Chapter 11: Blue Yin, Red Yang.

The Next Day. E-UNIT Wing. 09:00 AM.

03 was back.

The atmosphere in the E-UNIT wing had shifted from cold efficiency to something warm. Something human. For weeks, the charging bay had felt like a graveyard. 02 had nearly lost her humanity in that silence, becoming a cold blade of vengeance. But today, the blade softened.

03 sat in her charging station, swinging her legs like a tourist who had just returned from a long trip. “It’s been so long, huh…” she said, looking around.

04 grinned. “Just twenty-two days. But who’s counting?” 02 leaned against the wall, arms crossed, trying to look cool but failing to hide her relief. “I can’t believe we pulled it off.”

05 nodded, her voice serious. “Mikael really risked all of us this time.” 01 added, “Taking down a high-profile Minister… the road is clear now.”

02’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Exactly. With their legal shield gone, taking down Metro Robotics won’t take long.” 05 sighed. “Still… they are the biggest obstacle.”

04 waved her hand dismissively. “More E-UNITs will be in service soon! No problem!”

Hiss. The door slid open. Dr. Nick walked in. “Sorry for interrupting the circle, but I need you outside my office in three minutes.”

Dr. Nick’s Office. 09:02 AM.

Nick sat everyone down outside his door. He looked tired but smug. “Since everyone’s here, let me show you that money can buy happiness!”

He opened the door. They stepped inside. The clutter was gone. No more loose wires, no more half-eaten sandwiches. The space felt open, clean. “Renovations?” 02 asked.

“No,” Nick said, his eyes gleaming. “Since we took the garage, half became the launch bay and half became my lab. And—” He pointed to a massive, sleek table in the center. “—This is for you. Meetings with me or without me. Store anything you want.”

04 cocked an eyebrow. “Store info?”

Nick beamed. He walked to a wall covered in stacks of robot parts and pulled a hidden handle. Click. Hiss. A secret door slid open. Cool air rushed out, carrying the hum of high-powered fans. Blue LED lights flickered in the dark.

“That’s new!” 03 stepped in, scanning the racks of hardware.

“The old room couldn’t hold it,” Nick explained. “So, I bought a server just for you. Private. Out of police reach. 500 Terabytes NVMe. Local private network speed: 550 GB/s.” He folded his hands, proud and exhausted. “Mikael set up the infrastructure after a long call. And there’s a direct doorway to the charging stations. Every door is locked by our security. Only E-UNITs can enter. No stealing.”

01’s mouth watered. “Wow.”

Nick blushed slightly. “Stop making it so obvious. But I thought of 05—she was low on memory. Now she can dump everything here. Copies, scans, backups. Safe.”

The girls scattered like kids in a candy store. 02 went to the big screen, analyzing the interface. 01 and 05 rushed to the storage units. 03 and 04 started playing with the new hologram projector.

Dr. Nick sat back in his chair, watching them. He looked like a father, proud that his gifts were loved.

The laughter of her sisters echoed in the room, but 02 noticed Father’s gaze. He wasn't looking at them. He was looking at her.

He gave a microscopic nod toward his desk.

02 stepped away from the group silently. She approached him while the others were busy arguing about who got which shelf in the server room.

"Sit," Nick whispered, his voice stripped of its usual cheer.

02 sat. Her internal fans whirred, sensing the shift in atmosphere.

Nick didn't speak immediately. He opened a drawer and pulled out a thin, matte-black physical folder. No digital trail. No server upload. Just paper.

He slid it across the sleek table.

02 looked down. There was no title. No security clearance level. Just a single, white Greek letter stamped in the center.

[ Ω ]

Metromania. 09:20 PM.

It was a calm evening.
The kind that made the city feel almost… alive.

The E-UNIT units were circulating the streets as usual, their presence glowing faintly under the neon lights of Metromania. It was 9 p.m., and though the sun was gone, the city center never slept. Friends laughed in outdoor cafés, coworkers celebrated new milestones, couples walked under the streetlights.

Here, the system released workers at 4 p.m. sharp — so the night was when life truly began. The air buzzed with chatter, music, and freedom.

02 was walking down the main street, calm, steady.
Everyone had grown used to her. To E-UNIT.
No more panic, no more stares — just quiet respect for the blue glow of justice walking beside them.

Then it happened.

Then it happened.

02 turned the corner onto 5th Avenue—exactly as her patrol schedule dictated.

A man was waiting there. Not shopping. Not walking. Just waiting.

As soon as his eyes locked onto her, he didn't panic. He grabbed a brick and smashed the nearest jewelry store window—CRASH.

He didn't take anything. He just looked at her, made sure she saw him, and sprinted into the dark alleyway opposite the store.

02’s processors paused for a nanosecond.

'He waited for me? He knew my exact arrival time?'

A suspicion formed in her logic centers: Internal Leak.

She didn't rush blindly. She engaged her tactical scanners and followed.

The thief ran faster, turning back in horror. He saw those blue eyes locked on him, closing in without even using super speed. Panic forced him into a side alley — a dark, narrow path where no regular officer would dare follow. He burst through an old door and disappeared inside.

02 arrived seconds later. She tilted her head slightly.
He didn’t even close it. Shame.
She loved kicking doors open.

She entered.

Inside — shadows.
Then four red lights ignited.

Two mechs stood waiting ahead, blocking her path.
Another two dropped from the ceiling, metal screeching.

02 blinked, unimpressed.

“Was the dramatic entrance necessary?”

Their weapons rose in unison.

And that’s when everything changed.
Her system flared.
Her voice turned cold.

“Code Red… initiated.”

Her eyes shifted from calm blue to burning red.
In the blink of an eye, she vanished — a streak of blue trailing behind her through the dark.

The mechs activated their new weapon:
A 360° precision shooter, mounted above each unit’s chassis. Bullets poured from rotating barrels like a storm, forcing 02 to stop her high-speed movements. She raised her shield, metal sparks raining around her.

“I see you came prepared,” she muttered.

Rounds crashed against her barrier. It was holding — but not forever. The ambush was well-calculated, almost military-grade.

So she stopped thinking.
And started cutting.

She drew her blade — the air shimmered with blue light.
One hand held the blade, pure and sharp like a laser.
The other gripped her red shield, glowing with reactive energy.

In that moment, she was art in motion — the perfect balance between blue ying and red yang.

Her eyes narrowed, turning crimson. The temperature of the room seemed to drop. The pilots inside their metal shells froze as if prey caught in the gaze of a predator.

Then she moved.

To them, she was gone.
Only flashes of blue and red flickered between their sensors. The automated aimers lost track, their targeting feeds glitching as they desperately tried to follow.

They began shooting each other.

02 moved in perfect rhythm, weaving between the shots — making sure their own crossfire destroyed them from the inside. You’d see her for half a heartbeat, and then— gone again.

One pilot heard a metallic whisper behind him —
“sleek.”
He looked down and realized his mech’s arm had been sliced clean off.

Before he could react, 02 stood atop his wrecked unit, eyes glowing red like burning coals. The pilot’s breath hitched. He didn’t even feel it — the blade already inside him.

Blood ran down her forearm.
She didn’t blink.
Didn’t look down.
Just cold, red silence.

Flop.

The man’s body fell. 02 turned slowly, facing the three remaining mechs.
Blue light shimmered across her blade. Shadows bent around her stance — a ghost of steel and flame.

SLĒEK.

One mech’s core split open — glowing blue light leaking from inside.
She moved again.

SLĒEK.

Another mech shut down instantly, lights fading to black. The pilot inside screamed in the dark, trapped. The monitors flickered once, then died. He sat alone in total silence — until a faint blue glow rose from beneath his seat.

For a second, he smiled.
Hope?
No.

It was her blade.

It passed through his stomach before he could even flinch.
There was no pain — only speed.

Then the sound came: SLĒEK. SLĒEK. SLĒEK.
Precise. Cold. Repeated.
Until nothing inside the cockpit was left moving — only blood dripping through cracks in the metal.

The two remaining pilots were shaking.

“What is this?! That stupid manager sent us to our death!”
“I can’t even see her! Her blade— it’s glowing, how can’t we—”

SLĒEK.

The first one’s voice cut off.

“Mark? Are you—”

SLĒEK.

Two halves of a body fell to the ground.

And silence returned.

02 stood still in the middle of the chaos.
Her eyes cooled back to blue.
The floor around her shimmered with reflected neon from the street — painted red by blood.

“Target compromised.”

She sheathed her blade, calm and precise.

The warehouse was quiet now. Only the faint hum of her systems filled the air — a mechanical heartbeat in a field of death.

Outside, Metromania kept glowing — unaware that its peaceful night just witnessed another silent storm from the E-UNIT.

The North Shore. 10:15 PM.

The shore was quiet that night.
The wind brushed softly over the sea, carrying the smell of salt and cold air. Since the weather had turned chilly lately, few people came here anymore — just a handful of souls standing by the railings, watching the big moon reflect on the dark waves.
The scene was pure gold art — calm, silent, almost dreamlike.

Among them walked E-UNIT 03, her steps light and rhythmic. She was the most expressive and energetic member of the team, full of color and emotion — a stark contrast to 02’s calm, surgical demeanor.
Maybe that’s why 02 always chose her for missions requiring multiple E-UNITs. Even after 03 had come close to destruction in one of those missions, she never lost that spark.

At least things would be easier now.
Mikael Wilson, their superior, had reinstated permission for them to use heavy weapons.
No more restraint.

Then the peace shattered.

A semi-truck pulled up on the empty coastal road, its headlights slicing the fog. It wasn’t a delivery truck — this one was too big, too armored. Its logo had been torn off, leaving rough scratch marks across the metal.

03’s eyes sharpened instantly.
Her instinct — sharper than most humans — told her what was coming. She didn’t hesitate.
She jumped back, rising off the ground with her boosters, the light of the moon shining behind her like a halo.

From the truck poured out fifteen men in exo-suits — black and heavy, humming with low power — and behind them, a massive two-pilot mech emerged from the trailer, its steel plates scraping against the sides.

She tried to call 02.
Nothing.
The line crackled with static.

“Radio’s jammed. Of course.”

03 tilted her head, smiling faintly.

“I see you came ready…”

Then, her tone dropped — sharp, cold, precise.

“You messed with the wrong E-UNIT.”

Her pupils shifted.
Eyes burning red.

“Code Red, initiated.”

She reached for her back — the sniper rifle detached magnetically from its holster, locking perfectly into her grip. She didn’t move, didn’t vanish, didn’t even blink.

The enemy froze for a second, confused by her stillness. Then they raised their weapons anyway.

Click. .
BANG!

A faint sound — and one of them fell to his knees, blood spraying from his mouth.
A perfect headshot.
He didn’t even see her move.

“What—”
Click. .
BANG!

Another man dropped.

Her rifle was silenced — no flash, no echo. The only warning they got was the sound of their teammates dying beside them.

Panic spread fast.

The mech opened fire, targeting the moonlit figure above the sea.
03 dropped low, her boosters igniting blue as she sped beneath its line of fire — vanishing into the dark behind it.

In one smooth motion, she swapped her rifle for her blade, whispering through the mech’s external mic with a twisted grin:

“They say swapping is always faster than reloading.”

SLĒEK.

The pilot never heard the first slice. The mech erupted from within — a blinding explosion lighting up the shoreline.

03 landed softly, grinning, watching flames dance across the water.

“If that was the old me,” she said lightly, “I’d have saved the pilot for questioning… but we don’t need information anymore.”

She twirled her blade, eyes glinting blue.

“I love fireworks at night!”

Her cheerful tone sent chills through the remaining soldiers.
They broke formation, running for the truck, shouting, tripping over each other in fear.

“Too late.”

She lifted her sniper again midair.
Bang! Bang!

It sounded like an assault rifle — but it was a sniper rifle, her shots landing with impossible speed and precision.
One after another, the exo-suited soldiers fell — not a battle, just a massacre.

When she saw the civilians already gone from the area, she unlatched her silencer.
No need to be quiet anymore.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Red eyes flashed against the moonlight once again. From below, anyone looking up would see only a dark silhouette against the glowing moon, the sea behind her painted red with reflection.

Four survivors scrambled into the back of the semi-truck, desperate to escape. Big mistake.
The driver was already dead, a neat hole through his temple.

They screamed, pleading with a corpse.
Then — the rear door clicked open.

Red eyes pierced through the darkness inside.

“Captain would love kicking this door down!”

She said it in a joyful, cheerful tone, smiling like a child at a game.
The men screamed.

“HELP!!”
“SHE’S A MANIAC!!”
“I GIVE UP, PLEASE!!”

Her smile faded.
Her voice turned flat, serious again.

“I love your screams… but sadly, I need to finish this mission.”

The blade in her hand hummed with power. She didn’t bother pulling the second one.

They opened fire in panic, bullets spraying wildly. But 03 was already beside them — moving faster than their eyes could register.

From outside the truck, all you could hear was SLĒEK.
Then another.
And another.

Screams. Pain. Begging.
Until — silence.

One final SLĒEK echoed from the metal walls, and the noise stopped.

03 stepped out of the truck, blood dripping down her armor. Her red eyes slowly dimmed, returning to soft, peaceful blue.

She stretched her arms, exhaling lightly.

“That was fun! Sadly, they didn’t put up much of a fight!”

Her tone was cheerful again — the mood swing almost childlike.
She walked down to the sea, dipped her hands into the cold water, washing off the red stains that glowed faintly under the moonlight.

Then she destroyed the jammer, opened her comms, and began her report — voice calm, as if nothing had happened.

The moon kept shining above the sea, its reflection broken by ripples of red spreading across the waves.

Cold Steel in Aqua Frost. 10:15 PM.

The Southern Sector. Near Aqua Frost Peak. This region was colder, quieter. The "Family District." Old records said the former President designed it himself—compact, affordable, warm.

E-UNIT 05 walked the narrow streets. She turned a corner—and froze. 04 was walking the same street.

05: “What! How?” 04: “What are you doing here?” 05: “That should be my question! Did they give us the same patrol?” 04: “No way. This is the safest point in the city! I think 01 messed up the schedule.” 05: “Wait… I think I know what’s going on.”

They both looked toward the small park nearby. 05 started running. 04: “Why are we running to the park?!” 05: “For the citizens’ safety!”

05 opened comms. “03, Captain, do you copy?” Static. 05: “Jammed.” 04: “You’re saying we’re being attacked?”

BOOM. Thunder from above. Three mechs fell from the sky like meteors. One two-pilot unit. Two auto-turret units.

A pilot’s voice echoed: “Exactly, metal head! Give up easy and follow us. We guarantee the safety of everyone here.”

04 burst into laughter. She laughed so hard she nearly fell over. 05 face-palmed. “Seriously? Okay 04, stop clowning. Time to cook these guys.”

04 wiped a digital tear. “Sorry. I think they have short-term memory loss.” 05: “Indeed. You, 01, and the Captain sliced up twenty of these last week.”

The pilots went silent. “What?! They didn’t report that to us!” “That old head!” “he will pay for this!”

05 smirked. “Sadly, you won’t live up for that.” “04—Code Red initiated.”

Red eyes flickered in the fog. 05 drew twin blades. 04 raised dual shields. No teleportation. No flashiness. Just terrifying precision.

The mechs opened fire. PING-PING-PING! 04 advanced, shields locking together to form a wall. She dashed through the hail. They reached the first mech.

Switch. They swapped positions mid-stride. 05’s blades cut through the turret, then the arms. SLĒEK. SLĒEK. SLĒEK. The pilot was exposed. 05 yanked him out and threw him skyward.

04 was already above. Her shield came down like a meteor. CRASH! One less threat.

They moved to the next. 04 tackled the second mech. A 500kg machine lifted off the ground like paper. 05 slid underneath. SLĒEK. The mech split in two.

04 clicked her tongue. “Tch tch! 05, two millimeters off center!” 05: “Your tackle was sloppy!”

The last mech trembled. He tried to back away. 04 sighed. “You dumb or what?”

The pilot hesitated. “What?” Too late. 05 dropped from the sky. SLĒEK. One perfect cut. Halved.

04 clapped slowly. Clap. Clap. “Now that is a perfect half!”

05 blushed internally. “Thank you. Let’s report back to HQ.”

They cleared the scene and reported to 01 as the jamming field faded. But the source of the jammer? Nowhere to be found. The enemy was getting sneakier. But not smarter.

High Above Sector 4. 11:45 PM.

The night was quiet. 04 and 05 sat on the edge of a gargoyle-lined rooftop, overlooking the sleeping city. It was their scheduled break during the night patrol.

05 wasn't looking at the city, though. She was looking at her data HUD, scrolling through the Captain's recent log entries. Gesturing in the air.

"She did it again," 05 muttered, her voice tight.

04 crunched an empty energy canister (a habit she picked up from humans, even though she didn't eat). "Did what?"

"Rerouted. The Captain altered her patrol path for the third time tonight. See?" 05 shared the HUD with 04 via mirroring. "She moved three sectors East just to 'assist' 03 with a minor pickpocket."

04 shrugged, leaning back against the stone. "So? 03 just got back from the dead. The Captain is worried. Her SSD was sitting in a jar for weeks, remember? If I woke up after being dead, I’d want a babysitter too."

"It’s illogical," 05 snapped, "03 is fully repaired. Her specs are 100%. Yet 02 treats her like she’s made of glass."

She stood up, pacing the narrow ledge.

"Does she even remember we exist? 01 take care of small thugs. I hack entire networks to keep us invisible. You take hits that would crush a tank. But who does she look at during briefings? Who does she smile at? 03."

04 frowned. "You're overthinking it, Five. It's not favoritism. It's... guilt. 02 blames herself for what happened at the factory."

"It is favoritism," 05 insisted, her optical sensors narrowing. "She prioritizes 03's safety over mission efficiency. She prioritizes it over us. We are supposed to be a unit. An E-UNIT. Equal components. But lately... it feels like we are just the background NPCs in their story."

04 let out a loud, metallic laugh, trying to break the tension.

"Wow, jealousy really fries your circuits, huh? Look at it this way—do you really want the Captain hovering over your shoulder 24/7? '05, check that cam. 05, your posture is off. 05, why is there a cat video in your cache?'"

04 grinned, nudging her sister. "Trust me. Let 03 have the attention. I prefer my freedom."

05 didn't smile back. She looked out at the distant blue dot of 02 flying toward 03's sector.

"It's not about supervision, 04," she whispered, her voice cold. "It's about value. And right now... I don't think she values us the same way."

04’s smile faded. She didn't have a joke for that.