13. Restructuring
Beep beep!
A piercing alarm blared from somewhere, and then the floor, walls, and ceiling split open. What emerged were none other than machine guns—gun turrets.
"Wh-what the hell is that?"
"Looks just like a turret, doesn't it?"
These machines were one of the Safety Planning Department's special features: lobby defense turrets. Even in the chaos, employees from other departments stole glances at them. Who could have predicted that such things would pop out of nowhere in the lobby? Unless they were Safety Planning Department staff, that is.
Cherubim's voice rang out, brimming with confidence even as she shouted that.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
"Shaaack!"
"Graaaah!"
The turrets' barrels spat fire. Every time a monster in the vicinity became a target, its body shredded like a rag. It was gruesome, sure—but cathartic in its own way.
Even though the turrets had spawned across the entire lobby, the nature of hunter combat meant enemies and allies were hopelessly mixed, so they couldn't be used at 100% efficiency. Still, it was more than enough help. The tide was already slowly turning in the hunters' favor.
"Ooooh!"
"Where'd those turrets even come from?"
"Who cares? They're on our side—worry about it after we win!"
The hunters, too, were struck by curiosity and confusion at the sudden appearance of the turrets, but that was as far as it went. This was a battle. The enemies right in front of them took priority.
I glanced at the electronic board.
[1,493]
A decent amount of time had passed, but it was still sitting at 1,493. Sure enough, Choi Heejeong frowned and grumbled.
"Why doesn't the number seem to be going down at all?"
"It feels like the monsters are spawning faster and faster."
"Isn't that bad? If this keeps up..."
I nodded.
"Yeah. More monsters will spawn than we can kill."
Even with the turrets. Of course, the turrets were just support—the main fighting fell to us hunters.
I continued calmly.
"If we can't slow down the spawn rate."
Choi Heejeong's eyes lit up.
"You have a way?"
"We'll have to find one."
She seemed convinced I already knew a method. I'd mentioned my (fake) Gift a few times already, after all. Fortunately, I remembered this Restructuring event well. A ton of people had died during it in my first timeline.
It wasn't just the endless waves of monsters.
"If we just stall like this, we won't know what kind of monster might show up next."
"R-right."
If we couldn't stop this wave within the time limit, the boss from Underground Floor 20 would spawn right here in the lobby. That's why more than half the people died in my first go-around.
There was only one way to prevent it. Spotting something, I pointed at it with my index finger.
"That looks extremely suspicious."
"Huh? What... oh."
At the end of where I pointed was a goblin. A Flame Goblin, its whole body bright red. The things clutched handfuls of gem-like objects in both hands, scattering them everywhere as they scurried about.
I sliced one nearby with Sealed Sword: The Angelica and called out to Madric Blood.
"We need to prioritize taking those guys out."
"Indeed. They reek of suspicion, nira."
Those goblins were carrying materials to form summoning circles. It wouldn't summon the Floor 20 boss instantly upon completion, but stronger monsters would start appearing more frequently.
At her command as Safety Planning Department Head, the hunters sprang into action—but the monsters resisted fiercely. A few goblins had already succeeded in forming summoning circles.
A message popped up immediately.
Summoning Circle Completed
Monsters from Underground Floor 14 begin to appear.
With the delay, monsters from Floor 14 started showing up. The newly spawned ones looked different right away. Lizardmen wore shinier, higher-quality gear than before.
Clang!
"Kerruk!"
Sparks flew as hunter weapons clashed with monster ones.
"Why are these monsters wearing armor like that?!"
"Is there some kinda gear factory underground or what?"
One hunter grumbled offhand, but nailed it exactly. From here on, we'd be facing armed monsters.
It wasn't long before things escalated.
Beep—beep—beep—
Safety Planning Dept. Auto-Turret Damage Nearing 50%
"Uwahaat!"
Cherubim's voice came through, laced with obvious panic.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The invading monsters, finding the auto-turrets a nuisance, were prioritizing their destruction.
At this rate, HQ's CCTV won't last!!
Many turrets doubled as CCTV. And as everyone knew, CCTV was a key strategic asset for the Safety Planning Department. We couldn't afford more losses.
Turrets and CCTV could be repaired after the fight, sure—but it'd guzzle resources.
Cherubim tried slapping barriers on the turrets as a desperate measure, but there weren't enough to go around.
I spoke to her.
"Mind if I take a quick look at the command center, Director?"
She responded right away.
"There might be a way to turn this around."
As Cherubim started insisting on her rights, I looked to Madric Blood, the Department Head. She nodded and radioed Cherubim.
"Do as Section Chief Kim Jeongha wishes."
Madric Blood ignored Cherubim's shocked outburst and asked me.
"No idea what it is, but you're confident, right, nira?"
"Yes. I have a feeling the key to beating this Restructuring is in the command center."
"Hm. Fine. Go wild. But if things don't improve, you'll face a one-on-one after this is over."
"Of course."
\Knowing the **strategy and walkthrough** method via my (fake) Gift was always handy. There was no need for lengthy justifications.\
Even as I headed to the command center, the hunters steadily sniped the Flame Goblins scattering gems.
Honestly, no guarantee my hunch was spot-on. But we couldn't just sit and take it.
Upon arriving, I was greeted by Cherubim's pouty face.
"No clue why you're here, but do whatever!!"
With Madric Blood's approval already, I didn't need Cherubim's permission.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not gunning for your spot, Director."
"Hmph."
I lightened the mood and casually dropped a hint.
"Just wondering if the command center has any other features."
Cherubim's eyebrow twitched.
"Other features? What makes you think that!!"
I laid out my prepared line.
"Our department only got promoted to Safety Planning recently, but you handled the turret controls like a pro."
"Ehem!"
Her shoulders puffed up—a clear sign she was pleased. Easy to read.
"Doesn't that mean the command center's had those functions for a while?"
"Well, yeah."
"So the new ones from the promotion are separate."
Cherubim scratched her head at that.
"Spot on, but that's the problem."
I feigned ignorance.
"Huh? Why?"
"Dunno if you know, Section Chief Kim, but operating turrets from here is pretty unique."
Unique, yeah. I thought so too.
Cherubim manipulated a monitor. It showed hunters battling furiously and monsters smashing everything.
She pointed to one corner.
"See this?"
I followed her finger. Something unexpected was there.
Playing dumb again, I said,
"That's... a card deck? Kinda looks like it."
Cherubim nodded.
"Right!! When an auto-turret card gets drawn from this deck, it consumes resources to install one via CCTV or buried machines."
If hunters learned the company's defenses boiled down to a card-draw game...
"So it's luck-based."
"Kinda, but not really. The deck's mostly auto-turret cards anyway. Draw one, and boom—turret!!"
"And the rest?"
"Barrier, machine gun, missile turret, laser turret, duplicate, redraw cards..."
She ticked them off on her fingers enthusiastically. No time to indulge, so I pointed out an oddity on-screen.
"What's that card? It's just blank white."
Cherubim suddenly gnashed her teeth.
"That! That's the problem! The day we got promoted, this useless blank white card just appeared in the deck outta nowhere! Without it, I could've covered HQ in turrets!!"
Hovering the cursor over the blank white card just said 'Blank Card'.
But I knew what it was.
Pondering how to explain, I spoke up.
"Anything else besides that?"
"Else?"
"Like functions or facilities."
"Oh, facilities? There's one, but it's empty!!"
"Still wanna check it out."
"But who'd run things here then..."
I waved it off.
"Nah, I'll go alone. Just open the way."
"If that's it."
Cherubim seemed relieved to be rid of me and nodded readily. Suited me fine—going solo was easier. Plus, someone had to man the turret ops.
She pointed to a corner of the command center.
"Through that door!!"
Clunk, rumble.
The door slid open, connecting to the next room. I stepped inside.
"Exactly as I imagined."
A cultivation chamber? Y'know, like in comics or movies where villains breed new monsters. A massive cylinder filled with unidentified liquid.
[1,563]
"Gotta hurry."
Glancing at the chamber's electronic board, the monster count had risen since earlier. The hunters were fighting full-tilt, but blocking the steady influx was tough.
We had department head and director-level folks, but they were few and far between.
"Whaddya think? Figure anything out?"
Cherubim had snuck up while I surveyed the chamber.
"Not running the turrets?"
"Outta resources!! Recharging!!"
"Hm."
Things were getting dicey. No explanation for what this chamber was for, so Cherubim not knowing made sense. Even in my past life memories, its true purpose came way later.
As if struck by inspiration, I said,
"You said a new blank white card appeared in your deck, right?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe this chamber's for figuring out what it does?"
Cherubim's eyebrow twitched again.
"How??"