3 3 301 DialogEnable Compared with the fading ruins, the residential areas hiding within them still more or less retain their past facade.
4 4 301 Situated between highrises, they have avoided the Punishing Virus in their small pockets.
5 5 301 Without fire and blades, the only thing that has passed through here is time.
6 6 201 1 500166
7 7 301 1 Lucia I'm getting results from the scans... There seem to be five anomalies around here. 1
8 8 203 1 0.25 -400
9 9 201 2 500026 10 400
10 10 301 Lee We are the anomalies... I checked the scanner again. The module that separates friends from foes is apparently broken. 2
11 11 201 1 1031001 3 -400
12 12 204 2
13 13 301 Liv There's no sign of Corrupted passing through here, so why... 1
14 14 201 2 500019 400
15 15 301 Construct Sigh. Who knows how the conservation area got marked by that wave of Corrupted? All the surrounding areas have been torn apart like here, except for the last defense underground. 2
16 16 201 1 500026 -400
17 17 301 Lee That is why we were sent here as reinforcement... Commandant, we have to set up the scouting devices on the rooftops next. 1
18 18 201 2 500166 400
19 19 301 Lucia Please don't stay too far away, even if there are no signs of enemies nearby. 2
20 20 301 The Engineering Force member assigned to help you and the Gray Ravens proceed with their duties.
21 21 202 1 2 1
22 22 301 There is nothing you can do right now, so you decide to find a vantage point where you can observe the surroundings.
23 23 401 2 1516
24 24 301 AniZhuanchangBegin So you walk along the road between the remaining buildings until one of them catches your attention.
69 71 301 DialogEnable 1 She tightly grasps your arm before you can react.
70 72 301 And her other hand presses against your neck.
71 73 302 !!! 74
72 74 301 Her function still works perfectly. She avoided the anomaly scanner only because she was sleeping.
73 75 301 But you have never seen Constructs who would let their guard down this much while resting. She had no awareness of her surroundings as if she had shut her system down.
74 76 302 (Try to reach for your pistol) 77
75 77 301 Her grip tightens. You cannot be certain that you can take her down in one shot even if you are Bob Munden incarnated.
76 78 301 Haicma ... 1
77 79 301 Her delicate face remains unblemished like an exhibit carefully prepared.
78 80 301 At this distance, even the smallest flinch cannot fool the visual module of a Construct who is engaged in battle.
79 81 301 But she has not killed you outright, which means...
80 82 301 With great difficulty, you gesture toward the patch on your arm, indicating that you come from Babylonia and not a Scavenger looting for parts.
81 83 302 Sorry for interrupting your sleep. 84
82 84 401 1 36
83 85 301 Haicma ... 1
84 86 203 1 0.25
85 87 301 The young lady releases her hands, leaning back in her seat.
86 88 401 1 5
87 89 301 Your brief quarrel and her hostility seem to have melted from the sunlight. What remains now is only a lady conversing with a stranger.
88 90 301 Judging from her clothing, you believe she is a Construct from the conservation area nearby.
89 91 301 Haicma Did I look like I was "sleeping" like a human to you? 1
90 92 302 The kind that you don't wake up from, perhaps. 93 Not really... 93
91 93 301 The lady stops asking and picks up a piece of paper.
92 94 301 Haicma Improvement required... 1
93 95 301 Haicma Lacking detailed explanation on the different stages... 1
94 96 301 She murmurs as if reflecting on the results of an experiment.
95 97 302 Excuse me... What are you doing? 98
96 98 204 1
97 99 301 Haicma Studying how to "sleep" like a human. 1
98 100 301 She gathers all the paper, stacking them nicely on the table.
99 101 301 You have learned of something like this from the staff in Star of Life. After becoming Constructs for a while, some people may feel some kind of unease.
100 102 301 It is not caused physically—not a hardware issue, per se. It comes from the cognitive dissonance one feels after losing their flesh and blood, their way of life completely upended.
101 103 301 Unable to adjust mentally, some of them find it difficult to accept their new identities. Mimicking past behaviors is a sign of that.
102 104 301 Apparently, the lady before you is planning exactly that.
103 105 302 Can I ask you what these are? 106
104 106 301 Haicma Activity logs that are called "diaries." 1
105 107 301 Haicma But their information seems to have been filtered. The records are not complete, and their details are lacking. More of a summary, I think. 1
106 108 301 Haicma Therefore, it's been difficult to recreate them. There are too many unpredictable variables. 1
107 109 301 Diaries are not bookkeeping. It is hard to demand too many details from them...
108 110 301 But if she wants to experience the life before becoming a Construct, is there not a more direct way laid out before her than imitating these records?
109 111 302 What about writing a diary? 112
110 112 204 1 3
111 113 301 Haicma Writing... a diary? 1
112 114 301 Unlike the data stored in her electronic components, human memories always fade away.
113 115 301 Which is why humans need to select and record the important parts. It is an act to counter their innate flaw.
114 116 302 You want to experience what it feels like to be human again, right? 117
115 117 204 1 7
116 118 301 Haicma Again? Right. 1
117 119 204 1
118 120 301 Haicma My calculation suggests that this proposal has a higher chance of success. 1
119 121 301 Instead of forcing herself to repeat what cannot be recreated from those diaries, she should perhaps try to choose the memories worth preserving and record them herself.
120 122 301 She can reflect on and analyze them during this process. After all, recording facts is not the only purpose to write a diary.
121 123 301 Opening her notebook again, she seems to be about to put the idea into action.
122 124 301 But before that, you should probably do something about a Construct acting alone outside the conservation area...
123 125 401 2 1515
124 126 301 Lucia Commandant, where are you?
125 127 301 Lucia's voice appears from the comms, interrupting your train of thought.
