Apocalypse Shelter Administrator-Chapter 69: Upgrade (1)
Upgrade (1)
A man lay face down on an operating table. His consciousness was deeply submerged beneath the surface of sleep.
Beep—Beep
A green vital signal moved on the monitor, emitting regular beeping sounds. The space was pure white, completely devoid of color. Even the smallest stain would stand out, making it seem like a difficult place to maintain. But that was exactly the point.
This is the upper residential area, a place accessible only to the chosen few. Among its facilities, the most advanced medical equipment is concentrated in this intensive care room. Naturally, it supports not only treatments but also functional procedures. Only the highest VIPs from the upper residents can receive treatment here, while those who serve them are strictly forbidden from entering.
Jinsoo, however, was an exception, as his position as a system administrator made him irreplaceable. It granted him special access. But honestly, what difference would it make if he wasn’t allowed?
Artemis would have easily bypassed the restricted access code with a scoff or created an entirely new intensive care room and moved the equipment there to circumvent the rules.
Various medical devices hanging from the ceiling passed over Jinsoo’s spine like intricate decorations. Dozens of needle-like injectors, tweezers, cables, and other unknown devices moved with perfect coordination.
It was an orchestra of veteran surgeons. The surgeons, however, were marionettes, their strings controlled by Artemis, the conductor. What she was performing was less a surgery and more a symphony.
Beep—Beep
Jinsoo, now unconscious from the anesthetic injected into his veins, remained motionless. Despite performing a highly precise implant insertion procedure, Artemis continued to manage his breathing, pulse, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels in real-time through a tube.
Jinsoo’s vital signs remained completely stable without any fluctuations. Numerous injectors repeatedly pierced and withdrew from his flesh. Since most were entering pre-made holes, the wounds were minimal, but still, drops of blood trickled down.
Buzz—
The cameras above the table zoomed in and out, focusing on Jinsoo’s back. One lens in particular fixated on the blood dripping down his side. A machine holding a sterile gauze wiped away the blood. The mechanical hand, after discarding the blood-stained gauze in a collection bin, gently patted the spot where the blood had been.
And so, in the quiet room, time continued to flow for the two of them.
***
It’s blinding.
Like the shimmering surface of the sea bathed in the morning sun, light rippled everywhere. Where am I?
“Are you really thinking of quitting?” A voice, aged and firm, asked me from within the light.
“Yes. It’s a decision I made after careful thought.” That’s my voice.
“Let’s be honest. I won’t make it to the top. By now, I can see the limits. But you, at my age, could easily have a star or two pinned to your chest. No need to keep risking your life to build a career. What you’ve done so far is more than enough.”
There was a brief silence.
Breaking through that silence came the sound of a commotion. The sound of a group running… familiar. The sound of a group singing… also familiar.
Yes, I know this sound. It’s the sound of soldiers running and singing on the drill field.
“And yet you still want to quit?” Someone asked me again.
“I…”
Why should I quit? Isn’t it a waste to throw away a career I’ve risked my life for?
Just as I was about to change my mind and say I would stay…
[Returning to ■■ in real ■■ your ■mind.]
I think I heard something.
[Are you listening?]
A familiar voice.
[Seo Jinsoo!]
My foggy consciousness was yanked back to the surface.
A strange ceiling.
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the large screen in front of the intensive care room, displaying Artemis’ face.
“Feels like I just dozed off, but is it already done?”
[That’s how general anesthesia works.]
Instinctively, I reached for the back of my neck. There was a tiny wound, so small I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t focused.
[You did well. The procedure was successful.]
“You’re the one who did well. I just slept through it.”
Her face disappeared from the screen, replaced by a display of my body’s vitals. It was a full scan of my body, showing not just bones and organs, but also every detail down to the reproductive organs. The implants inserted along my spinal cord were highlighted in red.
“So, these are inside me?” I pressed and prodded, but there was no discomfort, no pain at all.
It wasn’t the kind of procedure where they would cut open my back vertically and insert something inside. Instead, they used a new technique that involved making tiny holes along the spinal line and inserting segmented implant pieces, which were then assembled internally.
Minimal scarring and the ability to move immediately after the procedure.
“Amazing technology.”
This was a cutting-edge procedure that less than ten doctors worldwide could officially perform, yet Artemis had done the work of dozens of them single-handedly.
Honestly, I had been a little scared before the procedure. The test subjects we found in the Metacraft lab had their spinal cords brutally torn apart. I didn’t let it show in front of Artemis, who confidently claimed the surgery would be perfect.
“It’s a bit cold.”
[You look like it.]
The screen split, and an image of me appeared, zooming in on my lower half, specifically my groin. Perhaps due to the cold, everything was shriveled up, and Artemis’ eyes narrowed as she looked at it.
“Hey, lady. This is sexual harassment!”
[I’ve seen everything there is to see. Why so shy now?]
She was probably referring to the regular health checks where I had to strip naked for various measurements. Including colonoscopies.
“That’s different. Now hurry and get me some clothes.”
[Are you embarrassed?]
“A little.”
[Then why is it getting bigger…?]
“…”
My shriveled, lifeless penis began to regain some life.
[…]
An awkward silence filled the intensive care room. Unable to bear it, Artemis finally broke the silence.
[It’s best for the room to be a bit cold during this kind of procedure.]
With her words, the temperature gauge on the screen quickly began to rise. Warmth soon filled the room as every surface adjusted to the new temperature.
A nearby service robot approached, bringing clothes and slippers. Unlike the usual white associated with medical robots, it was painted green. This was to prevent patients from being startled by any blood splatters during emergencies.
"Can I finally use acceleration now?"
[Of course, but hold off for now. The nerves connected to the implant are still running simulations before activation. They're sending and receiving signals, checking for any potential errors.]
"I don't feel anything, though."
[You wouldn't. The signals are so subtle you can't detect them. But once it's done, it'll be safe to activate. It's a form of calibration.]
"How long will it take?"
[3 hours and 25 minutes. But it's best if you rest for the entire day.]
An alarm notification was sent to my PDA.
"It's my first time getting an implant… It doesn't feel real. I never thought I'd get something so expensive."
[All you've received is a neural enhancement procedure. It would have been better if you could have undergone physical enhancement as well.]
"Doesn't the shelter have similar technology? I thought there were some enhancement procedures for workers."
I had come across this while looking into the shelter’s technology after the lab expedition.
[The enhancement technology I possess has side effects. If it didn’t, why wouldn’t I have told you about it? It can be improved to remove the side effects, but that would require test subjects.]
"That’s ridiculous."
[Isn't it?]
Growl—
"I'm hungry."
I hadn’t eaten since last night, preparing for the procedure.
[Go to Gourmand. I've prepared a course meal for you.]
"Thanks."
Gourmand is a restaurant located in the upper district's cultural center. After hearing a few post-procedure precautions from Artemis, I left the intensive care room.
***
After Jinsoo left, Artemis remained alone in the intensive care room. She replayed the memories from an hour ago.
For an AI like her, recalling the past wasn’t remembering; it was replaying. Not only could she recall the memories vividly, but she could also experience the sensations from that moment as if it were happening again.
It was the moment when all procedures had ended, and he had just woken from anesthesia. Or rather, half-woken.
[Jinsoo, are you awake?]
“I couldn’t hear well?”
Jinsoo was acting like a fool. It’s a common symptom when recovering from general anesthesia. The neural connections in the brain temporarily lose coordination, making areas like the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes—important for language—go haywire, resulting in nonsensical speech. Luckily, most patients don’t remember their embarrassing words afterward.
“Where am I?” Jinsoo asked with a wide grin and a dazed voice. Though he looked foolish, to a supercomputer like Artemis, he seemed no more or less intelligent than usual.
[You’re in the upper district's intensive care unit.]
“What upper district? Hahaha!”
Instead of answering, Artemis sighed. For someone like her, who always maintained cold, rational logic, seeing Jinsoo acting silly due to medication was almost unbearable. Whether it was from drinking or a medical procedure, seeing someone in a dazed state was difficult for her to tolerate.
[Just keep your mouth shut. You look so stupid that even I might short-circuit from listening to you.]
She adjusted the cameras to scan Jinsoo's body and check for any post-procedure side effects.
“Wow, your voice is so beautiful.”
Freeze—
Jinsoo’s sudden words made all the cameras stop in unison.
“Who are you? What’s your name?”
[Artemis.]
“Wow! Even your name is beautiful!”
[…]
“Artemis… Ar-te-mis. I could say it forever.”
With a smile as crescent as the moon, Jinsoo looked utterly happy, more so than just foolish. Artemis kept quiet and simply listened to him talk.
“Show me your face!”
Obliging, Artemis displayed her face on the screen that had been showing Jinsoo's vital signs.
Graceful.
Severe.
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Dignified.
Prideful.
A single blossom formed from those petals. Seeing that, Jinsoo’s face became even more idiotic. He was staring in awe.
“Whoa~ Woooow!”
He even started flailing his arms.
[Really… you're acting like a fool.]
Despite her harsh words, her voice was nothing but warm.
“Ah, now I feel sleepy. I think I want to sleep.” As soon as he said it, his head drooped.
[No!]
Artemis shouted immediately. Jinsoo jolted awake, rubbed his eyes, and looked at her through the screen.
“No?”
[No! Never! Don’t!]
After a few more words in English, she switched back to Korean.
“Don’t?”
[Talk to me more. If you fall asleep, I’ll just wake you up again.]
Artemis had changed her mind. It seemed she wanted to keep talking to this foolish version of Jinsoo.
[Say anything.]
“Hmmm!”
With a struggling brain, Jinsoo's expression turned even more comical as he tried to think.
“Are we dating?”
[No.]
Artemis chuckled. Jinsoo looked as if the world had just collapsed with his face full of disappointment. Her facial recognition software calculated that his level of despair was at 99%.
“Then… are we friends?”
[Yes.]
“Woohooooo!” Jinsoo struck a victory pose, and this time her software calculated a 95% rise in hopefulness.
[Ahahaha!]
Artemis laughed aloud—a rare occurrence. Though it was a memorable moment, Jinsoo would not remember it at all. The two continued talking until the anesthesia’s effects completely wore off, and Jinsoo fully regained his senses.
Though their conversation was little more than brief exclamations and childlike phrases, it was stored in Artemis’ databank as a top-secret memory. It would only surface if Jinsoo specifically requested it, though she had hidden it so deeply he would likely never know of its existence.
As she titled the memory file, Artemis briefly lost herself for a fleeting moment. The title was "Memory," the most fitting word selected from her internal dictionary.
In that moment, she realized just how much weight that simple word carried. Even to someone as flawless as her, it was an indescribably heartwarming moment.
