Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Welcome to Mechania
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[Welcome to your first visit to Mechania.]
[Breathing becomes difficult due to polluted air.]
[Player's movement speed changes from <Normal> to <Slow>.]
Following the kid's guidance, No Hyoman's unit and my group walked along Mechania's roads.
A red sky like molten lava poured intense heat over the city, as if setting it ablaze.
The devastated city was burning.
Whoosh—.
White ash drifted down, entering our noses and filling them with a choking stench.
Unlike the soldiers in their suits, even breathing was a struggle for us.
I pulled out a handkerchief I'd prepared in advance.
"Ma Jeongwoo."
"Yeah?"
"Cover your mouth with this."
"A handkerchief? Where'd you get it?"
"Bought a few at a convenience store. I remembered the message about how hard it is to breathe here from when I played on PC."
"...Your memory's sharp too, huh."
Jeongwoo accepted the handkerchief with a wry smile.
A total of five.
For me, Jeongwoo, Yoo Sora, Michael, and one left over.
"...Cho Young-gi, Kim Yeon-hee. Only one handkerchief left—who wants it?"
Cho Young-gi raised his hand high.
Kim Yeon-hee, who had started to raise hers late, wore a disappointed look.
"Ah—."
She let out a sigh.
"Then we'll give it to Cho Young-gi, who raised his hand first."
I handed the handkerchief to Cho Young-gi.
Truth be told, it might've painted a nicer picture giving it to Kim Yeon-hee, but he'd raised his hand first, so no helping it.
"Thanks, Kim Cheonjae."
"It's just the leftover one."
"I'll pay you back its worth from our previous agreement."
"Yeah, yeah, suit yourself."
Bwoooong—
A sudden gust of wind blew in. Thick choking stench carried on white ash billowed toward us.
Everyone in our group quickly covered their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs.
Kim Yeon-hee coughed and shielded her face with her palm.
Cough— Cough—
...
Cho Young-gi glanced at her, then hissed through his clenched teeth.
-Tch.
Next, he pulled out his canteen, wetted the handkerchief with water, and tossed it to the coughing Kim Yeon-hee.
"Put this over your mouth and nose."
"...I can use it?"
He'd thrown it right into her lap.
"Use it if you're taking it."
Mechania's top otaku and self-centered egoist Chakan i—no, Cho Young-gi—was yielding a handkerchief?
'...Never a dull moment.'
With breathing a bit easier now, I called out to the kid leading us from the front.
"Hey, kid—how much farther?"
The child beamed brightly in response.
"Almost there. And I'm not a kid—I'm Kim, Seung, Hyun. Kim Seung-hyun."
"...Got it. Seung-hyun, how much longer do we have to walk?"
"See that—? The building that hasn't collapsed yet. The one that towers up like a spire."
I looked toward the tower at the city center.
Mechania's symbol, the machine tower that breathed life into the entire city.
[Mechania Control Tower]
It was clearly over a hundred stories tall.
Electric currents crackled along its walls to ward off giants, and missile turrets on every floor aimed outward.
As a gathering place for mechanics in the past, all its machinery was impeccably maintained.
New machines born, repaired, discarded.
Rinse and repeat, endlessly.
I eyed the tower closely before answering Seung-hyun.
"I see it."
"There's a factory right in front of that tower. That's where everyone's gathered."
"A factory? Not the tower?"
"Yeah. We... can't get into the tower."
"What? Why not?"
"It's already packed with people, and only the rich can go there anyway."
I tilted my head.
"Only the rich?"
"Yep. No money, no entry."
"...They charge to enter the tower?"
"Of course! That tower's guarded by all kinds of weapons, so giants can't get close. The mechanics charge to maintain those weapons."
Unbelievable.
The last bastion I'd assumed was the Control Tower—and they were running it like an amusement park, charging admission.
Money over human lives.
"...Got it. Let's move for now."
* * * * *
Kim Seung-hyun led us to an abandoned factory not far from the Control Tower.
The ceiling had collapsed in spots, and massive holes gaped in the walls.
Even the metal objects that caught the eye were rusted yellow.
"...People live here?"
"Yep."
Kim Seung-hyun entered the factory first.
Following him inside, it looked like a massive assembly line for machines.
Like an automobile plant.
The machines were long out of commission, blanketed in thick dust with cobwebs sagging everywhere.
"What did they make here?"
"Um... Dad said it was weapons for soldiers."
"Weapons?"
"Yeah. Not sure on the details."
"...I see."
No Hyoman parked the Mecha X outside the factory and entered with his infantry.
He scanned the surroundings before asking the kid.
"Where are these residents supposed to be?"
"Wait here. I'll go get them."
Kim Seung-hyun dashed deeper into the factory, waving both hands overhead as he shouted.
"Everyone, come out! Soldiers are here! Come on out, everyone!"
Residents emerged one by one at his call.
Terrified of something, their legs trembled.
Emaciated survivors shuffled out—elderly to children, so starved their bones were nearly visible.
[Discovered residents of Mechania.]
[Current surviving residents: 189]
Over a hundred survivors in one go.
To think the event would progress this smoothly.
The story mission was to secure three hundred survivors—over half done already?
A smile crept onto my face.
Among them, an old man with a long beard spoke to Kim Seung-hyun.
"Seung-hyun!"
"Dad!"
Kim Seung-hyun ran into his arms.
"Where've you been? Everyone was worried sick about you, you rascal!"
"S-Sorry... I was so hungry, I went looking for scraps in boxes."
"Didn't I tell you not to eat box scraps? Why eat that stuff..."
"...I was hungry."
No Hyoman cleared his throat deliberately.
Ahem, ahem.
Kim Seung-hyun's father glanced at us, then bowed to No Hyoman.
"Ah, hello. I'm Seung-hyun's father."
"Hello. I'm No Hyoman, operations officer of the Goblin Unit."
"Goblin... Unit?"
Kim Seung-hyun jumped in from the middle.
"Dad! I brought soldiers. Not from our city, but a gate suddenly opened over there, so we asked for help from elsewhere!"
"...From elsewhere?"
"Yeah. Tons of people and food there. Look, look! I ate my fill of bread too!"
Kim Seung-hyun pulled bread crumbs from his pocket and showed his father.
"Whoa... It's true."
The residents buzzed.
Not suspicion—pure joy.
News of soldiers arriving in a ruined city was like hope taking root.
Even if the other side was a ruined city too.
Kim Seung-hyun's father asked No Hyoman.
"You've come to help us?"
"...May I be frank?"
"Yes."
"No. We're just here scouting the area—not to help residents."
...
"But we can help you cross through our gate. The choice is yours."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
-Of course we're going, right? Stay here and we starve or get eaten by giants.
-Se-jin, Yun-su—grab our stuff quick. We'll follow the soldiers to safety.
-Everyone, hurry up! Pack!
No Hyoman eyed the residents, slowly counting them off.
One, two, three...
"Hold on—are you all planning to head through the gate?"
Kim Seung-hyun's father replied.
"Isn't that obvious? We have to go somewhere safe—"
"I'm sorry, but our side isn't safe either. You might not know how dangerous the giants here are, but monsters overrun our place too."
"Whoa..."
Shadows fell over the joyful residents' faces. Those packing froze, staring at No Hyoman.
Dangling hope then despair—incredible rhetoric.
The kind of calculated dialogue I'd never pull off.
No Hyoman asked Kim Seung-hyun's father.
"Will you still come with us?"
"...We'll go. No matter how dangerous it is there, it has to be better than here."
Kim Seung-hyun's father glanced at the bread his son held, then added.
"There's food too..."
With the talk concluded, residents resumed packing.
No Hyoman shouted to them.
"Gate crossing in three days! Prepare to move by then!"
The residents replied in unison.
-Yes!
Soldiers entered the factory, forming up. They linked metal rods into barricades, wrapped them in barbed wire, and enclosed the factory exterior in a square.
Creak. Thud! Creak. Thud!
The Mecha X pivoted its upper body side to side within the completed fence, standing guard.
In under ten minutes, a defensive fortress stood ready.
Kim Seung-hyun's father eyed the robot and asked No Hyoman.
"What is that?"
"Our mobile weapon."
"Ah... For combat, then."
"Exactly. One of those can handle a hundred zombies. Haha!"
"...Zombies?"
"Yes, zombies."
"What's a zombie?"
No Hyoman looked shocked.
"You don't know zombies?"
"First I've heard."
"...So the virus hasn't spread here yet."
Kim Seung-hyun's father teared up watching the Mecha X.
"I don't know what zombies are, but that mobile weapon's strong, right?"
"You bet. Even if giants or whatever show up, it'll crush them all."
Everyone sent trusting looks at No Hyoman's confident tone.
'...Guess they don't need us here anymore.'
I lit a cigarette and said to Jeongwoo.
Flick. Sizzle.
Siiiip.
Puff—
"Jeongwoo."
"Yeah?"
"Let's head to the tower."
"...What about these people?"
"No Hyoman'll handle getting them through the gate."
Jeongwoo nodded that he got it. As we turned to leave the factory, No Hyoman called out.
"Kim Cheonjae!"
"...What?"
"Where are you going?"
I pointed outside the factory.
"To check out what's around here."
"Please wait. We haven't decided how to proceed yet."
He'd been grating on me—kept barking orders.
Fine in the military to a superior, but in society? Just some uncle talking down to me?
And from someone weaker than me, no less.
I replied stiffly.
"...Sorry, but I'm not your subordinate, No Hyoman. I have separate operational authority."
No Hyoman scowled, looking dissatisfied. The classic "chewed shit" face.
"You're saying you won't stick with us?"
"I never said that. I said I'm scouting around."
"Isn't that the same? No solo actions until we've assessed the situation."
This guy hated me moving independently.
No clue why yet.
But one thing was clear: he had shady intentions.
"Look, I don't know why you're keep giving orders like that, but you have no authority over me. I'm not military."
...
"My deal with Major Kim Juncheol was info sharing only—not working under you. Got it?"
No Hyoman just glared without answering. I stepped closer and asked again.
"Got it?"
All eyes turned to us.
Residents and soldiers alike.
"...Fine. Do whatever."
"Yes, I will. Radio's off, so come find me if you need something."
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