Chapter 183

The old town of Outland.

Behind the flamboyant buildings, several trucks are parked, and men dressed identically, with identical hairstyles, are busily moving large and small boxes.

“Ugh.”

“It’s ridiculously heavy!”

Each time they pick up a box, groans of complaint can be heard.

Not far away, the leader of the Brotherhood, who was brushing his unruly hair, spoke without taking his eyes off the mirror hung on the wall.

“Handle them gently. If they break, your heads may be on the line because of it.”

“We’re dying, Brother! Please lend a hand!”

“Eh, what’s so heavy for big boys like you? Just hurry up and move them.”

With that, the leader of the Brotherhood fastened the buttons on the sleeveless vest he wore over his upper body.

The skin visible through the holes in his worn-out jeans was riddled with scars of all sizes.

“Brother, where should we place this?”

“There’s a sticker on the box. Sort them accordingly and stack them in the underground warehouse.”

“The sticker is damaged, so I can’t tell what it is.”

“What? Tsk…”

The leader of the Brotherhood frowned and tore his eyes away from the mirror.

Approaching the man who had called him, he unlocked and slid open the lid of the box with the damaged sticker.

Sssh—

Sunlight flooded into the box.

On the cushioning material within the box, a pile of black rifles was revealed.

Weapons that exuded the distinct aura of Eastern Bloc rifles.

Having completed his inspection, the Brotherhood leader resealed the box.

“Guns. Stack them near the entrance.”

“Yes, Brother.”

The truck laden with boxes and the members of the Brotherhood going down to the basement.

Without any particular thoughts on his mind, the Brotherhood leader stood guard, when he was approached by a woman accompanied by many bodyguards.

“Sister, you’ve come?”

The Brotherhood leader nodded his head toward the woman upon hearing her footsteps and greeted her.

“Well, how’s the move-in going?”

“Yes, we should be done moving soon.”

“Move faster. If you stay too relaxed, it could attract unwanted attention.”

“Understood, Sister.”

The leader bowed his head again.

“Once this is done, the Brotherhood will be moving into Fangju, so stay sharp.”

“Understood!”

The Brotherhood leader nodded. At that moment, hurried footsteps approached the group.

The bodyguards formed a tight perimeter around the woman.

The guards relaxed their stance and stepped back only after confirming that the approaching figure was a member of their group.

“Sister! Brother!”

“What is it? Making such a commotion.”

“Huge trouble! There are strange men attacking us!”

“What?”

The Brotherhood leader frowned.

“Hmm…”

The uneasy look on the woman’s face prompted the leader to glance at her before shouting louder.

“What scum would dare!? Marmyu gang? Is it Didi’s kids?”

Marmyu Family and Didi, long-term rivals who shared dominance over this Outland.

But the man shook his head side to side, negating their guess.

“No! They’re some kind of robots…”

“What? Robots…?”

A steady, calculated sound of footsteps echoed.

An impeccably aligned formation of fully armed Marionette units approached along the main street of Outland without a single misstep.

Behind them, many people carrying signs followed, drawing the attention of the woman and the Brotherhood leader.

“The messengers of the Savior are with us!”

“Let’s move. Brothers and Sisters!”

“Ooooh!!”

In response to the elder’s cries, the followers of NongNong Church, clad in pristine white robes, raised their hands high in unison.

“Religious fanatics…? Why are they-”

As the Brotherhood leader was mulling this thought, nearby members stepped forward.

“What are you guys doing here?!”

“This is the Brotherhood’s territory! Aaaargh!?”

“Get lost!!”

Ignoring the Brotherhood’s threats, the Marionettes continued their orderly advance.

“These punks!? Our words mean no-”

[ Hostile forces detected. We will suppress them. ]

Black gun barrels aimed at the member.

“Huh?”

With the sound of confusion, dozens of gun barrels simultaneously released white gunpowder smoke.

Tuck, tudududuck!

“Argg!”

“Guh!?”

Members hit by rubber bullets on their arms and legs fell down, scattering as Marionettes closed in, encircling the Brotherhood.

More rounds were fired, and the non-lethal rubber bullets rained down on the Brotherhood members.

Tuduk, tuck!

“Ouch!”

“Kyaakk!”

The Brotherhood members were promptly neutralized and writhed on the ground under precise gunfire.

The NongNong Church followers approached them, encircled them, and raised their fists high.

“NongNong Punch!”

Bang!

“Gah!”

“Nong beating!”

Kang!

“Gyeh!”

Without any real resistance, the Brotherhood members lost consciousness to the punches of the Church followers.

This unexpected situation threw the Brotherhood into chaos.

“What, what is this?! Why… Ow!!”

“Yaaaagh!?”

Seizing the opportunity, the Marionette units pressed their advantage with greater momentum.

“Repent!!”

“NongNong Punch! NongNong Punch!!”

Without fail, the NongNong followers flocked to the fallen Brotherhood members and administered merciless punishment.

“Ma, mad…”

“Sister, the situation is strange. You must evacuate immediately!”

The bodyguards tried to urge the woman, who had frozen in place.

Even as the Brotherhood leader took a few steps back instinctively, a loud crash suddenly sounded from behind.

Turning instinctively in the direction of the noise revealed a nearby doorframe, half torn apart, through which more fully armed marionettes were spilling forth.

[ An influential hostile figure detected. Subduing and capturing alive.]

The metallic whoosh of impact weapons unfolding accompanied the announcement.

“Oh- oh, wait-”

The Brotherhood leader raised his hands but was hit before he could finish, a blunt weapon striking his head.

Bang!

…

The abandoned factory district of Outland.

Inside the desolate and rusted-out building that had long since been abandoned, a single humanoid robot stood guard motionlessly.

In comparison to common human-shaped robots like automata and automatons, this one lacked human-like details. It was also far more robust-looking than work robots.

The sensor in its skull-like head flickered ash gray, and it turned toward the approaching sound.

[ My Lord, there’s a problem. ]

[ Hmm? ]

The figure stroking their chin while looking down at the bowing automaton presented a strikingly human reaction, unlike any ordinary robot.

[ Speak. ]

[ One of the automatons that you ordered to be stationed with the Brotherhood has just transmitted code 0. ]

[ Code 0… ]

A code set up to briefly convey situations instead of encrypted messages.

And code 0 symbolized the failure of the plan.

[ And my source embedded in Outland has spotted some unusual developments. Shall I send the data? ]

The robot shook its head at the automaton’s suggestion.

[ No, let’s use a hologram. ]

[ Yes, I’ll project the data. ]

A hologram formed between the two of them.

It displayed the marionette army sweeping across Outland with the NongNong Church people trailing behind.

[ Hoo. ]

The robot showed interest.

The robot, gazing intently at the marionettes moving unhindered, nodded.

[ Fast… They’re already scenting it out. ]

[ What would you have us do? ]

[ There’s no point debating. With the small Fangju hero already moving, this plan is as good as failed. ]

Saying this, the robot started walking.

The automaton followed.

[ Lay down a cover and prepare to retreat. Equip the rest of the automatons with combat gear—]

The robot stopped midsentence.

[ No, it’s already too late. ]

The gray sensor faced forward.

“You were here…”

The innocent voice echoed through the empty factory.

“Former President.”

[ My Lord, little hero of Fangju, did you really– ]

Ding, ding!

The former president’s sentence was cut off by a sudden ringing bell.

Eden sat confidently in a pram pushed by Simonia.

[ … ]

After staring at Eden for a while, the president cleared their throat pointlessly.

[ Correction: infant hero of Fangju. ]

“…”

Eden, reminded of something by the president’s remark, let out an “Ah!” as the confident expression quickly disappeared and the round cheeks turned red.

[ Unless of course, you’ve developed a hobby of dressing up like a baby? ]

“That’s absurd!! This is just a disguise to catch you!”

Eden’s high-pitched denial.

At that answer, the former president tilted their head slightly to the side.

[ Hmm? A disguise—yet was it really necessary to dress this way? If the purpose was to conceal your identity– ]

Bang!

The sentence was cut off by the sound of gunfire.

The bullet struck the trigger of the machine gun the automaton had subtly lifted.

“Enough fooling around.”

[ You are observant indeed.]

Nodding, the president continued.

[ However, Miss Simonia, may I ask a question?]

“Are you expecting an answer from me?”

[ Even so, it feels cruel for someone who was once our comrade. What must it feel like to betray and murder your own blood and consort with such people?]

“Ha, that’s a low blow even for you.”

A tense staredown.

In that moment, automata units infiltrated the factory.

The female-type automata held guns, while the male-type automatons carried gear resembling cogs as weapons.

“Hmm, so you plan to fight?”

[It wouldn’t be fun if we just surrendered, now, would it?]

“Insane.”

Simonia steadied her stance.

[ Ah. That word, it’s been a while since I’ve heard it.]

The president raised their hand high.

The human-like robot army charged toward Eden’s group.