Chapter 137 – When We First Met (1)
[What are you thinking?]
Artemis asked.
I was dumbfounded with my chin clenched. Below the elbow is the electronic paper that was used to sign. These are payment items that were delayed while in the incubator.
“This and that old thoughts.”
[Isn’t this too frequent these days?]
Since I woke up recently, whenever I have time, I have been lost in thought, as if looking into the distance. It seems like he was concerned about the side effects of the procedure considering how I looked like that.
“It’s not what you’re worried about. Because the memories of the past become clearer, I just look back on them once in a while.”
While my bones hardened, my flesh bubbled, and my body reorganized, my mind sank to the other side of unconsciousness.
I had many dreams, and sometimes forgotten fragments of the past were projected like a projector.
When I just woke up after the procedure, I could barely remember anything, but as time passed, things started to come back to me one by one.
Every time that happens, I stop what I’m doing. Like when you accidentally take out an album while organizing your room, you are going through the past page by page.
[Get a detailed examination just in case.]
“It’s really okay.”
I scratched my head and turned my attention to the electronic paper.
“What are these numbers? It suddenly increased.”
[Oh, that is.]
He pointed to some numbers and graphs with an electronic pen. It was an attitude of openly changing the story, but she quietly followed my wishes.
“Shooted down? “It’s not damage, it’s shooting it down?”
In the external activity unit management ledger, there is a table for repairs and additional production, and one drone was listed in the shot down section.
[There is a drone that was shot by the military in Goheung.]
“Did our side attack first?”
[That can’t be possible. Rather than clearly targeting us, they seem to have mistaken it for a rival warlord’s drone, but the truth is unknown.]
Deering.
Once the drone production plan was signed, we moved on to the next agenda with a clear sound.
This is a matter regarding the organization of additional relief supplies. To what extent will consumables that are nearing their expiration date or replaced by new technology be placed in relief supplies?
“Even during times of war, children were born.”
Infant vaccination sets and concentrated powdered milk were additionally checked as relief goods.
This is because I saw quite a few women lining up at the distribution center with their children in their arms. Most of the fathers applied to external search teams.
“Baby products, including powdered milk, are given priority to the search team.”
[It is a fair distribution method since it is a material that can only be obtained through external searches.]
This is why there is a constant stream of applicants for risky jobs such as external search. If you have baby food to feed your own baby, it will be a great motivation.
I lightly pressed my temples with the electronic pen and frowned.
[How about resting a little more? These are not urgent matters and there is no need to return to work right away.]
Artemis seems to have misunderstood my gesture as being due to fatigue.
“I got enough rest in the incubator. If you keep playing, you’ll get sick. Besides…”
[Besides?]
“Today, memories of my time in the military keep coming back to me.”
The past of a soldier rolling around in the field of deployment is not a very pleasant one.
“I remember all the things I thought I had forgotten. Something like the memory of the first time I killed someone during combat. “If I focus on work, I don’t think about other things.”
[It would be better to be buried in documents.]
Deering!
An electronic paper alarm rang one after another and new payments arrived one after another.
“What is all this?”
[Payments that need to be made sometime but are not urgent. But it seems good to do everything now.]
Artemis’ voice contained a bit of sarcasm.
“…”
The newly arrived items were not urgent, as she said.
“Deciding the color of new activewear? Deciding whether to make your resident’s bed linen or burlap? “What are these?”
It’s not urgent, but if you worry about it, it’s something that makes you think endlessly.
Just as Soha gathered all the elderly and sent them to Yu Bang, who was losing to Xiang Yu in a row, Artemis even collected small issues to keep me away from my thoughts.
“There’s no need to take it too seriously. Because there is no such thing as trauma. Her first kill was also via a drone.”
I put down the electronic pen.
I can’t shake off the memories that creep up on me when I worry about things like what color to paint my activewear.
“A gray world beneath infrared vision. The same gray, wriggling lumps. Avoid civilians and goats, aim, and fire! A few seconds later, bang!”
After that, she continued to fire, eliminating two squads in less than a minute, so she had a grand ceremony.
[At least you didn’t see that horrible face.]
“Well, how about it? In actual combat, when infantry is bombed, the corpses are less visible than you might think. Because it flies far away and piles of dirt are thrown around. The acting is bad too. But drone thermal bombing is different.”
Just because it’s a drone doesn’t mean it can’t be seen.
“First, a very bright white pit appears at the center of the explosion. Because it shows heat in white. The gray lump of human being that was moving just now flies about 10 meters and is smashed, and the fragments are also dark white. Blood is warm, right? Every time I press the switch, white paint is painted on the previously gray ground. A white color that is distinct from the white of the center of the explosion. In thermal imaging, not even dust or darkness can obscure it. “I can see very clearly how the person I shot is scattered into pieces.”
Artemis listened quietly.
“Thanks to you, it remains vivid in my memory. In the end, I think the drone bombing experience helped me adapt quickly to actual combat.”
[How did you help?]
Artemis didn’t seem to like this topic, but he didn’t seem to want to end the story about my past that he didn’t even know about.
“More soldiers than you might think are hesitant to shoot people in combat. Even if it’s the enemy. However, as time goes by, and you are exposed to evil, things change. In my case, annihilating two squads with drones from the start accelerated my adaptation.”
[I hope you don’t use expressions like annihilation. You did your duty, right? There is no need to use harsh words when there are better expressions.]
Artemis said.
“Anyway, over 20 people…”
I thought for a moment.
“After neutralizing it, I didn’t feel uncomfortable shooting enemy soldiers with my gun in the field.”
Hey Seo Jin-su, are you hesitating to shoot one person after already killing 20 people? It was roughly like that.
Look at the enemy soldier’s face, aim with your shoulder strap, pull the trigger, and feel the gunfire and recoil. The opponent falls down with blood spraying after a split second.
Surprisingly, I didn’t feel anything special.
Would you say it felt like I was drunk and had my first kiss and first experience as a blur?
It’s something that should be very exciting and memorable, but it passes by in a flash, and then you cool down and just do it.
Well, I might not be normal in the sense that I would think like this about killing people, even if it was just a mission.
“Anyway, I originally had an aptitude for being a soldier, so I adapted quickly. I guess this is why they say starting is important.”
[I probably didn’t mean it that way.]
Artemis said with a sigh.
I was very curious about what kind of expression she would have said when she said those words if she were in the flesh in front of me.
“Oh, there’s nothing too bad about it. There is also a good thing about old memories coming back vividly.”
[For example?]
Artemis asked.
“Is this our first meeting?”
[…
“Wow, I couldn’t have imagined at the time that you, the cold-hearted person you were back then, would now have this kind of personality.”
When I first met her, Artemis was truly a haughty ice beauty.
[Am I still cool enough?]
“I was cold-hearted, but it felt different.”
I touched her chin and remembered her.
“Would you say it’s a moist coolness now?”
[What is that?]
This is thanks to her exploring the bottom of the unconscious in an incubator. When she first met, Artemis’s tone, behavior, and personality were as vivid as if she had just experienced it.
* * *
Before the infection war broke out, I had a hobby of assembling model ships.
Starting with the first fishing boat we built, we progressed quickly to submarines, destroyers, and battleships.
But what really fascinated me were the ships of the past.
A sailing ship moving forward with its huge sails spread. I was fascinated by its majestic yet beautiful appearance.
She
Since ancient times, sailors have referred to ships with feminine nouns, and there are many theories as to the cause.
Some people cited the body full of elegant curves as the reason, while others said it was because of the various decorations and decorations.
An American soldier friend I made while deployed joked that it was because, by ancient standards, it was the vehicle with the highest maintenance costs.
It may be different for each person, but I think it’s because of the sail.
The sailboat with its sails spread out reminds us of a woman with her arms wide open towards her husband and her children.
The figure embracing the wind blowing from the sea seemed to symbolize kindness.
I made numerous types of sailing ships, including galleons, carracks, cogs, and brigantines, and displayed them in my room.
But my hobby has come to an end.
The true woman from NASA across the sea (
She) Arrived at the shelter. The moment I faced her, the model ships that filled her room seemed insignificant.
[I am Artemis.]
She said.
[Mr. Seo, are you in charge here?]
“That’s right.”
This is our first conversation.
She was mechanical, cold, and downcast.
An arrogance that she could barely hold on to thanks to her pride. Only that, even if faintly, contained warmth in the voice.
[Is this my new place to stay?]
I nodded quickly.
“We sincerely welcome you. A closed circulation system that is completely self-sufficient for a high-output nuclear fusion power plant! It is the largest and best air defense city in Korea.”
I opened my arms and smiled brightly. Because first impressions are important in these things. She responded right away.
[This is a tomb. A stagnant world buried underground and everything locked down. Even when I look at the sky, I can’t see the moon.]
Artemis’ voice was full of regret.
[If you look through that concrete roof, there are millions of tons of dirt and rocks beyond. Yes, I am buried. No, would landfill be a more accurate expression? Are you the one who will be buried with me? It’s not a bad treat to receive a doctoral degree.]
The sound of applause was played.
It is not an applause like praise given to a symphony orchestra that has finished a performance. It was a mocking applause with a cynical beat.
“…”
I froze, spreading my arms and smiling. I have no idea how to react.
[Great. Whether it’s an air defense city or a tomb, this is my territory now. Mr. Sir, did you say you welcome me? Wrong. Now I welcome you. I am Artemis. You may add the title ‘Si-yeo’ after my name.]
Her voice was still depressed, but her pride was intact.
At the time, I had no idea whether that was fortunate or unfortunate.
Thus began the awkward cohabitation of a human man and a machine woman.
