Masunori_M_DNext sub-arc: Point Nemo. Note that I will go on a week of hiatus before I release the next sub-arc. This chapter is long enough anyway...
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A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 14 - Huntly Mine (part 3)
The second day of the trip to Australia comes. It is early in the morning, when one can still see the faint image of the moon in the sky. And yet, someone is interrupting my sleep. Someone that everybody in the world knows. - Wake up. We need to prepare for the expedition to Huntly Mine. Their people will arrive at the hotel to pick us up at eight sharp. - Mirai is throwing a pillow at me, who is currently half-awake and trying to hold his ground on the bed. For a freelancer whose life is always threatened by unexpected project invitations and weird customer demands, getting to sleep in bed is nothing less than a brutal fight with time. And now, as a self-proclaimed hero, there is no difference. - No... Five more minutes... - I cover myself with the blanket. - After drinking that big jar of draft beer and getting back to the hotel, you immediately pass out, and I have to bring you to bed. And it was only like nine o'clock. - Mirai complains and throws a
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 15 - Huntly Mine (part 4)
We are put in a very passive situation. I do not carry any weapon, and Mirai obviously cannot reach out to the tablet. We need to keep a low profile to enter the mine, yet push comes to shove, and now, we seem to have no choice. I try to make eye contact with Mirai, but she seems like she has an idea in mind. No, the overwhelming confidence on that calm face means that she has planned for the worst-case scenario. - Oh, sorry. The thing is that I lost my left arm in a car accident. My arm is currently replaced with a metallic prosthetic one. Here. Mirai detaches her left arm. She holds the arm with her right hand and brings it towards the screening gate. It beeps (obviously). The officer still raises his eyebrows in suspicion, while Mirai is attaching her left arm back. Eye to eye with him, with gleaming sincerity, Mirai is trying to guilt-trip the officer into believing in her narrative. - OK, I can believe you regarding that. - He sighs. - But just in case,
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 16 - Huntly Mine (part 5)
After about ten minutes, a train arrives at our station. As expected, it is just the driver's carriage when you look at it from the outside. After the door opens, Albert signals us to step in. I withdraw my thoughts. The interior of the train is upgraded to match the standards of a commercial train, even more luxurious than a typical commercial train. There is air conditioning and air filters installed, and even the tiniest details are spotless. The carriage contains the driver's chamber, which takes half of the space of the carriage, partially separated by the table area, taking the other half. Albert enters the driver's chamber and scans his card on the receptor placed in the centre of the steering wheel to register a driver. After that, the set of buttons and levers emerges beside his driver's seat. He presses a button. We hear a long beeping sound, then the engine starts working. Yeah, this train has definitely been around since the twentieth century. It is shaking from a
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 17 - Huntly Mine (part 6)
Without the stations operating, the train still can move, but it will not be long, maybe five minutes, before it actually runs out of energy. And to mention, just by maintaining this temperature inside this carriage already takes a lot of energy. - OK, I will close the train door and turn off all electrical appliances to preserve our energy source. Albert turns off all lights and air conditioners. The carriage joins the eternal darkness, with a pinch of dim, red light, of the vast underground factories. By common sense, or specifically, some physics knowledge and maths equations, I know that it would not take long, before our body temperature make this last haven of coolness into a heat cage. We seriously stand no choice, if this power cut is not fixed in a short time. And at this very moment, it has been some "short time" passing. Albert has attempted to contact the support team, but since all of the entrances connecting the underground facility and the ground level
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 18 - Huntly Mine (part 7)
The explosion blasts the door towards us, and Albert, who stands directly in front of the door, gets concussed with arguably tens of kilogram of lead and platinum (to block off heat and radiation). He collapses onto the ground. - Don't even know if I should call it a blessing in disguise... Mirai, can you perform first aid and drag him to a safe corner? - I talk to Mirai. - Can. Mirai checks his vitals, then takes out a sleeping bag. She places his passed out body inside it, and drags the sleeping bag to a corner that looks protected even if the station collapses. Then, we inspect the door. - This bomb is definitely newly placed here. Just look at the remnants. - I point at the open end contact point of the door with the wall. - Agree. This bomb is just a typical type that does not do enough damage to destroy a structure, but can do something like killing a person in close range. Realising that the bomb does not give off any valuable in
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 19 - Huntly Mine (part 8)
With the toys in my backpack, my job is to hold the Intruder for five minutes. I am backed with a photon shotgun, tactical grenades and two drones that continuously fly on top of me, fending off any projectiles. The Intruder starts the show with a scatter shot from his pistol, sending twenty or more red pellets bouncing around the hallway, but then they all head to my place. I snap my finger, and the two drones block the bullets by flaming the area in front of me, burning the red pellets into self-detonation. Then, I charge forward with my loaded shotgun. I press the trigger as my sight aligns with his head and my spectacles signal me to shoot, but then the powerful electromagnetic energy packed in the photon pellets gets blocked when he raises his left arm, blocking them. The shirt is torn, but then his arm is still intact thanks to the armour. I jump back, right before he fires another round of bouncing bullets. The drones shoot down some of them, but almost half passes
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 20 - Huntly Mine (part 9)
Dinner is also served in the hotel, and to be honest, the hotel continues to prove its exceptionally amazing food quality despite a third rate hotel. And by amazing... - This dish looks good. Yuusha, you must try it. - Mirai lets out a happy voice, as she clicks on a dish on the digital menu. Within a few seconds, the dish appears on the centre of the table, hot and fresh out of the oven. A classic baked vegetable dish. - I thought you cannot taste? - Gustatory sensor system. I just install one before we went onto the trip. I know that it will be a waste if I cannot try out new food when I travel, that's why. However, they would still be combusted and become my energy in the end anyway. - Mirai casually speaks, as she uses a fork to take a piece of the dish and puts it in her mouth. Mirai lets out a happy noise, as she enjoys the deliciousness of human food that she has probably not tasted for some time. Definitely a scene for the eye. I scroll
A Backpack, a Gun and a Codex Chapter 21 - Huntly Mine (part 10)
The next morning, again, arrives peacefully on the prosperous and peaceful Australia. Being in the Southern Hemisphere, it is currently summer here. The soft sunlight shines through the window of my hotel room, where I am currently sleeping and restoring energy from an exhausting yesterday, only for another exhausting today, and likely for the rest of the week. It is currently seven in the morning, and since there are no scheduled activities today, we are free to travel to and from the mine at any point in time. Our timetable will be quite flexible, only if I turn to my right and see that Mirai is doing something on her bed with some mechanical components - Mirai, what are you doing? It is like seven in the morning. - Finally you are awake. Thanks to the early lights-out time yesterday, I finish charging at three or four in the morning, so I automatically wake up and prepare for the trip later. - We have like a whole four days, and our progress is al
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