Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: The Bigwig's Demand (3)
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Shyness was Scott's polite way of putting it. There was no way these guys were shy. They're not the type to hide away—they're the ones who charge to the front lines in Power Armor and clash head-on with Monsters.
What they were feeling now was closer to embarrassment. They'd prided themselves as experts and dismissed Suhyun as some clueless rookie, only to get schooled in their own domain. And with skills like theirs, the embarrassment hit even harder.
If they were expendable hires or pilots from an enemy faction, Suhyun would've torn into them. But he still needed these guys going forward. Mostly for grunt work. So he started consoling them with generous magnanimity.
"I get it—you're not used to this stuff because of the work you do. But it's all tied to Power Armor piloting. You think Monsters are always gonna let you snipe them from afar?"
"……."
The pilots had nothing to say, even if they grew ten mouths.
"Our doctrine is to finish them before they close in…"
"Yeah, that's bullshit. If the world always worked that neatly, why would problems ever crop up? You gotta prepare for when shit hits the fan. You think only one or two Monster types can close the distance and get right up in a Power Armor's grill? Step outside Euterpe, and you'll run into them everywhere. Don't slack on close-quarters drills just 'cause you think you won't need 'em. It shows."
"You know how to pilot Power Armor too? Impressive."
"No kidding. Our team's pilots aren't the type to take crap like that from anyone…"
Scott nodded in agreement at Jennifer's words.
'Huh? Was there info saying he was a Power Armor pilot?'
When they'd gathered intel on Suhyun back during the recruitment push, there'd been no mention of him piloting Power Armor. That was a standout credential on Cameron—something not just anyone could claim. It wasn't the kind of detail you'd overlook.
'Did he pick it up in the meantime? His skills didn't look like a day-one amateur… Guess I must've misremembered. Makes sense—with that level of proficiency, he's probably been at it for ages.'
"Thanks for the advice."
"Why are you thanking him? Those guys should be."
"Suh…"
"…Say 'shy' one more time, and I might just make you actually shy."
Trembling while avoiding eye contact was a form of shyness too. And Suhyun could make that happen to them if he wanted.
"…Sorry."
The pilots looked shocked after hearing Suhyun's advice. It had hit them hard, them who prided themselves as pilots.
'Still, gotta thank him. These idiots…'
It was because of them that he had to clean up this mess.
"Euterpe's wide open spaces make it easy to keep Monsters at range, but head elsewhere and your limits will show fast. If you don't wanna waste expensive Power Armor, train ahead of time."
"Yes, got it."
"Looks like we're mostly through."
"Now that you mention it…"
They'd been so caught up in the unexpected pilot training that they hadn't even asked Suhyun why he was doing this.
"Why'd you dig this tunnel?"
"To get underneath."
"…!"
* * *
Once you entered the cave midway up the mountain, you had to slog through an endless gauntlet of traps and Monsters to descend. It was like they'd carved a spiral staircase inside the mountain. Keep going deep like that, and you'd eventually hit the chamber with the ruins.
So there was no need to use the designated entrance up top and follow the set path. Just find a good spot at the mountain's base, tunnel in, and approach from there.
Everyone in Blue Bear gawked like they'd been smacked upside the head when they heard Suhyun's plan. Jennifer stammered before blurting out a word.
"G-Genius?"
"Trying to stick to the scripted path into ruins is just dumb. Cut the crap. We're going in!"
Thanks to the Power Armor, the tunnel came together way faster than expected. Blue Bear Team 2 walked the underground passage, shaking their heads. They'd adapted to the abnormal while working on Cameron, but Suhyun just kept getting more fascinating.
"How'd you pinpoint that room's location?"
"Trade secret."
Suhyun rapped on the blocked wall. It echoed hollow. This was where the Power Armor pilots had reported they couldn't break through. A wall this thin, and Power Armor couldn't punch it…?
'We're here.'
"Gonna need Superpower to crack this. Who's up?"
"I'll do it."
Whitman stepped forward eagerly, clenching his fists. Suhyun's command of the operation so far had lit a fire under him. He was part of Team 2—he couldn't just be dead weight.
"Oh, Baldy."
"……."
"Don't forget to control your power."
"Huh?"
Whitman froze mid-swing, about to unleash a full-power energy missile at the wall. Suhyun sighed.
'Don't Superpowered folks get basic explorer training?'
"You don't even know what's inside, and you're going full blast?"
"But Power Armor couldn't dent it…"
"That's 'cause it's reinforced with Superpower. Hit it light. Don't blow it away."
"Got it…"
Whitman fired off a magic missile looking glum. Even toned down like Suhyun said, the wall crumbled in seconds. Dust settled, but no one budged. All eyes turned to Suhyun.
"What, you leaving it to me?"
"No… It's just…"
They'd never imagined bulldozing into a notorious ruin site like this, but now they were all leaning on Suhyun.
'Suhyun could breeze through even a dangerous ruin,' 'Suhyun will tell us what to do next.' That's what they were thinking.
"What now? Go in?"
"Ugh…"
Suhyun levitated pebbles from outside and started chucking them one by one.
Clunk!
Infused with telekinesis for weight, the pebble triggered a floor trap. The whole section vanished, making everyone in the tunnel behind flinch.
"Whoa…"
Scott thought Suhyun was done when he stopped throwing. But Suhyun pulled out a drone and sent it flying in.
'No need to go that far…'
Crack!
It snagged some wire, triggering a trap that smashed the drone.
"Right."
"What'd you say?"
"Nothing."
"Looks clear enough. Let's go in. Wait—no, not all of you. Just you."
"Me??"
Whitman panicked, glancing around when Suhyun singled him out.
'No way—he's not still pissed about last time…'
"I can't go in. I've got healing powers. If you get hurt, patch you up. Go on."
"Why me?"
"'Cause out of Team 2, you look the easiest mark. Don't worry—traps are probably all cleared."
Suhyun didn't sugarcoat it.
"Probably?"
"Quit yapping. Get in!"
Without a full scan, sending a crowd in at once was a bad idea. Whitman trudged in with a face like he'd rather die.
But no traps triggered. Whitman gradually calmed, scanning the ruins in wonder.
Simple layout, nothing fancy—but there was an ornate metal box in front of a statue. With nothing else around, even he could guess it held something.
"No traps. There's a box. What now?"
"Don't touch that box."
"?"
"Look around the box. Anything else?"
"There's the statue…"
"Search that statue good. Don't touch the box."
Scott, listening in, asked.
"Why not the box?"
"You think they packed it nice and neat in a ruin crawling with traps just to make it easy to grab? Obviously it's rigged."
Ruins came in varieties, but broadly: simple storage ones with no traps, or complex death-traps built to repel intruders. In the latter, never touch anything that screams "artifact" at first glance.
"Nothing on the statue?"
"Smash it."
"Huh? For real?!"
"Smash it."
Whitman hesitated but couldn't bring himself to defy Suhyun. After a pause, he blasted it with a magic missile.
"Found it!"
"Good. Bring it out. Nothing else."
"Just leave the box?"
"You deaf? I said come out."
One of the fresh Blue Bear Team 2 recruits piped up, then shrank back at Suhyun's icy retort.
"B-But it's a ruin box… Mmph!"
"Haha, he's still green…"
"Keep talking, and I'll shove that box down your throat."
The two who'd already learned the hard way not to run their mouths around Suhyun jumped in. Scott clamped the recruit's mouth shut, trying to smooth things over, while Jennifer whispered in his ear.
"Fair enough—you busted your ass, wanna grab all you can."
They knew Suhyun was more dangerous when he sounded nice.
"Go open it yourself then."
"Huh?"
"Go on, open it. You wanna grab it, right?"
"Uh…"
Now that Suhyun told him to, terror set in. Suhyun's predictions had been spot-on so far—practically prophetic. But he couldn't back out now.
'Shouldn't have opened my big mouth…!'
Regretting it inwardly, he shuffled over. At least he trusted Suhyun wouldn't let him die. Whitman approached with the small coffer and asked.
"Can I open this?"
"Aaaargh!"
"Of course not."
Suhyun stood and strode in. A swarm of bugs erupted, thick as smoke. The recruit who'd opened the box was already stung out cold on the floor.
Suhyun had planned to have Whitman fetch it, then go in to kill the bugs and harvest the venom. Just the order got flipped.
Thud! Crunch!
He gathered the poison with telekinesis, sucked it out with his poison technique. Grabbing the convulsing recruit by the scruff, Suhyun hauled him back out. Without his healing and poison arts, the guy would've dropped dead on the spot.
"Poison."
"He okay?!"
"Fine. Used healing, and antidoted him."
Suhyun flashed plain rings on his fingers—no decorations. Fake artifacts he wore as cover for his Superpowers.
"This coffer too…?"
"They probably didn't rig something they went to the trouble to preserve, but we'll open it outside. You carry it."
"……."
Whitman shouldered the unconscious recruit.
* * *
"Incredible! I got nothing else to say—truly incredible!"
"It's no eternal life…"
"Doesn't matter. We knew that going in—no way it'd have an immortality artifact. Chairman Charles is plenty satisfied."
Compared to eternal life, it was a step down, but a vitality artifact was useful in its own right. Handy in combat, versatile outside it.
"Who cracks a ruin like that? Our team learned a ton."
"Strong Superpower teams tend to be weak on these tricks."
Suhyun preferred easy wins over fair fights. If a shortcut existed, he'd take it.
"Speaking of—Charles is satisfied, we delivered. Mind if I borrow those technicians now?"
He planned to launder everything except what Louiril stole from America, turning it into real firepower. Suhyun wanted it done ASAP—who knew when they'd clash with Chinese forces.
"Oh, before that—Charles wants to meet you."
"The chairman?"
Suhyun made no effort to hide his annoyance. He'd already burned time during a busy stretch, and now the man himself wanted a sit-down? A hassle.
"…Don't make that face. Meeting Charles won't hurt. He's good to his people—why else would talent stick around?"
"I'm not his guy."
"You helped indirectly, so it'll be positive. What do you say? Up for it?"
"Whatever. Fine. Set it up."
No point souring things when he needed those techs. Time already invested—might as well add a bit more.