I Am Not a Robot. Beep-bop

Chapter 67: Dolls and Immortal Girls 4

Alice’s process of tracking Earnest Raill’s dolls turned out to be much easier than expected.

The underground pathways that Mega Corp secretly carved out across the northern front, resembling a spider’s web, were utilized for their distribution network and supply lines.

Consequently, the dolls were also aware of these routes.

The dolls had been commanded to eliminate all humans within the designated area.

In Zain’s uncharted regions, filled with mountain ranges and dense forests, some zones were impassable on foot.

Because of this, certain dolls, while trying to find alternate routes, inevitably recalled Earnest Raill’s underground pathways.

“Gotcha!”

Simply put, Alice and the Immortal Girls only needed to cling to the tunnel walls and ambush the incoming dolls.

“Senior! I caught one too!”

“Hehe, it’s mine!”

“It’s mine!”

“Squishy!!! Woohoo~!”

Whenever the dolls first encountered the Immortal Girls, they would instinctively attempt to activate combat mode because the girls appeared human.

However, their internal detection systems flagged them as “not human, please ignore.”

Initially enraged by the interference, the dolls quickly complied with the absolute command of their detection systems, deactivating combat mode and allowing themselves to be captured by the girls.

Each doll, after all, was a monstrous machine with an average weight of 124 kilograms, infused with high-concentration mana and equipped with anti-barrier capabilities.

The fact that the girls could carry such dolls barehanded made the dolls acknowledge, “Ah, they really aren’t human,” calming them down further.

However, the northern front’s directive from Director Milton to exterminate humans remained intact.

If the Immortal Girls set the dolls down, the latter would immediately resume carrying out their original mission, heading off somewhere to fulfill it.

Even when two or three Immortal Girls gathered to move a doll, the doll never forgot its original mission and continuously calculated the optimal route to exit the underground tunnel.

This was where Alice had to play a critical and decisive role.

“Hello, do you want to be my secret friend?”

“Combat… mode deactivated. Confirming Alice, Executive Director of Earnest Raill. Unable to comprehend the specific term ‘secret friend.’”

“Hmm, not knowing that? Simply put, it means you don’t listen to anyone else and stay by my side, obeying only me. Hahaha.”

“Understood. Deleting the current mission based on the Executive Director’s authority.”

“Well done, good job~!”

All it took was a single sentence directed at the dolls.

As a Executive Director, Alice had authority far exceeding that of the mere combat unit director, allowing her not just to override but completely delete their commands.

【How despicably low, such a vile line as if uttered by a human with depraved tendencies for trafficking and child exploitation.】

“Theresa, I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

Though it felt as if Theresa were giving her a disgusted look, Alice chose to ignore it.

Ehehe. Just an auxiliary personality, yet she dares mock her owner~

“Senior! I brought this one too! Did I do well?”

One of the girls, having brought a doll, hopped in place, eagerly seeking praise.

Initially flustered by such interactions, Alice had grown entirely accustomed to the dizzying and chaotic conversations with the girls, which felt like they might cause brain damage.

“Yes, you did… Hmm, you girls don’t have names, right? Anyway, good job, my little Blaze!”

“What’s Blaze?”

“Blazie?”

“Blaze? Like a fish?”

“Fish is delicious.”

Since they were precious Immortal cuties, Blaze seemed fitting.

Calling them “Cuties” or “Squishies” wouldn’t be quite right, after all.

The number of dolls they had brought back soon reached 21, surpassing the 20 Immortal Girls Alice had brought along.

The dolls, whose human elimination commands had been deleted, lay idle in the tunnels, either standing blankly or lying down. This seemed to be the most efficient way for them to conserve energy.

In a way, they shared a similar fate to Alice, who also had to practice energy conservation.

‘Wait, does that mean I’ll have to supply energy for them too?’

【Correct. However, unlike humans, ‘dolls’ are fundamentally based on humans.】

‘If they’re human… are you saying they need food?’

【Precisely. It seems the human is finally capable of proper thought.】

‘Didn’t you say something like that before?’

【You must be mistaken. Additionally, I would like to note that dolls likely consume not ordinary meals but highly concentrated nutrient capsules stored in their internal compartments.】

Of course, to keep such weapons operational, they’d need quite a lot of energy—even if not as much as me.

“Alright, eat this!”

“………Gulp.”

“Wow, wow! It ate it!”

“Really!?”

“Gasp!”

“Me too, me too! Give me one!”

“Wow! It swallowed the long banana in one bite!”

As a result, the dolls, which had previously remained silent no matter what the girls fed them—whether pudding or anything else—began to open their mouths one by one.

From the dolls’ perspective, being abducted into an underground space with no certainty of release meant their energy and calorie supply was severely limited.

Even if it was only a small amount of energy, they calculated that it was better to eat the meal kits, pudding, or bananas given by the Immortal Girls to conserve energy.

“But 21 units…?”

Alice had already extracted various information from the dolls using her Executive Director authority.

She learned that a total of 50 dolls had been ordered to carry out the human elimination mission in the Northern Front.

Additionally, all dolls, including herself, were commanded to gather at Earnest Raill’s northern base precisely one week after the mission began, at 1:00 PM.

“50 units, 50 units…”

Would this be a good gift for Sohi, the guild leader of the Saya Guild?

■

■

■

■

■

■

Currently, Director Milton was racking his brain.

Releasing 50 dolls was expected to wipe out all the indigenous residents and monkeys in the northern Zain region within a week.

Feeling assured, he stayed stationed at the base, leisurely reading books or sipping coffee to enjoy some peace of mind.

Although he regretted being unable to enjoy the luxury meal kits provided by headquarters, having to rely on nutrient capsules for all his meals, he was grateful for the privately stored coffee he had on hand.

“Other employees and external Hunters who took the job must be having a miserable time.”

Having been left to wait indefinitely with no worthwhile entertainment, they were likely passing the time gambling, setting up betting games, or even brawling amongst themselves.

Some impatient Hunters had even violated the standby orders and attempted to flee the base to return to Zain.

“Well, the deserters will likely get caught in the dolls’ detection networks and be killed. But that’s not my responsibility. I made it clear they should stay in their accommodations and never approach the forest, so even if there are survivors, neither I nor Earnest Raill are to blame.”

With that, Director Milton spent the week enjoying coffee and cultured literary works.

Normally, 50 dolls would take no more than three days to eliminate the indigenous forces.

The one-week timeframe had been generously calculated, accounting for any unforeseen variables or unexpected strong adversaries.

“Still, those who dare to sever Earnest Raill’s supply lines so recklessly exist. Their abilities and intelligence aside, the fact that they tampered with corporate property means the dolls can’t afford to let their guard down.”

After the dolls’ mission deadline, Director Milton planned to immediately burn the Northern Front to the ground, personally ensuring the extinction of the indigenous forces.

However, Director Milton couldn’t monitor the dolls’ status in real time.

The dolls were equipped with anti-barrier and anti-mana neural networks.

While it was possible to transmit brief peripheral signals for command purposes, tracking their real-time locations or sharing their visual feed to assess the situation was impossible.

“Even if someone had the ability to breach the anti-mana neural network and hack them, the dolls’ internal networks would overheat, leading to significant risks to their combat systems. If we attempted communication, we’d only endanger the corporation’s assets.”

Despite this, there was nothing to worry about.

To breach the anti-mana neural network would require someone of at least First-Class Overseer level.

Awakened individuals with Ark’s hacking capabilities were either anomalies controlled rigorously by central command or summarily executed by Overseers dispatched by the administration.

There was no chance such a hacking expert existed in this remote monkey village.

Moreover, even without real-time monitoring, Director Milton was unconcerned.

The combat power of a single doll was comparable to that of a Second-Class Overseer, and with 50 units, they exceeded the power of a First-Class Overseer.

Director Milton had ordered the human elimination mission with confidence in the dolls’ capabilities.

The dolls’ overwhelming combat power alone was a sufficient basis for trust, and there was no such thing as failure for these masterful killing machines created with Earnest Raill’s vast resources and technology.

And so, the week passed.

“Hehehe, finally, it’s time to bid farewell to this accursed forest.”

Successfully sabotaging the rival corporation Dawn and completely subduing the monkeys and the entire Northern Front meant Director Milton was guaranteed a massive promotion once this news reached Earnest Raill’s headquarters.

Employees who achieved this level of accomplishment in such a short period were exceedingly rare.

“Agent Crowl, is it confirmed that the dolls are to assemble here?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Since they always gather at this designated location, there was no need to modify the initial commands.”

“I know. I just wanted to be certain. Hahaha.”

Promotion and success.

Money and fame.

The corporation’s trust.

Buoyed by dreams of obtaining all this at once, Director Milton couldn’t help but smile.

It wasn’t just Director Milton.

All the employees of Earnest Raill were confident that this operation would lead to a monumental success.

Though they had endured over a month of bland nutrient capsules, they believed the sweet fruits of their labor would more than compensate for their hardships.

13:01.

The designated assembly time for the dolls was 1:00 PM.

“Hm, they’re late.”

“The Northern Front is vast, sir. The monkeys and native forces must have nested everywhere like pests, so some delay is to be expected.”

“Is that so? I never imagined dolls would miss a scheduled time.”

“During the lower-tier doll experiments, a similar incident occurred. Since the bodies used were those of children, some dolls failed to understand the concept of time and didn’t follow time-related commands well.”

“Ah, that lower-tier massacre, was it? I wasn’t there myself, but it seems you were.”

And so, Director Milton and the other regular employees of Earnest Raill decided to wait patiently.

The dolls would have spent an entire week eliminating humans and continuing their battles without rest.

As soon as they returned, maintenance, sterilization, and impure mana removal would be essential.

It was only natural for all stationed employees to stand by in preparation to handle these valuable corporate assets.

13:42

“…They’re a bit late.”

“Indeed, sir. Could something have happened?”

“To the dolls? That’s impossible. Each one of them is a monster comparable to a Second-Class Overseer. There’s no way they’d fall to monkeys.”

“Well, that’s true.”

14:11

“Hm, lunchtime has already passed. Everyone, eat something temporarily. It’ll just be nutrient capsules, but still.”

“Ugh, how much longer do we have to eat this…”

“Quiet. Even the Director is only eating nutrient capsules…”

In truth, Director Milton had secretly stashed coffee and other foods, so he was in a better position than the soldiers. But no one needed to know that.

15:41

“Director…?”

“………”

“Something feels off.”

“Wait. Hasty judgments are forbidden.”

“No, rather, in situations like this, quick decisions are more crucial…”

“Do you believe the monkeys, who can’t even defeat one of our regular employees in a one-on-one fight, managed to defeat 50 dolls? Even I couldn’t guarantee victory if faced with just two dolls alone. Yet you think some worthless monkeys overcame 50 dolls? At most, they might have damaged one or two units.”

“Even so… the dolls rarely miss their appointed times by more than an hour or so. This is clearly unusual…”

“Silence. If we head into the forest now, we could become the dolls’ targets. Sit tight and wait.”

Time passed further.

Among the employees, murmurs of unease began to spread, and the Hunters observing this scene also sensed something amiss.

They started packing their belongings, ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

17:19.

That was the time displayed on Director Milton’s wristwatch.

Something felt wrong.

Though nothing had yet been revealed…

Though there was no concrete evidence of an anomaly, Director Milton was certain.

“We’re screwed…”

Something.

Something.

Something had gone terribly wrong.