I Am Not a Robot. Beep-bop

Chapter 57: It’s Work. Alice 2

I led the children and set off on the road.

Of course, I didn’t bring all the children.

Twenty of them.

It was a manageable number that I could reasonably control.

Though it had only been a week, I could already tell who was who.

Three quiet children.

Ten cheerful children.

Four were ridiculously bright and hyper to the point of madness.

The remaining three were oddly clingy and stuck to me like glue—three outcast girls.

As we walked along the path, it felt like a field trip, with ruins of cities or remnants of past civilizations scattered here and there.

Some kids climbed the ruins, huddled together, and struck various poses.

When we reached the top of a hill, all twenty of them shouted, “Nuuooong~!” in a bizarre echo.

It seemed like the Saya Guild had a “Nuuooong” section, which inspired that silly cry.

Anyway, the mountains and nearby areas along the way were lush with vegetation but also bore signs of battles.

Some places still had traces of gunpowder, magic, bloodstains, or even remnants of corpses.

Originally, this ruin had been home to raiders and criminals expelled from Ark.

Now it was an empty ruin, left desolate after an assault by two megacorporations, Dawn and Earnest Rail.

It seemed the aftermath of that battle hadn’t been fully cleared.

“Ahaha!”

“The outside is fun!”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in a forest!”

“Hey, everyone! We’re supposed to be quiet!”

“Huh? Do we have to be quiet?”

“Alice, Teacher… Should we be quiet?”

Even though we were on our way to raid something, staying quiet was a must, right?

While the kids instinctively infused mana into their steps, making no noise, it was still best to reduce their chatter.

“How about whispering to each other like you’re sharing a secret?”

“Gasp!”

“I love secret talk!”

“Whispering is fun!”

“My ears feel ticklish!”

At this moment, I probably looked like a caregiver or kindergarten teacher taking her students on a field trip.

To be honest, it wasn’t that different.

A week had passed, and the kids had started calling me Teacher Alice.

I was also getting used to handling them.

The only real difference from a kindergarten teacher was that I was personally leading these children to a place where blood and battles might occur.

This area was frequented by monsters and raiders.

No sane person would bring delicate young girls to such a place.

But these girls, each one of them, could snap a raider’s spine with ease.

Right now, the children and I were walking through a forest leading to the outskirts of Zain, heading toward our target.

However, the light excitement lingering in the children’s hearts seemed to seep into the air around us.

For kids who had only played in the “shelter” within the Saya Guild mansion, venturing outside like this felt like a whole new world.

“Wow~!”

“The sky is so high!”

“This is my first time here!”

“It’s squishy!”

Each child expressed themselves in their own way—it was clear they were overjoyed.

Our destination was currently within the territory of Dawn Corporation.

The directive from the Saya Guild headquarters was simple.

Cause chaos.

In Hunter terms, it meant wreaking havoc in the frontline zone occupied by the megacorporations.

Though the Saya Guild had some backing, its fundamental capabilities couldn’t compare to those of two megacorporations.

Currently, Dawn and Earnest Rail were fiercely battling for control over the satellite city.

If one side gained too much of an advantage, it would only be a matter of time before the Saya Guild became their next target.

The Saya Guild, having barely achieved corporate status, couldn’t match the prowess of the megacorporations dominating Ark.

For the guild, it was critical to ensure that no one gained complete control over the city.

Playing both sides, aligning here and there like a bat, was the best strategy for maintaining balance.

For context, the satellite city experienced corporate infighting daily.

It wasn’t uncommon for Hunters hired by Dawn to be killed by Hunters hired by Earnest Rail, and vice versa.

Most Hunters operated under short-term contracts, like me, rather than long-term agreements.

From a corporate perspective, this was far more convenient.

They could hire and dispose of Hunters as needed, and with abundant capital, employing a large number of short-term Hunters to protect valuable corporate personnel was preferable.

Of course, there were some mysteries surrounding this arrangement.

“Why bother hiring Hunters for proxy wars? Wouldn’t it be easier to just attack the rival corporation’s headquarters?”

In fact, the easiest way for a corporation in Zain to erase the influence of another faction was to destroy their headquarters.

Of course, whether the Saya Guild had the capability to strike a megacorp’s headquarters was questionable, but this kind of approach would still expose us to significant retaliation.

There’d be no need to hire Hunters or exchange underhanded blows when simply targeting the headquarters or key executives could suffice, but apparently, there was a reason against this.

“The headquarters are in Ark. However, extraterritorial rights are only recognized within the satellite city of Zain.”

“What does that mean?”

“If any acts of internal conflict or mutual killings are discovered within Ark, Overseers bring Executors in droves and annihilate the corporation that broke the rules.”

Megacorps may wield vast capital and authority, but they ultimately cannot surpass the leadership of Ark, humanity’s final bastion.

If a megacorp violated Ark’s strict laws and regulations, it would be dissolved by the Overseer unit, with all its assets and resources confiscated.

Of course, some megacorps had rebelled in the past.

But those corporations no longer existed, leaving only those who didn’t rebel.

In any case, this is why corporations waging intense wars outside of Ark didn’t seem to matter much.

“Corporate warfare is only permitted externally. Directly attacking a megacorp’s ‘Zain branch,’ where key executives reside, is forbidden. This is why most fights aimed at eliminating competitors take place outside the city.”

Outside the city, it was permissible to target and destroy refineries, supply depots, frontlines, and hired Hunters.

As a result, the moment one stepped outside the city, anyone could become a target.

Since there were no repercussions for killing someone, some Hunters even openly targeted others like raiders.

“Why is it all so complicated?”

“It’s not that complicated. Simply put, anyone outside the city is fair game for slaughter, and any action outside Ark’s rules is permitted.”

Sohi spoke with a deep smile.

“So today, we’ll become an ‘external force.’”

“An external force… Ah.”

Only then did I understand why Sohi was smiling.

The reason Dawn and Earnest Rail had formed a joint front was due to the indigenous residents who originally lived near Zain.

The external forces, composed of those natives, had been almost annihilated by the two megacorps’ alliance, but corporations didn’t know everything.

With Dawn and Earnest Rail already betraying each other, they were too preoccupied to pay close attention.

If we disguised ourselves as external forces, there was a high chance the corporations wouldn’t suspect the Saya Guild as the raiders.

They might have their suspicions, but unless someone got captured and confessed, “I’m from the Saya Guild!” they wouldn’t find out.

“Hmm…”

The plan itself was quite reasonable.

The girls of the Immortal Legion, with their immense strength and regenerative abilities, rushing into the disordered megacorp camp to wreak havoc was a sound strategy.

However, from my perspective, it was ethically wrong to let the hands of these girls, still children, be stained with blood.

“I understand your hesitation.”

Sohi’s expression seemed to indicate she knew exactly how I felt.

“But the children born from the Immortal Factory cannot live normal lives in Ark. The only reason the administration allowed their survival was on the condition that they wouldn’t affect Ark’s ecosystem.”

“Is life in Ark that dangerous for them?”

“They’re products of the Immortal Factory. The righteous leadership wants to erase their very existence, while greedy factions desire to exploit the girls’ infinite regenerative abilities.”

In essence, these children couldn’t live properly anywhere outside the satellite city of Zain.

“Even if not for this reason, Zain is already a brutal arena of survival competition and slaughter. If you don’t kill others, they will try to kill you and the children, Alice.”

Sohi, with a cold, resolute face, had long discarded her hesitation.

She might have once dreamed of living peacefully with the immortal girls, perhaps farming or herding livestock when she first came to Zain.

But this was a battlefield of corporate warfare, where killing was permitted between megacorps.

Hunters came here prepared to die for lucrative commissions, and I had come here as the successor of a First-Class Overseer, seeking achievements and recognition.

“Alice, keep this in mind. If you don’t kill, you will be killed. If any survivors remain, the megacorp executives will relentlessly pursue you. Someone like you—a Returnee with a fully mechanical body—is valuable enough to warrant execution and disassembly for research.”

I guess I should give up on the idea that my blue choker will work here.

Ark is far, but guns and swords are near.

Even as someone under the protection of a First-Class Overseer and Administrator, if I were to suffer an “accident” in this extraterritorial region, neither Oriana nor Administrator Rilstia could come to my aid.

“We’re here.”

“Shasha-shak!”

“Heheh!”

“We’ve arrived!”

“Shh.”

“Malaaang~”

The base set up beyond the mountain range bore clear signs of battle.

I’d heard that Earnest Rail betrayed Dawn, but judging by the blood and corpses piled up, it seemed they had gone all out with blatant slaughter.

I felt a pang of guilt for exposing the children to such a gruesome scene, but the girls didn’t even flinch at the sight of blood and scattered bodies.

“Hehe, I’m excited for the trip~”

“Alice, Teacher! When are we playing?”

“I wanna play!”

“Let’s play, let’s play…”

I already knew these kids weren’t normal, but I didn’t expect them to want to play after seeing this.

No, in truth, I’d already noticed their peculiarities during the past week.

These girls couldn’t suppress their overflowing energy and internal impulses without some form of release.

Children born from the Immortal Factory—a horrendous place.

There’s a reason they weren’t permitted to live in Ark.

Born as something other than human, marked by abnormalities, the leadership essentially banished them to the satellite city.

“The number on Earnest Rail’s side seems smaller than expected.”

[According to the information provided by the Saya Guild, Dawn’s forces have been shattered by Earnest Rail’s attack, leaving survivors scattered. Earnest Rail’s main force is pursuing Dawn’s remnants, with only a minimal contingent left here to guard the base and supplies.]

“Then it’ll be easier than I thought.”

I shook off my hesitation.

It’s only natural to hesitate at the thought of staining the children’s hands with blood.

But the weapons in the hands of Earnest Rail’s private soldiers and their hired Hunters still bore traces of betrayal—they had just stabbed Dawn in the back.

If we hesitate, we’ll be the ones who die.

They came here ready to kill, and so did we.

If the children and I hesitated, they would capture these infinitely regenerating girls to dissect and torment them.

And me?

They would dismantle my fully mechanical body for research.

That’s the nature of megacorps.

A collective devoid of humanity and ethics, seeing the world purely in numbers.

“Alright, get ready.”

Sohi had told me that just saying a simple trigger word would be enough for the children.

She said they would prepare for the assault perfectly and follow my words without fail.

“It’s playtime.”

-Thunk!

At that moment, the children’s movements froze.

Their faces, previously brimming with giddy anticipation, came to an abrupt halt like a paused video screen.

Then, like patients in the throes of a seizure, their bodies began to tremble slowly.

“………Play…”

“Time…”

“Malaang…”

“Hehehe…”

And then, blood began to seep from their bodies.

No, it wasn’t blood—it was too dark and red for that.

Something fluid and gelatinous, like slime, began to cling to their bodies.

“Let’s play.”

“Let’s play.”

“Let’s play.”

“It’s play day.”

“It’s playtime.”

“Hehe.”

“Malaang~”

“We’ll play.”

“We’ll have fun.”

“I want to play.”

As the sticky, blood-like liquid enveloped the children’s bodies, it formed into armor and perfectly concealed their appearances.

The weapons the children held were all soaked in the blood-like substance, transforming into unrecognizable, grotesque weapons that resembled tools of horror.

At a glance, they looked like small monsters, akin to goblins, clad in blood-red armor.

However, the ominous energy radiating from them was on a completely different level than that of mere goblins.

The blood-forged armor clung tightly to their bodies, resembling suits, but with masks adorned with jagged, monstrous teeth like the gaping maw of a beast.

“So, this is what the ‘trigger’ meant.”

The children’s gazes turned to me.

They had always been obedient to my words, but now it felt as if they would even harm themselves if I commanded it.

When our eyes met, I was reminded of their once-innocent expressions, but now there seemed to be a far more inhuman aspect to them than when they played in the shelter.

“I want to play.”

“I hate grown men.”

“It’s dazzling…”

“I’m going to playyyy…”

The once-innocent eyes now craved one thing: play.

A joyful game.

The misfortune and death of others tasted like honey.

Attacking was play.

Hunting was fun.

These children did not distinguish between good and evil.

They were born this way, and they could only live this way.

“Hoo.”

A heavy feeling settled in my heart.

Staining the hands of these children with blood was profoundly unsettling.

Sohi said this was a world where, if you don’t kill, you will be killed…

“Kids.”

“Yes, Teacher~”

“Yes, Miss Teacher!”

“Yes~”

The children, clad in blood-red suit armor, stared at me.

Their eyes were as innocent as ever, but I could feel their yearning for battle and death disguised under the name of “play.”

Ordinary children wouldn’t even understand what it meant to kill or be killed, but the survival rules of this satellite city, Zain, applied to everyone, regardless of whether they were children or adults.

If you don’t kill, you’ll be killed, and perhaps an even more horrific fate would await.

【Human.】

“What is it, Theresa?”

【The children are all drenched in the True Ancestor’s blood.】

“…..”

Theresa wouldn’t mistake what she encountered at the Barrier Agency as the True Ancestor’s blood.

And now, she sensed the True Ancestor’s blood in these children born from the Immortal Factory?

This was no coincidence.

Of course, there was no need to confront Sohi about this right now.

What mattered now was destroying the Earnest Rail formation left undefended by its main force.

“Let’s go.”

As I spoke, I could feel the children’s excitement rise, as if they had been waiting for this moment.

“Yes, yesss~!”

“Yesss!”

“Let’s play, let’s plaaay!”

“Let’s play~!”