The Unseen Guest

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In silence, Rudy walks down a dimly lit corridor illuminated by drone lights.

The AI control room is located in the center of the spaceship, the cockpit is in the front, and the engine room is in the back. Regardless of the ship, the structure is the same throughout the ages. Rudy was headed towards the center of the spaceship.

As he moved, he found several doors and attempted to open them. Doors that were previously locked with electronic locks when the power was on were now unlocked because the power was off. However, the hydraulic doors were heavy and required a lot of strength to open.

Moreover, as soon as he opened the doors, he realized they were empty shells. After checking a few rooms, Rudy deemed it a waste of time and passed by the remaining ones.

Rudy moved towards the core of the ship and stood in front of a larger door compared to the others. On the plate next to the door, it said “Main AI Room.”

This must be the room where the military AI is located…if it were still alive, it would be hard-headed. Rudy imagined the personality of the military AI as he grabbed the handle of the door.

“Grrrr…”

Rudy pulled the door, but it didn’t budge. However, he didn’t give up and put more force into it. Then, either the rusted part came off, or the door finally gave way with a loud noise.

In the center of the room was a huge cylindrical server. Rudy stepped into the room and looked up at the server that seemed to reach the ceiling.

The base of the server extended to the wall, and the part that was 2 meters high from the floor was cylindrical and extended to the ceiling.

I’ve never seen anything like this before, it must be an old model, Rudy thought.

Rudy estimated that the base was for memory storage, and the cylinder contained multiple computational devices.

He approached the console of the server and pressed the power switch, but the server didn’t start, and a quiet time passed in the room.

Rudy looked at the non-functioning server and thought to himself. “I guess it won’t work… But whether it’s because it’s military or an old model, I don’t know, but it’s so big that I can’t take it back to Nike.”

What’s needed is memory storage, not the computational devices. However, due to the size of the base, which cannot be removed from the room, Rudy sighed in frustration.

“Master. We have arrived,” came the communication from Hal to Rudy’s electronic brain. It seems the lander has been moved next to the spaceship.

“You’re watching through the drones, right? What do you think of this thing?” Rudy asked.

“It’s quite an old model. It probably has intelligence, but it may not have a flexible mindset,” Hal replied.

“Well, leaving that aside, I was planning on bringing it back to Nike for analysis, but…” Rudy trailed off.

“Even getting it out of that room seems impossible,” Hal interjected.

“So we have no choice but to handle it here,” Rudy concluded after consulting with Hal.

As Rudy looked at his analog ring-shaped watch, it showed noon. Just as he thought about lunch, his stomach growled.

Despite two battles since morning, he wasn’t tired. He found that strange, but right now, he was more concerned about getting outside for a meal.

Rubbing his stomach as he retraced his steps, Hal spoke to him again.

“Master, there is someone in front of the lander.”

“What?” Rudy responded, looking in the direction of the lander, but he couldn’t see anyone.

“There’s no one there,” he said.

“Please switch your implant to the thermograph. I also just found out through the drone’s thermograph,” Hal suggested.

Rudy switched his left eye implant to thermal imaging mode, and a human figure was revealed in a place where there seemed to be nothing visible to the naked eye.

From the infrared silhouette, it appeared to be an adult female who was hiding her figure.

“It’s true. Someone is there,” Rudy thought, blinking his eyes as he observed the woman’s movements, who had also noticed him and was cautious about his actions.

“Is she using optical camouflage?” Rudy wondered aloud.

“We haven’t confirmed such advanced technology on this planet. It’s probably the result of the magical technology available here.”

“Magic can do that?” Rudy asked in amazement.

As Rudy continued to stare at her, the woman became nervous and uncertain, but it seemed that she had no intention of attacking him. Besides, he was hungry at the moment.

Rudy disguised his wariness and began walking towards the landing craft.

Approaching the landing craft, the hatch automatically opened, causing the woman to panic at the sight of the hatch opening without anyone present and the hydraulic sound it made.

“This is truly the combination of advanced science and magic,” Rudy chuckled inwardly, noticing the woman’s behavior.

As he stepped onto the hatch ramp, he paused and turned towards the woman.

“Wanna have a meal together?” Rudy spoke the first words he had learned in the local language, and the woman was puzzled. It seemed that Hal’s translation function had a significant accent.

The woman was startled by Rudy’s sudden invitation and remained motionless, staring at him intently. Rudy returned her gaze, waiting for a response.

After about thirty seconds of staring at each other, the woman relented and let out a light sigh, revealing her hidden form with magic.

The woman was around 170cm tall, about 10cm taller than Rudy. She had light curly reddish-brown hair that reached halfway down her back.

She appeared to be in her late twenties, with a beautiful face and sharp eyes that gave off an intellectual aura.

However, what caught Rudy’s attention the most was the painful burn scar that covered the left half of her face.

The scar had discolored her skin to a brown color and stood out even more because her original complexion was fair. She kept it hidden with her bangs so no one could see it.

She wore a knee-length one-piece dress dyed in the same deep green color as the forest. She had pants on underneath, but there were rips and stains in various places, making her clothes look shabby and impoverished.

Additionally, she held a crooked cane in her left hand.

“I knew you had noticed me…” the woman spoke to Rudy, and he nodded.

It seemed that Hal’s translation application, while sounding strange, was functioning correctly in terms of understanding.

“Is that metal ship that was flying in the sky yours?” the woman asked.

“I’ll explain later. First, let’s get inside and have some food,” Rudy replied.

He wanted to gather information about the planet from the woman, but his intense hunger was his top priority at the moment. He invited the woman to dine with him as a way to appear harmless and maybe even gain her trust.

“Your way of speaking is all messed up but are you inviting me to eat with you?” the woman asked.

“Don’t worry about how I’m talking. I’m just starving. Either eat with me or leave. Decide quickly,” Rudy replied.

The woman couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at Rudy’s unique way of speaking. However, the tense atmosphere between them immediately dissipated.

After some hesitation, the woman’s curiosity got the best of her, and she followed Rudy into the landing craft.

Naomi, who had been invited onto the landing craft, sat in the dining room, looking perplexed. She had never seen furniture with such a unique design before. If she looked up at the ceiling, there were no lamps, yet it was still illuminated. The chairs she sat on and the table in front of her were also made of unfamiliar, strange metal.

Moreover, the beverage the peculiar boy had offered her, coffee, was so black that she suspected it might be poisonous. The cup it was served in was made of what looked like marble, a luxury item that Naomi immediately recognized, causing her to gulp nervously.

What is this place? He seems to have all sorts of rare items that even the royal family can’t get their hands on. I don’t think it’s poison, but I want to know what the drink he served me actually is.

So, Naomi spoke to Rudy, who was cooking in the back.

“What is this drink?”

“Coffee… do you not drink it?”

“What is this coffee? I’ve never even seen it before.”

“I’ll be there in a moment.”

With that, Rudy brought several small containers from the pantry and placed them in front of Naomi.

“If it’s too bitter, add this.”

“What is this?”

“Milk and syrup.”

“Syrup?”

“….Sugar?”

Naomi didn’t know that syrup was a mixture of glucose and fructose, not sugar. But Rudy, who had no knowledge of the ingredients in syrup, mistook it for sugar based on its sweetness.

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t know but it’s sweet.”

Rudy tilted his head as he answered and then retreated to the back again.

Naomi picked up the container placed on the table and brought it close to her face to examine it. She didn’t know what it was made of, but it was soft and sturdy, and there was a slightly protruding part that seemed like it could be opened by pulling it. However, she wanted to know what the drink tasted like before trying to open it.

Naomi lifted the cup and sniffed the coffee’s aroma. As she did, a fragrant smell stimulated her nostrils.

Could it be that this coffee, despite its appearance, is actually delicious? With that thought, she took a sip.

“Bitter!”

At the moment she drank the coffee, Naomi screamed and quickly added the milk and syrup.

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