352 – EP.12 Into the Storm-1
***
It was the urge to urinate that woke him up from his deep swamp of despair.
As I looked to the side with my hazy eyes, I saw the figure of an android with its eyes closed as if sleeping.
He crept out of bed, his bare feet planted on the floor.
I look at my watch, it’s 4 o’clock. Even if I had kicked the blanket and gotten up, Isis, lying next to me, probably wouldn’t have woken up.
And now Kang In-ho also knows that fact.
A gap had appeared in Isis. Whether it was there from the beginning or a recent development was not important.
There is one important fact for him. This gap time is increasing little by little.
When I first learned of this, I planned to wait until Isis had an opening.
However, Isis could tell whether he was asleep or awake like a ghost. It was also difficult for her to lie down with her eyes closed and not sleep.
So what I chose to do was drink a lot of water.
It was hard to control the time, but I calculated that if I woke up once in the middle to drink water, it would take about that amount of time.
After some trial and error, my body adapted to this time and I was able to wake up.
“Bathroom first.”
I go into the bathroom and relieve my bladder, which feels like it’s going to burst.
As the excess moisture drains away, the hazy mind gradually becomes clearer.
He opened and closed his eyes, looking at the vents in the ceiling.
Isis’s free time without interference lasts about 30 minutes. It’s increasing, but it’s still tight because I have to go back to my seat and sleep.
“There’s nothing I can do. There’s nothing I can do.”
As he said, he had no intention of doing anything in particular.
I’m slowly getting used to life here,
The arguments with Isis are also gradually decreasing,
Since I have decided not to hold Isis responsible for NB,
He had no choice but to escape this place.
That’s why this moment is like a chocolate bar secretly hidden in the cupboard to him.
Because it’s a very small happiness that I only know about.
He looked at the bathroom mirror.
The image of herself reflected in the mirror without a single drop of water was spotless, even though she had just woken up.
He thought it was because Isis was taking care of it.
This face was unfamiliar to him. Even though he saw it every day, he couldn’t get used to it.
In fact, it was the same no matter which dimension you went to.
Even when I possessed the body of a fat old man,
Even when I possessed the body of an old man,
Even when possessed by a person with thick or beautiful lines,
He was always awkward and unfamiliar.
Wash your face with a dry cloth and rub your face roughly.
Like erasing a piece of paper covered in scribbles with an eraser.
Still, this awkwardness does not go away.
Other people laugh, cry, frown, and get angry just like that.
Back in the room. Check the time. 4:11. Isis is still frozen.
He walked closer to the window.
– Hooded hood …
The windows vibrate in the strong wind.
“It’s brave that it doesn’t break.”
He stuck out his tongue in a century that seemed like it would break apart and shatter into pieces.
The destructive power of nature tramples the artificial city.
Trees with their roots exposed gradually leaned and fell over, and tiles in the park broke and scattered.
Occasionally small animals could be seen scurrying away, and birds chirped through cracks in the buildings to fight against the fierce storm.
Chaos has come to Aaru.
“You said there would be no safety issues, so there shouldn’t be any.”
This is AI’s boast. I couldn’t help but believe it.
The cradle is safe, and the damaged city facilities will be repaired after the storm has passed.
The windows were shaking loudly, but the building was intact.
If Isis’ prediction is true, the storm will leave Aaru within two days.
Everything is going smoothly, steadily, and according to plan.
Still, he scratched his head.
“But why are you so anxious?”
I can’t help but feel like something is going to go terribly wrong.
I have a feeling something big is going to happen.
And so far, this anxiety has usually led to a bad ending.
-Wheww
The wind is getting stronger.
As if the building was being uprooted.
I look at the time. It’s 4:20.
It’s time to go back to bed.
He glanced out the window once more, then crawled into bed.
The feeling of a warm blanket enveloped him.
‘I should go to bed soon.’
After one hour and forty minutes, Isis opened her eyes.
***
“6 o’clock.”
Isis’s eyes sharpened as she checked the time after optimizing the memory.
The time it takes to optimize is increasing, which means there are more and more things to delete.
“We need to find a way to reduce the optimization time.”
If this trend continues, the downtime will continue to increase, and the gap in the city will certainly increase.
“If it’s a performance issue with the Android body, then replacing the body is also possible…”
Suddenly, Isis’s mouth closed.
[Just do it. Don’t look different, just be the same.]
The next day after the first stress management, the words the Master had said to Isis were automatically played.
“We will have to choose a method to upgrade the body itself.”
Isis muttered and grabbed Kang In-ho’s wrist.
Pulse, breathing, and blood pressure were all normal.
I woke up a little in the middle of the night, and there was a change in my brain waves, but since I’ve been showing this trend recently, I’ll just record it for now.
After the owner’s medical check was completed, I checked the city’s situation in the control room as usual.
As expected, the destructive power of the storm was terrifying. This sandstorm that originated in the wilderness covered most of Aaru’s facilities, destroying most of them.
“We will begin repair work after the storm passes.”
However, since the main facilities were installed in the cradle and underground of the city, there was no problem with the Master’s survival.
Isis lowered the screen that was illuminating the city and brought up another screen.
“Dimensional distortion values confirmed. …critical point approaching.”
Isis’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the upward graph.
It is still within the normal range, but it seems like it would not be strange if it exceeded the acceptable level at any time.
When the dimensional distortion level reaches a critical point, a dimensional passage appears.
Isis has gathered data to determine the time when the dimensional passage will occur. The estimated time until the dimensional passage occurs is approximately 44 hours.
If things continue like this, we will have to face the dimensional passage along with the storm.
“If the passage opens before the storm passes, it is difficult to guarantee the Master’s safety.”
Isis quickly assessed the situation.
“We should also consider bringing forward the Master’s transplant surgery schedule to today.”
For that, a more detailed medical check is necessary.
As soon as Isis returned to her room, she decided to proceed.
Isis got up from her seat and returned to her room, starting to check for any unusual events that had occurred during the night.
Excluding the damage caused by the storm, Isis, who was checking the CCTV footage for any unusual events, stopped abruptly in front of the door to the room where the Master was.
Video footage from 3:42 to 6:00 was inaccessible.
“It’s not inaccessible.”
Isis muttered as she looked into the empty space. Little by little, emotions began to creep into her previously expressionless face.
“The record has been deleted.”
Isis raised her eyebrows and frowned as she muttered softly.
Isis opened the door to the cradle, searching for the deleted records and analyzing the cause. The first thing she saw was the bed.
An empty bed.
[Video record deleted – Deleted by: Isis]
The records say that she deleted them, but Isis has no recollection of deleting them.
Isis walked quickly, looking under the bed and into every corner of the room.
And then he opened the bathroom door without even knocking.
An empty bathroom.
There is no master.
It’s nowhere in the room.
“…NB.”
The face reflected in the mirror seemed unfamiliar even to him.
Isis muttered.