"Hey, see that plot over there? We're putting up an office building there. We plan to finish in about a year and a half. Right now, we're digging the foundations."
"Oh."
"And those smaller buildings over there are mostly finished. We just need to add another floor, and they'll be done."
"Mm."
"And over there..."
Koleda led the three brothers around the construction site. Not knowing what to say to them, she simply introduced whatever they passed, occasionally greeting some of the longtime workers on the site.
Red One was so bored he wanted to yawn, though he couldn't. He walked with both hands behind his head.
Blue Two was messaging people on his phone, but after leaving Grace a few messages and getting no reply, he started chatting with someone else.
As for Yellow Three, he simply followed along and listened. He didn't find it boring, but he didn't find it particularly interesting either.
In less than half an hour, Koleda had already gotten used to them. She'd originally thought that whoever TOPS sent would at least be calculating businesspeople who picked apart her company's operations.
But instead...
"President Koleda, would you mind telling us if your sister has any hobbies or interests?"
Red One lowered himself and suddenly leaned in beside Koleda to ask.
From what they'd said earlier, she could tell their actual job was probably being some sort of incompetent bodyguards, and that they'd likely come here on an assignment.
She didn't know whether that assignment was purely to invest, but even if they'd come to inspect the place for work, what kind of inspector asked that?!!
And he was such a flippant, lecherous construct who wouldn't listen to a word she said-and there were two more like him!!!
Koleda glanced back at Red One, then at the other two crowding up behind him. Having given up on trying to set them straight, she answered briefly:
"There's nothing secret about that. Grace's biggest hobby is studying machinery, but she really, really loves it."
Red One nodded in understanding.
So I'm right in her area of interest. That makes things easy. Trading a tiny bit of unimportant technology for a photo together should be a breeze!
Blue Two said, "Then may I ask, is there anything else she's interested in?"
Koleda carefully thought back before answering:
"Things she's interested in... there are quite a few. Maybe hearing about them will put those naive ideas of yours to rest."
Red, Blue, and Yellow: irrelevant statements automatically filtered out.
Yellow Three said, "What kind?"
Red One said, "What are they? What are they?"
Koleda gathered her words, planning to exaggerate Grace's proclivities in what she said next. Ideally, she'd paint her as a great demon who dismantled every machine in sight.
"Ahem, I'll have to give you a proper description of-"
But before Koleda could finish, they heard a noisy commotion nearby, drawing closer and closer.
Blue Two said, "What's going on over there?"
Red One said, "Hiss... sounds like demolition work!"
Yellow Three said, "Confused."
"No way..."
The three turned their eyes back to Koleda, who was staring in that direction. The commotion had erupted right where Grace parked her "intelligent heavy construction machinery for Hollow use."
Koleda had already more or less guessed what was happening. Her expression was as indescribable as if she'd swallowed a mouthful of shit.
"Of all times-again, Grace!!!"
The three watched Koleda stamp her feet in fury, then answer an incoming call.
"Oh no, a machine's gone out of control!"
"What? Out of control again?! Wait, isn't that big thing a tunneling machine? How did it go out of control?!"
"Forget that! Run! It's coming right at us!"
The workers scattered in every direction, trying to get away from the out-of-control tunneling machine at the center of the scene.
The tunneling machine was now like a raging bull gone berserk, charging about wildly.
On the front of its base, the screen normally used to display digital expressions flickered chaotically with red and white pixels.
Its seemingly huge, cumbersome mechanical body moved violently, with agility and fluidity that defied its mechanical appearance.
Devices inside its thick mechanical limbs allowed its feet to glide along flat ground, and each foot had enough horsepower to launch it several stories into the air from a standstill.
But most formidable of all was the huge, thick, hard, powerful 1,400-kilogram demolition saw mounted on it.
Though its listed weight was only about 1.4 tons, this demolition saw worked like a chainsaw, except its thickness was measured in meters, and its blade was replaced with track-like saw teeth.
Combined with its considerable rotational speed, the power that let it demolish buildings with ease would make even a glancing touch fatal to a person.
Screee-clang!!!
The tunneling machine rammed its demolition saw into a truck, which let out a metallic groan as the saw tore into it.
In mere moments, the tunneling machine pinned the truck against a wall and crushed it from cab to cargo bed, grinding it into scrap metal scattered across the ground.
Punching through wasn't enough. It smashed the wall to pieces as well, then kept moving.
A temporary dormitory area lay directly in its path. Fortunately, all the workers there had been evacuated, but one person was still holding his ground...
"Let's go, bro!"
A figure leaped from above the dormitories, landing in the tunneling machine's path.
The powered impact hammer mounted on his right forearm rattled at high frequency, its drill bit flashing constantly with electricity.
"Together!!!"
With a furious roar, Anton swung the impact hammer on his right arm into a savage collision with the tunneling machine's demolition saw.
Electricity and sparks instantly sprayed between them as the tunneling machine pushed Anton backward, his feet sliding across the ground.
Just as he was about to be pushed to the edge of the dormitory building, Anton mustered his strength, lifted one foot, and stamped it down behind him.
In an instant, he became like an anchored post, forcing the speeding tunneling machine to a halt.
Anton took another step forward and braced his right-hand impact hammer with his left hand, gathering his strength.
"Haaaaaah!!"
With his furious roar, the impact hammer, which weighed not even a fraction as much as the demolition saw, drove the saw upward.
The tremendous force flung the demolition saw upward and tilted the tunneling machine backward, forcing it to stagger back several steps.
Anton shook out his somewhat numb right hand. The drill bit of his impact hammer glowed red-hot.
"This tunneling machine's really got some muscle. It's got me and my bro fired up!"
Anton took a fighting stance.
"Come on, then! We can do this all day!!!"
Only then did Big Ben arrive, carrying his pillar-like weapon.
"Oh no! My children, how could they..."
Grace stared in shock at her workshop, which now had a huge hole in it. The three heavy machines previously parked inside were gone.
She'd only gone to the restroom, but when she returned, she happened to see the three children whose programs she'd just updated burst through the wall.
She'd tried to stop them, but couldn't. They'd scattered and run off.
With no time to think further, she hurriedly grabbed her battery grenades and terminal, dialed Koleda's number, and picked a direction to give chase.
She was terrified that if she arrived too late, those three children would cause some irreparable disaster.