Chapter 124 – Interest
[Our Empire of Japan also has Yamato, the world’s strongest, following Mutsu and Nagato!]
On the monitor, a general wearing the military uniform of the former Japanese Empire spoke passionately. While everyone is sitting with sad expressions, he is the only one standing up with fighting spirit.
[When would you use the Geohamgeopo but now?! Isn’t it time to mobilize battleships and launch a final all-out attack?!]
It was a scene calling for a final all-out attack amid deepening defeat against the United States during the Pacific War in World War II.
[But…]
[But something!]
The general sitting opposite opened his mouth with a sad face.
[Abura is me (there is no oil).]
[…!!!]
The general who had been speaking passionately just now closed his mouth. He slowly sits down with a stiff face. What can I do if there is no oil?
Haha!”
I couldn’t stop laughing at the explosion scene.
[Stay still.]
Artemis said to me who was laughing and laughing while lying face down.
This is the upper region intensive care unit. I was watching a movie while receiving physical therapy.
The muscles of my entire body were damaged as a result of the excessive acceleration I used during the Zinoplan expedition.
[It’s a miracle that there is no damage to ligaments or joints.]
“If that place had been damaged while I was running away, I would have died there… Ugh!”
[…
As if to stop me from saying unnecessary things, the mechanical arm that was massaging me bent the painful area.
“Ahhh.”
After completing her punishment, she carefully cared for the affected area as if giving her a bottle or medicine.
The dazzlingly moving medical mechanical fingers kneaded and relaxed the muscles. The scent of various restorative oils wafted.
The reason I watched this movie was because of the seaweed that the shelter recently started cultivating.
As I was signing the cultivation license for the payment posted by Artemis, this movie suddenly came to mind.
The seaweed was named fire weed as a product of extreme genetic improvement.
It has complex roots that can absorb plenty of nutrients and water in hydroponic cultivation, and on top of it are many stems that look like seaweed. The color is close to black.
You should not eat it just because it resembles seaweed. You will be taken to the hospital immediately and given a huge amount of oil.
This seaweed is a genetically improved variety for biofuel production.
The stems remaining after extracting the oil are processed into cellulose and used to make gunpowder.
Fire and explosion.
Although it cannot fill a human’s stomach, it is more important than anything else in protecting human belly fat from monsters.
The amount of oil stored in the shelter’s oil depot is not small, but it is a reserve assumed to be used to drive cars and produce a few chemical products within the city.
As oil-eating monster helicopters began to be launched and explosives such as flamethrowers and napalm began to be used, the consumption rapidly soared.
In particular, it was during the exploration of the southern coast that Artemis began biofuel production in earnest.
This is because the results showed that in order to burn Noise Tree to a level where communication with survivors in the South Sea was possible, only 15% of the shelter’s oil reserves would have to be used up.
[The oil reserves will only be used to operate helicopters.]
Artemis tends to be obsessed with self-sufficiency, even though there is a lot of oil collected by robots that go on external expeditions.
For her, this shelter is a home that must be perfect. The power that can be maintained only by relying on the outside is considered an illusion that can disappear like a mirage at any time.
That’s something I also sympathize with. I have seen firsthand how miserable an army that has been cut off from supplies can become.
Is it often said that corn is God’s crop? I don’t know who that god is, but I think he was a pacifist.
On the other hand, Artemis is a warlike type both in myth and reality. In the first place, infectious agents are not people with whom to discuss peace.
Corn and fireweed. It is a crop that gives the same strength, but while the former god gave food, Artemis gave firepower.
The sight of a large army of infected beings being wiped out with napalm carpet bombing is a sight to behold. The sight of monsters being swallowed and purified by flames is truly exhilarating and cathartic.
It was a scene where the power of Artemis was embodied.
“Ugh!”
Thoughts were cut off by pain.
[It will hurt a bit from now on. I’m going to take care of the severely damaged areas.]
When you force your body to move in an acceleration situation, there are a few areas where the load is particularly heavy.
When stimulation was applied there, pain surged like a tidal wave. Even though I was lying down, I found myself out of breath.
[I don’t know if these words will help, but the pain you are feeling right now. It will be the last sensation of its kind in your life.]
“What does it mean?”
The monitor that displayed my physical condition displayed information about artificial muscle transplant procedures.
[Pain from muscle pain, stiff shoulders, phlegm, and all other types of muscle injuries. It’s a story of eternal separation from the moment new flesh fills your body.]
It seems that the 5th generation artificial muscles are not only good for exercise performance.
[A final taste? Wouldn’t it be possible to have fun?]
“I understand your intention, but there is no such thing as pain that can be enjoyed. “Pain is always unpleasant.”
She let out her strangely resonant hum.
[So? I am very interested in the sensations you are feeling right now.]
“For pain?”
[To all kinds of physical sensations.]
“Does that interest include pain?”
[That’s right.]
It was difficult for me to understand.
“The taste of eating delicious food, the refreshing feeling of a breeze, the coolness of soaking your feet in cool water, the warmth of sharing a hug. There are many good feelings like that. Why?”
[Don’t misunderstand. I am not a masochist who enjoys pain. I am really interested in pleasurable sensations.]
For some reason, the way she spoke made me feel like I was being smothered by her.
[I just want to feel everything. Because pain cannot be left out as an element that defines human life.]
Afterward, a quiet massage session continued.
Beep. Beep.
The sound of a machine measuring my life signs in a pure white space.
[We’ll stay here while it pours.
I’ll leave after that.
We’ll be here for clear skies.
After that we will fly away.]
Only the song she played for me resonated.
* * *
It would have been a great atmosphere if it had ended like this, but the injury was too severe for that to happen.
After physical therapy.
“Are you kidding me?”
I asked because I was dumbfounded.
Since Artemis said it was a ‘full course treatment for muscle recovery,’ I thought it wouldn’t end with just a massage. But this has gone too far.
A huge syringe displayed its majesty in front of me. This is the first time in my life that I have seen a syringe this big.
“You’re going to put something like this on a person?”
The needle reminded me of an ultra-small drill bit, and the cylinder containing the liquid was.
“What kind of syringe is as big as my dick! If you load the gun and shoot, you can kill even a walker.”
[Oh my, it’s so vulgar.]
Damn!
A drop of light green liquid came out through the syringe needle. That sight is truly terrifying.
[It doesn’t hurt that much.]
“Put it in your ass first and then say something like that!”
The sound of Artemis’s laughter echoed throughout the treatment room.
[If you feel like it, I want to show you a demonstration for our sake. But unfortunately I don’t have an ass.]
On the monitor, she covered her mouth and smiled gracefully as she stood up. She then adjusted her black miniskirt.
There is no need for her to do such a thing since it is just a composite image of her. This is a performance purely to make fun of me.
But I wasn’t angry at all. Her butt filled the big screen. A skirt that reveals the outline as if it’s going to burst, and black stockings that tighten the thighs underneath.
That appearance completely blew away my anger.
[Hmph.]
After her bout of laughter, she quieted her laughter and took on a serious mood.
It was quite an enjoyable entertainment, but I don’t think I wanted to delay the treatment protocol any further.
[I was always sincere about your health. We always talked seriously about even a small procedure or a small abnormality. All treatment results were explained in detail.]
I nodded.
Even though I didn’t understand and asked the same thing several times due to my lack of medical knowledge, she never got angry. She made me understand by changing the way she explained things.
[Have you ever seen me play pranks in the treatment room?]
None.
Take a picture.
As I nod, the syringe needle once again shoots light green drops into the air.
[Slap your butt.]
Damn it.
[And Jinsu. I have a fact to correct. It’s important.]
“What is it?”
[Your penis is bigger than this.]
“What…”
Snap!
My words were cut off by a mechanical hand tapping my butt like a nurse.
Immediately after, the pain of the needle digging into the skin without mercy. But what was more terrifying than the pain was the sensation of the syringe fluid penetrating into my body.
Perhaps because there was so much, the cold liquid poured into my body endlessly.
* * *
[Take it all off.]
In the next stage of treatment, she was instructed to take off her clothes.
Several medical cameras are pointed at my naked body.
[Try this action.]
On the monitor, she displayed poses similar to those of a body builder.
“Ugh…”
When she imitated the movement, her abdominal muscles felt like they were burning.
[I’m doing well. You’re doing great. Let’s go a little deeper.]
I gritted my teeth and carried out her instructions.
[Great job. Now, next move.]
As she stood, she folded her back and stretched out both hands to grab her ankles.
As expected, I was experiencing tremendous pain all over my body. In particular, the muscles on the hamstring side were in excruciating pain.
[Huh. This too is over. You endured it well, Jinsu.]
Numerous medical cameras observed my twitching muscles from various angles.
[Well done!]
This was what I heard after finishing squats.
After each movement, she gave me various compliments, and it felt strange to hear her.
After taking off everything, he poses in various poses and each time, he praises him, telling him that he is amazing, that he did a great job, as if soothing a child. It felt like I was filming an unhealthy video pictorial.
“…”
Sometimes there were embarrassing attitudes.
Like lying down and lifting her legs alternately to stretch her quadriceps and calves.
At this time, I was grateful for the pain in my muscles. Because it diluted the shame.
[It’s absolutely stable for the time being.]
After completing all the steps and leaving the treatment room, Artemis gave me one last warning.
I showed myself half-corpse walking away. The back is bent, and the limbs are limp.
“Even if I don’t want to be stable, I can force stability with this body, right?”
[Very good. A good balance of having the stamina to joke around but not having the stamina to actually move. It’s just right for recovery.]
The entrance to the intensive care unit closed with the voice of Artemis smiling brightly.
