160: What can be assembled? ※

This story is told from Vee's perspective.

"Let's start with checking the room."

Sata says this, then closes her eyes and begins concentrating.

At the same time, so subtly that it would be impossible for anyone else to notice, I can perceive the faint changes occurring in the room—changes so minor that only someone like me, fully leveraging the enhancements from mods, and who has observed them countless times up close, could possibly detect them.

"Satu. Please explain the current situation at your convenience, within your available time. There might be ways we can support you, depending on the circumstances."

"Got it. Right now... I'm checking the shield mod and material reinforcement mod installed in this room. Uh, Memoqui, could you calculate how much physical projectile impact this material reinforcement mod can withstand?"

"Understood. There are too many variables to give an exact number, but I'll calculate it anyway."

Satou seems to be checking the room's safety.

Calculating such things... indeed, that's Memoqui's specialty.

"There are no abnormalities with the room's mod. At least, based on its current configuration, it won't suddenly vanish. If it were to disappear, it would likely be due to being switched off or losing power."

"Then, just to be safe, I'll check if there are any wires or switches set up at my place."

"Can you actually do that?"

"I'm a slime, so no problem at all."

For now, the mod configuration seems to be in good order.

If Satu, who knows the most about mods among us, says it's fine, then it must be correct.

And if Joharis is the one doing the investigation, he'll undoubtedly be able to assess the general mechanisms.

"Satu-sama, the calculations are complete. This isn't a wall that could be overcome simply by increasing the gunpowder. If you want to break this with an old-style rifle, I believe some kind of mod will be necessary."

"I see. So if there's a mechanism in place, it's either the bullet or the rifle itself. Vee, how long will the physical examination take?"

Given the incident from earlier, it should be extremely secure. I just confirmed—several people have already been seized.

Now that things have come to this, the only way I can assist Satu is by clarifying the rules and how the competition is being run.

Let's use noble influence to verify what we can confirm.

"In the traditional rifle race, it's a rule that players aren't allowed to use mods beyond what's absolutely necessary. Both the organizers and the competitors are aware of this, so if any part clearly uses unauthorized mods, the competitors themselves would likely raise concerns with the organizers."

"I see. Still, there aren't any suspicious devices visible at the venue. That leaves only the parts used in the rifles... "

Before I even noticed, Sata had finished checking the room and now seemed to be inspecting the venue.

My eyes still didn't sense any threat.

So there shouldn't be anything, yet...

"Hmm?"

"Is something wrong, Sata?"

"Sir Sata?"

"Double-checked, sir. Nothing unusual. You look... like something's bothering you, sir."

Sata's expression changed.

Something seemed to be on his mind.

"...Vee, Memoqshi, Johalis. What's the typical assembly process for an old-style rifle?"

"Note"

Now sending it over.

A memo sends the antique rifle assembly manual to Sata's information terminal.

And as Sata received the information, he continued operating the information terminal with a serious expression...

"Wha...!?"

His face turned pale.

It seems this isn't an ordinary situation.

Sata is showing an expression he would never normally make.

"Sata, what did you find?"

"...Something unimaginable. If activated, it could blow the entire colony apart. Wait, just wait a moment. Is this even possible? Theoretically, it could work. But the odds aren't realistic..."

"Satā, I'm sorry, but could you explain exactly how this situation would come to be? Depending on the circumstances, we might have to call off the competition."

"Ah, ah. Got it."

Encouraged by my prompt, Satā begins to explain.

According to Satā... among the components currently used in the competition, there are parts that contain remnants similar to modifications.

This isn't particularly unusual if you consider that the modifications used during the manufacturing process of the parts from raw materials may still be present.

However, some fragments of the mod still remaining within certain residual parts seemed deliberately left behind, as if sensed by Sata.

So, after theorizing about a few of the parts Sata felt had been intentionally left behind…….

"A mass-transformation bomb... Is that it? Well... that could indeed blow the entire colony to pieces without a doubt."

"N-no way... That's utterly unthinkable..."

"Each part alone means nothing—only when all components, including the explosives, fit together perfectly does it gain meaning, and it activates when triggered. Quite the clever design."

"Though I hate to say it, this is bordering on art. It didn't trigger at today's venue, which is why Vee didn't notice it—but someday, somewhere, it'll detonate with catastrophic force. That's exactly what it's meant to do."

What emerged was a mod that converts mass into energy and releases it.

Though there wasn't enough time to fully complete it even theoretically, it's said to be nearly certain to work.

According to Sata, if activated, the entire antique rifle would be converted into energy, meaning its explosive power would be beyond the capacity of the shields or explosion-proof mods installed in the competition arena.

The fortunate aspect is that the number of viable mod combinations is extremely limited, and the probability of activation is at most around one in ten thousand, even when estimated generously.

At the same time, however, one can't help but feel the maliciousness inherent in such a low probability.

After all, given how incredibly unlikely it is, if such a combination were to occur, no one would understand what exactly happened, and it would be nearly impossible to accuse someone of intentionally causing it.

"Was it... the mastermind behind the fake space monster?"

"Almost certainly. Nobody could come up with something like this by accident."

The only person we know who could pull off something like this is...

The mastermind behind the fake space monster.

"Sat, we need to secure him. He's a valuable lead."

"Right."

But it's also an opportunity.

We decided to move.