Chapter 77
Chapter 77
His voice carried equal parts sarcasm and helplessness.
From this point on, I would have to put my persona fully on display.
Yoon Imsu was a non-Awakened who nevertheless managed the practical operations of the massive organization known as Guro Foundry.
Could I really persuade him?
I felt a little nervous.
Inside the mask, I swallowed dryly.
It felt like standing on a test stage.
Focus on the Bomber persona.
If I did that, it would work.
I stared at Yoon Imsu through the mask and spoke slowly and heavily.
“I merely intend to wipe out those entrenched elites above us—the ones who monopolize technology and raise people like livestock—and rebuild human civilization.”
To someone like Yoon Imsu, who had survived ten years in a ruined world, it sounded grandiose and unrealistic.
Yet he sensed a different weight behind my words.
Wipe out the elites…?
He had already heard the rumors that the Bomber despised raiders.
The Bomber must have suffered terribly at the hands of those elites.
Yoon Imsu’s heart began to pound.
Because he felt the same.
The humiliation of being looked down on all his life simply for being non-Awakened.
That inferiority complex reacted violently to the Bomber’s vision.
The factory director of Guro Foundry, Choi Manseok—
he had once dreamed the same dream as Yoon Imsu.
Driving out mutants through technological advancement so people could live like humans again.
But once Guro Foundry became established, he changed.
Every day he drank and indulged in luxury with women at his side.
He had even nearly ruined the recent negotiations with the Steel Legion because he failed to grasp the situation.
Yoon Imsu had grown exhausted from constantly appeasing Choi Manseok.
Still, he knew too little about the Bomber.
Could he trust this madman?
“Words are easy,” Yoon Imsu said sharply. “But powerless idealists are easily broken. In the end, you’re trying to recruit us because you need power too, aren’t you?”
I burst into loud laughter.
“HAHAHAHA!”
The distorted mechanical laughter echoed through the narrow bunker.
Yoon Imsu felt a chill run down his spine.
“You think I need your power?”
At my signal, Picker gave the order.
“Launch!”
Pshht—
A concealed launcher emerged from the ceiling and fired.
Yoon Imsu felt a prick at the back of his neck.
“Uh…?”
His body froze instantly.
He was fully conscious, yet unable to move even a finger.
What is this guy doing all of a sudden? Did I offend him? Is he going to kill me?
Fear surged.
Creeeak—
I stood up.
The massive exoskeleton approached him.
In my hand was a syringe.
The pressure of the giant looming over him made Yoon Imsu’s breath stop.
“What—what are you doing!”
Instead of answering, I slowly grabbed his shoulder.
The needle pierced his skin.
“Don’t worry. It’s something you’ve always wanted.”
“Manager Yoon! The shutter on your life turnaround is about to go up! Three, two, one—click!”
With Picker’s cheerful countdown, the Mana Circuit Plasticizer flowed into Yoon Imsu’s veins.
It felt like flames running through his bloodstream.
“Ugh… aaah!”
Gasping, Yoon Imsu slid from the chair and collapsed onto the floor.
The paralysis faded, but his entire body burned with intense heat.
“Ghh!”
His heart pounded violently.
No—not just his heart.
Another pulse echoed from the center of his head, near the pineal gland.
It felt like two hearts beating.
Thump. Thump.
If the heart pumped blood through the body, the brain’s pulse was sending invisible waves into the world.
Where those waves reached, a new world opened.
[You have awakened as a Mechanic-type Awakened.]
[Trait Analysis has been unlocked.]
Information windows appeared before his eyes.
It was a vision that pierced the essence of things.
His gaze fell on the reinforced exoskeleton I was wearing.
[Mechanical Reinforced Exoskeleton]
[Right hydraulic cylinder pressure imbalance: 3.2% error]
[Left knee joint wear: 12%]
[Predicted failure point: after 43 full-speed sprints]
I can see it…
He wasn’t simply looking at the surface.
The flow of hydraulic pressure inside the machine.
Microscopic metal fatigue.
Even the grinding noise of interlocking gears.
Everything poured into his brain as numbers and data.
It was overwhelming, yet his mind processed it like a supercomputer.
[Trait Optimization has been unlocked.]
Now his gaze moved beyond the mask.
The bunker’s ventilation duct is tilted fifteen degrees. Fix that and airflow efficiency increases by twenty percent.
That exoskeleton’s power transfer system has a bottleneck. Widen the piping by two millimeters and output rises fifteen percent.
The engineering knowledge suppressed during his life as a non-Awakened now exploded with synergy alongside his awakening ability.
This wasn’t mere knowledge.
It was the power to reshape the world itself.
And finally—
[Trait Mechanical Resonance has been unlocked.]
A blue mana aura shimmered from Yoon Imsu’s body.
The waves resonated with the machines in the bunker.
Whir—
Outside, the waiting drones vibrated slightly.
Like puppies greeting their owner, their rotors spun faster.
Without risk of overload, their engine output surged past normal limits—120%, 130%.
“Hey!? What is this human doing!? Back off! Don’t mess with my cuties!”
Picker shouted in alarm.
But Yoon Imsu remained half-dazed, lost in ecstasy.
“Picker. Analyze quickly. This is awakening data. Dual-core awakening data. It’s extremely valuable.”
“Yes, yes! Understood! Data mining starting!”
I watched eagerly.
Meanwhile Yoon Imsu remained immersed in his own world.
So this is the life of an Awakened…
He realized instinctively.
The power he had gained was rare.
Powerful.
B-class… maybe even higher.
The power he had desired his entire life.
A miracle that money and authority could never buy.
And now it was in his hands.
He would never let it go.
Time passed.
Then he felt a heavy gaze from above.
“…Finished enjoying yourself?”
The mechanical voice pulled Yoon Imsu back to reality.
He looked up.
The Bomber stood there with arms crossed, watching him.
The eyes behind the mask seemed to say: I know exactly what you saw.
“Ah…”
Lightning flashed through Yoon Imsu’s mind.
This man had known.
His hidden potential.
What the drug would do to him.
Everything had been calculated.
He’s a god.
Compared to this man, Guro Foundry’s Choi Manseok was nothing but a fly.
Even Shin Gyu-hwan, commander of the Capital Defense Command and the real ruler of Korea—
could not perform such a miracle.
Nor could the three figures who dominated the world:
Arthur Vance — Supreme Commander of the United States Restoration Army and chairman of the World Management Committee.
Mao Zhen — Chairman of the Chinese People’s Front.
Isabella de Medici — Lord of the European Union Shelter.
None of them were known to awaken high-level traits in others.
Only the Bomber could.
Yoon Imsu had only one life goal.
To awaken.
To escape the shackles of being non-Awakened.
And this man had granted that wish.
With a simple injection.
Soldiers often died after taking low-grade awakening drugs.
Yet he had awakened instantly.
What… is this…?
Unbelievable.
But he had felt it with his own body.
The Bomber’s power was real.
This man did not merely possess strength.
He could awaken people at will.
That was the power of a creator.
Yoon Imsu had always been quick to judge.
Thud.
He dropped to his knees.
With trembling voice—yet full conviction—he declared:
“I will serve you as my lord.”
It was not cowardice.
It was reverence born from witnessing the impossible.
“…I will dedicate the rest of my life to your will. Until I die.”
Later
Yoon Imsu revealed everything he knew.
The military strength of Guro Foundry.
Its resource supply.
Its internal conflicts.
The information flowed like a prepared report.
Most matched my reconnaissance and predictions.
But there were useful details.
I also learned how the world had changed after the apocalypse.
“And… information about the international situation.”
My ears perked up.
That level of intelligence was normally known only by high-ranking military officials or leaders of major shelters.
“China… built a massive defensive line centered on Beijing.”
“The Great Wall?”
“Yes. Not merely a wall. A physical barrier combined with a mana shielding field. A colossal continental barrier.”
According to Yoon Imsu, China had mobilized all national power to stop the northern mutants.
But the result caused another problem.
“Mutants from Russia, Manchuria, and the Maritime Province lost their routes. They searched for openings in the barrier… and…”
“And that opening was the Korean Peninsula?”
“Yes. Millions—perhaps tens of millions—are moving south through Korea.”
It was shocking.
The northern front near the DMZ wasn’t hell just because of the apocalypse.
The continent’s mutant tide was pouring into Korea.
“But ironically, that made northern Korea the region with the highest core density in the world.”
“Ah.”
That explained everything.
How the Capital Defense Command managed to gather so many cores.
The front was hell—
but also a gold mine.
“And there’s also information about the United States.”
“…Is America still standing?”
“More than standing. In the early days of the apocalypse, the United States deployed overwhelming military force and cleared most major mutant habitats on the mainland. Factories and power plants were restored too.”
I clicked my tongue.
The power of the United States remained formidable even after the apocalypse.
But the next part surprised me.
“However, the U.S. has low mutant density because its territory is so vast. That means they struggle to secure energy cores.”
“So?”
“They trade with other countries. Korea exports cores from the northern front, and in return the United States supplies food, necessities, and advanced weapons. Usually through Incheon Port or transport aircraft.”
Ding!
Picker opened a pop-up window.
“Boss! Remember those Choco Pies we bought at the Union Market? The ones with English all over the packaging?”
“…Now that you mention it.”
“They were imported goods! No wonder they survived ten years without spoiling! Those military officers must be stealing and selling them!”
I smiled bitterly.
Even after the world ended, people stayed the same.
I hid my expression behind the mask.
“Hm. I suspected something like that.”
Yoon Imsu looked impressed again.
He assumed I had already deduced this intelligence.
I stared at him through the lens.
“I intend to build a production base here.”
Yoon Imsu’s eyes widened.
It meant rebuilding civilization.
“I’ve been preparing for ten years.”
In reality, I had spent those ten years carrying boxes.
But Yoon Imsu trembled.
Ten years of preparation…
He believed the Bomber was a great hero of chaotic times.
“No, more than a hero… a sage.”
“Power plants. Water facilities. Factories… these are what I will create.”
I outlined the blueprint.
Near-infinite energy.
Clean water.
Endless production.
A vision to make civilization bloom again in the ruins.
“I would like to offer you the position of Administrator to oversee it all.”
Yoon Imsu’s mouth fell open.
Not merely a subordinate.
A partner in rebuilding civilization.
His eyes reddened.
“I will protect it with my life.”
Confidence filled his gaze.
He pledged absolute loyalty again.
“Good. But you know that protecting civilization is harder than building it.”
I looked outside the bunker.
There was still a problem to resolve.
“I’m thinking about bringing Jibgae’s group under my command. What do you think?”
Yoon Imsu answered confidently.
“Leave that to me, my lord.”
His face already held the outline of a plan.