Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Core Overload
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63
The axe wielder, who had lost one arm and had one leg shattered, rolled across the floor.
“There won’t be a third time. I’ll just kill you and ask your underlings.”
I pointed at the technician trembling behind the axe wielder. There was no way that brute had operated this complex machine on his own—the technician must have helped him.
“Where’s the elixir?”
“H-here….”
He pulled out a low-grade elixir he had hidden in his bosom. I had suspected he had one when I saw him fleeing while cradling his severed arm so carefully. He could have gone straight to a doctor or healer to use it, but he had wasted it on throwing a bomb at me instead. Even if it were a high-grade elixir, a low-grade one wouldn’t regrow a limb like mine had.
I snatched his elixir, dripped a drop into my mouth to confirm it wasn’t poisoned, and fed it to Na Young.
“Ha…. I surrender. I won’t resist.”
He raised his remaining hand.
“Hand me over to the Korean government! I’ll help you take control of Shinbukhan too.”
I had no idea how Shinbukhan operated, but killing their leader was bound to stir up some rebels.
The Korean government would want him alive.
But.
“You should have known your limits.”
I placed my foot on his chest.
“Wait!! If you kill me, my men will!”
Crunch.
I crushed his chest with all my strength.
[Your level has increased.]
“Eek….”
When I turned around, the technician averted his eyes.
I left the bunker and headed straight to where the Korean forces were. Even though I had given her the elixir, I wanted to make sure Na Young was fully recovered.
* * *
Bureau Chief Baek Youngshin greeted a man wearing a People’s Liberation Army uniform. Unlike the neatly pressed uniform, the man wearing it had a massive body that looked like it had never seen a day of exercise.
“Welcome.”
Bureau Chief Baek Youngshin’s words were conveyed to the Chinese PLA diplomat’s earpiece via interpreter. The same went in reverse.
“I’m busy, so let’s make this quick.”
He hadn’t walked far before he was out of breath, and without any pleasantries, he plopped down into his seat. The fact that he showed such an attitude even in an intergovernmental meeting made it clear how China viewed Korea. Even if China had weakened since before, their military power still outmatched Korea’s.
“Ahem…. Last week, three Gate Breaks occurred in Korea. Amid the desperate resistance of Korean Hunters, there was a terrorist attack targeting them. We requested this meeting today to discuss the responsibility of one of those terrorists—a Chinese Hunter.”
Baek Youngshin spoke calmly, but veins bulged on his forehead at the man’s rudeness.
“Director, watch your words. First, we never committed any terrorism. Second, wasn’t that North Korean territory? Not Korea.”
He leaned back in his chair with an arrogant expression, as if it had nothing to do with them.
“Didn’t we already agree ten years ago to recognize North Korean territory as Korean?”
“The situation ten years ago is different from now, isn’t it?”
“Are you breaking the agreement?”
“Why say something so scary? The agreement was made for the circumstances back then, and now that things have changed, we naturally need to renegotiate. And do you have proof our Hunter did it?”
“Among East Asians, who else uses a longbow besides Tian Pei, the S-Rank Hunter?”
“Items can be used by anyone, can’t they? You’re basing this on just one Hunter’s testimony that he saw a face? Can you handle the consequences?”
“Proof… right, proof. We have it.”
“Pardon?”
Baek Youngshin activated a screen behind the diplomat, whose small eyes widened in his fleshy face. The video quality wasn’t perfect, but it was clear enough to identify the face.
[So, what do you want?]
The axe wielder asked Tian Pei.
[I don’t want anything. Just block Korea’s advance. Cooperate for that.]
The interpreter next to the axe wielder translated Tian Pei’s Chinese words.
The video had Chinese subtitles overlaid, ensuring the diplomat could understand their conversation. It was clear how much Baek Youngshin had gritted his teeth preparing for this moment.
[You’ll help us without any compensation?]
[Sometimes it’s not about gaining something, but preventing loss. Korea’s northward push harms China. Do I need more reason?]
[No need. Heh heh.]
“That…. That! Where’s the proof that’s Tian Pei?! It could be edited footage! Or a Hunter from another Chinese-speaking country!”
The diplomat, caught red-handed, shouted shamelessly.
“In addition to CCTV, we found fingerprints and DNA on the cup Tian Pei drank from.”
Baek Youngshin placed the pre-prepared evidence on the table.
“Oh, these have already been verified by the World Hunter Association. No more denials.”
“Ahem…. If you had proof, you should have said so beforehand….”
The once-arrogant Chinese envoy straightened up slightly. The Awakening Bureau and Korean government had kept the information top secret until the end to prevent China from preparing excuses.
“Now, shall we talk compensation? Including your earlier denial.”
A smile spread across the Bureau Chief’s face as the Chinese diplomat sweated profusely.
No matter how much China’s military and Hunter numbers overwhelmed Korea’s, they couldn’t afford to defy the World Hunter Association. Falling out with them meant no help when China was in danger, so they had no choice but to swallow their pride and meet Korea’s demands.
* * *
I heard the Korean government extracted massive compensation from China. They said high-ranking officials had endured days of grueling negotiations for this, but that was beyond my knowledge. I hated headaches, so I only attended the minimally required meetings.
“Chairman, did you receive the commendation?”
As I entered the Regen office, Jaein asked.
“Yeah. They chewed me out for acting on my own, but since they got a fat payout from China, they gave me a certificate and some money.”
“Some? They should’ve given a lot. Stingy bastards.”
“Yeah. I converted it to research funds, so use it freely.”
“....Was that the 5 billion that just came in for research?”
“Yes.”
“That’s ‘some,’ Chairman?”
Regen dealt in huge sums, so her sense for money had probably dulled. Plus, I didn’t spend much anyway. No time, and not much to do.
“My sense of money feels off lately.”
Jaein shook her head.
“Jaein, the analysis on that material I gave you last time—done?”
I brushed off the money talk and asked about what mattered.
“Oh, the mana stone engine core? Yes. Mana stone is still the main ingredient. We’ve analyzed the catalyst components too. We’ve set up hypotheses for the failures and prepared various response versions, so now we just need to run the tests.”
“The facilities are ready?”
“Just as you said. But are you really going to do it?”
“Yes. Start as soon as it’s ready.”
“I’m not responsible no matter what happens….”
* * *
A few days later, Jaein finished preparations, and we headed to the test facility on the west coast.
“I’m ready.”
I said after entering the steel tank.
[Chairman, you’re really doing this? For real?]
Jaein’s voice came through the speaker. She was watching the tank via camera from behind multiple layers of reinforced firewalls.
“You worry too much. Hurry up.”
I said to the camera.
In front of me was the prototype of Jaein’s mana engine. For emergencies, I wore full-body armor and layered aura on top for maximum defense.
[Sigh…. I give up….]
A countdown began along with Jaein’s sigh.
[....4, 3, 2, 1—ignition!]
A bit of white liquid catalyst dripped into the molten red mana stone core and mixed. The once-red mana stone solution glowed brightly.
“How’s it looking?”
[Stable so far. Currently at 5% of max projected output. Raising to 10% over 30 seconds.]
A humming sound grew as the mana stone’s light brightened and hot air wafted over. Water pumped from below circulated around the core, and the sound of rapidly spinning turbines came from above.
[10%. Stable. Continuing.]
She slowly increased output by adding more catalyst.
[50% output achieved! Success! At this level, we can produce electricity overwhelmingly cheaper than the input energy or cost!]
“Good job, Jaein….”
[Uh…? Wait…? The output….]
As I started to congratulate her, Jaein’s voice turned strange. Sure enough, the core blazed with blinding light, and the coolant boiled furiously, spinning the turbines like they might shatter.
[Output keeps rising…. 65…. 80! Emergency shutdown!]
Jaein cut the catalyst supply, but the light only grew.
[Output surpassing 150% of projections! Still rising! Chairman, get out! It’s gonna blow!]
“If I leave, you die, Jaein.”
I wouldn’t, but if this exploded, Jaein and the other researchers outside wouldn’t survive. An overload beyond expectations would shred those flimsy firewalls. That’s why I was here—to contain it.
I placed my hands on both sides of the core. For mana stone absorption, Jaein had made the sides extremely thin. With my regeneration now A-Rank, absorption efficiency had skyrocketed—the machinery between my hands and the core was negligible.
Absorbing the mana stone’s energy, I felt vitality flood my body. The problem was, like with the submarine, the energy kept pouring in endlessly.
My vitality limit had nearly doubled since the submarine, but it filled up in seconds.
“Jaein! Water!”
[Argh…. Whatever!]
She hit the button, and water cascaded from above like a waterfall.
I vented heat through my whole body. My black armor glowed red as my temperature soared.
The water boiled madly, obscuring my vision with bubbles, but the core’s intense light pierced through.
[Chairman, output’s dropping! 50…. 40…. 30!]
The core stabilized, and water drained out.
“Is it fully stable now?”
[I…. think so. But just in case, I’ll keep collecting data.]
For hours after, I sat in the tank testing various core combinations. Whenever one rampaged, I tamped it down, repeat.
[Success! I can’t believe we gathered this much data! Normally, the facility would’ve blown up multiple times.]
Every one of the dozen prepared cores had rampaged, but Jaein called it a success.
“So, development’s done?”
[Not that fast…. The catalyst is super unstable. Like a timed bomb where we don’t know the timer.]
“Then can’t we use it as an attack bomb?”
[Bombs need predictable detonation. If it blows before you throw it or way after, the enemy can just toss it back.]
“Makes sense. What about the bomb from the bank robbery?”
[Chairman, if this succeeds, it’s Nobel-level in at least two or three categories. Power and efficiency are hundreds, thousands of times better than those cheap mana stone bombs. No comparison. This isn’t a one- or two-day experiment. We got valuable data today, so now we research the explosion threshold and optimize catalyst composition and ratios.]
“Then let’s blow one up.”
[Pardon?]
“You said we need the critical point, right? We have to see when and how it detonates.”
These experiments only end with an explosion, whether accident or intent.