Chapter 72
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Operation Execution
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‘It looks like they've dressed me in black tire rubber or something.’
Fortunately, it had intricate patterns etched into it, so it didn't look plain.
Not only that, but the suit itself was quite thick, yet it felt completely comfortable—no discomfort at all.
“Castaway. What’s with that outfit right now?”
“It’s armor I got from 4chan... I just tried it on.”
“Armor?”
Elisicia's eyes widened again upon hearing that the nano suit I was wearing was armor.
Just so you know, combat mode includes neural acceleration, muscle augmentation, targeting overlays, recoil control, impact absorption, pain reduction, toxin neutralization, breathing regulation, thermoregulation, and a bunch of other features.
In the meantime, Quick Fix Doctor had listed off all sorts of functions for the nano suit.
And from his final remark, it seemed like he hadn't even covered everything.
With the nano suit and the Taehwa Nines, you should be able to handle most monsters no problem.
No ordinary person could ever afford even a scrap of a nano suit, no matter how hard they worked their whole life.
“......”
It really was absurdly expensive.
‘In Korean won, that’s gotta be around 100 billion, right?’
Say “combat mode disengage” and it’ll revert to normal clothes.
If it reverts to normal clothes, does that mean I can’t change into other outfits?
Hold another outfit and say “change outfit,” and it’ll switch to that one. You can swap it anytime with a remembered outfit—probably up to about 100,000 slots.
......Impressive.
In other words, if I loaded it up with various outfits, I'd never have to worry about clothes for the rest of my life.
Also, if you’re still in danger even with the nano suit on, say “switch to stealth mode” and run.
Stealth mode switch?
Your body turns invisible. It even matches the ambient temperature perfectly, so it’s hard for people to spot you.
It seemed like the opposite of the current combat mode—a stealth mode for escaping.
‘But would I ever need to use stealth mode?’
If I ever had to run in stealth mode, it’d only be if the Hero Party was wiped out.
Otherwise, there’d be no need, and ditching the Hero Party to flee on my own didn’t sit right.
Finally, if you get hurt, say “switch to healing mode.” The nano suit will focus entirely on your recovery.
Got it. I’ll use it at the right time.
Oh, and if you ever want to detach the nano suit—which probably won’t happen—just say “release nano suit.” It’ll revert to the original small disc.
Quick Fix Doctor mentioned two more options, but I doubted I’d ever need them.
‘If I get hurt, Aila can heal me anyway.’
Releasing the nano suit might come in handy if I wanted to lend it to someone else.
By the way, I handed the mini-fortress blueprints over to the military. They’re probably working on it with Golden King right now.
Is that house expensive too?
Way cheaper than the nano suit. Don’t worry about it—focus on training to get used to the nano suit.
He meant getting accustomed to the sensations in combat mode.
Since I’d likely rely on combat mode in future fights, it wouldn’t hurt to get familiar with it.
Got it. I’ll do that.
Oh, the factory sabotage op is going down tomorrow morning. They’re broadcasting it, so tune in.
Tomorrow?
Faster than I thought.
The bug forces keep growing the longer we wait. Can’t drag it out.
As I listened to Quick Fix Doctor, I recalled all the preparations the military had made so far.
Including the awakening stones and bloodstones I’d given them, they’d even borrowed the liquid demons, so they were reasonably equipped.
‘If they use the liquid demons right, destroying the factory should be a breeze.’
That thought suddenly sparked curiosity about how they’d enlarge the liquid demons.
By the way, how are you planning to grow the liquid demons?
Using artificial rainfall to pour water on them.
Ah, then no problem.
4chan tech was the only explanation that came to mind.
Modern Earth had all sorts of issues, but 4chan probably didn’t.
That wraps it up. I’ll send the mini-fortress as soon as it’s done.
As Quick Fix Doctor moved to end the chat, I remembered the mana item research he’d been working on.
Quick Fix Doctor, any progress on the magic item research?
He’d previously found the energy source powering magic items.
It seemed like he was still researching it, so I asked how far he’d gotten.
Working on condensing and collecting the energy now. Later, I’ll extract small amounts for experiments.
So you can gather mana into a specific device, huh.
The energy that powers magic items is called mana? Noted.
If you’re really stuck, I can introduce you to the mage in my Hero Party.
No matter how brilliant Quick Fix Doctor was, mana research started him from rock bottom.
I was curious what he’d achieve solo, but if he hit a wall right away, that was different.
I’m good for now. Wanna try it solo.
‘Fair enough.’
If he had questions, he’d have asked me on 2ch by now.
Feeling like I’d spoken out of turn, I wrapped up with Quick Fix Doctor and decided to adapt to the nano suit.
‘But how do I even adapt?’
I couldn’t fight bare-handed just because I had the nano suit.
Whether I wore it or not, I had to fight with telekinesis—so what was there to adapt to?
‘Maybe use telekinesis while wearing the nano suit to get used to it.’
So I gave telekinesis a try.
‘Huh?’
For some reason, the telekinesis speed was at least twice as fast as before.
After some testing, I confirmed the telekinesis speed had increased by 3-4 times.
It was probably due to the nano suit’s neural acceleration and muscle augmentation features.
‘And...’
When I lifted a gun with telekinesis, a targeting reticle appeared like a laser sight.
Just to check, when I lifted four Taehwa Nines, four reticles showed up.
‘This must be the targeting overlay Quick Fix Doctor mentioned.’
Surprisingly, the nano suit boosted my telekinesis.
Using telekinesis while wearing it multiplied the efficiency several times over.
“Castaway. You said it’s a nano suit? Can you summon it again?”
Separately, Rubyel was fascinated by the nano suit and asked me to bring it out again.
Her eyes sparkled like a kid who’d found a fun toy.
“......Combat mode switch.”
Pop—
I switched to combat mode once more, and Rubyel gasped in admiration again.
“Wow. And it’s not magic? So many effects too?”
“Yeah. Like neural acceleration and muscle augmentation, among others.”
“Practically legendary armor, right? Can you snag one more for Elisicia?”
For Elisicia?
‘She’d definitely get stronger with a nano suit.’
No doubt all those features would help.
But considering the price tag, getting another one was questionable.
“I’ll try. But it’s so rare, no guarantees.”
“Fair. It’s nothing like regular magic armor.”
She kept eyeing my nano suit as she said that.
Seemed like Rubyel wanted it more than Elisicia did.
‘Elisicia’s barely reacting, on the other hand.’
The saintess Aila and the elf Riness were much the same.
Compared to them, the beastkin chieftain Sirien showed clear curiosity toward the nano suit.
“Castaway. Does wearing that make you stronger?”
“Yeah. You saw how telekinesis got 3-4 times faster.”
“Might make you stronger than most beastkin.”
“No way.”
Even if my physical stats surpassed beastkin now, actual combat was a different story.
‘Though with telekinesis, I might win.’
Grabbing their limbs with telekinesis could do it.
But since I’d never fight beastkin, it stayed just a passing thought.
‘Anyway, Quick Fix Doctor hooked me up good.’
No telling what might happen in the labyrinth ahead, but the nano suit would definitely help.
Satisfied with that, I walked on, indulging Rubyel’s curiosity as she poked at the nano suit.
4chan.
Whirr—
A drone transport ship quietly approached the Lumen region near the massive factory complex.
It soon hovered silently in midair, opening its hatch and lowering a single rope.
Thud!—
Next, people from the drone transport descended one by one down the rope.
“Military gear really is top-notch. Made it here and the bugs haven’t gone berserk yet.”
A man around 190cm tall, with a burly build and a scar across his face, remarked approvingly.
This was Alekson, a volunteer for the op—a renowned mercenary and fixer from Freid City in his day.
Thud!—
Following Alekson down the rope, a new figure—a sharp-featured woman with short bobbed hair—spoke up.
“You’re awfully relaxed. Not tense at all?”
She was another famous fixer from a different city.
“Tension doesn’t help with jobs. Or did you not know that when you got into fixing?”
“What nonsense. Were you chill when you got that scar on your face?”
Alekson frowned slightly at her—Karnel’s—words.
For reference, fixers were ranked by jobs completed, and both Alekson and Karnel were A-rank.
Anything lower, the military wouldn’t accept.
“Calm down, both of you.”
At that moment, Lieutenant Uben—the key ability user with the [Electric Barrier]—intervened.
“Infighting leads to mission failure.”
Alekson chuckled dismissively.
“Mission failure? You brought the 3chan liquid monsters, right? Just let them rampage, and anyone could handle the rest.”
“Even if the liquid demons pull every machine in the factory, there are still bugs inside.”
“I know. See ’em over there.”
Alekson pointed to one side.
He was pointing straight at the factory, shrouded in a white dust-like haze covering the area.
“Up close like this, it’s creepy as hell. All bugs, huh.”
“Artificial rain’s coming soon. They’ll drop to the ground then.”
“Sounds just like dust that way.”
Lieutenant Uben confirmed everyone was down, then ordered some subordinates to start the broadcast.
“You lot, start the gallery stream as instructed.”
“Yes, sir.”
Karnel watched the soldiers set up the gallery broadcast, grumbling unhappily.
“Gallery stream? Gotta do that?”
“Yes. Military needs to track progress.”
“And keep an eye on us, while they’re at it.”
There were already six fixer mercenaries gathered here.
Karnel figured they’d turned on the stream to watch for any funny business, since it could doom the op.
“Think of it as showing off your exploits.”
This was because mid- or low-grade awakening stones were promised based on performance.
Soon after the broadcast went live, rain began pattering down from the sky.