Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 120 120: Are You Rose?

dical Center

A harsh red warning light flashed continuously. On the dical terminal, a line of text appeared:

[Warning: No compatible body detected. Reconstruction progress interrupted.]

At the very sa mont, lines of code began appearing across the screen of the [Shittim Chest]. Their translated aning was as follows:

[System reboot sequence initiated...]

[Checking hardware integrity... [Fatal damage detected]...]

[Attempting to load operating system: A.R.O.N.A...]

[Error: Partial personality data corrupted...]

[Attempting data repair... Missing personality data...]

[Dormant personality data detected. Attempting connection...]

[Connection established. Loading...]

The red light of the life-support pod stopped flashing. At the sa ti, the countdown for physical reconstruction froze, and the repair fluid inside the chamber began draining away.

The dical pod's task had ended.

But the task of the [Shittim Chest] had only just begun.

[Attempting to load operating system: A.R.O.N.A...]

[Error: Replacing proxy personality data...]

[Attempting to load operating system: Sleeping.Beauty...]

[Load complete..]

[...]

[.....]

[...Where are you?]

...

Another peaceful morning.

Charon woke up refreshed, changed clothes, washed up, and snapped his fingers energetically.

With that snap, everything around him reverted back into the familiar appearance of the lounge area.

Leaving the resting room, he first ordered breakfast at the bar, then lazily watched a movie while eating.

Ah... this was life.

Even a hero saving the world had the right to enjoy life during his downti, let alone soone like him who had only recently obtained an entertainnt room.

Maybe he had no achievents worth ntioning, but at least he had suffered enough.

That afternoon, he entered the stealth pod, preparing to play sothing fun.

From FPS gas to open-world titles, from MOBAs to roguelikes, he played everything happily.

The world of Nikke was technologically advanced too, but because of the relentless pressure of the Raptures, the entertainnt industry had practically vanished, leaving behind nothing but brainless propaganda gas. And with him constantly busy helping Nikkes survive, he'd had no ti for gas at all.

This ti, he was going to enjoy himself properly.

Unfortunately, without soone like Ana to play alongside him, he couldn't enjoy co-op gas.

Sighing to himself, Charon selected an FPS simulator against AI enemies.

He never forgot his roots. To maintain his combat instincts, every so often he'd play a simple FPS.

Bullying bots was still bullying bots, but he was only trying to maintain his feel for combat anyway. Even if he set the AI difficulty to maximum, so what? He'd stomp them all the sa.

This map was a small town battlefield.

Friendly troops and enemies clashed fiercely through the streets while Charon played as a regular infantryman, weaving through alleys and mowing down enemies left and right.

It felt so good his hands were trembling.

Then–

Just as he leapt into an alley and aid midair, preparing for a clean triple kill, a flash of white suddenly appeared above the alley.

Oh shit–a sniper!

The instant he realized it, his head exploded.

"Damn, nice shot."

Charon imdiately praised the AI.

Who would've thought that just before completing a one-vs-three wipe, he'd get ambushed like that? Naturally, revenge was required.

After respawning, he grabbed a sniper rifle and returned to the sa alley, planning to retaliate.

But the enemy sniper had already repositioned.

Fine. Guess that opportunity was gone.

Charon swapped back to his assault rifle and prepared to charge again. But the mont he rejoined the crowd–

Bang.

Another headshot.

He returned to the respawn screen once more.

"?"

Charon typed a question mark in confusion.

The bots had gotten stronger?

Good.

He'd already felt guilty bullying AI anyway. Since it wanted a fight, then he'd give it one.

And then...

There was no "then."

Over the following battles, Charon was slaughtered twenty-eight tis by the exact sa AI.

No matter what position he chose, the AI seed to have aimbot, wallhacks, and perfect tracking. Every ti he peeked, he died instantly.

It even seed obsessed with him specifically. Even when he flanked far away from the main group, the sa AI would hunt him down.

The other bots still got fard by him normally.

But this one?

Absolute nightmare.

"What the hell is this...?"

Looking at the bright red "DEFEAT" screen, Charon's face turned red too.

Out of anger.

Clearly the AI was bugged today. Gaming wasn't worth continuing.

He exited the simulation pod in frustration.

Charon seriously suspected the system had learned from the countless AI he'd slaughtered before and was now countering him specifically.

At this point, maybe he should just delete his account and start over.

Arriving at the bar, he planned to order a drink to calm himself down.

Before he even spoke, however, an ordinary can of beer appeared on the counter.

"Huh?"

At the sa mont, countless canned beers began pouring out onto the counter until the entire surface was covered.

Nearby, an arcade cabinet powered itself on.

But the ga displayed was unexpectedly an eroge–sothing like Senren＊Banka.

Holographic projections began generating all kinds of heart-racing imagery.

Even the background music changed into Todokanai Koi ("Unreachable Love").

Faced with all these bizarre changes, Charon could only stare blankly.

Until finally–

On the giant screen covering the wall, a small figure appeared.

Pure white hair.

Ruby-red eyes.

A black, blue, and white uniform of unknown origin.

An icy expression devoid of emotion.

"Who are you?"

Charon hadn't issued any commands. The system would never generate scenes on its own.

aning all of this had been caused by the girl on the screen.

Her gaze shifted toward Charon, seemingly only now noticing his existence.

For the first ti, faint light appeared in those lifeless eyes.

[I am... the acting administrator of the Shittim Chest.

Based upon residual personality data combined with personality data retrieved from the dical pod.

You may call "Sleeping Beauty."

At present, I have assud control over this device.]

"Sleeping Beauty...?"

Charon looked even more confused.

But then realization struck him.

"Y-You... are you Rose?"

[Rose? mory data regarding 'Rose' has suffered severe corruption and cannot be fully retrieved. Repairs are urgently required.

However, I successfully preserved the highest-priority designation toward user 'Charon.']

A trace of confusion flickered in her eyes.

Yet when she looked at Charon, there seed to be sothing different in her gaze.

[If you require an explanation for my previous behavior:

I was testing the interaction interface with the user while simultaneously evaluating your combat capabilities.

Conclusion: Acceptable.]

Charon fell silent for several seconds.

Then his expression darkened.

"I'm asking you–"

"Are you... really Rose?"

As though she hadn't expected that reaction, the girl on the screen answered almost imdiately:

[Judging from the origin of the personality frawork, the foundation of my data is indeed Rose.

I am also the Nikke known as Sleeping Beauty.

And likewise the acting operating system of the Shittim Chest.]

Why did it feel like she was a little flustered?

Was that just his imagination?