Chapter 22
Chapter 22
“What…? Why isn’t the information showing?”
I was taken aback.
Until now, the system had kindly displayed the materials and condition of any scrap metal I analyzed.
It even dissected the precision components of military drones down to the smallest detail.
But now it said [Work Protocol Level Insufficient]?
–Boss! Could it be because the material is different?
Picker zoomed in over my shoulder and interrupted.
–Doesn’t look like normal iron. I can smell it, smell it! It smells expensive and rare. Maybe it’s made from mutant materials? B-grade… or maybe even higher?
“Mutant material?”
Only then did it make sense.
Right. This thing… was definitely made from [Special Materials].
The hammer head and handle probably weren’t ordinary minerals.
There was a high chance they were alloys processed from the bones or shells of high-grade mutants.
If the system couldn’t analyze it, that meant the materials or technology used to create this weapon were far beyond my current level.
Who made this?
I had suspected it already, but apparently there were Awakened in the world capable of crafting items like this.
–But Boss.
Picker suddenly opened and closed its camera lens like an aperture, making a strange clicking sound.
–Doesn’t that thing look ridiculously tough? It stayed intact even after that white-phosphorus sauna earlier. The durability must be insane, right?
“So?”
–Could you melt it down and upgrade my armor with it?
“What?”
–If I’d had a bit more tankiness earlier, I wouldn’t have had to run away from that dumb Hammer bastard! If you coat me with that stuff, next time I’ll just ram straight into him!
The greed in Picker’s voice was unmistakable.
I couldn’t help but snort in amusement.
We couldn’t even analyze it—how was I supposed to melt it?
–Come on! Physical processing should still be possible!
“…Is that so?”
–Yes! Absolutely!
“Fine. I’m taking it anyway.”
Like Picker said, I could either process it physically or analyze it later after raising my Work Protocol level.
I slung the [Ground Breaker] over my shoulder.
“Ugh… heavy.”
Not only my shoulder felt heavier—my heart did too.
From the battle with Hammer, I had learned a lot.
The world after the collapse was far more dangerous—and far more interesting—than I had imagined.
“Let’s go, Picker.”
Mapo Police Station – Rooftop
The rusty iron door creaked open, but the figure lying prone in perfect shooting posture didn’t move at all.
Viper remained completely still.
Like a statue, she stayed frozen with her eye pressed to the rifle scope.
“Viper! Did you turn your radio off?”
Karambit approached while calling out in a low voice.
It had been quite some time since Hammer stopped responding.
With a growing sense of unease, he had tried contacting Viper by radio as well—but she also failed to respond.
So he had come up to the rooftop himself.
The only answer was the sound of wind fluttering against clothing.
Feeling something was wrong, Karambit grabbed Viper’s shoulder roughly and turned her body.
Thud.
Her body toppled over limply.
Her unfocused pupils stared into empty space.
“…Damn.”
Karambit’s eyes sank coldly.
True to his background as a PMC mercenary, his instincts immediately pushed him to examine the corpse.
Her body was still warm.
But strangely, it was perfectly clean.
No bruises.
No stab wounds.
No gunshot wounds.
After examining the body for a long moment, Karambit discovered an extremely tiny puncture hole behind the back of her neck.
“A needle?”
No… it was even thinner than a syringe needle.
More importantly, the needle itself had been removed.
Karambit pressed the muscle behind Viper’s neck with his fingers.
It wasn’t the stiffness of rigor mortis.
“…Instant death by poison.”
The fact that Viper hadn’t even reacted sent chills down his spine.
Close-range assassination? No.
There were no signs of intrusion.
That meant it had been a long-distance assassination.
Among raiders, there was only one person capable of doing such a thing without being noticed by Viper.
“Electronic Ankle Monitor… that bastard.”
What troubled him even more was the type of poison.
“There’s no smell.”
It wasn’t one of the cheap drugs commonly circulating in the Black Market.
Most poisons raiders used were crude mixtures made by blending venom glands from mutants.
They usually left a distinctive fishy odor or acidic residue.
But the poison used to kill Viper was perfectly clean.
Almost like military nerve agents such as VX—or the specialized paralysis toxins used by high-ranking Awakened.
If measured by Black Market standards, this would be at least a [Silver]… no, a [Gold]-grade VIP item.
Even by rough calculation, a single drop of that poison cost far more than Viper’s life.
And someone used it to kill a single non-Awakened sniper?
Karambit’s mind rapidly reconstructed the situation.
In Mapo District, there was only one capitalist capable of casually spending such high-grade resources.
“That pig bastard.”
A savage smile crept across Karambit’s lips.
Now it made sense.
Which meant Hammer was probably already dead as well.
“…Yeah. The Pig planned to erase us from the start.”
Unaware of Kang Sinhyeok’s existence, Karambit concluded that Pig had used the military drone as bait.
Pig must have decided to cleanly eliminate subordinates whose influence had grown too large—ones who might eventually stab him in the back.
“You spent quite a lot of money just to cut off my arms.”
Having received a declaration of war, he had no choice but to respond.
WEEEEEEENG—!
A sharp siren echoed throughout Mapo Police Station.
Within less than five minutes, around one hundred raiders gathered in the first-floor auditorium.
They all looked fierce, but their confused murmuring was obvious.
Standing on the stage, Karambit swept his cold gaze across the crowd.
“I will brief the situation.”
At his words, the noise gradually subsided.
“We’ve lost contact with Hammer. And Viper… was assassinated on the rooftop just moments ago.”
“What? Hammer-hyung?”
“Viper got killed? Inside the police station?”
The raiders stirred in agitation.
Karambit seized that moment and drove the nail in.
“That pig bastard has begun his purge. While Hammer was taken out outside, he sent an assassin inside to cut off my eyes and ears.”
The murmurs turned into fear.
Pig—Do Gi-cheol.
The boss of the massive organization Steel Corporation that dominated Mapo Boulevard.
And a C-Grade Awakened.
His overwhelming power and wealth made him an absolute object of fear among raiders.
At that moment, a rough-looking man stepped out from the front row.
He was a raider planted in the police station by Pig as a watchdog.
“Hey, Karambit. Watch your mouth! The Chairman betrayed us? Got proof? And even if that’s true, are you insane? You want to fight a C-Grade? That’s suicide! I’m out!”
His agitation shook several raiders.
The weight of the word C-Grade was enormous.
But Karambit stepped down from the stage with an expressionless face.
Step. Step.
The sound of military boots echoed through the silent hall.
“W-What are you doing? Picking a fight?”
The man reached into his jacket.
At that moment—
Karambit’s figure blurred.
Before the raider’s hand even touched the pistol grip—
Slash!
“AAAAAH!”
Crimson blood sprayed simultaneously from both of the raider’s wrists.
His severed tendons left his hands dangling uselessly.
“Ugh… ghk…”
But the scream didn’t last long.
Karambit’s curved dagger—the Karambit Knife, shaped like a sickle—had already pierced his throat.
Pshhh.
With the sound of blood bubbling, the raider collapsed foaming at the mouth.
Two seconds.
Overwhelming lethality that gave him no time even to draw his gun.
Though the man was an F-Grade Awakened, in front of Karambit he was no different from a child.
The auditorium fell silent.
Karambit wiped the blood from his knife against his clothes and raised his head.
“C-Grade? So what?”
His cold eyes glared at the terrified raiders.
“I served in the army during the early collapse. On the battlefield, I saw B-Grade Awakened drop dead from a single stray bullet more times than I can count. Awakening rank isn’t a measure of strength. It’s just the grade of a trait you happened to get lucky with.”
He kicked the dead raider’s body aside.
“Sure, that pig bastard has an impressive ability—[Steel Skin]. But tell me something.”
Karambit twisted his lips into a grin.
“Are his eyeballs made of steel too? Is the airway he breathes through made of iron? What about his asshole—covered with steel plates as well?”
His voice was low but powerful.
Fear slowly faded from the raiders’ eyes, replaced by a different kind of hunger.
“How long are you going to live as that pig’s hunting dogs? He treats us like disposable pawns, yet we keep surviving on the crumbs he throws us?”
“H-But… we lack weapons.”
“That’s right. Their equipment…”
Karambit snapped his fingers.
His subordinates opened the reinforced iron door behind the auditorium—secured with a double lock.
As the heavy door swung open, the raiders’ mouths fell open.
“T-This is…?”
Hundreds of neatly lined K-2 assault rifles.
Boxes stacked with 5.56mm ammunition.
Even crude but vicious-looking improvised explosives filled the shelves.
These were Karambit’s real claws—stockpiled secretly behind Pig’s back.
“I’ve been preparing for this day. Once we take him out, everything on Mapo Boulevard—the resources and territory—will belong to us.”
Karambit grabbed a rifle and tossed it to a stunned raider.
Click.
The man caught the weapon, murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
“Follow me, and I’ll show you a miracle—an E-Grade devouring a C-Grade.”
The raiders stirred at Karambit’s confidence.
Pig’s greatest advantage had always been firearms and ammunition.
But with this level of stockpile—and Karambit’s leadership—they might actually stand a chance.
“WAAAAAAH—!”
A thunderous roar erupted through the auditorium.
Inside the workshop, I was monitoring Mapo Police Station through [Honeybee].
In shock, I dropped the leg of the Knife-Beak Chicken I had been eating.
“…What the hell is going on?”
–Boss! This is huge! Are those guys starting a civil war? This is popcorn material! A full-blown spectacle movie!
Beside me, Picker buzzed excitedly around the screen like a flapping bird.
No… this wasn’t what I wanted.
All I did was eliminate one sniper who threatened my safety.
One poisoned dart.
No—three.
That was it.
But Karambit interpreted it as a purge.
And now the raiders were fracturing internally and plotting a coup.
The snowball had grown way too big.
“That Karambit guy could debut as a novelist.”
The plot structure was perfect.
I couldn’t help laughing in disbelief.
“Picker. Do you think they’ll actually attack?”
–Of course, Boss! Look at their eyes! That’s the look of someone staring at a lottery jackpot!
“You know what a lottery is?”
–…Huh? What’s a lottery?
Sometimes this happened when Picker borrowed knowledge from the Awakening system.
Ignoring the confused device, I focused on the screen again.
From the atmosphere, this wasn’t just empty agitation.
Is this really how it’s going to unfold?
Pig versus Karambit.
No matter how the raiders’ power struggle ended, it wouldn’t hurt me at all.
Fishing in troubled waters.
Maybe after they swept through the ruins, I’d get a chance to harvest the real profit.
Even now, I had already obtained valuable intelligence just by observing.
Karambit — E-Grade Awakened, trait: Acceleration.
Pig — C-Grade Awakened, trait: Steel Skin.
And the existence of the Black Market.
“So the concentrated venom I made is apparently considered extremely valuable.”
I looked at the thick smartphone sitting on the shelf.
The one I got from a raider I met at Hyochang Park.
Connected to satellite signals.
“So this thing was a terminal that connects to the Black Market.”
[U-Link].
Good thing I hadn’t dismantled it out of curiosity.