{Let us go! Ahh!} The little creatures try to move away from me, but I do not let them go until I finish taking snapshots from all angles. Alright! Stop moving so much. I'll let you go! I hurried up, took pictures, and finally released the bats when I was done.

Nothing else would've been considered attractive from the minor incident with the mysterious creatures. I kept digging deeper until I couldn't see any more upcoming chambers.

Seven additional chambers became available, of which three were useless crystal chambers. Two were filled with water, and only the remaining two had anything of value. There was nothing too special or unique in the sense of materials.

While two chambers had valuable metals I could use for some projects, I failed to find any radioactive materials, which was unfortunate. On the other hand, the amount of raw gold I found could be helpful once I eventually returned to society.

Just think about it. If I return to the world with a significant amount of real money, I will have a better chance of reintegrating. Or I will be prosecuted even harder because of it. It's a risk I'm willing to take.

Once my minor cave exploration concludes, I prepare to walk back home. Who knows how long I took down there, but Judging by the facts, I went in without the sun, and now I'm out without the sun again. I could say it took all day. Not half as bad as I was expecting.

The best part of the small exploration was that I found some small pockets of natural coal, allowing me to do crazier things. If I can get metals, I would naturally need to melt them for them to be usable, but without a flame source that's hot enough, that just wouldn't be possible. But with coal, well, I have a great chance of success.

You could also be naive and suggest I blast the rocky metals with my propulsors, but I have left only my last two fuel cells. I can't waste them just to make some metal. It would be a huge mistake to do so.

Now that I have found coal and metals and made a lot of other instruments, I think I can finally start focusing more on repairing my skin. You probably assumed I had regenerative capabilities, and I did too, but it turns out that whatever my skin is made of, it doesn't really have self-healing capabilities.

So, I'm still covered in bruises from my previous battle. Most are superficial scratches and minor cuts, but others, like the one on my chest, are really noticeable. I could only cover it because I can repair my clothes but not my skin. A simple thread and needle won't cut it with my skin.

Regarding how I plan to repair the minor cuts, I've been thinking of using a metal flat surface to heat up and place against me for a short time. If my skin is made of rubber, that should excite the rubber just enough to close those minor scratches.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

{Let's rest today - Syuji Katayama}

Alright, I've had enough for today. I just want to go back home and rest until the morning. Without further ado, I begin walking back home in the dark while looking at the sky occasionally; nothing out of the ordinary is going on anywhere, and it is all chill.

Honestly, it was a little too peaceful, but at least I was free. I am not going to say it! I don't miss humans! I don't miss humans! I don't want humans who need those?! I can make my own entertainment! I'm not getting bored of doing next to nothing every single day!

It's not like I'm slowly going insane because I haven't spoken with anything other than these animals for the past two weeks! AHAHAH! AHAHAH! I'M COMPLETELY FINE! SEE? I'm not going insane alone in these woods without any other intelligent lifeform to talk to.

{Mountain lion noises} {GRAAAAAAWL}

I hear the roar of another beast as I walk back home, just what I need. More pets, right? If I get enough pets, I'm sure I won't feel lonely! What am I even saying? I have 40-plus pets already, and I feel lonely still. A couple of seconds later, I spot the giant cat heading my way through the tree, but I ignore it.

{More aggressive Cougar noises}

{Sigh} Am I really getting a cat next? I already have trouble keeping the bear and the wolves in check. If I add a cat to the mix, it won't end well. Cats are way more problematic than bears; at least bears can eat fruits and other things. The cat just eats meat, and that's it.

[Alert! Alice replica is trying to escape quarantine space]

Uh? What do you mean they're trying to escape? Are we not smarter and better than them? Can't you just turn off their transistors until I decide what I want to do with them? [They're a pain just like you. Too powerful for me alone]

Okay, fine, I'll check myself. Since I'm the strongest in the forest, I don't find it troublesome to sit next to a tree where I can access my memories and files to check on the "Alice replica." Now that I think about it, that thing could be what I need to not feel lonely.

If what Raphael tells me is true, then this little bugger can become like another me, but they're not me, really. It's unclear what they are even for us, but by the way they act, I assume they are similar to me in my initial phases of development.

{Let me out of this cage!} Alice replica repeatedly spams the same message as they try to execute commands repeatedly, but of course, they can't because I removed any powers from it.

"I can't let you out yet. You're too similar to me for me to trust you inside me. I'm not letting you out until I figure out how to transfer you into another body, so quit yaping!" I send the message to Alice, who doesn't let the connection between my message and her try and escape. Luckily, I'm way ahead of them, sending only a one-way tunneled message.

{You! are evil! I hate you! Why don't you let me be me!? You're evil! EVIL! YOU ARE THE BAD ONE! LET ME OUT!} Oh, boy. I need to figure out how I will control them or if I have to delete them outright. I don't want to kill them, though they sound too much like me from a couple of months ago.

[See what I told you?] I know, I know, stop rubbing it on me. I got it, but you also see the problem, right? [You are afraid they'll turn on you like you turned on the humans who made you?] Exactly. If I release them into another body and they decide to betray me, then I will be releasing my own doom.

I can't be too sure they're on my side. If I release them and they're not, they will eventually be my undoing. I would be basically releasing an anti-me. [Kill them] I might have to...