones for cover while watching the scene unfold in real-time.

Tuk-wang…! Clang, clang!!

From both the side and the rear, one hunting dog each suddenly popped out to receive thorough suppressive fire.

It quickly crushed their armor and joints, clearly indicating how foolish a choice it was to jump out into the open.

The drones’ situations were even worse. It was commendable strategic judgment to prioritize eliminating my visibility over casually cleaning up the hunting dogs that might only damage a few combat robots.

Even as the split-screen visuals in my sight dimmed one by one, signaling device destruction, I couldn’t help but cheer internally as the badly damaged dogs made their way to the target with their ragged legs.

There’s no way you all weren’t making a mistake there.

– Damn it…! I’m definitely getting stuck writing a statement for this!! –

It seemed a man, presumably the operator controlling the overrun drone, blurted out a curse.

Yet, my fierce dog disregarded the punches completely, as if ignoring them altogether, while desperately clawing and biting to tear through the armor. It resembled an animal instinctively trying to strip flesh from its prey.

With a crunch, the armor broke away. As flames sparked through the gap, the tail twitched with blinding speed, penetrating the weak internal circuits. A thick cloud of dirt rose in the melee between the two unmanned drones, devoid of any signs of life.

Like tentacles writhing as if to spit something out, discharges were occurring in rhythm with the wildly thrashing bodies.

Excluding the soldiers maintaining surveillance, those cleaning up the drones belatedly threw off the struggling hunting dogs and nudged their fallen comrades’ drones with their feet.

It felt akin to a football player in full protective gear, slightly tripping over and receiving a hard time for not getting back up?

They clearly didn’t think that what just happened would render them combat ineffective.

Sure, unless a shock transmission circuit was completely wrecked, they could still manage to get back on one leg and return to base for maintenance, which was an advantage of unmanned operators.

Yes! So I’m glad too? As long as I move, I can find a way to utilize it somehow!

– …What the hell. –

“Whoa.”

They picked up on things quickly.

As I intended to utilize the downed droid as a medium to infiltrate either the operator or the base commanding them, all signals of exchange forcibly terminated as the primary component control shifted to my side.

I could knock on the locked door through the remaining address, but it felt like a completely unresponsive sensation. I didn’t anticipate such a future where I’d be ‘screwed’ like this. It felt like a tail-cutting measure to prevent damage from reaching the headquarters if a lower robot was captured by the enemy.

Tch, what can I do? I’ll just have to work hard picking up the severed tail and weaponizing it.

Bang—!!

The signal of onset was a clean body slam.

The moment I confirmed that the hunting dog’s claw broke the barrel upon the initial ambush, the droid that had been discarded threw its own red optics out, tossing the ally that had been lifting it back down to the ground.

I could peek around, but I wasn’t exactly controlling it. Regrettably, I didn’t have the capacity for that. Just maintaining the lab’s lockdown was overwhelming.

But the main symptoms of rabies included uncontrollable excitement, fear, paranoia, and aggression, right?

The primary ways animals manifest their aggression include biting and scratching, which leads to the spread of the virus, and hence they were appropriately termed the roots of the zombie concept. There wasn’t even a need for active manipulation.

– Damn it, close off everything except for the independent network now!! Cut off communications! It’s a viral offensive!! –

Bang! Bang!! Bang! Kwararak! Crack! Bang!!

Whether it was the platoon leader’s frantic commands or some gorilla-like cheer, I couldn’t tell which was faster, as he swung his pair of arms down carelessly on my comrades’ machines to claw at them and make physical contact with the system lines.

It conveyed the message, ‘Spread as much as you can,’ but with the acting subject being the hunting dogs rather than bipedal drones, it led to such a farcical scene. Ugh, dreadful.

……Oh, wait. Our hunting dogs can still move?

Oh dear, while the other one had its tentacle intrude around the ankle, I get the feeling… I understand how that feels. When there’s a space that’s surprisingly wide, walking just a little through a desert area can cause Zero to spill buckets of sand. Hmm.

Urgh! Uddikk!!

– Fire… Open Fire!! I’ll take responsibility! Don’t bother about the usage rate; just maintain a safe distance and fire away! The outer team shouldn’t hesitate to come in!! –