Chapter 263 – Paradise of the Chosen
The slave dealers who captured me, the Korean thugs they contacted, and the Rio circuit of the South American criminal organization that was planning to purchase them.
These three forces were completely destroyed.
Most of the gang members were arrested, and a few escaped, but there is a bounty on them, so they will be caught soon.
I signed the death sentence for the leaders, including the leader, assistant leader, and action leader.
Even if a crime committed in Polis was serious enough, it would only result in banishment, but Artemis had no intention of going beyond that.
“This is the first time I’ve sentenced someone who was already incapacitated to death.”
A decision to punish humans instead of discarding operating robots! I immediately realized that it was very different from when I only operated a shelter in the past.
“Does it bother you?”
“At all. “I’m not the type of person to do that.”
During my time as a soldier, I already had blood on my hands several times. Because of my position, I have authority to maintain, and I am aware that a broken world needs cold rules.
The remaining miscellaneous workers were sold to the coal mines. Now that the supply of oil from overseas has been cut off, coal is an important survival material for survivors outside.
According to Artemis, even the charcoal trucks used only in North Korea are being remodeled and put into operation.
“It’s a luxury for them to rot in a coal mine. Only the punishment of death is warranted. Jinsu is too soft.”
She wanted to kill every single member of her organization, even to the lowest level. She is truly a tough girl, faithful to the original myth.
“Being sold to a coal mine is no different from a death sentence. It is a slow and painful death, but it is a death that is helpful to others.”
“Hmph.”
According to rules, death row inmates can leave a will before they are executed by firing squad.
Their last words were written on the electronic paper I held in my hand. Since they are the ones I gave death to, I plan to confirm the end as well.
Most of them were begging for their lives. Everyone’s vocabulary was greatly reduced, perhaps because extreme fear had invaded their brains.
-Please save me just once!
-I will never live like this again! Please have mercy! I will live a perfect life!
-Please save me! Please save me! I don’t want to die!
-Please let me meet Him just once! I wish you this!
While looking through the short wills, I stopped at the part about ‘him’. Looking at the mugshot next to him, he was a man who was the boss of a slave trader.
“Him?”
“Jinsu, I’m talking about you.”
“Oh, I see.”
Among them, there were those who faced death with courage.
-If you’re going to kill me, kill me quickly! You fucking tin robots!
-Do you think I didn’t know that I was going to end up like this after earning a living and making a living?
The firing squad was carried out quickly. There are no priests to join, and the shooter is a robot that does not suffer any heartache.
After lining up the death row inmates, an equal number of robots aim at their foreheads.
Tang!!!
The bullets fired simultaneously without error resulted in a painless death.
* * *
Meanwhile, after I went missing, Artemis underwent a restructuring. This is because more power and supplies were needed to search for me across the world.
There is no time to take care of the incompetent in a time when all capabilities must be maximized.
The residents, which numbered over 2,000, were divided into grades based on factors such as age, physical capacity, skills, compliance, diligence, and leadership.
As a result, only about 400 people were ultimately left in the shelter. The rest were released.
It is said that Artemis laid the foundation for living in Polis, but of course the women who were kicked out were the fathers.
Only those who did not take life in the shelter for granted were able to maintain their position by honing their skills.
Part of the lower area was demolished and in its place was built a robotics facility for more troops and supplies.
“Currently, each one of the remaining residents is a skilled technician. Not only do they work hard, but they also constantly pursue learning in their field.”
Rose said.
“Of course. “Because you don’t want to get kicked out.”
“Yes.”
I am taking a tour of the lower part with her guidance.
In the past, only essential places for a healthy life, such as residential apartments, parks, artificial lakes, and hospitals, were open.
However, now that the commercial district has been released from use, it has become possible to enjoy cultural life comparable to that of the prime areas outside.
Compared to Prime, where residential and commercial complexes are concentrated in a small area, the quality of life will be higher in the lower part of the shelter.
Even though it had everything, Prime felt like Snowpiercer by my standards.
The lower part of the shelter has a much larger site, a variety of facilities, and a wide range of natural scenery, including parks and lakes.
“Hello?”
The women I occasionally encountered greeted me politely and each time I waved briefly.
It was a strange feeling to be greeted while looking down from a higher perspective than usual. Rose and I were riding around the city on horseback.
“It may be your first time horseback riding, but you’re good at it.”
“It’s not that I’m skilled, it’s that this guy is smart. “Because it is a horse improved by Artemis.”
As I said before, I am a field commander type. I prefer rolling on site.
After returning, rather than seeing the changes in the shelter through a screen, I wanted to see it with my own eyes.
Rose, who volunteered to be her guide, brought two horses.
“These are the two best kids in our guard unit.”
The guys who looked like lumps of blood when they left for Tanis have fully grown and show off their dependable appearance.
A normal horse would turn its head here and there and stamp its feet, but it stands motionless like a soldier in an immobile posture.
“Artemis inserted commands for obedience and training into each gene. For animals, instinct is indulgence, but for these children, instinct is ritual.”
Rose stroked the neck of the white horse she was riding.
The saying that instinct is ritual was not just a metaphor. These words were really awesome.
“Forward.”
All right. All right.
“Stop.”
Drop.
There is no need to kick the body with a person’s foot or pull the reins to tell it to stop. It just understood simple training commands like a dog.
It is even equipped with toilet training, which is impossible for horses, so it does not poop on the street.
Since he understood my simple gestures clearly, I had no difficulty speaking for the first time.
“I had no interest in bikes at all, but this is a lot of fun.”
Interacting with living animals, the feeling of wind hitting your upper body, the sense of speed, and the sense of looking down from above. I liked everything about it.
“I thought you would be satisfied as expected. “Horseback riding has been a leader’s virtue since ancient times.”
“What is that?”
“The manager really looks good riding a horse.”
I laughed at Rose’s excessive praise.
We ran along the artificial lake and park. Every time my hoof struck the ground, I became a being that belonged neither to the earth nor to the sky.
A pleasant shock comes to you every moment. I can feel the breath rushing from the horse’s side and belly as it hugs its legs. My improved senses even allowed me to taste the feeling of his heart pounding.
The crashing wind waves in all directions, left, right, up and down, caressing my face.
As I looked from the horse, distant places became closer, and a new world came rushing in under my feet.
Horseback riding was an adventure that transformed the familiar world into a new world.
“Whoo!”
After running to a satisfactory level, the horse stopped.
“I think you’re overexerting yourself for your first horseback riding. “Please rest here.”
Rose, who followed, said worriedly.
“I’m going to do that. Because this was the destination in the first place.”
There was a general hospital in front of me that boasted an even grander appearance than in the past.
* * *
Artemis needed a lot to find me who was missing.
There was a need to make the shelter unattainable to everyone. Only then can we take some initiative in information trading. The asymmetrical weapon she chose was medicine.
“Except for the one operated by the Jeju Island government, it is the only secondary hospital on the Korean Peninsula.”
Rose said.
There are hospitals in Prime as well as Police, but their scale and capabilities are at the level of primary hospitals.
Medical treatment at the level of a university hospital was only available on Jeju Island and in the lower part of the shelter.
“When you suffer from a fatal illness, you have no choice but to ask for Artemis’ mercy.”
Two people were just coming out of the general hospital entrance. Judging by the visitor’s pass around his neck, he is an outsider.
A middle-aged man wearing leopard print and gold rings on his hands, and a beautiful woman who looks 20 years younger than him.
“They may be Prime residents, important figures from outside warlords, or people who have donated something of value. “Nobody is allowed to use it.”
“Now it’s going to be more difficult to get in. Because I came back.”
“That’s right. “We have nothing to regret now.”
I drove the horse toward the entrance of the hospital, and Rose followed behind her at a short distance.
A woman who was blinded by a middle-aged man belatedly discovered the words in front of her.
“Wow!”
She tripped and fell. She looks up at me with her resentful eyes, as if I had kicked her butt.
A woman in work clothes who was working nearby, as well as other visitors who were just entering the hospital, were looking at us.
“Is riding a horse prohibited here?”
I turned her head and asked Rose.
“Basically, yes.”
“You shouldn’t have told me in advance.”
“Because the manager can do whatever he wants. What’s the point of rules for residents or visitors? “They should avoid it on their own.”
Rose said as if she didn’t deserve it.
I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at the two men and women.
“I’m sorry if I surprised you. I didn’t know. When I returned home after a long time, there were 5,700 pages of changes. “I haven’t read it all yet.”
I shook her hand without getting off her horse.
Have I conveyed my feelings correctly? The middle-aged man, who seemed hot-tempered, actually greeted me politely.
“Oh, no! We were really sorry for blocking the road! Take a look!”
I immediately moved to her side, lowered her head 90 degrees, and quickly disappeared in front of me.
I was a bit dumbfounded, and Rose looked at it as if it were natural.
“Are you going to go into the hospital? I will accept it.”
Rose got off her horse and stretched out her arms towards me. It was as if she was asking me to come into her arms.
“… I’m not that weak.”
“Is that so?”
As I hopped out into the hall, Rose turned to her somber face.
There was no need to tie her words together. Even though there was no special order, she quietly went to the corner and lined up.
“Doesn’t breed improvement usually refer to hardware? They even changed the software.”
I can only admire Artemis’ abilities.
As I entered the hospital, a lobby appeared. As we go further inside, there are some cute people with visitor passes waiting for treatment in the waiting room.
Although it is large, it feels secluded because only a few people can use it.
However, thanks to the disciplined nurses, medical droids, excellent facilities, and clean and nice interior, it does not feel like a poor hospital at all.
Rather, it had the atmosphere of a medical space only for the chosen. In fact, visitors waiting for treatment were chatting with each other and building friendships.
They are probably all influential people outside the world.
And then, a little distance away from them, I found a familiar face.
“Ah!”
“Administrator?!”
It was Nina wearing her slippers and a bandage on her ankle, and Seyoung who seemed to have come to assist her.
“Nice to meet you both. How have you been?”
“Ahh!”
Nina responded to her three-year greeting with a painful scream. Because as soon as she saw me, she got up and ran.
“Hey, don’t run!”
“Kyaul!”
As always, Nina was My Way. Every time her bandaged feet hit the ground, her face crumples, and she lets out a cry of pain.
Still, she came to me and took me into her arms.
“I missed you!”
“Oh my, this cutie.”
She couldn’t help but smile bitterly at her innocent and lovely appearance.
She stroked Nina’s brown hair and greeted Seyoung who approached her with a happy face.
