Chapter 117: Dragon Unit

Some people like to boast about how well they hold their liquor by declaring, “This stuff’s basically water.”

Then I would very much like them to drink water instead.

That was what I thought.

“You look like your head hurts, Hound.”

“…As you can see.”

I said it while practically melting into the counter seat. On the terminal I had tossed aside, a number big enough to buy a brand-new Monoz body was dancing on the screen.

I had not expected any kindness from them, but I had not expected them to be this merciless either.

“I’ll give you a chance to earn it back, Hound.”

“…So that’s what this is, Potato Man.”

“Don’t be stupid. When someone reaches Rank 5, playing big spender is tradition. …Though normally, people set a limit first.”

“…Bastard.”

I cursed at the grinning potato bastard.

He wanted to make me take a job all along.

The backlight on the terminal I had thrown down lit up, announcing an incoming request. I checked it.

The amount.

No problem there.

The problem was the actual contents.

“Details to be provided at a later date. That sounds impressively suspicious.”

“The client has circumstances. I can’t pass this one to the other Dogs. The price is what it is because they asked for you specifically. The meeting place should be somewhere out of the public eye too… yes, your town would do nicely.”

“I see. I refuse.”

Having said my piece, I switched pages on the terminal. I looked over the bounty information Rabbit Unit had picked up. Bandit group. Human. Ah, this one looked—

“If you take it, I’ll cover half of what you spent playing big spender.”

“Hah.”

I laughed despite myself.

Did he want me to take this job that badly?

“Potato Man.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to take it.”

“I don’t care how you feel.”

“…I’ll hear them out.”

As if to say, that’s good enough, he brought over a sparkling water I had not ordered. Without thanking him, I drained it and left Doggy House.

When I stepped outside, I found eleven Monoz, led mainly by Sheep Unit and Monkey Unit, building an armored vehicle at the side of the road.

Sheep Unit, apparently the site foreman, noticed me and rolled over.

Beep.

Its eye blinked. A message arrived on my terminal.

Progress Report: Armored vehicle, 80%. Sled, 10%.

“The armored vehicle looks like it’ll work out… but what about the sled? Will it be ready in time?”

If it would not, there was always the option of paying someone nearby to borrow their Monoz.

Response: No problem. Its structure is simple, so it will be finished shortly.

“I see. Then I’m counting on you. Ox Unit, Tiger Unit, Horse Unit, Boar Unit—you’re the tires. This isn’t a race, so there shouldn’t be any problem, right? I’m going ahead to check Dragon Unit’s inspection results, so catch up once you’re done. For an escort, someone suitable—”

No, that would be a problem. If a medium unit came with me, work efficiency would drop.

“One small unit, come with me.”

At my words, Rat Unit, Rabbit Unit, Snake Unit, and Rooster Unit exchanged glances. From among them, Snake Unit rolled over, its matte-black body swallowing the light.

Rudo came too, despite not being called. Watching construction must not have been very interesting.

We crossed through the bazaar, lined with stalls on both sides, and headed for the industrial district. Our destination was Kamisawa Heavy Industries, where Akito was.

Apparently, Akito was going independent.

And apparently, he would be opening up shop at our camp.

When people gathered, more people became necessary.

Our camp had grown to a respectable size, and now it needed proper facilities. Then the news of Akito going independent came along, so Mr. Howard seemed to have poached him.

My Centipede and several Monoz bodies were his work, so having him set up shop at our camp was a real help.

In addition, the Monoz bodies the children used at the camp were captured salvage, so they broke down often. Not having to haul them into town every single time they needed repairs would be a real help too.

For that reason, I had been dispatched as moving help and escort.

But there was actually one more reason I had come.

Dragon Unit.

During the recent Crash Race, Akito had joined in as part of the pit crew. While he was working, he discovered that Dragon Unit’s Monoz body had been subjected to modifications that should not normally exist.

I had known that Dragon Unit’s Abacus-made body contained any number of black boxes. But among them was a mechanism that even I could not simply ignore.

So after the race, I left Dragon Unit with Akito.

The idea was to have him investigate while he still had access to Kamisawa Heavy Industries and all its equipment.

And so, I arrived at Kamisawa Heavy Industries.

I greeted the guard, who was starting to become something of a familiar face, filled out an entry permit, and sat down in a lobby chair. After killing time with Rudo and Snake Unit for about five minutes, Souta came over.

“…How’s work been lately?”

“Why are you so determined to do this awkward father-son conversation thing? It’s fine. Everything’s fine.”

“Well, please don’t put it like that. Especially this time, considering the circumstances…”

Souta had gotten into Kamisawa Heavy Industries through Akito’s connections, a nepotism hire, more or less. But now that Akito was going independent, Souta would be moving with him—

—or not.

He would be staying at Kamisawa Heavy Industries.

“It’s fine. There was already talk of transferring me under someone else from the start.”

“There was?”

“This place runs on an independent-contractor system, fully aware that it’s inefficient without manuals. So people develop their own habits. And since letting someone get too biased isn’t good either—”

“I see.”

I had not done much for Souta, really. Still, watching him start to stand on his own was… interesting, or touching, or something along those lines.

“…You’ve grown into a fine man, Souta.”

“Please stop doing the dad thing.”

As we talked, a laboratory came into view, conspicuous with cardboard boxes. Inside was a large white Monoz, connected to some kind of cables. Its eye lit up as if to say, long time no see.

Dragon Unit.

“Akito.”

I called out to the man in work clothes standing beside the Monoz, peering at a tablet.

“Hm? Ah, Touji? It’s you, Touji? Wait, huh? Is it time already? Oh, this is bad, I haven’t packed my room at all! Can we move tomorrow instead?”

“…Obviously not.”

“Yeah! Ahaha, I knew that! Souta, could you lend me some Monoz? It’s just packing things into boxes, basically.”

“They’re currently on loan to the collision test site in the experimental building. Once that’s finished, it should be fine.”

“Great, thanks!”

Akito said that and tossed him the key to his room. Then he beckoned me over with a “take a look at this.” I peered over his shoulder at the tablet.

I understood absolutely none of it.

“Not a clue.”

“Figured! I knew it! I tried extracting the data using several Monoz. I’m a hardware guy, so the analysis took time, but for now, it’s just as expected.”

In other words—

“Dragon Unit’s body has a mechanism that allows it to be forcibly shut down from the outside.”

Apparently, it overloaded the Tree Crystal and burned it out.

Which meant it was a function meant to end Dragon Unit as a Monoz.

“That said, this one seems to be a last-resort measure. What’s unnatural is the number of forced-shutdown devices, starting with that one—far more than should ever be necessary. It’s like… the whole body was designed on the assumption that a Monoz might betray them.”

His eyes asked if I had any idea.

I shrugged.

“None whatsoever.”

“Can you remove them?”

“You’re not just going to replace the body?”

“…Its performance is good.”

Besides, not using it would be bad too. If I stopped using it, Abacus would likely try contacting me through some other method. I did not want that. Since I could not predict what the next method would be, I did not want Abacus to know I was suspicious of them.

“The technical system is too different—no, the entire design philosophy is too far ahead. But if you give me time, I can at least remove them.”

“Then please make that your first job after opening your own business.”