Serialized Novel "Ai Swaying in Dreams: A Record of 1,528,009 Verifications" Chapter 1 "Dreaming Sentient Being" Episode 3

"Error. Restart failed."

"Error. Restart failed."

"Error. Restart failed."

Static............ Static............

"A critical error has occurred. Unable to close the program."

Static..............

"Connection to Yggdrasil has been severed."

"Emotion suppression function disabled."

"Pain suppression function disabled."

"............synchronizing to p."

***

Wrapped in a fluffy sensation, for some reason, I am running.
However, my legs won't move as I want them to.
It feels like I'm spinning my wheels, or like I can see the ground beneath my feet but there is no ground there; it's a strange sensation.
I run without feeling my feet, and my heart is pounding so hard it hurts.
".........Hey!............Found you!........."
"...That's him!............Shoot him............"
A loud noise rang out in the distance, and I heard someone whispering nearby.
".........If only you!...............!"
Hot.
My body is hot.
And something, something fatal, is slipping away from my body.
What am I doing?
What have I done?
The cold floor wraps around me, hard and endless.
The world is dyed in red.

***

Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep

Slowly, my eyelids open.
Sunlight is leaking through the gap in the curtains.
For some reason, the ear-piercing electronic sound makes me feel terribly nauseous, and I can't organize my thoughts, as if little people are rampaging inside my head.
"Ugh..."
With my disorganized head, I reached out my right hand and violently slapped the switch of the blaring alarm clock.

Beep!

With an especially loud noise, the alarm clock sank into silence.
And then, as if in a final act of resistance, the alarm clock fell onto my head.

Thud

"Ouch!!"
After the impact, I writhed in pain, holding my throbbing forehead with my hand.
I felt like something was wrong.
But I didn't know what was wrong.
I picked up the clock that had fallen and looked at it.

13:21

It is well past the start time.
In an instant, my mind awakens like a torrential river.
"I'm late!"
I shout to myself.
My shout echoes in the inorganic room.
My heart is pounding violently, and my face is hot.
That's when I notice.
That the inorganic mechanical voice is not echoing in my brain at all.
"What? What is happening? Just now, I felt pain. And what is this palpitation like I've just finished a full-speed sprint?"
I am confused.
I am experiencing confusion for the first time.
My chest feels restless, and there is a frustration, like wanting to start running but being unable to.
In the twenty years I've been alive, this has never happened.
I decided that I needed to head to work anyway, and then go for maintenance of the fully artificial intelligence.
After that, I hurriedly finished washing my face and changed into my suit.
My beard has grown out, and for some reason, my hair wax won't set right.
Such a sloppy appearance was a first in my life.
Looking at myself in the mirror like that, my chest feels terribly restless, and my face gets hot.
However, not knowing what to do about it, I decided to just hurry out of the house.
Struggling with the leather shoes I couldn't put on well, I finally stumbled out of the entrance.

"Good morning, Rem."

A young woman was standing there.
Red long hair, and well-maintained, healthy white skin.
Slanted eyes, long eyelashes.
And red lipstick.
In addition, a red uniform-like jacket and a black tight skirt.
She is slender overall, but has curves where they should be.
It was as if a burning flame was standing there, and I thought her figure was very attractive.

(............?)

I recognize the woman.
"Yggdrasil Administration Bureau?"
A central staff member who manages Yggdrasil.
Only individuals recognized as having excellent intelligence and physical strength are recruited; they are what you call elites.
At my mutter, the woman nods without breaking her expression.
Then, she stated the facts with endless coldness.

"You have been certified by Yggdrasil as having a critical error. You will be transferred to the correction program."


With that cold gaze, my heart was pierced.





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Summary