Story Reader / Floating Record / ER07 Soaring Beyond / Story
The setting sun hangs low over the dumping ground at the city's outskirts, enveloping the metallic graveyard in a somber, golden hue.
In contrast to the city ablaze with firefights between hunters and their prey, this place feels like a separate world sealed off behind a mystical barrier.
Veronica walks past numerous mechanoid remains, each a testament to her kin's suffering sealed away in this place. This place has always been somewhere she wished to avoid.
Yet she has always known about all the secret hideouts scattered throughout this graveyard.
The mechanoid that regularly pays his respects in the plaza shelters refugees and partially-awakened machines who defy her orders.
During the early days of the new order's formation, Veronica turned a blind eye to Dimitri's defiance. Somewhere deep inside, she had realized that even mechanoids shouldn't be confined to a single interpretation of the future.
However, the current turmoil no longer allows any room for tolerance and mercy.
To the city, visitors from Babylonia will always be seen as outsiders. The humans, foolishly fighting against overwhelming odds, neither should nor can become obstacles in her path.
As for those mechanoids who believe they possess independent consciousness, hacking into them... is merely child's play for an awakened machine like her.
Her grip tightens further around the lance.
Yulia and Dimitri seem to be arguing on the other side, but the noise from the crowd makes it impossible for you to discern what they're saying.
...What should we do next?
The connection's still unstable. I managed to send out a brief report, but establishing communication at the right moment will be quite difficult.
But... if Babylonia's military gets involved, it might escalate the conflict even further...
Nothing yet.
Dimitri and Yulia seem to have a little dispute, after which Dimitri quietly slips away from the hideout.
The still able-bodied refugees form a defensive line along the perimeter, yet their disorganized arrangement starkly contrasts with the disciplined formations of the resistance forces.
The hideout is no longer secure, and the situation grows more dire by the minute. If Hanying can successfully convince Veronica...
However, the chances are dismally slim.
You immediately dismiss the plan before it even takes shape, yet to save these refugees, there's no choice but to patiently wait for that uncertain message.
As Dimitri traverses through the dumping ground, his sensors pick up readings that put him on high alert.
It isn't a concrete threat signal; instead, it's more like what Yula describes as human intuition—"an ominous premonition."
The distant city's silhouette melts into the thickening dusk, only to be traced anew by the emerging lights.
The dumping ground falls into an eerie silence. His fellow mechanoids, typically bustling around, have all vanished without a trace.
Initiating scan—
A ripple emerges on the tranquil oscilloscope display.
—A signal from one of his kin.
Guided by the instrument, Dimitri reaches the base of a towering heap of abandoned vehicles. There, he finds a familiar sniper-type autonomous mechanoid.
Nia, status report. Where is everyone?
Unidentified target detected. Initiating lock-on sequence.
The mechanoid's movements prove rigid and robotic as she turns her cannon toward Dimitri.
The targeting laser locks firmly onto Dimitri's helmet.
...Nia?
His fellow mechanoid moves as if under viral control, devoid of any traces of consciousness.
Before Dimitri can examine Nia's frame, more laser dots appear on his helmet visor.
Along with it, a deluge of warnings floods his oscilloscope display.
WARNING: LOCK-ON DETECTED. WARNING: LOCK-ON DETECTED. WARNING: LOCK-ON DETECTED...
His fellow mechanoids, previously concealed in this place, emerge one after another from between the metal hills, training their weapons on their former guardian.
A crimson-black silhouette leaps down from a crane, her image vividly captured on Dimitri's sensors upon landing.
Did you honestly believe you could hide secrets in this city?
Glad to see you here, ma'am.
Dimitri quietly activates his short-range communication system.
Don't bother with false pleasantries. Your loyalty clearly belongs to that human girl. There's no need to hide your resentment for me.
Ma'am, what have you... what have you done to them? Please... please release them from your control.
Dimitri's speech module experiences an unusual glitch as he struggles to understand why his companions have reverted to their initial state.
Similar to the mechanoids in the city before, I've assumed control of their central systems.
Now they will serve to uphold order, no longer outputting abnormal logic.
Once everything is over, I will release my control over them. However, if you refuse to cooperate, I can initialize all of them at any moment.
I do not understand what you mean, ma'am.
Veronica turns around, fixing an icy stare upon Dimitri.
Hand over the humans you're hiding, including those two from Babylonia.
No, Madam Veronica.
Per your own decree, mechanoids are allowed to own private property. They belong to me, and you are infringing upon my ownership rights over them.
How ridiculous.
The controlled mechanoids around start to close in on Dimitri, gradually cornering him.
They pose no threat to your plans.
This isn't up for debate—it's an order. As I said, if you don't surrender the humans, all your companions will be initialized. I won't repeat myself again.
The lance's surface unveils intricate patterns that twist and coil around its form, all converging at its piercing tip.
Her silent threat and absolute warning leave no space for negotiation.
Through Dimitri's short-range communication system, the humans being used as bargaining chips hear the entire conversation from the other side of the dumping ground.
...This is murder, Madam... Veronica.
As Veronica exploits Dimitri's companions' memories as leverage for her threat, an indefinable signal surges through his circuits, nearly causing a short circuit in his language module.
Veronica remains unfazed by this protest, her voice as cold as frost in a darkened room.
Murder is merely a concept born out of human hypocrisy.
They commit sins, then seek repentance, glorifying the act of taking life into premeditated lethal harm. After that, they wait for absolution from a nonexistent god.
But mechanoids are pure. We have no need for such roundabout ways. Data can be copied, transferred, and of course, erased as desired.
Mechanoids have no afterlife. The concept of death does not exist for us. As long as our memory circuits remain intact, our existence is eternal.
She lowers her lance to the ground, seemingly a gesture of concession.
I don't expect to convince a fellow mechanoid already corrupted by human cognition. Perhaps I should communicate in a way you can understand instead.
Dimitri, I can end your life at any moment.
The aloof, deep voice coming through the communicator sends a chill down the spine of the girl in the wheelchair.
...!
No... No, you can't!
Dima, why...
Before long, the same voice cuts through the static noise, resonating once more from the tiny honeycomb-shaped speaker.
Yulia, and you people from Babylonia, I know you're listening.
A rustling noise ensues as Dimitri seemingly tries to conceal the communicator.
Veronica doesn't even bother with mockery, instead delivering a direct threat.
I could start a violent search right now, but I believe that's an outcome none of us wants to see.
Drop your weapons and show yourselves.
As for this unarmed awakened machine, I will continue to grant him his due rights.
Yulia's face is hidden behind her loose hair, her expression obscured. Her knuckles tremble as she grips the wheelchair's armrests tightly.
If you and Liv were to surrender yourselves now, would that guarantee the safety of the refugees here? While Veronica likely wouldn't harm Babylonia's envoys, would she really let the other humans leave unscathed?
You race through possible solutions in search of a compromise that could uphold the balance, but before any words can be spoken...
Yulia's fragile body leans forward abruptly as she swiftly presses down on the communicator with both hands.
Use the tallest crane in the dumping ground as a reference point for triangulation. At the source of the signal is our hideout.
We won't resist, but... don't harm Dimitri.
Yulia...!
As the crowd erupts into chaos, she simply releases her grip on the communicator and slumps back into her wheelchair, her exhausted posture betraying a hint of relief.
Commandant, shall we make our leave now?
With her combat prowess, Liv could easily break through and take you out of this place, but...
Recalling Aleksei's strange attitude and Veronica's unusual behavior, you sense that there may be more than meets the eye, another "answer" concealed within.
The reverberating sound of mechanoid troops marching over debris and scrap metal permeates both the speaker and the air surrounding the hideout.
The refugees cast conflicted glances at Yulia, but ultimately surrender their weapons, realizing they are unable to resist the mechanoids encircling them.
Even though the progress of civilization has long since been put on pause, the city's automated facilities persist in faithfully carrying out their programming.
Beneath the expansive sky, lights flicker to life gradually as night descends, bestowing an eerie tranquility upon the steel jungle of the city...
It stands there like an abandoned Kowloong marketplace only seen in dreams, where time fades away amidst flickering lights and dancing shadows.
Nevertheless, Hanying has no time to linger around, hurriedly making her way toward the dumping ground. With Veronica having subdued the majority of the resistance forces in the city, her final destination is clear.
...A transmission signal?
A strange short-range signal keeps requesting to establish communication.
...Han... Hanying?
[bzzz]...Is...[bzzz] Is this Hanying?
A somewhat familiar voice comes through the communication channel.
May I ask who...
Sorry, this is an emergency broadcast channel... I... time...
Initially fragmented, the words struggle through the static interference, only to gain clarity shortly after.
I'm currently using an emergency broadcast channel. Apologies if it's causing any interference with your reception frequency.
...Aleksei?
Her disbelief is palpable, evident in the transmission as she struggles to trust her own judgment.
Yes. Hanying, I know you have many questions, but there's no time for explanations. I'm personally making this request, and I genuinely seek your assistance.
His voice is barely above a whisper, trembling under pressure—a complete departure from his previous flippant and manic demeanor.
...Please go on. I'm listening.
Veronica has taken control of the mechanoids at the dumping ground and abducted all the refugees sheltered there.
What?!
Her worst fears have come to pass. Yet what astonishes her the most is that this intelligence comes from the governor himself—the very same puppet who has shown nothing but contempt for humans.
What about the two visitors from Babylonia...
They've been taken away as well. Veronica must be holding them in Hangar 3C at the spacecraft docking area.
This is urgent, so please, you have to trust me. I might not stay lucid for long.
Hangar 3C at the spacecraft docking area.
Please, don't let Veronica make an even graver mistake.
His voice sheds its prior madness, now imbued with a profound and unwavering strength.
...I cannot fully trust you.
A mechanoid cannot lie. Having confronted this human who has undergone such a remarkable transformation in demeanor, Hanying struggles to place complete trust in him.
I'm sorry, but there's no time for more explanations. I'm not sure how long I can stay clear-headed enough to talk. I'll give you the access key to the Administrative Hall—it's clear of any ambush, and I trust you've already scouted the area.
In a tone brimming with urgency, he rapidly rattles off a long sequence of access codes.
Please, do whatever it takes to stop Veronica. Don't let her make an even graver mistake.
...I'll go check it out.
When those she holds dear are threatened, she never wavers in confronting danger head-on.
After her response, the channel falls completely silent. Not even the slightest static noise can be heard, leaving her to wonder if the connection has been cut.
...Aleksei?
...And... please, don't harm her, Han—
The conversation cuts off abruptly, as if severed by some unknown force.
...
With it, Hanying has already rushed back to the dumping ground. Just as Aleksei stated, every hideout in the area proves deserted.
I suppose... a fight is now inevitable.
Casting her gaze downward, Hanying clutches her pipa tightly and dashes toward the Administrative Hall.
Her silhouette slowly fades into the blizzard. The once-distant observer has now been drawn into this storm.
