Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Time Warp (2)
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⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Conditions have been met.] [Time Warp can now be activated.] [Please select the time period for Time Warp.] 'This thing suddenly popping up here?'
⚠️ Side Effect ⚠️ Upon use, Time Trackers who become aware of your existence will begin pursuing you across space and time. Time Trackers.
Just from the name, they sounded like a massive pain in the ass. But right now wasn't the time to worry about that.
A mountain of military supplies was piled up right in front of me. If I could secure all this safely, a little risk was more than worth it.
'The future's uncertain anyway. Might as well go for it.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Activating Time Warp to travel back 12 hours into the past.] ◀◀◀ 12 Hours Ago ◀◀◀ A wave of nausea hit me in an instant, and the scenery blurred before snapping back into sharp focus. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
'...Whew.'
When I came to my senses, I was still standing inside the ammo depot. But there was a subtle difference. The sergeant who'd been next to me was gone, replaced by the murmur of soldiers chatting outside the depot.
"Hey, Choi Yi-su."
"Private First Class Choi Yi-su!"
"Skip the formalities. Tell us something fun."
"Something fun, sir?"
"You wanna make me ask twice, punk?"
"No, sir!"
From the conversation outside, it seemed the sentries were on guard duty.
The ammo depot had only one door, and the guards were posted outside. That meant no one would discover me already inside.
'Time Warp was a success, at least.'
Trusting the firmly shut door, I pulled a tactical flashlight I'd looted from the dead sniper out of my inventory and shone it around.
Ammo crates stacked tightly along the walls. C4 and CremoA explosives. It was all within my reach now.
'If I could take all this...'
Debuffs or restrictions be damned—raw firepower made everything equal. But first, I needed to check one thing. Could I actually move these into my inventory?
Items in the Tower world had clear ownership. Only things I hunted from monsters or took from other summoners became mine. But these were different.
'The ownership of this ammo belongs to the Republic of Korea's Ministry of National Defense—the state.'
In other words, these weren't personal property but a kind of 'public good.' That might mean I could store them in my inventory.
'Let's test with just one.'
I used Warp on the nearest wooden crate of 5.56mm rifle rounds.
And just like that, the crate vanished without a trace.
'Nice!'
I cheered inwardly. My hunch had been spot on. Containing my excitement, I calmly planned my next moves.
'Start with the essentials.'
I was about to Warp a massive haul of supplies into my inventory when—
'Hold up.'
Something nagged at me.
I reopened my profile to check the Time Warp perk.
Time Warp: [Description: Travel back in time to a specific point in the past. Change the future with your choices.] [Activation Conditions: Only in specific conditions and locations.] [Side Effect: Time Trackers aware of your existence will pursue you across space-time.] 'Changing the past to affect the future...?'
My actions now could twist the future ahead—specifically, into something completely different from the one I knew.
A butterfly effect.
'What if I steal all the ammo from here?'
On the surface, it was a huge win.
But the consequences were unpredictable. If the ROK military discovered the empty depot and, fearing a loss of firepower, abandoned this checkpoint entirely?
Then the very 'future' where I came here with the sergeant 12 hours from now wouldn't happen. A time paradox could form.
'Damn. This just got complicated.'
After some deliberation, I found the answer. A way to maximize gains without altering the future.
'Alright. Got it. Just steal enough that no one notices.'
The key was not getting caught.
As long as no one knew I'd been here until I returned to my original timeline, it was fine.
I couldn't take everything anyway.
My inventory was 3m x 3m x 3m—27 cubic meters.
Not small, but nowhere near enough for the whole depot.
'That simplifies things. Just cherry-pick what I need without leaving obvious gaps.'
I scanned the depot thoroughly, quickly calculating priorities.
I left the outer crates untouched. Instead, I targeted the hidden ones behind them, invisible unless you looked closely.
Using Warp, I silently transferred crates from hard-to-reach spots into my inventory.
I filled a third with 5.56mm rifle rounds and 9mm pistol rounds, another third with .50 cal crates for heavy machine guns.
The rest went to grenades and smoke grenades, stocking a variety generously.
There weren't many C4 or CremoA to begin with, so I took half.
"This should do it."
Looking at my stuffed inventory, a grin crept onto my face.
I gave the area one last sweep, then ended the Time Warp.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ending Time Warp. Returning to original timeline.] ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Back in my original timeline, I quickly checked my inventory. Everything was still there, unchanged. Perfect.
'Yes!!!'
⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ Time Tracker has pinpointed your location.
Arrival in 10 minutes at current coordinates.
"?"
The message floating before my eyes sent a chill through my veins.
'Shit? Ten minutes? They're fast as hell.'
"Merc, everything okay?"
"Yeah, nothing. Just take these."
Glancing at the sergeant, I casually picked four military crates of 840 5.56mm rounds each.
My inventory was full, but picking nothing would've looked suspicious.
"That enough for you?"
"Yeah. We'll burn through 'em and come back for more later."
"Got it. Head to the truck, merc. I'll have the boys load the ammo."
"We're in a rush, so can we roll out now?"
"Ah, sure thing."
"Thanks, man."
I left the depot and rejoined my team.
"Squad leader Carlson, negotiation went smooth. We'll be out soon."
"Excellent work, Joo-hyuk."
We finished prepping in no time. It was just a matter of leaving as we'd arrived.
Right then, the sergeant approached with two corporals, carrying something wrapped in black plastic bags.
"Merc, here's the agreed goods."
They carefully loaded it into the dump truck's bed. It was about fifty percent more than I'd picked.
"Threw in some extra as a gesture of goodwill. Call it Korean hospitality."
'I've already got a ton of ammo.'
I didn't let it show and just accepted it.
'Smart move making my team accomplices. Can't hog it all alone or you'll get indigestion.'
Clever bastard.
"Pleasure doing business. If we meet again, let's keep it smooth."
The sergeant offered a handshake and slipped me a small sticker.
"What's this?"
"IFF sticker for our unit. Stick it on your truck, and you'll move freely in our sector."
"Oh."
I admired it briefly, then realized we had only five minutes until the Time Trackers arrived.
"Good luck, then."
At his order, soldiers cleared the barricades. The checkpoint's heavy iron gate creaked open slowly.
Seeing their chance, refugees waiting outside surged toward the gate.
"Move! Let us in too!"
"Don't push! The kid's getting crushed!"
Chaos erupted. But their hope was short-lived.
Bang!
A soldier fired a warning shot into the air. The sharp crack made the crowd flinch and fall back.
"Now! Go!"
With the sergeant's shout, our two dump trucks rolled out side by side.
In the rearview, I saw desperate faces before the gate slammed shut.
For a split second, the sky above the checkpoint cracked like fractured glass, then reverted.
'...What the hell did I just see?'
"Tch. Tough break for them."
Carlson muttered from the driver's seat.
Luckily, the IFF sticker worked like a charm.
Other checkpoints along the road to Seoul spotted it on our windshield and waved us through without hassle.
We escaped the danger zone before the Time Trackers arrived.
En route, we passed several military-run shelters. Refugees lined up orderly under soldiers' control, receiving rations.
"Hope those shelters keep running smooth."
I agreed wholeheartedly.
'They need to stay alive to pull aggro from the zombies for me.'
We sped along the clear road briefly.
Then a message appeared.
⚠️ ALERT ⚠️ [Time Tracker has arrived at the specified coordinates.]