The coordinate data pointed to the hatch room. The one room that connected the facility to the outside world. As a result, it was only used when they were restocking supplies.
The hatch was split into two sections, never open at the same time. There were many steps in place to stop ocean water from flooding the facility, given that it was constructed deep underwater.
“Such a chore …”
The first section was securely locked. Though she was rather incompetent, she was still the overseer of the facility, so she had permission to unlock the first section. If anything, the fact that she needed a password and black box authorization was more annoying.
Even though it was annoying, she didn’t consider turning back. Something bothered her.
The door opened. At the same time, the whole first section was instantly illuminated. The walls, floor, and ceiling were pure white, and hurt her head.
“Question: What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
All of a sudden, Pod appeared. It seemed like it was worried, and was peering at 10H’s face.
“It’s okay. Nothing’s wrong. I just have something I need to check.”
She walked straight toward the door on the other side of the room. Section One was very large.
“Why is it so big? There’s so much dead space.”
“Answer: It’s necessary to adjust the water pressure when there’s water.”
“I know that. I just think it’s a waste to use it only for restocking.”
10H put her hand on the door to Section Two. The encoded coordinate data was pointing up ahead.
“Objection: Don’t. Access to Section Two is restricted.”
She ignored Pod and opened the door. The lights came on, just like in Section One, and she saw a sea of white.
“There’s nothing … ?”
She thought there would be something here. A treasure chest, a bomb, or something that warranted leaving a message in the unused part of her brain. But there was nothing in the room. Nothing on the floor, the walls, or the ceiling.
“Warning: Danger ahead.”
“Okay. I won’t open the next door.”
The other door in Section Two, which led outside, had a spindle-shaped door handle. If she opened it without adjusting the water pressure first, seawater would come rushing in with alarming force. She didn’t want to imagine what would happen if water rushed in at 10,000 meters below sea level. At the very least, she and Pod would be crushed in an instant.
She walked to the location referenced by the coordinate data. Maybe whatever the coordinate data pointed to was not an object, but an event.
“Report: Withdraw immediately.”
“I know.”
Why this place? She slowly looked around as she walked. The floor and walls and ceiling were all white. The door from Section One to Section Two, and the door from Section Two to outside, were also white.
“Hm?”
She saw another color on the white door. There was a streak of black across the spindle-shaped door handle. It looked like something had been peeled off, or perhaps it was a scratch.
“I wonder what that is …”
She leaned in closer to get a better look. Suddenly, her vision was filled with stars. She felt a delayed pain to the back of her head. Pod 006 had hit her.
“What? Do you know your arm is freaking hard?” 10H complained as she turned around, and almost jumped out of her skin. She was looking down the barrel of a gun. Pod had transitioned to long-range attack mode.
“Wait! Stop!”
The first shot provided the answer. She thought she had barely dodged it, but she hadn’t completely. An excruciating pain overwhelmed her upper arm. A red stain appeared on the floor.
She flung her shoes off. The magnets in the soles would only limit her ability to dodge. The second shot came. This time she was able to leap up. A laser struck the spot where 10H had been a moment ago. But it didn’t leave a mark on the floor or the walls. She learned for the first time that this facility’s walls and floors were heat-resistant.
There was nowhere to hide in the big room. She could only keep dodging. She kicked off of the floors and walls as she yelled.
“Hey! What are you doing? Explain yourself!”
Pod stayed in attack mode. It fired a third shot instead of giving an answer. She ran, but Pod predicted her escape route. Just as 10H dodged the laser, Pod struck her in the back with its limb. A moan escaped her.
She realized that Pod was seriously trying to kill her. Perhaps there was some kind of bug in its program.
She had to destroy Pod, some way or another. But how? Type H’s were not built for combat. They realized their potential when they were with a Type B, which specialized in offense, and a Type D, which specialized in defense. Moreover, her enemy was a support unit. It was Type E’s job to execute their comrades, not hers …
She didn’t have time to think any further. The long-range lasers and short-range arm strikes flew at her relentlessly.
She felt a pain shoot through her side, and smelled burning flesh. She wouldn’t be able to dodge the attacks completely much longer. But she had no weapon with which to retaliate. Regardless of whether she was fit to handle situations like this or not, she never carried weapons inside the facility.
Does that mean I have to fight with my bare hands? No way! I’m not a Type B, and my arm strength … arm strength?
What had she been doing just minutes before? She was calibrating her program so she wouldn’t drop her chess pieces.
She quickly whipped around in a clockwise fashion. It hurt her damaged left leg, but she ran straight toward Pod.
Pod was in the middle of its firing sequence. 10H grabbed the barrel and twisted it up with her fingers. It crumpled softly beneath her fingers. She flicked Pod away with the fingers on her right hand. She curled her body to prepare for the impact. She heard an explosion above her.
It was a close call. She was able to bend the barrel because her fingers had been calibrated to a higher power output than normal. It was a victory by brute force. 10H sighed in relief, and felt a sharp pain. But she was so injured that she didn’t know which specific injury hurt. She hadn’t expected such an unfortunate event. What had happened—