𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓: 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭
Chihaya rented an All-Rounder parked at Wagawa Garage and left the garage.
She is heading to the meeting place with Actors who have received requests separately from Chihaya.
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This time, the recovery request scene is located west of Wagawa Garage at Koroge Iwa Garage, and they are to meet at a midpoint and head north. It was a route that bypasses the Wagawa upstream mountain range from the west.
In that wide area where the forest is spread out, there seems to be a severely damaged All-Rounder and Lannoid-type Jackalope that have become the subject of recovery.
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The team members were already gathered at the meeting place.
In addition to the All-Rounder that Chihaya operates, two teams of three members each had gathered with their respective machines, and there were even transport vehicles.
Each team had a well-balanced composition.
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The civilian Actor team 『Steamers』 has a heavy Rounder-type machine called the Keeper as the team leader, with the light Rounder-type Psycholon and Lannoid-type Conductor.
By scouting with the Psycholon, which has a wide field of vision and high image and video processing capabilities, having the heavily armored Keeper that’s resistant to interference take the front line, and placing the Conductor that uses drones for support at the back, a wide range of scouting can be done if the drone’s images are sent to the Psycholon.
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The other civilian team 『Sankin Transportation』, mainly an Actor team that has been accepting transportation requests, has a composition of an All-Rounder in charge of driving transport vehicles, a Lannoid-type Wild Stag that enables high-speed communication even at a distance by setting up multiple sub-machines. Additionally, they have agile sprinter-type Warabe units, each one meter tall and nimble.
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“I’ll tell you the password for the line during this request.”
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The Actor of Wild Stag tells the password in a Downer-type male voice.
After confirming that everyone has accessed it, Chihaya and others board the transport vehicle with the Actanoid. She feel the advantages of being life-sized at times like this.
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“You couldn’t move it so easily if it was a gigantic humanoid weapon, huh?”
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Perhaps thinking the same thing, the Actor of the Keeper muttered. It’s probably because the heavy Rounder-type has a short operation time due to battery issues, and the presence or absence of transportation greatly affects activity.
Once the transport vehicle starts running, the Actors being transported have nothing to do. Unlike Lannoid-type, which sets up sub-machines and scouts, Chihaya’s All-Rounder is merely cargo.
Bored Actors start talking about the situation in various parts of the new world while Chihaya secretly starts leveling up in a game.
Chihaya, who has given up on conversation from the beginning, steadily raises the character’s level.
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What stopped Chihaya’s hands was a question from the Psycholon Actor.
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“What caused the All-Rounder to be severely damaged?”
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The cause of the severe damage was not written in the request. It only contained a single sentence that it was unknown.
Seeing that no one could answer, the Keeper opened his mouth.
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“It seems not well understood. It’s clear that it was destroyed in battle, but the image was disturbed by being attacked in rainy weather, so even what kind of animal did it is unknown. Be careful.”
“If we can recover the black box, we can identify the animal, right?”
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At the pure conclusion of the conversation, Chihaya inadvertently murmurs.
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“A, Animal?”
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The Keeper immediately reacted to Chihaya’s voice, altered by a voice changer so that the gender was unidentifiable.
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“――It’s an animal. There’s no way an Actanoid would attack another Actanoid, right? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?”
“Yes. . . . . .”
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It seems that Chihaya is not the only one who thought it was destroyed by an attacker.
However, there’s the autonomously movable Jackalope at the scene. The fact that it wasn’t destroyed is a mystery.
The Conductor changes the topic.
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“Why did that All-Rounder team go this far into the forest? Even if there is the Jackalope, going inland with just antiques is like a suicide mission. This team wouldn’t have accepted the request if there were no Wild Stags, right?”
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Being one of the earliest developed Actanoids, the All-Rounder can still function to some extent even in a terrible communication environment. Nonetheless, venturing into such an environment with an All-Rounder, which is mocked as an antique, is reckless.
The one who answered the question was an All-Rounder driving a transport vehicle.
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“Apparently, they were trying to strike it rich by conducting ecological surveys of unexplored areas and discovering new resources. Unison Human-Machine Technology wants to establish a system for procuring mineral resources in the new world, no matter what.”
“The result is a huge loss with the All-Rounder wrecked. Life’s tough.”
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Chihaya nodded in agreement to the relatable story. Although she had managed to save some money, things were still hand to mouth.
After listening to some casual conversation, Chihaya continued to level up in her game, and finally, at the moment she felt it was enough, they arrived at their destination.
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“We’ll move on Actanoid legs from here. We’ll scout while being cautious.”
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Encouraged, Chihaya disembarked the All-Rounder from the transport vehicle and looked around using the main camera.
Densely packed trees blocked the transport vehicle’s path. Although there was no snow, the bushes that hid the ground were waist-high to the Actanoid. The trees’ grandeur reminded her of Yakusugi, making it a magnificent sight worth the visit.
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“The isolated Jackalope is already being accessed by the Actor. They will activate the transmitter, so let’s aim to join them quickly.”
“Understood.”
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What’s scary when activating a transmitter isn’t wild animals but bandit Actanoids.
Joining up is a race against time.
The Conductor deployed two drones, true to its name, and began to direct them. One was sent into the air, and the other circled the area.
The drones could automatically avoid obstacles, but the autopilot was rather slow.
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After preparing, they contacted the Jackalope to activate the transmitter.
One of the multiple monitors in front of Chihaya displayed the transmitter’s information.
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“Confirmed. We’ll lead.”
“I’ll attach a drone.”
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A Warabe Sprinter, excelling in speed, quickly moved towards the transmitter, and the Conductor’s controlled drone rushed to the scene from above.
Chihaya and the others followed, with the Wild Stag from the Lannoid series at the center.
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The Warabe, only a meter tall, disappeared into the bushes. Its glimpses from between the bushes were quickly moving away.
After about ten minutes, contact came from the Warabe’s Actor.
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“Successfully joined up with the Jackalope. No signs of enemies. Shall we go find the wrecked All-Rounders?”
“Stay there. You’re too far away.”
“Understood. I will focus on guarding the Jackalope.”
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Chihaya and the others joined them an hour later. The Keeper, a heavy rounder series, was slow, and unlike small machines like the Warabe, struggled with obstacles.
They somehow joined up and saw the Warabe and the Jackalope emerging from a tree hole.
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“There are four more All-Rounders. They’re wrecked in the same place. Can you guide us?”
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When the Keeper’s Actor asked, the Jackalope began to lead.
Since they couldn’t let the fragile Lannoid series Jackalope lead, the Warabe went ahead to clear the path.
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“It’s straight ahead. There’s a somewhat open space with fallen trees.”
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The place where the All-Rounder was wrecked and something had happened was approached carefully by the Warabe, making sure not to get too far from Chihaya and the others.
The problematic clearing was a space less than five meters in radius. The bushes were dense, and the fallen All-Rounder was nowhere to be seen, buried in the shrubbery.
Chihaya and the others divided the search of the clearing, but it was the Warabe that found them.
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“I’ve found them. All four—”
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The instant everyone’s main monitors captured the Warabe’s figure in response to its voice in the voice chat, the Warabe suddenly fell.
A pillar of fire rose from the bushes where the Warabe had fallen. It seemed the battery had erupted into flames.
The Warabe’s Actor screamed in the voice chat.
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“The wrecked All-Rounder has bullet marks! The Warabe is wrecked. It appears to be a sniper!”
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