Once I cleared out all the clutter, I began "decorating" the base with whatever ideas popped into my head. Look, I was no specialist when it came to that sort of stuff, so I went with whatever didn't look atrocious.
First, I designated a section as my rest area. I enclosed it with thin walls and conjured up furniture like a bed and a couple of sofas. To make it feel more complete, I added a closet, drawers, and a clothes hanger. For good measure, I hung a full-length mirror on one wall so I could properly examine myself.
That's when I made a startling discovery—I looked much younger than I remembered. The reflection staring back at me was how I appeared in my late teens. In reality, I was 29, and this version of me from a decade ago was strikingly different. Heck, even the scar across my left cheek was gone, as if time had been reversed.
"Well, this whole situation is bizarre anyway," I muttered, deciding to shove that mystery aside for now. There might be some deeper meaning to why my younger self was here, but I could figure that out later. Right now, my focus was on building a proper base.
The warehouse I'd chosen was insanely spacious, and I planned to take full advantage of it. I set up workshops for various needs—chemicals, weapons, suits, and other essentials. If I was going to survive in such a dangerous environment, I needed to be well-prepared.
Of course, defense was the highest priority. I had no idea what could be lurking in the shadows or emerging in the darkness, so I couldn't rely solely on rifles. Thinking back to a sci-fi game I'd played recently, I recalled a specific type of turret that ran on plasma, which powered both its systems and ammunition. The solution was simple: set up a few of those and link them to a giant plasma cell. Or so I thought.
Building them took longer than expected since I had to connect everything properly. On top of that, I created a console to manage the turrets, ensuring I was registered as the owner and a non-target. The turrets were programmed to fire at anything that moved and appeared alive. Initially, I considered setting up a heat-detection condition, but I wasn't sure if the things that will attempt to pulverize me or eat me would emit heat, so I scrapped that idea.
Fortunately, the AI system that came preinstalled with the turrets was advanced enough to "understand" what counted as alive. It even prioritized grotesque creatures over humanoid ones unless instructed otherwise. Thinking back to it, the game had a multitude of biologically different enemies, so that was no surprise.
Lighting was another key issue. The city seemed to be entirely without power, so I needed a solution. At first, I thought about crafting a basic electric generator—something I was familiar with—but then I remembered the plasma-powered generators from that same sci-fi game.
"Man, I'm really glad I played that game," I muttered while setting up the plasma generator. Once it was operational, I installed various light sources around the base, choosing their spread and intensity depending on what the area needed.
When all that was done, a new idea struck me: if I could make turrets, why not create those human-like machine lifeforms from the game? Excited at the thought of banishing my loner status, I eagerly got to work imagining my favorite "character" from the game.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be impossible. No matter what I tried, I couldn't bring them into existence.
"Why? Why isn't it possible?" I mumbled, frustrated. Logically, I was just making a machine, not creating life. But then again, the game lore described those androids in a way that made them feel almost alive.
Still, I wasn't ready to give up entirely. If a physical companion wasn't possible, maybe a virtual one was.
The result was… peculiar. I held a disturbingly large syringe filled with glowing liquid in my hand.
"All right… let's do this," I said, bracing myself as I injected the syringe's contents. Pain shot through my body, sharp and relentless, and for what felt like an eternity, I endured pure agony. The one place where most of the pain concentrated on was my head - specifically, my brain.
Finally, the pain subsided, and my vision blurred a bit as a voice echoed in my mind:
"Greetings, Master."
"Huh? Oh, right. Hello," I replied, momentarily startled. Her tone reminded me of how she addressed her "host" in the game. The androids and AI systems in that game were… let's just say they were "interesting." This particular AI, Sylvie, was no exception.
"How would you like me to serve you, Master?" she asked, her voice dripping with eager devotion.
"Nothing for now. Just… tell me how you feel about our current situation," I said, curious.
Sylvie paused, and an image of a silver-haired woman tilting her head appeared in my mind. "I am not sure," she finally replied.
"Right… what was I expecting?" I sighed.
"Well, for now, help me figure out what to do," I instructed.
"As you wish, Master."
To be honest, it would take some time to get used to being called that, if at all.