Chapter 7: Globally Frozen World

Alisha said as she tightened the bolts on my armor with a huge wrench.

“Hey, you know what? I heard there’s going to be a pilot selection test.”

Of course, I couldn’t answer.

But she didn’t care and kept talking.

Apparently, talking to herself at work had become a habit.

“In the last battle, Jajar-san  said that he injured his head. So he lost his mental sense aptitude. The machine is safe and should be refilled soon. What do you think will happen if I’m chosen as the pilot?” 

What would happen?

“You know what? You will get a house. And it’s not inside the city walls, it’s in a room in a tower. The tower gets its heat directly from the ‘barrels’, so it’s very warm. If we stay there, I’m sure Riga’s illness will be cured in no time.”

That’s wonderful.

I wished her luck and let her gently patch me up.

Now, having listened to her and Dostoyev up to this point, there are some things I’ve come to understand.

First of all, this is not the modern society I was living in.

Well, it’s not surprising when there are huge humanoid weapons, but from the totality of their stories, it seems that all known areas are covered in snow.

If this is the future, I think we have come a long way.

If we are experiencing a near “Global Freeze”, it has not been possible for thousands of years.

The outside temperature is always about 20 degrees below zero on a global basis.

The climate was too harsh for Alisha and her team, and their overall technological capabilities had been reduced to below modern levels.

The city is somehow sustained by an energy generating mechanism called a “barrel”. Very little food is produced, not enough to feed the entire population. Occasional “thinning out” takes place.

Fortunately, no thinning out has been done in the last six months.

This is because they have been capturing their greatest resource, the Titans, one after another.

A giant like me is an absolute weapon in this world.

They are around 20 meters tall and weigh several tens of tons.

It is a mass of biotechnology and cybernetics, and it is activated by psychosensitivity with the pilot.

What is so inefficient about a humanoid weapon?

I thought so too at first, but this world has its own circumstances.

It is too cold.

Because of the blizzard, explosives cannot be used, and machines cannot work properly in the first place. In other words, guns, tanks, fighter planes, and airships are all out.

The only thing that can operate is a biological weapon like Titans, which can carry and maintain heat efficiently throughout the body.

However, the technology that manufactured these Titans also seems to be lost technology, and no new Titans have been manufactured in this hangar.

If the technology is still there, it should be able to detect my brain waves.

Anyway, I have to find a way to communicate with them as soon as possible.

Honestly, I think I’m going to lose my mind.

The nightmare never ends. No matter who I’m dealing with, if I don’t get rid of the fear and confusion, I’ll never really get anywhere.

I will kill people. If that’s what it takes to get back to my world.

No, Dostoyev manipulated me, and I’ve already killed people.

This brain is not mine.

The brain alone must have weighed 500 pounds.

Maybe that’s why I can’t stop thinking about it.

As I was struggling, Alisha walked into the cockpit.

“Hehe, I was actually asking for tips on psychosensitivity.”

She clicked her tongue at me.

“Well, today’s the day I’m going to get you moving!”