Adam walked forward, bruised from the earlier fight, quietly searching.
"Sigh… where is he?"
As he limped on, memories of the fight flickered in his mind. A thought pierced through the pain:
Why didn't I kill them?
I hated them…
What does it mean to be good? Why do we even need to be good? What's the point…?
He sighed again.
Suddenly, a girl appeared. Her clothes were torn and she looked a bit dirty.
"Hey! You're looking for the orange-haired man, right? Hehe." She smiled.
"That orange-haired man helped me when I almost fell into a hole. He's outside the town… looking at the spinning things."
The windmills?
"Thank you!" Adam said, and he sprinted out of town.
There he was. Yoku sat quietly, watching the windmills spin in the wind.
"Sigh… this guy."
"There you are," Adam said.
"Hey, Adam… why does this thing move? Can we do something with it? is it be like Yuri... Alive because something is working upon it" Yoku asked.
Adam sighs, whats the difference between a machine and a person... how can something replicate a living thing so perfectly
Adam looked at the windmill.
"Well… I think it's because of energy. The wind gives it the work it needs to move."
"Is that why Yuri moves too? She's alive, right? Hey Adam… if Yuri used up all her battery packs, then what would we do?"
Adam stayed silent.
Yoku crouched and began assembling a pinwheel from tiny scraps.
"If this pinwheel moves… is it alive?"
Huh?
But what does it even mean to be alive? Does something need to move to be alive?
Adam hadn't answered that question before.
Maybe it's because it uses energy…
"…Maybe."
"Then, if the wind moves this thing, and Yuri moves because of electricity… is it all just energy? Could we transfer energy from wind to electricity? We'd just need a way to contain it… like a battery."
Damn… Yoku's on to something.
[That boy's sharp.]
Yoku stood up, noticing Adam's bruises and torn clothes. His eyes narrowed. He said nothing… but the silence was heavy with anger.
"So, will you help me?" he asked.
Adam smiled. "I already have a plan."
Together, they returned to discuss an electrical blueprint the AI had given them. They gathered scraps, bought parts at the market, yoku grabs some handguns from the market... and gives one to adam "Hey you might need this"
...?
then they headed home.
Suddenly, Yuri shouted, "Wait!!! Are you two planning a business?! Woah—hehe, that's my thing!"
She looked at Adam's bruises.
"Why are you hurt?"
"Well…" Adam hesitated, unsure if he should tell them. "I got into a fight."
Yoku, his voice stern, cut in:
"Yeah, I figured. One of the bolts from the Kettenkrad's wheel was removed, and worse—they tried replacing all the parts randomly. It might take me a few days to fix it… but the worst part is, you got hurt."
Adam frowned, unsure how to handle the situation. He'd never experienced something like this before. At least the people on the island had been decent...
Sigh.
No matter how many problems I face, I'm still the same—just a worried, anxious boy…
Wait—it was already night.
"Where are the kids? Where are Kineki and Mino?"
Yuri looked at Yoku.
Yoku tensed, nervous sweat forming on his face.
"Umm… they said they were going to play with the other kids for a bit. I was looking at the windmills—I didn't realize…"
Damn, how could I forget?! I'm so stupid…
Yoku slumped into a chair.
Adam's thoughts raced.
Where could they be?
"I… I don't know what to do—I'm not a parent!"
Yoku spoke softly.
"We all don't."
Guilt began to overwhelm them both.
How could we be so ignorant…?
Adam remembered the kids waving to him hours ago.
I thought… no, no…
"C'mon!"
They rushed out.
Back to the Kids…
Kineki and Mino lay near the outskirts of the city.
"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Mino asked nervously.
They were almost at the western edge—far from the windmills and towers, and closer to broken buildings and fences of wire. The desolation of the old city loomed.
Hokki and the other children followed a trail among the ruins.
"So this is where all the grown-ups went…" someone whispered.
The cracked pavement and rusted wire fences made it clear: this place had been long abandoned.
Kineki and Mino grew more uneasy.
"Hey… I think we should turn back," Mino whispered.
The horror of the automatons still haunted them. They didn't want to face death again.
"C'mon, we're almost there!" a girl said, smiling.
Suddenly—
BANG!
An automaton fired. The girl collapsed, shot through the chest.
Screams. Panic.
The children scattered like prey, running in every direction.
Some were hit—hands, legs—shattered by laser shots.
No, no… this is her fault… this is all her fault!
Kineki nearly got crushed by a windmill blade as it crashed into the pavement, shaking the earth.
Most of the kids escaped… but Kineki and Mino weren't so lucky.
They fell down, nearly three meters deep, into the rubble below.
Bones cracked as they hit the ground.
They screamed in pain—but Kineki grabbed Mino's mouth, muffling the sound.
They whimpered in silence.
What do I do…?
Kineki looked at his hands. His palm had been lasered clean through.
Mino's knee had been hit.
Kineki: "I don't want to die… What did Adam say again…?"
Mino: Ahh… what's happening? My mind… it's going dizzy. I'm so tired… is Kineki alright? Damn, I'm sorry. I'm such an idiot. I should've done something… I'm the older sister.
Kineki: This is all her fault. I'm not dead yet! Calm down…
Both kids were in a full state of panic.
Hours passed…
The bleeding slowed, but they were weak, dizzy, and starving.
Mino spoke softly,
"Don't worry… Mr. Adam and Yuri will find us…"
Their stomachs growled from hunger.
Kineki felt knots tighten in his stomach. Maybe adrenaline was making it worse.
Mino pulled out a small wrapper.
"Thankfully, I brought this. We can probably sha—"
Kineki's thoughts spiked.
Wait… is that the only food I'll ever taste again?
He grabbed her hand.
"Hey—give me that!"
Sweat dripped down both of them.
"No! What are you doing?!" Mino protested.
They wrestled briefly.
Then Kineki stopped. Mino was tearing up.
He let go.
I'm such a horrible person…
He remembered what Adam said… Why do wars happen?
I see. Because it benefits one person more if they win. But… why does it feel so horrible?
"I'm sorry. I was…"
Mino hugged him. Kineki started to cry softly.
Why did I think all those things…?
They rested together, trembling.
If winning means becoming like this… I'd rather die.
"I'm… forgive me."
Mino hugged her brother gently.
"I get it now… It's not us who build a coffin for ourselves—it's the people we love.
Because I care about you. I care about Adam, Yoku, Yuri… Kineki..."
She choked back a sob.
"I don't want to die… I just want to be with you all."