Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Railgun Discovery
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Right in front of him was the building's entrance. Like any other building, its front door was smashed, exposing the dark interior to the outside world.
He checked the radar and slowly entered.
No beasts gave him an enthusiastic welcome the moment he stepped inside. Still, Yuseong didn't let his guard down.
Whether it happened right at the entrance or a bit further in, a fight was inevitable.
Sure enough.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Yuseong fired at the charging beast. While focusing on the one rushing toward him, he kept an eye on the radar without pause.
‘Right side!’
A new red dot appeared. But Yuseong's gun barrel remained trained on the beast in front of him.
-Kyaaak!-
The beast screamed and collapsed. The red dot ahead didn't disappear. His gun kept spitting fire.
-Kieeeek!-
The beast that had been playing dead let out a longer scream. The dot vanished from the radar.
He immediately swung his barrel around. Another beast was closing in fast. He pulled the trigger again.
Thud!
The beast crumpled under the hail of bullets.
He swapped magazines, reloaded the empty one, and moved on.
‘A robot.’
He spotted what he was after. But Yuseong couldn't be happy about it.
Every robot he found was wrecked.
He examined one lying on the ground.
‘Taken down by a beast.’
Sharp claw marks slashed across its torso, clearly visible. Inside, broken parts and severed wires were exposed.
Faded English words were visible below the marks. Fortunately, he knew them.
‘Security. A security robot?’
That made sense. If it was programmed to guard the building, it would have tried to neutralize intruders immediately.
Even if they were beasts or monsters.
‘And it lost.’
No matter how much of a robot it was, it couldn't withstand repeated beast attacks. Especially without heavy combat weaponry.
Against a monster? Even full armor wouldn't help.
Yuseong delved deeper into the factory.
He reached the production line where robots had been assembled. A few beasts were there too; he shot them all.
He rummaged through the debris.
‘Parts... I'll think about those later.’
He could sell them in that other world for money. But surely intact ones would fetch a higher price than broken junk.
‘No one's going to take them if I leave them here anyway.’
He decided to look for something else first.
Yuseong pressed further inside.
Unfinished robots lay scattered everywhere. No completed units in sight.
‘Figures.’
The finished ones would have been deployed to the front lines right away. Or taken when they abandoned the factory.
‘Or maybe used to buy time for escape when they were pushed back this far.’
At least it was comforting that this place produced combat robots.
Among the scattered robot parts, he spotted firearms made for robots.
‘Looks like I won't need to hunt for combat OS.’
As long as the storage devices were intact.
‘No bullets.’
The ammo production must be elsewhere. A shame.
But as Yuseong continued searching the factory, he realized bullets weren't the issue.
‘Nothing intact?’
Had he expected too much? Not a single functioning robot, not even one in decent shape. Hell, parts weren't even abundant.
‘They must have stripped everything clean.’
Whether the factory workers took it when closing down or survivors scavenged later.
No point dwelling on it now.
The factory was huge, so they couldn't have taken it all—some parts looked ready to assemble into finished products.
But even Yuseong, with his technical knowledge, couldn't assemble unfamiliar parts into a working unit.
‘If I had blueprints, I'd give it a shot.’
Even then, no guarantee all the parts for every section were there.
Yuseong kept wandering the factory. Kill beasts, search for parts, kill more beasts, search more.
No luck. Yuseong started getting impatient. Frustration built.
‘My first real expedition, and this...’
How could he find even one?
He entered the adjacent building.
‘This is...’
It seemed like a materials warehouse. Raw resources were surprisingly intact, but not what Yuseong wanted.
"...Fuck."
He swore more naturally now. He sighed deeply and hung his head.
No robots here, probably.
‘Wasted effort?’
He hadn't checked every building yet. One remained. But by size and shape, it didn't look like a production area.
‘Probably the factory management office.’
Still, he couldn't skip it. Any sliver of hope meant checking.
‘A hole?’
As he left the warehouse and approached the target building, a massive hole came into view. Hidden from the main gate.
‘A battle happened there.’
Odds of finding what he wanted inside dropped further. A fight big enough to punch that hole meant everything inside was likely trashed.
Face scrunched, Yuseong entered the final building.
The interior was like the others: filthy and ruined.
He checked floor by floor, ascending the building. Killed attacking beasts, inspected semi-intact parts.
Nothing worthwhile.
A corner appeared beyond the hallway.
‘Building layout suggests the hole's just past there.’
Gun first, Yuseong rounded the corner. No beast ambush as feared.
‘This is...’
Yuseong stared at the gaping hole, then the ground nearby.
Empty clothes lay scattered with a broken exosuit.
Dirty, worn, ragged—like looking at himself.
Human traces. The first he'd seen in ages from this world's people.
‘Died here.’
Alone, without holding anyone's hand.
Yuseong gazed bitterly at the remnants. This was his future someday.
A lonely, pathetic, ashen end.
Before, he'd only feel despair. Or maybe not even that—too worried about today to despair. Worrying about how he'd die was a luxury.
Not anymore. He had clear, vivid hope.
‘I’ll definitely cross to that other world.’
Yuseong reaffirmed his resolve.
He began scanning the surroundings.
Bitterness was bitterness, hope was hope—reality was reality.
The dead guy might have left something useful.
‘Exosuit’s a no-go.’
No close inspection needed; its life was over. Even durable exosuits don't stay intact when shattered.
He looked for other gear, but the guy had wandered with just the main frame, like Yuseong.
Then, amid the exosuit fragments, other pieces caught his eye.
‘A gun?’
The dead man's gear. But the gun was smashed like the exosuit—leaving no trace, like its owner.
Yuseong wasn't too disappointed. Exosuits or guns, he could get more anytime.
He brushed aside the gun shards and rummaged the clothes.
‘This is...’
Something solid beneath. A portable computer. But the screen was fading.
‘Dead battery? Or broken?’
He jury-rigged a connection to the exosuit's battery.
‘It works!’
The screen lit up with a charge indicator.
He already had a portable computer, so no need. But the data inside was different.
‘Might be useful.’
He powered it on. The manufacturer's logo appeared as it booted.
It'd take a moment to fully start, so Yuseong checked around for more.
‘That!’
Another item caught his eye. Recognizing it, he jumped up and rushed over.
‘No way! No way!’
He slid to his knees and reached for it.
Thick dust showed it'd been abandoned for ages. But Yuseong knew it instantly.
A gun. Distinctive long barrel, longer than the NK-4. He lifted it, wiping dust with his hand.
Some usage scratches, but the silver sheen was still sharp.
‘No doubt!’
It was a railgun.
Similar look to the NK-4, but its firepower was leagues beyond that outdated powder burner.
‘The weapon that holed the building!’
A railgun could do that.
‘No, too soon to celebrate.’
It might be broken. He hurriedly powered it up.
A green light glowed on the trigger guard.
“Grrraaah!”
He couldn't hold back the grunt of admiration.
Firing a test shot would confirm it fully, but the odds were way up.
‘Wait. Maybe?’
A surefire way to check if it worked—and maybe score a spare.
He opened the Purchase Window. Heart pounding, he scrolled. Familiar items passed, then his hope appeared.
Railgun ? 2,000,000G
“Ha, hahahahaha!”
Yuseong always stayed quiet outside, but this time he couldn't stifle the laughter.
‘With this, most beasts are nothing!’
No need to aim for weak spots. Most couldn't survive one hit.
It used solid slugs like regular guns, but that was solved by three metal chunks nearby.
‘Railgun slugs!’
Back to the Purchase Window. Railgun Slugs now listed below. Ammo problem solved. Yuseong could fully operationalize the railgun.
No robot, but the railgun made the trip more than worth it.
His expression soon hardened slightly.
‘Even with this weapon, he died.’
A railgun disintegrates most beasts on impact. Yet its owner died here.
‘Ambushed? Or...’
Something the railgun couldn't handle?
Yuseong desperately hoped for the former.
‘Even if the latter, it’s not still here, right?’
Self-soothing, he advanced. Building not fully searched.
He slung the railgun on the exosuit's weapon mount, NK-4 forward, alternating glances between front and radar.
Soon, a busted door in the hallway center. A person-scanner sensor on the wall beside it.
Two more such doors lined the hall. Double security meant something important beyond.
Past the hall, Yuseong reached a room.
His eyes widened at the object in the center.
‘A robot?’