9S's breathing turned a little ragged. It was unbelievable.
In the next second, his face stiffened as he felt coldness at his neck.
"Wait, 2B. I'm fine. I'm still 9S."
He hurriedly explained to 2B, who had her blade pressed to his throat, terrified that if he was a second too slow she would cut his head off.
"Then how do you prove you're 9S?"
That question was genuinely hard to answer, because any explanation could be dismissed by 2B with: the impostor might have read all relevant data about 9S and be wearing a disguise.
It wasn't like machine lifeforms, where infection made the signs obvious.
"2B, I believe he's still 9S."
It was Mr. Kain's words that made 2B withdraw her blade, though she did not fully sheathe it. She remained on guard.
"How is it, 9S?"
Kain also cared a great deal about what kind of data was inside.
As for why he was sure the person in front of him was still 9S, it was simply that feeling, the same way he could "sense" Commander White.
"Yeah. Decrypting it was easy. No, that's not right. I didn't decrypt anything. I just powered it on, and it exposed completely unencrypted data to me."
Like booting a computer with no password at all, he had entered the "desktop" with ease.
After that, he could freely open various folders. None of them were encrypted either.
"9S, you can understand the data inside?"
The voice came from behind. When he turned, it was Commander White, and A2 had come in as well.
Presumably, after confirming the drive posed no immediate danger, Kain had informed A2 by some means, and the two of them had entered.
"Yes. This is what's incredible about the technology in Mr. Kain's world. After I scanned it, the program automatically adapted downward, automatically made itself compatible with me, and in an instant it became data I could understand."
9S said it excitedly.
However, as soon as he said that, White, A2, and 2B all looked at him with renewed caution.
After a brief pause, 9S immediately realized the problem. His wording implied that the drive had "adapted downward" to him, which made it sound as though he truly might have been compromised, implanted with something that let him interpret what was on the drive.
"Don't be nervous. I believe he's still 9S."
Mr. Kain's repeated trust in him made their gazes soften slightly.
So 9S reorganized his phrasing and explained in greater detail, making it clear that it was the drive's own program that had changed proactively so he could understand, rather than "installing a translator" into him.
"If it's going to proactively make itself compatible with you, doesn't that mean it needs to know what 'version' you are? Wouldn't it have to scan you?"
Commander White's pointed question left 9S momentarily speechless.
Scanning his system was practically the same as intrusion.
Yet 9S had not sensed any counter-scan, any invasion.
"Maybe it didn't scan 9S at all. Maybe it merely reacted to 9S's scan, parsed the technological level contained within that scan, and immediately constructed a compatible data system."
Mr. Kain spoke as if helping him out, and that really might be the case.
"So, 9S. What's inside?"
So it wasn't really about helping him out. Kain simply did not want to waste time on side arguments. He wanted the contents.
"Inside…"
9S paused and glanced at Commander White.
Could you adjust the muzzle in your hand a little? You're still not trusting me. Don't let it misfire.
"Go on."
"Fine. It's a special ammunition technology for firearms. Melta warheads."
As 9S said it, his expression shifted again, turning into something like disbelief.
Because the "bullet" truly was miniature rocket technology.
Of course, melta munitions were terrifying as well. If androids could be fully equipped with them, their strength would surge past the machine lifeforms in one leap.
And that wasn't even the most shocking part.
The most shocking part was that the data inside was a step-by-step tutorial on how to make it.
The sheer "simplicity" of it made 9S feel like he was looking at magic.
"Do you know how—how 'magic' the instructions are for manufacturing these warheads?"
"Magic?"
White was surprised that 9S would use a word like that. What could possibly make even 9S so excited?
Then 9S explained why it felt like magic.
This drive contained a kind of idiot-proof instruction set. Even someone with no knowledge at all could do it. As long as you listened and followed the steps, you could manufacture rocket-propelled rounds and melta warheads that were beyond this era.
Yes, from nothing to something.
It did not require an industrial foundation. It was practically "handmade."
Of course, it wasn't literally something you could mold with your bare hands. Rather, following the guidance inside, you would first make certain auxiliary tools, unbelievably simple tools, and use them to process materials.
Then you would use the processed output to make more tools and more components, chaining step after step, nesting one loop inside another, until you rapidly assembled a production line capable of manufacturing rocket-propelled rounds.
It was absurd.
Naturally, if this drive were handed to someone else, they would not be able to understand what to do.
And that was where 9S came in.
9S was acting as the drive's external display, so that others could actually see the materials and the tutorial inside.
In addition, there was another point.
There was a simulation program inside this drive. Meaning, if the current environment was not Earth, you could input the environmental parameters of where you were, and it would analyze them.
If some material that the "Earth version" required did not exist here, it would find substitutes.
It would then tell you what material to use, what processes to apply, and how to reproduce rocket-propelled rounds and melta warheads in this new environment.
And while rocket-propelled technology looked basic, the most critical part of the dataset was the melta design.
Its lethality came from agitating the target at a subatomic level until it was cooked, melted, and vaporized.
"Uh…"
"What is it, 9S?"
"It looks like… there isn't an actual design blueprint for the melta round in here."
As he said that, 9S flipped through the data again and again, but he still could not find it.
"Scan the physical drive itself. Scan it as finely as you can. As fine as possible."
Kain suddenly made that suggestion.
"Huh? The physical drive itself?"
Meaning to examine the structure of the drive's material, to peer deeper into it, like putting human skin under a microscope until you could see cells?
So 9S began scanning.
To normal vision, it was just a drive.
But now, as the scan deepened and magnified—
"This is…"
9S clicked his tongue again.
"You found it?"
"F-Found it. It's actually etched onto the drive."
No, describing it like that was too simple.
"It's more accurate to say the drive itself is a physically printed design blueprint."
That blueprint was like those transformable toys humans used to love, the kind that could shift from a car into a robot.
Reverse the process, and the robot form could fold into the car form.
The difference was that this folded blueprint-drive was nowhere near as simple as "robot to toy car."
Not even close.
It was on a completely different level.
A difference in dimensions.
It was ridiculous.
Of course, the reason 9S could even recognize it as a blueprint had a lot to do with the drive's internal data assisting him.
Otherwise, he truly would not have been able to tell.
(End of Chapter)
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