Chapter 161
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: Factory Intruders
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Has the inevitable finally arrived?
I'd always figured a day like this would come, when I'd see a system window like this.
After all, I had multiple spots designated as my base and additional areas. There was no way someone wouldn't sneak into one of them eventually.
Especially the factory zone mentioned in this current system window—I'd even put up barricades to keep weirdos out.
This place was pretty important, even if the others weren't as critical.
It was vital for keeping my base running smoothly, handling all the electricity production.
Think of all the coins I poured into installing those solar generators.
Considering the investment, it couldn't be destroyed by some random assholes.
Among my additional areas, this one ranked second in priority.
First place went to my main base, of course.
Since there were barricades, it probably wasn't zombies that got inside the factory—it had to be people climbing over.
So, which bastard managed to get into my factory?
Whoever it was, if they so much as damaged one of those generators, they were done for.
My base had defensive installations ready for intruders, so any idiot barging in would end up Swiss cheese.
I didn't have enough coins left to outfit every area yet, so I'd left the factory as is—and of course, that's where someone breaks in.
I couldn't just ignore it, whoever it was. Time to check it out.
It was late at night, and I should've been sleeping, but curiosity about this pest was killing me.
I threw on some clothes and instantly teleported straight to the factory.
I felt it every time, but being able to teleport anytime to my base or designated additional areas was seriously the best.
Without it, getting from the base to the factory would've taken way longer than expected. But now? Less than a second. No way to complain about that.
If someone with the same Technician trait as me got Base Manager status, they could teleport around too. That might get annoying.
Right now, the environment made it nearly impossible for anyone else to reach that point with the Technician trait, but in time, someone with support from others might pull it off.
Hold on—I've been using this casually, but... does teleporting consume mana every time?
If it did, that changes things.
I'd never felt a mana shortage using skills, so I hadn't even noticed if mana was being used.
Maybe my Mental Power stat—tied to mana—was so ridiculously high compared to other Awakeners that my mana pool was insane too.
I'd never seen anyone else's Mental Power hit double digits, but mine was past that at 19.
Even my disciple, Seo-yun, hadn't reached double digits.
With that kind of mana capacity and recovery speed, I probably wouldn't feel a shortage even spamming skills.
It'd be nice if the system showed mana quantity numerically.
Hey, System? If you can read my thoughts, could you make mana appear in the status window in the next patch?
Enough random thoughts. Time to hunt down the intruder in the factory.
I'd wanted to use the Base Management System to pinpoint their location, but unfortunately, it only flagged if there was an intruder in an area—not their exact position.
Guess I'd have to leg it the old-fashioned way.
Luckily, the factory wasn't huge, so it shouldn't take long.
Focusing on presence, I wandered through the factory and quickly spotted the intruder huddled carefully in a corner.
And yeah, with their irregular breathing and obvious shivering, they weren't even trying to hide.
Or maybe I'd just sensed them anyway.
I slowly approached the source of the presence.
The intruder was crouched in a narrow gap right in the middle of the factory interior.
I walked up to their hiding spot and spoke quietly.
[Intruder detected in additional area: Factory interior.]
"Hey, I know you're hiding there. Come out now if you don't want to die."
My voice calling them out must've startled them—they jerked and bumped into the wall.
"Yeah, you hiding there. Don't make me drag you out. Hurry up. I'm wasting time."
If they ignored this warning, I was fully prepared to yank them out myself, but before I could, the hidden intruder spoke first.
"Wh-who are you?"
Huh? A woman?
I'd assumed it was a guy, but the voice was definitely female.
Climbing a 5-meter barricade wasn't easy, so I'd figured man—but surprise.
"Who else? The owner. What the hell are you doing on my turf?"
"The... owner?"
"Yeah. Enough talk—come on out already."
With that, the woman hiding there slowly revealed herself.
Her head poked out first, long platinum blonde hair swaying as it emerged.
Her face didn't look like your average Korean—especially those blue eyes. At least half-foreign.
About 170cm tall, pretty big for a woman. Bust and hips average?
Well, compared to monsters like Yejin or Miyoung around me, maybe a bit smaller than Seo-yun.
Solid B-to-C cup territory.
But her condition looked rough. Her clothes were basically rags, filthy and torn.
Rips everywhere exposing skin, plus caked in grime.
It screamed she'd been through hell just to survive and get here.
Even covered in dirt, though, her looks passed muster. Like finding a pearl in the muck.
Half-foreign bonus? Pretty face, slender figure—attractive woman for sure.
Charm-wise, at least 5, maybe pushing 6.
So why'd a woman like this sneak into my factory?
Actually, with looks like that, she probably fled here to hide.
No way the guys outside would leave a beauty like her alone. Hiding inside made sense.
Standing before me, eyeing me warily, I decided to hear her story first.
"Hmm... Why'd you come here? Explain exactly how and why."
She took a step back at my words before answering.
"W-well, I was being chased by some people. While running, I spotted this place by chance and used my skill to climb over."
"Skill? What skill?"
"A skill that lets me scale walls easily..."
Whatever it was, not something I needed.
If it were good, I'd steal it with Skill Theft, but wall-climbing was useless to me with Blink.
Hell, even without Blink, I could climb it myself.
More importantly, being chased?
"Chased by who? Rapists?"
Her outfit looked like she'd barely escaped an assault—rags that screamed it.
But she shook her head ambiguously.
"N-not rapists exactly... but similar. They're after my body."
"After your body? What does that mean..."
[Unregistered multiple personnel detected in additional area: Factory interior.]
What the hell is this?
Multiple people inside? Only one explanation.
They'd come in here after her.
Damn it, can't even sleep on a quiet night—now this hassle.
I let out an irritated sigh, and she flinched like she was scared.
"Hey, looks like whoever's chasing you followed you in here. What the fuck is going on?"
"Huh? They followed me?"
"Yeah. Said they climbed the wall too."
She freaked out and yelled.
"N-no! Then we have to run—now!"
"What bullshit is that?"
"If you don't run right now, you're in danger too... Eek!"
She clapped a hand over her mouth mid-sentence.
Her eyes were on something behind me, so I turned—and spotted what must be the intruders from the system alert.
Four guys, all different looks.
Her reaction confirmed they were her pursuers.
They spotted us too and charged over fast.
"We have to run! Hurry!"
The moment she saw them and spun to flee without hesitation, the biggest guy pulled a massive greatsword off his back.
The smallest one whipped out a crossbow-like thing, aimed at me, and fired instantly.
The bolt was fast, but not un-dodgeable—I twisted aside easily. Then, as the greatsword came down on my head, I slapped the flat with my bare hand to deflect its path.
"What?!"
He'd expected the bolt to stagger me into a bisecting strike, so he panicked at the unexpected turn. As I swung a fist at him, some unknown tendril shot from the ground and bound my arm, locking it in place.
What the—?
Some kind of restraint skill?
I strained to break free, but the greatsword guy swung at me again—then one of them shouted loudly.
"Stop! Grab Ria first, not this guy! Lady Mir is waiting for Ria!"
Ria—probably the fleeing woman's name...
Mir?
Did he just say Mir?
Why the fuck is that shitty name coming out of these bastards' mouths?