Chapter 41
Chapter 41
“Phew.”
The acrid air mixed with the smell of gunpowder and burning flesh seeped deep into my lungs.
“Cleanup finished.”
Looking through the telescope, it seemed there were no survivors.
From the beginning, the bombardment had been prepared with calculated explosive power, taking into account the number and capabilities of the gathered mutants and raiders.
Still, you never knew.
“Picker. Scan for remaining forces. We need to find anyone hiding.”
[… ]
Hmm? Strangely, there was no reply.
Come to think of it, under normal circumstances he would have started making a fuss the moment the situation ended, shouting something like “Jackpot! We wiped them all out!”
Why was he so quiet today?
“Picker?”
When I lifted my head, the little guy was floating in midair, spinning in place.
It was a bizarre flight pattern, like someone unable to contain their excitement.
“Picker!”
When I called again with emphasis, Picker blinked his sensor eye toward me.
[Ki-kik! Boss! Look at this! It exploded! We hit the jackpot!]
“Did we get some amazing item?”
[No! The views exploded! Public sentiment is skyrocketing!]
“…What?”
The screen he projected as a hologram was not the forward surveillance camera.
[(Live) Siege of Mapo Police Station. Raiders vs Mutant Horde.avi]
[Uploader: Thunder]
“Hey. When did you upload this?”
[I started a livestream when those Karambit guys began getting pushed back! In my professional judgment, this was profitable content!]
I clicked my tongue.
So this guy had been broadcasting while I was making [Toad] and rushing to the police station.
But the moment I saw the status window he displayed, the words of scolding died on my lips.
[Congratulations! Your rank has increased according to your community contribution.]
[Rank: Silver → Gold]
“Gold…?”
I doubted my eyes.
Even going from Bronze to Silver required dozens of posts and hundreds of recommendations.
And I had only been promoted to Silver an hour ago.
Around the time Karambit dealt with Balkan.
Yet in a single day—no, with a single war-broadcast piece of content—we had reached Gold?
[Boss! It’s all thanks to my brilliant editing. I cut out the part where Karambit secretly went to butcher pigs and only broadcast the desperate defense after those guys barricaded themselves in the police station!]
Picker was right.
The scenario I wanted was mutual destruction.
Picker had broadcast only the provocative scenes.
As a result, public opinion was now focused on the shock and fear surrounding the “pig farm,” and on the thrilling spectacle of the raiders desperately holding back that overwhelming horde.
And the scene of [Toad]’s concentrated bombardment that I had just unleashed had already climbed to the top post.
The funny part was that the uploader of that post wasn’t Thunder.
[Holy crap;; did anyone see the steel rain over Mapo just now?]
[Uploader: MapoDistrictVeteran]
[Views: 12,500+]
[Start from 0:34. Isn’t that a mortar? That’s at least a regular army unit.]
[You can practically hear the raiders’ skulls cracking from here lol]
[MiltaryGeek: Look at that impact grouping. That’s not fired by a person. Either an automated emplacement or at least a 10-year artillery specialist. Honestly it feels like the military got deployed like MapoDistrictVeteran said.]
└ Didn’t people say the Pig had connections with the military?
└ Yeah I heard that too.
└ Is that a skill? Maybe a magic awakener?
The forum was flooded with discussion about me.
No—about Thunder.
Was he a magician, or the military?
Those two opinions were evenly divided.
└ I heard there’s a killer called Bomb Maniac wandering around Mapo District. Could it be him?
It seemed the rumor about the Bomber had spread; a few comments like that appeared as well.
They were quickly buried.
Then someone with a strange anime profile picture posted.
Looks like another attention-seeker like that crazy Gangnam girl.
[AngelGirlMage: ★Definitely NOT magic★]
└ What the hell is this weeb?
└ She’s a bit crazy but she’s an A-rank mage
An A-rank mage?
Well, I had heard many times that magic awakeners tended to be a little unhinged.
Just look at Kim Cheolmin.
He was barely D-rank and already not in his right mind.
If that guy was like that, an A-rank must be unimaginable.
“Haa… I mean, we already did it, but isn’t this a bit too flashy?”
I asked worriedly, but Picker flashed his lens proudly.
[Don’t worry! Thunder is just an observer position! A lucky-guy concept selling popcorn while watching the fire!]
“I’m not talking about Thunder, I mean the Bomber. When I go outside I need to wear this outfit to stay safe. What if weird people start tailing me?”
[Then we stay vigilant.]
“Who was it that let the military informant break through our perimeter last time?”
[… ]
“And that [Cloak of Invisibility] Karambit had. We need more research on reconnaissance technology.”
Once we finished farming the Mapo Police Station, we would secure enough technology anyway.
Just then, something strange caught my eye as I scrolled down the screen.
[Mapo Police Station live cam.gif]
[Confirming bombardment in person. Warning: potato-quality video]
[I came to Mapo to farm AP]
Videos and photos taken near Mapo Police Station began flooding the board.
Most of them were pitch-black because the battery was low and the brightness was minimized, or so blurry that the camera shook from trembling hands.
But there were dozens of them.
“These lunatics… Don’t they value their lives?”
They crawled all the way here just to film a video?
Picker answered as if it were obvious.
[They need AP to buy information such as Thunder or the Bomber from the information board. For them, AP is their lifeline. After seeing Thunder hit Gold rank in a single day and sweep up AP, how could their eyes not turn red?]
“Ah, right.”
I had briefly forgotten.
This was a ruined world where a single piece of information was directly tied to survival.
My overwhelming firepower show, which looked terrifying to some, appeared to others as a once-in-a-lifetime scoop worth risking everything.
[Thanks to that, we’ll profit without lifting a finger. Look.]
Picker zoomed in on one screen.
A fearless idiot had noticed the bombardment, immediately killed a fleeing raider from the police station, and proudly uploaded the photo.
“True. With paparazzi swarming around too, there’s nowhere left to run.”
I stood up.
Countless packs of hyenas had gathered around Mapo Police Station.
“Let’s give them a warning first.”
When the bombardment that had covered the sky stopped, the hyenas hiding in the darkness began to stir.
The raiders who had gathered around Mapo Police Station after watching Picker’s video all widened their eyes.
“It’s over!”
Compared to the fear of Thunder, the temptation of the treasure scattered before them was stronger.
Mutant corpses rolling on the ground.
Guns and equipment that had lost their owners.
Whoever grabbed them first would own them.
The greedy ones, their eyes blinded by desire, were just about to rush the front gate like a horde of zombies.
Thunk—
Thunk, thunk—!
Once again, a clear cracking sound split the night air.
“Huh?”
The leading raider didn’t even have time to look up.
BOOOOM—!
Right in front of their feet.
The asphalt of the police station entrance road flipped up with a deafening explosion.
It was not aimed at people.
Shells struck in a straight line along the entrance road, forming a massive wall of fire.
Sssss—
White flames of white phosphorus surged, rejecting the approach of the living.
“H-Hiiiik!”
“It’s not over yet!”
The hyenas scattered in panic, stumbling backward and falling on their backsides.
No words were spoken.
But the message was clear.
—Cross this line and you die.
It was a declaration of territory by an apex predator none dared challenge.
Beyond the wavering flames, a massive silhouette walked forward.
“…!”
Yoon Seongjun, who had been watching everything while holding his breath, felt his pupils shake like an earthquake.
The figure that emerged through the smoke.
It was far too large to be called human.
Shoulders nearly twice as broad as an ordinary adult man.
It was Kang Sinhyeok, his bulk enlarged by thick fireproof cloth layered over a [Mechanical Reinforced Exoskeleton].
Seeing the Bomber’s appearance, a name flashed through his mind.
The group of mechanical humans said to rule the Yeongdeungpo industrial district.
“Machine City? Is he one of their executives?”
He was convinced he had just witnessed a full-body cyborg he had only heard about in rumors.
Otherwise, such firepower and such a visual presence made no sense.
Ignoring the stares around him, the giant strode toward the fallen corpse of the [Acid Golem].
A [D-Rank Named Mutant] that had already begun melting after death.
The Bomber bent down and grabbed its ribcage.
CRACK—
A horrifying tearing sound.
He did not use a knife or tool.
With bare hands—no, with the hydraulic claws of the exoskeleton—he tore the golem’s ribs apart.
As easily as stripping meat from chicken bones.
Shluck.
He plunged his hand into the ribcage and soon pulled out a glowing red crystal.
[D-Rank Core]
The brilliant red light reflected across the giant’s mask.
The surrounding hyenas could only swallow their saliva, not daring to attack.
Damn… how much is that worth?
They wanted it.
But their lives were more valuable.
Just by appearance alone, that was a disaster you should never provoke.
The Bomber casually put the core into his pocket and picked up a few [E-Rank Cores] scattered nearby.
After collecting only the most valuable ones, the giant slowly raised his head.
His gaze pointed precisely toward the rooftop railing.
“Hiii!”
A companion beside Yoon Seongjun collapsed in terror.
Yoon Seongjun himself felt his breath catch.
The giant’s face had no eyes.
Where eye sockets should have been, there were only camera lenses emitting a cold blue glow.
Not only the exoskeleton but also the mask had been modified from the original version.
Aware of the countless paparazzi filming him, he had simply covered the eyes with lenses.
After all, his field of vision could be secured through the system window shared by Picker and Honeybee.
To others, he looked nothing less than a monster.
Crackle.
The giant spoke.
A distorted mechanical voice echoed through the mask’s speaker.
—We meet again.
Yoon Seongjun shuddered.
It was the same voice he had heard in the forest of Hyochang Park.
As expected.
The Bomber.
It really was him.
The giant slowly raised his hand and pointed at the rooftop.
Then he opened his palm and pressed it downward.
Stay right there.
An unspoken pressure.
Yoon Seongjun nodded unconsciously.
It was an order that could not be refused.
Instead of climbing up to the roof, the giant turned his body and headed toward the interior of the police station.
The front gate was already half destroyed and hanging in tatters.
The steel giant strode into that darkness.
Soon after—
Bang! Bang!
“AAARGH!”
“S-Save—kgh!”
From inside the building came desperate screams, gunshots, and the sound of something being crushed.
It was the sound of Karambit’s surviving remnants being eliminated.
“S-Seongjun… are we going to die too?”
“We need to run—ugh, but my legs won’t move.”
His companions trembled in panic.
But Yoon Seongjun only let out a light sigh.
“No… we’re alive.”
“What? With a monster like that down there…?”
“Exactly. That’s why we’re alive.”
Yoon Seongjun took a deep breath as the wind carrying the smell of blood blew past.
The raiders inside the building were probably tasting hell right now.
Paradoxically, that meant safety.
Neither raiders nor mutants would dare approach where that monster stood.
Yoon Seongjun gave a bitter, self-mocking smile.
The world had gone mad.
The most dangerous-looking existence had become the safest shield.
CRACK!
The sound of bones shattering echoed from inside the building.
Clank. Hiss—
Every step caused the hydraulic cylinders to contract and expand.
Heavy vibrations traveled across the worn hallway floor.
“Hiiik! Don’t come! Stay away!”
A terrified scream burst out from a corner duty room.
Without stopping, I checked the screen in front of me.
Picker couldn’t enter the police station.
But that was fine.
A small friend crawling along the floor had become my eyes instead.
[I will switch to spider perspective, Boss.]
A spider robot hanging from a gap in the ceiling vent looked down clearly into the duty room.
A raider crouched behind a desk, hiding and aiming his gun toward the door.
Shaking hands.
Cold sweat running down his temple.
A loaded K-1 rifle.
Position, posture, weapon type.
Every piece of information was revealed.
“So you were there.”
Without hesitation, I kicked the door.
CRASH!
The old plywood door tore apart like paper.
As the steel giant appeared through the cloud of dust, the man’s pupils shrank violently.
“Die! Just die, you monster!”
Rat-tat-tat-tat—!
The raider pulled the trigger in a frenzy.
A cramped duty room.
The distance was barely three meters.
An unavoidable range.
But I had no intention of dodging.
It was the perfect chance to test the upgraded exoskeleton.
Ting! Ting-ting!
Bright sparks flew in the darkness along with cheerful metallic sounds.
But that was all.
The [Bulletproof Suit] layered with [Mutant Skin].
And thick [Steel Armor Plates] covering it.
5.56mm rifle rounds could not even scratch it before crumpling and falling to the floor.
Perhaps thanks to the shock-absorbing gel pads packed inside the suit, the only sensation reaching my body was a faint vibration like someone tapping with a finger.
“Uh…?”
Instead of gunshots, only a dry clicking sound came from the raider’s rifle.
The magazine was empty.
Despair filled his eyes.
“W-Why… why won’t you die…”
Instead of answering, I closed the distance.
Whir—clank.
Increasing the output of the [Hydraulic Gauntlet], the heavy mechanical hand grabbed his shoulder.
“AAAGH!”
Crunch.
With a light squeeze, the sound of his collarbone shattering echoed.
Before he could even scream properly, his body went limp.
The exoskeleton modification was a success.
With accumulated combat experience, I had analyzed the movements of many body-enhancement ability users.
With this level of output and defense, I could face an E-rank body-enhancement user head-on without being pushed back.
Catching someone who ran might still be difficult, but at least I wouldn’t get beaten helplessly anymore.
I tossed the unconscious man aside like garbage and turned around.
The real reason I had come here lay elsewhere.
The innermost room of the police station.
The chief’s office.
The hidden space where Karambit had stayed and taken out artifacts.
When I shoved aside the bookshelf, a massive safe embedded in the wall revealed itself.
It was not an ordinary safe.
Its surface was engraved with complex mechanical dials and gear patterns—something obviously extraordinary.
To ordinary people it might look like a sturdy lump of steel.
But to my eyes it was different.
[Iron Bunker]
[Rank: C]
[Special safe equipped with triple dial locks. Internal incineration trap activates if forced open.]
A safe that burned everything inside the moment it was destroyed.
The corner of my mouth lifted.
This wasn’t sealed with magic.
It was probably made by Machine City.
The Pig and Karambit were likely trading with them.
Which meant this was a good opportunity to see the technological level of the largest manufacturing ability-user group in the southwestern region.