Chapter 61
Chapter 61
“Hey, you big bear! Did you hear? A test? What do those humans take our boss for?”
“How dare they… Doubt the boss’s dignity. Unforgivable.”
Killing intent colored Picker and Porter’s voices.
Porter, who had been camouflaged right beside the building to secure my escape route, began to move.
Wiiing—
Along with a faint mechanical whir, the lump of concrete crouched on the ground began to tremble.
It looked ready to drop its camouflage at any moment, leap out, and crush everything.
‘You lunatics! Stay still!’
I screamed internally and stopped them.
Sergeant Seo’s head snapped around.
As expected of a C-Grade physical enhancement.
Her senses were sharp.
Fortunately, she did not continue suspecting anything. She turned her head back and resumed her proper stance.
Whew. That shaved ten years off my life.
“Sergeant Seo. Bring it.”
When she returned from outside, Sergeant Seo held a dark metal mass in each hand.
Even at a glance, each one easily weighed over thirty kilograms.
Yet she carried them as lightly as if they were toys.
Boom!
The moment the two metal masses were set down on the floor, the concrete of the purification facility cracked with a sharp sound and dust rose into the air.
It was a weapon I had never seen before.
The barrel was short and thick, and its shape differed from ordinary rifles or machine guns.
“Oh! Boss! That’s a K-4 High-Velocity Grenade Machine Gun, sir!”
Picker excitedly rattled off information.
“That’s on a completely different level from something like a K201 grenade launcher! Three hundred rounds per minute! Effective range 1.5 kilometers! One of those can turn even a B-Grade mutant into a bone-and-meat honeycomb pizza!”
Three hundred rounds per minute.
That meant five grenades every second.
It was certainly firepower that could not be compared to a 5.56 mm rifle round.
Lieutenant Colonel Kang Cheolmin stroked the barrel of the K-4 with a bitter expression.
“This is the mainstay weapon on the Northern Front. Even though massive numbers of mutants keep pushing down from the north, the only reason we can actually maintain the line is thanks to this thing.”
Deep fatigue lingered in his voice.
“Anti-tank weapons like Hyeongung missiles or rockets are too precious to use freely. But 40mm grenades are relatively easy to supply, and soldiers can carry them on their backs.”
He paused and stared toward the northern sky.
“The giant mutants ignore 5.56 mm rifle bullets like grains of rice bouncing off them. But grenades are different. When they explode, they tear flesh apart and shred muscle like rags, stacking cumulative damage.”
That made sense.
I had already felt it during the previous slime battle.
Against large enemies, area attacks were effective.
The explosion radius and shrapnel of grenades were an ideal solution.
“A continuous barrage also helps pin them down, so nothing is better for stopping incoming waves. But…”
Kang Cheolmin’s expression twisted for a moment.
“The problem is their recycled ammunition. Because of poor-quality gunpowder, the rounds jam after ten shots, or the chamber overheats and melts shut. Sometimes the weapon even explodes.”
He opened the cover of the K-4 and showed the inside.
The bolt assembly was caked with black soot, and the inside of the barrel was a mess of melted cartridge fragments.
“Fix these two. Before we enter a formal contract, I want to see the technical capability of your organization.”
I scanned the internal structure of the K-4 through the lens.
Even without using Disassembly, a three-dimensional schematic appeared in my mind.
That was thanks to the knowledge I had gained from dismantling countless firearms.
‘The structure’s simple. They prioritized weight reduction over durability.’
I could see traces of repeated repairs.
In this condition, it would be difficult to withstand the irregular explosive pressure of defective ammunition.
The heat dissipation design was terrible as well.
Rather than a design flaw, it was because the weapon had originally been built assuming genuine ammunition.
But where would you find genuine ammunition in this world?
I let out a small chuckle.
This level of problem was nothing.
“Do you just want repairs? Or would you mind if I upgrade the performance?”
At my provocative question, Kang Cheolmin’s eyebrow twitched.
Did he think I was arrogant?
Yet deep in his eyes, an unmistakable expectation flickered.
“Upgrade? As long as the result is good, I don’t mind. Do as you please.”
Instead of answering, I bent down and picked up both K-4s.
Seventy kilograms in total.
A weight that ordinary people would struggle even to push.
Clack—whirr!
But the Mechanical Reinforcement Exoskeleton wrapped around my body activated smoothly.
Hydraulic cylinders contracted, amplifying my strength several times over.
I lightly slung the two machine guns over my shoulder.
“I’ll contact you when the work is finished.”
Clank. Clank.
The steady mechanical sounds and heavy footsteps broke the silence of the purification plant.
Lieutenant Colonel Kang Cheolmin and Sergeant Seo watched silently until my figure disappeared into the darkness.
“…Colonel.”
After a long moment, Sergeant Seo spoke carefully.
“You said his trait was gunpowder manufacturing, so he should be a production-type Awakened… but that kind of monstrous strength…”
From the sound, she could tell the Bomber was using equipment.
But the movements were far too natural.
Normally, when equipment output was strong, movements became sluggish.
“Yes. That surprised me as well.”
Kang Cheolmin narrowed his eyes while stroking his chin.
“He might be an enhanced human who connected his nerves directly to machines like them.”
“That might also explain the mask and voice modulation.”
“Right. The Bomber might be a defector from the Machine Society.”
“They have been keeping him in check, so that’s possible. We recently received intelligence that they’ve been gathering information about him.”
“Is that so? If they’re already aware of him, that’s even better.”
A strange smile appeared on Kang Cheolmin’s lips.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If the Bomber brings us the real thing, we might be able to break their arrogance.”
Their misunderstanding continued to grow.
“Wow… what a jackpot.”
A smile spread across my face.
“I’m dying of thirst for military technology, and they just hand me two cutting-edge machine guns for free? And high-velocity grenade machine guns at that.”
Two K-4s.
These were priceless teaching materials that you couldn’t buy even with money.
When I drooled slightly and stroked the barrel, Picker rotated his camera lens beside me and snickered.
“Boss, wipe your drool. Your eyes are practically shooting lasers.”
“I couldn’t conduct research before because I didn’t have enough grenade launchers.”
I already had two grenade launchers from before.
Adding these two made four.
That should be enough to extract the blueprints.
The structure was not very complicated.
At that moment, Porter rolled forward on its caterpillar tracks.
“Boss, please mount this heavy weapon on my back. Modify it to be heavier and stronger.”
“Yeah, yeah. I was planning to do that anyway.”
A high-velocity grenade launcher was far better than a pneumatic grenade launcher.
“Picker, begin precision scanning.”
“Yes sir, boss!”
Wiiing—
A red laser grid shot out from Picker’s lens.
Each time the laser swept across the surface of the K-4, complex schematics appeared layer by layer on the monitor.
Looking at the translucent HUD was uncomfortable, so I had converted a corner of the workshop into a monitor station.
[Damaged]
[Severe Wear]
[Specification Mismatch]
As red warning labels appeared across the scanned model, Picker screamed.
“Argh! My eyes! What is this? Boss, this is the complete junkyard edition!”
“What’s the problem?”
“They just patched worn parts with welding! Of course it jams like this!”
“Hm. Let’s dismantle it first.”
I slowly began disassembling it while referencing the scanned model.
Even with the naked eye, the condition was terrible.
“Wow… the barrel is the worst.”
“They must have fired it a lot.”
The rifling was completely destroyed, and tiny cracks ran everywhere.
“Did they heat-treat it with their feet? If they fired a hundred rounds like this, the barrel would bend like a candy stick.”
Those bastards.
They sold something like this for money?
Now I understood why Lieutenant Colonel Kang Cheolmin had been so furious.
I had been tense thinking they were competitors.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
“This is practically neighborhood hardware-store quality. I overestimated them.”
Their technology was nothing more than patching scrap metal together and selling it.
At least in terms of technology, I held overwhelming superiority.
“Good. Then let’s start serious research.”
Among the loot I had farmed while defeating the military mercenaries from Pig’s reinforcement group, there were several weapons.
[M203 Grenade Launcher]
Since it was inferior to the K-4 High-Velocity Grenade Machine Gun, I planned to dismantle this first and obtain its blueprint.
Then a question suddenly occurred to me.
“Wait. Why is this called M203? All the guns I’ve picked up so far start with K—K-2, K-3…”
K probably stood for Korea.
Then what did M stand for?
Picker immediately answered my muttering.
“That’s because it’s American-made! Made in the USA!”
“American?”
“Yes! The M203 is standard U.S. military equipment. The K201 grenade launcher was domestically produced based on it.”
An American weapon.
I tilted my head.
“Then does that mean the U.S. Forces in Korea are still here?”
Thinking about it, it was strange.
Even in a remote battle like Mapo Boulevard, ordinary mercenaries were carrying American weapons.
I had already picked up two of them.
That meant quite a lot of American equipment must have spread nationwide—or at least throughout the capital region.
“Are U.S. Forces Korea still somewhere in the country? Or did someone raid a U.S. military base?”
Right now there was too little information.
“Well, I’ll find out later. For now, turning this into my own weapon comes first.”
I cleared my thoughts and focused on the work.
First, complete the disassembly.
Then scan the structure and activate Disassembly.
The firearm knowledge already stored in my mind awakened.
New information filled the gaps, completing the puzzle.
[Blueprint: 40mm Rotary Chamber Module]
[Blueprint: Hydraulic Recoil Control Buffer]
[Blueprint: API Blowback Bolt Assembly]
Countless component schematics and operating principles fused and reorganized in my mind.
[Blueprint: High-Velocity Grenade Launch Module]
[Blueprint: 40mm High-Explosive Grenade]
[Blueprint: Recoil-Control Tripod]
[Blueprint: K-4 High-Velocity Grenade Machine Gun]
“Hahaha! Got it!”
I clenched my fist.
I had finally obtained what I wanted.
“Good. The blueprints are complete. Now how should I cook this up?”
What level of specifications would be appropriate?
Making a flashy science-fiction weapon with all kinds of advanced equipment attached would be easy.
But if I did that, the military and those bastards would immediately start suspecting my identity.
And there was no reason to supply excellent weapons to a rotten organization.
The army might become my enemy someday.
“Right. Using the most ordinary materials that won’t raise suspicion, I’ll produce the most extraordinary performance.”
As long as the weapon didn’t jam or explode, that would be enough.
“Picker, activate it. Deploy Robotic Arms one and two.”
Vooom—
Two multi-jointed robotic arms hanging from the ceiling descended smoothly.
They shaved down the crushed bolt assembly and replaced the worn gears.
Up to this point, it was an ordinary repair.
But the real magic began afterward.
[Precision Processing Mode]
The workshop lights dimmed, and only a bright spotlight illuminated the workbench.
The surfaces of the parts appeared magnified before my eyes like they were under a microscope.
Invisible microscopic bumps and scratches.
They caused friction, generated heat, and ultimately destroyed the weapon.
“Grind it all down.”
The diamond polishing tip attached to the robotic arm spun at high speed.
Wiiing—
Fine metal powder scattered as the rough steel surfaces transformed into mirror-smooth metal.
“Set tolerance below 0.01 millimeters.”
The gap where parts meshed together.
I reduced it to the absolute limit.
A perfect fit so smooth that the parts could slide without lubrication.
“Wow! Boss! Look at Arm 1 and Arm 2 moving!”
Picker shoved the camera lens forward excitedly.
“They’re moving exactly the same! Even idol knife choreography can’t beat this! Hey! You two are my subordinates now! Work! Work harder!”
It really was quite a spectacle.
Left workbench and right workbench.
Two K-4s were being reassembled simultaneously at exactly the same speed.
Click. Click. Clack.
A mechanical rhythm filled the workshop.
This was oddly exciting.
Finally, the barrel.
The most critical component.
[Heat Treatment]
This was not simple heating.
It rearranged the molecular structure to maximize strength and heat resistance—a special workshop heat-treatment process.
Chiiii—
When the barrel was quenched in the cooling liquid that had already been prepared, white steam rose.
The previously charred barrel was reborn as high-strength steel with a faint blue sheen.
Next came assembly.
The robotic arms moved in perfect synchronization.
Clack. Clack. Thunk.
The final cover closed, and the two K-4s were complete.
From the outside, they looked almost identical to when they had arrived.
I had deliberately not polished the exterior or repainted them.
“Phew.”
I grabbed the charging handle.
Then slowly pulled it back.
Srrrr—
Goosebumps ran down my arms.
The parts that should have produced harsh metallic scraping slid silently like flowing water.
The resistance was nearly zero.
This was not a machine.
It felt like a living organism.
Clack!
When I released the bolt, the chamber closed with a crisp metallic sound.
Perfect.
“With this… even defective ammunition will never jam.”
Less friction meant less heat as well.
I was already looking forward to the expression Lieutenant Colonel Kang Cheolmin would make when he fired it.
“He’ll definitely ask me to make more.”
“Should we make more in advance?”
“Yeah. That’s better.”
Automated production took quite a bit of time.