Even though they were quite close to the city and the shopping center, the man still took the little girl with him.
It would have been easier if he had gone alone and monitored the situation. However, he didn't.
A week had passed in the bustling small town. That night, a festival was being held in the center of the town.
The streets were lit up with beautiful lanterns. The streets were quite crowded with people. There were many food and merchandise stalls. There was a parade and a theater stage. The man and the little girl wandered around, enjoying the beauty of the festival.
After a while, an announcement was heard over the loudspeaker. Fireworks were about to go off. Hearing the announcement, people quickly headed to the center of the square. The fireworks could be clearly seen from there.
Amidst the crowd, the man held the little girl's hand to keep them together. Slowly, they too made their way to the center of the square. The crowd cheered and counted down.
At the count of three, the fireworks were launched.
Amidst the crowd of smiles and joy, no one knew that something surprising was about to happen.
The sound of fireworks exploded, bursting with beautiful colors. Under the beautiful light, someone lay on the ground. People around them began screaming and running in panic.
Amidst the running, a sentence was heard. Someone had been shot.
Moments before the incident, a figure appeared on the roof of a tall building.
Holding a long-barreled rifle, he surveyed the crowd below.
["Reporting. Target and subject located."]
["Good. Can the target be eliminated now?"]
["It seems a bit difficult. They're hidden by the crowd. There's a high chance of missing."]
["Okay. Keep an eye on them and find the right time."]
["Okay. Understood."]
Just as they were in the square, the fireworks were about to be launched.
["Target position confirmed. Requesting permission to fire."]
["Permission granted. Don't hit the subject."]
As the fireworks exploded, a trigger was pulled.
A bullet shot out from a considerable distance, piercing a small metal arm.
As the little girl watched the fireworks with rapt eyes, a notification appeared.
[Danger detected.]
[A bullet is traveling at a speed of... ]
[Will hit the target in time... ]
[Target....]
Right under the explosion of colorful lights, the little girl pushed the man away. As the man staggered to the side from her push, her steel arm was struck by something.
A loud bang was heard.
The people around them immediately ran in panic, thinking it was a gunshot.
However, there was someone who didn't run.
Just as the small hand pushed him, the man saw it. A bullet had pierced and torn through her human skin, revealing a network of steel like human bones.
The impact of the bullet was quite strong, the little girl was thrown to the ground. The man quickly picked her up and fled the scene.
["Report. The subject was shot and the target fled with him."]
["Why did you shoot the subject?"]
["I'm sorry. I didn't expect the subject to protect the target."]
Upon hearing the report, their commander immediately ordered his team to pursue them.
"Father?" After a moment, the little girl opened her eyes.
As he ran, the man asked.
"Are you okay?"
The little girl looked at her exposed right arm.
"There's no functional damage, just the skin that protects the camouflage is now destroyed."
After arriving in a relatively deserted alley, the man lowered her and held her hand, its metal frame exposed.
"Why did you do that?"
"If I hadn't done that, Father would have been in danger."
The man fell silent. His expression was unreadable.
"I shouldn't have taken this mission."
"Father?"
"If only I hadn't taken you. They would have taken good care of you there. I can't even fix this arm."
The man's face was distorted in frustration.
"Maybe if I return you now, it won't be too late."
As the man's face looked blank, the little girl touched his face.
"Even if Father hadn't taken me, there's no telling what other experiments they would have conducted. Maybe they would have made me capable of destroying the world." The little girl chuckled.
The man held the hand that touched his face.
"Your feelings are probably just a program. No matter who activated you, you'll follow them."
"Even though I'm just a collection of data and only following the program, I'm glad I can follow you, Father."
In the man's gloomy eyes, another emotion had appeared. They no longer looked dead. They glistened with tears.
They immediately ran to the house they were staying in, packed their things, and prepared to flee the city.
Just as they were about to leave, several special forces members surrounded them. The man immediately broke through the roof and, carrying the little girl, they escaped.
"Sir, they escaped through the roof!"
Just as the two of them were on the roof, a shot was fired at them. The man quickly dodged and returned fire.
"Father, help will be here in a minute."
Just before they reached the house,
"Father, do we need to call for help?"
"Help?"
"Yes. Your colleagues."
"Can you do it?"
"Yes.Through your data, I can access their information."
The man thought for a moment.
"Please do it."
From the opposite direction, two cars sped by. A man appeared from the window and aimed fire at the special forces.
He and his comrades were former soldiers who had worked for the nation. During the war fifteen years ago, a truth shattered their trust in the nation.
The country they were protecting was actually using them as test subjects for the latest biological weapons technology. Weapons technology and so on based on artificial intelligence.
They were fighting desperately against another country. Yet, the government easily launched weapons with high explosive power that not only hit the enemy but also their own soldiers.
With the excuse that the equipment was still imperfect, casualties on their own side were inevitable. Those who heard this were furious and disappointed.
This could have been avoided, but the higher-ups didn't care. So now here they were.
Hiding their presence, they secretly took the experimental subjects and intended to destroy them.
In the chaotic firefight, the arriving reinforcements weren't in a favorable position.
As the man focused on shooting and slowly retreated to his comrades position, one of them shouted.
"You'd better destroy that humanoid now! Destroy it right before those government henchmen's eyes!"
The man was immediately stunned by this.
He remembered the purpose of his mission.
His purpose in taking the little girl was to destroy her.