Chapter 176 – Opening
Artemis has always controlled Shelter from an omniscient perspective. It’s like playing a management simulation game.
Although this method could perfectly understand and capture the city, it was impossible to experience it in a microscopic way.
Even if you use the sensing equipment, drones, and robots that are spread out all over the place, all you can get is a bunch of numbers listed.
‘Isn’t our city really cool? It’s all ours!’
Artemis has strong pride in her city.
After gaining a body, it is natural to want to move around your city. Of course, escorting is my job.
“Let’s go!”
She took my hand and led me outside the central control room.
* * *
Artemis’s outdoor clothes give the impression of being very breathable.
Finished with a white crop top, skirt, and Greek sandals. There is not a single common accessory or hairpin.
However, such simplicity highlighted the freshness of the young appearance.
In addition, the vertically deep navel, which was not typical of a girl, added a point, like a piece of jewelry.
“It looks easy to work with.”
“I’m still uncomfortable with the feeling of it sticking to my skin.”
Artemis raised her sandal-clad feet.
Did she design it herself? Both the sides and top of her dress were open, making it breathable, and it was also decorated with a crescent moon shape.
“I especially can’t stand the tight, airtight feel of socks or sneakers.”
I held the front of the crop top between my index finger and thumb and rubbed it. Soft yet durable texture.
“Is it linen?”
“That’s right. Last night, Chrollo brought it as a gift. “I measured my body size carefully, so I’m sure I’ll be making a lot of things soon, right?”
She crossed her arms and puffed out her chest in a haughty pose. As if it was the proper attitude to have as a subordinate.
Well, nothing is emphasized. Her breasts can be likened to beans that have just cracked and sprouted about 2 mm.
If you think about her adult appearance, she may swell rapidly at some point, but not yet.
“You must have said thank you properly, right?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Feedback on results is the basis of all processes.”
“You did a great job.”
“…”
I stroked her head.
It’s soft. It gently wraps around her fingers without a single tangle, as if it had been trimmed 10,000 times with her comb.
“Are you treating me like a child now?”
“Oh, sorry for not thinking.”
When she removed her hand, a girl with a pouty face appeared.
When she looks back at all the skinship she’s had since getting her own body, this may seem like nothing, but is this being received differently?
“Well, that’s okay. Let’s go quickly. “There are a lot of places I want to visit.”
As she whirled around, her skirt flapped! And it went up to her thighs.
“I’ll bring tea.”
“Why a car?”
“So you want to walk around? It would be too wide for that.”
No matter how physically strong the children are, the shelter is not an easy place to explore on foot.
“There is something better.”
Artemis pointed up with her finger.
She was riding a rail embroidered on the ceiling, and a lift was approaching from somewhere.
“If it’s a tour, it’s a cable car.”
Artemis nods with both fists clenched.
We got on the lift that arrived in an instant.
“It’s been a while since I rode this.”
The appearance and ride quality of the lift are similar to those of a ski resort.
Artemis, sitting next to me, looked like she was dying of excitement.
“Tsk… Huh?”
I lowered the safety bar, but this is a bit ambiguous.
Her appearance is that of an adolescent girl. Her legs are so long that when she stands up she looks bigger than Dongna Dae, but when she sits down she collapses in an instant.
“It’s not right.”
Thanks to this, the safety bar was resting on her chest.
“Can’t the height of this be adjusted?”
“There is no such function. It was made to transport you and robots.”
“Hmm.”
“What is that reaction?”
Can I ride like this? Is there any other way to fix it? I was just thinking the same thing.
But to Artemis, it felt like a harsh criticism of her own work.
“It takes less than 30 minutes to add a height adjustment feature. Let’s get off for a moment.”
She raised her safety bar and tried to get off with a hurt expression on her face.
“No, that’s later.”
I lowered the raised safety bar back.
“I thought of a solution that took less than a second.”
She looked at me with a curious expression.
“What method?”
“This way.”
She stretched her hand to her exposed belly button.
“Hiya!”
Was she startled by the sudden sensation of enveloping her lower abdomen? It made a strange sound, as if someone had stabbed her side with a finger.
“What, what, what are you doing?!”
“Installation of biometric safety bars.”
“…”
She looks at me with a puzzled expression.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Are you serious? “You know.”
I tapped my finger on the safety bar.
“My arm is much stronger and safer than this stick.”
Advanced blood pressure and strengthened muscles allow you to maintain postures that are normally difficult to maintain for an indefinite period.
For example, corporal punishment such as ‘Stand with your hands up!’, Which is commonly used in schools, causes pain to the deprived arm muscles over time.
But my blood now easily ignores such gravity penalties.
Even if you hang upside down, the blood flows back to the soles of your feet without difficulty.
There is no need to say more about the endurance and strength of the muscles.
“Now, wait a minute. Anyway, this is…”
She grabbed my wrist and arm with both of her hands and tried to pull me away.
“Now let’s start adjusting the height. Are you here?”
I moved my hand around her belly button and gently tickled it.
“Kyahaha, sleep, wait a minute! That’s it!”
She laughed as if she was being tickled for the first time in her life.
Her tickling power stopped within a few seconds, but it took a long time for her to calm down.
Artemis, who was experiencing any sensation for the first time, had very little tolerance.
“You!”
“Besides.”
I said one step ahead of her to get angry.
“It’s pretty cool on the lift. It wouldn’t be good to ride with your stomach exposed.”
I heard that women need to warm their bellies. Even more so if you are not an adult.
She kept biting her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn’t come out with a proper sentence.
“Let’s go quickly. Actually, I’m looking forward to it too. “I wanted to see the completely restored view of our city.”
Is it because he saw my expectant face?
“… Yes.”
With her answer, the little strength I had on my wrists and arms melted away.
So Artemis looked at her hand against her lower abdomen for a moment.
“…”
Now, on the contrary, he wraps his hand around me as if trying to secure it tightly.
Because she wore a crop top, the feel of her soft abdomen was clearly conveyed. It’s a fantastic feeling, like touching the jelly of a newborn kitten.
After caressing her abdomen a few times to find the right place to hold her, my grip on her hand became stronger along with her brief elasticity.
“And aren’t you too skinny? “Even though I’m young, I have a waist that would easily fit if I put my hands together.”
The neck, arms, and overall were very thin.
It didn’t feel as ugly as starvation at all, but as a guardian, I felt the urge to feed it lots of things.
Only the legs were strong, fitting the image of a hunter running through the forest.
“I feel sorry for being like a child.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Is this something you were concerned about? Artemis focused on the young body rather than the thin body.
Perfect!
She snaps her fingers, and the lift rises into the air and slowly carries her across the city.
When I first rode it right after the past infection outbreak was over, it was damaged in various places and was being restored, but now everything is clean.
In addition, landscaping work has recently been completed.
“Seeing it from above, it feels like flying over a forest.”
Genetically improved street trees are spreading green leaves everywhere.
It was developed before the construction of the shelter and was being piloted as a street tree in Korea.
Oxygen production is high, leaves do not fall, and the aesthetic value is also excellent.
“Is it because it’s a holiday? There is no one. “If it was for inspection purposes, working hours would have been good.”
There was no human shadow in the factory complex. In the distance, you can only faintly see the residents moving around in the lower park.
“Ugh.”
Meanwhile, Artemis, who should be the most excited, feels like she’s having trouble concentrating.
“What’s wrong?”
She was startled by my call.
Her stomach caved even further against her hand. Like a body builder doing a vacuum pose. Thanks to this, the outline of her ribs on her side stood out.
“Nothing, nothing.”
“I feel like my body is getting hot.”
What I felt from the hand below Artemis’ navel was closer to heat rather than warmth.
Even though children have a lot of body heat, I never thought it would be this much.
So Lyft continued to explore the city.
Sometimes, when passing by a resident on a walk, Artemis would watch with wide eyes.
She is shy, which doesn’t match her arrogant personality.
I even prefer written communication with anyone except myself, even Chrollo, Rose, and Kids.
However, seeing people live under her own control seems to give a different feeling.
Occasionally, there was a resident who waved her hand at us, specifically at Artemis.
It seems that it was not because he recognized the identity of the city’s central control AI, but because of his instinctive maternal love for the young girl.
Artemis, who had ignored her the first time or two, cautiously shook her hand.
But after shaking her hand a few times, she immediately hugged my hand, which touched her lower abdomen.
Since she was traveling in a lift, it was quite cool, and her hands holding her outside were even cold.
However, her palms connected to her stomach were indescribably warm.
By the time we finished the tour and got off in front of the central control room, it was already dinner time.
“Are you eating properly?”
Looking back, in the two days since Artemis woke up, I haven’t seen her eat anything.
‘It’s regular checkup time.’
At mealtime or at night, she would return to the incubator room.
But after experiencing her thin body this time, I’m not that worried.
“I’m fine.”
“Let’s not do that and eat together.”
I took the lead and held her hand as she tried to distract herself.
“It’s perfect.”
Artemis was embarrassed, but she didn’t give up and dragged herself along.
