Chapter 26: Demi-human (2)

Sky-Giant Armored Brigade

Bomb installed, Thunder Dragon

I could"ve run out and warned him myself, but that was a foolish thing to do.

Instead, I summoned Genie.

"Genie."

[Yes, Dae-ha-nim.]

I could talk to her at any time because I was sitting at one of the spots prepared in the maintenance room.

"There"s a bomb installed on the Gigas that just left."

[...You can find out about the bomb from the t.i.tle?]

It was a given, but there weren"t any reactions like "Are you serious?" or "No way!"

Aside from the Tech Division Chief, Nathan, she was the only one that had a rough guess about my abilities, and also because she had been working alongside me continuously all this time, and had confirmed my ability.

"Wait a bit. Ahhh, before that, tell him to stay put where he"s at first."

[Alright.]

As she responded, Thunder Dragon stopped in his tracks at that very same moment as if something was transmitted to him.

The other soldiers around were puzzled, but that was a secondary problem.

I immediately started [cla.s.sification].

"Let"s see... What"s this? Artein"s Despair? That"s a very poetic name for something like a bomb."

The moment I mumbled, Genie spoke.

[Artein"s Despair. Are you sure?]

"Ah, yes."

[Understood.]

The conversation ended.

Just in case, I also glanced over at the other Gigas.

"Fortunately, I don"t see anything else notable, but for it to be a bomb. Don"t tell me Alaina installed it?"

I had that thought for a second, but I was wondering if the people from the Allied Army had to go as far as to commit a bombing attack.

Besides, if he wanted to do damage to our troops, it would be more beneficial to install the bomb on the ship rather than on a moving Gigas and aim for the destruction of the interior.

I had all kinds of thoughts for a while, but it"s no use thinking about it. Although I can figure out a lot of things about the opponent by just looking above their head, there"s a limit to the kinds of things I can find out.

It"s not as if I learned some sort of mind-reading skill, so I can"t possibly grasp the situation perfectly.

Wiiiiingggg-! Chiiikingggg!

But then, the wall on one side opened along with a heavy sound, and a tank appeared; a piece of equipment designed to look like that of an antenna was installed where the gun barrel should have been.

Perhaps because it"s something that would be brought out casually, the maintenance officers and the Gigas pilots who were around had a bewildered expression.

"Wait! Genie, why did you bring out the EMP cannon... Are you crazy?! Where do you think you"re aiming!?"

"Genie, stop!! What are you trying to do to the Gigas that just moved out?"

But whether they were fl.u.s.tered or not, the antenna of the equipment, which had [Taken out after a long time, CM-3] written above it, was aiming at Thunder Dragon.

Thunder Dragon was startled all of a sudden (To be precise, it was the pilot riding it that was startled) and tried to avoid it, but the red light shooting out from the top of the antenna was faster.

Bzzapp--!!

Centering around the antenna, a strange wave spread out.

It didn"t feel like the ordinary EMP that I knew of; all the technicians around me stumbled and fell down.

Of course, it was just a fall, but everyone aboard the battleship was proficient in either magic or supernatural powers, albeit only a little bit, and no one was hurt.

Kiiiyooooooog…...

And with that one blow, Thunder Dragon plopped down.

"Hold on, did Genie just destroy the Thunder Dragon?"

"The defense system was all shut down, and they shot the EMP cannon!"

"What the h.e.l.l? What the heck is going on right now?"

Due to the incident that was literally unimaginable, everyone had a blank expression as they stared at the EMP cannon called CM-3.

Just then, the back of the Thunder Dragon opened with a "Bang!", and a handsome man with crimson red hair jumped out.

"Everyone, immediately arm yourself with your personal weapons and cut off the control of the integrated system!"

"Huh? But Squadron Leader-nim...."

"Hurry up! If Genie is taken over by the enemy, then all the devices around us are basically the enemy"s!!"

Taking the situation quite seriously, a red aura swirled around their body.

But before that, Genie"s hologram popped out in front of them.

[Calm down and step away from Thunder Dragon. According to the emergency manual, as the Albatross" control persona, I will engage emergency measures!]

"Huh? Genie, are you normal? The enemy didn"t take over you?"

[I"m disappointed that you see me as such an easy woman, Lieutenant Alex-nim.]

Genie, who was dressed like a desert dancer, smiled with her eyes and gestured lightly.

The maintenance machines that gathered around and were on standby moved at the same time and took off Thunder Dragon"s left arm.

No one pointed out the exact location, but seeing that there wasn"t a hint of hesitation in their movements, they must have found the bomb after probing into it separately.

Chiiikingggg! Wiiiiingggg--!

The maintenance machines, which had taken off the arm of Thunder Dragon, put the fallen arm in the ejector.

Actually, there"s nothing special about an ejector, but the Albatross" ejector is an electronic ejector that is similar in principle to that of a maglev levitation train. It manifests a magnetic resistance that fires off fighter jets or Gigas. Hence, the arm of Thunder Dragon that was on the floor levitated by itself on the air and flew off like an arrow.

Baaaaam!

The ejector opened and the left arm flew forward, abruptly breaking through the air barrier maintained by the energy field.

A violent gust generated and raged for a short while, but it was a trifling matter.

More importantly... The arm that flew into outer s.p.a.ce exploded.

Whoooooooosh----!!

The strong vibration was so intense that it sent chills down my spine as I could feel it even when I was inside the maintenance room.

What if that thing just blew up here?

"Huhhhh, how does something like that even exist?"

I laughed in vain as I felt dispirited.

If I didn"t happen to see the t.i.tle, I would have shrieked without knowing what it was.

"Genie, thi-, what is this? Why did Thunder Dragon"s arm explode?"

[A bomb was detected there. Surprisingly... The bomb was made up of parts that look exactly the same as the parts on the arm. It was discovered by chance and I handled it immediately.]

"I can"t believe someone installed a bomb on my exclusive Gigas, which b.a.s.t.a.r.d….!"

A handsome man with crimson red hair. Basically, I was lost in thought while looking at the outraged Lieutenant Alex.

It wasn"t because of the fact that I was almost on the verge of death.

It was just something that "almost" happened to me, but the end result was that not a single strand of my hair was harmed.

But what caught my attention was Genie"s authority and her ability to make the proper judgment.

"What the h.e.l.l is this? She didn"t ask anyone and just made her own judgment, then putting it into action according to however she wanted? Isn"t it totally different from the concept of artificial intelligence that I know of?"

I thought if I told Genie that there was a bomb installed in Thunder Dragon, she would"ve obviously reported it to her superiors.

No matter how excellent of an artificial intelligence she was, I thought [judgment] was a human"s field of expertise.

But she took out the EMP cannon out of her own judgment, ignored the people who were startled, and immediately fired it towards Thunder Dragon and disabled the bomb that was installed as well as Thunder Dragon itself.

Perhaps it was to prevent it from exploding as soon as it was dismantled or separated from the body.

Furthermore, she displayed her wits and boldness, and separated the entire arm where the bomb was installed, then threw it into s.p.a.ce.

As a result, the crisis was overcome without any sort of damage.

"Something like this triumphs over human judgment. Moreover, she had the power to act on her own accord and make a judgment of this degree."

Of course, she would probably report this, but isn"t this the cla.s.sic "act first, think later"? It basically meant that she didn"t need any permission to act right away.

I thought that an artificial intelligence only had the authority to a.s.sist humans, but her behavior was totally out of my expectations.

This is just an a.s.sumption, but maybe Genie also plays the role of a police officer for any crimes that happen inside Albatross.

"No, won"t these guys feel uneasy giving an AI this much authority? What are they going to do if something like a system error happened?"

They would need something like Alex"s mentality to not feel anxious about any bugs or hacking happening.

Without a doubt, if he saw that Genie was behaving strangely, he would a.s.sume that there was a malfunction with the control persona and try to suppress it.

In other words, isn"t his behavior an implication that there has been a situation in the past in which the control persona was [taken over by the enemy]?

As I was lost in thought over such a complicated situation, a hologram appeared next to me.

Obviously, the hologram was Genie, the control persona that controlled the entire Albatross ship.

[Thank you for your help, Dae-ha-nim. You stopped a situation that could have potentially caused serious damage, so you will be rewarded on a later date.]

"Ahhh, well. It was for my own safety, too."

Somehow, I felt awkward and laughed, but Genie that was on the screen shook her head.

[That"s a separate matter. Could you perhaps tell me if there is another problem?]

"At the very least, I can"t find any more. Actually, I think that bomb just now was a little out of the blue, too."

I discovered it and Genie removed it instantly, but if we think about it logically, I"m not really sure if the bomb was going to explode immediately.

The information from the t.i.tle I see does not only display the current information. As long as the subject is represented, albeit briefly, it is a complex skill that can show the near future.

"That"s right, if the bomb was going to explode immediately, it would"ve been mentioned. Something like "a bomb with a 1-hour countdown installed" would"ve been stated."

If the t.i.tle represents [the current condition]... For a bomb whose purpose is to explode, "Explode" is such an obvious [condition].

At the very least, the t.i.tle that I know would never disregard such an important condition.

"But it"s also dangerous to talk about this unnecessarily."

For now, I was careful because even I could sense that this power to see t.i.tles was dangerous.

It was to the point where it felt like I disclosed a little bit too much, even though it was only limited to the machines.

One cannot be too careful. I could catch spies even at a glance and freely read other people"s information, so who would like this kind of ability?

If I found out about the existence of such a superhuman, I would either catch him because it felt like a threat or use it for my own benefit.

Krieeekkk-! Krieeekkk-!

While I was lost in all kinds of thoughts, the fighter jets were a given, but most of the Gigas were launched into s.p.a.ce by the ejector.

At the very least, I expected Alex, the pilot of Thunder Dragon who was rendered immobile after being hit by the EMP wouldn"t make a move, but contrary to my expectations, he moved out while riding on another Tool-grade Gigas.

The atmosphere was so tense that it felt like "all available forces should be mobilized".

"Hey Genie, are you in the middle of a battle now?"

[I"m sorry, but I can"t tell you about the war situation because it is confidential information.]

I was slightly disappointed by her calm response, but I accepted it.

But then again, It"s not like it"s a TV show, so why would the war situation be broadcasted?

Of course, I would be able to get a clear picture regarding the war situation at the bridge deck that was functioning like a Battlefield Command Center, but I was nothing but a measly maintenance officer, so it wasn"t like I could go there.

"Then what should I do now? All the Gigas are gone anyways."

Genie gave the most obvious answer.

[You can go and rest at the dormitory.]

"...We"re in the middle of a war though?"

[Even if it"s a war, everyone has their role to play, and you"ve already done your part, Maintenance Officer-nim.]

"Uhh."

I smiled bitterly.

Of course, unlike on Earth, where even an ordinary person can play the role of a soldier with a rifle on hand, it"s true that in a s.p.a.ce War like this, normal people are of no help. But even so, to go to the dormitory and rest just doesn"t sit right.

"Being in the usual comfortable designation even during war, it"s so comfortable that I"m restless."

I left the maintenance room while mumbling. Bo-ram and Dong-min were outside the door.

"Ahh, did I keep you waiting? I"ll be going back home…..."

"I"m sorry. we"ve both been a.s.signed."

"And rest... Wait, what?"

"We received a request for personnel for the coming battle. We"re both strong enough to be a part of the combat forces."

Dong-min muttered, "Even if we don"t have much power", and took a piece of paper out of his arms.

To my surprise, it was a talisman.

"If it"s dangerous, tear it up. This will teleport you right next to me immediately."

"I thought you said you have a mission to do here. Is it okay for you to just go missing?"

"Our original mission is to guard you. I"ve already spoken about it in advance, so it doesn"t matter."

"I see you"re still here! All the infantry has a.s.sembled, so get a move on immediately!!"

"Ahhh, I"ll be right there, Unnie!"

"Don"t call me Unnie, call me Squadron Leader!"

"Yes, Unnie!"

Following a woman in a tight leather suit holding a sword as big as her body, Bo-ram and Dong-min disappeared and I was the only one left.

When I looked around, there were a few people left in this place that used to be crowded with people.

"...Maybe it"s really a dire situation?"

I thought so for a moment, but I didn"t know what the situation was.

What if we lost the war because I was resting comfortably and lazing around? Won"t the situation become h.e.l.l-like?

No matter how careful I live, I can"t do anything if I"m caught up in the torrents of war, and I might even get into the worst situation.

"Rather, it"s too uncomfortable to go to the dormitory and play games when the situation has turned out like this."

However, it is also equivocal to partic.i.p.ate in the war just because I am curious and anxious about it.

At any rate, I"m just a maintenance officer right now.

And it"s not like I can directly repair the destroyed machines, so it"s not much help in the middle of a battle.

In the end, I went to the workshop where I work every day.

"I wonder what it"s all about."

I walked into the workshop smiling. Obviously, I didn"t come here to work.

"Open sesame."