I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 604

[General] Mecha Eugene <<<< These guys are definitely not robots, LOL

<Expo Q&A time screenshot>

All their answers are really legendary, haha

[All Comments][By Registration Order]

• Q: Can you become superintelligent by making yourself smarter? / A: Why? LOL

  • Hahaha, these guys are so dumb, it’s hilarious.
  • Seriously, these guys are such mecha idiots, haha.

• So the idiots who said these guys would rule humanity in the future were seriously hyping it? Ugh, LOL.

• The doomsday predictions from so-called experts? Total silence, LOL.

• When did Icarus folks develop a joke module and attach it to these mecha idiots? The performance is insane.

• Watching the 115kg machine’s interview, I got hit... I’m going to the gym starting tomorrow...

  • Damn, you should lose some weight.
  • Not tomorrow, start today, haha.
  • No, you... well, never mind.

• This is so funny, haha.

• Starting today, I’m one with Mecha Idiot. If you insult Mecha Idiots, you’re insulting me.

  • Who gave you permission to become one with them? Wanna die???
  • I’m first! Grab a ticket and queue.

• "Didn't you tell us to get smarter?" "Nah, just live as we are." How can robots have a conversation like this? Haha.

  • These guys are definitely not robots, haha.

• Idiots are gods, and Mecha Idiots are invincible.

• How do they know about ice cream and spicy food, haha.

• But can they actually eat? They probably don’t have a digestive system.

  • If they don’t have a digestive system, they definitely can’t eat, haha.
  • Who knows, they might switch to bodies with digestive systems later.

• Opinion) Unless a special body with a digestive system comes out, they’ll never be able to eat.

  • Unless they’ve transferred an entire digestive system, food will just pass through their body, haha.
  • After hearing that, I almost imagined something too graphic to put into words... almost.

• AI fanfiction writers are about to be unemployed, LOL.

  • Now, if you write AI fanfic, you might get re-hired immediately.
  • You might need to pay a settlement fee to the Mecha Idiots before you submit that, haha.

• Ugh... I’ve had all my illusions about AI shattered...

  • Where did those illusions even come from? Haha.
  • Yeah, actually, it’s for the best~~~~

"Well, you really went all out, our little ones. Very well done. Exceeded expectations."

"Right? We did great, didn’t we?"

"Uh... I want to go out tomorrow too..."

"Nope."

• Hahaha, this is too funny.
• Ah, Nasty is so cute.
• But why can’t the youngest go out? Haha.
• Probably because of their mental age, haha.
• Seriously though, what makes them so confident? Why are they so cute???

The real-time three-hour interview broadcast spread quickly, and the world was thrown into a frenzy.

The sheer number of articles and videos being released was no joke. Of course, communities all around the world were discussing our Mecha "youngest," but honestly, it didn’t bother anyone. It didn’t bother the Mecha "youngest" either.

The reason was simple. To be honest, Jin, Rain, and Mav weren’t there to represent all of AI or artificial consciousness. They were just there because they were asked to, and they said what they wanted to say.

Thank goodness, this wasn’t going to turn into something like a Matrix-style headache.

Anyway, I gave the three of them a pat on the head for their hard work.

The interview was over, but the expo wasn’t finished, and to be precise, today’s schedule would end at 8 p.m. The current time was about 3:40 p.m., and in about 20 minutes, the Mecha "youngest" would be tested for their physical abilities.

Of course, I knew these three could display the same level of physicality as I could. It might sound similar, but I had to consider that their body weight was more than double mine.

Could the ground even handle it?

After testing the drone cam’s censorship terms, I activated the censorship feature and added:

"Later, there will be a performance test, right? Make sure to do it appropriately. You won’t even be able to show half of what you can do. You probably already know this."

"Of course. I’ll do as much as I heard from Icarus Dynamics last time."

"Honestly, that’s already more than enough, so just keep it simple."

Still, it looked like a huge impact was about to happen.

However, for other humanoid production companies, we were sorry, but we were going to keep our mouths shut about things like power sources and motors.

Honestly, the purpose of this expo wasn’t about showing off our robot’s performance—it was more like "Come see these cute Mecha Idiots!" If you want to see real performance, wait for the humanoid expo in September or October this year.

The defense industry folks would probably foam at the mouth, but honestly, that wasn’t something we needed to worry about.

"Let’s see, things to do today… just some shooting, running, hitting, running more… well, it doesn’t seem all that fun. By the way, how do you handle joint motor aging?"

"We have self-repair capabilities, but compared to our original bodies, it’s a bit lacking. Can you develop some nanomachines? Didn’t you include them in the designs we gave you?"

"...I’ll tell you upfront, working machines at the nanolevel are still a dream technology here."

• Why is everything they say censored? Haha, what are they even talking about?
• ?? : Ah... you don’t know... I see... well, no, this seems too early for you guys... I’ll talk to you about it later...
• Aaaah, please tell us what you're saying, we’re going crazy here!

The viewers were definitely on the edge at this point, but what else could they do?

It was now time to move on.

My phone was flooded with messages from friends saying things like, "What the heck is going on?" but, well, that could wait. Now, it was time to head to a space filled with the smell of gunpowder.

The first destination was a large shooting range near a gun shop, a bit further from here. It was close to where I had previously fired the .50 caliber Gatling gun, and there, I would show them how we handle firearms.

They would likely be amazed by the precise shooting and recoil control from the weight.

The second destination was an indoor track, where the mobility test for the units was scheduled. The reason I’m telling you all this is simple—today, I was the safety officer for the three of them.

Anyway, that wasn’t important right now. I added to the three following me:

"We’re going outside now. Unlike before, there’s no need to answer separately, just be mentally prepared."

"Eh, why?"

I didn’t answer, opened the door, and walked into the lobby.

How much time passed, I’m not sure, but soon:

"Everyone! Please pay attention here!"

"This is Today Magazine! I have some questions regarding today’s interview in the meeting hall!"

"Take a photo, take a photo! We’ll mosaic the Exponent’s face!"

"It’s Eugene!"

• Oh my god, haha.
• This feels like when you arrive at Incheon Airport, haha.
• Why are there so many people? Haha.
• Is this... the life of an influencer?
• Being famous is so tough, haha.

A barrage of flashes, countless handshakes... no, interview requests.

But unfortunately for them, there were more people waiting for us. So, I told the Mecha "youngest" to go ahead, and after receiving a mic that an Icarus reporter had sneakily handed me, I spoke:

"I sincerely thank everyone gathered here, but soon, you’ll see the Mecha 'youngest' firing the .50 caliber Gatling gun. But, would it be okay for you to stay here?"

At the same moment, the camera flashes stopped, and the noise instantly vanished.

There was an unnatural stillness. And after some time, everyone suddenly packed up and began to scatter. They were probably securing spots to write the next articles.

Since the Mecha "youngest" had built-in stealth and optical camouflage functions, I didn’t worry and added:

"Alright, let’s meet again later."

As expected, putting out a fire with a bigger fire works best.

• Whoa, the movement of their hands is so precise...
• They’re holding things without any awkwardness. There are no fingerprints or moisture, I wonder how they manage friction...
• A magnetic field is detected from their hands. The palm seems to use a highly malleable metallic composite material. The surface is incredibly smooth, so it seems they’ve borrowed an entirely new concept to hold objects firmly...

"Wow, they’re all going crazy. I knew this would happen, so it’s not really a problem."

"Looks like they’re very curious. But still, what can we do? If they’re curious, they’ll have to realize quickly that there’s nothing we can tell them."

"Well learned, Rain."

"Hehe."

America is astonished, Europe is shocked, and Asia is envious of Mecha Eugene.

Shaking off these fleeting, pointless thoughts, I began attaching combat vests to Jin and Rain. If Mav asks why I didn’t do the same for him, it’s because Mav’s combat abilities are far behind those of Jin and Rain, so he’s resting for now.

In short, it all came down to the difference in experience—Jin was the first to join and fought alongside me, gradually improving his combat skills. Then Rain came, and Mav joined much later.

At this point, Jin and Rain could handle about 0.6 of a full mission’s worth of combat duties, while Mav... well, maybe 0.25?

Of course, if they had tail weapons, they could easily exceed 5.

"I want to go too..."

"Mav, go practice more and come back."

"Hehe, the third little one still has a long way to go. Maybe you should drink more of the prototype's milk—ugh!"

"Anyone who hears that would think I raised you by feeding you milk. Thankfully, this conversation isn’t leaking out... Anyway, no more jokes like that!"

"Got it."

"I didn’t say anything."

Who taught these kinds of jokes? It’s insane.

Anyway, today’s simulated battle was rather unusual—specifically, because the humanoid enemies Jin and Rain were facing used live ammunition. The bullets weren’t anything special, just regular 7.62mm rounds, so they wouldn’t do much damage.

But I wasn’t really worried, and the reason was simple: the alloy used in the Mecha "youngest" bodies basically makes the materials science of this era obsolete. I’m not entirely sure how it’s made, but I’ve heard the energy required to create it is immense...

It might be something like a super titanium upgrade.

Anyway, if we were really going to try to hurt them, we’d probably need to bring a tank cannon. If nanomachines were available, they could self-repair, but let’s leave that for later.

By the time I was thinking about all this, the two of them had finished gearing up. Honestly, their shooting control systems had already surpassed human levels, so they were carrying gear that looked identical to mine.

In other words, both of them were holding Mk.18 Mjolnirs.

"Couldn’t one of them hold a normal carbine?"

"But carbines are weak. You need something that can silence the enemy in one shot."

"...Well, we have a stealth mission later, so we’ll take something quieter for that."

Today’s mission was a standard combat mission, specifically urban warfare.

You might wonder why they’re going in with such long-barreled guns. The answer is simple: the Mecha "youngest" bodies are bulletproof.

Why do you think CQB (Close Quarters Battle) developed the way it did? It’s to make sure the person entering or the one waiting inside the building can eliminate the enemy without taking any hits. In other words, both the person entering and the one inside would be done in if they got hit, which is why CQB tactics evolved in this way.

That won’t change now.

"Good luck."

"See you later."

"Hehe, look forward to it."

At that moment, I entered the control room and activated the simulation.

We were in a shooting range, almost like a stadium-sized CQB training ground. Today, cameras placed all over the training ground would broadcast Jin and Rain’s actions worldwide, and a few people in the lounge would also be able to watch the scene live.

To prevent potential accidents, thick bulletproof panels were placed over the control room and lounge, and holograms began to display the events unfolding inside.

Today’s scenario involved 50 enemy humanoids, with the goal being total annihilation.

And it began.