Old Man Park (2)
Jeron and Old Man Park spent the next half of the day feverishly collecting firearms.
Among all the items on Earth, gunpowder weapons were considered the ultimate game-changers.
Even bringing a single rifle to a battlefield could turn the tide of war depending on how it was used—an overwhelming piece of over-technology.
What would happen if he managed to acquire just a hundred K-2 rifles and trained soldiers to use them?
Assuming a steady supply of ammunition, an invincible army would be born.
Of course, things in life were rarely that simple.
After gathering and sorting through the rifles, handguns, and grenades scattered around, they found that not many were actually usable.
Ten K-2 rifles, fifteen magazines, five handguns, and three grenades were all they managed to salvage.
The ammunition depot had suffered a sympathetic detonation, leaving them with only this much.
The rest of the weapons were either broken beyond repair or posed a risk of exploding even if fixed, so they were cast aside.
They could have repaired them if they really wanted to, but with gunpowder in short supply, there was no need to force the use of damaged weapons.
Old Man Park sighed as he looked at the pile of weapons.
"I thought we raided a military base, but there aren't many usable weapons."
"Even this much is a blessing, sir. We've already gathered quite a few weapons, so if a war breaks out, they will surely prove their worth."
"True. Greed only invites disaster."
While they could crush a war through sheer, overwhelming firepower, one hand could not cover the sky. Too much military achievement would only breed jealousy from those around them, and if their secret weapons ever leaked to the outside world, it would trigger an unimaginable catastrophe.
Jeron decided to be satisfied with this much.
"Besides, your main goal in raiding the raiders' base was to rescue your granddaughter, not to gather weapons. You don't need to feel too disappointed."
"Hahaha, you're right. Anything more would be greed. If I hadn't rescued my granddaughter, I wouldn't even be in this world anymore."
It meant that, like the middle-aged man Yoon, Old Man Park might have met his end here.
Growl.
Having moved around for half a day, their stomachs were quite empty.
They relocated to a safe spot and ate sandwiches and milk for lunch.
It was a luxurious meal for a ruined Earth, but a lingering sense of craving remained.
"They say Koreans run on rice, after all."
"Hahaha, now that is a luxury of a complaint in a place like this."
"I hope the day comes when we can pack gimbap and kimchi for a picnic."
"As long as we have cabbage and chili peppers, wouldn't that be possible?"
"That's the problem."
"I have seeds at my shelter."
"What?!"
Jeron jumped to his feet in shock.
How hard had he searched for cabbage and chili peppers until now?
Garlic, onions, and ginger were merely secondary ingredients. In the case of ginger, it wasn't even strictly necessary for kimchi.
Since he had already secured radishes, he could make the kimchi filling, but he hadn't been able to make the actual dish due to the lack of the core ingredients: cabbage and chili peppers.
As for salted seafood, similar fermented foods existed on the continent, so he could just import and use those.
He had no idea when he would finally be able to make kimchi, but he had found the answer in the most unexpected place.
"I even have some freshly made kimchi. I inherited my late wife's recipe, so the taste should be quite decent."
"Don't tell me you have gochujang too?"
"Why wouldn't I? I have soy sauce and doenjang as well."
Jeron's eyes sparkled.
Yet, a question crossed his mind.
Old Man Park seemed to have been entirely self-sufficient, so why was he so gaunt?
The reason was likely stress.
He had probably tended to his garden with the sole hope of reuniting with his granddaughter, but food eaten in solitude rarely goes down easy.
He had likely eaten just to survive, barely keeping himself alive, which meant he couldn't have maintained proper nutrition.
It had been four days since Old Man Park crossed over to the Karen Continent. Seeing how the old man's face had filled out quite a bit during that time, it was clear that his inability to eat properly before had indeed been caused by stress.
"I've gathered various seeds while scavenging. There aren't many crops that could serve as specialty goods, but it should be enough to whip up a proper Korean meal."
"That is incredible news! I can barely remember the last time I had a proper Korean meal."
"Let's go. Once we return to your territory, let's have a Korean meal with some soju. Bossam would be nice, wouldn't it?"
"My mouth is watering already. Kang will love this."
"I look forward to it."
Old Man Park smiled gently.
According to Kang, Old Man Park was a man who seemed to have no expressions, but he, too, was someone who could smile.
Circumstances had simply stolen his laughter.
Jeron threw the firearms they had gathered over the past half-day through the dimensional portal and began to move.
They could have ridden a motorcycle, but the best method of transportation was still a bicycle.
Unless it was an electric vehicle, old cars made a racket, which could easily invite danger. If a vehicle rattled and made noise, it would immediately become a target for mutants.
And that wasn't all.
Sometimes, humans were far more dangerous than mutants.
For this reason, they chose bicycles. Fortunately, a few unused bicycles remained at the raiders' shelter.
Jeron and Old Man Park rode along the national highway, keeping their senses sharp.
They kept their words to a minimum.
The mutants that had gathered at the shelter had scattered in all directions, and there was no telling when or where they might pop out. Thus, they had to move as quickly as possible while remaining absolutely silent.
Rustle.
Whenever a sound echoed along the highway, Jeron and Old Man Park would immediately veer off the road and split to either side without needing to say a word.
They hid themselves and did not move until they identified the source of the noise.
Most of the time it was just the wind, but not always.
"Grrr..."
When a bizarre growl echoed from nearby, they hid behind a tree.
About a hundred meters away, two evolved mutants were wandering together as a pair.
Jeron observed them closely.
The skinny one had become even thinner, moving with agile grace, while the muscular brute had grown even bulkier than before.
It was clear that they had evolved.
In the past, they would have taken a detour, but now, even the mountains could not be considered safe.
Following their pre-arranged plan, Old Man Park pulled a few ankle traps from his backpack and threw them onto the road.
Clang!
A small metallic ring echoed along the asphalt.
At the sound of metal, the evolved mutants shrieked and charged forward.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
How powerful would Old Man Park's ankle traps be?
Kang's ankle traps hadn't been able to sever an evolved mutant's ankle. They had only dug halfway in to halt their advance. But what about the traps made by his master, Old Man Park?
Jeron was highly expectant.
He stepped onto the road and cast a double spell. Old Man Park held a specially modified crossbow, aiming to provide cover fire.
The mana of the circle, responding to his mental focus, stirred the external mana. The abundant mana of Earth formed a massive arrow of light.
The charging mutants grew even wilder, then stepped on the ankle traps.
Boom! Crack!
Something exploded within the traps.
It was gunpowder. The traps didn't just snap shut; they used an explosive charge to blow the ankles clean off.
Slice!
"Skreeeech!"
The skinny one's foot was blown away, and the brute's ankle was nearly severed, dangling by a thread of flesh.
Marveling at the sheer destructive power, Jeron unleashed his magic at the mutants.
Thud! Thud!
"Skree! Skreeeech!"
Struck squarely in the head, they tumbled backward. Already crippled, the heavy blow to their heads sent them into violent convulsions.
With this, Jeron confirmed one thing.
No matter how evolved they were, if they took a blow to the head powerful enough to cause a concussion, they would be temporarily knocked down and unable to move.
The fallen mutants twitched on the ground, their foreheads deeply caved in.
Jeron drew his longsword and drove it straight into their skulls.
Squelch! Squelch!
Blue mana flowed out of the mutants and poured into Jeron's palm.
As the Golden Key reset, its color deepened, and his mana capacity expanded further. With this, the time Jeron could spend on Earth was also reset.
"Ho! Quite a sight. I've seen it once before, but it is still mysterious."
"My skills are still lacking, sir."
"Nonsense. Just being able to pierce the blue barrier these things possess is an incredible feat. Before the monsters started using that barrier, we could hunt them to some extent, but now it has become impossible."
"I don't know if we'll be able to handle them if they evolve even further."
"When that time comes, we must stop coming to Earth."
"Indeed."
Jeron nodded slightly. For now, they could manage the mutants, but if these monsters continued to evolve, they would have to cut off their visits to Earth. Or Jeron would have to become far stronger.
Old Man Park's shelter was not far from the raiders' base.
In about thirty minutes, they arrived at a small rural village. The surrounding area was wide open, making it easy to monitor the approach of humans or mutants, and it was enclosed by high walls.
It was a typical farmhouse, surrounded by fields. From a distance, it looked ordinary, but a closer look revealed otherwise.
The walls, which stood over three meters high, were riddled with small holes—all of them firing ports for crossbows. Anyone attempting to approach the shelter would be turned into a pincushion.
The ground was densely packed with the same ankle traps Old Man Park had used earlier. One wrong step would tear a person to shreds.
It was a truly terrifying sight.
"You must step only where I step. Even I have to be careful when returning home."
"I-I will."
Jeron felt that entering Old Man Park's shelter was more perilous than fighting mutants. He focused intensely, stepping exactly where the old man stepped. Kang's shelter couldn't even compare to this.
The main gate opened via iris recognition. While iris recognition wasn't mind-blowing technology in itself, one had to remember the state of the world. An automatic gate operating on iris recognition on a ruined Earth? Even if it was cobbled together from salvaged electronic parts, it was an impressive display of technical skill.
Beep!
User authenticated. Unauthorized users will be terminated.
"..."
A mechanical voice spoke calmly. Two machine guns mounted above the gate shifted. CCTV cameras were installed everywhere, and the machine guns were aimed menacingly at the front of the gate.
Access granted.
Rumble!
The heavy gate slid open. The outer wall looked like an ordinary fence, but the interior was reinforced with steel plates. The crossbows were rigged to fire automatically, showcasing Old Man Park's engineering prowess.
But it was too early to be surprised. The interior of Old Man Park's shelter was even more spectacular.