Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: The Invisible Beast
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‘So, you’re saying the combat OS has been copied to my computer now?’
Still, he checked to confirm.
【The combat OS, as well as the civilian, cooking, bodyguard versions—every OS on the server—has been copied.】
As expected of a company that made robots. They had OSes for everything.
Now, all that was left was to install it into the robot along with a fully charged battery, and Yuseong would finally have the robot of his dreams.
Yuseong immediately shut down the server and headed for the rooftop where the robot was.
He was curious about what other info might be on the server, but the robot came first right now.
However, Yuseong’s steps weren’t particularly fast.
He was happy, sure, but caution was caution.
He still couldn’t shake the conviction that beasts lurked nearby.
That’s why he’d been on high alert while activating the server and downloading the OS, worried one might charge at him.
‘I can’t let my guard down.’
It would be too unjust to lose his life to a moment’s carelessness right after getting the robot.
‘Hopefully nothing happens this time, either.’
But Yuseong’s hopes shattered all too futilely.
Flash!
A red dot appeared on the radar.
‘Dead ahead!’
He thrust out his gun barrel, staying vigilant toward the red dot.
‘Nothing there.’
He eased his maxed-out alertness just a fraction.
It must’ve picked up something from an upper or lower floor.
‘Which way? Up? Down?’
Yuseong’s eyes flicked between the ceiling and floor.
But thick concrete walls weren’t see-through, of course.
‘It’s moving.’
The red dot started heading toward Yuseong’s position.
But he didn’t ramp up his guard.
‘Should I ignore it?’
If it was on another floor, no need to fight, right?
His goal was to reach the rooftop, activate the robot, and leave this place.
Skipping a fight with an inedible beast was ideal if possible.
‘Can’t attack right now anyway.’
NK-4 couldn’t punch through concrete ceilings or floors.
A railgun might, but firing blindly without knowing if it was above or below would be a bad move.
Plus, with just the radar’s red dot, even Yuseong couldn’t guarantee a precise hit.
‘It might be two floors off.’
But probably not that far.
He’d gotten some experience with the radar now and could roughly gauge the floor difference from where the dot appeared.
‘Two floors apart, and it’d pop up suddenly a bit closer than the edge…’
Yuseong’s expression suddenly hardened.
‘Where’d that red dot appear from?’
It had definitely spawned at the far edge of the radar.
But for an old-model radar’s range, one floor off should make it appear inward from the edge, not right at it.
Yet it had started at the very edge.
The red dot kept closing in on Yuseong.
Whoosh!
Yuseong hurriedly raised his gun.
His vision showed nothing.
But he pulled the trigger in the direction the dot indicated.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out in succession.
Some bullets smacked uselessly into walls, floor, and ceiling, sparking irritably.
But not the rest.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Mid-corridor, bullets started embedding into invisible something in midair.
Then came the scream that tore at his eardrums.
-Kieeeaaak!-
‘A beast!’
No doubt about it.
The heavy thumping told of something massive thrashing around.
The problem: it was still invisible.
‘Invisibility ability?’
A beast with that kind of power?
‘If I hadn’t had the radar…’
A chill ran down Yuseong’s spine.
He’d nearly died without a clue.
But spotting it didn’t solve everything.
‘Still can’t see it!’
He needed to see it to target vitals.
And that wasn’t the only issue.
‘This thing’s got tough skin!’
Several bullets had hammered its hide, but no blood yet.
Maybe its blood was invisible too.
But judging from the ricochets, it was more likely the bullets hadn’t penetrated.
-Kiiiiiik!-
Sensing the injury was minor, perhaps.
The red dot accelerated straight at Yuseong.
Even without radar, the growing footsteps announced its approach.
Yuseong kept firing bursts, but no effect.
‘Tch, skin at least as tough as a boar’s, maybe more.’
Normally, he’d target weak spots like eyes.
But not with an unseen beast.
It looked like a do-or-die moment, but Yuseong just grimaced, not panicking.
‘Too early to use world-shift.’
He had something to rely on.
But that was a last resort.
No options? Fine.
But Yuseong had a fresh acquisition from yesterday.
He dropped the NK-4 and pulled the railgun from his back.
Never used it before, but his motions were practiced.
Ammo was pre-loaded ages ago.
Yuseong thrust the railgun forward.
-Kiiiiiik!-
The beast suddenly screeched oddly.
‘What’s that?’
Some kind of pre-attack roar?
Yuseong’s guess missed.
Boom!
The wall around the window exploded outward.
Radar showed the red dot exiting the building.
Then vanishing.
‘…It ran?’
Even Yuseong was left nonplussed by the rare sight of a beast fleeing a human.
* * *
Unexpected outcome, but the fight was over.
Yuseong prepped for the next one right away.
He had to be ready for outdoor combat anytime.
Even straight after one ended.
He reloaded the empty mag, restoring the gun to full readiness.
Then he peered out the massive hole in the wall.
‘An invisible beast that flees humans…’
He couldn’t help frowning.
Nothing about it favored him.
Invisibility was obvious, but fleeing too.
‘Means it judges situations and acts tactically.’
Cunning bastard.
A guess from the dawn red dot on radar.
And this beast had just proven it.
Tried a stealth ambush with transparency, then fled a human despite being a beast.
‘No mistake. Dawn’s red dot—that was it.’
But why flee?
‘Railgun. Has to be.’
Fled the instant he brandished it.
‘At dawn, it didn’t charge because it was wary of the railgun on my back.’
Meaning it knew what a railgun was.
‘Did it kill the railgun’s previous owner?’
Seeing its cunning and wall-shattering power made the flight understandable.
‘Tch, should’ve blasted it with the railgun from the start.’
No matter how spooked, it wouldn’t give up on him.
That’s what beasts were.
Meaning Yuseong had to stay vigilant against it ongoing.
‘A headache.’
But unavoidable.
‘Next time it lunges, that’s when I vaporize it.’
With that, Yuseong turned away.
Robot activation first.
Back up to the rooftop.
Robot and generator still there, thankfully.
Yuseong crouched by the robot and hit the power button.
Flash!
Light entered the robot’s eyes.
At least power for startup was secured.
But nothing else.
No OS installed.
Yuseong connected his portable computer to the robot.
‘Strategy Guide. Install the OS.’
【Yes.】
Lag hit the screen again, showing file copy in progress.
The robot’s mechanical hum grew slightly louder too.
Yuseong wanted to set the portable on the robot and guard the perimeter.
But the Strategy Guide’s warning—no control if detached from his body—left him stuck by the robot.
‘Uncomfortable.’
Tied to the robot, movement restricted.
If a beast attacked now, he couldn’t fight normally.
‘Can’t fight lugging the robot for charging either.’
Even with exosuit, adding generator was impossible.
Plus, railgun unusable in this state.
Never fired it himself, but he knew the recoil was immense.
Even nano-machine-enhanced humans couldn’t handle it raw.
Foolishly trying would shred his body.
Exosuit could take the recoil, though.
Personal railguns were designed for exosuit use.
But even then, two hands essential.
Right now, one arm was locked holding the computer linked to the robot.
One-handed railgun wouldn’t rip him apart like bare, but accuracy wasn’t guaranteed.
Exosuit strain would spike too.
‘Please, no incidents till OS install finishes.’
But this damned world loved tormenting Yuseong.
-Kraaaaaak!-
A beast’s shrill howl echoed.
Yuseong scowled.
Beast cries never brought gain, only harm.
And gut feeling or not…
‘That’s the same one from before, isn’t it?’
The voice was eerily familiar.
The transparent beast surely grinding its teeth at him.
“Fuck.”
Nothing but bad omens.
And damn if Yuseong’s instincts weren’t spot-on.
Thud thud thud thud!
Faint vibrations rumbled.
Cursing nonstop, he glanced below.
No matter how he thought, it sounded like a pack charging through the building.
In this wasteland, only one type stampeded in groups.
Red dots suddenly bloomed on the radar below.
The pattern when beasts on other stairs got pinged.
Dots flickered in and out.
The boundary of appearance/disappearance spread away from Yuseong’s center.
Meaning beasts closing on his rooftop.
Yuseong aimed his gun at the rooftop’s sole entrance.
-Kraaaaa!-
A beast appeared through the doorway.
Bang!
He pulled the trigger.