HBWnovel Chapter 20: Factory Operation
Chapter 20: Factory Operation
Factory Operation
[Oh, you've arrived?]
Artemis greeted me at the factory complex. She had suggested that I take a look around the reconstruction site.
Though she always speaks clearly, with all sorts of machinery humming away, I had to get closer to hear her properly. There are some challenges since there are no workers around, but the factory was already largely automated.
She’s been gradually converting even the essential, manpower-dependent tasks into automated processes. Materials were piled up everywhere in the busy site, and quite a few cars, likely brought up to be used as spare parts, had been dismantled and were blocking the paths.
[Wait a moment.]
At her words, a crane machine cleared away the materials blocking my way.
"Looks like you're busy."
[I have to be. I've only just started the work that should have been done ever since I woke up.]
The path into the factory was like a maze, blocked by various materials and working machines.
[Didn't you read the plans I sent you? All the scheduled tasks should have been written there.]
"How could I possibly read a 5,000-page report? Unlike you, I have to use my eyes and go through it page by page."
[Sorry to say, but that was compressed as much as possible. I tailored it to the upper limit of what you could understand.]
She probably wasn’t mocking me. Considering the events that have occurred, the tasks to be handled must be overwhelming. She likely did condense it with my knowledge level in mind.
[If the residents hadn’t been wiped out, the report could have been cut down to 800 pages. But now, we have no residents, no security forces, and no engineers. The preparations needed to fill their absence are enormous.]
She must be referring to the automation processes currently underway.
[Resources are so tight that, in the worst-case scenario, we might have to demolish buildings to recycle the materials.]
"Does it really matter? There won’t be any new residents anyway."
[You're the administrator of this place. Shouldn't you have more affection for the facilities? Don’t you want to preserve them as intact as possible?]
"I'm all about efficiency."
[Even that efficiency isn’t great. Dismantling already-built structures won’t yield much usable material.]
As we talked and walked through the site, I felt like a boss and a factory manager on a construction site inspection. Well, it’s not too far from reality.
[I once considered proposing the use of infected biological tissue as materials, though I scrapped the idea during the planning phase.]
"Good job. I would have torn up the proposal the moment I received it."
[I figured as much. But even though it’s biological tissue, I’d only use limited parts like bones or certain shells. They’re quite useful.]
"Still, no way! Just the thought of having remnants of those things around makes my skin crawl."
[As you wish. All of it, except for some re
It was just one word, but there was something almost bashful in her voice.
[The ones who created me desired the prosperity of humanity.]
"That's admirable."
[I won’t deny that.]
After that, we chatted for a while. She told stories about when she first awakened in the research lab where she was created.
The challenges she faced on her way here.
The story of when she was first stationed here.
The confusion when the outbreak began.
The frantic efforts she made to resolve it.
The tales of racing down the roads with countless vehicles.
The satisfaction of spraying acid and blasting air to eradicate the infected.
Her hopes for the future.
Thanks to this, I learned something new: she was quite a chatterbox.