Chapter 50. Tree (4)
"Alright, let me explain again. Listen carefully."
"I'm listening."
"Then why do you keep—! ... Oh, never mind. It's good as long as you understand now."
The engineer from Myosotis introduced by Eric, Kyle Radia, preferred to be called Kyle. He was the brother of Gloxinia, who piloted the shuttle.
When I first heard this, I was puzzled, as I remembered Roxy being involved with the brokers. However, after hearing Kyle's explanation, I understood.
While Gloxinia roamed around seeking stimulation, Kyle Radia valued a sense of belonging. Their values were so opposite that they parted ways years ago but coincidentally reunited recently.
Unlike Roxy, who was mad about dopamine, Kyle seemed relatively normal. With a fairly solid build, he looked a bit fatigued, possibly because we came by in the morning.
"So, why can't it be done? ... I guess I shouldn't ask that?"
"Try it. I'll see what happens... I suppose saying that isn't right either. Since this is the first time we're meeting like this."
"The long pause makes it sound like you're serious."
"..."
Kyle pretended not to hear and turned away, placing the basic mining tools we brought onto the workbench. The handles, the battery at the bottom, the long rod for safety, and the nozzle at the end. It was the plasma cutter I had been proficiently using for three years now, so much so that I could handle it with my eyes closed.
We had requested two features before the tool modification. One was enabling the plasma to be discharged at long range when necessary, and the other was expanding the plasma discharge area.
And we had just been told that both were difficult.
'Nadia's tail attack didn't work.'
Usually, a few waves of her fluffy tail would be enough to woo most, but even though Nadia suppressed her fear of strangers, Kyle didn't cave easily. Well, he did, but then shook his head.
That must really mean that it can't be done.
"I genuinely want to help you folks because I think I survived thanks to you. But what's impossible is impossible. Both are practically... no, there are limitations to the modifications. The output limit with this tool's battery is predetermined, and fundamentally, the nozzle's structure is not suitable for discharge, so the accuracy would be significantly low."
"..."
"Let's assume that plasma discharging at long range is possible, let's say we force it to happen. It would surely be powerful. Weapons using liquid plasma are actually being developed, so there's no denying its potential. And that's where the problem lies. It's too powerful."
"..."
"Would the discharged plasma just attack and disappear? It might still have power after hitting those monster guys and would end up wrecking the facility too, right? Who knows if it'd even hit accurately. If it misses, it's an even bigger issue. When precision aiming is lacking, energy spheres, whose direction can't be predicted, would sweep through the area. Even though adjusting plasma strength is said to be doable, applying that technology to this tool is just not feasible. It's not practical."
What Kyle said was reasonable. Honestly, the destruction of the facility wasn't a big concern. It's not that it was running properly anyway.
The real problem was the alert broadcast that would follow the destruction of the facility. In a situation where causing a commotion was inadvisable, the broadcast would draw in all nearby ghouls.
That would demolish the advantage of handling things quietly. It might be useful in a cornered situation, but otherwise, it just wasn't practical. That's why we asked to add it as a feature rather than changing the approach entirely, but they said it was not possible, which was disappointing.
"Increasing the plasma discharge area is feasible by forcibly raising the output. However, doing so will inevitably cause the battery to drain faster, and it might suddenly shut down during an emergency."
"Hmm..."
"Oh no, don't be tempted. I know you're thinking, 'That might be an acceptable trade-off,' right now. But I'm not done talking yet."
"..."
"Don't think, 'Why does this engineer say everything's impossible, is it because he lacks skill? He talks too much,' either."
"..."
Did he hear that? Nadia and I, whose true feelings were fully exposed, quietly shut our mouths.
"It's definitely durable since it's a tool used for blue crystal mining. I mean, it would have been originally. Not now."
"Is the condition bad?"
"Yes. The coating surrounding the circuit is on the verge of peeling off. Knowing SSTC's nature, equipment replacement rarely took place, so if you force the output while it's like this, there's a risk the battery might explode."
"So, it's still possible, then?"
"... I'm continuously saying it's dangerous."
"I know. But please do it. I'm serious."
I already knew the tools weren't in great condition, even without Kyle's words. Before the incident, I used to search the equipment storage every morning for the least damaged tools.
I fully understood that manipulating the circuit to forcefully increase output is dangerous. However, the feature was essential.
The current output can still pierce through a ghoul's body. But how long that will last, I didn't know. According to Carrot's data, ghouls were constantly mutating.
The mutation occurs at a very fast pace. Bubbling flesh could suddenly become abnormally hard, rendering the plasma cutter ineffective.
And I kept the mimic type in mind. The mutant that parasitized the tram we encountered in the residential area. If a similar creature appeared in the Mine base Heaven, the current output wouldn't suffice.
Fighting on the open ground, rather than in the constrained environment of the tracks, would especially expose that limitation.
I considered the old relics of gunpowder weapons used by the pureblood supremacists. However, they were not efficient.
Not only did they create too much noise, but pinpoint impacts also didn't inflict significant damage on ghouls. Their unique regenerative ability required at least linear impacts to accumulate any meaningful damage.
"... Are you leaving again? Although the store only passed level 1 verification, thanks to Celestia, we can acquire needed materials for Colony repairs to a degree. Once the array antenna is complete, rescue will come immediately as well."
Kyle understood why we wanted the long-range attack feature. However, he couldn't comprehend why we were planning to venture out to combat in the first place.
'... Does he not know why Celestia came here?'
It didn't seem like the reaction from someone who knew why she descended here. Briefly puzzled, I brushed it off. It wasn't my concern. Although they belonged to the same Myosotis, Kyle was more like a subordinate. Not everything would be shared between them.
"Who knows what will happen. I just... want to be prepared. We should be capable if stronger monsters emerge."
"... At close range?"
"If we can't retreat, we have to fight. I'm not planning to sit still and die."
The conversation between Celestia and Lycoris that we had before bed was still fresh. The compulsion that we had to do something also persisted. No, it grew more intense thinking about the unpredictable actions of the pureblood supremacists.
Since we promised not to disclose anything for now, I dodged with vague words. Luckily, it also happened to align with my actual thoughts.
Kyle watched Nadia and me quietly. He seemed to ponder, crossing his arms as he emitted a soft hum. Eventually, he nodded slightly.
"If that's the case, I suppose there's no choice. Fine, I'll modify it to expand the plasma discharge area."
"Finally!"
"Your reaction makes it seem like I threw a tantrum."
"Finally!!"
"... I should just keep quiet."
Kyle placed his hand on his forehead at Nadia's reaction, with her arms raised high. He told us to leave the tools to be modified on the workbench.
We signaled Carry with a gentle tap. It promptly lifted the items from the transport box, which we had brought from the equipment storage when we first left Mine base Heaven.
There were seven pieces in total. Seeing that more than two had been added, suspicion crossed Kyle's face.
"... Can we call it off? There are too many. Remove two, please. Besides having much work on my plate already, since modifying involves tinkering with the circuit, it'll compromise the circuit's stability."
Kyle insisted on removing a few as they could be affected by the raw blue crystal, suggesting we keep some for offensive maneuvers. After a brief deliberation, we quietly removed two.
"Now that we've removed those, can you just modify these two?"
"No."
"If I die from overwork, I'll write your names in my will."
"Don't just write our names, include a sentence saying you'll bequeath all your assets to us as well."
"..."
Baffled, Kyle blinked his eyes in disbelief and let out a helpless laugh, saying they never stop needing assistance. He released a deep sigh and began tidying up the workbench.
"It will take a little time to modify them. I'll try my best to preserve the circuit condition. I'll contact you once the work is done, so you might as well leave."
"We'll wait without nagging. Eric told me you're quite skilled."
"... Did he say such a thing?"
Actually, I couldn't remember if he did or not. I just said it as a part of a greeting, thinking that he wouldn't have introduced someone lacking skill. With a bold face, I ensured it sounded convincing.
Hearing my confident assertion, Kyle's expression lit up. He spoke with a noticeably better mood.
"For now, I'll finish the modifications as there's no time, but in the future, once things calm down, I'll create new ones for you. Designing from scratch is way better than modifying, after all."
"Oh, can you do custom ones?"
"The greatsword the boss wields was made by me."
No wonder it didn't look like a factory-made product; it was a custom piece of equipment. And the person who created that gear was standing right before my eyes.
I vividly remembered the powerful appearance of that blade, cloaked in blue sparks, which captivated my interest.
"Really? How much?"
Naturally, I didn't expect it to be free. When I was heavily craving equipment, I made an estimate for custom gear just for fun. Whether they were robbing me or I was a fool, I couldn't tell at that point, but the lowest estimate was over several million credits.
It was a moment when I deeply experienced being penniless, shocked, and after which I stopped eyeing them altogether.
Since I didn't have many credits on hand, I hoped it wouldn't cost too much when I asked the question, and his response was unexpected.
"Later, if you do me a favor, I won't take credits in exchange."
"What kind of favor?"
"I'm only setting a condition. I can't think of anything right now. I just thought making you owe me would be more beneficial than taking credits. If you think it's challenging, you can refuse."
Kyle was laying the groundwork for a safety net, just like us, preparing the tools as a precaution.
"Well... alright then."
"Yeah. Once I get hold of the components needed for customizing gear, I'll make sure to craft something solid for you."
Kyle shooed us away, waving his hands as if urging us to leave. Before we knew it, we found ourselves standing outside.
***
"Hyun-woo, my tail attack didn't work... Is the fluffiness not enough?"
Expressing disappointment at her tactics not working as expected, Nadia hugged her tail in front of her. Although it was challenging to bring her tail up to her face, it reached up to her chest.
"If it gets any fluffier, it'd be like a squirrel's tail. It's just perfect the way it is, so don't change it."
"Then I'll keep it like this! But what's a squirrel?"
"A small animal living on Earth. There's also a companion species known as the flying squirrel."
"Wow! They're incredibly cute...!"
When I showed her pictures stored on my bracelet, Nadia admired them, pressing her face close to the holographic screen. She looked like she might try to enter the screen, so I stopped her at the right moment.
"But he didn't ask about that thing."
"What thing?"
"How we deactivated the tool safeguard."
"Oh."
Come to think of it, there was no mention of that topic at all. He seemed to be aware of the tool's safeguards when he glanced at us after confirming they worked.
"Well, maybe it was considerate of him. It's a bit of a sticky issue, you know? If I said, 'We disabled it using a hacking program,' he might think we're oddballs."
"So, it ended well?"
"It ended well."
Nadia swished her tail, indicating there was nothing to worry about anymore.
Kyle mentioned that the modification would take a bit of time. Since we had nothing urgent to address in the interim, we found ourselves with some free time until the modification was complete.
The repair work on the colony town's outer wall was still in progress. It seemed like they were having difficulty making significant progress due to the lack of equipment and manpower.
Just when I was debating whether to help out there instead of spending time idly, elic emerged from the building, searching with his head turning, before he spotted us and approached directly.
"Did you have a good conversation with Kyle?"
"Yeah, we just left it there a moment ago."
"I see. He's truly skilled, and I'm not saying that just because we're in the same organization— so you can trust him."
Nadia and I couldn't help but chuckle at those words. It meant my claim wasn't a lie anymore since I told Kyle that Eric said just that.
Seeing our laughter, elic looked puzzled but quickly shifted his focus to other matters. Ensuring there was no one around, he leaned closer. Could we talk for a moment, he asked.
Since nothing particularly urgent needed to be taken care of, we nodded, curious. With that, elic got straight to the point.
"We've located a shuttle."
"...!"
"It's not in perfectly good shape. Or rather, it's presumed not to be."
Celestia had determined from system logs that the medical evacuation shuttle 'Medi-Bac' had crashed into the recycling and waste disposal area— something Eric knew.
"The system logs indicated it crashed, not due to an external impact, so we're planning to check it out. If possible, we'll perform emergency repairs and bring it back here."
He continued his explanation.
"Arguably, Celestia descended here to search for lost family, and of course, I'm helping with that. Thus, as soon as the town's outer wall repair is in its first phase, I've arranged to head over to Heaven via track car. Securing the shuttle would lessen the need for alternative transport."
I grasped what Eric desired. He wouldn't have come to us just because they found traces of the shuttle.
"... You want us to help?"
"Yes. Even with support, the operation would go more smoothly with someone familiar with the structures there. Also..."
"Also?"
"I've seen you fight. Your teamwork is exceptional. Your assistance would be a huge asset."
Our condition was to help Celestia while exploring the base as a secondary goal, and definitely not risk our lives solely for her. That's the understanding we had communicated.
Eric seemed aware of this and emphasized that it was a request, not a demand.
I couldn't answer hastily.