Behind the main street, where countless shops gathered in a chaotic jumble.
Most buildings were constructed using mud and various relics from the old era, but one building stood out as it was covered in steel plates across all its walls, looking rather alien.
The facility stood tall enough to overlook other buildings, yet its dark alcoves made it hard to see inside through the windows.
Surrounding the building, wrecked cars were piled up as makeshift barriers, and in front of them, large cylindrical barrels, brimming with oil, lined up in a row.
This small fortress, nestled within the junkyard, was the base of the notorious gang Chasing Bandits—Oil Ridge.
Inside this small stronghold, a bald man and a Mohawk-sporting man were in deep conversation.
“Is everything prepared without any loopholes?”
“Hehe, don’t worry, boss. I’ve handed out all the weapons from the warehouse to the kids. And reinforcements will be here soon.”
The Mohawked man grinned, clearly enjoying the situation.
“As soon as you give the order, we can wipe out those red-headed bastards!”
“Good, good! Finally!”
The bald man responded with enthusiasm, his face beaming with a greedy smile.
“Once we push out the Red Faces, those crazies will be next, and the junkyard will belong to us.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Red Faces.
One of the large Fallen factions that, along with Iron Legion and Chasing Bandits, ruled the city. While most Fallen factions had a religious undertone, these guys took it to the extreme.
The priests in that group hung human heads around their necks like some deranged cult.
But until now, we refrained from a pointless war against them because we didn’t want to hand Iron Legion an easy win. Now, however, the situation has changed.
“Still holed up in that scrap heap, are they?”
“Yes, sir! No movement whatsoever.”
“Fucking morons, they must be scared shitless, huh?”
Iron Legion.
A group of wannabe soldiers, more foolish than dangerous, but their weapons and gear were better than ours, so we’ve been cautious. That’s about to change because something exploded within their ranks.
At least, that’s what our spies planted in their territory reported.
“Wait, no cars have been going in or out of their hideout for days?”
“Yes! That’s correct!”
If cars weren’t moving, it meant no movement.
That was the problem.
“This is strange.”
The last time there was a war, those Iron Legion fools never interrupted supplies to the junkyard’s crab gangs.
The sudden cutoff of supplies indicated something major had happened.
So, we sent a reconnaissance team to check and, shortly after, they returned with news even more shocking than anticipated.
“It’s definitely strange. We didn’t see any patrol teams. Their fortress seemed empty.”
“They seemed to have disappeared altogether.”
The severed supplies and the vanishing Iron Legion.
We didn’t know exactly what had happened, but it didn’t matter.
What it implied was that something big had gone down inside their faction and that meant opportunity for us.
“Once we push out the Red Heads, it’ll be those morons next.”
“Yes, boss!”
“This could be our big chance if everything goes well.”
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
A harsh knock interrupted his speech.
From beyond the iron door, an urgent voice called out.
– Boss! Boss! We’ve got a big problem!!
“What? Come in!”
– Yes, boss!
The door burst open, and a large-framed man, with sweat dripping from his forehead, rushed inside the room.
“What’s the commotion about?”
“They’re attacking us!”
“What!? Who? Could it be those Red Heads somehow caught wind of our plan?!”
“No, some robots…!”
“What? Robots?”
TATATATAT!
His words were cut short as gunshots echoed in close succession.
From the hallway, rhythmic footsteps resounded.
“H-Hiiiik! T-Th-They’re coming!!”
The bald man reached under his desk and grabbed the golden pistol he kept hidden, his subordinate shaking with fear as he stared at the advancing enemy. Meanwhile, the Mohawked man pulled out his assault rifle from his back and aimed down the corridor.
As they stood there, the footsteps grew louder, closer, until voices emerged.
[Searching.]
At the same moment the bald man raised his pistol, pale robotic figures with thin builds emerged from the side of the wall.
The robots, though somewhat plain-looking, held powerful automatic shotguns and wore pristine infantry gear, their overwhelming numbers alone striking fear into the hearts of the outmatched Fallen gang.
The Edu-controlled Marionette army.
“Eh…wh-what…?”
The Mohawked man glanced helplessly toward these strange robots before turning to his boss, confusion evident in his eyes.
CRASH!
The window shattered.
Whirring sounds approached as a swarm of small drones flew in through the broken window and hovered above the marionettes.
One of the marionettes scanned the room with its sensor.
[Armed person detected.]
The emotionless voice was followed by the synchronized aim of automatic shotguns.
[Drop your weapons and surrender.]
An overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation.
But the bald boss couldn’t give up.
He couldn’t accept his hard-won opportunity being erased by mysterious robots.
“Shit…Fuck!!”
BANG, BANG!
His golden pistol spat fire.
TING, FLUMP.
But the bullets merely grazed the marionettes’ armor and were stopped by their bulletproof vests, causing no significant damage.
[Resistance confirmed. Initiating suppression.]
BANG BANG BANG BANG!
The automatic shotguns opened fire in unison.
12-gauge rubber bullets rained down upon the Mohawked man’s arms and legs as he stood frozen in disbelief.
“Gah! Ugh! Ack!”
Struck in his limbs and dropping his rifle, the Mohawked man stumbled backward. Above him, a drone descended, and with a soft click, a plastic cover popped open, revealing silvery electrodes that latched into his body.
ZAP-ZAP-ZAP!
“AHHHHHHH!!!”
The high-pitched scream rang out as the Mohawked man collapsed.
Meanwhile, marionettes lunged forward, tearing his clothes and binding his arms and legs within moments, using strips of his own shirt.
The gun barrels then swiveled toward the large man.
“W-W-Wait! I-I’m unarmed!”
The large man held up his arms and shook his head, trying to reason with the robots.
But the marionettes’ response was swift and cold.
[High obesity constitutes a potential weapon, initiating suppression.]
BANG BANG BANG BANG!
“Urk! Agggh! Uurghh!”
ZAP-ZAP-ZAP!
“UUUUUUUGGGHHHH!!!”
In the blink of an eye, both subordinates had been subdued, and the bald boss trembled uncontrollably.
“Shit! FUCK!! Who are you bastards!?”
At the sound of his desperate scream, the marionette tilted its head and sifted through the conversations with its master to find the most appropriate response.
[We are the Baby Army.]
“…What?”
[Initiating suppression.]
BANG BANG BANG!!
Guns blazed again in rapid succession.
Thus began the legend of the Baby Army.
…
Across the junkyard, the marionette army spread out.
BANG BANG BANG!
“Guh! Ugh! Ahhh!”
“Agghh! Ugh! Aaaah!”
Gunfire echoed everywhere, followed by the pitiful cries of Fallen hit by rubber bullets.
“Kiyaaaah!”
“Auurghhh!”
As taser shots struck them, the Fallen let out shrill screams before being subdued. Watching from the sidelines, the wanderers were first terrified by the sudden appearance of the robot army but then became curious as the marionettes efficiently identified and subdued only the Fallen.
Changing rulership in the city.
I watched the spectacle unfold with Cat by my side.
“Wow….”
“Hmph, impressive, isn’t it?”
“…”
Cat nodded laboriously but, looking uncertain if this was real, kept rubbing her eyes and pinching her cheeks—a sight I found rather cute.
CLAP CLAP.
Clapping was heard from the side.
Turning my head, I saw Mr. Kai and Uncle Daesik applauding.
“You’ve always been someone extraordinary, but every time I see this, I grow more amazed. Truly flawless control of abilities.”
“Hia, taking over a whole city by yourself… I don’t believe it even though I’ve seen it. Amazing, little miss!”
Sincere compliments flowed effortlessly.
“Haha, nothing to it. Now that the Fallen are mostly subdued, let’s discuss what’s next?”
“Good idea. Cat?”
“…Uh… Yes?”
Cat nodded uncertainly, clearly confused by the sudden address.
“Then.. ah, no. Edu, didn’t you come here looking for information?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, then you ask Cat first and get the information you need.”
“Uh, is that okay?”
Kai nodded.
“You’ve already sacrificed a lot of time helping us, so it’s only fair to return the favor.”
Kai then turned to Uncle Daesik.
“Daesik, could you inform Rianna to send over any free explorers? Someone needs to manage the junkyard once the Fallen are ousted. Without their presence, there will be a power and security vacuum.”
“Explorers?”
“Yes, Edu’s group is busy and will depart soon. They need to handle other matters. It’s better we take over management here.”
“Ah, you have a point. Understood!”
Uncle Daesik bowed respectfully.
“Well then, little miss, see you next time!”
“Yes, thank you for your help.”
“Not at all! Farewell, friend.”
Uncle Daesik walked away with a bow, and we watched him leave.
“Is this satisfactory, Edu?”
Kai turned to me, offering precise consideration to my needs.
He was right. Once the Fallen were driven out, several complications would certainly arise in Junkyard. His assistance was, honestly, a great help.
I smiled and nodded.
“Thank you for being so considerate.”
With a polite bow, I turned my attention to Cat, who flinched for some reason.
“I don’t know why someone as extraordinary as you would be curious about me, but I don’t know everything.”
Her words were laced with caution and concern. I gave her a comforting smile in response.
“Don’t worry, I’m not asking anything difficult.”
“…Hmm. Then what do you want to know?”
“I’d like to know the recent situation around Junkyard, specifically the eastern area, if you could help me with that?”
“The east? Are you asking about the movements of the monsters?”
“Yes.”
Using the Junkyard as a reference point, the expansive eastern lands were all territories of the cryptids.
Though travel was severely restricted by high mountains and cliffs, it wasn’t entirely impossible to cross through.
“Monsters…”
“Haven’t you heard anything?”
“Well, since people rarely go there, information is rather scarce.”
“I see…”
Disappointment weighed down my shoulders.
Then, Cat snapped her fingers as if remembering something.
“Oh, wait a minute. Actually, I do recall one thing.”
“What is it?”
“There are these guys who keep watch on that side. I overheard them in a bar bragging about how, because they hadn’t seen any monsters lately, they ventured into their territory to investigate.”
“Ventured in because the monsters weren’t visible?”
“Yeah, sounds crazy, right?”
“Yes.”
The Fallen or wanderers were usually limited in equipment and weapons. For an ordinary person to recklessly enter the cryptid’s territory without enhanced abilities was akin to suicide.
“Anyway, these fools said that after going farther in, they saw the monsters gathered together, seemingly fighting amongst themselves.”
“They were fighting amongst themselves?”
“Yep.”
Cryptids were known to live in collectives.
While it wasn’t uncommon for undisciplined swarms to engage in cannibalism or different hives with different queens to collide, something about this felt off.
I had planned to investigate their movements anyway, so visiting the area directly made sense.
“Thank you. Is there any other information?”
“Sorry, that’s all I know.”
“That’s fine, it’s enough.”
That’s all I really needed. I ended my conversation with Cat and turned back to Kai.
“Edu, do you intend to head out?”
“Yeah, I wanted to check that area anyway. Something feels off.”
“Hmm. Can you share the information with us afterward? If we deploy explorers here, we’d like to have a better understanding of the surroundings.”
“Of course, I’ll make sure to let you know.”
“Great, thank you.”
“Yes.”
Having obtained crucial information, I turned to my friends.
“Then let’s head back to Jason and conduct a reconnaissance of the cryptid territory.”
“Alright, understood.”
“Edu! Let me carry you this time.”
“Yeah, thanks, Zenny.”
I climbed onto Jenny’s back, and as she extended her hands toward the ground, I called out.
“Collection Release!”
The Fallen vehicle reappeared before our eyes.
As Kai and Cat’s eyes widened in surprise, I climbed into the vehicle with my friends.
“Well then, see you later, Mr. Kai.”
“…Uh, sure, see you.”
“Alright, let’s head back quickly. Jason, take us there!”
…
A white command ship cut across the hazy sky.
Misty vapors rose from the grotesque vegetation protruding from the surface below.
The gloomy atmosphere inside the command bridge matched the eerie landscape, which seemed oddly detached from reality.
“Visibility’s bad… Edward, don’t make any mistakes, alright?”
“Relax, I’ve got this.”
Edward gave a confident thumbs up.
Nodding once, I gazed out the command bridge window at the cryptid’s territory.
‘This feels worse than the colony.’
The slimy green mucosal patches covering the ground, along with the living, wriggling plants, evoked images of monsters from a popular game.
Just as I frowned instinctively, a voice broke the silence.
“Hmm? Edu, something’s showing up.”
“What is it?”
“Not sure, but it appears to be a massive collection of organisms… I’ll project it on the screen.”
“Alright.”
The radar screen appeared on the command bridge display.
As Edward had noted, numerous red dots swarmed densely towards the top of the radar.
“Jason, can you increase our altitude without being noticed?”
[Understood, Captain Edu. Rising.]
The front of the vessel slowly elevated.
As we ventured further, through the hazy clouds, something vague came into view.
My eyes instinctively narrowed.
And, finally, the haze cleared a little, revealing the ground below.
“Eh…?”
A brief glimpse before it disappeared—cryptids from the same clan were killing each other on the land spread out before us.
