This factory, rising into the sky in a cylindrical shape, consisted of two visible layers. The first layer was the lower part where the factory's Calosians lived and where the market was located. This part was a thinner cylinder compared to the one above it. Although the upper part was a thicker cylinder, it was shorter. This gave it a strange, cylindrical mushroom-like appearance.
From the upper cylinder of this mushroom hung many glass cylinders. Those glass cylinders were actually elevators. While descending in one of the glass elevators, Edmond could see the entirety of the South. The bitten-mountain of the Uruzen Factory, the PN robot banners floating in the sky, and many other things… The North lay to his right. His destination… He wondered what kind of adventures awaited him there. He held a thin cigar, which he had taken from his bag and put in his pocket earlier, between his lips. While lighting the cigar with the lighter he took from his pocket, he was very careful not to let his wool gloves catch fire.
When the elevator touched the ground, Edmond Kingsley stepped out with heavy strides. His bag slipped and fell from his shoulder, so with a shrug, he pushed it back. As he walked toward the outside of the elevator with heavy steps, he could see the motorcycle waiting for him. This semi-dismantled grey motorcycle with two wheels looked like high technology, but it was in a state of exhaustion from neglect. While the robots waiting at the head of the motorcycle were trying to bring it back to life with repair kits, Hianyan was waiting at the head of the robots.
"How is the condition of the bike?"
"We don't use motorcycles much on this planet," Hianyan said. "One of my production managers was a motorcycle enthusiast once. He brought his bike here just because there were no traffic rules. After he had an accident, he stopped using motorcycles."
"Will it run?"
Hianyan moved through the robots and revved the motorcycle. The sound of the engine was so deep and powerful that Edmond couldn't help but be impressed.
"It has some balance issues, but it runs."
"Fine… The things I told you…" While speaking, the tobacco in Edmond's mouth was constantly wobbling. He reached for the cigar, exhaled smoke, and asked, "…are they ready?"
Hianyan gestured to the robots waiting behind. The robots brought a massive yellow crate and placed it in front of Edmond. The crate opened, filled with weapons and ammunition.
"An Arc-47…" Edmond said as he took the rifle and examined it for a while. "…not bad at all." He slung the rifle over his shoulder. "Two pistols… These are from the Koralium Corporation, aren't they? Do you have a partnership with Koralium or something?" He chuckled slightly. Hianyan couldn't tell if this was a joke or a question. After placing the pistols in his belt, Edmond scanned the crate a bit more and said:
"Ah… now this is what I call a weapon! The plasma cannon from Evoke Systems, right? This is an incredible close-range weapon… How many rounds does it have?" He picked up the white weapon, which was half a meter long with a muzzle like a cannon, something a human certainly couldn't carry easily alone. His enhanced body could barely hold it up. "I don't see any ammo in the crate."
"You told me you needed a weapon of destructive power, and I found this. As for the ammo, do you know how much those damn plasma cannon rounds cost?"
"We are at war, Hianyan, and you're still counting pennies?"
"No one told me I would be entering a war and that we would need plasma rounds. So I didn't buy any ammo."
"But you bought the gun…"
"The gun was a managerial gift. It was given by Labiba…"
"So she was hinting at war even back then," Edmond said and chuckled. He stumbled while walking with the cannon in his arms. He felt himself sinking into the muddy ground. Stumbling toward his motorcycle, he shouted: "Hey robots! Get out of the way!"
The robots scattered, leaving their repair kits behind. Edmond managed to throw himself next to the motorcycle, albeit with difficulty… He dropped the cannon in his hands onto the muddy ground. The mud splashing from the ground ruined all the new clothes he had just gotten in one go. "Hey!" Edmond shouted. "Robots, get me a chain. Let's tie this damn cannon to the bike."
"A chain?"
"Yes… a chain…"
"We have no chain stock."
"Then create one! Do something!"
"Procedure…"
"To hell with your procedure!" Edmond said. The robots looked at Hianyan. Hianyan must have explained Edmond's orders more understandably through the secretary in his mind, as the robots hurried away.
"They are robots…" Hianyan said. "…you have to be more specific when defining tasks."
"That's exactly why I don't like working with robots," Edmond said.
"Have you worked with robots before?"
"Yes… quite a lot of robots… Believe it or not, they didn't like me much."
"After what I just saw, I believe it," Hianyan said.
While looking at Hianyan, Edmond found the opportunity to scan the facility as well. He saw silhouettes looking toward him from the glass floors of the facility. It was as if every one of the Calosians was looking at him.
How did they see him? As the savior of a woman named Tita, the hero of the boy named Calmo… The man who started the war… The man who brought freedom to the Calosians…
"Is the factory no longer working?"
"Of course, production has stopped."
"And the Calosians…"
"I am not as bad a person as Labiba. I promised the Calosians their freedom if they stand by me in this war."
"Freedom? That's… that's a very bold claim," Edmond said. "…Ashengine won't allow you to liberate the exploited in a city built on exploitation. Or is this promise just a lie?"
"Even though I know how impossible my word is, I was quite honest in my promise," Hianyan said. "You can't know how war might affect fate."
"And how do you think Ashengine will react to this war?"
"He will hate us all for starting a war. Then he will wait for the war to end and for the victor to fall at his feet to apologize."
"Like all other rich people with a God complex…"
"Exactly…" Hianyan said. "…like all the rich."
"And what do the Calosians think about the war? I thought they had lost their minds working at the machines."
"We've already started preparing education packages for most of them… Many videos explain the basics of war quite well. Robots are giving each of them physical and psychological training."
"These things don't happen in a day…"
"It will take more than a few days for the war to reach the walls of this facility."
"It's not something that can happen in a week either. No one can prepare for war in a week," Edmond said. "But people should strive in desperate times… Striving makes one forget the hopelessness."
"You were the one who told me to involve the Calosians in the war."
"Yes… but you must lead from the front." At that moment, the approaching robots lifted the cannon from the muddy ground and placed it on the motorcycle. To balance the motorcycle, he hung the backpack on his back on the other side of the vehicle. Edmond, having mounted the motorcycle and preparing to drive, turned back and said: "Be a leader, Hianyan." He added, "By the way, my name is Edmond… Edmond Kingsley…"
While Hianyan thought to himself, "Kingsley? What a strange surname…", Edmond spat the tobacco in his mouth onto the muddy ground; he saluted the TESO2 factory as if removing an imaginary hat and set off.
"Nice to meet you, Kingsley!"