“Ugh, when am I supposed to finish all this?”
Only the absurd mountain of documents piled on my desk was there to greet me.
This definitely wasn’t the amount a first-year researcher was supposed to receive.
It was all because the senior researchers had shoved their work onto me.
Thanks to them, I’d been trapped in stacks of paperwork without moving an inch until dawn.
No, seriously, if this was how it was going to be, why even set a first-year’s official clock-out time?
“For people who yap so much about security, they sure get generous at times like this.”
Normally, this was classified information a first-year researcher wouldn’t even be allowed to touch, but now
that document was in my hands.
And it wasn’t just classified information—it was Class One confidential. At first, I couldn’t believe it, that I
could see and handle information like this.
If there was one good thing, it was that I could freely look through research institute information that would be hard to obtain even with a premium.
It had been nice at first, but once the amount of work I was assigned increased, I couldn’t simply be happy about it anymore.
According to the senior researchers, since my knowledge had increased, the work I had to do
had simply increased as well.
No, I’m telling you, I never wanted to know this stuff in the first place.
You dumped this on me and ran off because you wanted me to do it. Ah, fuck.
No matter how positively I tried to think, it pissed me off.
“Ugh, what a life.”
First, I should take the stack of completed documents to the senior researcher’s desk.
If I was late, they were the type to bark at me for being late.
+++
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t believe a research institute like this existed in secret.
Because everything stored and guarded here was dangerous to humans.
No, if they were only dangerous, that would actually be a relief.
There were monsters that hunted humans for fun, and books that tempted nearby humans and led them
to their deaths.
I had thought it was a prank even children wouldn’t fall for. Until I saw them with my own eyes.
At the sound of someone approaching, I turned my head and saw two guards armed with personal firearms
walking this way.
“Ah, hello.”
“Are you on duty again today? I believe it’s your third day.”
“Hahaha. That’s how first-years are, you know.”
“Who in their right mind would come back here when they get worked like that? Most of the people who leave are already going out with mental illnesses.”
“It’s true, if you look at the people left, they’re all perverts or loose screws.”
The guard glanced at me and cleared his throat.
“I didn’t mean anything bad by it, so don’t take it to heart.”
“Ah, I know. I know better than anyone.”
“Then, we’ll be going. It’s time for shift change.”
As the guards passed by with a slight bow and their figures grew distant,
a heavy sigh escaped me.
“Somehow, I just can’t warm up to those people no matter how many times I see them.”
They were guards from the security team responsible for security inside the institute.
The monsters and objects stored inside this research institute were all managed by the security team.
Of course, at first I had wondered whether the security team could really handle monsters like these,
but in the end, I remembered them all yelping and getting captured once a few bullets were put into their bodies.
But those people became abnormally crooked when dealing with anyone who wasn’t related to the institute.
To the point that I wondered whether they might be robots wearing human skin.
Right, this wasn’t the time.
If I didn’t hurry up and deal with these heavy stacks of documents, my arms might fall off.
Just as I was about to start walking again,
the glass of a storage room shattered, and something black came lunging at me.
“Uh.”
At the impact against my body, I was slammed straight down onto the floor.
+++
I opened my eyes to pain that felt like my head was splitting apart.
My vision was blurry, and pain rampaged through my entire body.
Clutching my head, I looked around.
“Damn it, is there no doctor?! I’m dying here!!”
“Aaaagh!! My leg, my leg!!”
Deafening gunfire.
An unpleasant sound, like something being chewed.
Screams coming from every direction.
I realized that something had gone wrong.
The scene captured in my vision was horrific.
Even under the gunfire of the dozen or so guards gathered there, the doll that looked as if it had been made by collecting scrap metal
began mercilessly chewing through the chunks of meat before it without taking any real damage.
The floor was soaked with red liquid, and along with severed lumps of flesh scattered here and there,
the number of guards trembling in fear or not moving at all was gradually increasing.
“Wh-what the hell is that?”
I instinctively understood.
That with the current personnel, even staying alive would be difficult.
That my turn wasn’t far off.
“Suppression is impossible with our current personnel. Send the security response team
this way immediately—right now!”
A guard was covered in a pile of corpses as he called for outside help.
If the opponent had been human, that method might have worked.
“Ah.”
When the gunfire that seemed as if it would never end began to die down, the guard realized the situation.
That there was no one left to buy him time.
And what the black shadow cast over the floor was.
“Damn it, damn it!”
As if the scrap-iron doll knew the team leader was hiding beneath the corpse pile,
it quietly brought its face close.
“Die, you damned bastard!”
The team leader drew his pistol and fired wildly at the thing’s head, but the result was obvious.
The scrap-iron doll opened its mouth wide and tore away a lump of flesh.
Having lost his vision, the team leader was mixed into the pile of corpses just like that.
Now, all that remained was the blaring siren.
“I worked myself to death, and now I’m really about to die. Seriously.”
The scrap-iron doll slowly approached me.
If I had known I was going to die like this, I would have just lazed around and lived however I wanted.
Leaving my resentment behind, I closed my eyes.
Because it didn’t seem like the kind of thing that would end my life cleanly.
But contrary to my expectations, it acted differently.
“Huh?”
Did it sense that I was already dying?
Or maybe it simply had no interest in a broken toy.
The scrap-iron doll dragged its creaking legs and disappeared somewhere.
Normally, I should have been happy that I survived, but my body was already covered in wounds.
Dying was probably only a matter of time.
“You bastard, you could’ve just killed me before leaving.”
Looks like I won’t even get to die comfortably.
Ah, in my next life, I just want to be born as a creature that doesn’t have to suffer so much.
+++
“What the hell happened?”
As the security team leader entered, everyone fixed their eyes on him at once.
“Team Leader Cracker, the escape of the entity identified as the Scrap-Iron Doll has been confirmed at the Sector 09 research institute.
We’ve received a request to send in the security response team.”
“Tch.”
Team Leader Cracker wore a displeased expression as he drank his coffee.
“Haa, how many dangerous ones do they think they have over there, making such a fuss? What’s the damage?”
“Well, we currently can’t get in contact with the security team.”
“What?”
“After they requested support from the response team, we have continued sending communication requests, but there is still
no answer.”
“How many people are on Sector 09’s security team?”
“Approximately thirty.”
There was no way all thirty or so security team members had been killed.
Of course, compared to the security response team, they were inferior in both numbers and skill,
but to think that many people had been wiped out?
If that was true, this wasn’t something they could just let slide. Especially since there was even less information about the Scrap-Iron Doll.
“Ha. Is there any unit that can deploy right now?”
“The Scorpion Unit is currently on standby at the base.”
“Give them some supplies and send them out. Tell them to prepare thoroughly.”
Team Leader Cracker kicked back his chair and stood.
“No, I’ll tell the kids myself. I’m going too.”
+++
“Team Leader, is all of that true?”
“You think they’d ignore us after asking for help and us telling them we’d help?
Something must have happened.”
“But we have no information at all on the Scrap-Iron Doll. Will that be all right?”
“If it’s not all right, what, are you going to run?”
At the team leader’s words, the squad members laughed lightly.
Whether it was meant to ease the tension or not, the atmosphere became much lighter.
“Do what you always do. Keep a reasonable distance, and if it looks like it’s going to charge,
put some holes in its body. Make sure it can never act up again.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And we brought plenty of supplies, so don’t be stingy. Don’t try to save them and end up
feeding your necks to it.”
“Yes, understood.”
Once the conversation ended, the outer wall of the Sector 09 research institute began to appear outside the helicopter.
“Arrived at Sector 09 research institute. No signs of external attack. Beginning landing.”
With a deafening roar, three helicopters began landing in the research institute’s ground parking lot.
“Looks like it hasn’t gotten out yet.”
The exterior of the research institute appeared intact.
That, at least, was a relief.
If it had escaped, it would have smashed this research institute to pieces first before running.
There didn’t seem to be anyone who had made it out.
He had expected as much, but it might be an even more dangerous bastard than he thought.
“Team Leader Cracker, your orders.”
“We split into three teams. One team waits outside and prevents civilians from approaching.
The remaining two teams enter and capture those idiots.”
If he had his way, he would take everyone in and seize control of the research institute, but if the thing escaped
out of sight, it would all be for nothing.
If it fled into the city, that would be nothing short of a disaster.
It wouldn’t be too late to send them in after confirming the thing was inside.
When the squad members lifted the firmly closed iron door, the inside of the facility was revealed.
The lights were on, but it was giving off an eerie air.
The kind of instinct any human could feel—that they must never set foot inside.
“There is a high possibility that the Scrap-Iron Doll isn’t the only one that escaped. As for the rest,
I’ll leave it to your judgment. Start broadcasting inside the facility.”
“Hoo, hoo.”
“This is the security response team, Scorpion Unit. We have entered the facility. All personnel are to hide in a safe location
and wait until we resume the broadcast announcing that the facility has been secured.”
+++
The sound of water droplets falling.
An unpleasant creaking sound.
Even a low growl.
Was there any human who had reacted to the broadcast?
There was a reaction. Definitely.
Though whether it was human, no one knew.
The doll quietly dragged its drenched body toward the exit.
For freedom.
As it savored again the joy of the chewing texture it had regained.