Chapter 2: This Is Honestly Inedible

"I screwed up."

Let me tell it to you straight, exactly as it happened.

I managed to backtrack from Dustopia through the disposal chutes and made it into the slums, which was fine—until I was spotted and had to bolt. I was chased by what felt like the entire town, and while I successfully reached the outskirts, my damaged thrusters misfired. Now, I’m left dangling in mid-air, one leg snagged in a security net.

If that mob finds me like this, I’m finished. See, a Phantasm Girl’s body is a literal gold mine. If someone scraps me and sells the parts, they’d become the richest person in the district overnight. That’s a much bigger payday than the pittance the government offers for turning one in.

"Ta-da! Burner cutter."

I’m incredibly lucky they didn't strip my armaments before tossing me in the trash.

Even though I’m just a mass-produced model, I’m fresh off a maintenance cycle. I channel my excess power into a maneuver my old human body could never have pulled off and slice through the ropes—

"Ghk—! Oof... urgh!"

Gravity takes over. I plummet, bouncing off various surfaces until I finally come to a halt. I drag myself up, battered and bruised.

"It should be... somewhere around here."

There’s supposed to be an elevator leading to the surface.

Most of the information about this world is stored in my memory banks. Since I’m part of the original Lica Series, No. A, I still have access to data that has long since been deleted from the newer models. One of those secrets is this decommissioned elevator. It uses "Crown" hyper-technology, which allows for high-speed pseudo-teleportation by projecting the user's body as digital data.

"Is this it?"

I dig out the mechanism, which had been carefully hidden to prevent scavengers from stripping the parts, and begin reconnecting the cables.

"Good thing I have maintenance protocols pre-programmed into my head."

I manage to fix the major issues, but one massive problem remains.

"Oh, boy. The electronic crystal is tapped out."

The last time this was used was over a decade ago. The energy must have bled off over the years.

"Maybe I can get one more jump out of it if I reseat it? Like slapping batteries in a remote."

The catch is that this elevator won't take me back down.

"Well, I’ll figure it out. I’m out of time anyway."

I jam the electronic crystal back in and hit the switch.

"Whoa..."

For the first time since being reincarnated, I feel the sensation of weightlessness. There's a sharp crack of static, and then—

The sun was setting.

I stepped out into the beautiful, cruel light of the setting sun on the surface.

"This is miserable."

I’m huddled in a vintage trench, shivering under a raw hide I’ve draped over my head to steady myself.

Tonight’s dinner is the raw meat of a Blighted Beast. It’s a high-risk delicacy riddled with radiation and various pathogens. Truly, a dish to be enjoyed exactly as nature intended.

Naturally, I avoid the fatty bits and the organs. I scrape the meat down as thin as possible, soak it in disinfectant for a few hours, and then dig in.

"Hgggk—!"

The chemical stench is overwhelming. My internal sensors scream at me, flagging the dangerous toxins that the disinfectant couldn't reach.

"I’d love to at least cook this over a fire, but..."

Light and smoke attract monsters. For now, I have to endure.

"Wait—!"

Ooh boy... this sudden, sharp headache and nausea? That’s definitely a Sabbath Virus mutation. The muscle tremors, the jolts of pain, and the blurred vision? That’s the Electric Plague. And the sudden rush of euphoria, sleepiness, and fever? That’ll be the Dreamweaver Fever.

"Urgh! Phew... close one. Luckily, Elix covers all of those."

Confirming the symptoms, I pull a tablet from my chest pocket and crunch it like a piece of candy. I swallow it past a throat raw from coughing up blood and brace myself against the cold sweats and chills racking my body.

"Stay calm. Trust the Phantasm Girl antibodies. Trust the Elix."

Elix is a panacea. It can eradicate almost any virus. In surface combat, if you have to drink raw water, dissolving a crushed Elix tablet into it will kill 98% of pathogens. That remaining 2% is terrifying, but I have no choice but to push forward.

"Alright. My best chance is to move at night when the Blighted Beasts are less active. To be honest, if you come to the surface without a plan, the radiation will kill you in less than three days."

I pull out a toolbox I swiped from the elevator base and start tinkering with my damaged leg while planning my next move.

My goal is the original Phantasm Girl factory, which players discovered in the 14th sub-event: "To Whom Does the Sky Belong?" Like most gacha games, the main map doesn't show the exact coordinates, but the official lore book said to head straight after taking the elevator from Space D: Plant 3.

Right now, I’ve moved south from Plant 2 and arrived at the upper level of Plant 3. If everything goes well, I should reach the factory by tomorrow night.

"Ow... my core is starting to melt. No wonder it hurts."

I strip out the ruined components and rearrange the rest so I can at least maintain basic mobility.

"Alright. Let's move!"