Chapter 51
After the battle ca to an end.
I slowly scanned the battlefield and asked,
“Who’s the leader here?”
Of course, no one was going to obediently answer that. I imdiately deployed the [Lv.3 Trauma Biotric Scanner] module through my ocular implant and scanned the faces of the fallen androids.
Target: Android
Serial Number: FT-12592
Manufacturer: Roman Corporation
Notes: Reported missing.
Target: Android
Serial Number: FT-58212
Manufacturer: Roman Corporation
Notes: Suspected of killing owner. Wanted by the police.
‘All androids. Hard to pinpoint which one was the leader.’
From external factors alone, it seed impossible to determine who the ringleader was. However, after linking the scanner to the network to pull up information, so interesting details began to surface.
‘Reported missing and wanted for murdering their owner, huh.’
Which ant—malfunctioning units.
In other words, all of them were androids that had awakened a ‘sense of self.’
Ciel had been a Transmigrator before becoming an android, so excluding her, this was the first ti I’d encountered ‘real’ androids with genuine self-awareness.
The exact circumstances of the incident were becoming more obscure, but my personal curiosity was piqued. Still, this wasn’t exactly the ti to leisurely enjoy the wonders of a futuristic world.
“Maria.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Handle this matter quietly.”
“Understood.”
Regardless of the truth behind the incident, the fact remained that androids had attacked the place where VVIPs were staying and had even attempted a kidnapping.
In an age where android rights were already worth less than a stray dog’s, if word of this got out, the situation would spiral beyond any hope of containnt.
Not that I cared about android rights in the slightest.
But events involving androids weren’t supposed to happen now—they needed to occur later. I didn’t want the flow to be disrupted.
‘Besides, I’ve been stirring up too much trouble lately.’
It wasn’t long ago that I staged an attack using back-alley rcenaries and thwarted the Titan raid incident.
If this incident were added on top of an already heightened dia spotlight, the tabloid press would be practically salivating.
Well, in any case—
For now, quietly cleaning this up was the priority.
Then I should think about it.
‘Act 2, Part 1: Junk Chip Incident. Act 3, Part 1: Android Uprising. And behind both, the cult Ashita-kyo…’
Androids and Junk Chips.
Most likely, Ashita-kyo was also behind this incident. There was even a high chance that a Transmigrator was directly involved.
‘But I don’t know their motive.’
In Act 3, Part 1, Ashita-kyo had instigated an android rebellion inside the Academy to spread their Purist, anti-machinery ideology—
The absurd belief that excessive technological and scientific advancent would only lead humanity to ruin.
But this ti, the incident seed to have nothing to do with that goal.
‘Selling Junk Chips and disguising androids as corporate security to kidnap VIPs? What could they possibly gain from that?’
For money?
No—if that were the case, there was no need to show up so boldly on site. Targeting corporate VIPs would only damage their position.
To spread ideology and grow their ranks?
No—if so, they would have been more thorough about hiding their identities. Yet even a rookie dealer like Ciel, who had only just opened business with them, had imdiately heard the na “Ashita-kyo,” even if only as a rumor.
A cult that manufactured illegal drugs? Who in their right mind would willingly join that?
‘And if a Transmigrator really was involved, why didn’t they show up at all in Act 1, Part 1?’
Shouldn’t they have taken so risks to approach Iri or the other main characters to rack up points?
But Act 1, Part 1 ended with hogging almost all the contribution points.
Why was that?
“……”
I ca up with several hypotheses, but none of them were decisive enough to shout, “This is it!”
In the end, I needed more information.
“Maria. Have you found out where they got that Junk Chip from?”
“I’m sorry. I was in the middle of persuading them when the attack happened…”
Maria briefly summarized what had happened before I arrived.
Apparently, the youngest mber of the delinquent group, a boy nad Edward, had acquired the Junk Chip.
His sudden abnormal behavior.
And then, the androids suddenly barging in, posing as a security team.
“Hm. Edward, you said?”
“Yes.”
Currently, he was receiving first aid from the guards stationed at the main gate.
His injuries looked severe, but with this world’s technology, it wasn’t life-threatening. By tomorrow, he’d probably show up with a brand-new face, just like a certain “cyborg policeman.”
“We should take him to the hospital first.”
“Yes. I’ll contact his guardian.”
“And check with New Life Corporation to see if they’ve had any equipnt stolen recently. If not, track down where they got their hands on sothing like that.”
“Understood. I’ll assign a Wizard.”
Depending on the model, androids were generally resistant to torture or threats—unlike humans. Rather than wasting effort, it was far more efficient to have a Wizard crack open their mory.
“And the next thing…”
Finding other clues.
I used the scanner to re-examine the now-calm scene, thinking there might be sothing I’d overlooked.
And sure enough—
I found sothing that could serve as a clue.
“What… what’s this?”
Edward, was it?
The guards who had been tending to him muttered, having found sothing embedded in the socket near his head.
“……”
“Let take a look.”
At my signal, Maria approached Edward again to inspect the socket. I moved to stand beside her, and the guards stepped aside as if nervous.
“As I thought, I wasn’t seeing things.”
“That Junk Chip?”
“It seems so.”
Maria picked up the Junk Chip from earlier and compared its shape to the object lodged in the back of Edward’s neck.
Then she spoke.
“No… this is a slightly different type.”
“I want to check it properly.”
“Understood.”
Maria connected a cable to another socket on Edward and began manipulating sothing. Soon, with a click! the chip that couldn’t be removed manually popped out of the slot.
Placing the two Junk Chips side by side, there was indeed a subtle difference, just as Maria had said.
If the first Junk Chip I’d picked up earlier had a red triangle with ‘two’ dots, this one had only ‘one’ dot.
Probably the sa series of Junk Chips.
The number of dots might mark Part 1 and Part 2.
Of course, I’d have to check the contents to be sure, but I didn’t exactly want to stick a suspicious chip like that into my head.
“For now, recover both and analyze—”
It happened then.
As I was giving Maria instructions and receiving both Junk Chips—
“I know you, Aaron Stingray.”
A voice that pierced my ears.
It wasn’t just who heard it.
The sudden voice froze everyone in place, and they looked around to see where it ca from.
“Where is that voice coming from…?”
And soon, we found the culprit.
Shockingly, the voice ca from none other than Edward himself. The boy who, until monts ago, had been unconscious and bleeding, now spoke in a gravelly voice that was impossible to believe ca from him.
“Young Master!”
“W-what the hell is going on?”
“Hey! What’s wrong with you?!”
Everyone reacted with their own brand of shock.
But Edward ignored them all and stared only at . Blood stread down his forehead, yet he looked unfazed, his eyes fixed on mine as he spoke.
“Do not interfere with any further. This is a warning.”
“A warning?”
At the sa ti as my question—
BOOM-! BOOM-! BOOM-!
All the androids that had been lying collapsed around the living room suddenly exploded. Their heads had been blown off.
“Y-Young Master Aaron… what on earth…?”
“Calm down.”
Maria, unusually for her, was flustered, but I forced myself to remain composed. Obviously, this incident had nothing to do with the main story.
In other words—it was the work of another Transmigrator.
‘Controlling the body?’
Controlling it?
An image flashed through my mind. The ability of the original protagonist, Shade Wells.
“…Who are you?”
“I told you—you don’t need to know.”
Just then—
My ocular scanner caught a glint in the distance. My body reacted instinctively.
I raised my arm to shield my forehead just as sothing shattered the window and ca flying toward .
Thud!
A heavy impact reverberated through my arm.
A mont later, the sound of gunfire followed from afar, and the bullet—unable to pierce my subdermal armor—fell to the floor with a tallic clink.
“A sniper?!”
“Everyone, take cover!”
The guards hurriedly evacuated the boys. Maria also urged to take cover, but I wasn’t about to listen.
I spoke coldly to Edward—or rather, the mysterious entity occupying his body.
“You think you can get away with this?”
“Hahaha. This is your defeat…”
The intruder replied with a sinister laugh.
Then, as if the connection had been severed, Edward collapsed unconscious again.
‘Defeat…? Wait!’
It was only then that I realized sothing from his strange parting words.
The two Junk Chips in my hand were beginning to smoke. The sll of burning plastic stung my nose.
‘An electric round?’
It hadn’t done much to my body, but the strong current had traveled through my arm like a wire and burned out the chips.
‘Tsk. So the chips were the target from the start.’
Now it all made sense.
The kidnapping attempt hadn’t been for a person—it had been for the Junk Chips. There must have been sothing inside them that couldn’t be allowed to fall into other hands.
‘This is… a problem.’
It was possible—no, highly probable—that the culprit had gotten their hands on ‘the protagonist’s ability.’
“Maria. This is an ergency.”
Of course, it could just be my imagination running wild.
But bad hunches like this rarely turned out wrong.
I issued my orders imdiately.
“Step up the current crackdown on Junk Chips in the Academy. Inform the other sponsor companies and work with them to make sure nothing like this gets distributed.”
“Of course, Young Master.”
“If any students are caught in the crackdown, gather every single one of them for separate managent. And…”
In my mind, the story of the original work was rearranging itself like puzzle pieces in real ti. Characters, foreshadowing, and events intertwined like a living organism to form a new hypothesis.
“Find and capture the guy called Silence. Real na Park Tae-jun, third year in the Tactical Combat Departnt. If there’s no charge, make one up and arrest him.”
“Understood.”
Originally, I’d planned to take my ti and bring him over to my side, but there was no ti for that now. For the mont, I just needed him in custody.
If the situation hadn’t spiraled like this, I wouldn’t have resorted to such heavy-handed tactics. A bit of regret lingered, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Contact as soon as you catch Silence. Make sure, by any ans necessary, that he doesn’t leave the Academy. And assign separate surveillance to the two mbers of the Special Class as well…”
“…Young Master.”
A flicker of unease crossed Maria’s eyes as she listened to .
By then, I was already certain—sothing unusual was happening inside the Academy.
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