Chapter 241

The range of broadcasts available in the metropolitan area is incredibly wide.

This means that if you keep switching channels from late morning until lunch, you can hear the same topic and commentary to the point of boredom.

[It’s still a phenomenon limited to the outskirts, but considering that even drones capable of free flight have become infected, we must remember that there is a possibility of it developing into a global disaster….]

“……How funny.”

Hiding my uncomfortable feelings, I lightly clicked my tongue as if I was sulking.

What an overblown fuss!

It’s not like the machines were programmed to attack people; it’s just simple bonobo-like code trying to latch onto any nearby machine and multiply.

Of course… if it continues to evolve into something dangerous over time, that remains to be seen. Hmm.

But I believe it’s too much to stir up fear by exaggerating without any verification from the start. At least from my perspective.

[Products showing signs of malfunction or rampancy will be recalled and disposed of. Meanwhile, related companies announced their plans for the development of a dedicated vaccine! Public sentiment has followed with comments like, ‘Thank goodness they’re acting quickly.’ and ‘But why hasn’t the compensation arrived yet…?’ …]

“Ugh…!”

Yes, that. At first, I believed those words wholeheartedly and was about to do nothing but wait.

However, as more sightings occurred over time, and the number of channels reporting on the Exatech facility collapse and related incidents increased, it became uncomfortable to pretend I was unaware.

I understand that it’s not particularly a logical circuit issue with the devices or defects, which is why related robotics companies, including Exatech, haven’t pulled off a meaningless total recall.

Yeah, totally understandable!

But I can’t help but feel a deep regret that instead of insisting on solving it internally, they didn’t reach out for collaboration or consulting with software or cyberware specialists to quickly address the anomalies.

So that I wouldn’t feel the need to step in as the -culprit- myself.

[Recently emerging doomsday cultists claim, ‘Believing that carbon organic compounds as information lifeforms would always be below humanity was a mistake,’ and for those wanting to survive the upcoming apocalypse, they provide a number to call… Hey!! Who is broadcasting that ridiculous recruitment live!? Who’s in charge of the script!?]

Beep—… With that sound, the screen switched to a waiting image being broadcast.

Wow, those guys are already in a frenzy?

Well, it’s true that cult followers will take whatever they can—scaring people if it’s bad news and jumping on good news with glee.

From a narrative perspective, they are serving as the villains of Phase 1… so they’re likely raising their voices at just about the right time.

“So, what do you think?”

I asked the roommate, who had been quietly maintaining the interior or sitting silently on the sofa, as I focused on the TV.

I’m not the type to leave a soda can or candy wrapper behind; I can almost say I’m not one to create a mess where I’ve been.

In a chaotic scenario like this, it’s clear they were desperately gathering to find a host amid the noise.

In some ways, I had already cleaned up those pesky infected machines, stored some in a safe house, and updated combat orders for others to attract attention, confirming their glorious demise.

But those being broadcasted were out of bounds.

For some reason, there were unfortunate lost items that had slipped out of my cognitive range.

Thankfully, since the ones I had designed prioritized infection through physical short-circuiting after targeting rather than network dissemination, the spread was slow. Otherwise, they would have rushed out, forcing me to deal with it much earlier.

Since civilian casualties were emerging here and there, I began to wonder if it was my ethical duty to take responsibility and resolve this… so I sought Zero’s logical insights.

– Certainly. While I am not praising the completeness of Ahsa’s work, to not appreciate the mercy that has preserved social infrastructure is quite an arrogant stance. If that were your intention, you would never have considered broadcasting it so casually. –

“No, you… just stop talking.”

Why this abrupt line about ‘Be grateful for surviving, humans’ from this guy?

Giving up on seeking neutral advice due to this fool’s response, which lacked any sense of conscience or causality, and evaluated only my created virus and news alert individually, I remembered that he wasn’t even present at the scene initially, so he had no way of knowing the circumstances or reasons behind the virus release whatsoever. He lacked objectivity as a witness.

Beep!

Waving my hand to indicate I wanted him to turn off the channel, Zero swiftly changed to a different one without any signs of returning to the previous screen.

It seems there’s a bit of a ruckus related to tracking down the doomsday theorists among the production team.

There are many secrets hidden from the general public, along with underlying politics unknown to anyone not associated, making it hard to grasp the entirety of the world.

After watching for days, I concluded that waiting for the companies to handle it themselves would draw excessive attention, so it might be best to quietly cover it up from behind the scenes~ that’s what I really wanted to say.

Huh? Isn’t it too late since it’s already made major headlines morning and evening?

Well, these friends will do anything for views and ratings. The more negative appeal they can create, the more they will keep stirring up issues to draw attention when the current one begins to fade.

And no matter how thoroughly I trace back the cause, it’ll just lead back to that exhausted revenge plot involving the former Exatech researcher, Mr. L.

Hacker Anastasia? I certainly have no memory of carelessly accepting any direct requests that bypassed through a broker! Hahaha.

[Many residents, including those still without housing, remember the nightmares of the closed city! So, I hope Exatech puts aside its pride and reaches out to Elysium for advice as soon as possible. This has been Erin Skully from Memorial Times with today’s morning news.]

Softly.

Taking a leap off the sofa while the famous morning announcer criticized the companies with a bold stance on that frequently used 24-hour news channel in the background.

It would be almost like giving a placebo, but it’s better than just looking away.

Time to go outside for the first time in a while… Although originally, I had planned to leave at least an hour earlier, but that damn homemade burger was too tempting.

It was just juicy, and the bread was soft enough for the meat to melt, but the moment I took a bite, my sanity slipped a bit, leaving me sprawled on the sofa, unable to shake off the fullness.

Even if America has disappeared, I could feel the impressive power of a land that’s still serious about its burgers… oh, now I want to eat it again. Sigh.

“Let’s go to the Chip Shop. It may be impractical to go around collecting the viruses individually, but we should at least make an effort to sell prevention methods.”

– I will get ready right away. –

With Zero, who’s not a noble at all, trying to suit me up for a public outing.

Moreover, since the Droid would now accompany me on either side, I finished preparing and stepped out into the hallway where a medium taxi called separately had begun calculating its fare outside.

“Ah.”

I faced the opposite entryway, eerily similar in appearance to our home yet giving an unusually fresh feeling.

I had indeed walked through these types of doors when heading to the elevator.

Honestly, regarding that board member Adamatsu, I was skeptical when Aaron said he had come to clean up after things got tricky due to Show’s unusual obsession, but now that I realized he had indeed attached a tracker under the guise of a bodyguard… it felt strange.

A superhuman stalker right behind me.

I think it’s not such a bad deal to secure a little personal safety at the cost of my privacy, but why does my back feel so cold?

Oh, please just withstand a little longer, original plot’s plausibility. I’ll try to stay out of the corners as much as possible.

“……You’ve had a lot of trouble too. Masanari, good work.”

I casually threw a soft greeting toward the closed door, unsure whether the other party could hear me, but waved my hand at Zero for reassurance, believing he could sufficiently hear it with his tracking abilities, and turned my body.

I should go earn money to afford all the things I want and buy good food.

In the back of my mind, a criticism arose like, ‘This is malicious code you created; where did you learn the devilish idea of selling the solution for money?’ but I purposely ignored it.

I didn’t expect to end up doing this myself, but technically, it is a business method that has been around for roughly 200 years.

And it’s not like I approached in a suspicious way first; the people affected were the ones desperately wishing for it! Really!

….

…….

Ugh, if there are so many victims, maybe I should just release it for free using some software.