Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Return to the Factory
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Yuseong was heading back to the car factory once more. It was the second time on this route, but his mindset now was completely different from before. The carefree feeling of strolling along back then felt like a distant dream.
Thud!
He stopped in his tracks. The factory he had seen just a few days ago loomed in the distance.
At a glance, the factory's exterior looked unchanged. However, Yuseong soon spotted a massive hole in the outer wall that hadn't been there before.
'That's where I was. The monster must have broken through.'
He frowned. The monster's rampage wasn't surprising, but the problem was the robot and powered exoskeleton he'd left behind.
Considering he'd risked coming back here specifically to retrieve them, this was hardly a pleasant sight.
'Still, they're tough military-grade gear. They shouldn't have broken from falling or getting buried under debris.'
They weren't exactly civilian toys.
'Let's check it out.'
Yuseong began moving forward slowly. He kept scanning his surroundings and monitoring the radar on his HUD. There wasn't a sign of monsters, let alone beasts.
But he wasn't relaxing for a second. He couldn't afford to.
He entered the factory entrance cautiously.
'No beasts have nested here yet.'
Whether it was because too little time had passed for new beasts to move in or due to the monster's influence, it was still better than finding beasts inside.
'What a mess.'
He reached the breached section. The monster's destruction had collapsed it entirely. No sign of the robot or powered exoskeleton—they must be buried inside.
'Will it still connect?'
Yuseong activated his handheld computer and attempted to link with the robot.
'Got it!'
Fortunately, the signal connected. It wasn't completely wrecked. He tried activating it.
Crunch!
Part of the debris shifted. Soon, a familiar metal arm burst through the rubble.
'Yes!'
It hadn't been buried too deeply. Judging by the size and amount of debris, a little deeper and the robot might not have come out so easily—or it could have been smashed beyond repair.
But luckily, the robot that emerged looked intact. That was just a distant view, though; he needed a closer inspection.
"Come here!"
The robot obeyed Yuseong's command and approached. Thankfully, no more debris collapsed, and it reached him without issue.
Yuseong examined the robot's exterior. It had some scratches here and there—unavoidable after that—but mobility seemed fine.
"Any damaged parts?"
No issues detected in the initial scan. Shall I run a full diagnostic?
"No, that's fine."
Not here, anyway.
'Still, glad it's okay.'
Yuseong glanced at his recovered robot, then turned his gaze behind it.
Another robot stood there.
As Yuseong had anticipated, once his reputation exceeded 10,000,000, robots appeared in the purchase list. He felt both relief and shock.
The relief came from knowing he could keep buying robots as long as he had the money. The shock was from the price next to the ABR-025 model name.
'50,000,000G...'
Ten times the cost of the already expensive powered exoskeleton. Even Yuseong, who had braced himself, let out a small yelp.
But for Yuseong, who had to go on expeditions, robots were essential for safety. Swallowing his tears, he spent nearly all his money to buy one.
In other words, digging the robot out from the rubble had just saved him 50 million gold.
'Should I look for the powered exoskeleton too?'
The main goal of this trip was the robot. But grabbing the exoskeleton wouldn't hurt.
'It's not that expensive.'
Five million gold. Cheap compared to the robot, but far from inexpensive.
Yuseong looked around.
'No monster in sight.'
That was great news. But he couldn't be sure it had left the area entirely.
It might have claimed this as its territory and just stepped away briefly.
'Even if it's a wanderer, it saw me, so it might still be lurking nearby.'
For now, though, he had time.
'Let's dig.'
He ordered one robot to stand guard while he and the other cleared the debris. With the robot and exoskeleton's power, the rubble vanished quickly.
But some pieces were too heavy to move easily, so it wasn't all smooth sailing.
'Might not find it.'
No luck after some time, and doubts crept in.
That's when it happened.
Something's here.
Yuseong rushed to where the robot pointed.
'Found it!'
Part of the powered exoskeleton poked out from the debris. He hurriedly dug it out. Once fully uncovered, it looked undamaged on the surface, just like the robot.
Yuseong ordered the robots to keep watch and stepped out of his current powered exoskeleton. He donned the recovered one.
Whirr!
'It works!'
His face lit up. He tested basic movements—arms, legs, sitting, standing, lifting heavy objects.
'As expected, it's different.'
The one he'd worn here was his old, worn-out powered exoskeleton.
After splurging on the robot, he'd hesitated to buy a new one. He could have forced it, but it would have drained his reserves.
So he'd brought the old one.
'The power's on another level.'
Yuseong crushed a small stone, feeling it anew.
'No more using that outdated junk.'
It felt so refreshing.
But he had no intention of discarding it. He had one robot carry it.
With the expedition's key items secured, Yuseong didn't head back right away. He started searching for car parts—the original reason for coming here. The ones he'd gathered before were likely crushed under the debris.
Better to strip new parts than dig for possibly broken ones.
Having explored once before, gathering parts was easier now.
But peace didn't last.
Warning. Hostile entity detected.
The same alert from the robots as before. Yuseong looked where their faces turned.
"...Damn it."
He sighed and cursed.
Something moved at a distance from the factory. That unforgettable, impossible-to-forget presence.
'It was still here.'
The monster.
It seemed the monster Yuseong had hoped would be gone was still around.
'As I thought, it was looking for me.'
When he'd first spotted it, its movements were just aimless wandering. It hadn't shown interest in the factory initially.
But now, it was clearly heading straight for the factory. Even without spotting Yuseong yet.
That didn't last long.
Yuseong definitely felt the monster's blue eyes lock onto him.
Leap!
No roar this time. The monster charged straight at him.
'Still fast, even on second look.'
Last time, Yuseong had panicked. Now, he was calm. Or trying to be.
This wasn't a sudden encounter with no warning. He'd seen it before and come prepared.
Above all, he'd escaped successfully once.
Having an escape method made all the difference in the world.
He could flee right now—he'd opened the Purchase Window but hadn't bought the Otherworld Transfer item yet.
'I need to confirm something.'
No guarantee he wouldn't run into monsters again. As long as they roamed this world, the risk existed until he left for good.
He needed to prepare for that.
Click!
Yuseong aimed at the monster. Not a peashooter like the NK-4, but the railgun.
Whiiinnn!
Power surged from the new-model exoskeleton's battery—untapped recently—to the railgun.
Click! Click!
The robots, following his orders, aimed at the monster too.
It was annoying taking commands from things that had been nagging him to retreat—in stereo now—but two robot allies were reassuring.
Even against a monster.
Bang!
Yuseong's railgun fired. It roared, hurtling toward the monster.
Boom!
A massive explosion kicked up dirt.
Hit confirmed.
The robots reported in stereo again.
The confirmation felt good, backed by two robots and Yuseong's own eyes seeing the white flash strike.
But Yuseong felt no joy.
'As expected, no effect.'
What he'd seen was the railgun round's white trail hitting the monster and ricocheting off.
Sure enough, the monster burst through the dust unscathed. No blood, no scratches. No slowdown, no limp.
It was clear. The railgun did zero damage.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
As the monster closed in, the robots opened fire. But if the railgun failed, the NK-4s—peashooters by comparison—stood no chance.
Boom!
Another railgun shot. Same result.
'Confirmed.'
Yuseong concluded bitterly.
'At least, nothing I have works on it.'
And probably no human weapon would.
"Cease fire!"
He ordered the robots to stop wasting ammo and prepared to move.
The monster was almost upon him.
-Roaaarrr!
Did it sense victory? The monster bellowed loudly.
Chills ran up his arms. He wanted to transfer now. But Yuseong held back.
As the monster drew even closer.
'Now!'
Yuseong bought the Otherworld Transfer item.
Boom!
The monster smashed the spot where Yuseong had stood. More of the building crumbled.
-Ruh?
The monster's puzzled growl.
Once again, it had failed to catch him.