Ch.176Chapter 176. D-1

Ten days since the operation plan was established.

The rocket launch preparations were completed in the blink of an eye.

“We can transfer her now.”

“Then let’s put her in the hibernation device.”

“……”

People wearing full protective suits entered the negative pressure isolation room.

Inside was a silver-haired girl in a straitjacket, glaring at them.

Having long realized that resistance was meaningless, the girl allowed herself to be dragged to the hibernation device and laid down.

Soon the door closed with a thud, completely isolating the inside from the outside.

“We should just kill her. Is it really necessary to waste taxpayer money launching her into space?”

“If we don’t, human rights organizations and the international community would raise hell……”

Do they think she can’t hear them from inside?

She can hear everything.

The girl felt sleep gradually overtaking her and slowly closed her eyes.

‘Jinsoo’s scent?!’

In that moment, her eyes snapped open.

A familiar scent was approaching.

The scent she had imprinted long ago to find just one person was getting closer.

But before she could follow the direction of that scent, she fell asleep.

*

“She was raised as a daughter by… your work colleague, wasn’t she?”

“Excuse me?”

Meanwhile, in the control room.

Darry, sipping coffee with dark circles under his eyes, turned to the side with a slightly irritated expression.

“Oh, I meant the alien. I was worried you might feel uncomfortable……”

“It’s nothing like that. I’ve never even seen her face. If you’re worried I might cause an accident, just fire me.”

“I wasn’t suggesting you’d deliberately cause an accident, hahaha. Who else could handle the engine inspection if not you?”

The engineer, forcing an awkward laugh, quickly left.

Darry put down his empty mug with a thud and sighed.

‘Am I doing the right thing?’

This rocket would be carrying people.

Not just one or two, but five people.

It was insane to be helping with a rescue plan that put all those lives at stake.

Nevertheless, Darry couldn’t help but offer his assistance, as if entranced.

Because he understood that idiot Jinsoo’s feelings toward his daughter.

Because he knew that man would never play games with other people’s lives…

-Three hours until launch. Beginning final inspection.

The final moment was approaching.

***

“This is the right spot, correct?”

“Yes, it is.”

Bob stroked his chin as he watched his men cutting through the fence.

This was the blind spot between CCTV cameras and watchtowers that Jinsoo’s superior had informed them about.

Finally, the fence was lifted, creating a hole large enough for a person to enter.

As his men struggled to hold up the fence with gloved hands, Juliane, dressed in black with her hat pulled low, nimbly slipped inside.

“Turn yourself in after 10 minutes. 10 minutes, okay?”

“Maybe 15 minutes just in case……”

“No. 10 minutes is enough.”

“……”

Bob nodded silently at Juliane’s instruction.

In 10 minutes, Bob would turn himself in to the police and report Juliane’s intrusion.

It was a plan to make it look like he had betrayed them to reduce his punishment for hiding Jinsoo and Juliane until now.

He had intended to help until the very end, the final moment.

Bob gritted his teeth, disgusted with himself for readily accepting Jinsoo’s proposal the moment he heard it.

“I’ll start counting 10 minutes from now. Good luck.”

“Thank you so much, Bob.”

After exchanging a final glance, Juliane turned and began sprinting.

Her speed was unlike anything he had ever seen before, almost unbelievable for a human.

‘That must be it.’

Meanwhile, Juliane, who had made her way inside using only the blind spots in the surveillance network, could finally see the launch pad.

A massive rocket with four building-sized engines.

‘The engines are the target.’

If she hit them with all the strength of her prosthetic hand, she could cause significant damage to the engines.

Since those engines had been hastily repurposed from a Mars exploration rocket, it would take at least three months to rebuild them.

Juliane stopped at a corner and sighed.

The 10 minutes were almost up.

And beyond this line, there were no more blind spots in the surveillance network.

She would have to break through all kinds of obstacles to reach the engines.

After taking a deep breath to strengthen her resolve, Juliane began sprinting at full speed again.

“Hey, you! Who are—urgh!”

A maintenance worker blocked her path.

Juliane only took his radio before rushing past him.

The radio in her hand crumbled with a crunch.

“Intruder! Intruder!”

“……”

She wanted to go back and silence him by breaking his neck, but she couldn’t.

She couldn’t hurt others just to save her daughter.

Soon, sirens began blaring loudly.

The watchtowers, belatedly spotting Juliane, aimed their guns at her and demanded she stop.

But Juliane didn’t stop.

She crashed through a firmly closed steel door with a bang and finally managed to completely escape the watchtowers’ line of sight.

“Haa…… Haa……”

Everything had gone according to plan so far.

But something unexpected was blocking Juliane’s path.

-Raise your hands and get on your knees! Otherwise, we may have to harm you!

“Haha……”

Androids.

Robots with eerie red lights glowing from their eyes swarmed around her.

Behind them were people with drawn pistols, trembling.

In close combat, she would be overwhelmed by the combat-developed androids.

Even if she could somehow fight them, she couldn’t block bullets while fighting the androids at the same time.

Was this as far as she could go?

Whiiiiiiiiiing……!

“What, what’s happening?”

At that moment, a loud motor sound began emanating from Juliane’s limbs.

She quickly removed her outer clothing, revealing short sleeves and shorts.

In an instant, her limbs turned bright red, and the synthetic skin covering them melted off and fell to the ground.

Overload.

This was the result of modifications made to achieve maximum voltage and output without regard for the limitations of the parts.

In this state, her prosthetic hands and legs could last about 2 minutes.

Juliane had to finish everything within that time.

“R-raise your hands! I said raise them!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire erupted from all directions.

But Juliane’s arms moved quickly, blocking everything as she crouched down.

At the same time, the androids rushed at her all at once.

As the magazines emptied and the gunfire stopped, Juliane immediately uncoiled from her crouched position and leaped up.

-Surrender. Damage may occur during the restraining process……

Crack! Crunch!

An android’s arm was helplessly twisted and broken, and a fist embedded in its chest sent it flying backward, never to rise again.

The androids that rushed in afterward were quickly disabled as their heads were ripped off, legs crushed, or waists twisted.

Breaking through the wave of androids, Juliane suddenly found herself standing in front of the guards who were reloading their pistols.

“H-hiiik! Please! Spare my life!”

“……”

Crunch……

The guards cowered and prostrated themselves.

Juliane silently took their guns, crushed them, and moved on.

-Surrender. During the restraining process……

‘There are still more!’

This wasn’t the end.

Androids were still endlessly swarming from all directions.

But they weren’t completely blocking her path like before.

She couldn’t fight them all while moving forward.

Juliane shook off the androids chasing her from behind and lightly brushed past those rushing at her from the front as she ran.

The launch pad was right in front of her now.

Bang!

“Ugh?!”

A loud gunshot rang out, and Juliane lost her balance.

She had been shot in the toe and lost her center of gravity.

Juliane looked toward the source of the gunshot.

She spotted a sniper in the distance, pulling the bolt to reload his rifle.

If she protected herself with a breakfall and immediately started running again, the speed loss wouldn’t be significant.

Juliane slid on the ground with her prosthetic hands and legs, creating sparks, and was about to stand up again when—

“Kugh!”

The androids chasing her from behind grabbed both her arms.

Her arms were twisted beyond their range of motion, and she was forced face down.

But she couldn’t give up over something like this.

They hadn’t grabbed her legs yet.

“Hnngh……”

She planted her legs on the ground and pushed off.

At that moment, her prosthetic hands detached, and Juliane was able to quickly break free again.

The target was right in front of her now.

Without arms, she would have to use her legs to strike.

Bang!

“Argh?!”

Another gunshot rang out, and one of Juliane’s legs was shattered.

But this time she didn’t lose her balance.

She immediately supported herself on one leg and continued hopping forward at a surprisingly fast pace.

Despite having only one leg, she was able to jump up to the launch pad in a single bound.

Now she just needed to strike the engine right in front of her……

“Ah?”

Juliane fell forward and collapsed.

Her leg wouldn’t respond.

With a look of disbelief, she looked down to see white smoke hissing from her prosthetic leg.

The parts had burned out from the heat.

The time limit had expired.

“Just a little more! Just one second more……”

It was right in front of her.

She just needed to take one more step.

Juliane looked up at the rocket’s exhaust and screamed frantically.

“Yes. We’ve secured her. The engines are fine. We can launch as scheduled.”

“Aaaah! No! Let go! Let me go!”

Unable to move at all, Juliane was grabbed by the guards and dragged away.

She had accomplished nothing.

Nothing but a distraction……

Even as she continued to scream, Juliane secretly celebrated victory inside.