Training That Must Be Done
From January to March, Jun-ho and Jun-hyeok, under the direction of Baek Ha-il, finished the soundproofing and ventilation work for the secret shooting range built beneath the shelter's workshop. Since Baek Ha-il had taken responsibility for the final cleanup and testing, the brothers were finally liberated from their manual labor.
During that time, Jun-ho received medical equipment, gear, and pharmaceuticals from Lee Dong-cheol and Viktor Volk Choi. True to their mafia nature, they did not transport the goods directly from Busan. Instead, they moved the items via fishing boat to a small, CCTV-free fishing village on the East Sea, where Jun-ho drove a truck to load and retrieve them himself. At that meeting, Jun-ho paid the remaining balance along with an additional 50 million won as a bonus and a deposit for future goods. The "Wolf of the Volcano Group" was satisfied, calling Jun-ho "Brat" once again.
Beyond pharmaceuticals, what Jun-ho intended to purchase through the Volcano Group was alcohol. Jun-ho wasn't much of a drinker, but high-end whiskey, wine, and vodka were incredibly useful for bartering in the apocalypse and held high demand. While he would legally buy some on his own, he decided to purchase about half through the Volcano Group—specifically Viktor Volk Choi—as a way to build credit. Even though they were smuggled goods, they were the same spirits sold at establishments managed by the Volcano Group in Busan, so there was no issue with quality.
And finally, the shelter's primary AI computing system setup was complete, and Yun Yeong-su officially "joined" the shelter.
"The basic framework is an edge computing-based, self-learning control system, you know? As you know, I picked the specs, bought the equipment, and finished the calibration myself."
Though he looked a bit tired, Yun Yeong-su’s expression and voice were filled with pride as he sat at his station in the Control Room, the heart of the shelter, and continued his explanation. "When you think about it, you're the Chief Commander of this pension, right? So, you need to know, at least roughly, how the system runs."
In the game Eternal Galaxy, all users are called "Chief Commanders." Thus, Yun Yeong-su compared Jun-ho, the owner and leader of the pension, to a Chief Commander.
"What you're looking at right now is the real-time power integration monitoring UI. It analyzes the electricity coming in from the solar panels, the remaining ESS battery levels, and the power flow used by our pension facilities using an AI algorithm."
When Yun Yeong-su touched the screen, a 3D model of the entire pension appeared on the large monitor. From the main building where the control room was located, to the greenhouse, the workshop-cum-maintenance bay, various warehouses, the parking lot, and the front gate—the power flow, indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, and the operational status of every building and major facility were displayed in real-time.
"The specs are roughly five A100s, 4 terabytes of ECC server RAM, and 1 petabyte of storage. The main calculations are running in containers on a Linux base."
"Could you explain that a bit more simply?"
When Jun-ho asked him to stop the habitual "humanities-major-phobia" jargon, Yun Yeong-su shrugged with a regretful look.
"Yeah. To put it simply, data comes in from the sensors installed in the buildings and facilities, right? I made it so our AI, Akina, learns that and can adjust things on its own."
"Whoa. That's amazing."
At Jun-ho's admiration, Yun Yeong-su pushed up his horn-rimmed glasses and said confidently.
"Right? Honestly, even though I made it, it is pretty impressive. It handles energy management, system fault detection, and especially real-time responses for the warehouses. For example, if the humidity in the freezer warehouse changes, AI Akina automatically corrects the air conditioning for just that warehouse. It even prioritizes power distribution to that area. Plus."
Yun Yeong-su held out a small tablet.
"I've linked this to the screen. You can handle simple functions with this, too. You can always grasp the situation, Boss. Oh, right."
As Yun Yeong-su typed a few keys, the sub-monitors on both sides of the main monitor changed.
"You can manage the repeaters and amplifiers from here, too. I've applied a multi-backup route and interference prediction algorithm, so it should be extremely stable."
"Then does that mean wireless communication is covered for our pension site and the surrounding area? And drone flights can go quite far, too?"
"Yep. You said you were going to build a few shelters on the mountain behind us, right? If you put a repeater in each of those, it’ll be even more stable. Honestly, even if the world ends and the internet goes down, if we tinker with it a bit, we could have wireless communication via a local network."
Jun-ho flinched for a moment at the sudden "future prediction." However, Yun Yeong-su, who was usually quite oblivious, just kept talking excitedly.
"Oh, Boss. While I'm at it, why don't you sign up for the Earthlink service? I think they'll be launching in Korea by the end of this year or early next year. Even if you sign up for unlimited residential and mobile, it won't even be 5 million won a month. You have plenty of money, right?"
Given Yun Yeong-su's personality, this didn't even count as rudeness, so Jun-ho nodded.
"Let's do that. So, what about the other features?"
"Oh, yeah. The others are..."
When he heard that it could manage CCTV, automate drone control, and scan a 3-4 kilometer radius around the pension and the grounds to apply it in 3D, Jun-ho lightly clenched his fist. It meant that once that work was finished, he would be able to track everything coming and going—whether human or beast—in real-time.
"I've only applied the greenhouse management to the one building we're running for now. Temperature, humidity, light intensity, water supply. Oh, and you can even check and control the carbon dioxide concentration in real-time. In the summer, it'll even open and close the solar shading screens automatically."
"That's incredible. You've really worked hard."
"Yeah, it was a bit of a struggle. But Baek-sensei has a 30 percent stake in this. He helped a lot."
Baek Ha-il hated it, but Yun Yeong-su called him "Baek-sensei" and acted friendly in his own way. Furthermore, Yun Yeong-su was greatly impressed by Baek Ha-il's high-level knowledge of machinery, engineering, and electronics, honed through practical experience. He claimed he was well-qualified to be called "Sensei."
"But Boss. You have to keep the promise you made back then, okay?"
"Promise? Ah, that. Of course. I'll prepare about 3 billion won more by March or April of next year. Feel free to upgrade it however you want then. Of course, you'll have to buy 50 percent more of all equipment and facilities as spares."
"Got it. Then I'll use 2 billion for upgrades and 1 billion to buy and stockpile spare goods. They're all dead. Heh heh."
Jun-ho didn't really know what was dead or who he was planning to kill, but since it was clear that Yun Yeong-su, laughing like a villain behind the scenes, would develop the shelter's AI computing system further on his own, Jun-ho just laughed.
The cool month of April arrived. As planned, Jun-ho went to the United States with Jun-hyeok. For the purpose of tourism and experience without a visa, the brothers arrived at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on a direct flight and immediately took a pre-booked professional long-distance VIP chauffeur service to northern Nevada. It cost 3,000 dollars one way, but since they had to travel for about 7 hours by car, they chose this service considering the jet lag and fatigue from the flight.
After a long and boring journey of a little over 7 hours, the luxury SUV carrying Jun-ho and Jun-hyeok stopped in front of a steel gate equipped with several surveillance cameras.
[REDROCK Tactical Institute]
"Thank you for the good ride. Here's a tip."
As Jun-ho handed over a 100-dollar bill, the taciturn but skilled Black driver smiled, showing his white teeth. Soon, the brothers stepped out of the SUV with several pieces of luggage. A moment later, an armed guard wearing black sunglasses walked from the gate box toward the brothers.
"State your business. This is a restricted facility."
"Good Afternoon sir. We’ve got a reservation. Advanced training course. Name is Lee Junho and Lee Junhyuk."
"Okay. ID Please."
The guard, who photographed the passport Jun-ho presented and the phone screen showing the registration certificate for the Redrock Academy, spoke into his radio for a moment before returning the passport and phone to Jun-ho.
"Alright. You're good. Head straight, then go left to admin."
"Got it. Thanks."
"Welcome to Redrock."
As the guard who gave the welcome greeting opened the gate, Jun-ho walked with Jun-hyeok toward the path where he said the administration office was located.
"Hyung, Hyung. How is your English so good?"
"You know some too. You understood the conversation just now, didn't you?"
"That's true, but. My pronunciation is a bit trashy. What if they can't understand me?"
"This is a private military academy, so many foreigners like us come here. No one is going to say anything about your pronunciation, and everyone understands well, so just speak however you want."
"Oh, is that so?"
According to the instructor at the tactical academy in Korea who introduced this place to Jun-ho, about half of the trainees were likely foreigners. He had also said that English mixed with each country's unique accent was no problem. In any case, the brothers received brief information about the academy's training curriculum and the accommodation they would stay in for two weeks at the administration office, and soon the instructor in charge of the brothers came to guide them.
"Mr. Lee. Nice to meet ya. I'm Scott Hayden. I’ll be your lead instructor for the next two weeks."
The instructor, Scott Hayden, who had a short haircut and a neat impression, was in his mid-40s. He was a veteran who had served in the direct reconnaissance company of the famous 75th Ranger Regiment, had experience being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and had served as a tactical instructor at the U.S. Army Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS). Moreover, he was a true professional of combat who had served as an advisor and tactical consultant for a quite famous PMC until recently.
"You're a veteran of the Korean Army Rangers and Commandos?"
"Yes. But it probably won't be at the level of the U.S. military. I don't know if you're aware, but our country conscripts soldiers."
"I know a bit because I have an acquaintance who was in the Korean special forces. Still, you two are Tier 1 among the clients who register for training at our Redrock."
"Oh, is that so?"
Scott Hayden grinned and nodded.
"Yes. There are people who are picking up a rifle for the first time. Besides, I heard you two also trained in mixed martial arts and Krav Maga in Korea? Well, that's probably why you applied for the 2-week advanced training course, but anyway, let's get along well for the next two weeks."
"Yes. We look forward to working with you."
Scott Hayden, who shook hands with the brothers, guided them to their lodging and then briefly explained the training process. He said that since the brothers were recognized as skilled veterans and had registered for the advanced training course, the first week would immediately focus on intensive firearms training. They planned to conduct precision shooting, close-quarters reaction shooting, reload routines within time limits, stationary shooting training, and mobile shooting training on the outdoor tactical course. The firearms to be used for training were the AR-15, Glock 17, and the KP9 and PP-19-01 Vityaz, which were 9mm submachine guns of Russian origin that had separate civilian versions in the U.S., all of which Jun-ho had pre-selected.
The reason Jun-ho specified these three types of firearms was simple. It was because they were the ones he could obtain relatively easily through the Volcano Group. In fact, he had heard from Viktor Volk Choi before the regression that after the apocalypse broke out, the Busan branch of the Volcano Group used AR-15s and KP9s equipped with red dot sights and silencers. In any case, the main content of the first week was to get accustomed to live-fire shooting with various firearms in various situations, and he said the second week would focus on simulations tailored to actual situations. Also, in the second week, there was combat training in "special situations" that Jun-ho had requested, paying 50,000 dollars in tuition.
"I know a bit about the Korean military, but I don't know the situation there well, so I'm asking—is training prepared for these kinds of situations really necessary?"
At Scott Hayden's question, Jun-ho nodded calmly.
"Yes, it is absolutely necessary. It is training that must be done."
The training Jun-ho had requested separately. It was training to suppress multiple threats armed with blunt weapons, knives, or baseball bats in narrow buildings, tailored to the situation in Korea where firearms were rare. And training to use firearms to eliminate multiple targets, both indoors and outdoors, who had become "extremely violent and aggressive" after losing their reason due to the use of illegal drugs or stimulants.