Yoku and Adam were in the same hotel room when Yoku suddenly shouted,
"Wait, what!?" He raised his face, grinning. "Finally, after all this time… we've finally solved our problems. Resources! That was a good catch, Adam."
Yoku patted Adam's head, which made Adam think to himself,
"Where would we even process the iron ore and metals?"
"Oh, don't worry," Yoku replied, already moving. "I found something good. Follow me!"
They ran toward the town outside. Adam's cat jumped and landed on his head.
Yoku looked up at the cat and smiled. "He's taken a liking to you."
Adam sighed, but smiled too. It had been so long since he had a pet.
"Yeah… I guess."
The sound of the two youngsters' footsteps echoed, catching the attention of nearby robots. Yuri noticed them, smiled, and ran after them like an excited kid.
"Hey, wait for me!" she shouted in a high voice. "Where are you two going?"
Adam noticed her, as did Yoku.
"I'm following Yoku," Adam said. "He said he's gonna show something great…"
Yoku smirked.
"While Adam was working, I created something on my own. I thought I wasn't being helpful… so—"
They ran down stone stairs, toward a steep hill, where they arrived at a small hut.
"I made us a workstation!"
Yuri blinked. "Us…?" She smiled, touched that he included her. But deep inside, she wondered—was she truly part of the group?
They stepped inside. A complete workstation was laid out: a refinery, forge, anvils, and tons of tools—hammers, clamps, and all kinds of gadgets. It was old… but it seems yoku did a great ton of things to clean them all
Yoku looked so proud.
Adam, dumbfounded, thought, How the heck?
Did he really build this in just two weeks? He was even in debt… how did he afford all this?
Adam sighed. Damn geniuses.
Then Yoku turned to him and pointed with his gloved hand.
"I was wondering where we'd get our resources. That's where you come in. So… where's that mine you mentioned?"
Adam pulled out a map. "This," he said, showing the one given by the strange man.
Yuri stared at it in disbelief.
"Wait, and Simon actually gave you permission? That Simon? Wow…"
"Yeah, but… this is gonna take a lot of work."
SILENCE.
Then Yuri broke it. "Hehe, that's where I come in. I'll tell my people to help you get the resources."
Yoku crossed his arms. "No way. We're not gonna stay here for a whole decade just trying to pay off your debt."
"I—" she looked at Adam. "It's free. I want to come with you…"
…
"I want to explore. I want to know what's out there. And I know this is selfish, given that the island is deteriorating… but I just… want to."
The two boys were silent.
"Well… you could've just said that," Yoku mumbled.
Adam smiled. He was happy someone else was joining their adventure. And this girl… what did she even do to make a business this successful?
"Sure," he said, "but I don't think it's a good idea… as a business plan, I mean—to beg."
Yuri giggled. "Y-yeah… Then I'll call my people! Wait here!"
She rushed outside the workshop.
Yoku and Adam were left alone.
"Haah… that was something." Yoku smirked. "Well, this is great—a person who thinks and doesn't eat. I wish I was like that."
He was talking to the droid.
"How long do they live?"
Adam looked over. Was Yoku still hung up on the idea of dying from old age?
"I don't know."
Then Adam had a thought. Was he always like this? Like Yuri—feeling like you're not part of the group? Feeling like you're just… an extra? How stupid is that…
Adam turned to him.
"Are we friends, Yoku?"
Damn, that was a stupid question…
He thought of Isshi, of Yuri, the old man, and that weird man… Just meeting them made me want to be friends.
He felt embarrassed. What does it even mean to be friends?
Yoku was confused. "That's a weird question… If you mean comrades, then yes."
Adam laughed awkwardly. "Haha… okay. I'm going outside."
He ran out, following where Yuri had gone.
Later, Yuri returned and deployed a squad of robots using her equipment to extract materials from the mine. On the worktable, a note lay about someone missing: a man with a hat and long straight shoes…
Simon.
He'd been missing for days.
Adam sighed. Did he escape or something?
It felt strange—being with someone who suddenly disappeared from town.
Was he valuable? Are robots valuable?
They can be replaced… right? Is it wrong to think like that?
He sighed again.
A couple of days passed as the materials were extracted from the cave. Yoku eventually managed to refine them into proper tool shapes.
Adam sat on a bench outside the town hall—a robot-run town hall—his cat still perched on his head. He looked back on everything: near-death moments, the strangeness of this world, how far they'd come.
Staying here forever? That's stupid.
I still want to survive. And even if I stayed, this place is already deteriorating.
A robot—Yuri—sat beside him, teasing,
"Oh, you're here again?"
Adam looked at her. "I'm just thinking about things."
"About what?"
"About wanting to continue…"
Yuri was shocked.
"What? No, no! You have to."
…
Silence.
Then she said,
"You know, we were programmed to stay on this island and maintain it our whole lives. That was the rule the doctor gave us. And I don't know why I want to leave… I guess it's a bug."
"A bug?" Adam echoed.
He remembered something—a deviation in an organism that causes it to act differently than it's supposed to… like evolution?
" I.."
She stood up suddenly.
"I'm gonna do something!"
And she ran away