Chapter 74

**Five Eyes**

The origin of that name is exactly what everyone thinks it is.

The five most powerful allied countries that formed a mutual espionage alliance with the United States, the hegemonic power of the bygone era. However, unlike its original motif, it has become an underground organization with a strong rebel inclination in the present, and the reason for this is simple.

Taking advantage of the interstices where the main governmental forces of each country have mutually destroyed each other, various logistics warehouses and power plants, which are nothing more than the last remnants, have been occupied by corporations, filling the vacancies of the ruling class.

In the end, the remaining establishment of that time was forced to make a choice.

Whether to comply with the new order of the new era or to resist in pursuit of nostalgia or glory from the past.

Thus, various anti-corporate underground organizations, including Five Eyes, were established.

Among them, this group focuses not on directly attacking society or infrastructure but on monitoring the five Mega Corps and disseminating democratic propaganda.

…Well, that’s just their basic posture; if you look at the scale of offensives and the corporate officials they recruit during the main story, they are well aware that, in the end, physical strength and coercion will be necessary.

However, since the timing is not ripe yet, as usual, Five Eyes has to provide subtle hints that current life, such as democracy and human rights, is flawed across the metro networks.

During their “resistance movement,” which aimed to stoke the latent discontent of citizens and create opportunities for propagandistic materials to add new faces to the organization, a minor change occurred specifically in the context of Harvest Planet.

“There was a simultaneous announcement of a crime warning and a statement. They claim the incident at the checkpoint is absolutely not their doing, and in exchange for the false accusation, they will interfere not only in the virtual world this year but also in the Christmas parade.”

“…Ha.”

As I stepped up the staircase with missing bits here and there, I listened to the broker carefully explaining the situation.

The butterfly effect… why does such a thing exist…?

Originally, I should have been comfortably seated in the control room, simply censoring illegal posts appearing on the communication network, but I had a side job added that involved offline anti-terror duties.

…I will not accept the criticism that I brought this upon myself.

I am already sufficiently harmed by my innocent mutterings.

– Initiating information search through the keyword gateway. …Due to large-scale power outages and equipment malfunctions resulting in corporate damage, if there was another emerging organization capable of such audacious acts hiding somewhere in the city, it would make sense for Five Eyes to feel a sense of crisis.-

“Yeah, yeah… it’s all my fault…”

I didn’t detail my long-winded story or how I evolved as a fighter to the Tin Can.

I thought those matters could be figured out as we acted together over time, so I only pointed out the important parts.

For instance, the process of becoming acquainted with Valentine and the McQueen family, who I would owe my debts to in Neo Haven, as well as the fact that I would have a point of contact for peaceful resolutions should a clash with Paradise arise.

“I haven’t seen you in the mercenary market for the past few months… Did your income improve enough to buy and maintain this escort robot in such a short time? That’s why kids these days rush to take aptitude tests in Elysium the minute they reach age.”

To my unexpected companion, or more precisely, to the curious interest in the scent of money wafting from the Tin Can’s gloves, I awakened a cold reality.

“…If there’s a hacker around me who makes money like me, they’re definitely financial criminals, so don’t get involved. If I had been that well off, I would have worked instead of resting on my days off, right?”

“Really…?”

Though he tilted his head, it seemed he didn’t have anything to refute, so he accepted it.

It’s quite unfortunate that the number one aspiration of 22nd-century youth is to be a well-paid shut-in, but that’s not why I brought Tin Can out for a stroll.

The first reason is that I thought it would be better to experience the world under the management of a Guardian rather than continuing to learn only in a network that exists purely in data.

Secondly, I chose a place that would pose little risk to get him accustomed to the dangerous and precarious situations I would face in the future.

And lastly…

“Now, over here are the remaining field-deployed mercenaries…”

Clang—!!

“Wha—!?!!?”

As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, a glass bottle suddenly flew towards my head, which Tin Can swatted away.

He stepped forward to absorb all the flying glass shards with his body so that the fragments wouldn’t hit me.

The broker’s suit and hair ended up shimmering surprisingly because of the decorations that splattered onto him unwillingly.

Oh, right. The last reason isn’t anything special, but rather, I worried that I might be completely disregarded by the mercenaries if they realized I had no real abilities.

It was to demonstrate that I had clear self-defense mechanisms in place, so as not to attract unnecessary trouble.

However, I never anticipated that I would be attacked like this before even getting a proper look at their faces.

– Ahsa, I will respond immediately. Please take cover and wait on the lower level.-

The enraged Carebot, receiving no warning for the urban declaration of war, pumped power into its body.

The creaking of joints ready to be propelled forward and the flashing lights of external sensors felt reassuring.

It was as if the sentry was saying to leave it to itself. Upon seeing Tin Can standing confidently, I felt my heart flutter.

…Hey, you idiot! You’re just a household robot equipped with additional plating, you know?!

“Just wait a minute…!”

I urgently stopped the body, pulled back like a bowstring just before launch.

Having traversed multiple battle lines and war zones multiple times involuntarily, I had developed a decent sense of discernment to differentiate between a manageable situation and a completely ruined one.

In my view, throwing a bottle was more of a precaution or an outlet for frustration; it wasn’t a duel meant for a life-or-death struggle.

Look, as proof, weren’t those guys just as dumbfounded?!

“Ha ha! You madman! Broker, you’re also here! What a droid air strike…!”

“Did you think I would know there was a bourgeois mercenary carrying a robot not used properly with the public funds? Ugh…”

“Huh…?”

What followed was not confusion, but laughter.

It was a cheerful nonsense that seemed almost unbelievable, having just thrown a dangerous object at someone, which echoed in the empty building.

Two of them were laughing heartily while patting each other on the knees or backs.

The remaining mercenaries appeared to be observing the situation with peculiar eyes while maintaining a posture of indifference.

…I was being distinctly reasonable.

I thought there might be some misunderstanding or error, but I assumed they had a basis for their aggressive approach.

So… did they just mix in some mechanical noises with the footfalls reverberating on the staircase and decided that if they were mercenaries, they would dodge? Otherwise, they would throw something at me for fun?

That shows quite the territorial spirit…?

“……”

Even though a mysterious liquid remained on the surface of the bottle, having been thrown, I glanced at the Tin Can, standing there unmoving in a battle-ready stance at my one command, then shifted my gaze back to the duo who tossed decorum to the dogs.

I contemplated the implications of violent methods of problem-solving on his psyche, weighing the importance of early education.

Hmm…

“…Just don’t kill them.”

– Order acknowledged. –

Seeing the distorted expression on my face, the other humans, sensing the impending fight, joyfully took a step back, forming a semicircle on their own.

The two defendants, who had been quiet, appeared to wake late to the reality as they gazed at me, who stood still without uttering a word.

Creeeak—

I watched the deadly Carebot, which had taken off running, practically gliding across the ground.

Sure, there was no need to endure such a trivial squabble, but on another note, it could be a good opportunity, so I decided to unleash the leash.

The state of the Tin Can, its specifications, seemed a bit complex.

Thanks to its sleek, multipurpose armor, it was impossible to identify at a glance that what was inside was a non-combat model.

However, the lack of performance in the basic hardware was a significant issue for just being thrown into a fierce battlefield. But the software inside was combat-specialized to the point of being almost wasted.

Compared to its old body, it was lighter, yet its output and durability seemed lacking; I wanted to see if it could really fight against these incompetent clowns…?

Thunk!!

“Gah!”

Before it could even figure out a stance, one of them delivered a soccer-like kick to the ankle, sending them crashing down with a pitiful cry.

They didn’t really attack earnestly; I’d say it was merely a tackle taking advantage of their acceleration… but seeing them flipping in the air and then slamming into the ground was indeed a tad pathetic.

“Shit…! My leg!!”

As his friend spun in the air like an Olympic hopeful, rough curses were mingled as a machete was drawn.

Not pulling the gun strapped to his back was commendable; once he pulled it out, it would no longer be a matter of pride. It was a relatively wise decision.

Of course, that wouldn’t help resolve the emergency.

Any typical robot or guard droid would have been able to block the swinging blade.

If it was a clumsy machine that couldn’t even assess the threat of an incoming attack, it would have gone ahead and attacked to incapacitate the enemy, regardless of getting its own sensors or limbs sliced apart.

In contrast… our clever Tin Can had known how to outsmart the enemy from the very beginning.

Creeeak!!

“What?!”

The steel shoulder, thrust obliquely, deflected the blade of the machete that had entered hurriedly into its resting place.

The collision between metal created loud sparks that dazzled my vision, and the full weight of the blow sent the man’s upper body leaning forward.

Naturally, Tin Can’s arm, having caught the mercenary from behind, wrapped around his head gently.

Hmm. Since the outcome was already determined, there was no need to inflict more wounds.

Seeing it showing mercy, I felt a strange sense of overwhelming gratitude…

Boom!!

“…Tin Can?”

– I didn’t kill them. I was merely exercising caution to incapacitate. –

After withdrawing his hand from the man’s head buried in the ground, Tin Can casually replied and returned to my side as if nothing had happened.

Ultimately, what remained was… one ruffian groaning while clutching his ankle.

One more idiot, knocked out cold, without moving.

“…A combat droid equipped with advanced artificial intelligence? Quite fierce.”

“I… heard about it. I heard a superstar hacker from the Daredevil gang has entered the field. I’m sure the name is….”

…The faces of the other mercenaries, wearing expressions of surprise at the unexpectedly one-sided battle, indicated that now was not the time for casual introductions and laughter, so I should take my leave.

In reality, most of them would be working at the parade site while I would be in a waiting role as a censor, so it should be fine.

“…Use the repair costs from those two’s pay for this one as well.”

As I lightly tapped the strangely distorted shoulder of Tin Can and brushed off shards of glass that had also settled onto the broker’s suit, I made a reasonable request.

“That’s fine, but… please understand that bringing such weaponry means I can’t increase the pay separately.”

“Hmm….”

I mentally relived the brief skirmish that had just occurred.

I knew I had sufficient capability to subdue clumsy mercenaries, but… compared to the fights I had while being pursued by former hunters at speeds hard to track with the eye, I felt unmistakably that my combat power had downgraded.

Even if I could fight with my brilliant combat sense, there were limits that came with it being a household Carebot.

So it felt better to assign roles according to the purpose rather than dragging it into dangerous locations unnecessarily.

…But I wonder if telling them to just play quietly with Jenny in the clinic on Christmas Day while I’m working will make them angry?