Uninvited Guest (3)
The hospitality must not have been enough. Captain Kang Ji-hyung made the proposal, and I turned it over in my head with what passed for my genius intellect. Our next destination wasn’t exactly set in stone. We had no real plan, only the vague thought of what should we do next and where? We could head for the sea, or make straight for Seoul. In that situation, the offer he tossed out sounded pretty damn good.
Anyone could see it just by looking at our cargo bed. Several broken exoskeletons, sure, but quite a few serviceable ones too. Even after setting aside the X8P my sister used and my own Crusader suit, the numbers were still high, yet we didn’t actually need that many. The same went for the firearms. A handful of standard assault rifles, two new-model ones. Even if we stripped some for parts, we had far too many. So trading away what we wouldn’t use in exchange for decent gear… it didn’t sound half bad.
Of course, if it came down to it, killing them and taking what we wanted was always an option. But we didn’t have to loot everything. We couldn’t carry it all anyway.
So I accepted the proposal.
“Smart choice. There’s way too much good stuff here for just me to keep.”
Captain Kang Ji-hyung ordered the remaining three subordinates to guide us. The formation ended up looking a lot like the time I met Ye-eun amid the ruins of Sion Mountain Fortress. We drove slowly, the three soldiers leading the way on foot ahead of us. Long shadows stretched out from the headlights, pointing the direction like fingers.
The speed was inevitably slow.
“Oppaaa… Ahyeon’s sleepy~”
Probably because she’d been woken in the middle of the night, my sister immediately started whining. Pathetic girl. Was this really the time? I clicked my tongue even as I answered.
“Then get some shut-eye.”
“Uiiing… I can’t sleep if oppa doesn’t pat me…”
“I’m busy driving and keeping an eye on those bastards.”
“Hing. It’s cold.”
Even after saying that, she stopped bothering me.
“Oppa’s a dummy.”
She wrapped herself in the leather jacket I’d taken off, hugged her doll like a body pillow, and fell asleep. I watched the soldiers walking briskly ahead in the headlights and picked up the radio. In a low voice, breathing evenly, I waited until she was fully under before speaking.
“You still there?”
“—Ah, the armored-car owner?”
“Yeah. The armored-car owner.”
“You on your way? Or…”
“On my way. Got a question first.”
I asked while listening to that dialect-laced accent. “How did you know I killed the president?”
Captain Kang Ji-hyung had called me the presidential assassin. If it was pure guesswork there were better ways to phrase it, yet I couldn’t figure out how the hell he knew. I didn’t know whether he’d even answer.
“Ah, that? I deduced it. Simple inference anyone could make with the right background knowledge.”
Surprisingly, Kang Ji-hyung answered without hesitation.
“Background knowledge?”
What kind of background knowledge let you conclude the president was dead? Unlike my confusion, he continued without missing a beat.
“The president’s helicopter went down.”
That was it? I frowned slightly.
“Couldn’t he have simply not been on board?”
“Possible. But… the moment the presidential chopper was hijacked and crashed, the odds of him being fine dropped to near zero. And seeing how thoroughly the vacation island was trashed, I figured he wasn’t alive anymore.”
His tone was strange. It sounded like he had seen it with his own eyes. After a moment’s thought, I was certain.
“A drone.”
“Correct.”
Drone. Knowledge that wasn’t mine—most likely the Centurion’s, bleeding through from the shooting skill—tapped at my mind. The danger of drones in modern warfare was well known. Some even said the fundamental nature of war itself had changed. Stockpiled shotguns were dragged back out to swat down drones dropping grenades into trenches. Sniping, too, had seen dramatic range increases thanks to drones and AI. Even simple reconnaissance drones outperformed any veteran scout. It was well and truly the age of the drone.
“Then I saw the presidential security vehicle carrying a stranger instead of the president and put it together. Must already be dead, I thought.”
A reasonable inference. The guy’s head worked better than I’d given him credit for.
“Though I didn’t expect you to have killed him personally.”
I would have thought the same. No one would have expected a direct confession. The fortunate part was that Kang Ji-hyung was as quick-witted as he was intelligent. Even Choi Tae-woo hadn’t caught on until I hit him. This guy seemed to have measured my strength and decided to grovel accordingly. He didn’t press for details about what happened or exactly how I’d killed the president. He might want to hear it face-to-face. At the very least, he didn’t question my abilities, what I could do, or what I intended. A wise bastard.
And fitting that wisdom, his territory was thriving.
“Stop, stop, stop! Move and we shoot! Grasshopper!”
“Seafood stew!”
Look at that ridiculous password. I drove forward as they lowered their weapons and soon entered what had once been a school. The place was far busier than I’d expected. According to knowledge that wasn’t mine, it had been a high school closed down when the military base moved in. It had also once been used for CQB training in preparation for urban combat. Now that the world had gone to shit? They’d cleared every tree between the base and the school, turning the land into palisades and temporary structures, securing a massive plot. Countless tents and stalls turned the whole area into a sleepless night market.
“Mmm… are we there yet…?”
“Yeah. Wake up. Grab a weapon.”
“Eung…”
I roused my sister and we stepped out of the car. The soldiers who had guided us scurried off. We walked through the market in our exoskeletons, weapons in hand. The stink of generator exhaust mingled with the smell of grilling meat. Somewhere a sharp, chemical sweetness drifted—probably booze. Threaded through it all was the thick, sour reek of blood and the metallic tang of fresh gore. A familiar bloody smell. Not zombie or beast. Human.
Wooden buildings topped with metal roofs, plain wooden shacks, and military tents serving as stall space. Armed men occasionally stared at our vehicle and at us with open wariness. And there he was.
Captain Kang Ji-hyung. The master of this den of thieves and the bandit boss who wanted to open long-term trade with me.
“Whoa, you’re way better-looking than I expected. At this level I don’t even feel jealous. And damn, little sister is straight-up gorgeous.”
The glib bastard was flanked by his subordinates. Men carrying heavy crates and the familiar wire-bound ammunition boxes approached. Captain Kang Ji-hyung looked, in polite terms, like a quick-witted man. In less polite terms, he was a rat-faced bastard. Narrow, squinting eyes, angular face. Tall, but still shorter than me. About average. He wore a neatly pressed uniform.
“I don’t think I caught your name. What should I call you? Alias is fine.”
“Kang Hyun.”
“And the pretty sister?”
“Kang Ahyeon.”
“Kang Hyun and Kang Ahyeon! Welcome to my land. How was the trip? Not too uncomfortable, I hope?”
“Pretty uncomfortable. I was trying to sleep and some asshole started causing a scene. Felt like complete shit.”
His purpose still wasn’t clear. Yet he had invited us straight into his stronghold. At first I’d wondered if it was a trap, but this place didn’t feel like one. Not when he’d built an entire market here. So why call us in? In the end it didn’t matter what his reasons were. What mattered was what this bastard could give us, and what exactly “full-course hospitality” looked like.
Fortunately, he seemed ready to show sincerity.
“Ah, right. Good children should be sleeping by now. Of course. As an apology, I prepared a small gift. How about you accept it and we get along nicely? Let’s forget our earlier rudeness.”
At his words the subordinates handed over the heavy crate and set down the familiar wire-bound boxes. Their names floated up in my vision.
◈ 12.7×99mm anti-materiel rifle officially adopted by the ROK military. Shortened from the U.S. model for easier handling.
◈ 480 rounds total. 120 rounds per crate.
Inside the opened crate lay a heavy, elongated sniper rifle. A semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle that could load ten massive .50-cal rounds and put them on target at extreme range. If we’d had something like this when we fought the Serpent of Eden, we wouldn’t have had to run around like idiots.
And that wasn’t all.
“This too.”
Kang Ji-hyung gave a friendly smile and gestured. One of his men stripped off what he was wearing.
◈ Developed by Cheonseong Defense, the largest domestic defense contractor and subsidiary of the New Heaven Rapture Mission Church, under direct orders and design from Pope Ju Ye-su. Sixth revision. Heavy powered exoskeleton. Extremely heavy; can only move when all power is diverted to locomotion. Armor comparable to a tank. Developed for mechanized infantry. First prototype cleared for live combat deployment.
◈ Heavy Powered Exoskeleton: Cannot move unless Strength is 20 or higher while active.
◈ Special Alloy Armor: Hard enough to stop bullets, disperses impact to protect the wearer. Fully encloses the body, completely blocking chemical weapons, radiation, high-voltage electricity, extreme heat, extreme cold, underwater environments, and other hazards while allowing normal breathing.
◈ Charging Port: Cable extends from the coccyx area, allowing the exoskeleton to be charged from standard power sources.
The heavy exterior, the seamless coverage described in the specs. With the helmet it formed armor that perfectly protected the entire body. My pupils trembled for a second. He was really giving us this? As an apology? While I was still doubting my eyes, Kang Ji-hyung flashed a bright, infectious smile.
“There. Does this earn your forgiveness?”
I looked at the hand he offered and reached out to shake it.
“Forgiveness? What forgiveness? There’s nothing to forgive.”
It had been a minor misunderstanding. Getting hung up on it would be childish. As we shook hands, my sister stared at me with a dazed expression.
“Oppa, even so—”
Before she could complain I handed her the anti-materiel rifle I was holding. I specialized in CQB; she was the sniper. It belonged in her hands.
“Ah.”
She accepted the rifle and stared down at it blankly. The mounted scope, the long barrel slightly shorter than her own height. Feeling its considerable weight, she looked up.
“Go on. Finish what you were saying.”
“…Huh? What? Ahyeon has no idea what you’re talking about.”
She shook her head at my pointed tone, then broke into a bright smile. She hugged the anti-materiel rifle to her chest like a teddy bear.
“Thank you so muuuch~”
She even bowed deeply, voice dripping with aegyo.
“No need to thank me. We were the ones who were rude first.”
Watching the humble Kang Ji-hyung, I recalled something I’d once heard. The Busan full course was the ultimate hospitality a Busan man could offer. It seemed the saying was true.