R.P.M. nurtures tens of thousands of androids across a single generation.
Among them, only the elite—roughly 1% of the total—are selected to join the ‘5th Unit,’ also known as the Elite Unit.
It was an honor as rare as it was prestigious.
Bang! Bang!
The members of the Elite Unit are the ultimate Earth Reclamation Team, embodying the strengths of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Units combined.
Serika, too, was one such elite of the 5th Unit.
Her exceptional talent for engineering certainly played a part.
Recently, she had single-handedly restored an abandoned manufacturing facility on Earth—a tuna can factory named ‘Dongwon.’
A genius among geniuses.
The guardian of humanity.
The goddess of victory.
She was certain she would become R.P.M.’s most trusted and celebrated hero.
That was why she refused to share this achievement with others, silently continuing her work alone.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Just what are these things?!”
Now, she was flustered—uncharacteristically so for a genius.
Back when Serika was part of R.P.M., her admission into the 5th Unit wasn’t actually due to her engineering skills.
Frankly, R.P.M. had little interest in her technical talents.
For androids, the only thing that truly mattered was ‘exterminating the aberrant lifeforms.’
R.P.M.’s training principles were clear:
No matter how exceptional a talent was, if it wasn’t combat-related, it was ignored.
In that regard, Serika wasn’t just skilled at handling machinery—she possessed something far more crucial.
Her marksmanship was nothing short of legendary.
Huu…!
It wasn’t just about being a good shot.
The Elite Unit wasn’t a place one could enter simply by being decent at shooting.
Serika had earned her place as the top-ranked among the 5th-generation androids—162 in total—because her bullets carried something divine.
Her sniping transcended R.P.M.’s training system.
Twang!
Her bullets moved as if alive.
Ting.
Ting.
No matter where she aimed, her bullets ricocheted with calculated precision, always hitting their mark.
That was Serika’s bullets—rounds that seemed almost sentient.
The moment before she pulled the trigger, every possible ricochet path became vividly clear to her.
She had taken down countless aberrant lifeforms with these inescapable shots.
Recently, she had even defeated a ‘Night-class’—the highest known rank of aberrant lifeforms—solo.
That was how good she was.
And yet, these nobodies dared to steal her food.
They were androids from lesser units, insignificant compared to her.
Since they had provoked her first, she had approached this with a light heart.
But within just five minutes, her confident smirk had vanished.
Clang.
Clang.
“?! They deflected it again?”
She had lost count of how many shots she’d fired.
At first, she had aimed for non-lethal areas like legs or elbows, just to intimidate them.
But they dodged effortlessly.
Now, they were even deflecting her ricocheting bullets—bullets that followed unpredictable trajectories.
Worse, they had pinpointed her sniping position and were advancing toward her.
A white-haired android.
Though still kilometers away, its reflexes and combat instincts were absurdly advanced.
It didn’t matter if she was from the Elite Unit—this was beyond shocking.
“Who is that? Someone at that level… There’s no way I wouldn’t know them!”
‘Could it be an android from a later deployment to Earth?’
But if so, that made even less sense.
‘I’ve only been on Earth for a little over a year, and the one below me has barely three months of experience.’
‘Can someone really become that strong with such a short amount of experience?’
‘This growth rate is impossible.’
‘If she were a famous ‘rookie’ from R.P.M., I would’ve recognized her face through the ‘TT Network’ by now.’
Conclusion:
‘I have no idea.’
‘Who she is, why she’s so strong—it’s all a mystery.’
Then, another possibility flashes through Serika’s mind.
‘A very slim chance, but what if she’s one of those who even designate their own kind as targets for elimination?’
‘If she’s an android who has ‘betrayed’ humanity… then this whole situation makes perfect sense.’
“Nearly unknown in terms of recognition, yet as strong as an elite unit member… There’s no other explanation. You traitor!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
‘That’s right.’
‘She’s undoubtedly a traitor.’
A corrupted being who abandoned her duty to protect humanity and gained power in exchange.
As Serika thinks this, a dark flame flickers in her amethyst eyes.
It’s a signal that there’s no need to hold back anymore.
This is no longer a playful WWE brawl—it’s a life-or-death UFC fight.
[Drone system activated.]
[Drone Capignan. Deployment complete.]
“Good. You surround her and rain missiles down. Meanwhile, I’ll prepare the ‘Anti-Monster Special Rounds.'”
[Understood.]
As Serika calls for it, light shimmers in the air, materializing a cat-shaped holographic drone.
It’s a close-combat support drone issued exclusively to R.P.M.’s elite units to compensate for snipers’ close-range weaknesses.
Serika named it ‘Capignan’ to suit her taste.
[Target is out of effective range. Accuracy will drop drastically. Proceed anyway?]
“Doesn’t matter. Just buy me time.”
Until now, she’d used standard rounds meant for capture.
But now that she knows her opponent is a ‘villain,’ she’ll hunt her down like a monster—with lethal intent.
Capignan begins launching missiles toward Levi, far beyond effective range.
Most miss, slamming into nearby buildings and kicking up dust clouds.
But.
Click.
That was exactly Serika’s plan.
‘She won’t notice the change in my ammunition amid the chaos.’
A moment of carelessness.
Exploiting that gap to deliver a fatal strike—that’s a sniper’s duty.
Visualizing the silver-haired android flustered by the sudden barrage, Serika loads a new special round:
An ‘EMP Round’ to disable her rechargeable blades first.
***
The next moment—
…Creak.
“Huh?”
Distracted by Levi, Serika hadn’t noticed her own vulnerability.
…Creak. Creak.
“…! Footsteps?”
The sound grows closer, creeping toward the rooftop of her abandoned building.
“Wait… wasn’t she with someone earlier?”
Now that she thinks about it, when she first spotted the silver-haired android through her scope, there’d been another faint silhouette behind her.
But once the fight began, Levi’s overwhelming presence made her forget.
A fatal oversight.
“Dammit! I’m not the only one hunting for weaknesses!”
Serika immediately tears her gaze from Levi.
Still shouldering her rifle, she spins around.
Her barrel now points at the building’s sole staircase entrance.
Judging by the footsteps, the enemy is about two floors below.
Meaning she needs to eliminate this threat first.
‘Idiot. If you’re sneaking up, hide your footsteps.’
‘Or did they rush here in a panic, worried about their ‘comrade’?’
Either way, the ambush fails the moment they’re detected.
Worse, Serika’s already counter-ambushing with a ‘counter-counter’ stance—a flawless response.
The battle’s already decided.
This is the skill of a top-tier elite sniper:
5th-gen Android, 162nd batch, R.P.M. valedictorian—Serika of the 5th Unit.
“That’s right—me! Serika!”
“…!”
“Hah. Fell for your own trap, didn’t you? Now I’ll put a hole in that pretty head of—…Huh?!”
Click. Click.
The footsteps halt right in front of her.
Serika smirks, ready to ventilate the traitor’s face.
But—
The figure before her is far bulkier than any android.
And most importantly—
The moment she locks eyes with him, not her, Android ‘Prime Directive Zero’ activates.
Her trigger finger goes limp.
Warning messages flood her vision.
[Danger! Danger!]
[Hostile intent detected toward a ‘human’ target.]
[R.P.M. Prime Directive Zero enforced. All privileges revoked. Initiating forced shutdown sequence…]
“Eh… Ehh…?”
[Codename: P859JSAO294ED.]
[Android—Serika. Time until shutdown: 4 minutes 59 seconds.]
[To cancel shutdown, obtain permission from the human in question.]
“Eeeeeeek?!”
In an instant, she’s demoted from elite unit member to a criminal facing shutdown.
A punishment even traitors who hunt their own kind don’t receive.
The shock makes Serika’s vision swim.
And standing before her is…
A human ‘sir’ she’s never seen before.
Now, there’s only one thing left to do:
“S-s-sir…!”
“Hm?”
“I’ve committed a capital offense, Sir!”
To reclaim her honor—no, to survive—she must appease him at all costs.
“I-I’ve never seen a real human before… A-anything! I’ll do anything! Please forgive me!”
“…Anything?”