Chapter 62
Chapter 62
Yongsan Base, Underground Level 2, 7th Logistics Support Group Maintenance Hangar.
On the workbench lay the two K-4 High-Velocity Grenade Machine Guns that Lieutenant Colonel Kang Cheolmin had brought.
Or rather than disassembled, the parts were laid out one by one like the organs of a dissected corpse.
“Colonel… this is impossible.”
“What do you mean impossible?”
“The tolerance is zero.”
Colonel Kang’s eyebrow twitched.
“Zero?”
“Yes. Literally 0.00 mm. Even laser machining can’t achieve this level. Compared to the new products we receive these days from Guro Foundry, this looks like something produced by torturing aliens. This is…”
Master Sergeant Choi could not continue speaking and swallowed nervously.
From the outside, it looked like a worn-out secondhand weapon with chipped paint and rust spots.
But the inside was different.
Every rifling groove formed perfect symmetry as if measured with a ruler.
“This weapon has been completely reborn. Even the finest German firearms before the collapse didn’t have finishing like this.”
Colonel Kang folded his arms and quietly looked down at the components.
He was not a maintenance specialist, but he had spent decades in the military.
Even to him, this was clearly extraordinary.
‘Did he practically remake the internal components in just a few days?’
“Call Sergeant Jeong.”
Sergeant Jeong was an intelligence officer who possessed the C-Grade Appraisal ability, which allowed him to determine the grade of mutants, Awakened, and items.
“Check it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sergeant Jeong extended his hand and placed it on the barrel of the K-4.
A faint flow of mana entered as he attempted to read its information.
But—
“…Huh?”
His brow furrowed.
He lifted his hand several times and placed it back again, clearly confused.
“What’s wrong?”
“Colonel… Item Information isn’t appearing.”
“Not appearing? Does that mean the grade is too high?”
A C-Grade intelligence officer could not identify objects above B-Grade.
“No. It’s not a grade issue. There aren’t even question marks. That means… this is a pure engineering product.”
Items created using the System’s power would appear as [???] even if their grade could not be determined.
Sometimes at least the name would appear if their nature could be guessed.
But the object before them was different.
It meant the weapon had been created entirely through physical laws and engineering design.
Colonel Kang narrowed his eyes.
‘It wasn’t made with an Awakening ability?’
If that was the case, there was only one possibility.
Real technicians.
Craftsmen capable of machining and finishing mechanical components.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of engineers must have worked overnight refining this weapon.
Lieutenant Colonel Kang Cheolmin already possessed considerable information about the Bomber.
He knew that the mysterious figure granted death to raiders and mercy to survivors.
‘Did he gather non-Awakened technicians rescued from raiders and build a secret workshop?’
“This weapon… is it truly that impressive?”
Master Sergeant Choi immediately answered.
“Yes. In fact, we might have to carefully choose the ammunition. Low-quality cartridges could damage the rifling.”
A savage smile appeared at the corner of Colonel Kang’s mouth.
He knew Master Sergeant Choi’s skill very well.
“Master Sergeant Choi.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s run a test.”
Yongsan Base – Firing Range No.1
Lieutenant Colonel Kang Cheolmin and the entire maintenance unit watched the firing lane in silence.
Two K-4 machine guns were placed on the test stand.
One was the newest production model supplied by Guro Foundry.
The other was the weapon delivered by the Bomber.
“Test One. Contamination firing.”
At Master Sergeant Choi’s signal, assistants poured buckets over the weapons.
Sticky mud and sand flooded into the internal gears and barrel cover of the K-4.
It was brutal enough to make observers wince.
“Fire!”
Dududududung!
The Guro Foundry K-4 fired first.
But before ten rounds had been fired, a sharp mechanical clack sounded and the bolt stopped.
“Malfunction! Feeding failure!”
Mud had jammed the ammunition link, causing the gear mechanism to spin uselessly.
Even after the assistants hammered it in emergency repair attempts, the inside was already ruined.
“Bomber model—fire!”
Dududududududung—!
A crisp explosive roar echoed through the firing range.
Spent casings burst out smoothly through the mud-covered barrel cover.
The weapon emptied a 50-round ammo box without a single jam.
“Is… that even possible?”
Master Sergeant Choi ran over and checked the chamber.
The precision-machined bolt assembly continued operating while forcibly pushing foreign particles outward through its own pressure.
It looked like a steel monster chewing sand between its gears.
“Proceed to the next test.”
“Next. Overheating test!”
The next trial was sustained fire.
A hellish durability test that fired 500 grenades without pause.
The Guro Foundry barrel turned red after around 200 rounds.
Eventually it bent from heat, ruining the projectile trajectory.
But the Bomber’s K-4 was different.
Thoom! Thoom! Thoom!
Heat shimmer rose from the barrel cover.
Yet the 500th round still pierced the center of the target.
“My god…”
Sergeant Jeong, the intelligence officer observing the test, laughed in disbelief.
He too was a veteran who had fired countless weapons on the front lines.
“There is absolutely no damage to the rifling. It feels like even if defective cartridges deform, the rifling forcibly straightens them and pushes them forward.”
“Exactly. The heat treatment technique must be on a completely different level. Maintaining elasticity while enduring that heat… it’s astonishing.”
Master Sergeant Choi gently stroked the smoking barrel like it was his lover, then jerked his hand back in shock.
Even an Awakened could not endure that temperature.
Yet the barrel remained intact.
“Colonel. With ammunition support, this weapon could run for a hundred years without failure.”
Lieutenant Colonel Kang Cheolmin nodded with satisfaction.
His prediction had been correct.
The Bomber was not merely a murderous figure.
He was someone capable of overturning the rotten military supply market.
“Master Sergeant Choi.”
“Yes!”
“Is it ready for field deployment?”
“Not just ready. Front-line commanders will be grabbing each other by the collar trying to get one.”
“Then this might be enough to put a leash on our subordinate units.”
Colonel Kang immediately called for the communications officer.
“Contact the Bomber immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Don’t argue over conditions. Tell him to bring as many as he can produce. Inform him we’ll provide cores however he wants.”
His eyes gleamed with ambition.
“With this… even the logistics department can escape being treated like leftovers.”
[Test result satisfactory. Emergency unlimited order placed for K-4 units and dedicated grenades.]
When I checked the message, the corner of my mouth lifted slightly.
As expected, they knew how to recognize quality.
Unlimited quantity.
That meant the military supply situation was more urgent than I had expected.
“Good. Strike while the iron’s hot.”
I immediately headed to the workshop’s Central Control System.
The monitor filled with complex schematics and production schedules.
[K-4 High-Velocity Grenade Machine Gun]
[Complexity: High]
[Estimated Production Time: 2 hours / unit]
Even in a modern factory, a skilled team would need a full day to produce one or two of these precision weapons.
But my workshop was different.
If four robotic arms worked nonstop, twelve units per day were possible.
“A full week of continuous operation… eighty-four units.”
And ammunition also had to be produced.
Grenades had a simple structure.
Running Mass Production Mode could produce ten rounds per minute.
In two days, that meant over 28,000 rounds.
My hand paused over the calculator.
The problem wasn’t resources.
It was energy.
“There’s no way this production volume will run on the current power.”
Should I demand advance payment from Colonel Kang?
No.
That would be amateurish.
Instead of complaining, it would be better to shock them with overwhelming supply.
“Let’s use Pig’s core from the slime battle.”
[C-Grade Core]
A red glow shimmered within the crystal.
One of these produced the energy equivalent of 100 F-Grade cores.
An enormous energy source capable of running the workshop at full power for quite some time.
I had wanted to save it.
“But investment is necessary for profit.”
The dead Pig was becoming the foundation of my business.
Thanks, Pig.
You’re probably in hell now, but I hope you’re doing well.
I boldly set the C-Grade Core as the workshop’s power source.
Vooom—
The entire workshop vibrated softly as the lights brightened.
It felt like a sleeping giant stretching awake.
“Begin.”
At my command, the workshop moved like a gigantic living creature.
Whirr—clack! Clack!
Four robotic arms hanging from the ceiling danced rapidly.
On one side, high-strength steel was cut to form barrels.
On the other, bolt assemblies were constructed.
I watched the process with folded arms.
The first completed product rolled out along the conveyor belt.
“Pass.”
Now it was a race against time.
But there was another problem.
Materials were disappearing at a terrifying rate.
“Boss! Scrap metal reserves are empty! At this rate the factory will shut down! Porter is about to die from overwork!”
Picker screamed as warning alarms flashed across the screen.
Outside, Porter continuously gathered scrap metal and pulled it into storage.
“Porter, you okay? Want a break?”
“…Weight… circulating… joy…”
The deep mechanical voice returned.
It should have been exhausted.
Instead, it seemed to become more excited the heavier the loads became.
“That pervert… next he’ll probably say he wants to carry the Earth.”
Picker shook his head in disgust.
But I was pleased.
The scrap Porter collected entered storage.
I immediately dismantled it into pure resources.
Those resources then passed through the robotic arms and were reborn as cutting-edge weapons.
A perfect cycle.
This was the workshop I had dreamed of.
One week later.
I stared at the results filling an entire wall of the workshop and exhaled deeply.
K-4 High-Velocity Grenade Machine Guns — 60 units
40mm High-Explosive Grenades — 100 boxes (approx. 5,000 rounds)
In one week, I had produced the firepower of an entire company-level unit by myself.
It would take Guro Foundry a month to produce the same amount.
The workshop air smelled of oil and gunpowder.
To me, it was sweeter than ever.
“Time for delivery.”
I was already looking forward to the expression Colonel Kang would make.
The agreed date.
Midnight.
Lieutenant Colonel Kang Cheolmin arrived at the abandoned purification plant with Sergeant Seo and transport soldiers.
One week was too short.
‘At most he probably brought fifteen units.’
Even that would be enough to extinguish the urgent crisis.
But when Colonel Kang arrived, he noticed a massive rusted container placed behind the Bomber.
He chuckled.
‘Quite dramatic packaging.’
“Did you bring the goods?”
Without answering, the Bomber slammed the container door open.
Creeeak—
The rusty door opened.
A thick smell of oil and gunpowder rushed out.
Inside—
A dazzling display of gleaming black metal filled the container.
Colonel Kang was speechless.
Not fifteen units.
Rows of K-4 machine guns packed tightly on racks.
Boxes of grenades stacked from floor to ceiling.
“…What is all this?”
“60 K-4 units. 5,000 grenades.”
The voice modifier inside the mask produced a cold mechanical tone.
One week.
Even Guro Foundry would require a month of full factory operation to produce that amount.
‘How many technicians does he have? One hundred? Two hundred engineers?’
His gaze fixed on the Bomber.
If that was true, the Bomber was effectively backed by an entire military factory.
“Please inspect the goods.”
At Colonel Kang’s signal, transport soldiers rushed forward and checked the weapons.
Click. Clack.
They pulled the bolts and opened ammunition boxes.
Their eyes widened.
“Colonel! The condition is insane! They’re brand-new!”
The soldiers glanced nervously at the Bomber.
Fear and reverence mixed in their eyes.
Those weapons would become the rope that saved their lives.
Colonel Kang had to admit it.
Quality.
Quantity.
Delivery time.
In every aspect, the Bomber surpassed Guro Foundry.
“Let’s settle the payment.”
At market value, it was worth over 900 F-Grade cores.
But military procurement inevitably required a discount.
“Forty percent below market price. 500 F-Grade cores.”
That was Colonel Kang’s offer.
Not profiteering.
But not cheap either.
A fair compromise.
Inside, however, I was celebrating.
They were obtaining weapons three times better than Guro Foundry’s for a lower price.
From their perspective, it was practically free.
“Agreed.”
The materials were scrap anyway.
Production cost: zero.
And they were giving me 500 cores?
Absolute profit.
The C-Grade Core power reserve remained at 92%.
After running the factory nonstop for a week, it had only consumed 8%.
Eight percent energy for five hundred cores.
This wasn’t business.
It was basically printing money.
Transport soldiers handed over heavy boxes filled with cores.
The weight in my hands felt satisfying.
Enough energy to run the workshop nonstop for a long time.
“If you need more, contact me. I can match any quantity.”
As the giant figure walked away, Colonel Kang thought quietly:
‘Recruiting the Bomber might turn out to be the best decision of my entire military career.’
When Colonel Kang returned to base after the transaction, the command center was in chaos.
Telephones rang nonstop.
Urgent voices shouted through radios.
“Colonel! You’re back!”
“Report.”
“The Northern Front… is about to collapse! The first defensive line at Uijeongbu has fallen!”
At that moment, Operations Officer Colonel Park stormed toward him.
“Colonel Kang! Where the hell did you go at a time like this?!”
“I went to procure supplies.”
“Supplies? The front line is out of ammunition and you’re talking about procurement? Call Guro Foundry immediately and grab anything you can!”
Colonel Park shouted furiously, pointing a finger at Kang Cheolmin’s chest.
But Kang remained calm.
“Don’t worry.”
“I already secured more than enough.”