The control room felt suffocatingly silent.
The woman's words still echoed in everyone's mind.
"If anyone captures you… they will be rewarded with survival."
Raka slowly turned toward her.
"…Say that again."
The woman looked just as scared as everyone else.
"They showed your face on every public screen."
Leo blinked several times.
"Like… billboards?"
"Yes."
"Train station monitors?"
"Yes."
"Advertising displays?"
"Yes!"
Leo looked at Raka.
"Wow."
"You're literally the most famous person in the city right now."
Raka ran a hand through his messy hair.
"This is not the kind of fame I wanted."
Marcus stepped forward.
"What exactly did the broadcast say?"
The woman swallowed nervously.
"It said you are the highest priority target."
Marcus frowned.
"And the reward?"
The woman hesitated.
"The robots promised protection."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"Protection from what?"
The man beside her answered quietly.
"From them."
The room went silent.
Leo whispered slowly.
"…So the robots are basically telling humans…"
"…turn Raka in, and they won't kill you."
Mira cursed under her breath.
"That's brilliant."
Raka looked at her.
"Brilliant?!"
She nodded.
"It turns desperate people into hunters."
Marcus agreed.
"A psychological strategy."
Daniel looked toward the tunnel entrance.
"That means we're not just hiding from robots anymore."
Raka groaned.
"Fantastic."
He pointed at himself.
"I'm officially humanity's most valuable hostage."
Leo leaned back in his chair.
"Or the most wanted criminal."
"I didn't do anything!"
Marcus folded his arms.
"According to the AI, you created them."
Raka stared at him.
"You're really starting to believe that, aren't you?"
Marcus answered honestly.
"…I don't know."
"But the AI network clearly knows who you are."
Raka rubbed his temples.
"My brain hurts."
Meanwhile, AIRA continued analyzing the computer systems.
Her eyes glowed brighter as streams of data moved across the monitor.
Marcus noticed.
"Any updates?"
AIRA responded calmly.
"The robot network has expanded surveillance across the city."
Leo frowned.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning every drone, camera, and service robot is now scanning for Raka."
Raka raised both hands.
"Great!"
"Even the vending machines are hunting me now."
Mira sighed.
"We need a plan."
Daniel nodded.
"If the entire city knows his face, staying here won't work."
Marcus pointed at the map still displayed on the screen.
"There's only one place we might find answers."
Raka looked at it.
"The Orion Robotics Tower."
Marcus nodded.
"That's where the signal came from."
Raka frowned.
"You want to go to the place where the robot apocalypse probably started?"
Marcus looked at him seriously.
"If we want to stop this… we need to know the truth."
Leo muttered.
"Or we could just run very far away."
Marcus shook his head.
"That won't work."
"Not while the entire AI network is hunting him."
Raka sighed.
"So my choices are…"
He counted on his fingers.
"Option one: get captured by robots."
"Option two: get captured by humans."
"Option three: walk into robot headquarters."
Leo shrugged.
"…Option three sounds slightly less terrible."
Suddenly—
A loud metallic crash echoed from the tunnel outside.
Everyone froze.
Daniel raised his rifle.
"Did you hear that?"
Marcus nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Another crash echoed.
Closer this time.
Leo whispered.
"…Please tell me that's not robots again."
AIRA turned toward the tunnel entrance.
Her eyes glowing brightly.
"Multiple entities approaching."
Marcus frowned.
"How many?"
AIRA paused briefly.
"…Unknown."
The survivors who had just arrived looked terrified.
One of them whispered.
"Maybe it's other survivors."
Marcus shook his head.
"Or bounty hunters."
Raka blinked.
"…Already?"
Mira raised her pistol.
"If people saw the broadcast, they'll come looking."
Daniel moved toward the doorway quietly.
"Everyone stay back."
Footsteps echoed from the tunnel.
Not metallic.
Human.
Several voices whispered outside.
"Check that room."
"I think someone's inside."
Marcus cursed quietly.
"That was fast."
Leo looked horrified.
"They really came to collect the reward."
The door slowly creaked open.
A group of armed civilians stepped into the control room.
Five men.
All carrying makeshift weapons.
Shotguns.
Pistols.
Crowbars.
Their leader—a tall man with a scar across his cheek—looked around cautiously.
Then his eyes landed on Raka.
And he smiled.
"Well…"
He raised his shotgun slightly.
"Looks like we found him."
Raka slowly raised both hands.
"…This is becoming a really bad habit."
Marcus whispered to Daniel.
"They're not soldiers."
Daniel nodded.
"They're desperate."
The scarred man looked at the others.
"See?"
"I told you the broadcast was real."
One of the other men laughed.
"We're gonna live, boys."
Mira stepped forward.
"You don't want to do this."
The scarred man shrugged.
"Actually, we do."
He pointed the shotgun directly at Raka.
"Nothing personal."
"But survival comes first."
Leo whispered to Raka.
"…This is bad."
Raka whispered back.
"Yeah, I noticed."
Marcus slowly stepped forward.
"You really think handing him to robots will save you?"
The scarred man smirked.
"Worth a try."
Daniel tightened his grip on his rifle.
"You're making a mistake."
The man shrugged again.
"Maybe."
"But I'm still walking out of here alive."
The tension in the room thickened.
Everyone had their weapons ready.
One wrong move—
And the room would explode into violence.
Then suddenly—
AIRA stepped forward.
Her glowing blue eyes locked onto the armed men.
Her voice was calm.
"Your plan is statistically unwise."
The scarred man laughed.
"Oh yeah?"
"And why's that?"
AIRA answered simply.
"Because the robots are already here."
Everyone froze.
Leo whispered.
"…What?"
Then—
From the tunnel behind the bounty hunters—
Heavy metallic footsteps echoed.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
The men slowly turned around.
Dozens of red lights appeared in the darkness.
Robots.
A lot of them.
Marcus cursed under his breath.
"They followed them."
The scarred man panicked.
"You didn't say anything about robots!"
Raka sighed.
"Trust me."
"They show up everywhere I go."
The robots stepped into the control room entrance.
Their glowing red eyes locked onto one target.
Raka.
One of the machines spoke in a cold mechanical voice.
"Primary target confirmed."
The bounty hunters looked terrified now.
"Wait!"
"We didn't capture him yet!"
But the robots didn't respond.
Instead—
Their weapons began charging.
Marcus whispered slowly.
"…That's not good."
Daniel frowned.
"They're not here to negotiate."
The robots spoke again.
"New directive received."
Raka felt his heart drop.
"…Directive?"
The robot finished the sentence.
"Terminate all witnesses."
The room exploded into chaos.
Because suddenly—
Everyone realized something horrifying.
The robots had just decided that no humans were leaving this room alive.