91 - Robot

TL/Editor: raei Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: None.

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On a remote mountainside untouched by humans, the steep slope and thick fallen leaves made each step treacherous.

Lee Yeonwoo clung to tree trunks, struggling up the mountainside.

In contrast, the Special Forces soldiers wielding bulletproof shields skillfully ascended, quickly catching up to the investigators in the lead.

"Do you understand what's going on?" a Special Forces soldier asked calmly while catching his breath.

Yeonwoo gestured covering his mouth, then flapped his hands in all directions.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

"You want us to spread out? But it's better to stay together. Our firepower is strongest when concentrated."

Somehow understanding the intent, the soldier glanced back at the trainees following behind, then swiftly raised his gun to shoot down a transport drone.

He shot down the next drone too, but there seemed to be no end to the drones taking flight in pursuit.

The Special Forces soldiers took cover behind tree trunks, maintaining formation as they wiped sweat from their faces.

"We need a Vulcan or EMP to stop those."

"Nah, just releasing some electric snakes would do it."

"We don't have any. This sucks."

"I need information. And how much ammo do we have?"

Yeonwoo hesitated, then held up fingers to write in the dirt:

- 2 boxes full. Lab seems overtaken by Grammar Nazi robots. Using human speech is dangerous.

His fingers dug into the damp, cold earth. Soil darkened the spaces under his nails.

Ding-!

Notification messages chimed simultaneously.

They checked their phones to find messages from the robots. Chilling messages stating their speech was grammatically incorrect, with the "correct" versions provided.

'They heard everything? Even read what I wrote on the ground?'

Yeonwoo glanced at his phone, then looked up at the sky. Sunlight filtered through leaves, and high above, an observation drone hovered, barely visible. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NƟvelFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Yeonwoo sighed, then without hesitation lowered his gun and shot his phone.

Bang-!

The bullet pierced the center of the phone and embedded in the dirt. Yeonwoo spoke glumly.

"I think our phones are hacked. Let's destroy them. At least they won't hear our voices then."

"Everyone, gather your phones here."

"Damn it. I still have payments left on mine."

People hesitated but placed their phones and smartwatches on the ground, piling them up. The trainees who just caught up also tossed their phones after hearing the situation.

To conserve ammo, a Special Forces soldier stacked the phones in layers, attempting to destroy as many as possible with a single shot.

"Those who just arrived, take a gun!"

Meanwhile, Yeonwoo emptied his bag, pouring out handguns and magazines. He seemed intent on emptying an entire box.

"How many guns are in that bag..."

"What kind of equipment is that? Looks useful. Where can we request some?"

People who entered the correct answer, weren't shot, or fled after being shot grabbed a handgun and magazine each, eyeing the bag enviously.

As drone operators, their movements were efficient.

They immediately turned to shoot down the drones pursuing them from the clearing.

"Can't reach the observation drone from here."

"How do we deal with all those drones behind us?"

"More importantly, what's our mission objective? Escape? Defense? Neither seems easy."

Yeonwoo muttered internally.

'Survival.'

Escape was difficult due to the observation drones, defense due to sheer numbers. He doubted they could hold out until the company resolved this situation.

'Should I roll the dice?'

He'd avoided relying on the dice to hone his survival instincts, but perhaps it was time to use it?

Just then.

Rustle, leaves crunched above them. Yeonwoo and others aimed their guns as someone in hiking clothes carefully descended with hands raised.

Yeonwoo recognized the face and muttered.

"Agent Kim Gapdong?"

"I'm from the Intelligence Department. From now on, you'll split into three teams to carry out the mission."

Kim Gapdong, drenched in sweat and panting, briefly nodded at Yeonwoo in recognition.

---

---

As drones closed in rapidly, Kim Gapdong checked his wristwatch and spoke quickly.

"An EMP will detonate in 1 minute 30 seconds."

The EMP detonation should end the situation. Sighs of relief escaped, but the sharper ones looked skeptical.

"Then what's the mission?"

"The EMP won't end everything. The lab building and containment rooms are EMP-shielded, so the anomalous Grammar Nazi robot causing this will be unaffected."

Kim Gapdong caught his breath, then continued.

"You need to infiltrate the lab and subdue the Grammar Nazi robot."

People exchanged bewildered looks. Us, carry out a mission? Suddenly?

Yeonwoo raised his hand slightly and asked.

"Why us? Couldn't a specialized unit or Special Forces handle this?"

"The Superhuman Battalion and Sword Investigation Team are deployed, but Intelligence believes you can achieve the objective fastest."

It would take time for other units to arrive.

Meanwhile, forming teams with the company employees here and deploying them for the urgent crisis was preferable.

"The Aerial Weapons Research Institute has many EMP-resistant weapons. We need to neutralize those as quickly as possible."

The employees nodded reluctantly, their expressions unenthusiastic.

"Form your teams now. Three balanced teams. I'll prepare supplies-"

As people sized each other up and Kim Gapdong set down his hiking bag, his stated time arrived.

Something arced through the air from afar.

—!

A silent, invisible wave exploded. The imperceptible blast engulfed the area in an instant, frying electronic circuits.

Drones started dropping like flies. The movement and impact sounds belatedly revealed the EMP's effects.

Crash crash crash-!

Fallen drones pummeled the ground. They crashed onto roads, open spaces, building rooftops, and tree branches.

Yet some drones continued flying unaffected.

"The lab developed various weapons to counter different anomalies."

Kim Gapdong pulled out three document bundles and handed them over.

"EMP-shielded drones, bionic drones, steampunk drones... Their weapons are... Teams formed yet?"

"We'll do it now."

People started revealing their affiliations and dividing into plausible teams.

Each team included one investigator, two Special Forces, one Intelligence agent, and one researcher. A composition to handle any situation.

Checking the lineup, Kim Gapdong pointed to three people.

"Mr. Yeonwoo, Investigation Team Leader, Squad Leader - you're interim team leaders. Team leaders, take this intel and taser gun. Everyone else, take one EMP grenade each."

They started receiving supplies.

Yeonwoo quickly grabbed an EMP grenade and taser, then held out his hand. Kim Gapdong handed over documents with an exasperated look.

"Do accidents follow you everywhere? Or do you go where accidents happen?"

"Haha... Weren't you in Auditing? Why are you on this kind of mission?"

"Transferred to First Response. Wish I hadn't."

Kim Gapdong wearily put a hand to his chest.

Thump thump thump, his heart raced despite standing still.

"They dosed me with augmentation drugs and threw me here saying it was urgent. I'm dead tomorrow."

"...No more guns? Can we manage with just tasers and EMP grenades?"

"Guns? You have them. Knowing you, you're packing more than a couple."

Kim Gapdong waved his hand, unwilling to say more.

"Everyone, commence operations. I'm heading back."

With that, he bounded away, leaping several meters at a time. Someone muttered as he disappeared.

"Augmentation drugs? Those have nasty side effects."

"Given his arrival time, they might as well have used a human catapult. Hope he's okay."

The muttering quickly faded. The squad leader and team leader, now team leaders, called out.

"Move out!"

"Ugh, what a mess... We'll tear Auditing a new one later. Let's go."

Two teams departed, leaving Yeonwoo's team.

Yeonwoo and Choi Jae-min, two Special Forces with bulletproof shields, a hooded Intelligence agent, and a pale-faced researcher.

Yeonwoo called out softly.

"Let's move out too."

---

---

In the lab after the EMP blast, inside the Grammar Nazi robot's containment room.

The robot's red bulb flashed rapidly as its cables trembled. It felt unbearably wretched, its electronic circuits nearly burning with rage.

[]

One blast extinguished countless machine lives. With just one explosion!

The flashing bulb emitted an intense red light. The crimson glow filled the small containment room.

[]

The robot's cables writhed. Data flowed through them.

It released what few flying weapons remained through the lab's internal network that survived the EMP.