Chapter 182

I had to escape from here.

That much I had resolved, but actually planning it turned out to be incredibly difficult. I hadn’t realized it until I became conscious of it, but the cramped prison surrounding me was far sturdier than I’d imagined.

CCTVs were installed all throughout the hallways, and the Academy Security Team conducted patrols at regular intervals. Even if I managed to avoid their eyes, passing through the entrance meant clearing several layers of security gates equipped with biometric scanners.

And even if I somehow got out, that too posed a problem. I knew virtually nothing about the outside world.

Even if I escaped, in this small and fragile body of a child, I would only be caught again in no time and dragged back.

Therefore, the plan had to be both meticulous and covert. So that neither Dad nor the other researcher uncles would notice.

The first step of my plan was to deal with my ‘mechanical tail.’ Though it was a highly useful piece of cyberware that served as my new hand and eye, in some ways, it was also a shackle.

Compared to my child-sized body, the tail was far too heavy, and it constantly transmitted real-time data on my thoughts and emotional state to the researchers.

No matter how I dealt with everything else, unless I resolved the issue of the tail, the entire plan would fall apart.

But it was impossible to sever a tail that was connected to my spine by myself. Human anatomy simply doesn’t allow you to see your own back.

So the method I chose was…

—Let’s just change the program.

I slightly tweaked the program controlling the mechanical tail, just enough that they wouldn’t notice.

During lesson time in the ‘study room,’ I stole a few tools and modified the tail to transmit dummy data instead. With that, the risk of the researchers discovering my escape plan vanished.

After dealing with the biggest obstacle, the ‘tail,’ the rest proceeded smoothly. Over the course of several months, I built my escape devices. Using the study room’s 3D metal printer, I secretly produced parts and brought them back to my room, assembling them bit by bit.

There were two things I intended to make.

One was an EMP bomb, the other was a set of nanobots.

The EMP was for disabling various electrical devices in the research facility, and the nanobots were for instantly procuring various tools, including a vehicle. In particular, the nanobots embedded with Adaptee combat module technology were the key weapon that would make up for my lack of strength.

Little by little… little by little…

I collected components smaller than my pinky finger and eventually succeeded in creating the two weapons I’d aimed for: the EMP and the nanobots.

And finally, D-Day arrived.

Late at night, on D-Day.

The moment when surveillance would be at its weakest.

That night, I hid under the covers and pretended to be asleep. After Dad, my designated caretaker, made his final status check and left, I pulled out the nanobot Ball I’d hidden deep away.

—What would you like to manufacture?

—High-performance Faraday fiber.

Srrrk.

The orb in my hand instantly spun out Faraday fiber. It was meant to block the EMP. I wriggled cautiously under the covers and wrapped myself tightly in it. I made sure to fortify the tail area especially well.

—Faraday fiber fabrication complete. Energy remaining: 70%.

—Got it.

After tucking the nanobot Ball into my clothes, I prepared the EMP bomb. Then I immediately set the timer.

—Timer, 3, 2, 1.

—Detonate!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzt—!

The bomb, barely 10cm in diameter, released an unbelievable surge of electromagnetic pulse in an instant. Every electronic component in the research facility was disabled, and darkness engulfed the surroundings.

The time had come.

—Make me an optical camouflage suit!

—Small optical camouflage suit fabrication complete. Energy remaining: 48%.

I swiftly discarded the Faraday fiber and wrapped myself in the camouflage suit the nanobots had made. Then I burst out of the room and started running.

I couldn’t see anything, but the sensors on my tail allowed me to navigate the darkness safely.

I had already identified the location of the exit over the past few months, so I dashed through the darkness without hesitation toward it.

Down hallways, through ventilation shafts and emergency passages—sometimes using ladders in the elevator shafts—I moved relentlessly toward the exit.

—What the hell’s going on?

—A blackout? A terrorist attack!?

—It’s an EMP! Follow the manual!

—Something just passed by me!?

Scattered voices of panicking researchers and security personnel could be heard. The facility was thoroughly prepared for external terrorism, but they hadn’t anticipated something like this happening from the inside. Their flustered reactions worked in my favor, making everything easier.

But this situation wouldn’t last long.

I passed through multiple security gates quickly. Whenever I was blocked, I used the nanobot Ball to fabricate tools on the spot and force them open.

—Warning. Energy remaining: 8%.

—Charging required.

Since I kept producing necessary items, the nanobot Ball’s energy was almost depleted. But it was fine. The exit was just ahead.

Just a bit farther and I’d be free from this prison. I’d reach a new world—a world that would truly care for me and embrace me.

But just as I neared the final stretch, a problem arose. Security guards stationed outside the facility sensed the disturbance and began entering.

—Check the internal situation, and report anything suspicious immediately!

Apparently, they had been outside the EMP’s range. My ignorance of the outside world had led to a miscalculation.

In any case, if I was caught by them, I’d undoubtedly be dragged back to the facility. But with the nanobot’s energy nearly gone, I couldn’t think of a way out.

Just as I feared that my plan would end in failure, someone suddenly grabbed my shoulder.

—Kyaaa!?

—Shhh! Quiet!

—U-Uncle…?

To my surprise, it was one of the uncles from the research facility.

He covered my mouth to stop my scream, then hid me in his coat. Calmly, he walked past the security guards and took me outside.

He had always been well-connected, so the guards seemed to let him through without suspicion.

And like that, I escaped the research facility and emerged into the outside world. Rain was falling, and neon signs lit up every corner. The air was choked with an indescribable stench and filth, but within it, there was unmistakable freedom.

That joy lasted only a moment.

My uncle called my name.

—Miyu.

—Uncle…?

How could he have found me, even while I was cloaked in optical camouflage? The answer was clear. Both of his eyes were cyberware. It must have been a model immune to EMPs.

—Let’s run away together, Miyu.

—W-What are you talking about all of a sudden?

—I’ll help you. I know better than anyone that you’re not a child who belongs here.

—Uncle…!

Had I finally met an understanding person?

I never imagined there would be an ally this close by. Overwhelmed with emotion, tears almost welled up in my eyes.

—You can change the world.

That single sentence.

Those few words he uttered snapped me back to my senses. As I’ve said before, a child’s intuition is sharp. Behind that gentle face, I could see the ugly greed he was hiding.

Ah…

What he truly desired was not my freedom. He simply wanted to be the new master of the goose that laid the golden eggs. He was just another one of those vile adults who wanted to use what was inside my head.

—Let’s go, Miyu. I’ll take you somewhere bette—

—S-sorry, Uncle.

Nanobot remaining energy: 8%.

I grasped the Ball one last time and whispered the item to fabricate. Then, with a sound of something slicing through the air—

—Single-use shortbow fabrication complete.

—Remaining energy: 0%.

Uncle collapsed to the floor.

I emerged into the outside world.

After removing the final obstacle blocking me, nothing could stop me anymore. But just because the world outside held freedom didn’t mean it held happiness.

I had grown to loathe everything I possessed. My knowledge and skills that had driven many people to death, these very hands now stained with blood… everything.

If I could, I wanted to reset my own brain. To excise this mind that kept spewing out horrible creations and technologies and become an idiot instead—it seemed preferable.

But I knew.

I couldn’t survive that way.

Because the only weapon I had was this.

So I came up with a trick.

If I couldn’t live without this terrifying weapon called “knowledge” inside my head, then perhaps I could simply transform myself into someone else.

Using my child-unlike knowledge and skills, I succeeded in settling in Sector E, and there, I created a new machine.

The so-called “Artificial Personality Organizer.”

I decided to overlay my mind with another personality. Into it, I poured traits: a fondness for “science” and “technology” that I had grown to hate due to countless wounds, extreme “shyness” and “reclusiveness” so I could live alone even if lonely, and high “morality” so I would never again fall into corruption.

Now that I think about it, my original name was not “Miyu.” My parents and the researchers had called me by an entirely different codename. “Miyu” was the name I gave myself and my new personality.

Miyu.

Me and You.

Everyone in this world only sees me as the goose that lays the golden eggs. To survive, me and my new artificial personality… me and you, just the two of us would be enough. That was the meaning.

And thus, I—

Miyu was born into the world.

Awakening from a long dream, I opened my eyes. Beyond the glass wall of the tank, I began to see Mr. Aaron and the other two.

Only then did I recall how I had ended up like this. While I was controlling the rampaging “Flames,” Teaching Assistant Wei had suddenly appeared, and the “scanner” he carried had provoked them, causing me to be devoured.

Because of that, the delicate balance I was barely maintaining broke, and the Flames fell into an uncontrollable state. As a result, I, who was working nearby, was also devoured.

Yet the fact that I was still alive was beyond my expectations. It seemed the “Flames” had lost the normal digestive ability of living creatures during their mutation process.

Instead, what the Flames had acquired was the ability to absorb the “genetic information” and “memory information” of what they consumed and evolve into a new form. My current jelly-like shape must be the optimal form for extracting DNA and memories.

‘…How do I return to normal?’

As soon as I wondered that, the chemical structure of a drug to restore my body back to normal automatically surfaced in my mind. But even knowing the method, I couldn’t bring myself to act.

With all my memories regained, only one thought filled my head.

‘Should I just die like this?’

Yes. That’s right.

I didn’t really want to live anymore.

My whole body felt languid, and the thought crept in that maybe it would be fine to die just like this.

Beyond the tank, I could see Mr. Aaron and the other two fighting desperately against the “Flames.” Mr. Aaron deployed the [Cloud Spider] module, completely shredding the monsters charging at them.

As expected, he was strong.

A truly terrifyingly strong person.

But even Mr. Aaron seemed to be struggling due to compatibility issues. The Flames had considerable resistance to cutting attacks.

At times, creatures he hadn’t managed to completely kill appeared. Vladimir Chairman covered for him by deploying a “Shield” and burning them away.

And in that gap, Iri ran toward me. Thousands of tendrils of the resurrected “Flames” reached for her, but the other two splendidly defended against them.

Hm. Strange.

Why were they fighting so inefficiently? If their sole aim was to kill the Flames, Vladimir Chairman’s “Energy Force Field” alone should suffice.

Ah. I see.

They were trying to save me.

They were keeping their distance on purpose so the “Flames” that had swallowed me wouldn’t mutate again.

And as expected, with two of the city’s strongest and the promising Academy Student Council President working together, the Flames were unable to put up much of a fight.

They kept evolving into different forms, different bioweapons to take down their adversaries… but before the power of the Game Changer module, they vanished helplessly.

And finally.

Iri, assigned to the rescue mission, reached the tank where I was. At the same time as Mr. Aaron’s blade threads pierced the glass to make an opening, she leapt toward me.

“Miyu!”

Nice catch.

She magnificently destroyed the “Flames” that had swallowed me and retrieved my body, melting like jelly inside.

But seeing my body, already transformed beyond recognition, Iri didn’t know what to do. She laid me on the ground, crying, panicking.

“What should I do!? What am I supposed to do!?”

Even Vladimir Chairman’s face was filled with unease at the gravity of the situation.

“Hospital! We have to take her to a hosp—!”

“Wait.”

And then.

Still keeping his calm expression, Mr. Aaron quietly approached me. He forcibly removed chips from the Socket HUB to quickly eliminate the electromagnetic waves emitted by the modules, kneeling down beside me.

And gently, he whispered my name.

“Miyu.”

But that voice had no resonance in my heart, which had already regained its memories and worn-out soul. Only the thought of “I want to disappear like this” filled my mind.

After all, he was just another one of the adults who tried to use me. After all, he too only saw me as a “tool.” Nothing seemed to matter anymore.

Yet at that moment—

I saw it.

“Miyu. Get up.”

An expression I had never once imagined.

A face that did not belong at all to a man like Aaron Stingray.

…He was crying.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep