Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Near Exit 3 of Gongdeok Station, beside an apartment complex.
In the corner of a flowerbed filled with broken concrete and weeds, I found the wreckage of a familiar machine.
A half-crushed body.
Propeller blades snapped off miserably.
My first autonomous entity.
[Picker].
“It’s in terrible shape.”
After checking the surroundings once more to make sure no mutants were nearby, I quickly approached the wreckage.
The important thing was the [Mutated Acid Battery].
“Tch.”
Perhaps the bullet had grazed it—every drop of the toxic fluid had leaked out.
Still, the separator membrane hadn’t been damaged.
That was fortunate.
I placed my hand on Picker’s body.
[Repair]
Vrrrr—
Particles of blue light enveloped Picker’s shattered shell.
The dented metal panels straightened, and the broken wings reattached.
At the same time, a faint dizziness crept up from my fingertips.
Crackle.
A blue light flickered on Picker’s front sensor.
I stared quietly into the camera lens.
Was it fixed?
Bzzz… hiss.
Noise crackled from the speaker.
Then—
“B-Boss…?”
“Back with me?”
The camera lens blinked, and Picker’s body trembled violently.
“Uuuugh! Boss! Y-you really came?! Just to save me… you came all the way into this dangerous enemy territory?!”
The mechanical voice sounded like it was sobbing.
Picker zoomed in and out repeatedly, scanning me as if it couldn’t believe what it was seeing.
“I thought I’d been abandoned! I thought I’d turn into scrap metal and end up sold to a junk dealer!”
My reason for coming here was simple.
First, to prevent the Mutated Acid Battery, which contained the culmination of my technology, from falling into the wrong hands.
Second, because repairing the unit cost far less than manufacturing a new one.
…Though calling it a “cost” felt strange since I wasn’t buying it with money.
It was simply a calculation of efficiency.
But with Picker reacting like this, I had no choice but to play along.
I gently stroked its smooth, repaired body.
“Of course. You’re the first one I ever made.”
Then I added in a deliberately low voice.
“A leader doesn’t abandon family.”
“Boooooss!!”
Picker’s body trembled.
Was that excitement, or a malfunction?
Either way, the effect was immediate.
Ding!
[Warning: Entity Picker’s Emotion Module is overloaded with inspiration.]
[Loyalty System unlocked.]
Huh?
An unexpected system message filled my vision.
[Loyalty: 100 (Max) — Worship Stage]
[The entity recognizes you as both creator and savior.]
[Trait Evolution Initiated.]
[Suggestion Protocol activated.]
[From now on, the entity will autonomously propose optimal actions for the master’s benefit.]
?
This feature existed?
From the description, it seemed Picker would now make intelligent suggestions even without direct commands.
‘Not bad.’
BOOOOM!
At that moment, a heavy explosion tore through the air from the boulevard beyond Gongdeok Station.
Not just an explosion.
It sounded like an entire building collapsing.
“What was that?”
I immediately lowered my body and looked toward the sound.
Had the battle started?
Picker quickly took flight and moved into a reconnaissance position.
Once Picker and Honeybee shared their visual feeds, the situation on the boulevard became clear.
Dozens of mutants surrounded Hammer.
But the situation resembled a one-sided slaughter.
BANG! THUD!
Each swing of Hammer’s sledgehammer exploded mutant skulls and crushed bones.
But that wasn’t all.
BANG! BANG!
Crossfire erupted from abandoned buildings across the boulevard.
Covering fire for Hammer.
Hammer acted as bait—and a tank—while hidden forces served as the damage dealers.
I wanted a better view of those shooters.
But Honeybee’s camera from Mapo Police Station couldn’t see clearly.
Picker’s camera lacked the viewing angle.
Just then, three Poison Bees appeared on the screen.
They had been launched from the workshop as soon as production finished.
Their original mission was to assassinate Viper, but since they were passing Gongdeok Station—
Maybe I could use them for reconnaissance first.
Just as I was about to issue the command—
“Boss!”
“What.”
“Give me command authority!”
Was it because of the newly activated Suggestion Protocol?
His voice carried an unusual confidence.
“That oversized Awakened idiot—I’ll expose every weakness he’s got. And those rats hiding in those buildings firing potshots? I’ll lock down every coordinate!”
“You can do that?”
“Of course! Who do you think I am?!”
Picker spun proudly in the air.
“I’m not like those lowly machines that only move according to input! I’m the first subordinate who shares the Boss’s soul! I’ll control those stupid bees perfectly!”
Really…
Well, nothing to lose.
It might even work better than me controlling them manually.
“Permission granted. Go ahead.”
The system reacted immediately.
[Network Link Expanded]
[Entity Picker designated as intermediate commander.]
[Command hierarchy reconstructed.]
[Entity control range expanded through intermediate commander.]
Oh?
That was unexpected.
The circular control area centered on the workshop expanded.
Another circle formed around Picker.
Like a Wi-Fi signal extender.
My connection to the workshop had no distance limit, but the drones did.
Picker acting as a relay greatly increased the command range.
Picker rose higher into the air.
“Listen up, you useless tin cans! Follow my orders!”
With Picker’s shout, the three Poison Bees scattered instantly.
When I controlled them, they moved in a straight line.
Under Picker’s control, they formed a tactical formation.
One climbed to high altitude to observe the battlefield.
Two dove into Hammer’s left and right blind spots.
Like fighter jets flying in a triangular formation.
Through Honeybee’s view, I saw the footage from Picker replayed in slow motion.
At the moment Hammer raised his sledgehammer—
Right before impact, his arm muscles and lower body turned dark gray.
[Boss! That guy’s body hardens like metal for a split second before striking!]
Picker’s voice echoed in my head.
“Hardens?”
[Yes! Massive destructive force always produces recoil. But that guy turns his body harder than steel at the moment of impact, canceling the recoil completely!]
“Why would he do that?”
[It allows all the kinetic energy—energy that would normally destroy the human body—to transfer 100% into the target!]
“Uh… I see.”
This guy’s actually smart.
If I had watched it myself, I would’ve simply thought:
‘He’s ridiculously strong.’
[We can call that ability Hardened Impact. While it’s active, his body cannot move freely. And activating it requires a brief charge time!]
So Hammer’s ability was Hardening.
Replaying the footage, I realized how skilled he was with it.
He was completely different from Awakened I had seen before—like Kim Cheolmin.
Experience.
If he timed it well, even my grenades or sling weapons might fail.
“So if I attack during that state, even grenades might not damage him? How strong is his defense?”
Picker suddenly fell silent.
“…?”
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“Uh… well, Boss… honestly…”
Picker’s camera awkwardly looked side to side.
[With my current Honeybee equipment, I can only see surface details. I can’t analyze the energy density or hardness of that hardened skin. I can’t tell if it’s steel-level or titanium-level.]
“What? I installed a high-precision camera!”
[Boss! You know how you can’t tell whether something’s soybean paste or poop until you taste it! To analyze the aura an Awakened emits, my equipment’s just not good enough!]
He started defensively rambling.
[Boss! Later you should install something like an Aura Sensor or Bio-Spectrum Scanner! With those I could even tell how many parasites he has in his stomach!]
“…So right now you don’t know.”
[…Correct. Insufficient data. My apologies.]
I clicked my tongue.
So this was the limit against Awakened.
No matter how precise the camera, accurately measuring their power was impossible.
That would be a major variable in future battles.
“Fine. We’ll think about modules later. For now, keep going.”
[Yes, Boss! I’ll show you where those rats are hiding!]
A 3D map of Gongdeok Intersection appeared.
Ballistic reverse tracking.
Using bullet trajectories landing around Hammer, Picker calculated the firing origins with help from the Central Control System.
Collapsed storefront second floor.
Behind a bank sign.
Inside an abandoned bus.
[Sniper Points]
[12 Locations]
Red dots appeared across the map.
Not just enemy positions—possible supply routes were also marked.
Perfect.
My jaw dropped.
‘This is insanely overpowered.’
It wasn’t just having another pair of eyes.
This was like playing a game with a map-hack enabled.
And this information came from just three drones.
If I mass-produced drones across Seoul…
I could track every raider movement.
“How is it, Boss?”
Picker hovered proudly above me.
“I did pretty well, didn’t I? Honestly that was amazing. Totally amazing!”
Normally I would scold him for being noisy.
But this time I couldn’t.
The information he gathered was worth dozens of F-Grade Cores.
I smiled faintly.
“You’re right. That was amazing.”
“Thank you, Boss! Loyalty! Loyalty!”
“Don’t get too excited. There’s still a sniper.”
“Don’t worry, Boss! This time it’s different!”
His camera shook quickly.
“I’ve already recorded the soundwave frequency pattern of that snake-eyed woman who shot my butt last time!”
Did you even have a butt?
I never installed one.
“The moment she pulls the trigger—even the slightest sonic boom from the air splitting—”
WHOOSH!
Picker performed a sudden evasive maneuver midair.
“Did you see that?! Automatic evasion within 0.3 seconds! I won’t get hit twice!”
“Oh… you prepared countermeasures.”
“Yes! And the Honeybee is watching Snake Eyes too! Even if I miss it, that one will signal immediately!”
Despite the situation—facing gun-armed raiders—I couldn’t help laughing at Picker’s exaggerated confidence.
“Really? Then let’s start by eliminating the sniper you hate so much.”
“Really?!”
Picker cheered loudly.
…My ears almost burst.
“Just as expected, Boss! You’re prioritizing my revenge!”
No.
That was the plan from the beginning.
“Tch. What a nuisance.”
Viper chewed her gum irritably.
Hammer still hadn’t reached Gongdeok Intersection.
He continued swinging his sledgehammer like a rabid dog.
BOOM! CRASH!
Mutant blood and flesh exploded everywhere.
“Enough already. Just hurry up.”
The longer this dragged on, the worse things became.
Gunshots and blood would attract more mutants—or worse, higher predators.
And while Hammer drew all the aggro, she had to provide cover.
“Well… if Hammer levels up, that’s not bad.”
The military might intervene.
Viper kept her eye on the scope, loosening and tightening her trigger finger slightly to maintain sensation.
Ready to fire anytime.
Then—
Bzzzz.
A faint motor sound passed by her ear.
But Viper didn’t notice.
The strong wind between the buildings masked the sound.
And as a non-Awakened, the decibel level was below her perception threshold.
As she held her breath and touched the trigger—
Three shadows emerged silently from the darkness.
Black as obsidian.
Poison Bees.
They had already surrounded Viper from behind and from her blind spots.
[Target Confirmed]
[Network Link Confirmed]
[Complete]
Once the three Poison Bees synchronized with Picker’s network—
A silent countdown began.
3… 2… 1.
PSSHH—! PSSHH—!
Compressed air burst simultaneously.
Three drones fired their poison stingers.
“Uh…?”
Viper’s eyes widened.
The first stinger struck the back of her neck—near the brainstem.
The neural signals between brain and body were instantly severed.
Instant paralysis.
She couldn’t even scream.
The second stinger pierced her right wrist.
Her grip loosened.
The sniper rifle she cherished fell to the floor.
And finally—
“Ghh…”
The third stinger buried itself into her chest.
Aimed directly at the heart.
The concentrated toxin spread through her bloodstream within three seconds.
THUD.
A former competitive shooter.
A sniper confident she could defeat any Awakened in a pure shooting contest.
She collapsed without even realizing she had been attacked.
Ten years after the Collapse—
A woman who had silently taken countless lives met the quietest death imaginable.
Only the cold wind remained on the rooftop.
Three Poison Bees hovered above the corpse, checking vital signs.
[Target Neutralized]
[Life signs terminated]
[Threat eliminated]
The message on my screen was brief.
Picker’s voice was not.
“Boss! Did you see that?! That was insane! Totally insane!”
“Quiet.”
“Did you see that combo?! One for the neck! One for the wrist! And the finisher—straight to the heart! I counted it perfectly—one, two, three, boom!”
Picker sounded like a machine gun of excitement.
Despite not firing a shot himself, he was drunk on command authority.
“At this point you should give me a title like ‘Supreme Assassin’ or something! I bet she didn’t even know how she died! She’ll ask the King of Hell for a kill-cam replay!”
I ignored his rambling and smiled faintly.
Using my last F-Grade Core had been worth it.
My trump card hadn’t even been used yet.
And we already achieved this.
Even better—
Picker’s efficiency exceeded expectations.
While he handled Viper, I could focus entirely on setting the trap for Hammer.
“You did well.”
“Hehe. Thank you! So now it’s time to cook that brute, right?”
Picker’s camera turned back to the boulevard.
Hammer was still swinging his sledgehammer, unaware of Viper’s death.
If I were still the man living in the shelter—
I wouldn’t even dare look him in the eye.
But if I intended to survive outside the shelter…
I would encounter Awakened like Hammer countless times.
“Yeah.”
“Let’s cook him properly.”
As I said that—
For some reason I suddenly wanted to cook real food.
Cooking in this ruined world.
An unimaginable luxury.
But if anyone could make it possible—
It would be a Workshop-type Awakened like me.