Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: The Bunker's Robots
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But Yuseong had no idea just how desperate their final moments had been. All he felt was relief that his curiosity about why the bunker was empty had been satisfied.
Far more important were the robots standing awkwardly against the walls of the hall.
A total of thirty of them.
Their batteries must have fully drained, as they stood motionless.
‘If I recharge them, will they move?’
Thirty robots. Naturally, it was a discovery that had Yuseong jumping for joy. The only reason he wasn’t celebrating right away was that he had no idea if they would still function.
They looked fine on the outside, but their internals could be wrecked, leaving them as scrap metal.
But he had a way to find out immediately.
ABR-023. AHR-142.
New items had appeared in the Purchase Window.
“Perfect!”
Yuseong clenched his fist in delight.
Even so, he couldn’t be sure all the robots were in perfect shape. In the worst case, maybe only two would work.
‘And there aren’t many combat ones.’
Out of the thirty, only five looked like combat models. ABR-023 was probably them.
Of course, five was still a solid number in absolute terms. But mixed in with thirty robots, it wasn’t that impressive.
On top of that, even those combat robots seemed a generation or two behind the ABR-025 he already had. The designation ABR-023 made that obvious.
Still, combat robots were powerful assets. Best of all, they were free. He had no room to complain about them being a bit outdated.
The rest appeared to be household models.
AHR-142 must be those.
‘Having those around would make life easier.’
The ABR-025 was too advanced to waste on housework. It was expensive, too. New household robots for free? No downside there.
‘And they’re free, to boot.’
That alone was a massive advantage.
‘I’ll recharge them later.’
For now, he needed to finish exploring the bunker.
‘Strategy Guide. If those robots start up again, they won’t attack me, right?’
He was an outsider. They might be programmed to see outsiders as hostile.
He wasn’t worried. The robots he had with him were superior to the bunker’s, and these ones weren’t even armed.
Still, smashing potential assets didn’t sit right. Plus, if a fight broke out, there were no absolutes. Even they might take damage.
‘Unless they’re like monsters and immune to weapons.’
Fortunately, the Strategy Guide’s response was satisfying.
【This bunker is now fully under my control. The robots were connected to the main computer, so I can control them as well.】
“You’re controlling them already? You’re not even linked to the portable computer.”
【The bunker’s wireless communication functions are still operational. That’s why I took over all surviving systems the moment we entered.】
“…Got it.”
The Strategy Guide was suspiciously capable, but since it was bringing him huge benefits, Yuseong decided to count its bunker control as a win.
Now it was time to head to the next level.
Before going to the stairs, Yuseong turned to look at the powered-down robots.
Anyone could see something was off about them standing against the hall walls. They wouldn’t have chosen to stand there until their batteries died.
Obviously, humans had ordered them there before dying.
What was the intent?
Had they surrounded themselves with loyal robots to ease their terror of death even a little? Or had they forced even their robots into suicide after their own deaths?
The people who could answer were already reduced to bones. Yuseong withdrew his gaze and headed down the stairs.
Below the dining hall, on basement level 4, was the machine room.
All the equipment was gathered here: the main computer body the Strategy Guide had seized, and the various devices maintaining the bunker.
After a quick look around level 4, Yuseong found stairs leading even lower.
He thought they’d be the same as before, but these were different.
The stairs were long, and blast doors appeared at intervals, ready to seal off the lower levels at any moment. Something dangerous was clearly down there. Instinctively, Yuseong gripped his weapon tighter.
He reached the bottom.
The moment he spotted it, he understood what those countless blast doors were meant to contain. He also confirmed what had powered the bunker for a century.
A clear marking on the large device before him.
A radiation warning symbol.
The bunker ran on nuclear power.
Not fission or fusion. Even ignoring technical, safety, and cost issues, that kind of generator was overkill for a bunker this size.
What stood before him was an atomic battery.
‘Strategy Guide. This thing’s safe, right?’
【The atomic battery is functioning normally and supplying power stably. However, the cooling system is worn and should be replaced. According to the bunker’s inventory on the computer, spare parts are available. Restarting the maintenance robots would allow immediate repairs.】
‘Radiation leaks?’
【None detected.】
Good enough.
There were no more stairs down. This was the bunker’s lowest level.
Yuseong climbed back up. He reached the dining hall. The scattered skeletons seemed to wail gloomily about their pathetic ends.
But Yuseong ignored them. Surveying the bunker, he smiled.
‘This is my new home!’
His nomadic days without a base were finally over.
* * *
“Yawwwn!”
Yuseong stretched hugely and yawned. He blinked away fatigue, then startled at the unfamiliar sight. But he quickly remembered and relaxed.
‘Right, the new base.’
After exploring the bunker and deeming it safe, Yuseong had done basic setup, picked a room in the residential area, and slept peacefully for the first time in ages.
He opened the door and stepped out. A robot passed in front of him. Not one he’d been traveling with.
‘Must’ve activated it.’
It was one of the household robots from the bunker. Before sleeping, he’d started charging all thirty.
He’d also ordered the Strategy Guide to have the robots resume base management once charged.
As instructed, they’d powered up while he slept and begun their duties.
Down in the dining hall, the skeletons were gone. When he asked the Strategy Guide, it said they’d been dumped in an unused warehouse on level 1.
Some might find mishandling the dead distasteful, but not Yuseong.
He sat in a nearby chair. He had a small box. Opening it revealed a syringe.
It contained top-grade Nano Machine.
While Yuseong slept, following his order to secure anything useful, the Strategy Guide had found it.
As expected of the bunker’s former owners—rulers or tycoons—the Nano Machine was the best quality. Regular ones had hugely aided his survival; top-grade went without saying.
Yuseong injected it immediately.
‘Time to go.’
He opened the Purchase Window and tapped Other World Travel.
How badly he’d wanted to go there. Now with a base secured, it was time to enjoy it.
‘Plus, there’s that thing.’
Yuseong hit Other World Travel right away.
* * *
Back in this world after so long, Yuseong deeply inhaled the fresh air.
[Welcome.]
The Strategy Guide greeted him.
“Yeah.”
Yuseong replied casually and headed to the entrance.
Like in the two-story house, there was a box at the entrance for items from his world. Empty now. But Yuseong had put something in it once.
He’d avoided coming here after fighting the monster until finding a hideout, but he had visited once right after the battle.
Because of the post-battle quest window.
Quest: Monster Corpse
Bring a monster corpse.
Reward: 100,000,000G (decreases 10% per day)
It seemed half-hearted at first glance. But the details and reward made it impossible to dismiss.
‘A hundred million.’
Having spent a fortune preparing for the monster fight, Yuseong couldn’t resist that reward.
‘But what do they want with a monster corpse?’
Yuseong had fetched tech and items as quests demanded without question. But a monster corpse felt off.
Still, the reward was a hundred million gold. And it depreciated over time.
No time for long thought. He’d hit Other World Travel and delivered the monster.
The unease lingered, though.
Yuseong glanced at the TV.
“Why’d you need the monster?”
Distracted by finding a hideout, he hadn’t asked then.
The Strategy Guide replied.
[No information available.]
“Yeah.”
As expected. Yuseong looked back at the box. Spotless, no bloodstains.
* * *
Yuseong decided not to dwell on the monster corpse. Nothing he could do anyway. He enjoyed this world to the fullest for the first time in ages, then returned to reality.
‘Time for Arc again.’
Even after all that wandering, he’d protected the Virtual Reality Device and installed it in the new base.
Worried it might be broken, he was relieved when it powered on instantly.
Logging into Arc after so long, Yuseong started his stream right away.
[Whoa, a stream!]
[Hi!]
[Yuseong, long time no see!]
[Why no streams?]
Viewers trickled in. Some greeted warmly, others scolded him for the absence.
“Sorry. Personal matters kept me busy.”
He didn’t mention life-or-death monster battles or wandering for a home.
“But things worked out, so I’ll be streaming regularly again.”
[Glad it worked out.]
He chatted with viewers while lightly hunting, wrapping up the comeback stream. Then he checked his messages.
‘Western Flower Garden?’
Several from a familiar name. Mostly urging confirmation on the first one. The real content was in the original.
‘You said you want to get famous? How about appearing on my stream?’