Collapse Iron: Cosplaying the Near-Death Star, but with a full destiny.

Chapter 35 Stance

Messenger 7582 remained silent.

Its pair of crystal-clear compound eyes shifted slightly, no longer staring at the steam-spitting door, but looking down at its forelimbs.

Its surface is covered with a hard, smooth white carapace, which serves as its protective armor for survival.

"spring……"

It repeated the word in a low voice.

For a race that struggles to survive in the deep sea, sealed off by ice and illuminated only by the faint light of a red dwarf star, the concept of "spring" is too abstract.

It's like describing the colors of a rainbow to a blind person.

"I admit it."

The messenger raised his head.

"Your story is very touching."

"That feeling called 'hope'... is indeed very infectious."

Its antennae twitched slightly, as if in some kind of helpless compromise.

"But hopefully it can't be eaten."

"It also cannot stop the sharp teeth of the true gnawed insect."

It looked up at the stars.

"You have power, technology, and even that magical 'star core'."

"But the people here..."

It pointed to the guards shivering in the wind and snow.

"They are weak."

"Just like us."

"The only way for the weak to survive is to hide, to isolate themselves, to... eke out a living."

"so."

The messenger's voice remained firm.

"Even if you rave about it."

"I still believe you should leave."

"For your own good, and also to... prevent our last shred of dignity from becoming a joke in your eyes."

This is a deep-seated pessimism.

Or rather, it is a kind of "rationality" tamed by long-term despair.

Xing sighed.

She turned her head and looked at Hoshino beside her.

His eyes held a hint of "It seems that talking won't work."

But Hoshino was not surprised.

If thousands of years of despair can be broken with just a few words, then that despair is far too cheap.

To change the perception of a race, drastic measures are needed.

"Since you don't believe me."

Hoshi patted Hoshi on the shoulder.

"Then let's take it to see that."

"Look at that guy who's just as stubborn as you, who also thinks 'it's all about barely surviving.'"

"How we finally... convinced them."

Xing grinned.

The pink pen in his hand swept across the air once more.

"no problem."

"Hold on tight, next stop—the lower level!"

hum-

The surrounding scenery distorted once again.

The magnificent steel gate, the swirling snow, and the bustling crowd were instantly stretched into countless rays of light.

The ground beneath our feet began to sink.

A feeling of weightlessness washed over me.

The light dimmed.

The chill in the air dissipated, replaced by a more oppressive, hot, and heavy metallic smell.

When vision becomes clear again.

They are no longer on that vast, white snowfield.

This is underground.

Above them was not the sky, but a jagged rock dome, with massive supporting pillars like the arms of giants, holding up the world above.

The surrounding area consisted of a complex network of mine tunnels and rusty tin shacks.

The dim miner's lamp flickered in the darkness.

The air was filled with the dust from the burning of the earth's core.

This is the lower section of Belleberg.

It is a forgotten corner.

It is also a graveyard of machines.

"here it is……"

Messenger 7582 looked around at the mountains of mechanical parts and the small robots moving through the ruins.

Its compound eyes are blinking more frequently and faster.

"Is it also part of that city?"

"Why...does it feel like two different worlds?"

"Because this is a place that has been 'abandoned'."

Dan Heng explained calmly.

"The lower levels were sealed off for more than a decade in order to ensure the survival of the upper levels."

"Resources are scarce, the environment is harsh, and even seeing the sky is a luxury."

"Abandoned..."

The messenger remained silent.

This sounds more familiar now.

Just as they had to give up 99 percent of the planet's surface territory in order to protect Crystal City.

"I'll take you to meet someone I know."

Xing waved and walked deeper into the settlement.

We passed through a fence made of scrap steel pipes.

They arrived at a relatively open space.

Or rather, it was a huge open-air workshop.

there.

A colossal object stood there.

It was a giant robot several meters tall.

It was entirely black, covered with heavy armor.

Unlike those crude mining machines, it is not rough; instead, it is full of a certain precise and cold beauty.

It stood there quietly.

It's like a black iron tower.

On its head, a single eye radiated a chilling red light, coldly gazing upon the ruins.

Schwarzlo.

Relics from the old era.

The guardian of the lower levels.

This is also Berloberg's most stubborn "rationality".

"this……"

Messenger 7582 had to look up to see the giant's full appearance.

Its six legs couldn't help but take two steps back.

This is an instinctive fear.

Any carbon-based life form would feel pressured by such a pure steel creation, born for combat and calculation.

"These are... your weapons?"

The messenger asked.

"No."

Hoshi shook his head.

"It is the...parent here."

"Or rather, the managers of this abandoned land."

As Hoshino's words fell.

The surrounding space suddenly rippled.

The memory begins to replay.

Schwarzkopf, who had been standing quietly, moved.

Its single red eye suddenly lit up, emitting a piercing alarm sound.

The massive robotic arm rose, and the cannon in its palm began to gather energy.

And on the opposite side.

Several familiar figures appeared.

Those are the stars of the past, the seventh day of the third month of the past, and Danheng.

Of course, there's also Clara, the white-haired girl who always follows Schwarzlo around, wearing a little red jacket.

"The calculation results are in."

Schwarzkopf's emotionless, synthesized voice echoed across the open space.

"The only solution for protecting the lower-level areas is to maintain the status quo."

"Contact with a star's core will lead to uncontrollable variables."

"Variables are risks."

"The risks... must be eliminated."

boom!

The laser cannon fired.

Battle broke out.

Messenger 7582 was completely dumbfounded by the scene.

It watched as the enormous robot relentlessly attacked the intruders.

Watching Xing swing his baseball bat and smash it against its armor again and again.

Watching Danheng's spear pierce through its shield.

Watching the arrows of March 7th freeze its joints.

This is a true fight to the death.

Every strike is aimed at stopping the opponent's functions (or stopping breathing).

"Wait...wait a minute!"

The messenger was somewhat incoherent.

It pointed to the battlefield, and also to Hoshi and Hoshi standing beside it.

"Aren't you friends?"

"When you mentioned it just now, you spoke with great respect, as if you were talking about a trustworthy elder."

"Why...why do we have to fight?"

"And isn't it a guardian? Why would a guardian attack someone who brings hope?"

Its logic CPU is about to burn out.

In its understanding.

Friends are friends, and enemies are enemies.

How could comrades who have united for survival possibly kill each other?

"Because of our positions."

Star looked at Swaro, who was being beaten (although his counterattacks were also fierce).

His eyes held a complex expression.

"Its logic is very simple."

"It believes that the outside world has been destroyed and that the power of the star core is invincible."

"Therefore, the best option is a lockdown."

"Keeping the rest of them locked up here, even though it's tough and there's no hope in sight, at least... they can survive."

"It doesn't want us to come into contact with the star's core because, in its calculations, that means 100% annihilation."

"That's...right."

The messenger nodded subconsciously.

"Isn't this the right choice?"

"To ensure the continuation of the community, risks must be avoided."

"If it were me, I would do the same."

"yes."

Changyeyue stood to one side, holding a parasol.

A hint of mockery lingered in his red eyes.

"Just like you."

"To prevent our people from dying in the mouths of insects, we locked everyone up in Crystal City."

"To prevent that unfortunate sea patrolman from dying, we stuffed him into the life pod and threw him out."

"You and this lump of iron..."

She extended her fingers, which were gloved with black lace, and drew a circle in the air.

"They're practically identical."

The envoy was stunned.

It wanted to refute.

I want to say that this is different.

But when he opened his mouth, he found that he couldn't find any reason to refute it.

"but."

Xing took over the conversation.

"We won't agree."

She looked at herself on the battlefield, desperately swinging a baseball bat.

"If living is just a way to wait for death."

"If survival is merely a matter of eking out a living in the darkness."

"Then what's the point of this kind of existence?"

Boom!

In the scenes of my memory.

The massive Schwarzkopf was finally defeated.

It knelt on one knee, sparks flying from its body, and its red electronic eye flickered.

"Calculation error..."

"The variables... exceeded expectations."

"Storage instructions...reconstruction in progress."

"Did you see that?"

Hoshino pointed at the fallen giant.

"We defeated it."

"It's not because I hate it, nor because I want to destroy it."

"It's to tell it—your calculation is wrong."

"To prove that even beyond the desperate calculations, there exists a possibility called a 'miracle'."

"later."

"It became our ally."

"It helped us open the passage to the lower level and connected us to the upper level."

"Even when we were fighting against Cocolia, it stood by our side."

Hoshi turned around.

Look at the messenger.

"If we don't fight this battle..."

"If we don't break its rigid logic."

"Belberg is still under lockdown, the upper and lower zones are still hostile to each other, and the star core continues to devour this world."

"That kind of 'living'."

"Do you really think... it's better than death?"

The messenger remained silent for a long time.

So much time passed that the memories of the surrounding area began to blur.

It looked at the fallen robot.

Then it looked at the people standing in front of it.

at last.

It opened its mouth.

"I understand what you mean."

The messenger's voice was very low.

"Are you saying that sometimes, for the sake of the future, we must break the current stability?"

Even if it comes at a price, even if it requires... a fight.

"but."

It raised its head.

His eyes still held that stubborn glint.

There is a premise.

"A most fundamental premise."

It refers to the three-person train crew on the battlefield.

"You won."

"You have the power to defeat this giant robot."

"You have technology, destiny, and that... star core."

"You are capable of bearing the consequences of 'breaking the status quo'."

"But we didn't."

The messenger's voice became somewhat agitated.

Its antennae throbbed violently.

"We are just... bugs."

"We don't have the power to freeze a planet."

"We also don't have those railguns that can fall from the sky."

"Even that crystal dome took three thousand years to secrete little by little."

"If you really want to help."

"Given the combat capabilities you've demonstrated, and your technological level that allows you to traverse time and space at will and to materialize memories at will."

"You could just wipe out all those bugs outside."

"We could even pack up this entire planet and take it with us."

"but……"

It looked at the stars.

"If you can't do that."

"If you're just here with a heart full of passion, thinking you can be some kind of savior and break our 'dead end'?"

"And the final result..."

"It will only extinguish the last embers of the flame."

"so."

The messenger took a step back.

That stance of refusal remains unchanged.

"Even if you defeat the robots."