Chapter 202 – Strange Species
“Me?”
Solaver nodded to me as I asked in confusion.
“I completely understand your embarrassment. But only you can do it.”
“It may be presumptuous to say this, but we are holding stone axes and wow! Wow! “Aren’t the people who launched the spacecraft also defeated?”
“That’s an exaggeration. “There were quite a few civilizations that were barely at the level of the Industrial Revolution at the time.”
“That’s not the point, is it? Are you going to crawl into an alien nest of infected organisms, a place where civilizations much more advanced than ours have been wiped out, and take over the place? “The guys there will even be types I’ve never dealt with before.”
The reason we are leading a superior fight against infectious agents in external operations these days is not only because of strengthened equipment and soldiers.
This is because the ability to respond has improved as various information about them is accumulating.
When the battlefield changes to a completely different environment, everything becomes unpredictable.
“Finish my story. “It’s not just a reckless request.”
In an instant, Solaver’s atmosphere changed. Until just now, I felt like I was dealing with a mature old gentleman, but now I feel like I am dealing with a bureaucrat in a suit.
“It feels like I’m being worked on for some reason.”
“It’s my mood.”
He smiled and ignored my sullen gaze.
“First, we should talk about your racial characteristics.”
And so the conversation on the last topic began.
I don’t know at what point Solaver started learning about humanity, but it was clear that he had a perfect understanding of human motivation and profit and loss calculations.
Arguments passed quickly, including in what way I needed to go, why the odds of winning were good, and only the key points at the optimal length.
“I wish I could say one more thing.”
Sola Ber clutched his chest.
“Are you okay?”
Are the negative effects of excessive anti-cyborgization slowly creeping in? Fatigue and pain were blooming on the exoskeleton’s face.
“I fully understand what you said. “I need some time to think, so please take a break.”
“Okay, even if it’s not because of my physical condition, I have to leave now.”
Solaver glanced behind me.
“Why? Ah…”
Beans!
The cute fist hit the glass wall.
Burning fire.
Golden eyes full of anger, as if asking me to finally look at them.
Artemis, with both palms and forehead pressed against the glass wall, is looking down with a grim expression. With such a beautiful face, it is truly powerful.
Maybe it was because she was fully prepared because she was outside the shelter, but it wasn’t her usual revealing dress.
He is wearing a tight leather outfit and boots. It is an outfit that emphasizes activity and clearly reveals the outline of the body.
The healthy vitality typical of a teenage girl was added to that fascinating appearance.
Even if her double core wasn’t raised, she could just wave her hand leisurely
“I have to go right away.”
“Like that. I need to get some rest. “Please understand that I cannot see you off.”
When Solaver leaned back, the chair turned into medical bedding.
The first conversation with an alien in human history.
There were certainly heavy topics that lived up to the title, or even more than that.
However, it ended with one woman’s backlash.
* * *
“Is that old man crazy about wanting to die!”
Artemis values dignity and elegance above all else.
She is furious to the point where she uses frivolous language that is uncharacteristic of her.
Well, it was as expected.
Because I could see that Artemis was boiling when the alien alliance base in the binary star system was mentioned.
She felt tickled by the vibrations transmitted through her brain implant.
“Calm down. “After listening to his perspective, it was a request worth making.”
Artemis suddenly turned her head and ran over to stand in front of me.
Looking closely, it seemed like he had been running as soon as he entered the lab. Her white skin was flushed, and her breathing was heavy.
A warm and faintly sweet breath reached my neck.
“Did you run in a hurry?”
“I need to stop you before you make ridiculous promises for no reason.”
“If you think what you say is more true, you can forgive me.”
“I don’t like that either. The way you pick up the words you once said. I don’t want others to see that.”
“…”
Rather than stopping me with just her voice through the speaker, Artemis probably decided that it would be more effective to appeal in person.
That is correct.
I’m already eager to listen to every word that will come from these lovely lips.
“Are you listening?”
She placed both hands on her waist.
“I’m seriously considering kicking the author out right now. “I want to prevent you from blowing the air for no reason.”
Is it because I was too excited? Silvery, shiny droplets of saliva flew out from her mouth and stuck to my face.
“Oh.”
“I’m sorry.”
Artemis’ face turned red. She took out her handkerchief from her arms and wiped her cheek.
“You can just leave it as is.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
She accepted the very clumsy hand and organized the story that Sola Berg had told in her head.
Although there was an element of risk, it was definitely a gamble worth taking and the gains were enormous.
I just wonder if I can convince this smart girl even half as much as he did me.
Kwaak.
“Ouch.”
After she finished wiping, she pinched my nose with her handkerchief. As if what she was thinking was written all over her face.
“Hmph!”
Artemis threw her handkerchief behind her.
Although it was a luxurious-looking product, it appears to be a consumable item that is not worth recovering once it has been cleaned.
The cleaning bot quickly came and cleaned it up. She is a born queen who doesn’t even give a single glance.
“Artemis, for now…”
“I have no intention of listening to you, so do it yourself.”
Artemis stretched out her palm and waved it.
She timed it and slipped my hand between her fingers. Her delicate hand came into my grasp as if it were being eaten.
“Ah.”
I held her close to me and pulled her waist towards me with my other hand.
His straight forehead almost touched my chest, and a pleasant scent rose from his silver hair.
Side.
As I kissed her forehead, I felt a brief spasm in her arms wrapped around her waist.
I looked down, but I couldn’t see any facial expressions due to the angle.
“Artemis.”
“…”
“Should we take a walk first?”
I took a step back and dragged her hand, and she followed me quietly.
Her face, which had been heated by the spittle earlier and had just calmed down, is heating up again. It’s closer to resentment than anger.
Again, Artemis’ judgment was not bad.
Warm lips, not cold speakers, and a moist tongue between them. The beautiful melodic voice created there.
Eyes looking up from the bottom of my chest, trembling eyelashes, flushed cheeks.
It is true that persuasion through the body is effective for me.
But there was one thing she overlooked.
Kkook, kkook, definitely.
She was at a loss as he played with her, changing the force he applied to her clasped hands.
Although he is so confident, arrogant, and smart, he is so clumsy when it comes to interacting with his body.
She is inexperienced in even the smallest act.
“What, what does this mean?”
“Not really.”
Pushing through the body.
Artemis herself is much more vulnerable to that than I am.
* * *
At the entrance to the lab, people who had been accompanying Artemis were waiting. It is a 2nd generation security robot raider and one APC.
The Stalker series, the third generation robot, is primarily used for external exploration and resource collection.
The first generation Sleeper series, the slowest and oldest, is only used inside the shelter.
“Follow me at a distance.”
[I understand.]
The distance between the shelter and the external laboratory is neither far nor close. It’s a decent level for a moderate walk.
“This area is clean now.”
No matter where you look, there are peaceful fields spreading out. There is not a single trace of infection.
It is unthinkable that the Gyeonggi-do area is infested with numerous colonies of infectious agents. It’s as calm as the eye of a storm.
“Isn’t it obvious? “How many bullets do you think have been fired into this area so far?”
“There are countless more.”
I answered while looking at the sky. Several combat drones are forming a formation and returning.
Artemis considered this area to be her private land, so she did not tolerate even a single infected rat.
“At first I thought it was a waste of bullets. If we just close the main gate, nothing can come into our city anyway.”
At the time, there was quite a bit of argument between her and me over this issue.
“Do you still think the same way now?”
“No, you were right. Thanks to this, I can take a leisurely walk like this.”
She lifted her clasped hand and placed it between hers and mine.
“Yes, you have nothing to lose by listening to me. So you too…”
At this point, she started listing reasons why she should ignore Solaver’s advice.
A wave of logic different from that of a seasoned space diplomat washed over me.
I also listened to her story and compared the opinions of both sides.
As it happened, the remaining distance to the shelter was just the right amount to coordinate my thoughts.
How long did you walk like that?
A huge main gate begins to appear from the other side.
Guuuuung.
It was opened with a loud sound upon our arrival.
The entrance to the city, which is slowly revealed, is full of all kinds of murder weapons.
Multiple first-generation security robots armed with miniguns, super-caliber sentry guns that can tear apart tanks, and loaded rockets.
In the near future, new weapons that Artemis is about to complete will be added there.
In the sky, heavily armed helicopters are sortieing somewhere with an army of drones.
The bombs strung up to the limit looked like black tumors sticking to the helicopter.
As I was looking at that scene, I remembered Solaver’s last story.
“As a diplomat, I have dealt with many civilizations, but I have never encountered a race like humanity. He has an incomparable talent for killing things. It’s not for nothing that I believe that if it were you, I would be able to break through.”
I wasn’t sure whether I should like what he said or feel embarrassed. Maybe it’s just flattery to attract me.
“Take it.”
As if reading my thoughts, he handed me a metal block the size of a lighter.
“What is this?”
“A storage device containing information about us, the civilizations that walk the stars. Hand it to Artemis. “She should be able to see what’s inside.”
“What specific information is contained?”
“This is data accumulated while fighting against infectious agents. The way we fight, their types and ecology. Information about each civilization.”
“…!”
It was information with ridiculous value.
“Wouldn’t this be the price of saving one’s life?”
“Thank you. Artemis will love it.”
“No, I might be disappointed when I see that.”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems that our fight against infectious agents looks poor from the human perspective.”
Solaver was clutching his forehead. Like bringing up a topic that is difficult to talk about.
“Do you know that mankind only used weapon systems during World War II that even the most militant civilizations developed until they reached the space age?”
His gaze turned to the security robot waiting beyond the glass wall and the combat rifle he was holding.
“The number of weapons, production, and progressiveness that mankind has created so far are overwhelming compared to any civilization I know.”
“…”
This was unexpected.
Since interstellar travel is possible, I assumed that the level of weaponry would also be great, like the aliens that appear in movies and games.
“Looking back, history would have changed if we had found you a little sooner. If humanity had assisted editors, no civilization would have dared to make such a mistake. No, I didn’t do that, so maybe that’s why I have this abnormal force.”
Solaver smiled bitterly and pointed to the storage device in my hand.
“See it with Artemis. “You will realize that this is not just a trick from an old diplomat.”
… This was the conversation we had just before Artemis arrived.
“This is…”
Artemis accepted the metal block I handed her. You probably already know what this is.
“Something we must look at together.”
We entered the city together, leaving behind the slowly closing main gate.
