Episode 29
Episode 29
Most of the exiles came out with their tools gripped tightly.
For the first time in a while, their instincts were running wild.
Until now, they had to live tangled up with others in the same situation, so they had suppressed this impulse.
But now, it was different.
In this situation, those guys were the minority, and they themselves were the majority.
There was no reason to hold back.
"Let's see what kind of bastards they are, shall we?"
"Hehehe. First, I'll have to cut off one of their hands."
Old pipes, dull sickles, heavy iron hammers.
As they gripped them, an old sensation crawled up their palms.
It was a sensation they had forgotten.
It was almost welcoming.
The exiles exchanged glances, then slowly moved forward, muffling their footsteps.
But.
Kwa-ang!
Peo-eok!
Their footsteps stopped abruptly.
In front of them, a being that couldn't possibly be human was rampaging.
One punch.
With just one punch, dozens of zombies were scattered and disintegrated.
While flesh and black blood sprayed into the air, that figure had already dived into the next group.
It was so fast that a new sound of impact erupted before the eyes could even follow.
Even the afterimages were blurry.
It wasn't a speed a human body could achieve.
The exiles stared at each other, frozen.
The color drained from their faces.
The hands holding the tools trembled slightly.
"......What is that."
"Crazy......."
"An... Awakened?"
"No, even an Awakened can't do that!"
"Le... let's go back."
"Fuck, talk about bad luck."
It was the moment they turned around to quietly slip away.
"You guys, what are you?"
"Hiiiiiik!"
"Heo-eok!"
Before they knew it.
Choi Han was standing right in front of their noses.
Covered from head to toe in the black blood of zombies.
Sticky stuff was matted all over his face, neck, and fists.
With a face that didn't even show a hint of heavy breathing, he was looking down at them indifferently.
"What the fuck are you staring at?"
His personality was rough, too.
The exiles were terrified to their core.
"So... sorry! We were just passing by and heard a noise, so......!"
"Ho-oh....... It was noisy?"
A low, flat voice.
But that made it even scarier.
"No, it's not! Absolutely not! We just wondered what was going on!"
"What about the tools in your hands?"
"Ah... ahahaha! We, uh, brought them out wondering if there was anything we could help with......!"
"Oh. Really?"
For a moment, a look of delight appeared on Choi Han's stiff face.
You'll help?
Even better.
"Then follow me."
"...Yes?"
"You said you'd help."
Choi Han strode forward without even looking back properly.
The exiles stood there blankly, glaring at the colleague who had spoken first with resentful eyes.
That look contained a multitude of words.
"Aren't you coming?"
When Choi Han's urging came, the scene from earlier flashed before their eyes.
The zombies scattering with a single punch.
Their bodies moved before their minds did.
"We, we're coming!"
"We're coming!"
They were forced to do it against their will.
With their faces crumpled in misery, they trudged along behind Choi Han.
---
On the other hand.
Choi Han had known from the start.
'Those bastards are definitely criminals.'
There's a saying that you shouldn't judge people by their physiognomy.
It's not wrong.
But conversely, physiognomy is all you can read from someone you're seeing for the first time.
The look in their eyes, the tension in their facial muscles, the slight trembling of the corners of their mouths.
The survival instincts humans have honed for millions of years synthesize these things to reach a conclusion.
To some extent, it's science.
Besides.
[Most of them approached with murderous intent.]
The AI confirmed it.
It was all readable from their expressions.
The reason they held tools, the purpose of them moving in this direction.
They might have tried to hide it, but it was too clear to see.
'What if I didn't have the ability?'
[According to the simulation, there was a 90% chance your arm would have been cut off.]
As expected.
In an apocalypse world, power was everything.
If he didn't have this power, those bastards would have ambushed him without hesitation.
Anyway.
"What's the work that needs doing?"
[It's the reinforcement work for the gaps in the outer wall.]
The robots weren't perfect either.
Even if they could build the skeleton with immense strength, delicate tasks like filling gaps and finishing the edges ultimately required human hands.
"Even the Annihilation Units have their limits."
[That is correct. Their essence is that of a Golem.]
As long as they used Golem cores to replace their brains, the limits were clear.
Power over precision.
Scale over delicacy.
It was an unavoidable structural disadvantage.
Anyway.
"Alright, get to work. Work."
He left the shelter reinforcement work to the exiles.
They looked dissatisfied, but perhaps because the swarm of zombies scattering from Choi Han's single punch was still fresh in their minds, they started moving without a word.
Just then.
"What are you doing?"
Lee Su-ah approached and asked.
"Why?"
"......No, who are these people? What if they reveal our location?"
"We've already been found. The work sounds must have been quite loud."
"......Then it can't be helped."
Ideally, a shelter should be built in a place that doesn't catch people's eyes.
But if you intend to build a solid outer wall, that's a different story.
Noise was inevitable, and that noise was what drew the survivors in.
"It's fine. What we're building is an impenetrable fortress."
He never intended to just end it with a thick iron wall from the beginning.
Adding alchemical reinforcement on top of the outer wall, and even turrets that automatically detect and attack intruders.
'Once completed, it will be the hardest place to breach in this world.'
A terrifying fortress would be born.
---
Thousands of zombies drawn by the sound.
We defeated them easily.
In any case, only regular zombies were coming.
The work was easy.
[Outer wall construction complete.]
On top of that, the noisiest part of the work, erecting the outer wall with iron plates, was finished.
"Nice."
The dome-shaped shelter revealed itself.
It wasn't that there weren't places left to touch up, but the outline alone was heavy enough.
"Good work."
He nodded once at the exiles.
Most of them looked clearly exhausted.
Their shoulders were slumped, and some were barely holding their tools.
"Now get lost."
At those words, they scattered in all directions like cockroaches.
Their backsides were pathetic.
"Is it okay to just let them go?"
Lee Su-ah asked from the side.
Choi Han looked at their retreating backs and said.
"What can those bastards do if they come back?"
"They could call their friends and destroy the shelter."
"Don't worry about that."
By the time they come back, it will be finished.
"Huff... huff... that son of a bitch!"
"Fuck, I'm so pissed off I can't just let this go!"
The exiles returned to their hideout, dragging their exhausted bodies.
Their legs were trembling. Calluses on their palms were bruised and worn.
Those who hadn't moved a muscle were waiting there.
They scanned the returnees with greedy eyes.
"There's nothing, you sons of bitches."
"We're empty-handed."
"Augh, that bastard......."
The exiles began to recount the man they had met today.
The sight of him disintegrating dozens of zombies with a single punch.
The face that didn't even blink while covered in blood.
Their hands trembled slightly as they spoke.
Then, a reaction came.
"What, what kind of bastard is that?"
"This won't do. I'll have to let them know who the owner of this area is."
And that wasn't the end of it.
"There are two women? Hehehe!"
"I'll get a taste after a long time."
Rotten laughter spread through the hideout.
Slowly, forces began to gather.
---
Choi Han looking at the completed dome-shaped shelter from the outside.
The size was roughly that of a soccer field.
The outer wall, firmly covered with iron plates and alchemy, shone heavily under the setting light.
"Let's wrap up the outer wall for now...... next is the amenities."
A shelter is, after all, a place where people live.
Just holding out wasn't enough.
Choi Han opened the list he had purchased from the Cyberpunk Shop.
[Name] : Aqua Core
[Classification] : Water Supply / Purification Facility
[Required Ether] : 800 million
[Name] : Core Grid
[Classification] : Power Generation / Distribution Facility
[Required Ether] : 900 million
Heating, sewage, air purification, and more.
Adding it all up, it well exceeded 7 billion Ether.
"Wow, expensive, so expensive."
He buried it all underground.
But it didn't matter.
These were items that came with robots that automatically repaired themselves once installed.
"It's crazy, absolutely crazy."
And there was a highlight.
[Name] : Penthouse
[Classification] : Residential
[Required Ether] : 2 billion
A penthouse connected to all amenities.
He built it right in the middle of the shelter.
A fancy building was completed.
"Wow, what is this?"
"Right! Is this a house?"
Lee Su-ah and Han Min-ah ran over with faces full of anticipation.
"Yeah. This is our first shelter and our home."
"Whoa......."
"Awesome!"
The two hadn't seen the inside yet.
Choi Han decided to show them around himself.
"This way."
As they approached the front door, all sorts of locking systems activated.
It scanned their gait, and the moment they reached the door.
-Welcome.
The door opened smoothly with a voice.
"Whoa......."
"It's... it's automatic!"
The two followed him inside with wide eyes.
But that wasn't the end.
Clap! Clap!
When he clapped twice, the interior lit up brightly.
The first thing that caught their eyes was the spacious living room.
A huge TV filled one wall, and a large, long sofa was placed in front of it.
On the other side, a wide kitchen was spread out.
"Hiiik......."
"It's this big!"
After passing through the living room, he assigned the rooms.
"Su-ah, here, Min-ah, there."
When they opened the doors, another space unfolded inside the room.
It was a structure with a house inside a house.
It was completely soundproof and even had a biometric lock.
"Kyaak! Thank you!"
"As expected! I'm glad I followed you!"
The two disappeared into their respective rooms with faces that looked like they were dying of happiness.
"Hmm......."
Left alone, Choi Han headed to his own room.
It was the largest room.
It even came with a separate situation room.
It was closer to a small base than a room.
Choi Han sat in the chair of the situation room and looked up at the ceiling.
It was quiet.
It was a silence he hadn't felt in a long time.
Just then.
-Shelter construction complete.
-Achievement unlocked.
-Opening the Shelter Gallery.
