Estimated reading time: 9–11 minutes
Chapter 29
When I return to Old Osaka City after a long time, I feel a strong sense of strangeness and interest in my gaze. That is not only from the players, but also from the NPCs.
「It’s Orange…」
「The Prophet…」
「I thought Orange was executed 10 years ago…」
…I ignore the disturbing words and walk with Reina and Momiji to the nostalgic Kōmitsu Solutions. Due to the effects of the update, there are shops that didn’t exist before, and accordingly, the number of vagrants has also increased. As has the number of hanging corpses.
But other than that, nothing has changed. Just like when I came a few days ago, the city is a post-apocalyptic wasteland of cracked buildings and people wandering in despair.
「It’s like modern art. I bet there’s something hidden away, with hanging corpses everywhere making it seem like they’re lurking all over the place.」
「Orange, don’t say things like that! Everyone is already in despair. If ya make fun of them even more, who knows what’ll happen?」
「The feeling of despair and existential crisis over having no future is off the charts. Though I guess this reminds me of the Strain’s backs. Well, at least they chose to die of their own will.」
Come to think of it, even the regular NPCs have such lifelike quality in this game. Saying something like that was insensitive of me indeed. I bow my head apologetically to those around me, and they shudder and avert their eyes. Did I do something to the NPCs to make them act this way?
I can understand the players reacting like this to me given my infamous reputation. But I don’t recall doing anything to the NPCs…
As questions fill my mind, we arrive at the Kōmitsu Solutions. But for some reason, the building here is over twice the height and area as before. The doors are also needlessly large, and inside I can see a wider variety of equipment lined up compared to the past.
And as always, the old man is there as well.
「Hello there.」
「Who are you? Do I know yo… No, did we meet before?…Ah well, doesn’t matter. Good to see the President safe.」
「Mr. Tanaka, we’d like to order the usual.」
「Understood.」
I whisper to Reina that he doesn’t seem to remember us. She explains that while relationship levels were forcefully carried over from before the update, memories weren’t. What a nonsense theory for dealing with frequent updates. This damn game is just too crappy.
The old man sighs as he leads us to the garage. We move the AP and enter through there, and in front of us is that weapon. The same one we used on the artificial planet.
「Kōmitsu Solutions’s Apollyon Fusion Incendiary Weapon Model UK-02…!」
「You got a darn good memory there, I’ll give you that.」
「I have the ability to memorize robot armaments and machine names after seeing them once.」
「But it looks quite a bit more downsized than the one in the videos.」
I approach the gun placed before us, ignoring Reina and Momiji’s conversation. This gun was originally supposed to have a 20 meter barrel. But what’s in front of me now is around 10 meters, and has a folding mechanism attached. The width has also been significantly downsized – while it used to take all my strength just to hold it, I can now properly grip it with both hands.
「I did exactly what the old me said and it worked. I see, so if we leave a message saying to prepare this gun in 2060, of course this is what we’d get.」
「The old man mechanic who remembered a message from 2050, survived past 2050, and diligently prepared this at the appointed time is amazing. Does he secretly have regeneration powers or something?」
「His survival abilities are definitely MAXed out!」
I approach the gun before us without listening to Reina and Momiji’s conversation. There’s no damage or malfunctions on it – it’s different from the one used during the sniping on the artificial planet. Yet a part of me feels relieved while another part feels disappointed.
As I connect the armament and several programs are installed, a display pops up reading 『Kōmitsu Solutions Manufactured Apollyon Fusion Incendiary Weapon Model UK-08.』 I see, so this is an improved version of the UK-02.
「Adjustments are complete. But I don’t think you can defeat the Strain with something like this… Effective range is 100m. Also, the liquid oxygen injection system has been removed, so you gotta collect oxygen from the air. Gonna take at least 10 seconds before you can fire a shot.」
「Isn’t the range longer than that?」
「I’m talking about the range where you can fire without missing. The barrel’s been shortened for ease of transport, and the recoil isn’t controlled. So you’ll have to get fairly close if you want to nail your target.」
「Getting within 100m in the AP could be tough…」
「That’s why I said I don’t think you can beat that thing. At that range, you’d just get stomped flat by its tentacles. I’ve dismantled it many times after 2055, that battered and bloodstained powered suit there.」
The old man speaks with a bitter expression. It seems this new UK-08 model is similar yet different from the UK-02. Our strategy this time is to open holes in the armor and have players charge in, so stray shots would be out of the question, and peppering them from afar doesn’t align with that gameplan either.
An idea quickly comes to mind as I think about what to do – the AP modification plan I’ve been mulling over since the latest update was introduced.
「Old man, do you have any negative mass materials?」
「We do… what are you planning to use it for?」
「To reduce the mass. If we add negative mass materials to each part, it should lower the machine’s weight and make it more agile.」
「There are two problems with that. First is the cost. Preparing stable negative mass materials that won’t degrade even after taking attacks is crazily expensive. Second, this gun’s recoil is designed with the assumption of a heavier machine body. So reducing the weight will make you miss.」
「The first issue is already solved. As for the second, we can just get even closer than 100 meters. The opponents are massive anyway, it’ll hit at that range for sure.」
I stand before the old man with a smug look. Beside me, Momiji gives a thumbs up – leave the money issues to her, of course. the old man looks at our faces and sighs. Considering the operation is only 2 days away, this is an unreasonably rushed job we’re asking for.
The old man tosses some tools my way and points at my AP.
「President, please order -800kg of the 7439-92-1i negative mass material. Hey Orange! Over here! We gotta open up the internals now to make space for the negative mass material.」
「Oh right, there’s no existing space made to contain it so we gotta modify things to open up room. What a pain.」
「Don’t complain when you’re the one who suggested this. And the cockpit’s gonna get cramped too, so be prepared!」
Reina looks a bit bored as she folds her arms. Beside her, Momiji starts talking to the other employees. The old man promptly begins stripping off the armor panels, while I use an electric driver to unscrew the bolts on the opposite side. Soon the panels come off, revealing the true form of the AP. I activate 《Apollyon Design Specifications》 for the first time in a while, comparing the book to the actual structure as I start opening up the leg sections. The gleaming artificial muscles greet us.
「Shift that artificial semi-tendinosus muscle out of the way to create some space. Ah, that’s an impact absorbing gap so don’t touch it. There’s specialized liquid still inside.」
「Okay. Even after adding this stuff I don’t think it’ll fit back in the armor panels though?」
「You idiot, we’ll just bend the armor! If you supercool it then run electricity through, it’ll soften up rapidly. We’ll use that. Oh, and when you open up the internal screws, don’t just force them – always cool it down first to contract the metal, then take them off. Otherwise you’ll strip the threads… like your brain it seems.」
「That’s harsh. Can I borrow the cooling device then?」
「Here you go. Make sure to wear leather gloves so you don’t get frostbite.. And never, EVER touch it with wet hands.」
「Why’s that?」
「Because if that water freezes, you’ll have big trouble.」
We chat while working with our hands. I’ve played lots of robot games, but only this game allows me to experience maintenance and modification at this level. And every little thing has meaning – just disassembling it is fun by itself. During that livestream I was too nervous and spaced out, but now I’m once again realizing how incredible this really is. It’s exactly because the Apollyon Fusion turned out the way it did that this experience feels even more sublime.
Reina leans half-asleep against the wall while Momiji’s out picking up the negative mass materials, so only the old man’s and my tools make any sound.
「Hey…」
「Yeah?」
「Make sure you win.」
「Of course.」
『You have learned the skills 《Maintenance: Apollyon Machine》 and 《Modification: Apollyon Machine》! 』
Time passes by quietly. The decisive battle is almost upon us.
『Old man』
Somehow he’s always surviving. His high loyalty and survival skills are a big help to Orange and Momiji. He solved the problem of “there’s no way someone would prepare anti-Strain armaments for 2060 when everything’s already over.” (I slipped that in quickly so some people might miss it, but the plan was proposed by artificial planet Momiji.)
Also, the number for the negative mass materials is a so-called CAS number. Substances like H₂O (water) have a unique number like 7732-18-5 assigned to them. These numbers are commonly used when searching for or ordering special chemicals.
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