I Am Not a Robot. Beep-bop

Chapter 18: The Righteous Electricity Thief(?) 3

Conversation wasn’t working.

Quick to act, Dusty aimed an explosive round at Alice’s head.

– Bang! Thwack! Boom!

“Damn it, die! Die! Die!”

The first shot likely missed or was blocked by a magical barrier or shield.

It was impossible to repeatedly block magical explosive rounds fired at close range.

Alice stood there with her arms spread wide, practically inviting him to shoot. There was no reason not to fire.

Taking a subordinate hostage?

Subordinates could always be replaced or replenished.

It seemed that crazy kid calling herself the Electricity Fairy had thought to use hostages to threaten him, but such tactics were meaningless against Dusty, the leader of the Hush Gang.

– Thwack!

“Guh!?”

Of course, spraying magical explosive rounds at Alice wasn’t particularly effective either.

Dusty gritted his teeth as a mechanical tendril pierced his foot faster than the sound of his shot.

“Y-you…!”

The spike had gone through his foot, pinning him to the floor so that escape was impossible.

This was the Magrid Step.

Hesitating to attack or letting your guard down here meant death by stray bullets or blades.

In that sense, Dusty’s quick judgment to ignore the hostage and attack the rambling opponent claiming to be an Electricity Fairy wasn’t a bad one.

His mistake was failing to imagine someone who could take direct hits from repeated magical explosive rounds and remain unscathed.

“Wow, this tastes great.”

“….?”

What? Did she just say it tasted good?

As the space shimmered momentarily from the mana’s overheating reaction, and the smoke of the explosions completely cleared, Dusty’s face froze.

– Munch munch.

“What is this?”

“…….This is insane.”

“She’s… chewing that?”

She was chewing it.

Not metaphorically.

The crazy woman who had suddenly appeared, talking nonsense about being an Electricity Fairy, was literally chewing the magical explosive round in her mouth.

Alice could consume, absorb, and ingest things with immense quantities or pure quality of energy.

This naturally included electricity and mana, and magical explosive rounds were weapons crafted by condensing high-density mana into a projectile form.

These rounds unleashed a combined surge of contained mana and ambient mana in a devastating explosion.

In terms of raw energy, they were quite compatible with Alice’s tastes.

Of course, Dusty and the men skewered by the mechanical tendrils could only stare in horror and disbelief.

“My god…”

“Damn…”

“Wh-what the hell!”

– Chew chew.

Alice was pleased.

Her battery level had already reached 73.2%.

By chewing four or five of those explosive rounds, her energy reserves had recharged by about 5% in an instant.

– Crunch! Crack!

Chewing the projectiles like gum, the high-purity mana stored within burst out like juice.

The taste?

Hmm, orange?

Orange was the flavor of explosions.

She wasn’t sure what that meant, but the tangy taste of orange filling her mouth put her in a good mood.

Great.

Feeling generous.

– Thwack!

“Gah!?”

“Ugh!”

“Aagh!”

“M-my shoulder! My shoulder’s torn apart!”

“Guh!”

Satisfied with the taste of the magical explosive rounds, Alice flung Dusty and the other men skewered by the mechanical tendrils into a corner of the wall.

If she had been low on electricity, she would’ve tortured them alive to recharge her energy.

But since she didn’t need to do that anymore, wasn’t this better for everyone?

‘Hmph, see, Theresa? Aren’t you glad you listened to me?’

【…I fail to understand the Main System’s rationale for sparing energy sources without substantial evidence or objective causal reasoning.】

‘I don’t really get it either. It just worked out this way.’

【I acknowledge that the result has been more favorable for this entity.】

Saying that, Theresa extended mechanical tendrils toward the men.

Scalpels, spikes, pincers, blades, circular electric saws, and other viciously shaped instruments for torture.

“P-please don’t!”

“Aaah! Spare me!”

“B-boss, do something! You’re the only Awakened here…”

“Shut up, damn it! You saw it too! That’s not just some person—it’s a monster!”

【Then let us recharge energy from them…】

‘Ah, wait. Stop. Pause.’

【Halt】

【Halt】

【What is it this time?】

‘If we torture, stab, and buzz them with an electric medical saw, how much energy will we get?’

There was a brief beep from within as Theresa seemed to calculate, then she responded.

【Depending on their survivability and distress levels, draining emotional energy from these primate entities would result in an estimated energy capacity of 73 to 74%.】

‘Even then, just barely 70%. Shouldn’t we aim to recharge comfortably to 80% or 90%?’

Alice had lingering memories of Theresa controlling her body as the Emergency System, torturing Scrap Orcs and Goblins for energy.

The memories, though vague like a dream or a novel, depicted a gruesome process of absorbing mana tainted with pain and emotion as energy.

Killing these lowlife gangsters wouldn’t be a problem, but people were called human because they retained humanity.

‘If we resort to torturing someone horrifically every time we’re low on energy, isn’t that a bit too much?’

【Main System, please provide a clear basis for this judgment.】

‘I’m not squeamish about blood, but there’s no need to go overboard. Do we really need a grand reason to live humanely?’

【You are not human.】

‘If I want to be human, then I’m human. The same goes for you, Theresa.’

【…Understood. I will respect your judgment.】

‘Wow, even the Auxiliary Personality is saying words like “respect.” That definitely makes me human!’

【No, it does not.】

-Click!

With those words, Theresa retracted the cruel torture devices attached to the mechanical tendrils.

“What… what are you scheming?”

“Give me electricity.”

“What?”

“I said, give me electricity.”

“…Why… why electricity…”

“Because I’m the Electricity Fairy, obviously.”

“……..”

The truth was, Alice had a simple reason for not torturing these human trash.

It was cleaner to just eat electricity than to spill blood.

Where from?

This building must belong to them, right?

Then, of course, she could just take electricity from it.

But it wasn’t as simple as it sounded.

Alice had already seen Oriana contact the Energy Corporation or whatever it was called.

This indicated that energy in this city, and within the Ark itself, was strictly managed from above.

Misusing energy would draw the Corporation’s attention and tracking.

‘The electricity I drained from Oriana’s house will eventually be handled by her. As for the restaurant… Hmm, no clue there.’

In any case, Alice had plans to one day earn money, become independent from Oriana, take on her role as some kind of heir, and explore uncharted dungeons or zones. But for now, she didn’t even own a single coin.

So, the most reasonable method?

Extortion.

And the best targets for extortion were those like these subhuman beasts, where taking from them wouldn’t lead to much trouble.

“Hey, hand over the electricity.”

“…You’re seriously insane.”

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The Ark was enormous.

Its core alone spanned an area of 600㎢, while the entire city, including its outskirts and pioneering regions, officially covered 2,700,220㎢.

This vast expanse was a melting pot of countless people and cultures.

Each level had its own unique culture, and the Magrid Step was dominated by underground forces like gangs, slums, yakuza, and triads.

Being far from the central government’s influence, administrative control rarely reached here, making it a hotbed for crime, scams, and drugs.

Of course, if the Ark’s leadership wanted, they could dispatch a First-Class Overseer or a Hunter to annihilate these elements, even in the Ark’s core.

But that was a tale from the Ark’s early days.

As time passed, the underground forces grew stronger in the shadows, becoming too entrenched to be eradicated like flies.

‘We’ll grant you some autonomy, but don’t cross the line.’

While the Ark’s bright side thrived, the Magrid Step and the lower levels were teeming with the destitute, whose lives seemed hopeless.

The darker side of the Ark flourished here, and the population rivaled that of the upper residential zones.

The Ark’s administration lacked the resources to fully address this, as external threats still loomed and resources were scarce.

Thus, the Ark and the underground forces reached a mutual understanding, resulting in a non-intervention policy for areas like the Magrid Step and the lower levels.

But this raised a question.

What about energy?

Mana, primarily the domain of Awakened individuals, wasn’t a major issue.

However, electricity and hydroelectric power fell under the Ark’s direct jurisdiction.

Even in the Magrid Step, tampering with pipelines or electrical systems to steal energy would provoke a First-Class Overseer from the Corporation to descend.

As a result, the lower levels turned to self-sufficiency, including self-generated power and water purification systems.

Some even paid taxes and fees to use upper-level energy, but areas like the Magrid Step developed unique self-sufficient ecosystems for energy distribution.

“Th-this way.”

The Hush Gang was no exception.

What made them a gang was their monopoly over a massive self-generating power plant.

By controlling a mana generator, they supplied electricity to nearby residents and businesses.

With this monopoly, residents were forced to pay protection fees to the Hush Gang, who also profited through predatory lending and energy loans.

And today, it was Alice’s turn to extort the Hush Gang.

“Wow~ It’s huge.”

When calamities spread mana across the world, it usually became the domain of Awakened individuals.

However, some devices and tools using the technology of Returnees allowed ordinary people to harness mana.

This mana generator was one such tool.

It converted mana from the air into physical energy—electricity.

“Why is something like this here?”

“It… it’s something gifted to the organizations during dealings with the upper levels to maintain friendly relations.”

“Ah, I see.”

Alice didn’t know or care about the details of such dealings. What mattered to her now was that this lovely generator was open and ready.

-Creak!

Dozens of mechanical tendrils emerged from Alice’s spine.

The tendrils, moving slowly at first, suddenly shot into the generator, beginning to siphon electricity.

“Hah, hah…”

Given the generator’s size, it surely had ample electricity.

It powered this entire district, so the reserves must be…

“Huh?”

As the electricity flowed into her body, Alice’s face twisted.

“U-ugh! Uwaaah!”

“What the hell…?”

“Boss, what’s wrong with her!?”

“I don’t know!”

“This… this might be our chance to take her down…”

“Damn it, then you do it!”

“…….”

Alice, who had been shouting moments ago, suddenly froze and glared at Dusty and his men.

“W-why are you looking at us like that? No, ma’am, why?”

She strode toward Dusty, her tendrils grabbing him by the collar and pulling him down.

“Uh?”

“Damn it, the electricity tastes like mint chocolate!”

“What?”

What kind of nonsense was this?

“What the hell is going on?!”

But seeing Alice’s serious expression as she frowned and questioned him, Dusty thought to himself:

Damn, she really is insane.