Chapter 41: Glimpse of Light.

Brightson’s Mansion. Altea. 09:41 am.

“What do you mean, not now?!” Wallmore screamed.

He was staying in one of the guest rooms inside Brightson’s mansion in Altea. Heavy curtains blocked most of the daylight, leaving the room in warm shadows. Brightson stood near the door, calm as always, visiting his guest without any urgency.

“Ethan, this is a crucial step,” Brightson said. His voice turned slow and cold, the tone he saved for warnings. “It is non-negotiable. We need to back off for now.”

Wallmore froze.
He knew that tone.

Slowly, he sat back on the king-sized bed and let himself fall into the soft cotton sheets. His eyes locked onto the ceramic ceiling above him.

“You better have a good explanation,” he said quietly. “Because all I see is a wasted opportunity.”

“And all I see is a larger one approaching,” Brightson replied.
He sat down on the sofa facing Wallmore.

“What do you mean?”

“If you enter a three-front war, you will be targeted by both sides at the same time. And since we are the weakest faction, we will be the first to be erased.” Brightson said.

Wallmore lifted his upper body slightly, resting on his elbows.

“But what if we are all equal in this war?” he argued. “We have a countermeasure.”

“Let me be clear,” Brightson interrupted immediately. “This is not an equal war. There is a clearly superior side.”

Wallmore scoffed.

“If you are about to say that Altea stands any chance against the units New Mer has stockpiled, then you are insane,” he said bitterly. “They own twenty-five thousand units, with five thousand hidden in Altea alone.”

Brightson did not smile.
“Altea still has a winning card,” he said. “One that everyone forgot about.”

He pulled out his phone and opened an article dated two years back. Then he tossed the phone toward Wallmore.

Wallmore caught it.
His eyes widened instantly.

“Two years ago,” Brightson said. “They showed it once.”

The video played. What he saw made his breath stop.
“What the hell is that?!” he blurted, standing up in one motion. His jaw stayed open, unable to close. “What is going on? How can he be that… capable?”

“Creative. Genius. Brilliant engineering,” Brightson said calmly. “Call it whatever you want. The point is, we have no chance against that. Not now.”

Wallmore clenched his fists.

“But later,” Brightson continued, “we will.”

“Why are you so sure?” Wallmore asked.

Brightson leaned back slightly.
“Because an enemy inside your own camp can be more dangerous than any weapon,” he said. “And Nick is surrounded by them.”

Server Room. E-Police Department. 11.39 am.

Click.

He sat there, scrolling endlessly.

Click.

Hours had passed since he locked himself inside the room.

Click.

He wanted to return to the past, even if only for a few seconds, just to see her again.

Click.

Her sisters looking exactly like her did not help.

Click.

He finally closed the window and stared at the white ceiling.

Dr. Nick had been drifting between pictures and HUD recordings, the same ones the E-UNIT uploaded at the end of every single day to the local server. Files meant for maintenance, performance checks, and reports. Now they felt like memories he was not supposed to touch.

Seeing 02 through the eyes of her sisters felt strangely refreshing. Until recently, she always treated him with strict professionalism. No hesitation. No softness.

Except for one word.
“…Father,” he whispered, drowning in thought.

Suddenly, he straightened his posture. His chair rolled closer to the desk as he leaned forward. He opened J-Mail and began typing without hesitation.

Recipient: Mikael Wilson.

‘This is the official letter of my resignation. I can no longer work under my current health conditions, and I cannot see myself continuing without affecting the team negatively. The years I spent working under you have been the most fulfilling part of my life, and they always will be. I could never dream of a superior like you, not in a million lifetimes. You can continue our plan and make it a success. I will help from time to time if needed, but I want to be as far from this position as possible. I even considered migrating to another country. How pathetic of me, leaving everything behind. But it is necessary, for the team and for myself. I will begin cleaning my desk starting next—’

His fingers froze.

He could not imagine his daughters working under another scientist. Following another human. Being loyal to someone else. Sharing with them what he lived with them. The banter. The jokes. The strange sense of family he never planned but somehow created.

Nick stared at the screen, fighting himself.

‘I need to do it. I am dragging them down,’ he thought.

To be sure, he returned to the server.

He browsed deeper this time, flipping through folders, HUD archives, daily logs. Each E-UNIT had her own personality, and it was clearly reflected in the way they named their files.

02 folder.
HUD Footage.

“Typical,” he murmured with a faint smile.

03 folder.
Keep out creep!

“That is so 03.”

05 folder.
Touch it and you are hacked. Virus warning.

“…Wow.”

04 folder.
My life as an E-UNIT.

“Is she trying to be a content creator?”

07 folder.
New Folder jdbczh.

“…I am not even going to ask.”

01 folder.
E-Pastor for 02ring.

“What? Is this a cult?”

He kept scrolling.
Then he saw it.

A hidden folder inside the C: drive.
Nick’s expression hardened.

“I told them many times not to touch system storage,” he growled.

Then he froze.
The folder name read: Personal Project.

Size: 500 GB.

His breath stopped.
He opened it.

What he saw made his hand tremble.
He slapped himself once, hard, just to be sure.

Then he started browsing.

Nick’s throat went dry.
“No…”

He opened more files.
“What!”

He scrolled faster. Dates. Faces. Voice logs.
“WHAT.”

By the time he reached the bottom, He sat back like someone had punched him.
“YEEEES!”

The scream echoed through the entire building.

Nick immediately started downloading the folder.
“Come on, you piece of junk. Faster!” he shouted at the laptop.

Clack.

The door burst open.

04 rushed in, clearly shaken.
“Father, what happened?”

Nick was pacing in circles, yelling “YES” repeatedly, his movements erratic.
“What is going on?” 04 asked, completely lost.

“NOTHING!” he shouted back, kissing her on the forehead.

He grabbed the laptop and ran out of the office at full speed, leaving behind a very confused 04, still standing in the doorway.

Charging Room. E-police department. 03:00 pm.

‘Disable emotion plug-in?’
[Yes / No]

03 kept staring at her HUD far longer than any reasonable internal process should allow. More than three hours passed, locked in a silent war with herself. The green YES button felt heavier than any weapon she had ever lifted.

Her system refused to unpin the image of 02 from her vision. Ever since the sonic room incident, the picture stayed there. Even when she closed her cameras, the HUD remained active. There was no darkness to hide in.

[YES]

She finally pressed it.

‘Are you sure?’
[Yes / No]

“Yes,” 03 said quietly.

‘Are you not mistaken?’
[Yes / No]

“What? No, I am not!”

‘This option will deactivate your access to your memory for more effective results. Are you sure?’
[Yes / No]

“Oh my God, YES!”

‘Please read this carefully.’

A document appeared instantly. A PDF. Five thousand pages long.

‘Click yes after you read it.’
[Yes / No]

“Are you kidding me?” she shouted. “Father, why?!”
She slammed the confirmation. “YESSS!”

‘It has been only twenty seconds of reading. Please read the terms of—’

03 raised her fist toward the interface.
“You either give me the final screen right now, or I will delete the C drive.”

A short pause followed.
‘Okay. Please remain calm. Here is the final option. Unit 03, consider this carefully.’

[Apply the override]

She stared at the screen.
Her finger hovered just above the command.

“I knew you were a coward,” a voice echoed from the darkness, “but not to this extent.”

03 did not turn her head.
05 stepped out of the shadowed corner of the charging room.

“You evolved,” 03 replied coldly. “Congratulations. You should write a book. From book thief to professional creep. A complete guide.”

“No one can beat you in that category, blood freak,” 05 said calmly as she walked closer. “Why are you giving up so easily? I thought training under 02 would make you more patient.”

“Why is that?” 03 asked.

“You are really asking?”
05 leaned against the wall. “She could pin a target for five hours straight. And she loved testing our patience.”

03 lay back in the charging chair, legs resting on the back frame.
“I guess you are right.”

“Already cold,” 05 said, staring at the ceiling. “You are becoming a disgrace to the E-UNIT.”

03 straightened immediately.
“What is your problem?”

“You,” 05 answered flatly. “And how incompetent and cowardly you have become.”

“Why do you even care?” 03 snapped. “I am just not ready yet.”

“It is my problem because you were supposed to stand behind the captain. You were meant to be beside her in command. You were supposed to guide the new units. Not hide behind a toggle just to act tough.”

“I did not choose that position!” 03 yelled, her voice echoing in the empty room.

“Then why did you accept it?” 05 fired back. “Are you saying that 02 made a mistake choosing you?”

CLANG!

03 moved before logic could react.
Her fist slammed into 05, pinning her hard against the wall. Red light flooded her eyes.
“Do not,” she hissed, “mention her that casually. She would never make that big of a mistake.”

05 calmly freed herself and brushed the dust off her uniform.
“Then stop proving that theory,” she said. “Dumping responsibility onto new units is not ethical.”

“I cannot,” 03 whispered.

“Why?”

“Because it is her position. Hers alone. No one should take it. Especially not me.”
Her voice weakened. “She was always beside me. Every step I took, I looked to my side and saw her serious face. I knew someone was there for me.”

03 sank back into the chair, curling into herself.
“I miss her.”

05 approached again and sat beside her.
“If you want to honor her, then prove her right. Prove that the almighty captain chose the correct sub-captain.”
She paused. “You do not know what happened between her and father after she was broken during the Metro Robotics raid.”

03 slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were dull blue.
“What happened?”

“He asked her to remove you from your position.”

“WHAT?” 03 shouted. “Why?!”

“Mikael reported how unstable you became when we almost lost her. He also mentioned that you hit me for reviewing footage.” 05 continued evenly. “He asked 02 to replace you with me or 01. Since we were the ones stabilizing the team.”

“And then?” 03 asked, barely breathing.

“She did not refuse. She came to me and asked if I wanted the position.”

03 stood up abruptly.
“No way.”

“I refused,” 05 said. “I told her that even if you are a blood freak, head-cutting maniac, fear-loving sadist—”

“I get it. Stop.”

“I said you were still the best fit.”

“Why?” 03 asked quietly.

“Because the team acts normal around you,” 05 replied. “When I walk past new units, they tremble. They salute so hard they nearly dent their skulls.”

“I wonder why,” 03 muttered.

“I do not tolerate imperfection,” 05 admitted. “But with you, they feel like sisters. They smile. They joke. They are not afraid of you. They respect you.”

03’s eyes trembled.
“05…”

“Even if you are a blood freak.”

Sssst.

03 drew her blade and pressed it lightly against 05’s neck.
“Say that again and I will prove the title.”

05 chuckled and casually pushed the blade away.
“You do not need to prove anything.”

Without warning, 03 hugged her.

05 froze for a second, then hugged her back.
“Thank you,” 03 whispered. “But never let anyone know about this.”

“02 was right,” 05 said.

03 pulled back slightly. “What did she say?”

“That your mood swings resemble a sine graph,” 05 laughed.

03’s face went blank.
“I want to revive her just to slap her for that.”

“Come on,” 05 said, standing. “The team is waiting outside.”

“Waiting?” 03 asked. “Why?”

“I told them you will lead the war.”

03 froze.
“War?”
“What war?”

Main hall. E-Police department. 03:15 pm.

03 and 05 sprinted through the department corridors, calling everyone to arms. Orders echoed behind them as doors opened and units poured out. The urgency spread faster than any alarm. When they reached the main hall, they found the entire 10 series standing motionless, facing the massive screen dominating the entrance.

No one spoke.

03 followed their gaze. The moment her eyes met the screen, her breath caught.
“Holy…”

‘Urgent message.’

‘If you missed the latest war update, New Mer forces have begun advancing into Altea.’

The screen shifted to satellite footage.

‘They are entering with an estimated force of thirty thousand war robots, with human units advancing behind them.’

Another feed appeared, showing red vectors slicing through the country.

‘In a surprising maneuver, they have shifted focus from the economic capital Frostholm and the political capital Printemps. Their advance is now directed toward Metromania, the home and operational base of the E-UNIT.’

03 felt her fingers tighten.

‘The New Mer general has declared that Altea’s possession of mass-destruction weapons is globally illegal. He claims this operation is meant to dismantle a potential world threat.’

The anchor hesitated before continuing.

‘He has promised not to target civilians.’

The broadcast cut to street footage.

A woman screamed into the camera, tears streaming down her face.
“Please save us! You are our last hope! We saw what happened in the capital. Even when they do not kill you, they separate you from your family. They left people without food or water for days on the highway!”

Another man shoved his way forward.
“E-UNIT, you have our full support! Kill them! They follow no war rules. I served in the military. I know what New Mer is willing to do!”

Voices overlapped, panic rising.

“You are our last hope!”
“Even our army is not reacting!”
“Please, we need you!”

03 looked at the screen. At the faces. At the fear.

Then she looked around.
Every E-UNIT in the hall was watching. Silent. Focused. Burning.
Something ignited inside her chest. Not grief. Not rage.

Resolve.

The broadcast switched again.
‘At this pace the army hit the outer districts in 72 hours..’

The journalist took a breath.
‘This is Milinda Kinzi reporting.’

Her voice softened.
‘E-UNIT, raise your heads. We know you have just lost someone dear to you. We loved the captain too.’

03’s jaw tightened.
‘But Metromania has only one force standing beside it.’

The camera zoomed out.
‘You.’

A pause.
‘Just do what you excel at.’

She swallowed.
‘Deleting the enemy.’

The screen cut to an emergency standby image.
Silence filled the hall.

The words echoed in 03’s mind. Every scream. Every plea. Every face.
She turned slowly toward her team.

They were smiling.
Not cheerful smiles. Not excited ones. Ready smiles.

03 lifted her head. “Temporary command ends now.” Her lips curled into her familiar, unsettling grin. “11,” she said calmly, “you mentioned you have a method to dismantle them.”

11 stepped forward, spinning her pistol once before locking it into her grip. She gave a sharp smirk and lowered her head slightly.
“Roger that, captain.”

03 raised her eyes.
“Let us teach them how to fall.”