Chapter 67
Chapter 67
A ruined main road near Gongdeok Station.
Dust rose into the air with grotesque noises across what had once been a busy highway.
“Kieeeek—!”
A pack of Needle Hogs burst out from beneath abandoned vehicles, charging forward with their sharp spines raised.
Three of them.
Their speed was threatening, driven mad by hunger.
But Yoon Sungjun did not move.
Zing—
A red marker appeared on the visor of the Tactical Helmet he was wearing.
On the HUD map—the battle support system—ally positions and predicted enemy movement paths appeared in real time.
The trait he had gained after awakening as a Tactical Commander activated.
To his eyes, the battlefield was no longer chaotic.
It was like a neatly arranged chessboard.
“Two o’clock direction, watch the front! Nine o’clock direction, move two meters right and secure the blind spot!”
His voice was firm and precise.
At the same time, the people receiving his signal raised their K-2 rifles in unison.
“Stand by… open fire!”
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
Crisp gunfire rang out as hot shell casings rained onto the asphalt.
This was not the disorderly spray typical of desperate survivors.
With plentiful ammunition, they had even completed zeroing and training.
Carefully aimed rounds struck the Needle Hogs’ vital points—the forehead and joints—with precision.
“Guek!”
The one in the lead collapsed as its skull exploded.
The remaining two tried to change direction in panic.
But it was already too late.
Yoon Sungjun pointed to their escape route.
“Block the retreat. Finish them.”
Bang! Bang!
Ten seconds.
The once-ferocious mutants were now nothing but lumps of meat scattered across the ground.
Minimal ammunition expenditure.
Zero casualties.
“Phew…”
One of the team members lowered his rifle with a sigh of relief.
Just a few days ago, hunting required risking their lives with steel pipes and nets.
But now things were different.
Even though they were facing real mutants—not weak creatures like Bladed Chickens—the hunt had been effortless.
“Don’t relax yet. It’s not over.”
Yoon Sungjun lifted his visor and gave calm instructions.
“Begin byproduct collection. What he wants are materials, not trash. Strip them clean—leave nothing behind.”
The men pulled out their knives with practiced familiarity.
Years of survival outside shelters had honed their butchering skills.
Like surgeons performing an operation, they removed the hide and extracted the steel spines embedded along the spine without damage.
“Poison gland extraction complete. Not a single rupture.”
“The spines are in excellent condition!”
Yoon Sungjun carefully inspected the materials brought by the supermarket survivors.
If anything had scratches or traces of blood, he rejected it immediately.
They had to satisfy their master.
This should… satisfy him.
He zipped up the preservation bag and stood up.
At that moment—
Movement came from behind a collapsed convenience store across the street.
“Who’s there?!”
As Yoon Sungjun shouted, the team instantly aimed their rifles in that direction.
Click.
The sound of chambers being loaded caused the other group to stumble into view in panic.
About ten ragged men.
They held rusty steel pipes and crude spears made by tying kitchen knives to broken mop handles.
Fear and caution filled their eyes.
“A-are you raiders?!”
A middle-aged man who appeared to be their leader shouted while raising a steel pipe.
His voice was hoarse.
His cheeks were sunken.
His lips were cracked and pale.
He looked exactly like a typical exile—malnourished and exhausted.
The moment Yoon Sungjun saw them, his chest tightened.
Just days ago, they had looked exactly the same.
He raised a hand to stop his team.
“Lower your guns.”
“But Sungjun— I mean, Team Leader…”
“Lower them. I know them.”
Yoon Sungjun slowly walked forward.
The opposing leader flinched.
A man fully equipped with tactical gear.
Is he a mercenary?
The pressure he radiated overwhelmed the poorly armed exiles.
Yoon Sungjun removed his helmet visor completely and revealed his face.
“Gapsoo-hyung. It’s me. Yoon Sungjun from Ahyeon.”
The leader, Choi Gapsoo, widened his eyes.
He had once been a security team leader at a large supermarket and was close with Yoon Sungjun.
Choi Gapsoo had been expelled from Ahyeon Shelter a year earlier.
Back then, Yoon Sungjun—still part of a hunting team—had secretly helped him survive.
If they had not both been responsible for other people or searching for safe territory, they might have already formed a group together.
“S-Sungjun? Is it really you?”
Choi Gapsoo stared between Sungjun’s face and the K-2 rifle in his hands.
“How did you…? Where did those guns come from? And those clothes? Don’t tell me you…”
His gaze trembled.
“Did you rob someone?”
Murmurs spread among the men behind him.
Equipment of this level—A-grade gear—could only be obtained by the military or a large faction.
Yoon Sungjun smiled bitterly and shook his head.
“No, hyung. You know I’m not that kind of man.”
“Then how…?”
“We…”
He paused briefly, then spoke with determination.
“We have become a subcontract organization under Bomb Maker, the new administrator of Mapo.”
“…Bomb Maker?”
At that name, Choi Gapsoo’s group turned pale.
To survivors in Mapo District, Bomb Maker was terror itself.
Rumors said he burned raiders alive in incinerators.
Others claimed he erased Mapo Police Station with a rain of invisible bombs.
“You joined that mad killer?! Are you insane?”
“Yeah! They say he’s a monster without blood or tears!”
The murmuring grew louder.
Yoon Sungjun sighed.
Being misunderstood was nothing new.
After all, that man enjoyed presenting himself as a villain.
But in truth, he had a warmer heart than anyone.
“Even if I explain a hundred times, it won’t change your minds.”
He took out a U-Link smartphone from his pocket.
The sleek modern device glimmered in the sunlight.
For non-Awakened exiles, it was an object they rarely even saw.
“He gave this to me as well.”
When he pressed the power button, a holographic screen appeared.
Choi Gapsoo’s group stared at it.
The Survivor Forum was still buzzing about the Mapo slime (Armus) subjugation battle.
[Did the military really kill the Pig slime?]
[Views: 12,540]
[Military? Bullshit. Blue flames fell from the sky and then everything went quiet. Definitely Bomb Maker.]
[Nope. My friend works admin at Capital Defense Command. Supreme Commander Shin Gyuhwan crushed it with gravity.]
[Lol nonsense. Bomb Maker tested a new weapon. Didn’t you see the police station explosion?]
Because Lieutenant Colonel Kang Cheolmin had eliminated the nearby raiders, there were almost no eyewitnesses.
As a result, Bomb Maker’s name appeared even more frequently.
Now there was practically no Survivor Forum user who didn’t know it.
Then a familiar nickname appeared in the comments.
[Thunder: Hey hey, stop arguing. Everyone already knows, right? I’m selling goods from under Boss Bomb Maker now. I just restocked the Thunder Shop. Anyone need grenade launchers, hurry up. First five customers only! ^^7]
Yoon Sungjun’s lips twitched.
For someone claiming to serve such a great and cold-headed figure…
The tone was embarrassingly frivolous.
“Ahem.”
He coughed and turned the screen off.
Then he looked back at Choi Gapsoo.
“You see? He’s not simply a killer. He’s someone trying to maintain order in this ruined world. Otherwise, why would he give equipment like this to someone useless like me?”
Choi Gapsoo nodded blankly.
A U-Link device, new weapons.
Everything proved the power that Bomb Maker possessed.
“Hyung.”
Yoon Sungjun removed the duffel bag from his back.
When he opened it, two refurbished K-2 rifles and ammunition boxes appeared.
The men swallowed dryly.
“Take them. We have extras.”
“What? You’re giving these to us?”
Yoon Sungjun held out the rifle with a serious expression.
“Yes. But I have one proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“Would you like to hunt with us and receive firearms training? If you catch his attention…”
He tapped the tactical vest on his chest.
“You can escape poverty and fear just like we did.”
It was a shocking offer.
Choi Gapsoo’s eyes wavered between the rifle and Yoon Sungjun.
Fear of Bomb Maker remained.
But the reality of starving today held him back.
More importantly—
If people like Yoon Sungjun and Park Muryong, who had survived Mapo through trust alone, chose that path…
“You and Muryong… you’re not the type to betray us.”
Choi Gapsoo’s hand trembled before gripping the rifle firmly.
The cold metal.
It was the only hope for escaping their desperate situation.
“Fine. Better than starving to death… I’ll trust you this once, Sungjun.”
Yoon Sungjun smiled with relief and shook his hand.
Thus, the army that would build Mapo’s new order slowly began to grow.
At the Same Time
Mecenatpolis Rooftop — Hapjeong Station
Yoon Imsu nervously bit his nails while staring at a map of Mapo District.
The map was filled with numerous X marks.
For weeks, he had sent raiders to search the entire district.
The only results were charred grenade fragments found in ash.
“To disappear after deploying that much firepower… there must be a supply base.”
Originally he had planned to wait for Bomb Maker to reveal himself again.
But the situation had changed.
Colonel Park Jinseop’s calls were becoming increasingly urgent.
Choi Manseok and Guro Foundry were doing nothing.
In the end, cleaning up the mess fell to him.
But finding Bomb Maker was not easy.
Without satellites or advanced reconnaissance drones, Mapo District was a vast maze.
Search teams were often devoured by mutants in ruined buildings or returned empty-handed.
Yoon Imsu stared at the map intensely.
His eyes gleamed sharply.
As a non-Awakened who had risen to become second-in-command of Guro Foundry, he had survived through intelligence alone.
Think… If I were Bomb Maker, where would I hide?
He reviewed all the data he had gathered.
Overwhelming firepower.
Unpredictable mobility.
And above all—
Perfect concealment.
“Not above ground. If he built a structure above ground, our reconnaissance teams would have spotted it. Thermal sensors would have detected it.”
Then only one answer remained.
“An underground bunker.”
Considering Bomb Maker’s technology, constructing a massive underground bunker would not be difficult.
Yoon Imsu began circling specific zones on the map with a red pen.
This was not guesswork.
It was the result of meticulous analysis.
“First eliminate Pig’s territory. His forces controlled the commercial districts around Mapo Boulevard. Bomb Maker couldn’t have grown there.”
The central Mapo Boulevard area was crossed out.
Next he removed major raider territories.
Then locations with heavy human activity.
After applying elimination logic, only three candidates remained.
“Waste hills are mountains of trash. No food, no smartphones. A barren wasteland for anyone except industrial factions like us.”
Collapsed apartment complexes nearby also formed ideal nests for mutants.
A place ordinary survivors would avoid.
But for Bomb Maker?
For someone capable of processing resources like them—
It would be a gold mine and a natural fortress.
“Heh… the darkest place is right under the lamp. It must be one of these three.”
Reinforced concrete structures possessed incredible durability.
As long as the mutant hordes could be controlled…
Building a large bunker based on an intact underground parking lot was entirely possible.
Yoon Imsu put down the pen and grabbed the radio.
“Engineering Corps, deploy.”
Moments later—
Dozens of Guro Foundry trucks stopped in front of Mecenatpolis.
Each truck carried a grotesque machine made of giant hydraulic pistons and old analog measurement devices tangled together.