Chapter 43
Chapter 43
The moment I slipped into the darkness after leaving Yoon Seongjun’s group behind, Picker’s lively voice rang in my ear.
[Boss, tell me honestly. Did you just scam them?]
His tone was full of suspicion.
[There’s no such thing as forced awakening, right? What if they betray us later when you can’t do it? Can you handle the after-service?]
I chuckled and kept walking.
“It’s not a scam. It’s an investment in a highly probable future.”
[An investment?]
“Yeah. Think about it. What did Hammer say before he died?”
He had mentioned “forced experience injection” to his subordinates.
That alone was enough to suggest the possibility of artificial growth.
But the decisive clue was something else.
“The military mercenaries we encountered at Gongdeok Intersection last time. Remember how they moved?”
[They were mechanical. And they used brainwave communication.]
“Exactly. Standardized physical abilities that can’t be explained by natural awakening. That proves someone created those awakeners.”
The information board didn’t mention it.
But the method definitely existed.
I suspected the key was an artifact.
“There’s definitely a way. We just have to find it.”
[Still… you can’t actually do it right now, can you? That Yoon Seongjun guy looked like he lost his mind the moment he heard the word awakening.]
I smacked my lips bitterly.
It was true.
I couldn’t do it right now.
But what moved people wasn’t an immediate reward.
“Kim Cheolmin. Back when we were in the shelter, that bastard was always like that.”
Kim Cheolmin.
The D-rank awakener who had worked me like a slave for ten years.
His disgusting face surfaced in my mind.
—Hey, Sinhyeok. If you do well this time, I’ll move you to a better position.
—Just do me this one favor and I’ll double your ration.
Not a single promise was ever kept.
Yet I—and countless other non-awakener carriers—risked our lives for that one sentence.
Until we eventually realized it was all a lie.
“Hope is a drug, Picker. Even if you don’t give it right away, just showing that you can give it makes people move. Funny how I’m using the things I learned getting beaten by that bastard.”
The irony wasn’t lost on me.
I was using the same methods as the people who exploited me.
But I wasn’t them.
I had no intention of running off with the money.
“Yoon Seongjun’s group will become my subcontractors—and my money-laundering channel.”
In return, I would protect them and awaken them for real once I discovered the method.
And if my guess turned out wrong and I never found a way to awaken them?
“Then I’ll make up for it with equipment.”
Even if I just gave them a modified version of the [Mechanical Reinforced Exoskeleton] I was wearing, they could outperform most F-rank body-enhancement awakeners.
For non-awakeners like them, that alone would feel like a miracle.
I was the contractor.
Yoon Seongjun was the subcontractor.
Understanding that relationship clearly—
That was how you became a leader in this insane world.
[Ooooh… Boss! That line just now sounded like a ruthless ruler! I got chills!]
“Take it as praise.”
A ruthless ruler, huh.
That quality might indeed be necessary.
Especially right now.
“Picker, I think I see something at three o’clock.”
[Target acquired. Two rats.]
Second floor of an abandoned building.
Two raiders were preparing a sniper attack while Yoon Seongjun’s group was collecting loot.
Boom—
I maximized the output of the [Hydraulic Greaves] and launched myself.
In an instant, I flew up to the second-floor railing.
“Wha—?!”
The raider aiming his rifle jerked his head around in shock.
Too late.
CRACK—
My fist wrapped in the [Hydraulic Gauntlet] slammed into his waist.
A horrifying sound of a spine folding echoed as he collapsed without even screaming.
“H-Hiiik!”
His partner dropped his rifle and fell to the floor.
His pants were already soaked.
Eyes pleading for mercy.
I stared at him for a moment before activating the helmet’s amplifier.
A thunderous mechanical voice echoed through the alley.
—Warning to all trash lurking around Mapo Police Station.
The hyenas hiding nearby flinched.
—Disappear immediately. Or I’ll make you look like this.
I grabbed the man by the collar.
Then I hurled him high into the sky with the strength of the mechanical arm.
“AAAAAAH!”
The scream soared into the air.
I pulled out a [Incendiary Grenade] from my belt, removed the safety pin, and tossed it lightly when he reached the peak.
BOOM—
A red firework exploded in the night sky.
As the burning man fell, I heard the hidden rats scrambling away in terror.
That should keep anyone from bothering Yoon Seongjun’s group for a while.
Nothing controlled people better than undeniable fear.
At that moment, Picker projected a HUD in front of my eyes.
[Boss! This isn’t the time!]
“Why?”
[The Pig and Karambit! They’re in pursuit right now!]
Top floor penthouse, Seoul Garden Hotel.
Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Han River, a strange fireworks display filled the night sky.
Dozens of arcs soaring above Mapo Police Station.
It resembled the martial-arts novel technique “Ten Thousand Flowers Falling from the Sky.”
Except instead of petals, fragmentation shells and incendiary rounds were falling.
“Chairman, that…”
Manager Oh adjusted his glasses with a bewildered expression.
The Pig, Do Gi-cheol, frowned while holding a wine glass.
“Military suppression fire? That bastard Major Kim ignored my support request but called in favors behind my back?”
They never imagined that overwhelming firepower wasn’t from the military.
But from a single workshop owner.
Click.
At that moment, the lock opened and another man entered.
“Chairman! The outside is chaos! Is there a war going on?”
It was Manager Jung.
He had just returned after finishing a trade involving female slaves outside.
The electronic ankle monitor around his leg clinked as he walked.
The Pig waved his hand irritably.
“Stop making a fuss. Just cleaning up some rats. Have a drink.”
“Ah, yes.”
Manager Jung awkwardly approached Manager Oh.
Manager Oh sighed and picked up the wine bottle.
“Sit down first. I’ll brief you.”
The moment he tried to hand Jung a glass—
CRASH!
Manager Oh suddenly hurled the wine bottle and kicked Jung in the stomach.
“Ugh?!”
Jung’s body was shoved backward in confusion.
Too late.
A blue blade suddenly protruded from the center of his abdomen.
SHLUK—
A blade that appeared out of thin air.
Not just the blade.
A human shape flickered in the rippling air.
Karambit.
He had infiltrated the penthouse by sticking close to Jung’s back like his shadow.
“Cough…”
As Jung collapsed coughing blood, Karambit kicked the corpse aside.
His gaze was already fixed on Manager Oh’s neck.
Manager Oh instinctively raised his hand.
D-rank trait: Force Wall.
A translucent barrier formed in front of him.
But a cold smile appeared on Karambit’s lips.
Flash—
His figure blurred.
He already knew Oh’s ability.
The invisible barrier formed from the point his gaze targeted.
‘He’ll create a hemisphere to protect himself and the Pig.’
The starting point would be between them—
where Jung had been standing.
Karambit activated [Acceleration] and moved in a wide arc.
Slash—
A chilling slicing sound split the silence.
Manager Oh’s hand froze mid-air.
Then slowly—
his head slid from his shoulders and dropped to the floor.
“….”
No scream.
The adviser died meaninglessly.
Seeing the slaughter in front of him, the Pig’s eyes turned bloodshot.
‘Invisibility cloak… and that speed.’
Karambit.
The Pig decided instantly.
Fighting an invisible assassin in a narrow indoor space was suicide.
No matter how tough your skin was, your eyeballs and nostrils weren’t steel.
BOOM—
The Pig launched himself.
Not at Karambit.
At the penthouse window.
He hurled his massive body like a cannonball.
CRASH—
Glass shards poured down like a waterfall as the Pig flew into the air.
A free fall from twenty floors.
For an ordinary human, certain death.
But he had something he trusted.
“Hup!”
[Iron Skin]
His fat layers instantly hardened into black steel.
THUD—CRUNCH—
He landed on a pile of scrapped cars prepared earlier for emergencies.
The vehicles collapsed like airbags.
Still, the impact was immense.
“Ghh…”
The Pig staggered out of the dust cloud.
His suit was torn, but not a single scratch marked his body.
He dusted himself off and mounted a motorcycle prepared for escape.
VROOOOM—
“Stop right there, you pig bastard!”
Karambit had prepared as well.
Members of the Wolves squad who had been aiming at the lobby spotted the motorcycle and opened fire.
RATATATAT—
Crossfire engulfed the bike.
BOOM—
The motorcycle exploded.
Flames swallowed the lobby.
The Wolves lowered their guns, certain of victory.
But—
A black giant walked out through the flames.
“What a waste… I didn’t want to use this on you.”
In the Pig’s hands was a massive weapon.
A K-3 machine gun pulled from the artifact [Subspace Waist Pack].
His body had already turned black as steel, shrugging off the heat.
“Die.”
BRRRRRR—
Recoil control wasn’t necessary.
He fired the machine gun one-handed like a pistol.
Thanks to Iron Skin, he could even use his body to stabilize the recoil.
“AAGH!”
“M-my armor’s pierced—!”
The Wolves’ light body armor was like paper against point-blank machine-gun fire.
The lobby became a slaughterhouse of blood and flesh.
After emptying a belt of ammunition, the Pig tossed the overheated barrel aside and ran outside.
“This damn K-3 jams all the time.”
Still powerful enough to be worth using.
The Pig dashed into the road littered with wrecks and corpses.
‘He’ll follow.’
The Pig glanced back.
He didn’t know exactly what invisibility item Karambit possessed.
But artifacts like that rapidly drained durability during intense movement.
‘He should be reaching the limit now.’
Just as expected.
In the middle of the road, Karambit’s form slowly appeared like a mirage fading.
Whirr—
Picker spotted them long before Kang Sinhyeok did.
[Boss! Visual acquired! VIP seats secured!]
Picker hovered thirty meters above ground, adjusting the camera lens.
[Wow, this atmosphere is intense! That pig bastard looks like a muscle pig! He runs like a tank!]
An unreal scene unfolded on the screen.
A massive black figure crushing asphalt as he ran.
Behind him, a shadow repeatedly appearing and disappearing in pursuit.
“Distance?”
[Straight line: 150 meters. Collision imminent! But Boss, are you sure about this? If you get caught between those monsters, there won’t even be bones left.]
“Relax. I’m not getting that close.”
I planned to wait nearby in case raiders tried to steal their artifacts.
I pushed the [Mechanical Reinforced Exoskeleton] hydraulics to maximum and leapt across the rooftops.
At the same time, I opened U-Link.
The information board was already exploding.
Because of the steel rain we had unleashed.
[Did anyone see Mapo Police Station?? Fire raining from the sky (Hot)]
[Military involvement? That firepower looks like mortar units.]
[I told you it’s magic. There’s no way that’s science.]
Public opinion was still confused.
Some suspected the military.
Others suspected a high-rank mage.
But some guesses were surprisingly sharp.
[The trajectory looks mechanical though. Maybe a high-performance projectile launcher or weapon-maker.]
“Now’s the perfect timing.”
When people were confused—
that was the best time to plant false information.
“Picker. Start the operation we talked about.”
[Yes, Boss!]
Picker uploaded a prepared post to the information board.
Of course—
for a fee.
[Analysis of the Mapo Bomber’s Identity (10 UP)]
It included deliberately misleading information.
Photos showing me wearing a coat over the exoskeleton so its mechanism couldn’t be deduced.
Images of me producing grenades.
Even shots of launching them with a sling.
The use of drones was completely hidden.
[Witnessed it personally on site.
Everyone saying military or new weapons is wrong.
There was zero smell of gunpowder.
This is 100% a special fire-type ability user converting mana into explosive energy.
I saw bombs appear in midair with a single gesture.
Don’t mess with him.
He’s probably an A-rank combat-type psycho killer.]
The post deliberately emphasized that it wasn’t science.
It planted fear.
And it baited readers by claiming the Bomber’s information had appeared on UP.
Soon—
views exploded.
Comments flooded the post.
[Wow… so he’s an awakener after all.]
[A walking nuclear bomb.]
[Is Thunder’s info legit? That guy stakes his life on UP so it’s trustworthy.]
[Science nerds defeated lol. If it’s pure trait not artifact we’re doomed.]
[Yeah, how are you catching a bomber with a K-2 rifle?]
Arguments continued, but public opinion rapidly tilted toward one conclusion:
A high-rank fire-type combat awakener.
In other words—
magic.
The decisive factor was footage of me leaping onto the police station roof using the exoskeleton.
Production-type awakeners couldn’t display that level of mobility.
I smiled.
“Good. The Bomber is now perceived as a giant mage.”
The smoke screen worked.
Now only the reality in front of me remained.
[Boss! The Pig’s been caught!]
I looked up at Picker’s urgent voice.
On screen, the fleeing Pig abruptly stopped and turned around.
“You ungrateful bastard… today I’ll chew up your guts!”
Two vicious hand axes had appeared in his hands.
When he kicked off the ground, the asphalt cracked like a spiderweb.
“Big-mouthed pig!”
Karambit didn’t retreat either.
His entire body twisted as [Acceleration] activated.
The air tore with a sonic crack.
[Recording started! High-speed camera module activated!]
Picker zoomed in excitedly.
A head-on collision between a C-rank tanker and an E-rank speedster.
As their final battle, it would be far more valuable than anything we had filmed before.
The data alone was priceless.
“Get good footage. I want to strip every combat pattern from veteran awakeners down to the bone.”
It might save my life someday.
“Oh right. Picker.”
[Yes?]
“Don’t livestream this.”
[Understood. This information is too valuable.]