Terrorist Organization (before battle)
An explosion has been detected. Please protect yourselves from danger by swiftly moving under your desks.
……
Whoops... That was a misfire.
A second explosion has been detected. Please activate the regeneration ampule in your possession, and...
Please wait for K Corp's security staff that will arrive within 18 seconds of, of, of...
Same old announcement. I wonder, why are broadcasts like that told in such calm voices?
Won't a little gasping and panicking be more effective in getting people to evacuate?
See, getting so preoccupied with all that technology and science nonsense dulls your empathy with feelings.
...You talk too much. Be quiet.
Is everyone alright? If you aren't, take a regeneration sample. A cross-compatibility test is normally needed, but we're in an emergency...
...You look unfazed. Doesn't a terrorist attack usually throw everyone into chaos?
The first attack did have everyone panicking. The explosive detection broadcasts didn't exist, either. Mister Samjo hid under his desk for quite some time...
As I keep saying, the attack occurred in the lobby, and I was merely attempting to pick up a notebook that fell under the desk.
You must take this situation seriously, Mr. Dongrang. An attack on a K Corp. laboratory in the middle of the Nest is not a matter of course.
For sure, they managed to arrive at the floor where the researchers are. Oh, I think I sprained my left ankle, Samjo.
I watched as Samjo injected a regeneration ampule into Dongrang's body.
Are they the terrorists that are occupying the Lobotomy Corp. branch?
Indeed. Speak of the devil.
They're part of the terrorist organization? They don't really look like well-trained combatants...
Would you look at that, you got an eye for that now, kid?
It's natural. They aren't the ones directly engaging in combat.
It should take a single glance to notice that they appear lean and frail just like Mr. Dongrang.
I've seen rich sods that don't get into fights still get body-enhancing augments just in case. You sure they aren't just acting weak?
It's not necessarily the case. As varied as ways to augment the body are, some may be repulsed by it, physically or mentally.
Some Nests even forbid their residents from getting procedures above a certain level of power if they aren't qualified.
They don't want the lowly to rise up and topple the ruling class over, huh?
I couldn't deny those possibilities. Each Nest must have its own reasons.
But, fundamentally speaking, augmenting procedures are like high-performing vehicles. If an unqualified driver were to try and handle a vehicle with a power output above what they can handle...
Layers of order in the Nest would fall apart in no time, so they'd like to prevent that from happening.
Sorry to interrupt your passionate exposition, the pain was genuine for me, just so you know.
Soon enough, people wearing familiar outfits appeared, along with the unforgettable beats of footsteps.
Eek!
T-The ones from the checkpoint...
And now they're our reliable allies.
<Those robots... They look seriously hostile...>
Hemorrhage within five seconds. Spinal damage of at least 12 centimeters in length. Direct impact on coronary artery. Destruction of the cranium.
These steps will ensure that the enemy meets immediate death without unnecessary suffering.
It can do that, but wasn't it mainly to fully destroy the brain so that they can't regenerate themselves?
Hey, if you don't mind, could you pretend to be dead if this doesn't kill you right away? My buddy stayed up all night upgrading the instakill function.
Quiet.
See~ I told you. With that recoil distance, it only reaches as deep as the occipital lobe. Did you really have to learn it through trial?
Damn it... It should have gone all the way through the temporal lobe.
We can't lose to them, we have robots of our own. They should be here any minute now...
Aha, there it is! The regeneration ampule administration drone.
It must be pretty handy to have them. Do they inject the ampules right as the staff is injured?
Yes, as long as their heads aren't lost... and the ampule is injected before the golden time passes and their brain stops functioning... They're practically undying.
...Kgh.
Injuries like holes in internal organs...
...Kurgh!
Or broken bones can be healed in seconds.
Even still... They wouldn't be immune to pain. How can they be so calm about it...
They won't even bat an eye at a colleague right next to them being cut down.
Natural behavior.
If all wounds can be healed up in seconds, all judgement regarding it will be secondary.
If that's the case... Will we become like that eventually?
I don't see a reason to think about such things.
I was just curious.
By the way... Who are these new faces with unfamiliar outfits? Anyone wanna introduce yourself?
None of our business.
True. But it's kinda awkward to be just facing them. Someone's gotta talk, no?
...Why should we introduce ourselves to a terrorist organization?
We're no mere terrorist organization. Watch your words.
I don't hate the sound of it. It lines up with my beliefs when I was four. I had to answer the call of a grad school because the paper I wrote on atoms won a prize at the age of eleven...
Shut it. We are the technology liberation alliance.
Liberate what technologies exactly? Does technology yearn for freedom?
Maybe... they're talking about the animals in the lab... I think?
You hear that? He thinks we're animal protectors or something?
Sorry, but that went out of fashion long ago. You think we're working day and night assembling machines just to fight for happily raised chickens fried in healthy oil?
Type X-32 bolts are so hard to get these days, we have to order them from other Nests. Do you have any idea how much tax is added?
You can substitute type X-32 bolts by casting a c-9 bolt and tempering it at an interval of two hours.
You aren't gonna win over us by acting all smart...
Oh... Huh... No, she might be right... It could work.
Could you tell us why you're offering advice to enemies, Ms. Faust?
You wouldn't understand. Researchers have a creed more valuable than life.