"…It doesn’t seem like this was the case two months ago. What the hell happened at HQ in the anti?"
The day after Lorentina left, I received an urgent ssage and headed to New York, only to find chaos.
Even though the 7-ter-high defensive wall and the watchtowers spaced evenly on top were expected, the mont I looked up, I saw a massive drone — one so large it looked like it could carry entire building blocks — flying by. It was a sight I hadn’t seen before.
The vibration I felt through my toes ca from the heavy machinery moving. Although it wasn’t close, the clarity of the sensation suggested that it wasn’t just a few pieces of equipnt in use.
How should I take this? I thought as I heard a sound from the Icarus Gear.
[Notification: Central Park HQ network detected. Synchronization will begin.]
[Notification: Updating base blueprints and aerial views.]
“…They were building sothing incredible.”
I couldn’t suppress my curiosity, so I imdiately checked.
Looking at the location, it was clear that a new building had been constructed sowhere near the large central lake in Central Park. This spot, known as the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir — or Kennedy Lake for short — was now ho to sothing I hadn’t known about before.
That wasn’t all. Today, I couldn’t just dismiss the idea of sothing new being built. The reason I was paying attention to it was because two glowing red dots on the aerial view indicated that Jin and Rain were currently inside that construction site.
Although I had planned to go greet the Dagger Team later, for now, I needed to head that way to resolve sothing urgent.
After fiddling with my watch, I sent out several signals.
[Notification: Icarus personnel… Dagger Team Operator ‘Eugene’ confird.]
[Notification: Sending entry request for A-32 Gate.]
It wouldn’t be bad to just go directly inside, but it would likely surprise everyone. Since I had already sent the request, I walked steadily toward the gate without worrying. As I approached within 100 ters, a whirring sound ca from the watchtower, and a green laser extended from a mini-gun set to drone mode, aiming directly at . Then, it turned off.
At the sa ti, a beam projector activated at the watchtower, creating a holographic figure in front of .
It was likely soone on guard duty at this mont.
The man, who had been muttering, now raised his stiff hand to sign at while I projected a hologram and typed a ssage.
[Entry request sent. Can I enter now?]
He briefly tapped on a keyboard, then nodded. He turned off the beam projector, and the thick doors ahead of slowly parted with a grinding sound. As the familiar interior of HQ ca into view, I felt a wave of nostalgia that I thought had long faded.
Once inside, the door closed behind , and I took in the familiar mix of concrete and gunpowder-scented air of HQ. It was still only 8 a.m., so I could feel the fresh morning air. I didn’t need any guidance, so I was free to wander.
My destination was already clear.
“…So, this is what they were building.”
Several elegant building structures with a modern design, reminiscent of art museums, stood before . The last ti I visited, I didn’t see anything like this. The fact that they managed to build all this in just two months using drones and advanced technology was truly impressive.
That said, Jin and Rain were inside there. Based on that, I had a rough idea of what was going on. When I dug through so classified military data, it beca clear — this was essentially a research facility.
A few months ago, Jin and Rain, along with Artemis and their technologies, had been working here, experinting with prototypes and testing various technologies.
The construction site was surrounded by extrely tight security, and even I felt like I would need to go through several procedures to get inside. It wasn’t surprising.
After thinking for a mont, I decided to take a very simple approach.
I opened a ssage window and added a note to Jin and Rain.
[Eugene: Biyami’s here.]
I pressed send.
About 20 seconds later, the people in the watchtower suddenly beca busier. They began speaking into their radios and looking around, and then our eyes t from across the distance.
Their expressions seed almost incredulous, but how could they stop when I just wanted to see my people? One of the guards walked out of the tower, chuckling and speaking.
“Co on in. They’re waiting for you.”
“Thanks.”
I entered the building.
What exactly were Jin and Rain up to inside here? I thought, quickening my pace, but the first thing that greeted wasn’t a broken weapons lab or an experintal firing range… it was the unexpected sll of food.
The sll wasn’t too strong. The reason for that beca clear as soon as I opened the door. What I saw inside was… two chanical versions of Biyami, feeding food into a strangely shaped, reasonably sized machine.
Before I could say anything, the words ca from the machines.
“Archetype!”
“Hey, catch him! Boss, co here!”
“Wait, what the hell are you doing — whoa!!”
And I was caught.
The two machines, weighing over twice my own weight, nearly crushed , but luckily, my body held up, and I survived. As expected, the two hadn’t changed much.
Of course, it didn’t take long for to realize that half of that thought was a misunderstanding.
When the situation cald down, the first words out of their mouths gave a clue.
“…Is this a machine for tasting food? Sothing that artificially replicates taste receptors?”
“So you were curious about food flavors?”
“Yep.”
Jin and Rain alternated explaining and answering. Personally, I figured that this machine would likely be scrapped later. There was no reason to implant digestive organs into them, nor did they need to modify their mouths to eat food. In the future, perhaps their sensory synchronization would be fine-tuned to satisfy them. But realistically, a humanoid with a system similar to humans might be the way to go.
Anyway, they enthusiastically discussed their favorite things.
“I like spicy food. Jin seems to like sweet things.”
“I think ice cream is the greatest invention among human foods.”
“…Sure, of course.”
About 20 minutes later, after tolerating their whining, I beca curious about what the Dagger Team was up to, and they answered easily.
“They eat when it’s ti to eat, play when it’s ti to play, and rest when it’s ti to rest. Lately, they’ve been training so new operators.”
“After calculating the balance between work and rest, the latter cos out to 75%. The average body fat percentage of everyone in the Dagger Team, including Lorentina and Logan, has increased by 6.6%.”
“…They must have been eating a lot.”
Well, special forces mbers do tend to gain weight easily. The calories burned in combat require a lot of food, and if they keep eating like that during normal tis, it’s no surprise they gain weight. But what was going on with Lorentina and Logan?
After that, I got to the point of the visit and began syncing data with Jin using my watch.
However, when Jin noticed what I was doing, she rejected the request.
I waited in silence, wondering why, and then Jin approached .
Her lips parted.
“Data sharing is possible. But I have one request.”
“What is it?”
“When I visited Archetype’s house last ti, I saw people passing by outside… and I realized I wanted to do sothing.”
“…”
“I want to go outside with Archetype and experience the world.”
And at those words, my brain nearly stopped functioning.
What?
“…She said that?”
“…Yes. So I’m still thinking about it.”
“Hmmm.”
It was 8 p.m. at my house, not in New York.
After being knocked around by Jin and Rain’s request — or rather, their punches — I quickly said a simple hello to the Dagger Team, returned ho in a hurry, and after eating an unremarkable dinner, I called my parents.
There wasn’t any special reason. I was just thinking about what to do, and ended up calling the only people I felt I could trust to share this dilemma with.
My parents knew already that weapons based on were made in that world, and that two of them were turned over to my side. If they hadn’t approved, cha Eugene wouldn’t have appeared during the Escape from Unknown mode.
Silence fell as my parents added another question.
“What does Jin want to do?”
“Well…”
As soon as I started speaking, I was lost in thought.
How could I bring Jin and Rain here… and if I brought them here, how could I avoid causing chaos in the world?
I froze, considering my response.
My parents spoke again.
“Why are you asking such a question? Of course, if they can co, they’d want to. They’re very caring kids.”
“Oh, wait. Jin didn’t say anything, right?”
“…Yes. She wants to co if she can.”
“Alright. I’m glad you told honestly.”
Ahem.
There was a short pause, then my parents continued.
“So, have you thought of a way?”
“…Actually, I haven’t. I was thinking that minimizing the shock the world would feel should be the priority, but I’m not sure how.”
“Hmmm.”
At that, my parents chuckled softly.
I heard a slow, deep breath.
“Jin probably understands by now, but the one thing I learned after spending several years in this position is that the most important thing when executing sothing is being able to provide a plausible reason.”
“…So?”
“What I’m saying is, if you’re fine with it, it wouldn’t be difficult to co up with a specific thod to bring Jin and Rain here… For instance…”
Example 1.
Icarus Enterprise, a subsidiary of Icarus, known for its AI expertise, requested research funding to create a real AI based on how impressive it was to see Jin and Rain learning and growing through contact with Eugene. The company’s board of directors approved the request.
Then it evolved into a proposal to create a prototype unit, and so the company entrusted Icarus Dynamics — a subsidiary that could easily manage such a project — with the task.
I could only listen in a daze as my parents casually shared their suggestion.
I nodded absentmindedly, considering whether it was feasible or not, and watched as my thoughts tilted toward the “feasible” direction.
“Do you understand what I an?”
“…Yes. I think I understand now.”
“What’s important is whether the proposal can generate a positive response from the majority when executed. As for ‘how it’s possible’… when the input cost and the procedure’s professionalism align, that’s usually a problem we don’t have to worry about.”
… I sort of understood what they ant.
Anyway, the thod my parents proposed sounded perfectly reasonable. The rest was just a matter of ti.
Was this it? I thought, roughly coming to that conclusion.
“But rember, as the vice president of a company, I can only present such ideas. As a parent, there are still things I need to confirm.”
“…Huh? Suddenly?”
“Of course. I’ve never even spoken to those kids. We can’t move forward without hearing what they want to do outside first.”
“It might sound like nagging, but I want to et them first to see how well-mannered they are. You’re okay with that, right?”
“Oh, co on. Not that ‘professional illness’ again.”
…If you know, you know, but my mom was the head of the managent team, in other words, the auditing team.
Anyway, I understood what they ant. My parents likely wanted to et them in person to feel at ease, so I ntioned that I’d send a ssage to Jin and Rain after this call, telling them to et my parents. I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction they’d have, though.
After the whirlwind of events, I finally regained my composure.
There was still work left to be done.
[Notification: Sending Artemis Tech files to ‘Think Tank.’ The file is large, so the transfer might be slow.]
I sent so of the technology used to create Jin and Rain to the Think Tank. This more or less finished the requests for sharks and polar bears.
Separately, considering that Jin and Rain’s proposal stemd from Lorentina and Logan’s indirect request, I couldn’t help but think…
“Did these guys drink at the airport or sothing?”
What on earth happened that made all this unfold?
My initial assumption was that I’d be able to rest comfortably at ho before the Hawaii trip, but it was quickly falling apart from the start.
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