Foundation Suit

I started luring the thing all over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠again.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Weaving through the narrow alleys, I kept a razor-thin distance between us and dragged it into a relentless chase.

At last I stepped into the fated alley where the mines had been planted, exactly as planned. I deliberately walked dead center down the path, praying the creature would follow my footprints exactly.

But contrary to every expectation, it slipped past the mines with uncanny precision, never once setting a foot on them. It was racing toward me on all fours — both arms used like extra legs — skittering along the walls on either side of the alley like some enormous spider.

(No! It's not stepping on the center!)

Yang Jin-ju's urgent cry crackled through from the support room.

I tried again and again to draw it back into that alley. The result was the same every time. It simply would not step there. …Damn it. We'd been thinking of it too much like a person.

The realization hit me hard. We had unconsciously assumed it would walk on two legs — that it would naturally tread the middle of the road. Planting the mines down the center had been a clear operational failure on our part.

(Seo Yeong-chan, fall back! The plan's a bust! It's too dangerous like this!)

Yeong-ju's firm voice came through. But I couldn't retreat. In a flash, the final instant of that earlier blow — when the thing had sent me flying — streaked through my mind.

…Back then, when it attacked me, it had definitely raised both arms and charged on two legs!

I radioed the hypothesis to the others.

"No! There's a way! I'll deliberately take a hit! The second it stands on two feet to attack me, it'll have no choice but to step on the center of the road!"

(Are you insane? What are you talking about?! One hit already drained twelve percent of your energy!)

Even under Yeong-ju's fierce opposition, I refused to back down. Between the prolonged chase and constantly dodging obstacles, the suit's energy had already drained more than expected. Of course, the biggest culprit had been that single devastating blow.

I checked the number floating on my HUD: [Energy Remaining: 63%]. I could still hold out.

Deliberately ignoring their frantic attempts to stop me over the comms, I came to a halt in the middle of the alley. Then I turned my back on the creature, deliberately exposing myself completely.

Fear made my whole body tremble. But I didn't move.

Behind me I felt the heavy vibration of the thing kicking off the ground and charging.

And then, at last, a massive shadow crashed down over my back.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

KWAANG!

The expected ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crushing impact slammed into me, and my body went flying like a scrap of paper once more. The instant I hit the ground and tumbled, a world-shaking detonation erupted behind me and filled the entire alley.

The gamble had paid off.

Dizzy from being thrown, I staggered up out of a heap of shattered brick.

Strangely, there was no pain. But the red warning message blazing across the suit's display made it clear the impact had been anything but light.

I let out a deep breath and stared into the heart of the blast, where the dust still hadn't fully settled. Please. Please let it have worked.

At last the thick haze slowly cleared, and the horrific scene within came into view.

What remained could no longer be called a complete form. The mine blast had blown away the creature's entire lower body, and the shockwave had torn apart even part of the upper torso that had been supporting its arms.

Its left arm now hung limp and useless, barely able to move. With only its remaining right arm, it clawed desperately at the ground, thrashing in a pitiful attempt to drag itself free.

(It worked!)

The moment I shouted over the comms, a brief silence fell over the support room. Then Yeong-ju's voice came through, relief and fury tangled together.

(When you get back, I'm seriously going to hit you, you lunatic! But first — are you okay?)

Behind her voice came Nam Jin-ju's tearful cry of "Oppa! Are you all right?" and Yang Jin-ju's relieved sigh of "…I'm so glad."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."

As soon as I confirmed I was unharmed, genuine relief poured through from all three of them on the other end.

I approached the mutant. Then I seized its now nearly useless left arm like a rope.

"All right. Time to go home, you bastard."

I started dragging it toward the Shelter.

Kwaaaagh! Kyueeeoork—!

The moment I began hauling it along, the thing shrieked like a madman and flailed its only working right arm. But with its lower body completely gone and its torso critically damaged, the attacks barely even reached me. Even when an arm occasionally grazed me, the HUD only registered trivial readings like [Minor lateral impact. Energy damage: 0.3%] and [Energy damage: 0.5%].

That much damage from a mere graze… If it had still been intact, this really would have been dangerous.

Marveling anew at its stubborn vitality, I finally arrived inside the range of the Shelter's Defense System. I dropped the creature on the ground, stepped back, and called out to Yang Jin-ju, who was standing by.

"Jin-ju, do it!"

(Yes, Oppa!)

The instant the words left my mouth, a distinctive soft boom — like a small drum being struck — rolled down from the sky above.

In its final moment, the creature lifted its head toward the invisible death raining down upon it and let out the most horrific howl of its life.

And then, with an explosion, it was reduced to nothing more than a pool of dark red blood.

We did it.

Staring at the system window, I let out a breath of relief and started walking toward the Shelter on legs that had suddenly grown heavy. Even through the fatigue crashing over me, only one thought filled my mind.

We did it.

The Shelter door opened, and the moment I stepped inside, I exhaled in pure relief.

The long, grueling battle was finally over. Dragging my exhausted body, I headed for the support room and began peeling off the Walker Suit.

And the instant I was completely free of it—

Thud!

Yeong-ju's furious fist drove straight into my solar plexus with perfect accuracy.

"Ghk…!"

I couldn't even scream. I collapsed on the spot, curling up like a shrimp and thrashing. I couldn't breathe.

"S-Seo Yeong-chan-nim! Are you all right?!"

Only Kang Po-gyeong, startled, rushed over to try to help me up. The other two, as if by prior agreement, studiously looked anywhere else — whistling, counting the ceiling lights — thoroughly pretending this wasn't happening.

"You know I'm holding back right now from separating your flesh from your bones on the spot, right?"

Yeong-ju looked down at me, her voice ice-cold.

All I could do was cough desperately and nod.

"Still… I'm glad you're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠okay. Good work…"

Hauling my body, thoroughly tenderized by Yeong-ju's loving fist, I made my way into the support room.

I stowed the suit in its storage case and finally pressed the [Shelter Level Up Available] button floating in the system window.

"Here we go!"

Woooooom—

A vibration far larger and deeper than before shook the entire Shelter.

"Huh? Wh-what is this now?!"

Only Kang Po-gyeong, experiencing the phenomenon for the first time, looked around in alarm.

When the trembling stopped, the support room screen displayed a familiar scene. Defense System LV.2 dismantled itself, and in its place a new LV.3 umbrella — far larger and more solid-looking than before — was installed.

Power capacity had doubled yet again, and water storage had each increased by another thirty percent. In terms of energy and water, we had essentially secured near-infinite resources.

"Shall we take a look around?"

With fluttering hearts, we set out to tour the newly upgraded Shelter once more.

Two more bedrooms had been added, bringing the total to seven, and the rooms themselves were far more spacious than before — comfortable living was now genuinely possible.

"Wow! Now we each get our own room, and there's even a guest room!"

Nam Jin-ju beamed with delight.

And next to the shower room, a massive whirlpool bathtub had appeared — large enough to easily fit ten people with room to spare.

"Whoa? We could all get in together!"

The tub was so big and wide that even I found myself saying it without thinking.

Of course, Yeong-ju's piercing glare and the Jin-jus' embarrassed expressions followed immediately after — but I carefully ignored them and moved on.

In the power room, three energy core pillars now stood side by side, radiating a quiet blue light.

But what excited me most was the brand-new room that had appeared across from the power room: a space labeled the Mechanic Lite Lab.

When I opened the door, the interior was packed with machinery similar to the resource processing room, but far more precise and complex.

"What does this place do? Some kind of weapons workshop?"

Yeong-ju asked. I couldn't contain my excitement.

"This — this is our future!"

"Oppa, why are you so worked up? Calm down a little."

"This is where we can build the security drones that were essential for getting through the early-game crisis! They're small — about the size of a microwave — with onboard artificial intelligence, so even when we're not around they can patrol the Shelter perimeter and attack intruders on their own! And once the Shelter level goes higher, this is the place where we can eventually build humanoid security robots!"

At my explanation, all three women — and even Kang Po-gyeong — looked around the room with wonder in their eyes.

I gazed at the vast empty warehouse that had appeared like a bonus next to the Mechanic Lite Lab, and let my imagination run wild.

Someday, I would fill this wide warehouse with a powerful mechanical army that was absolutely loyal to me alone.

When we returned to the support room still buzzing with excitement, we came face to face with one more astonishing change we hadn't yet noticed.

Behind the storage case holding the Walker Suit, pressed back-to-back against it, stood another suit case of identical size — one that had definitely not been there before.

"Huh? What's that?"

I was the first to notice the discrepancy and approached the case. When I touched the small console on the front, a soft whirring drive sound filled the air, and the entire massive cylindrical case rotated a full one hundred eighty degrees.

And there before our eyes, a suit of an entirely different design from the Walker Suit revealed itself.

Its overall form was similar to the Walker Suit, but the color was a deeper gunmetal, and the armor plating looked far thicker and heavier. The most striking difference was the pair of metal orbs — each about the size of a baseball — mounted on the backs of both hands.

"…Foundation."

I murmured the name without thinking. It was the second suit we had wanted so desperately to get our hands on.

"Wow…! So now we have two suits?"

Nam Jin-ju asked in a trembling voice, as if she couldn't quite believe it.

Instead of answering, I simply nodded with a bright smile.

"Once we have a means of transport, we can reach the Seed Vault! We've secured the bare minimum of safety to get that far!"