Chapter 78
Chapter 78
On Saetgang Bridge, which separates Mapo District and Yeongdeungpo District.
Along the road covered in thick dawn fog, about sixty men walked silently.
All of them wore plain white T-shirts.
An armed, strangely uniform procession.
At the very front walked Jibgae.
With every step, Park Dongseok struggled to adjust to the unfamiliar sensation beneath his feet.
It isn’t cold.
The feeling of soil under his feet—something he hadn’t experienced in ten years.
The smooth extension of his knee joints.
It felt as though his legs had grown anew.
He looked down at his right arm.
Where a grotesque hydraulic claw had once been attached, there was now a smooth human arm without a single scar.
“Ha…”
As he sighed at the unbelievable reality, a memory surfaced—his conversation with Yoon Imsu before leaving the workshop.
—Captain Jibgae. I… have decided to abandon the factory director.
—What are you talking about?
—Choi Manseok is rotten. He’s no longer the engineer we once knew. Now he’s just like the VIPs of other shelters, drowning in luxury and pleasure.
Yoon Imsu’s eyes did not waver.
They were no longer the eyes of a non-Awakened aide constantly bowing and scraping behind Choi Manseok.
They were the confident eyes of someone who had seen a new possibility.
—And… you saw it too, didn’t you? This miracle.
—…
—He intends to rebuild civilization on this ruined land. I’ve decided to bet the rest of my life on that vision.
Rebuilding civilization?
For ten years, countless leaders had spouted that empty dream.
But as Jibgae looked at his restored limbs, he could no longer deny it.
This was not magic.
It was the culmination of meticulously calculated biotechnology.
Even if Guro Foundry spent another ten years trying, they wouldn’t even come close to replicating it.
“Captain.”
A subordinate walking behind him spoke cautiously.
“About Manager Yoon… is he really not coming back?”
“That’s right. It seems he’s made up his mind.”
“I see…”
The subordinate’s expression darkened.
And he wasn’t the only one.
Among the 23 elite engineers from Guro Foundry who had joined the operation, all had declared they would remain at the workshop with Yoon Imsu.
“What are we supposed to do when we get back? Without Manager Yoon, it’ll be hard even to keep the factory equipment running…”
Jibgae bit his lip.
The true power at Guro Foundry was not Choi Manseok.
It was Yoon Imsu.
From material procurement to process management—nothing functioned without his mind.
In other words, their brain had been torn out entirely.
Choi Manseok, you idiot…
The future of their alliance looked bleak.
Their own supply situation was already uncertain.
At that moment, a low, savage growl echoed through the fog.
Jibgae reacted instantly.
“Everyone halt! Combat formation!”
At his shout, the sixty soldiers scattered into formation with perfect coordination.
In the past, their mechanical prosthetics would have clanked loudly.
Now there was only silence.
Their gazes turned toward the source.
From the wall of an abandoned factory, crimson shadows leapt down.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Five beasts landed on the asphalt, claws digging into the ground.
They were not ordinary wild dogs.
Their muscles bulged so violently they tore through their red skin.
Their eyes gleamed with unsettling intelligence.
[Blood Hound]
[Rank: C]
Jibgae frowned.
Blood Hounds usually traveled in packs, but they didn’t normally block a large human force like this.
Something about their behavior was strange.
They’re not running away?
Normally mutants instinctively avoided a force of more than sixty armed humans.
But these creatures were spreading out.
Forming an encirclement.
Like a disciplined military unit under command.
“They intend to fight! Establish firing lines! You know the drill—if those fast bastards get close, we’re dead!”
At Jibgae’s command, the soldiers opened fire with K-2 rifles and Finger Gatlings.
Bang! Rat-tat-tat!
Muzzle flashes erupted.
But the Blood Hounds dodged with bizarre movements.
Zigzagging.
Leaping off walls.
Closing the distance instantly.
“Damn it! Prepare for close combat! Form defensive ranks!”
They were too fast to suppress with gunfire alone.
Blood would be spilled.
Jibgae clenched his fists.
At least ten casualties.
Maybe more.
Perhaps the restored limbs would be torn apart again.
“Come on, you bastards!”
SKREEE—
The leading Blood Hound charged into their formation.
The front soldier instinctively swung his rifle stock and smashed the creature’s jaws.
THUD!
The dull impact echoed.
Then the soldier froze.
Huh…?
It didn’t hurt.
Normally that level of impact would send agony through the nerve junctions.
Pain would paralyze his body.
Leaving him open to attack.
But now—
Nothing.
Instead, the sensation of impact surged through his fingertips like a thrill.
This… is my body?
The Bio-Interface Connector and Reinforced Muscle Fibers implanted by the Bomber were not simple adhesives.
They perfectly synchronized human nerves and mechanical systems.
“Die!”
The soldier pulled the trigger.
Normally pain would cause his aim to tremble.
But the rifle was steady, as if clamped in a vice.
Bang-bang-bang!
“Yelp!”
A perfect three-round burst struck the Blood Hound between the eyes.
It collapsed.
Seeing this, the other soldiers’ eyes began to shine.
“We can do this! My body… my body feels light!”
“It doesn’t hurt! Damn it, it doesn’t hurt at all!”
Fear transformed instantly into exhilaration.
They were no longer wounded soldiers writhing in pain.
They were warriors with perfect bodies.
The battle turned instantly.
Blood Hounds slashed with claws.
But the bio-skin infused with Armus flesh bounced the attacks away like tough rubber.
“What the hell? Is this bulletproof?”
They had thought it was just flesh.
But it was far tougher than mechanical prosthetics.
One soldier grabbed a charging hound by the throat.
CRACK!
“K—kek—”
The C-rank mutant’s neck snapped like a biscuit.
The soldier stared at his hand.
Then burst into wild laughter.
That grip strength—
something he could only achieve with hydraulic prosthetics before.
Now he surpassed it with bare hands.
“HAHAHA! Did you see that? Did you see my strength?”
The battlefield had become a festival.
A celebration of regained power.
At the center stood Jibgae.
“Move!”
He roared and charged a Blood Hound.
The beast lunged to bite his shoulder.
But Jibgae’s reaction was 0.1 seconds faster.
He grabbed its upper jaw with one hand.
Its lower jaw with the other.
Then tore them apart.
RIP!
The head split in half.
Covered in blood, Jibgae gasped for breath.
“Ha… ha…”
No pain.
No overheating engines.
No nerve overload.
Only adrenaline.
Five minutes.
Five C-rank mutants slaughtered.
Casualties: zero.
Jibgae looked around at his stunned subordinates.
Their faces were smeared with blood.
But their eyes burned brighter than ever.
The fog cleared.
In the distance, a massive silhouette appeared.
Yeongdeungpo Times Square.
Jibgae stared at their base with complicated emotions.
Inside were thousands of comrades.
Every night they suffered phantom pain from severed limbs.
Flesh rotting around rusted machine parts.
And my family.
He clenched his restored right fist.
This blessing should not belong only to him.
He wanted to share this miracle.
I must report to the Sergeant.
Jibgae quickened his pace.
People stared in shock as the line of soldiers entered.
Yeongdeungpo Times Square — Central Hall
A grotesque space littered with hundreds of mannequins and shattered chandeliers.
Before a throne made of scrap metal, Jibgae knelt.
“We have returned.”
Before him sat a man whose lower body had been converted into tank tracks.
Sergeant Kang Cheolwoo.
Seeing Jibgae’s transformed body, he understood something had happened.
But as a veteran who had seen everything, he remained calm.
“Report. Where is Yoon Imsu?”
“…Manager Yoon will not return. He has chosen to follow the Bomber—no, the Master of Atlas.”
“What?”
The sergeant’s mechanical eye glowed red.
“Sergeant. Please look at this.”
At Jibgae’s signal, the soldiers behind him stepped forward.
They removed their outer clothing.
Revealing—
not grotesque mechanical limbs.
But healthy human arms and legs.
The sergeant rose from the throne.
His heavy tracks scraped across the floor.
With a trembling mechanical arm, he grabbed one soldier’s arm.
It was warm.
And soft.
“This… is biological tissue?”
He activated his trait.
[Neural Interface]
Through it he saw the soldier’s nerves and mana circuits.
Impossible.
The prosthetics from Guro Foundry were crude.
Mana circuits forced together.
Constant inflammation.
Mana conductivity barely 60%.
But this—
Cells and machine components intertwined at the molecular level.
Like they had always been one.
Mana conductivity exceeded 98%.
“Does it… hurt?”
“No, sir! Not at all! I feel stronger than ever!”
The sergeant’s expression turned grave.
This was not technology.
It was art.
A level Guro Foundry’s engineers could never reach.
“Bomber… is this his power?”
“Yes.”
Jibgae lowered his head.
“He did not treat us as enemies. He healed us, fed us, and gave us new limbs.”
Several Days Later
Sergeant’s office.
A terminal on the desk flashed red warnings.
[Maintenance Parts Stock: Critical]
[Painkiller Supply: Empty]
Three days had passed since the promised delivery date.
No supply truck from Guro Foundry had arrived.
From the underground maintenance room echoed the groans of soldiers waiting for repairs.
“Choi Manseok…”
The sergeant pressed the direct communication button.
The screen flickered.
On the other side appeared Choi Manseok.
He sat beneath a luxurious chandelier, holding a glass of wine.
Half-naked women attended him.
“Oh, Sergeant? What is it? I’m a bit busy.”
“The promised parts haven’t arrived. Explain.”
“Oh, that?”
Choi Manseok waved his hand lazily.
“Yoon Imsu ran away, so the entire production line stopped. What do you expect me to do? Just wait.”
“If the manager ran away, you should have handled it! My soldiers are suffering!”
“Hey! Don’t shout!”
Choi Manseok slammed down his wine glass.
“You think I like this situation? I’m furious too! When I catch that traitor Yoon Imsu, I’ll skin him alive!”
Click.
The call ended.
The sergeant stared at the dark screen.
“…It’s over.”
Choi Manseok had already fallen.
No pride as an engineer.
No loyalty as an ally.
There was no future with him.
The sergeant slowly turned toward Jibgae.
His lens eye glowed red.
No more hesitation.
“Jibgae.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Contact the Bomber… no, the Master of Atlas.”
His voice carried heavy resolve.
“Request a meeting politely and with proper respect. I will speak with him myself.”