Chapter 55
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Overflowing Power
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The parts in Shelter D could be called the "Adamantium Turbine," the core component of the thermal power plant. If they had refused the trade in Shelter D, it would have been a huge headache, since there'd be no substitutes available.
But they didn't know the turbine's value and lacked the ability to use it anyway. I managed to snag the turbine for a measly ten cans of food.
'If Sophia had been there, it would've been rough...'
By game lore, Sophia was a walking encyclopedia. She probably would've recognized the turbine's importance and not let it go easily... Lucky for me, she never showed.
Either way, acquiring the turbine was great, but hauling its massive weight wasn't easy. That's why I'd brought the survivors along.
Clad in standard-issue power suits, they could handle serious loads, so I delegated the grunt work to them, weaving in Metal Transformation and Metal Decomposition as needed.
It wasn't just them—survivors from Shelter D pitched in too. None other than Yuna, the girl I'd rescued, and her friends. Yuna approached me all friendly-like.
"Hey, Si-hyun oppa. How's Zixuan unnie doing these days?"
Since when were we oppa-dongsaeng? Still, I didn't mind the "oppa," so I smirked and shot back.
"Zixuan's doing fine."
Now that I thought about it, Zixuan asked about her pretty often. I'd promised to check in once. Guess I'd fill her in on Yuna when I got back.
"Aw, oppa, use casual speech—casual! We're both Korean, right? Korean spirit."
Korean spirit, huh...
Fair enough—Koreans had that vibe. Game NPC or not, her nationality was straight-up "Republic of Korea."
"Alright, then?"
Working transport duty with her, I got the lowdown on Shelter D's ins and outs. She even spilled the full situation without me asking.
That's when it hit me: she'd firmly picked a side. She was acting and talking like she was already part of Shelter Apocalypse.
"Rations got cut off a few days ago. Sophia unnie sneaks us one or two cans... But honestly, it's nowhere near enough to feed the kids."
The factory district was already food-scarce, and I'd snatched over half of what little there was when setting up Shelter Apocalypse. No surprise there.
Rummaging my backpack for something slim, I found a can. But then I remembered: it was the "human thigh meat" can from the Salvation Church bishop.
Why the hell hadn't I ditched it...? She eyed the can hopefully, but no way was I handing her human jerky.
"Don't have any right now. Next time, though."
"You promise?"
I nodded.
"In exchange, just keep doing what you're doing."
I left the "what" unsaid.
If I had to spell it out: "Keep feeding me Shelter D intel and spread word about Zixuan inside."
But that was enough—she nodded right away.
"Just trust me, oppa. I got you..."
Her eyes burned with fanatical loyalty.
"Speaking of, something happen to Sophia?"
"Oh, Sophia unnie? She's dead."
The hell?
"Kidding—she just looks half-dead from stress lately."
She checked the others, then whispered.
"Heard from the grapevine... Ben's pinning the food shortage on Sophia unnie. Well, makes sense if he wants to cling to his leader spot."
Shelter D's leader, "Ben." Classic type: power-hungry to a fault, incompetent beyond belief.
Game lore had him crushing on Sophia hard... Guess his power lust trumped that.
'Whatever. Not my circus.'
I wasn't generous enough to babysit an NPC on "worst enemy" terms with me. Knowledgeable or not, could she out-nerd a veteran like me?
Better to pour energy into Shelter Apocalypse.
Anyway, teaming up with the survivors, we hauled the turbine to the thermal power plant over two days. All parts assembled.
「Used Metal Transformation (Lv.8) to synthesize Turbine Blade A, …, Magnet Device C into Adamantium Turbine x1.」
The massive turbine loomed before me. Thermal power plant centerpiece.
「Zaira Thermal Power Plant」
Max Power Charge: 0/550,000
Power Charge per Hour: 5,500
Durability: 1400/1,500
Description: Zaira Inc.'s thermal power plant. Burns the alien metal "Adamantium" to generate electricity. Runs on a tiny amount, with top-tier efficiency.
Boosted durability meant bumped max capacity and hourly output. Sirius 2's hourly rate was 500—this was over ten times that.
「Use Adamantium Fragment x1 to activate Zaira Thermal Power Plant?」
I eyed the shimmering purple metal shard, then chucked it into the intake. Salvation Church zealots would've lost their minds, but after all this hassle? No choice.
Flames roared to life. The shard sizzled inside, crackling away—yet somehow barely scorched.
Even that puny thing would fuel it properly, I figured. After a moment's watch, I headed out. Still plenty to do.
To pipe power to the shelter, I needed to run cables.
Plus, to guard against intruders, electric fences and sentry guns. Grab wire from the munitions factory, hook up the sentries...
'Work never ends.'
Craved a break once this wrapped... Fat chance. Shelter pop had ballooned. And it might swell more—Pedro from Shelter B had that hungry look in his eye.
Power surplus, but food stocks? Dire. Prof. Alex said potato harvest was imminent...
Timing was iffy, though—and nobody lives on spuds alone. Time to lead a foraging run, stock up outside.
Solo? I'd hit the department store or big mart near Shelter E. But with all these idle hands now? Group raid...
Might as well go big.
And I knew just the spot.
'Raid the food factory.'
Scenario 2's map edge had "Valhalla Food Factory." Straight-up food goldmine.
Snag the cans, and screw potatoes—food woes solved for a stretch. But high risk, high reward: crawling with zombies.
Basic ones? Meh. Dozens of variants, and by now? Chasers galore. Even vets avoided it.
Overconfident ones died there, hard.
'Of course.'
Solo talk. Armed with Mechanic heavies and Healer buffs? Game-changer.
'Guaranteed win.'
No way this squad flopped. Flop meant I was trash leadership.
One wildcard: Salvation Church stirring shit. Another chapel right by Valhalla.
Word got out we were raiding? They'd swarm like roaches. We'd leveled up, but direct brawl? Not ideal.
'Play it safe... But if push comes, we hold.'
* * *
Shelter Apocalypse now swam in electricity. Sirius 2 bowed to weather whims—this plant didn't.
Shelter sprawl to factory district or whole island scale? Maybe strain it. But right now? Overflow city.
So, time to burn power. No full factories yet—nothing big to guzzle it.
Fired up district appliances, even gutted a building into a theater for movie night. I sidled up to the woman lounging with legs stretched long.
"Satisfied now?"
「Queen knows no emotions. 'Satisfied' doesn't apply to me.」
Her lip twitched up anyway. Classic "I'm loving this" face—totally undercut the denial.
I played up the gripe.
"You flipped the power whenever you felt like it back then."
「Essential conservation step.」
"Next time, at least run it by me."
「I'll... consider it.」
Queen felt even more human now. Lore-wise, she was the fastest-evolving AI in the game.
'Game barely scratched that potential, though.'
Mid-thought, the movie hit climax. Ship tilting slow... Male lead sprinting for the girl.
Titanic. No rename BS like "Empress Hong" or "Curse of the Early Night"—title intact, copyright dodge?
Kinda moving: lifeboat spot open, but he bolts for love. Trap: she's got a fiancé...
「Why's that human doing that?」
Queen just cocked her head, baffled.
"...Beats me."
Apocalypse All-Purpose Machine