Chapter 76
Chapter 76
“Mm.”
Choi Taeho opened his eyes with a throbbing phantom pain.
His limbs were bound.
Instead of disinfectant, the air smelled of vibrating rust and the metallic scent of blood.
Realizing he was lying on a cold operating table, he understood the situation immediately.
So… I’m a test subject now.
How many comrades had screamed and died on operating tables?
Now it was his turn.
Choi Taeho clenched his teeth.
Let’s face the final moment like a soldier.
Ten years ago—
when Lieutenant Colonel Park Jinseop betrayed them and drove them into a desperate situation, the man who saved him had been Sergeant Kang Cheolwoo, who continued firing even after losing his legs.
Remembering that vow, Choi Taeho steadied himself.
He would not scream.
Creak—
The heavy steel door opened, filling the bunker with harsh mechanical noise.
Whir—clank.
With the sound of a powered reinforced exoskeleton, a massive shadow stepped inside.
Behind it came the rattling sound of a cart.
…!
Choi Taeho glanced toward the cart and froze.
What filled it—
were severed arms and legs.
They must harvest the organs and sell the bodies to cannibals. That bastard…
He had seen many kinds of madness in the ruined world.
But someone performing such things without even anesthesia was a first.
The Bomber set down the cart and walked toward him without a word.
Whiiiiing—
The Mana Cutting Blade in the Bomber’s hand vibrated with high-frequency sound.
The shrill noise made Choi Taeho’s skin crawl.
His entire body trembled instinctively, but he forced his eyes open.
I will never show weakness in front of that bastard.
He stared directly at the approaching blade.
When the tip touched his severed shoulder, he shut his eyes tightly.
Bzzzz—
But the expected agony never came.
Instead he felt a pleasant warmth and vibration.
Like receiving a massage that loosened stiff muscles.
Kang Sinhyeok pressed a Bio-Interface Connector—created by combining Armus flesh and Stone Eater adaptive tissue—against the severed surface of Choi Taeho’s shoulder.
“Scalpel… no, mana interface tool.”
Picker floated nearby, narrating in an exaggeratedly solemn voice.
“Patient vitals stable. Mana circuits exposed at amputation site. Beginning integration sequence.”
Ever since capturing the exploration team, Picker seemed to have been spending time chatting with people on the Survivor Forum.
Apparently he had developed a sudden interest in playing doctor.
“Focus. Don’t miss the nerve bundles.”
…Well, at least the commentary was useful.
This wasn’t simple mechanical assembly.
It was bioengineering, reconnecting severed nerves and mana circuits.
Distraction could ruin the process.
Their quality of life depended on how well this work was done.
“Neural synchronization at 30%… 50%… 78%…”
“Blood vessel linkage confirmed.”
“Synchronization at 99.9%. Integration complete. Surgery successful, Doctor.”
When Kang Sinhyeok removed his hands, a new arm was attached to Choi Taeho’s shoulder.
Not a prosthetic.
A human arm.
He injected a sedative into the stunned soldier.
Then he released the restraints and lifted him easily with one hand.
A Short Time Later
When Choi Taeho woke again, he found himself inside a wide bunker.
But the atmosphere was completely different.
Warm air.
And a scent he hadn’t smelled in ten years—
fabric softener.
Looking around, he noticed ten shower booths lined along the wall.
Each glass door had a full-body mirror.
Choi Taeho looked at his reflection and gasped.
“This… is me?”
In the mirror stood a man with a normal human arm.
Not the monster with a cold steel prosthetic he had become.
He touched his new arm with trembling hands.
It was warm.
Not cold scrap metal.
The skin felt soft.
The muscles flexible.
He clenched and opened his hand.
It responded perfectly to his intent.
It doesn’t hurt…
The stabbing nerve pain that always accompanied his mechanical arm was gone.
It felt exactly like before he lost his arm.
“Aah…”
Choi Taeho collapsed to the floor and clutched his arm, sobbing.
Not from fear.
From overwhelming relief.
“Boss, look at that guy’s face! He went from ‘ate something awful’ to ‘won the lottery’ in real time! As expected of Bomber Orthopedics!”
Picker laughed while projecting the video feed.
“…‘Bomber Orthopedics’ sounds a bit strange.”
“Then how about Atlas Orthopedics?”
“Stop talking nonsense and focus on surgical assistance. That actually helps.”
Kang Sinhyeok scolded Picker and returned to the operating room.
There were still 63 patients left to repair.
Meanwhile
Jibgae was confused.
He had cut off his own limbs to protect his comrades and gain strength.
But the scene before him defied all logic.
“What is this…?”
He had just finished surgery and entered the bunker.
The space looked like a gym waiting room from before the apocalypse.
Shower booths lined one wall.
Enhanced soldiers who once crawled through mud were sitting on chairs.
But something about them was different.
Their messy beards and hair had been trimmed.
They wore bright white T-shirts and shorts—colors unseen in the ruined world.
They looked like soldiers on vacation rather than warriors from a battlefield.
“Team leader, you should shower first.”
Yoon Imsu, who had arrived earlier, handed him a pouch and a plastic bag.
The bag had “Jibgae” written on it with marker.
“Ah… alright.”
Jibgae accepted the bag and entered a shower booth.
Inside the pouch were disposable shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a shower towel, toothbrush, and toothpaste.
The quality was like hotel amenities.
Still feeling unreal, he turned the faucet.
Hot water burst from a large showerhead above.
“—!”
He froze.
His faction had its own technology, so washing wasn’t rare.
But it was usually cold water and soap.
Feeling hot water again after ten years almost made him cry.
He stood there for a long time before finally washing.
Afterward, he looked for a towel.
There wasn’t one in sight.
But inside the bag he found a soft towel.
While drying himself, he suddenly felt something strange on his back.
He had forgotten momentarily.
The massive diesel engine was still attached to his back.
Fortunately it had waterproofing.
How am I supposed to wear clothes?
He cautiously put on the clothes from the bag.
To his surprise, the shirt had a tailored opening at the back to accommodate the engine.
The size fit perfectly.
The feeling of soft cotton against his skin—
something he hadn’t felt since before the apocalypse.
With mixed emotions, he walked outside.
Immediately laughter erupted.
“Pwahaha! Look at the boss!”
“Looks like he’s carrying a hump!”
The soldiers burst into laughter.
With smooth limbs but a bulky engine sticking out, Jibgae looked ridiculous.
But he didn’t feel offended.
It was the laughter of comrades he hadn’t heard in years.
“Quiet, you bastards.”
He pretended to scold them and sat down.
Then he spoke quietly to Yoon Imsu.
“What exactly is happening?”
“I… don’t know either.”
Yoon Imsu shook his head.
The kindness shown by someone they believed was their enemy—the Bomber.
They couldn’t understand his intentions.
Creak—
At that moment the bunker door opened.
The noise stopped instantly.
The Bomber stood there in his reinforced exoskeleton.
His gaze swept the room and stopped on Yoon Imsu.
He gestured with a finger.
When Yoon Imsu pointed at himself in confusion, the Bomber spoke in a mechanical voice.
“Yes, you. Come alone. I’d like to talk.”
Jibgae grabbed Yoon Imsu’s shoulder.
After a moment of hesitation, Yoon Imsu gently removed the hand and stood up.
“Very well.”
Outside
When they stepped outside, Yoon Imsu saw a strange sight.
Two massive bunker doors faced each other.
The underground structure formed a U-shaped bunker complex.
After scanning the surroundings, Yoon Imsu realized they were somewhere beneath the waste hill.
So… the Dohwa-dong waste hill really was the headquarters.
His assumption seemed correct.
Though it was merely a coincidence.
The Bomber opened the opposite bunker door and gestured.
Enter.
Yoon Imsu walked inside cautiously.
He immediately recognized the place.
It was the same bunker where they had first been captured.
Restraints lay piled in the corner.
What does he want to do here?
In the center was a metal table and two chairs like an interrogation room.
But something was strange.
Instead of torture tools, the table held a plate of snacks and a glass of clear liquid.
Quick-thinking as always, Yoon Imsu realized the glass placed closer to him was meant for him.
He sat down carefully.
Creak—
The Bomber closed the door and sat opposite him.
Because of the bulky exoskeleton, the table felt cramped.
The mask was extremely close.
This table should have been bigger…
The silence was suffocating.
Yoon Imsu’s eyes darted around nervously.
The Bomber simply stared.
Finally Yoon Imsu spoke.
“May I… eat this?”
“You may.”
Short and concise.
Yoon Imsu cautiously lifted the glass and smelled it.
A faint peach scent.
He took a sip.
“…!”
Sweetness and electrolyte saltiness hit his tongue.
It was an ion drink.
His entire body tingled.
Not from poison.
But from memories flooding back.
Before the apocalypse… this was just a common drink.
It used to fill convenience store shelves.
Now it was too precious to swallow carelessly.
He sipped slowly and picked up the snack on the plate.
A round pastry.
A Choco Pie.
One bite.
Sweet chocolate and marshmallow filled his mouth.
Sugar surged through his body.
In this ruined world, such luxury sugar was almost impossible to find.
Only a few vacuum-packed candies existed.
Even those were rare.
Yoon Imsu had tasted them only a few times when the factory director shared some.
Now the sugar rush left him dazed.
“Boss, I think that guy’s blood sugar spiked. He stopped talking.”
“…You can measure that?”
“Hehe. While you were performing the surgeries, I thoroughly analyzed their biological data. I’m basically your honorary physician now.”
Kang Sinhyeok shook his head and ignored Picker.
Then he addressed Yoon Imsu, who was chewing the Choco Pie absentmindedly.
“The technology of Guro Foundry is impressive.”
The unexpected praise startled Yoon Imsu.
The Bomber began discussing the mechanical arms and legs removed from the soldiers.
Not casual remarks.
Detailed analysis.
The finishing of neural interfaces.
Power transmission systems.
Material composition ratios.
The Bomber spoke with precision that even experts would admire.
Strengths.
Weaknesses.
Yoon Imsu forgot to eat.
The Bomber, whom he had thought was merely a murderer, was far more intelligent than he imagined.
“But its limitations are obvious. Using technology like that in this world is little more than life support.”
The remark struck the core.
Yoon Imsu couldn’t respond.
He was the one who had driven Guro Foundry’s production Awakened to exhaustion.
He knew those limitations better than anyone.
His voice carried a bitter tone.
“…Who exactly are you? The ghost of Mapo? Or some kind of god?”