Chapter 16
Chapter 16
It took only five minutes for Picker to complete its first flight—and turn into scrap metal.
Pulling my scattered thoughts together, I checked the coordinates where the final signal had been transmitted.
On the map data, a red dot blinked precariously in the middle of the ruins, estimated to be near Gongdeok Station.
It had crashed quite far away.
Should I retrieve it?
Suppressing my emotions, I began running calculations in my head.
[Power Status: 1% (Warning)]
It required 3% power to produce a [Mutated Acid Battery].
Now that the blueprint had been registered, I could build it manually—but I would probably be bedridden for more than a day afterward.
Besides, I still had hundreds of [K-1 Wasp] drones in stock.
Did I really need to risk my life retrieving one?
“Maybe I should just abandon it.”
I could simply make a new one and register it again.
Still, there was one problem.
The [Mutated Acid Battery] installed in Picker.
That battery was the culmination of my current technology—and an exclusive technology at that.
“What if one of them is a production-type Awakened?”
A technology leak would be catastrophic.
Even if the raiders were non-Awakened, it was still dangerous.
The transparent casing with purple venom sloshing inside and the pale tendon membrane.
Anyone could tell it wasn’t a normal battery.
Eventually it would probably pass through someone’s hands and end up in a shelter or the military.
Since it was obviously an item created through an ability, they would certainly investigate thoroughly.
Then my existence would be exposed sooner or later.
Even if I tried desperately to hide, my movement radius would become extremely limited.
Because of the nature of my ability, I was extremely vulnerable in combat unless the situation was thoroughly prepared.
That was also why I had disguised myself as a Bomber when meeting the Ahyeon Shelter exile family.
“I’d better retrieve it.”
Even if I had to abandon it due to danger, it was worth attempting first.
Though brief, Picker had already proven its usefulness—autonomous flight and reconnaissance through voice commands alone.
Even if I had to use a spare F-Grade Core, quickly building and registering a new unit would help with retrieving Picker.
Sighing, I attempted to temporarily remove Picker from the Entity Management Bay slot.
At that moment, a red warning window blocked my view.
[Warning: Removing the registered entity will deactivate this module.]
[To reactivate the slot, a power source equivalent to an F-Grade Core is required.]
“…What?”
My face twisted instantly.
What a shameless system.
It wanted a core just to reopen the slot?
“If I spend the core on the slot, I won’t be able to build the battery.”
At this point, retrieving Picker was mandatory just to preserve the slot.
That meant identifying the enemy first.
They would also come looking for Picker.
The only thing I knew so far was that they possessed the ability to shoot down a high-flying drone.
I accessed the Central Control System and restored Picker’s black box data.
Amid crackling noise, the final audio recording played.
BANG!
The system analyzed the sharp report.
A sniper rifle?
That made sense.
A pistol or assault rifle couldn’t hit something flying that high.
If they had a sniper rifle, being discovered first could be dangerous.
“AAAGH! B-Boss…!”
After Picker’s scream and the crash sound, faint voices recorded through noise could be heard.
[Processing audio…]
At first it was difficult to understand, but once the system finished processing, the voices became clearer.
Perhaps because it was military equipment, it had captured conversations from far away.
—Got it. Nice shot, Sister Viper.
—But are we allowed to shoot down a military reconnaissance drone without the boss’s permission?
—He’ll probably praise you. We’re saving money to go independent, right?
—Did you see where it crashed?
—Looks like somewhere before Gongdeok Station.
They intentionally shot down a military drone?
These weren’t ordinary raiders.
—Gongdeok? That area’s full of mutants. Should’ve waited for the signal.
—It’s fine. With Brother Hammer around, it won’t be a problem.
Union Tech?
Sounded like the name of a company.
—Anyway, Brother… about those carriers we caught last time.
The word carrier made me hold my breath.
—Ah, those guys? Too weak. Completely useless.
—Yeah. We tossed them as bait for an E-Grade mutant, but they didn’t even last three minutes. They need to struggle longer.
—That’s why guys raised in shelters like greenhouse flowers don’t work.
—No fun watching them struggle either.
—Maybe we should stick them in drums or something if we want proper bait.
—Not a bad idea. Anyway the smell—
Cut.
The recording stopped at the moment the connection had completely died after the crash.
And my brain froze along with the footage.
They had captured carriers nearby?
There was a 99% chance it was one of the carriers expelled from Mapo Shelter with me ten days ago.
“Ugh.”
Nausea rose in my stomach.
Even if that man had abandoned me and fled at the waste hill…
He had still eaten the same food and carried the same loads with me for ten years.
If I hadn’t awakened with Work Protocol…
I might have wandered until ending up the same way.
Stuffed into a drum and used as bait for mutants.
“Bastards.”
This wasn’t just anger.
It was disgust.
Even if the world had collapsed, there should still be a final line humans shouldn’t cross.
If they were going to kill someone, then kill them.
But using them as bait and laughing about it?
I realized something clearly.
Raiders should be eliminated on sight.
Leave them alive, and eventually they would come for my throat.
Steeling my resolve, I analyzed the footage frame by frame.
Bars of a building window that flashed in the background.
Structures on a rooftop.
And the clue about Gongdeok Station.
Thanks to the map Picker had obtained, identifying their location wasn’t difficult.
Mapo Police Station.
From Mapo Station, where the Mapo Shelter was located, pass Gongdeok Station and you would reach Mapo Police Station.
After returning from hunts, Kim Cheolmin used to brag so much that I roughly knew the major buildings.
If they occupied the police station, their numbers were likely considerable.
Most of them would probably have firearms.
Charging recklessly at gun-armed killers would just make me their next meal.
“I need thorough preparation.”
Mapo Police Station – First Floor Holding Cells
The iron bars that once imprisoned criminals were now filled with the cries of innocent survivors.
More than a dozen people, captured from somewhere, were huddled together like animals.
Among them were several carriers—exiles from Mapo Shelter.
SCRRRRKKK—SCRRRRK!
The eerie sound of a police baton scraping against iron bars echoed through the holding area.
Terrified survivors shrank deeper into each other.
“Hey, hey. Quiet down.”
A massive man named Hammer swung the baton and snickered.
He grabbed one man by the collar and dragged his head between the bars.
Then he shoved a bowl of slop into the man’s mouth.
“Mmph…!”
“Eat when you’re fed. You need stamina to survive as good bait—uh, I mean against mutants.”
He squeezed the man’s arms and thighs like a livestock farmer inspecting cattle.
“What’s this? So weak. Won’t you get ripped apart in three minutes like the last ones?”
To Hammer, these people weren’t human.
They were bait to attract mutants.
Mine detectors to push into dangerous areas first.
Disposable tools.
“That’s right. If you want to earn your meal, you gotta be sturdy.”
The survivors could only watch him leave with lifeless eyes.
“Close the door when you leave. The smell from downstairs is coming up.”
She covered her nose irritably while wiping the scope of an M24 SWS sniper rifle.
Pale skin.
Sharp eyes.
She was Viper, the sniper of the hunting squad.
“Come on, sister. Isn’t that just the smell of people?”
“Not people. That’s the smell of human waste. And the noise is unbearable too.”
To her, survivors were nothing more than noise machines or sources of stench.
Hammer shrugged and sat down on a sofa.
“They’re all getting thrown into the next operation anyway. Besides, leaving them like that sometimes attracts mutants to the station. Didn’t you level up by shooting those things one by one?”
“…Just don’t drag them out of the cells to play with them.”
“Alright, alright.”
Ignoring their bickering, the leader Karambit sat on an old sofa staring out the window.
The police station’s location was excellent.
From the hill, the ten-lane Mapo Boulevard stretching below was clearly visible.
The scenery was strange.
The asphalt of Mapo Boulevard was perfectly clean.
Yet the side streets on both sides were blocked by collapsed buildings, waste piles, and mutant nests.
Like a winter road after snowplows had passed—only the center remained clear.
“Every time I see that road, it pisses me off.”
Karambit ground his teeth.
That safe road didn’t belong to him.
It belonged to a C-Grade Awakened called Pig, who sat drinking wine in the penthouse of the Seoul Garden Hotel, the tallest building along the boulevard.
While raiders like Karambit bled at outposts like Mapo Police Station fighting mutants—
Pig didn’t lift a finger.
He simply collected enormous toll fees from those traveling between Gangbuk and Yeouido.
Military.
Shelters.
Raiders.
To Pig, they were all just customers.
“Boss. If we sell that drone Viper shot down to Union Tech, can we finally go independent? Military gear is expensive, right?”
The quick-witted Hammer asked while setting down his food.
Karambit glanced at the thick device in his hand.
[U-Link]
The items displayed on its Favorites list weren’t guns or food.
[Iron Skin]
A full-body suit woven from special alloy fibers, capable of deflecting rifle bullets.
Union Tech’s equipment.
With that suit, they could charge straight down the deadly boulevard guarded by Pig’s snipers.
“Once we get bulletproof suits, we won’t need to serve Pig anymore. We’ll become the new owners of that road.”
Pig’s power came from ammunition supply.
The money he used to buy ammunition from Union Tech came from tolls on Mapo Boulevard.
If Karambit could take a share—
He could aim even higher.
Like slitting Pig’s throat and taking his seat.
“Heh… finally we won’t have to pay tribute to that bastard? We do all the work and he takes all the money.”
“Exactly. So hurry up and go.”
Hammer smacked his lips and stood.
“Near Gongdeok Station, right?”
“Yeah. Around Exit 3. Be careful. Military troops might come to retrieve it.”
“Don’t worry. Even if there are a few rats, one swing of my hammer will turn them into minced meat.”
“Viper, go to the rooftop and cover Hammer.”
“Yes.”
Viper left the office first.
Hammer slung a machine gun over his shoulder.
“I’ll be back quick. Might as well patrol while I’m out. Heard Mapo Shelter kicked out more than twenty people. If they’re throwing them out, they should just give them to us.”
Karambit glared at him.
“Stop talking nonsense and bring back the drone.”
“Yeah, yeah. Got it.”
Bzzzz—
Mapo Police Station Rooftop
A tiny micro-drone, barely the size of a bee, quietly landed atop a rusted antenna tower.
Moments later.
The drone slowly moved its camera.
First toward Hammer leaving the police station entrance.
Then toward the sniper settling behind the rooftop railing.