novelburst
Chapter 643
Chapter 643
"Ugh, that was a good sleep...."
7:30 AM, on the top floor lounge of a building next to the Songdo Expo.
Despite the calm air, the sun that had already risen was greeting me as I removed my eye mask. There was no one around, and not even a sound could be heard. It made sense, though.
Having slept with an eye mask on, my bangs were in a complete mess. I yawned while covering my mouth with one hand, looking out at the Expo view through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Since the Expo hadn't opened yet, there were no people walking between buildings, but there were some...
"...Ugh."
Quite a lot, actually.
What should I say? Looking down from such a high place and watching people waiting to enter the Expo felt like watching an ant colony. I didn't expect it to be this popular, but it was beyond what I imagined.
Anyway, the owner can afford to come in a little late… Of course, that was a joke, but it wasn’t completely wrong. Instead, there were a few things that needed to be done before the opening, like preparing the event I mentioned yesterday.
Sitting on a chair before taking a shower, I activated the Icarus Gear, connected to the drone storage in Expo C Building, and activated about five optical camouflage drones, placing them at designated locations.
Two in Building A, one in Building D, and one in Building B.
'Although I said the gun skin was one of a kind...'
If the skins are all designed differently, they’re technically all one-of-a-kind skins. I wasn’t wrong.
And when tens of thousands of people come and go every day, if Gaia only appears once every hour... well, that’s ridiculous. It’s not even worth talking about. Of course, the cosmetic items are only released once a day, though.
Anyway, to prevent accidents and overcrowding, I deployed a larger number of humanoids than usual. That should be enough.
Just then, a drone came and placed a cup with a sweet drink next to me, and then flew off. After finishing the placement, I poured the ice-cold drink into my throat. Finally, I felt fully awake.
Now, let’s see... where did the Triple Biyams go?
"Mina? Yerin?"
Before taking a shower, I called out the names of the two. Of course, I didn’t really expect an answer.
Despite the chaotic vibrations from pumps and various machines embedded in the building’s walls, I didn’t feel any vibrations from footsteps. After all, I was the only one in the lounge.
That meant I had to track their traces. The little Biyams, who were treated as Expo staff, weren’t at home; they were asleep in the lounge's bedrooms.
I opened the doors to the rooms assigned to the three of them, and the neatly organized rooms came into view.
'From the fact that their clothes from yesterday are in the laundry basket...'
What’s this? Why didn’t they say anything before leaving?
It wasn’t that I had no idea at all. Looking at it, they probably went to catch Gaia. If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve just given them something separately.
Well, I only thought about it for a brief moment. Luck is fair to everyone, so it’s just luck.
Anyway, with no one else around, I felt there was something I could try. I waved my hand in the air.
???Ding!
At that moment, I heard the sound of the elevator arriving from far away.
And how much time had passed?
"Got a little time to spare?"
"As you can see. How about taking a look at how many people outside are waiting for you?"
"...Oh my."
Gaia had appeared.
I waved my hand to call her, and simultaneously transformed the elevator door into a gate. Gaia leisurely walked out, starting to observe the Songdo Expo from a height of about 186 meters at 7:55 AM.
Her green eyes were fixed on the ground. Below, people were crowding around the Expo entrances, waiting to get in.
How much time had passed?
"...Wow."
"Yesterday was the opening day, so that’s understandable, but the groundwork I laid yesterday has had more of an impact than I expected. So many people are waiting for you to appear in real life. How does it feel?"
"Can I go out now?"
"...I knew you’d say that, but not yet."
"Eeeeng..."
It felt like giving some delicious chocolates to the kids and only letting them taste the nails of it.
Still, as a special event, I could sneak Gaia out. One of the holograms could be the real Gaia... but that was a joke. It wouldn’t be possible to reveal her fully yet, especially when her appearance hadn’t been fully revealed.
But in about two weeks, some cosmetic parts modeled after Gaia’s appearance would be released, and by then, sharp-eyed people would think, "If I combine these parts, will it resemble something real?"
By that time, I should be able to reveal her to the world.
I pulled a chair over, sat down, and talked with her until the opening.
"Did you have fun with Logan?"
"I just played around with Icarus Gear. I had nothing to do, so I just watched the broadcast with the original. I should’ve gone with someone else."
"I heard someone went to a bar in Itaewon... Well, it’s not really a place that Mecha juniors would go, right?"
"I heard the older girls know about food too?"
"That’s possible due to some special methods."
I could link their senses to the Mecha juniors, which made it possible for them to enjoy food, though they technically couldn’t eat. They ended up becoming Mecha Monnans who liked ice cream, but... well, maybe someday that could change, but not now.
After comforting Gaia, time was now 7:59, and I stood up to check outside.
And how much time had passed?
-[Notification: Entry begins.]
"…Oh, oh. Entry starts now. Despite the wind I blew yesterday, everyone’s entering in an orderly manner?"
"I warned them that if they ran, they’d be kicked out immediately, and I’ve deployed more humanoids than yesterday. If people run in a place this crowded, it’ll be a disaster."
"Thinking about it, that’s true... huh?"
"What's wrong?"
At that moment, Gaia accessed my UI, pinged a spot, and there were three familiar figures.
Even in the midst of the crowded entrance gate, they were standing out with their unique appearance, and they had snake-like tails as thick as people's thighs. There were three of them.
Using the zoom function of the Icarus Gear, I watched as they gestured and had an intense discussion. A few seconds later, they began to scatter between the Expo buildings.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
"I woke up this morning, and when I didn’t see them, I wondered where they went, and sure enough."
"...The original, I feel like I’ll be too scared to roam around here later."
"Please look at it nicely. They’re just Monnans who really like Biyams."
They liked Biyams so much they turned into Biyams themselves. Now, to be suddenly reminded of this was just ridiculous.
I thought that and had no choice but to comfort Gaia appropriately.
Although, it didn’t seem to help much.
"Not in C Building!"
"Found them in Building A... No, wait! They’re running away at an insane speed!"
"I didn’t say they were running away, Yujin!"
Meanwhile, at the Expo.
The already enormous Expo site, combined with the faintly visible Gaia hologram from the optical camouflage drones, made it terrifyingly difficult to find her.
Watching the hologram weave between the complex Expo buildings while performing parkour, the visitors were stunned.
Yujin’s events were never easy to pass through.
It was just another day.
"Couldn’t catch her—!"
"How many times have you missed her?"
"I’ve been waiting since 8 AM, and I’ve missed her over five times already... ugh..."
"There’s tomorrow, and the day after. You’ll have more chances until the Expo ends, so don’t worry."
"<You only grew bigger, but you’re still kids.>"
- hahahahahahahahahahaha
- Is it really that bad? hahahahahaha
- Biyamification<<< lowers human intelligence
- Olivia giving a sharp jab from the side hahaha
- If it were that easy, people wouldn’t be frantically searching for New Mecha Biyams, right? hahaha
1:00 PM, the tantrum erupted from Expo Building D.
After several hours of searching, but failing to catch Gaia, Harmonie, Dice, and Iris let their frustrations out in a kind of... waiting room-like space.
Well, it couldn’t be helped. They had been preparing since 7 AM, taking showers, and then spent several hours running around—at the pace of EM-level users—only to find that today’s luck was bad.
So, after exerting themselves and achieving nothing, the three of them stuffed themselves with food worth tens of thousands of won at the C Building cafeteria and then came here to attend to their schedule.
Of course, they were disappointed, but that didn’t mean I could ease the difficulty for them.
"You three understand, right? If I lower the difficulty, it would be unfair."
"...Right."
"Well, I’ll consider something for you three. You’ve helped quite a lot, so considering that, it might be nice to prepare something separate."
"Ah, now the story changes. Hehe."
"I’m glad to see you’ve regained your energy."
At least they were satisfied with that. Thankfully, the intensity of the tantrum had reduced by now. It might have been because Olivia was around.
Anyway, enough about the tantrum. As I mentioned earlier, we had come to one of the shooting ranges in Building D to do a kind of... augmented reality Team Deathmatch—and as you can tell by the words, it wasn’t virtual reality.
You probably guessed from the terminology, but it was like the military's Miles system. A survival game with laser detection sensors attached to your body.
Instead, we added more holograms to increase the realism and fun.
While everyone was expertly putting on their gear, the conversation continued.
"This feels like the magic combat stage in Disney World’s Epcot Studios. I only saw it on broadcasts, but I never imagined I’d actually be doing it."
"I’m joking when I say it was inspired by that, but studios that can replicate virtual actions in reality are quite common now. I know there are many similar places."
"Right."
"I'm more concerned about the enormous crowd of spectators piling up in front of us!"
- hahahahahahahahahahahaha
- How do you know if it wasn’t even shown on broadcast?
- 'Sixth Sense'
- Considering the words about vibration detection earlier, maybe they can feel it like that?
- Oh, sensitive Biyams to vibrations... ???...
As expected.
What should I say? Certainly, everyone’s senses seem to have become more sensitive after reaching EM-level. They still couldn’t filter out all kinds of vibrations and track real-time positions like I could, though.
That said, I wasn’t expecting them to do that. After all, I had gone through countless trial and error to get to this point. They weren’t heading into actual warfare.
After struggling to fasten the vest with the Miles sensor, which was made difficult by my well-developed chest, I put on special gloves and armbands, adding,
"After this content ends, we’ll need to prepare more sizes for the vests."
"It seems the junior was thinking the same thing. Ah, I’m dying. Dying."
"...You two might actually burst out of your Miles vests."
"Ah, me too."
"Iris...?"
- Huh
- POW hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
- This one! This one! This one!
- Mina, why the betrayed expression...?
- Those two are tactical pouches, but what kind of pouch is Iris carrying?
- A lawsuit pouch
The chat room went wild, completely chaotic.
Anyway, getting back to it, everyone had put on the tactile feedback gloves and armbands. There weren’t any headgear, but the special goggles for visual effects and in-ear sensors would serve as the sensory devices.
The first match was a simple 2:3 match with those who had awakened, and starting from the next match, we’d have the full 6:6 match with the people we should have faced.
Strict reservations meant the schedule was fully booked until 10 PM, and we refunded half the reservation fees to everyone who had booked today to apologize.
Also, we planned to extend the operation until 10:40 PM.
This behind-the-scenes story ends here, and Olivia and I were set to take the left route, while Dice and his group would take the right route to start.
Through the drone cam, I added,
"You guys, including Mina’s friends and Kato, might be watching right now... hmm, I plan to bring you all next time. I’ll send out the invitations early since it looks like you’re planning to visit all together."
- Breaking news) Kato choked on water while watching Biyam broadcast
- Kato the gamer hahahahahaha
- Just thinking about Biyam chokes me up ????
- I swear, they’re such nice people, but...
Well, as expected, it was full of slander.
But now I was a rather skilled broadcaster, so I ignored it, walking quickly toward the respawn area—countless hologram projectors on the ceiling added gear to my body.
The tactile feedback gloves created artificial pressure, perfectly simulating the sensation of inserting a hologram-created magazine into a gun that didn’t even exist.
I attached the suppressor to the HK337, aiming it around and pulling the trigger—the sound of the shot was perfectly reproduced in my in-ear sensors.
I thought they couldn’t see it from here, but maybe they could from the unseen stands. Thinking that, I hit the button on the wall with my fist—
-[Notification: Team Deathmatch begins now.]
-[Notification: The map is Quarry. Adjusting positions of internal objects in real-time.]
-[Notification: Map size check... 300mX300m. Confirming real-time implementation.]
-[Notification: Eliminate the enemy.]
"<...90,000 square meters? That’s pretty big.>"
"This is the most expensive area in the Expo. Let’s check it out."
It was time to check whether those guys had been having fun or just hanging around.
And then—
???Toodoodoodoo!
"Ugh, down...!"
"No, teacher! Who in the world shoots while climbing walls?!"
"Well, if Olivia catches you, you won’t be saying that."
"What the... ugh!"
- Oof hahahahahahahahahahahaha
- Why are you playing Titanfall by yourself while everyone else is dealing with their duties?...
- You maniacs, please go easy hahaha
- So these Biyams participated in the 3rd Final Championship? No conscience?
- Seriously, too much hahaha
"Ugh, down...!"
"No, teacher! Who in the world shoots while climbing walls?!"
"Well, if Olivia catches you, you won’t be saying that."
"What the... ugh!"
- Oof hahahahahahahahahahahaha
- Why are you playing Titanfall by yourself while everyone else is dealing with their duties?...
- You maniacs, please go easy hahaha
- So these Biyams participated in the 3rd Final Championship? No conscience?
- Seriously, too much hahaha
With a sound of whooshing, Olivia descended silently from the sky, lightly landing on top of Dice, instantly pinning him down.
Later, she promised to teach Dice, Harmonie, and Iris the techniques for wall climbing. Meanwhile, Olivia and I claimed an easy victory with a light tag team match.
It was fun.