The Ruins of Asung Mega City

The single sentence stopped the first person entering the doorway dead in their tracks. It was a short-haired woman, small in stature, wearing a hat and mask just like me. I kept my gun trained on her and studied her carefully. Her clothes were worn but sturdy, clearly repaired and optimized for survival. Her backpack was cinched tight against her frame. A modified pistol peeked from her waistband, and a rifle was slung across her back. She looked like a seasoned survivor, someone with plenty of experience under her belt.

The dot on my map wasn’t a yellow circle. It was a gray square. The problem came after that. The second dot was positioned a little farther away than the woman who had just entered, tucked against the wall near the entrance. Unlike her gray square, this one was red.

It was the first time I’d seen this since gaining the ability, so I had no idea what it meant. As I scanned the surroundings, I could feel the woman calmly assessing me in return. After a brief silence, she slowly raised both hands. She seemed a little startled at having a gun shoved in her face without warning, but she carried herself with the confidence of someone who had something to fall back on.

“I was just looking for a place to hide and rest for a while. I didn’t expect someone to already be here. As you can see, I have no intention of drawing a weapon, so could you lower your gun?”

Her voice was low and composed. From inside my jacket, Nia extended a node through the collar, blinking softly as she whispered into my ear.

Even with Nia’s input, I didn’t let my guard down. The woman might be calm, but I still had no idea what the red square lurking behind her meant. It was entirely possible this was a bandit ploy—using her as a distraction to lower my defenses while the one hiding in the back waited for an opening to strike.

Apparently interpreting my silence as agreement, the woman took a cautious step back and made a suggestion.

“How about this? Since I didn’t know someone was already here, I’ll head back out the way I came, and you can continue whatever you were doing.”

The moment she mentioned retreating, the red square on my minimap moved with alarming speed. It crept outside the entrance and pressed itself flat against the outer wall. Then, accompanied by a prickling chill, a second red square appeared and did the exact same thing on the opposite side of the entrance.

An ambush from both flanks? I wasn’t even stepping out yet. Something felt off. If they were working together, the timing didn’t quite add up. After a moment of thought, I lowered my firearm slightly toward the floor. It was a clear sign I had no immediate intention of shooting, but the angle still allowed me to raise it again in an instant.

“Sounds like a good plan. I won’t use my gun either.”

I raised my left hand and held up two fingers. Then I pointed them deliberately at the outer walls on both sides of the bank entrance where the red squares were hiding. With a quick glance to make sure she understood, I activated the harness’s physical enhancement function and vaulted cleanly over the bank counter in one fluid motion.

Even if my suspicions were wrong and all three of them were working together in some elaborate performance to draw me out, it didn’t matter. I pressed myself tightly against the counter, which would serve as perfect cover, and instead of the pistol at my waist, I drew the Nailer and loaded it.

At this range, using the counter as a shield while unleashing the weapon’s brutal firepower would turn anyone trying to enter into ground meat in seconds.

Watching me, the corner of the woman’s mouth curved upward in a crooked smile. She gave a silent nod toward the counter where I was hiding, then turned her back to me as if to say she didn’t care if I shot her.

Step. Step.

She walked forward with deliberate, loud footsteps on the marble floor, clearly meant to be heard by the ones waiting outside. When she reached the threshold, her footsteps suddenly stopped. Pressed against the wall beside the door, she thrust her right hand out toward the left side of the entrance with blinding speed.

Thud!

Her hand clamped down perfectly on the neck of the bandit who had been hiding there, waiting for the right moment. “Huh?”

His balance broke instantly. Dragged out like a child, the man had a knife buried in his body before he could react—once in the chest, once in the throat.

“Ghk… ghhk…”

Blood bubbled in his throat as he collapsed to the floor in seconds. “Wha—?!”

The remaining bandit on the opposite wall spun around in shock. Realizing the situation had gone to hell, he tried to raise his gun and fire at the woman, but her hand was faster.

Whoosh—

The dagger left her grip, slicing through the air. It buried itself dead center in the man’s forehead. Unlike his companion, he didn’t even manage a single groan before toppling backward with a heavy thud.

So that uneasy feeling had been right. She was a real Awakened.

Watching the scene from behind the counter, I couldn’t help but click my tongue in awe. She was clearly a high-ranking combat Hunter.

“You’re a Hunter too, aren’t you? Maybe we knew each other before the world went to shit. Well. Not that it matters now.”

Click. Click.

The dull scrape of a lighter came from outside. Then the sound of someone taking a deep drag followed by a long exhale of thick cigarette smoke drifted through the doorway.

“When you wander around in a woman’s body, these kinds of bastards always come crawling. Sorry for dragging you into this mess. Take whatever these guys were carrying. Consider it thanks for the help.”

On the map, I saw the woman moving away from the bank. Blink— her previously gray dot had shifted to a faint green.

Whew. That was intense.

Once I confirmed she had moved far enough away, I emerged from behind the counter. The floor was already turning into a bloody mess thanks to the corpses. Worried their loot might get ruined, I quickly started looting the bodies.

Their bags contained simple rations, water, and various odds and ends that looked like they were for entertainment. Typical bandit gear, but the quality was noticeably different.

“These bastards… they must’ve been living pretty well for quite a while.”

Amazingly, the backpacks were stuffed with five or six old handheld game consoles and smartphones, all drained of power. There was also a decent-condition assault rifle, a survival knife, a bottle of strong whiskey, and even an unopened pack of cigarettes—pure luxury items.

“These guys are straight-up treasure goblins.”

Items like these held more value than money when trading with other survivors. I smiled with satisfaction as I swept the loot into my own bag.

Before zombies drawn by the smell of blood could gather, I left the area and headed back to base.

When I returned, Nia said she had a new proposal for me.

“Master, I have a new suggestion. With a few minor design adjustments, I believe we can create a beta version of the Core Strider using the items we just acquired.”

She explained that by using the circuitry from the bank loot along with the game consoles and smartphones, we could build a functional beta model.

“Output will be lower than the final version, but shall we proceed with building the beta?”

I thought it over for a moment, then nodded.

“Using it now is what matters. Let’s start with the beta and upgrade it gradually from there.”

I had brought back various items from the ship, but I was still weak. If a high-ranking Awakened like that short-haired woman attacked me with hostile intent, I wasn’t confident I could win easily. All I had were a few tools that made daily life a little more convenient. To protect what I had, I needed things that would make me stronger.

I was starting to feel the need to visit another dimension again. And the Core Strider would be an excellent pack mule for gathering resources in a new world.

“Alright. Let’s go with that.”

Nia and I spent the next several days pulling parts from the printer and assembling the beta version of the Core Strider. The finished product looked like a futuristic motorcycle with cargo compartments on both sides. Even in beta form, it came with an impressive array of features.

Like the harness, it had panels on various parts of the frame that allowed us to attach additional equipment or cargo. It also had three distinct modes.

The first was Mobility Mode, which used the core’s power to drive the wheels and move the vehicle. The second was Maintenance Mode, where the frame expanded outward to connect the internal core ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the base and draw power. The final one was Backpack Mode, which folded the equipment up to be carried on the back. Assembling the whole thing had taken several full days.

Once the Core Strider was complete, I opened the Authority window for the first time in a while.

The Authority had gained a new function upon ranking up. It now allowed me to specifically access dimensions I had already visited. That meant I could return to the forest or the ship… The forest was the cleanest resource-rich place I could go, so it was worth considering, but the ship was a hard no. The interior was unstable, and the insane AI attacked without regard for the ship’s condition. I had no desire to go back. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Even if I did return now, I’d just end up playing hide-and-seek with the deranged AI and its drones.

It looked like I would have to use the Rank F perk again—the one that analyzed my deficiencies and forcibly connected me to a dimension with the resources I needed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠most. Since I had no idea where I would end up, I prepared more thoroughly this time. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first trip had lasted one hour, the second three, so the third was likely to be even longer. In case I ended up somewhere as barren as the ship had been, I packed a ship-made canteen that could purify or produce water, some food, and several fully charged batteries into my bag. Once I strapped on my chest armor and weapons, I was ready.

My only real concern was whether the Core Strider and Nia could follow me through dimensional travel. There was no way to know without trying. I had no idea where I would end up this time, but I prayed it would be somewhere safe.

I already lived in a place where safety was in short supply. Please, just send me somewhere safe.

I activated the Authority.

Yes.

…

Safety my ass. I knew it would turn out like this.

Before the dizziness from the dimensional leap had even faded, the acrid, toxic air filling my lungs made me click my tongue in disgust. Analyze my deficiencies? Yeah, right. Had I ever said I was lacking toxic air? I got more than enough of that back in Seongwon City.

What spread out before my eyes was an endless expanse of enormous buildings. Skyscrapers that seemed to pierce the sky. Holograms and neon signs flickering brokenly everywhere. A future city that must once have been beautiful, but had now lost all its former glory, lay before me.

Above the bleak cyberpunk night streets, a familiar system window appeared.