It had been a few days.
Adam and Yoku were deep into trying something—anything—to restore what was lost. They'd spent the last three nights combining scraps, scanning parts, welding attachments together. All of it for one purpose: a prosthetic arm for Yoku.
One attempt involved strapping on a metal limb. It looked promising—at least visually—but did nothing. No motion. No response. Just a lifeless piece of steel bolted to his shoulder.
Yoku exhaled through his nose, staring down at the dead weight."What's the use of an arm," he muttered, "if it has no function?"
Adam sighed beside him. His expression was blank. "Yeah…"
He tried not to show it, but guilt lingered behind his eyes. This felt like his fault somehow. His burden to fix.
Yoku, quiet for a moment, finally spoke again. "What if we use springlocks... sensors... a microcontroller?"
It wasn't much, but it was a plan.
They spent the next two days working on it—testing new mounts, scanning the bone structure, welding again. But when Adam tried to install the new device, something went wrong. The microcontroller latched onto Yoku's skin like a parasite, digging in too deeply. No matter how much they pulled, it wouldn't come off.
"Sigh… this won't get infected, right?" Adam muttered, prying at the device.
Again, they had to rip it apart and start from scratch...
Sigh i hate springlocks! who was the weird guy... who always makes robot out of this.
Needing space, Adam wandered through the facility. The air smelled faintly of rust and machine oil. Wires hung loosely from the ceiling.
He spotted the cap-headed boy—Mutze—sitting by an open vent, tools scattered at his side. His hands were deep inside the panel, reconfiguring the wire array.
"You need something?" Adam asked.
The boy didn't respond right away. He kept working, head tilted down, focused. His silence was unnerving.
"There's been no transmission signal from the settlement," he finally muttered. "Not since that day."
He sighed and leaned back, looking exhausted. "If this keeps up, the whole mission will fail. Or worse—we'll die here."
Adam handed him a metal can.
"Yoku said something about Engalf Town being dead," he said. "Whatever that means…"
Mutze's face hardened. He took the can without looking at Adam.
"Imagine telling someone their hometown's been wiped off the map," he snapped, standing. "How would you feel?"
Adam flinched but stayed silent.
The tension hung in the air for a moment. Then Mutze looked down, shame flickering in his eyes.
"I wasn't being fair… sorry, " he muttered, before walking away.
Adam watched him go.
Was this world really hopeless after all?
Later, Adam wandered into the project room.
Mino and Kineki were gathered around a dusty monitor, sketching plans with a green-haired girl named Mya. They were drawing something—blueprints, maybe, or a transmission hub. Adam couldn't tell. Still, the sight made him smile.
Maybe... maybe it wasn't all lost.
At the gathering room, two girls stood among scattered maps and monitors. One was the green-haired girl from earlier—Mya. The other had sharp eyes and wore a worn research jacket, her sleeves stained from too many long nights in the labs.
"Mutze," the sharp-eyed girl said, tapping a screen, "I think you need to fix the North Sector again. There's been a suspicious spike in carbon monoxide… and the algae moss in that area's been steadily dying."
The cap-headed boy, Mutze, looked down, visibly drained."Yeah… but I'm not going alone this time. I can't risk it again—not after my gas mask cracked last time."
He looked around for a moment.
Adam glanced at Yoku. Yoku didn't even wait.
"Oh no," Yoku said, raising his only arm. "No way. I've got one arm, remember? This one's yours."
Then, from the side of the room, a husky voice cut in.
"I can help!" a man shouted, standing up eagerly.
He was in his forties, round-bodied and unkempt, with torn clothes and hopeful eyes. Adam wasn't sure who he was at first, but then the name clicked.
Riko.
But before he could respond, the sharp-eyed girl turned and coldly dismissed the man.
"No, Riko… I think Adam's more suited. Especially since he's been sneaking into the storage sites and stealing metal transcriptors."
She stared at Adam. Adam looked away.
The room fell silent.
Adam glanced back at Riko and saw a reflection of himself—someone left behind, someone ignored. He remembered his own world, back in high school. People had called him lazy, useless—a lich of a person who never contributed to anything.. but i always say that i will always help, but they never say anything.
But was it really his fault?
He exhaled and nodded."…Okay. I'll go."
The girl with sharp eyes turned to Mutze. "Be careful," she said, a little softer now.
Adam smirked faintly...hoho, Was that concern? man what am i talking about... haii
Adam prepared quickly, influenced by Yoku huge bag practicality. He filled a backpack with drones, tools, wrenches, and a few lumps of charcoal. Mutze helped him load up before strapping on his own gas mask.
As they stepped outside the facility, Adam's body staggered. A strange numbness swept over him. His legs felt like paper. He nearly collapsed.
Mutze caught him.
"That's normal," he said. "You've been indoors too long."
You mean feeling like a corpse is normal now? Adam thought to himself. He sighed, then pushed forward.
They moved through the volcanic vents, where streams of gas hissed from rusted pipes. The moss beneath their feet glowed dimly with each step.
Suddenly, they stumbled upon a group of metallic figures—polished, humanoid, moving with eerie precision.
Adam froze."...What the hell are those?"
"Oh, them?" Mutze waved lazily. "Artificial Maintenance Robots. AMRs. They're here to keep the place functional… Well, in theory. Still needs a human touch. Machines don't do everything, especially when stuff like this happens."
He gestured toward a leaking pipe in the ceiling, oozing black sludge.
Adam raised an eyebrow. He's talkative all of a sudden.
They continued forward, toward the heart of the North Sector...
YURUKI POV
Meanwhile, out east—far from the sector—Yuruki was locked in a battle of her own.
"YOU STUPID BUCKET OF BOLTS!" she screamed, wrestling with the android over the boat's control panel.
The bot's metallic fingers yanked the row pad from her grasp. "Why are you going west?!" it snapped. "The industrial zone is filled with toxic gas. It's suicide for an organic like you!"
"I don't care!" Yuruki yelled, grabbing the oar back. "I'm looking for someone!"
"That doesn't make sense. Why would I assist you in a suicide mission... I barely know you human?"
Yuruki grinned, sweat dripping from her brow. "Isn't that what relationships are? Built on trust, not time?"
The android's voice cracked. "Don't give me that! I saved you once!"
"Then help me again," she challenged, half-laughing.
The two continued their chaotic tug-of-war, the boat rocking dangerously on the waves.