Chapter 234
Chapter 234
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 234
Chapter Title: 98. Spirit Mausoleum (7)
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"Yeah. Sure. Let's give it a shot."
Unlike me, who communicates with people over the internet, Cheon Youngjae uses radio equipment to talk to his fellow cadets and comrades.
In terms of versatility, his setup is far more seamless.
Plus, the 18th class, including Cheon Youngjae, has maintained tight-knit communication via radio gear even in this apocalypse, bound by their camaraderie as the "abandoned class."
That's why they can confidently stay connected with Dajeong even without the internet.
"Yeah. It's me, Jeongho. Youngjae."
The connection with Defender went through.
"One of the seniors wants to talk to you, so I'm handing it over."
I grabbed the radio and spoke to Defender right away.
"It's SKELTON."
"SKELTON?!"
"Yeah. How's your brother doing?"
"He's better. It's just finishing up the treatment anyway."
"Where are you guys?"
"Chuncheon."
"What's the situation like?"
"Not bad here. We wiped out the cultists ahead of time."
"I've got a favor to ask your brother."
I gave Defender a quick rundown of the situation.
Unlike Dajeong, Defender doesn't have deep drone knowledge.
"Alright, let me pass it on."
While waiting for his response, Cheon Youngjae looked at me and said,
"You two seem pretty tight. Getting close to that guy isn't easy."
"We had a few misunderstandings, that's all."
Soon, word came back from Defender.
"Dajeong's taking over."
No sooner had he said it than a cheerful voice flowed from the speaker.
"SKELTON! Long time no talk! What've you been up to? You haven't posted anything online. Don't tell me you're in an internet rut?"
"Been crazy busy lately. Can't even stand looking at Foxgame installs."
"You said you needed a favor?"
"Yeah. I need your drone piloting skills."
"My piloting?"
"Only you can pull this off."
"Never thought I'd hear that from SKELTON."
Dajeong let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Fine. I've got plenty of debts to pay you back for anyway."
"Good. Let me connect you to our drone expert."
I called over Ha Taehoon.
"Ha Taehoon here."
Now it was the experts talking.
Sure enough, Dajeong and Ha Taehoon started exchanging technical details I couldn't follow.
Soon, Ha Taehoon pulled out a dish antenna from the truck, set it up on the roof, and began adjustments.
"How's it looking?"
Ha Taehoon asked Dajeong.
"Hang on a sec~."
Our eyes turned to the Super Skeleton Ho on the ground.
A chilly silence passed, then the upper body of Super Skeleton Ho began to rotate.
Ha Taehoon cheered.
"Yes! We're linked up."
Dajeong's voice soon echoed from the radio.
"Feels like the response is sluggish. At least a 1-second delay? Can you crank it up more?"
"This is the limit. Gear isn't top-notch, and the distance is huge."
"Can't be helped. We'll amplify based on the current frequency. Jamming would be game over."
"Got it."
"But 1 second...... sigh."
The 1-second lag hit Dajeong hard.
"Not easy, huh?"
I asked into the radio.
"It's tough. But we've gotta do it. One of the few chances to score points with you, SKELTON."
"No harm in racking up points with me."
"Just in case, I'll send some backup your way."
"Backup?"
"Yeah. Got my hands on a pretty sweet toy. My bro's great at scavenging, right?"
"What kind of drone?"
"You'll know it when you see it. Let's test. Can I fire the gun?"
"Hold up."
The mention of shooting made Ha Taehoon rush over to me.
"Even so, firing now seems risky, doesn't it? We went through hell to get here."
Cheon Youngjae agreed.
"Yeah, guns might be a bit much."
But I thought differently.
Gunfire echoes everywhere.
Right now, faint shots rang out nonstop from the west.
This area was quiet, but that didn't mean we could slack on discipline.
In battle, victory or defeat hinged on the tiniest margins.
Say a bullet misses by 0.1 cm.
It's a miss.
No difference between missing by 1 cm or 10 cm.
No excuses allowed.
Because in combat, only results mattered.
So, to achieve the best outcome, some risk was necessary. That was my philosophy, Park Gyu's way.
"No, we can't skip calibration. It has to be done, even if it alerts them."
I'm the leader.
Ha Taehoon and Cheon Youngjae had their thoughts, but once they saw my resolve, they dropped objections.
I headed down immediately and attached a silencer to the rifle on Super Skeleton Ho.
It was crude—just a tin can around the muzzle.
Shoddy attachment, but it did the job.
Principles weren't much different from a real silencer.
Of course, it wouldn't make pops like in movies.
It just made pinpointing the location harder for enemies.
That should suffice.
I grabbed an unused shelf, set some empty cans on it.
The camera on Super Skeleton Ho's head adjusted aperture, zoomed in and out, then the rifle barked at the cans.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Rat-tat-tat-bang!
Dead accurate.
Every can holed and tumbled off the shelf.
"How's that?"
I asked our pilot about performance.
"Not bad. But zero it out a bit. Shift left slightly? Just a tad."
"Roger."
Our Dajeong sure had demands.
"Feels like it drifts left when walking. Super annoying. Can you pad the base with something grippy?"
"Wipe the main camera with cloth. Smudges are bugging me."
"Sorry, but can you write 'Blood Blue' somewhere on the drone? Glow-in-the-dark magic or whatever. Wait, this? Some kind of jinx?"
Cheon Youngjae, listening in, chimed,
"She a pro gamer or what?"
Pro gamer? Spot on, in my book.
How many could drop a brick from a drone onto a running man's skull?
Tedious, but I accommodated all her picky requests except the impossible.
After testing for a while, Dajeong finally signaled satisfaction.
"Hm. Not ideal, but it'll do. I'll settle for this."
A brief rest followed.
Precisely, charging time for Super Skeleton Ho.
Vigilance never slacked.
"Hey. Chinese patrol's out."
Ha Taehoon said, checking night drone feed.
"People? Or drones?"
"People. Open-top SUV. Four of 'em. One's got a machine gun."
"Trouble."
"What now?"
Time check: 2:20 AM.
Plenty if generous, but June sunrises early.
Factoring Super Skeleton Ho's speed, no time to waste.
"Let's roll."
Ha Taehoon nodded, whispered to Cheon Youngjae.
"Got it."
Cheon Youngjae went downstairs.
I asked Ha Taehoon,
"What'd you tell him?"
"Grab any nets or barbed wire he can find."
"Drone countermeasures?"
"Gotta prep for worst case."
As we bustled, a faint blue glow lit Super Skeleton Ho's torso.
"Alright. Block the path ahead, smash any drones, grab the disc from John_nenon's place, right?"
Dajeong's upbeat voice came through.
Her energy gave me unexpected satisfaction as I replied,
"Exactly."
"Roger. Blood Blue 12, commencing operation."
"It's Super Skeleton Ho."
"Hate that corny name."
"Corny......?"
Despite my protest, Super Skeleton Ho advanced.
Whirr—whirr—
Mimicking human form but with reverse-jointed legs of metal, plastic, and semiconductors, the war machine strode into the darkness on two feet like a man.
"......The die is cast."
Ha Taehoon murmured lowly, watching it go, another camera and drone in hand.
A bladed suicide drone.
"Hope we don't need that."
"Me too."
Ha Taehoon replied half-heartedly, turning away.
Dozens of screens crammed a small tablet before him.
"......"
The real battle began now.
Not man against man—toy against toy.
Though man-against-man raged on.
"Chinese vehicle approaching."
"Lights visible. Heading our way?"
"Hide first. Watch from cover."
As Super Skeleton Ho headed to the op zone, the Chinese recon vehicle neared, drawn by gunfire.
Our fault, but no regrets.
Dying because a poorly maintained gun jammed on the battlefield was dumber than suicide.
Vroom—
Vehicle incoming.
Korean make.
Probably civilian.
Korean plates intact.
Corporate vehicle, though—plates a different color.
Vroom—
It slowed.
Alert to us?
Doubtful, but possible low-level Awakener among them—I fixed muzzles on the lit headlights.
Crackle—
Cheon Youngjae's voice from comms.
"Taking flank."
Ha Taehoon fiddled with the suicide drone.
Trained, experienced fighters were easy to work with.
No orders needed; they anticipated and acted.
Judgment was mine, though.
Vroom—
Vehicle crept closer.
I checked close-up feed on fixed cam, blinding headlights glaring.
"Look at this bastard."
Ha Taehoon muttered coldly, unknown to me.
His voice dripped with chilling killing intent.
I soon understood his rage.
Chinese soldier in passenger seat had glowing metal tags wrapped around his arm.
ROK military dog tags.
Dozens, like trophies.
"That motherfucker......"
Ha Taehoon's agitation boiled.
Calm but firm, I warned,
"Ha-sunbae. Hold it together."
"......"
He glared at the vehicle with fiery eyes, lips sealed.
"Just passed ahead. Orders?"
Cheon Youngjae sought judgment over comms.
Probably optimal in his eyes.
"......"
Judgment never easy.
Especially for us, where results showed fast and consequences hit hard—every call carried weight.
"Defender."
I called—not Dajeong, but Defender fit as their rep here.
"Yeah."
"Situation there?"
"Entering combat zone soon."
Invisible to her, I nodded, ordered Ha Taehoon and Cheon Youngjae,
"......Stand by for my command."
No reply from either.
They resented my call.
No need to address every gripe.
Sometimes, taking team blame was leadership.
The vehicle strode past us.
Chinese aboard the open truck, 20 kph, scanned warily for gunfire source.
One glanced our way, muttering Chinese.
One pointed at us.
Vehicle halted.
Spotted?
Ha Taehoon breathed heavily, glaring at me.
Scorching side-eye.
Ignored.
Ignored, observed enemy.
"Hey. You good? They're right there. I can hit 'em from behind now."
Ignored Cheon Youngjae too.
Combat was last resort.
Delay to the limit.
Impossible to take well-armed Chinese numbers with our force.
"Spotted. Fuck."
Ha Taehoon's grumbles grew as the Chinese vehicle moved again.
They'd ignored us and left.
Ha Taehoon tilted head.
"Saw the monster zone and stopped."
I finally met his eyes.
Comms left open on purpose—Cheon Youngjae heard too.
My read was spot-on.
Chinese eyed behind us: gray monster zone beyond airport fence.
Half-collapsed mid-size mall, endless right angles of grass twisted by otherworld colors, eerie.
"......"
Vehicle departed.
"Pisses me off. For real."
Ha Taehoon regretted letting the tag-flaunting Korean-killer go.
Still, veteran hunter.
"But damn, good send-off."
His gaze lingered.
"Spot-on judgment. Holding back there? Impossible if I led. Professor lives up to the name."
Acknowledgment and apology.
Battlefield's finest sorry.
"You held well too, Ha-sunbae. Cheon Youngjae."
Praise to the blameless—a leader's petty trick.
Tension easing—
"Ah, fuck."
Dajeong's voice.
"Guys. They smell something. More than before!"
Ha Taehoon checked high-alt recon drone.
His had US night lenses—more reliable than Chinese at night.
As he scanned, Dajeong said,
"Wait 2 hours?"
"How many?"
"2 hours."
"No. Can't."
Ha Taehoon beckoned.
"Jeongho's right. Battle stations."
"......"
"Dispatch to gunfire. 3 combat drones alone. Platoon size."
I asked Dajeong immediately,
"Can you handle solo?"
"No, 3 peer drones. Can't evade with this slow walker."
"I see."
Options swirled.
Deflating, but one choice.
"......"
Time wasn't ours.
"Ha-sunbae."
"?"
Pointed at receding headlights.
"Kill 'em."
Ha Taehoon's grim face broke into a grin.