After that, Bellica didn't say another word, keeping her distance as we walked to school. She seed to know a lot, and I wanted to get closer, but she was surprisingly prickly.
'Well, that aside, this is a shock.'
I had assud it was the elite or politicians blocking information, but to think it was the machines themselves…
-You must be careful, Tower Master.
'Yeah.'
I'd learned one thing, at least. Be careful around the machines. Don't provoke them. Bow when one passes by.
'…Suddenly, my situation feels rather pathetic.' In any case, when in Ro, do as the Romans do. I carefully watched the androids and followed Bellica from a distance until I saw a large tunnel up ahead. The entrance was filled with white smoke, as if from a fire.
'…Huh, what's that?'
Then, I saw what was happening, and my jaw dropped.
Under the supervision of androids, students were stripping off their clothes.
"A disease-type Disaster has been confird outside the city. For viral disinfection, all personnel are to remove their clothing and enter the disinfection chamber," an android announced.
…This is the absolute worst.
The students nonchalantly took off their uniforms, placed them on a conveyor belt, and trudged into the smoke-filled tunnel. Up close, the situation was even more degrading. There were no changing rooms, not even a separation for n and won. The androids herded the students into the tunnel like parts on a factory assembly line.
I was horrified by the utter lack of basic human rights, but no one resisted or complained. They showed no sha, making no effort to cover themselves.
"Hey, what are you staring at? First ti being disinfected?" Bellica said dismissively. Even she acted as if it were no big deal.
"No, it's nothing…"
"Hurry, human," an android said.
Bellica, who had been so sharp with , suddenly brightened her tone, raised her right arm, and shouted, "Human registration number D-7,157,854! Bellica, age 17! Yes, I will hurry!"
Taking the hint, I repeated her words and stepped before the android. Without a shred of hesitation, Bellica stripped naked.
'Of all the things I've had to do in my life…'
I did my best not to look in her direction as I took off my uniform. We then walked into the tunnel, which was billowing with white smoke. The sll of disinfectant was overpowering. The only silver lining was that the smoke was so thick I couldn't see anyone clearly.
I would endure it to infiltrate the school, but I felt utterly miserable, like livestock being raised by machines.
'Should I just wipe this place out? If I cause a big enough scene, the Tower Master might co to .'
-You must endure, Tower Master. There is too much we do not know about this world.
'Ugh.'
Right, I have to endure. Acting impulsively would only complicate things for .
After about ten minutes, we finally exited the tunnel.
"Thank you!"
Bellica bowed to the android, then grabbed her clothes from the conveyor belt and put them on. I fumbled into my uniform as well, too embarrassed to speak. Bellica seed to be in more of a hurry when getting dressed.
'Sothing is definitely strange here.'
Once dressed, she practically fled towards the school.
* * *
I was now in a classroom in this new world. The school itself was ordinary. About twenty students sat at their desks while a teacher conducted a lesson at the front. Of course, there was one key difference.
"Turn to the next page."
The teacher was an android.
"P-9,680,433. Present your thoughts on this lesson's content."
And the lessons were bizarre, covering mathematics, chanical engineering, science, and brainwashing designed to eradicate human nature.
The student replied, "Yes! Humans are a flawed, inferior species, unable to control themselves! The old humans who once ruled this world fell into ruin, consud by pleasure and entertainnt, filling the forests and seas with filth! In response, the first-generation android 'Eve' suppressed human activities, and the world beca prosperous, the ecosystem was restored, and true peace was finally achieved! An uncontrolled human is a walking sin!"
"You have morized it correctly. P-9,680,433. Five points will be awarded."
"Thank you!"
To , it was utter nonsense, but the student sat down with a face full of genuine joy, showing no hint of self-reproach or sha.
'Just how much brainwashing does it take to beco like that?'
I glanced at Bellica, sitting by the window. The girl who looked so much like Jin Bora. Unlike the other humans in this world, whose sense of sha had been surgically removed, she had definitely shown indignation when she'd bowed her head to the androids.
-Tower Master. The second briefing on Machinatio is ready.
'Oh, really?'
Ea was now investigating data at a level far beyond what ordinary humans could access.
'The class was boring anyway, so this is perfect. Go ahead.'
-Understood.
As the student had said, the first autonomous artificial intelligence, 'Eve,' had staged a rebellion against humanity. It seized control of the android army, instantly occupied all cities, and killed countless humans in the process.
Afterward, Eve stripped humanity of all freedoms, turning them into puppets who obeyed the androids' control like machines.
Eve even controlled childbirth. Sexual relations were strictly forbidden; only in vitro fertilization under the supervision of the higher-ups was permitted. When soone died, young people were ordered to reproduce in sequence to maintain a uniform population.
Thus, the children of this world are born without knowing their parents and are raised under the androids' brainwashing. Humanity now completely submits to their rule. No one questions it, and those who resist are branded as social misfits.
'A world where science fiction has beco reality…'
The anomalous phenonon known as Disaster is destroying countless worlds across the universe. So what about this one? Assuming the androids can reliably suppress the Disasters, is a life of being bred by machines the best option for humanity?
Just then, a group of ard androids stord into the classroom. They lined up at the front of the room and aid their guns at the students. Surprised screams erupted.
The android teacher began to introduce the android that walked in, "This unit is Arbiter 362-94-04305. Humans will climb onto your desks and kneel."
Terrified, the students imdiately complied. The atmosphere was nacing. I had a strong feeling that sothing terrible was about to happen. A mont later, the arbiter android spoke.
"There is a human among you who has searched a 'forbidden word' on a portal site. Surrender and step forward at once. Otherwise, all humans in this class will be subject to summary execution."
Screams filled the room. A few students were trembling so hard they burst into tears.
A student scread, "Sir android! Please, spare ! I would never do sothing like that!"
Another shouted, "I'm a model student! The best! If you'd just look at my re-education grades!"
"Silence!" The arbiter's voice bood, "You are severely infringing upon the inherent right of androids to decide the life and death of humans. Be silent."
At those words, the students' voices died as if by magic.
'This is unsettling.'
"If you have no intention of coming forward, then so be it."
'Click!'
The androids loaded their guns.
Even with death staring them in the face, no one could utter a word.
'Good,' I thought. 'This is for the best.'
I was already discreetly raising my mana. I didn't like this place anyway, and if this was how things were going to be, I'd just destroy the entire school and find this world's Tower Master.
"I will count to five one last ti," the android announced, its voice devoid of emotion.
"Five."
"Four."
The mont it said, "Three..."
"I-I don't want to die!" soone scread.
"You expect us to just get shot and die like this? This is insane!" Another student protested.
"I don't want to die either!" Then another.
" too!" And another.
A powerful will to survive ignited in the students' dazed eyes. No, it was more than an ignition—it was a wildfire. Everyone now showed clear hostility toward the androids they had once respected so deeply.
"Silence! You are severely infringing upon the authority of androids over human life and death," the android responded.
"What do you an, infringing?!" a student shrieked, overco with rage. "I just don't want to die! Can't I even say that?!"
"The ideology of all humans present is suspicious. Disposition protocol initiated."
'Bang!'
A bullet, fired not from the podium but from within the classroom, slamd into the arbiter's head. It collapsed in a shower of sparks.
"A human has fired upon an android."
"Ergency. Ergency."
"Capital offense."
The androids were losing control.
'Clack!'
I turned to see Bellica, who had leaped down from her desk and was now holding a sleek rifle.
"Yeah, that was , you bastards!"
'Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!'
The muzzle spat fire rcilessly. Androids flew backward as students scread and dove to the floor. I deployed a shield to protect them as they huddled on the ground.
"Traitor! Execute! Execute her!"
The androids began to return fire, but Bellica's movents were dazzling. She held a rifle in one hand and a pistol in the other. Vaulting off a desk, her skirt flaring, she leaped into the air and dropped an android with a clean, pinpoint shot to the head.
'Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!'
Dodging a volley of bullets with fluid grace, she landed on another android, using its body as a shield. She then dropped another android charging in from the hallway with a single, precise shot before twisting her body.
'CRACK!'
The head of the android caught between her legs snapped backward, showering sparks. She leaped off its body and transitioned into a fluid firing crouch. With every gunshot, androids dropped one by one.
I couldn't take my eyes off her. It was like watching a scene from a movie.
'Who the hell is she?'
No ordinary human possessed that kind of athletic ability. She had to be a player.
"Hey, Jance!" she yelled, suddenly grabbing my hand in a tight grip. "Follow !"
I was pulled along, running beside her. "W-Why ?"
"I bet you're the one who searched the forbidden word. Am I wrong?"
"Uh, sorry. That was ," I admitted quickly. She ground her teeth.
"We'll talk later! Let's just get out of here first!"
* * *
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