She tried to right herself, but saw a blade coming toward her. 9S had come up behind her and was swinging his close-combat long sword.
2B didn’t expect to be attacked by 9S himself. To think she’d tried to ambush him, but had been ambushed herself.
Right as she was about to kick 9S’s sword hand, she realized something.
Why was 9S holding his close-combat weapon? 9S never gripped his sword by the handle like this …
She quickly created some distance between them. She saw the sword, now molten, leave drippings like wax on the ground. Had she kicked his hand a moment ago, her right leg would have suffered a lot of damage. 9S must have predicted what a Type B close-combat specialist would do in that situation, and set a trap for her.
It was better to go elsewhere. She was at a disadvantage in the hallway, because she’d come in after 9S and didn’t know what lay ahead.
Taking a big leap backward, she created even more distance between her and 9S and jumped through a door. This was another room, not the one in which 9S’s black box response was detected. He probably wouldn’t have had the time to set a trap in this room.
9S chased after 2B. There was nowhere to hide, but 9S went after her with no hesitation. Pod 153 fired long-range attacks while he attacked from close range. 2B was shocked at 9S’s relentless style of fighting. She had never seen him like this.
Dodging 153’s gunfire and heat beams, 2B swung her sword at 9S. But 9S was more nimble than she had expected, and she couldn’t deal a decisive blow. No, it was Pod’s long-range attacks that were hindering her. She needed to deal with 153 somehow, so she called out to 042. “Pod! Set your attack target to 153!”
Support units had no “relentless attack” mode. If they were dealt damage, they always chose to evade further attacks, which meant that 153 would temporarily suspend long-range attacks while it was evading. It gave 2B one or two seconds, which was enough.
The barrage of gunshots paused for a moment. 2B immediately closed the distance between her and 9S. Perhaps he had not expected 153 to be attacked, because he just stood still. She pointed her sword at 9S and stepped forward. Just when she thought it was over, she felt a bad feeling run through her body. Her sword dropped from her hands.
2B’s eyes widened in surprise—or they tried to, but couldn’t even muster that. Her arms, legs, and the rest of her body were all unresponsive.
She could see the floor tiling approaching her. No, she was just falling forward. Right before she hit the ground, she heard 9S say, “I’m sorry.”
“So it wasn’t just me,” 9S mumbled. But it wasn’t vocalized. In the hacking dimension “talking” was just recorded on 9S’s personal data. The white walls and floor were also only things that 9S’s personal data perceived, since they didn’t actually exist.
He’d hoped it wasn’t true. That 2B was plotting to kill him. But he saw evidence in her word selection, fleeting expressions, and her tone that supported his suspicion. Eventually that suspicion turned into certainty, and certainty into reality.
“I didn’t really want to do this …”
It wasn’t a lie. He was telling the truth. He just couldn’t think of any other way. He had tried to think of an alternative ever since he realized that 2B was an overseer sent by Command. But he couldn’t think of a realistic plan.
“But a Type S could never beat a Type B.”
He was well aware of 2B’s battle capabilities, given all the times they had been assigned together. If he couldn’t hack her chassis and take control, he would be killed without a doubt.
Since 2B rarely let her guard down, he had to wait for the moment 2B would finish him off in a close-combat battle. A predator was most vulnerable when it was capturing its prey. It was something 9S had learned by observing the animals on Earth.
On the other hand, his plan only worked because 2B was seriously trying to kill him. If she hadn’t intended on killing him, she would not have been provoked into entering hacking range, no matter the ferocity of 9S’s attacks. The fact that 9S was still alive was proof of 2B’s murderous intent.
“Either way, it’s a bad excuse isn’t it?”
He knew that he was doing something worse than murder. He was infiltrating 2B’s mind, rummaging through it, and on top of that planned to kill her afterward. He knew. But still.
“There’s something I needed to know.”
9S carefully proceeded through 2B’s memory block. He hadn’t hacked her just to take control of her chassis and kill her. He wanted some information.
“As such, we order you to assassinate 9S.”
One of the newer memories in the memory block was something that looked like part of an email. It was most likely the mail she had received previously at the access point. Incomplete memories were stored in order of impact, instead of being stored sequentially.
When 2B had opened the email, the words “As such, we order you to assassinate 9S.” were the first words she saw. Which meant that 2B had expected to receive the order. She must’ve read those words first, because she had been expecting them all along.
“We have evidence”
“Attempted to”
“The subject matter,”
“Access the main server”
“An unresolved problem for some time”
“Several times”
“It is prohibited”
“9S is”
The shards of the memory were all over the place. The order of the words was out of place, because 2B had been rattled by the message. Furthermore, 9S had appeared while she was reading it. She hadn’t had time to organize all the information in the message …
9S moved further into the memory block, looking for the information he needed.
“Is this it? A confidential meeting between 2B and the commander.”
It consisted of the commander standing with her back to 2B, as 2B looked on. Apparently this didn’t take place through a transmission, but somewhere within the Bunker.
“But isn’t a Type S on-site research mission usually completed solo?”
“It’s just a formality. There can be exceptions. What if the area is infested with large numbers of Machines? There needs to be someone to support the Type S, who’s unsuited for battle.”
“Roger that. Then I’ll proceed as you wish.”
“For now, just supervision is fine. I’ll tell you what further actions to take later.”
This was a memory from before 2B started accompanying 9S on his missions. But at this point, he shouldn’t have done anything “prohibited.” But the commander thought supervision was necessary. Why?
Then, all of a sudden, another memory concerning 9S interrupted this one.
“For us scanner types, solo missions are the norm. That’s why I think it’s really exciting to have someone with me.”
Ah, he remembered this. He had said this on their first mission together. 2B had probably thought about the meeting as he was talking to her then.
Back then, he hadn’t realized 2B was supervising him, let alone known that there would be “further actions” taken against him.
Brushing his bitter feelings aside, he moved on to the next memory. It seemed like it was a transmission, and he heard the commander’s voice with static mixed in.
“ … Type S’s are specialized in research and data collection. Because of their proficiency, they always end up knowing too much. I guess you could say it’s fate for a Type S …”
What’s wrong with knowing too much? 9S thought. Was there something Command needed to hide?
“9S will eventually commit a prohibited action. Perhaps he’s already crossed the line.”
He couldn’t disagree with this. He had attempted to access the prohibited main server.
“There’s no evidence yet. But it seems like there was an unauthorized attempt to access the server. This time whoever it was failed, but next time …”
That was right, he had failed at first. He’d fled from an aggressive firewall. He had escaped quickly, so he shouldn’t have left any traces. The next time he gave up after passing one firewall. The next time he passed several firewalls. The more firewalls he passed, the more time it took for him to escape. There was greater risk of getting caught.