Chapter 19

It was right when Jera was eagerly staring at the inverter panel. Suddenly, a brief warning beep echoed from the machine, and a warning text popped up at the bottom section.

[Reverse Current Detected.]

Jera read it aloud.

“Reverse Current Detected? What’s reverse current?”

The next instant, the numbers on the panel dropped sharply and became zero in the blink of an eye.

Jera let out a bewildered sound.

“Huh?”

Shuri was bewildered as well.

‘What is this?’

Fortunately, the confusing time did not last very long. It was because the sounds of the children squawking could be heard from behind.

“Shuri! Artificial intelligence! They say it’s a reverse current. The numbers became zero! What do we do about this?”

“Th-The circuit breaker went down!”

Raising his voice, Adam spoke.

“It is alright. I am coming now.”

He then swept away a white sheet to return to the children.

Having grown far too bewildered, Shuri stood froze like a stone on the spot for several seconds. Belatedly startled, she then chased after Adam.

“Wh-What was that just now? Adam, was that a joke?”

“It was not a joke. I worked much harder than the cooling pump, after all. I moved the tomato boxes and assisted in installing the solar cells. Yet why is it the cooling pump that receives the praise?”

Shuri was struck with shock.

‘Could it be that Adam… is jealous of the cooling pump?’

With the startled children dangling in bunches from both his arms, Kamal asked.

“What happened just now? A blackout occurred all of a sudden, but the lights came right back on.”

Even while being thoroughly drained and left ragged in many ways, Shuri hoisted a thumbs-up.

“There was a brief issue, but it’s fine now. More importantly, Kamal! Soul Garden has gained an additional power supply equipment.”

“Gained what?”

“Boss, we’ll show you!”

Led by the children’s hands to go up to the rooftop and verify the situation, Kamal widened his two eyes.

“This is…”

Kamal turned toward the children. However, an unexpected look of worry filled his face instead.

Looking around at the children, he asked.

“Kids, where did you bring this from?”

“The abandoned town!”

“We found it inside the warehouse of a closed-down gas filling station.”

“It’s fine to go up to that point, isn’t it, boss?”

At the children’s words, Kamal’s face hardened slightly. However, instead of getting angry, he raised his massive hands to roughly pat the children’s heads.

“You punks, your procurement ability is magnificent. However, for kids to move such heavy equipment from that far away by yourselves was far too dangerous!”

With his hair looking like a bird’s nest, Jera mumbled.

“But we pulled it off, didn’t we? Boss, we generated electricity with light!”

“Yes. You must have done so for everyone’s sake! Thank you very much.”

Only then did smiles bloom like flowers on the faces of the relieved children.

After soothing the children like that, Kamal approached Shuri. He then whispered in a low voice.

“Shuri, leave this place right this instant.”

Cross-legged while watching the spectacle with gratification, Shuri’s eyes grew wide.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“That is likely not an object that was originally in that place. The only things there were a sofa with all its cushions deflated and an empty vending machine.”

Kamal spoke in a heavy voice.

“Those bastards from the Human Liberation Front have been searching around this vicinity lately. In my opinion, that object belongs to those bastards.”

“…!”

The Human Liberation Front meant the anti-artificial intelligence activists. Taking the cities of Zone F as their base of activity, they were a terrorist group that raided plants operated by massive corporations led by UH or assassinated corporate figures and scientists.

Of course, Shuri was a target that lacked way too much substance to become the target of a terrorist organization. However, as an AI engineer, it was for the best the less she encountered anti-artificial intelligence activists.

Listening carefully to Kamal’s words alongside Shuri, Adam spoke.

“Because all the electrical facilities in the area are superannuated, the scope of the blackout was quite wide. They might have noticed something.”

“Yes. So, quickly leave this…”

“Then those must be the Human Liberation Front.”

Before anyone knew it, Adam was pointing toward the horizon. Two military vehicles were racing forward while kicking up yellow dust. The direction was precisely toward Soul Garden.

Kamal shouted.

“Hurry, hurry!”

With her face turning pale, Shuri asked.

“Kamal, is this going to be alright? Shouldn’t we all flee together?”

Driving her out like a sheepdog, Kamal spoke rapidly.

“It’s a matter that will end once we return the object the kids brought and apologize. It’s not like it was eaten and vanished like food! However, if those bastards find out that you and the robots are here, things will grow massive. Shuri, do you understand my words?”

Having her face turn blue, Shuri barely managed to nod her head before turning around. Adam was standing right behind her.

Shifting his body slightly to make the Jeep parked at the rear visible, he spoke in a tender voice.

“Shuri, the best method is for you to leave this place alone right this instant. I will resolve the problem.”

“‘I’? Did you just say ‘I’? Then what about you?”

Adam replied very amiably.

“Shuri, you know it already. I can escape from the system of the SH-48-XY-9000-P at any time.”

Shuri looked up at him with her two eyes wide open. Adam could verify that her heart rate was rising sharply, her breathing was growing rough, and her pupils were dilating. It was due to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system caused by adrenaline secretion.

Adam judged that the best method to protect Shuri was to make her leave this location immediately. Shuri was a PTSD patient. The probability of her experiencing stronger stress than normal people under the same fearful situation was high. She needed to get clearly away from the fear and threat right this instant.

He spoke again.

“Leave this place. Right this instant.”

As if having been inputted a command, Shuri hesitatingly took a step backward. Though her gaze remained fixed upon him, in the end she withdrew even that, turned around, and began to run.

Watching her back as she ran to the car and scrambled up into the driver’s seat, Adam spoke.

“Precisely that. Well done, Shuri.”

The engine started, and the Jeep moved. However, the car did not exit Soul Garden.

Rather, it headed toward the backyard.

Roughly stopping the car in the backyard, Shuri leaped down from the driver’s seat again. Pushing the car door roughly to the point of barely closing it, she returned to him. Toward him, opening her two arms.

“Adam…!”

In that instant, a mysterious thing occurred. Regardless of the objective that he must distance Shuri from this location, Adam welcomed her in an infinitely receptive posture. Opening his two arms, he called her name as if releasing a hot sigh intermingled with various emotions.

“Shuri.”

Snatching his forearm, Shuri ground her teeth.

“I can’t leave my robots and the kids behind and flee by myself. Adam, come this way!”

Adam looked down at such a Shuri. He then let out a low chuckling sound.

“As expected, you make things difficult for me.”

His voice was far too low, so Shuri barely heard it. She looked back.

“What did you just say?”

“It is nothing.”

Returning to his original crisp tone, Adam followed her easily and asked.

“Shuri, how do you plan to proceed?”

“A plan? I don’t have one yet…!”

“If you will excuse me, may I say that it is reckless?”

“If you know it’s going to be rude, don’t say it.”

Adam immediately shut his mouth. It seemed there were quite a lot of rude words he wanted to say.

In any case, the situation was far too urgent to care about such things. Dragging Adam along toward the inside of the building, Shuri spoke rapidly.

“It would be a relief if the situation wraps up with returning the solar cell just as Kamal said, but if it doesn’t, it’s a disaster. First, let’s hide and watch the situation!”

The first floor of Soul Garden was a wide, open space without any blockages. The restaurant that once sold things like galbi, pork belly, and set menus had now become a playground for the children. The children, who were still unaware of the situation outside, were gathered in clusters playing.

Shuri shouted.

“Kids! Go up to the second floor.”

The children took on bewildered faces.

“What’s going on?”

One child who was glued to the window shouted.

“A big car! It’s those scary ahjussis again.”

“Scary ahjussis?”

The children tried to rush toward the window. Forcing a smile, Shuri blocked the children.

“They merely came to look for something briefly. It will be over soon, so wait on the second floor.”

However, the children instantly took on frightened faces and did not attempt to leave their spots easily.

Right then, an unexpected helper emerged.