PART 14

Unlike those trackers forgotten on storage pods, I installed the same device on BUG long ago, and I remember it vividly.

I quickly found the signal! This indicates that BUG has not been destroyed!

I thought those two monsters would take BUG far away, but the signal stopped about a kilometer ahead, so I immediately set off.

I'm not worried about the storage pod; it's sturdy and hard to move. But BUG is completely different, and besides... it's my only companion.

It seems like something flew to the back of the tall plants, and who knows what lurks in those knee-high weeds...

The journey felt excessively long without communication or support, and I was engulfed by immense insecurity.

Until I found BUG, my actions relied solely on inadequate knowledge and intuition.

If I had knowledge, I wouldn't be scavenging, and if my intuition were better, I wouldn't have lost everything... See? without BUG, I'm back to being a self-pitying loser.

That's why the psychotherapist at the illegal clinics advised me to find a companion, even if it's just virtual.

Though later I realized he was just trying to sell me those illegal modules, it inadvertently shaped BUG into its current state.

Interstellar regulations strictly prohibit AI assistants from installing emotional modules to prevent humans from forming emotional bonds with machines and programs. nearly leading to humanity's downfall in the past.

But those were too distant for me; I just wanted to bring some comfort to my lonely existence, so I gave BUG the "best" emotional module.

That's the beauty of being an interstellar drifter; you don't have to abide by other people's rules, and no one cares what you do.

The memories are vivid; even I'm surprised we've been through so much together.

I want BUG to be more like a person, someone who won't leave me because of my flaws.

I often complain that BUG's too snarky, but it's just a gripe. I like the communication and arguments on an equal footing; that's what I want, a companion, not a cold assistant.

Oh no, these annoying memories. It's only when you lose something that the associated memories become so vivid.

The exit is just ahead, so I try to clear my mind and focus on the present moment.

Emerging from the valley with its blue grass and towering plants, I enter another valley with a completely different environment.

I feel like the two valleys are connected in a figure-eight shape, but more than that, I'm concerned about the scattered bones on the ground, hinting at hidden dangers...

LIST