Ex-Machina on a Dimensional Journey

That was the ATM machines that always spawned in all kinds of alleyways!

Before crossing over, Xiu Er had also been someone who enjoyed reading novels. Fictional character merchandise

He had read so many transmigration stories, yet never expected that one day, he would be the one to transmigrate.

As for using the Ex-Machina' abilities to rob a bank, haha, forget it. Xiu Er still thought of himself as a law-abiding good citizen.

He could bully bad guys at most. Unless necessary, he really did not want to rob a bank.

Having power did not mean he could act lawlessly. That kind of thinking would not do.

Using his radar functions, he soon found some punks carrying out a robbery while deliberately wandering around.

Only, he was not the victim.

Honestly, any normal person who saw Xiu Er's appearance would not dare approach him on their own, right?

So in reality, Xiu Er had specifically used the convenience of his body's functions to hunt for "prey."

"Hey! Kid!"

"Eek! Wh... what is it!"

A bespectacled, unlucky student was cornered against the wall of an alley by several punks.

"Us brothers have been a little short on cash lately. Mind lending us some?"

As he spoke, the yellow-haired leader rubbed his index finger and thumb together, making his meaning clear with a gesture.

"O-Okay, okay! I'll take it out right away! Please don't get impatient!"

Afraid they would get angry and start hitting him, the student hurriedly pulled his living expenses from his backpack.

Waaah... I'm never taking shortcuts again.

I'll just treat this as paying for a lesson.

"Pretty sensible, huh."

"Hahahaha."

The punks were unexpectedly reasonable. After handing over his living expenses, the student was allowed to leave.

"Not bad. Looks like he came from a wealthy family, giving him so much spending money."

The yellow-haired punk happily counted the cash.

"Hey, you guys in the back, let's go."

"B-B-B-Boss..."

"Huh? What kind of expression is that?"

The yellow-haired punk saw the lackey in front of him staring behind him with a terrified expression, stammering so badly he could not form a complete sentence.

Come to think of it, he had not heard the other lackeys behind him for a while.

"Tch, look at you. I'm telling you, if there's nothing behind me, you're dead."

Then, refusing to believe it, the yellow-haired punk turned around.

What entered his sight was a lifeless, expressionless face covered in mechanical structures.

Its camera-like eyes glimmered faintly as that emotionless gaze stared directly at him.

Xiu Er emerged from the alley wearing an oversized coat.

The loose outerwear wrapped around his entire body, concealing all of his mechanical structures beneath it. Once he pulled up the hood, all of his inhuman traits were hidden.

"What kind people. I only wanted to borrow some money, but they handed over everything they had without a word. They even gave me a piece of clothing."

After Xiu Er had a "friendly" exchange with the punks, they had been deeply moved and offered up their money. By connecting his "tail" to a punk's phone, he instantly opened a bank account in this world and transferred the punks' money into it.

Thank you, little punks.

"Mm, but I should go buy some new clothes first."

Just by wearing it, Xiu Er's olfactory system could smell the original owner's scent on the clothes.

How long had this guy gone without bathing? No, he needed to change out of this quickly.

Fortunately, the Ex-Machina' body came fully equipped with everything except stain resistance. As long as he changed clothes, he could immediately return to fresh air...

Mm...

"No, wait. I'm a Ex-Machina now. Can't I just construct clothes on the spot?"

Xiu Er suddenly slapped his forehead and complained about his mindset, which had yet to fully adapt.

He then returned to the alley, took off his clothes, and tossed them beside the punks he had knocked unconscious earlier. After using his abilities to replicate their clothes exactly, he finally left the alley.

My name was Itsuka Shido.

I had originally been an ordinary high school student. Before the Spatial Tremor arrived, I was supposed to enter the underground shelter with my classmates.

But when I anxiously checked my phone, I saw information that nearly made my world collapse.

My adorable little sister, Kotori, was shown by her phone's location tracker to be within the Spatial Tremor zone.

Because of that, I ignored my teacher's shouts, ran out of school, and went to find her.

Just as I rushed toward the location with all my strength, the Spatial Tremor struck.

Fortunately, I was not seriously injured.

But when I looked up and saw that figure, I had no idea what it was.

A purple-haired girl in purple armor stood solemnly within a crater caused by the Spatial Tremor.

She turned to look in my direction, and our gazes met.

But at the instant our eyes met, another figure appeared.

Like an Angel, she silently descended onto the ruins behind the armored girl.

The armored girl seemed to notice something and immediately turned to look at the newcomer.

Her body, completely uncovered by clothing, was exposed for everyone to see. Mechanical structures covered her from head to toe, and her lifeless face made her inhuman identity obvious.

Her long blue-purple hair spread around her, while the circular mechanical construct above her head projected a perfectly shaped ring, like an Angel—or rather, a mechanical Angel.

Her emotionless eyes gave off a faint light when she spotted the purple-armored girl. The two stood atop the ruins, staring at each other.

Until the purple-armored girl raised her Greatsword and asked her a question.

After that, I had no memory. The attack they unleashed the moment they clashed caused the ruins to collapse further.

I was also struck down and knocked unconscious by fragments of the buildings.

Until...

"Ah!"

Itsuka Shido jolted upright in bed.

"Was it a dream?"

He looked at his hands and recalled that unreal experience. Only a dream could explain it all.

Unfortunately, someone mercilessly pulled Shido back into reality.

"That wasn't a dream."

"Huh?"

Only after hearing someone answer him did Shido realize that a stranger was sitting beside him.

Everyone's Reactions aboard the Fraxinus

Inside a café.

Xiu Er sat in a corner with fewer people near the computers. After casually ordering a drink, he leaned against the window, propping up his face as he observed the scenery outside.

He had already changed into a new outfit. His overall appearance somewhat resembled Schwi from No Game No Life. It had to be said that the oversized hoodie perfectly covered all his mechanical parts.

His lower half was dressed in simple men's trousers. As for shoes, Xiu Er did not need to buy any, since the machinery on his legs conveniently served as boots.

Not to mention anything else, the Ex-Machina did not have gender at all, right?

They simply did not have those functions. Whether male or female, Xiu Er could now be called genderless.

Still, that pretty face made him look exactly like an adorable little girl, and his height of 1.55 meters only emphasized his overall cuteness.

"Tch."

Thinking of that, Xiu Er clicked his tongue in annoyance.

As for why he was here...

Within a blind spot that no one could see, a tube extended from beneath Xiu Er's clothes and plugged into the network port on the wall beside his seat.

That was the Ex-Machina' "tail," which could also be understood as a kind of "data cable." It normally had many functions. Right now, Xiu Er was using this network cable to connect to the café's network, and through it, the entire country's network.

So, to be precise, Xiu Er appeared to be blankly staring out the window, but he was actually surfing the internet.

"The punks didn't have much money on them."

Calculating his remaining funds, Xiu Er estimated that although his clothes had been constructed and cost nothing, the money he had obtained from those guys had not been much to begin with.

Fortunately, he did not need a phone at all.

After connecting to the network, Xiu Er had already completed an analysis of this country's network.

Anything a phone could do, he could do. Anything a phone could not do, he could still do.

There was no need to waste extra money.

As for survival.

With his nearly limitless energy, he did not need food or drink at all, and the Ex-Machina' body did not require maintenance either.

He had no so-called necessary daily expenses whatsoever.

This was awesome!

"Still, I should consider finding some legal work to make money later."

Robbing punks was merely an emergency measure. Although becoming a Ex-Machina had caused most of his "desires" to nearly vanish, leaving him with little need for money, he still needed to try eating something delicious to maintain his rapidly fading appetite.

Otherwise, if he remained free of desires for too long, it would be very easy to lose his humanity.

Before this, the only thing driving him to act had been his "desire to survive."

Dimensional Device charging... 20%

The Dimensional Device was what Xiu Er needed to travel between worlds. It was something the system had added to the Receiver above his head after merging with him.

From the looks of it, every journey probably consumed all of its energy.

But its charging speed was quite fast. It had not even been a full day yet.

Mm, it also consumed energy quickly. One use drained the full 100%.

"But it really happened, just like those novels I used to read. I transmigrated into a two-dimensional world." Fictional character merchandise

If he were not still sitting here, surfing the internet as a Ex-Machina, Xiu Er would have thought he was dreaming.

The weapon he had just obtained was still stored in his database: Gokurokugai, acquired from Tohka. Though it was a Pseudo-Codex, it also told Xiu Er that the other Spirits' Angels could likely be copied as well.

He currently had no ability to disguise the mechanical parts of his body. Relying solely on clothing to conceal them could never guarantee that he would not be exposed.

Was there an Angel that could alter one's appearance?

The answer was yes.

Natsumi Kyouno, one of the Spirits from Date A Live.

Her Angel, Fake Demoness, possessed the ability to transform living beings or inanimate objects. Her Angel could also transform into the Angels of several other Spirits, though their functions were inferior to the originals.

What Xiu Er had his eye on was Natsumi's ability to transform. In the original story, she had relied on her Angel to turn herself into a voluptuous mature woman.