Chapter 74

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 74

Chapter Title: Chapter 74

-----------------------------------------------------------------

```html

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 74

Chapter Title: Bug Extermination Magic

-----------------------------------------------------------------

'Could it be...?'

I reflexively checked the chat window after the attack pierced the liquid monster.

From skimming the chat, that attack just now was a rail cannon.

I had no idea what kind of weapon that was, but judging by the vibe, it wasn't anything ordinary.

'Channel 4's tactical weapon?'

Fortunately, while I was mulling it over, the liquid monster swiftly regenerated its pierced body in an instant.

Apparently, its true body was a tiny core, so as long as that didn't shatter, it was totally fine.

'And from what I can see now, it even tanks bullets and shells.'

Back then, 7 Channel's Yoo Hyun-min bro said the liquid monster rampaging in 3 Channel was weak, and that checked out.

In this downpour from the artificial rain, the liquid monster wasn't giving an inch to the machines.

Right after those chat messages popped up.

'Huh?'

Whether the person controlling the liquid monster issued some command or not, spikes suddenly sprouted across its entire body.

Then it unleashed all those spikes at once toward the machines attacking from the front.

Boom!— Boom boom!!—

One attack from the liquid monster wrecked about a third of the machines, halting them completely, and the chat exploded in cheers.

Anyway, watching the liquid monster, it seemed like there was no need to worry about the machines.

Rail cannons probably couldn't be fired repeatedly either, so the core shattering wasn't an issue.

'Time to check the fixers' side.'

There were four broadcasts total right now—one on the liquid monster, the other three on the fixers.

Deciding there was nothing more to see from the liquid monster feed, I switched to one showing the fixers.

'Controlling everything with telekinesis sure is convenient.'

The more I used it, the better the ability felt.

"Ha. Look at what's covering the floor. All bugs, huh."

The fixer woman named Carnel pointed at the thick white piles on the ground as she spoke.

To me, it looked like someone had scattered shredded paper everywhere, but those were apparently the bugs.

"Seriously wanna just douse the place in insecticide."

"No time for that."

"I know."

After that, the fixers glanced at their map once more, then looked up in one direction.

"Crossing over that way seems quickest."

"Let's climb."

With that, the fixers alternated kicking off one factory wall after another, scaling straight up.

Zigzagging purely off walls to reach the roof was undeniably ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠impressive.

Meanwhile, the Hero Party watching the chat alongside me all tilted their heads.

"Is that supposed to be impressive?"

"......"

I was at a loss for words at Elisicia's question for a moment.

By the standards of regular folks from my modern world, yeah, it was impressive.

'But compared to the Hero Party...'

It was hard to call it impressive.

"In Channel 4, it seems to be."

"If they trained that body without magic assistance, maybe it is impressive."

Elisicia tried to put a positive spin on it so I wouldn't feel awkward.

Whether she did or not, the fixers reached the roof first, dropped a rope to bring up the soldiers, and kept moving.

'Truth is, if Channel 4 had proper gear, it'd look totally different.'

The Channel 4 equipment I'd seen so far probably would've shocked the Hero Party multiple times.

"Damn, this is uncomfortable as hell."

In any case, Carnel grumbled before heading swiftly toward the objective.

Leaping nimbly between factories, she moved just like a wild beast.

'Hero Party looks bored though.'

I got the sense the Hero Party preferred the liquid monster vs. machines broadcast.

Regardless, the fixers and soldiers pressed on without rest and finally reached the target point.

'They've all got killer stamina too.'

"Phew. Machines ahead."

"Looks like we made it properly."

Unfortunately, though, a machine was stationed at the power plant entrance.

It had a human-like head and upper body, but four wheels instead of legs—a guard robot.

"Clear it fast and move in."

The male fixer said that and pulled a rifle off his back.

It was closer to a sniper rifle than an assault rifle. He shouldered it, took aim, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!—

Even in the pouring rain, the male fixer effortlessly punched through the robot's head.

The head-shot robot staggered around searching for its attacker, but that was it.

Bang!—

The male fixer took out another robot just like that, then turned to the broadcast camera with a "how 'bout that?" look.

Having cleared the robots at the entrance like that, they quickly dropped from the roof and moved out.

"Robots at the entrance means probably more inside."

"We'll have two soldiers lure them."

"Two soldiers? You sure?"

"Yes. They're in combat protective suits—guard bot guns won't penetrate."

"Good. Soldiers on entrance duty. We'll take another route."

'Looks like the male officer and camera soldier are tagging along.'

In the end, the remaining two soldiers handled luring at the entrance while the rest found a different entry.

Thankfully, the plan worked—the fixers and soldiers who'd slipped through a window had no machines ahead.

"No machines, but bugs are here."

The fixer spoke while eyeing the white blotch-like things sporadically stuck to walls and floors.

Up close now, I could see the bugs were tiny and thread-thin. Definitely horsehair worms.

'What were they again? Parasitic worms in insects.'

Horsehair worms, yeah?

"Just in case, I'll put up an electric barrier for you."

Pop—

The male officer activated his electric barrier ability, and a one-meter oval shield formed around the fixer's body.

"Oh. So this is the electric barrier? Looks stronger than in that video."

"Got lucky and leveled it up."

"I need an ability better than this."

As they headed toward the power plant core, bugs touching the electric barrier fried on contact.

"Oh. This barrier's pretty solid?"

The bugs detected the intruders too, leaping from walls and floors to latch on, but it was pointless.

'From here, it really looks like an electric flyswatter.'

The bugs were scary mainly for infecting machines, not because their bodies were a big threat.

"There are so many bugs. Might be better to use bug extermination magic at this point."

Huh?

"Bug extermination magic?"

I asked Rubyel, and she nodded.

"It's magic that kills only tiny lifeforms like bugs. One cast would wipe out all those visible ones."

"......"

I'd just heard a potential game-changer for Channel 4 from the most unexpected place.

'What if Rubyel's bug extermination magic also kills the bugs infecting the machines?'

Channel 4's situation could improve dramatically.

"Can you make that bug extermination magic into an item, like a magic tool?"

"No materials right now, so nothing permanent like your stealth cloak."

Rubyel said it was tough but offered an alternative.

"But a one-use magic item? Easy enough."

"Sounds good. If it can kill the bugs infecting machines."

"I'll whip one up. Got any glass beads? The kind that shatter on impact."

I immediately opened Modern Item Purchase and searched for glass beads.

'Not bad price-wise.'

I bought it, and a glass bead slightly larger than a baseball appeared in my inventory.

"This work?"

I took it out and handed it to Rubyel. She examined it from all angles and nodded.

"Perfect."

Rubyel got to work on the glass bead.

Watching from the side, I saw blue mist-like energy flow inside, forming some kind of pattern.

'Magic-related rune, probably?'

About 3-4 minutes of quietly watching later.

"Done. It's rough, so effects fade after about 2 hours."

"Just throw it?"

"Shatter it nearby and it'll kill bugs in the area... but since it's another channel, not sure how it'll play out."

From the Channel 4 gallery posts I'd seen before, pesticides built up resistance every time they made new ones for bug control.

'Problem if Rubyel's magic triggers resistance too.'

No matter how I thought about it, magic resistance seemed unlikely, so I asked Rubyel.

"Any chance the bugs build resistance to this magic?"

"Resistance? Told you—this magic only kills small lifeforms. No separate magic resistance issue."

What I was worried about was the possibility of magic resistance forming, but honestly, no one knew.

'No one researching bugs would've even considered magic.'

In any event, I took the glass bead and sent it via Quick Fix Doctor.

A few minutes later, the male officer reached out his hand, and the glass bead materialized above it.

"Huh? What's that orb?"

"Heard it's a weapon that kills bugs."

"Just a glass bead with pretty patterns?"

"No idea yet. But I figure it's worth trusting."

They soon reached the power plant core, promptly ducked into cover, and let out a short curse.

"Crazy. Why's there an armed turret here?!"

"Probably to stop intruders."

"Anyway, can't punch through that turret with what we've got. Gotta find another path."

"No intrusion alarm went off."

"So?"

The male officer held up the glass bead and said,

"If we just deal with the bugs infecting the armed turret, we might go straight in."

"...Honestly, I'm skeptical. Like Carnel said, it's just a glass bead."

"Throw it—if it doesn't work, find another way."

"Sigh. Fine."

The male fixer took the glass bead, then hurled it hard around the corner without even peeking.

Ting!—

'Did it work?'

I was watching the broadcast, dying to know if Rubyel's magic had done the trick.

The fixers seemed just as curious—he poked his rifle out first to test, then stuck his head out.

"What? Bugs actually dead?"

"Wasn't it offline from the start?"

"Nah, red light was blinking when I first saw it."

Even the cameraman confirmed, but the armed turret showed zero reaction.

'But is that really just an armed turret?'

It had a central launcher barrel surrounded by Gatling-like gun barrels in a circle.

Plus three small missiles on each side—made me doubt it was just for blocking intruders.

'More like for erasing them without a trace.'

"We're good. It's shut down."

"That glass bead really killed the bugs? Why didn't we get it sooner?"

"Probably like the Awakening Stone—from another channel."

"For real? Maybe we should trade with other channels."

They chatted casually like that, but they were already sprinting toward the core.

After planting bombs prepped around the power plant here and there, they lit the fuses and bolted.

Boom!!—

'Success.'

The explosion wasn't as huge as I'd feared—no building collapse.

Still, the operation itself seemed a success. Unlike them, though, the chat brought the polar opposite news.

From the chat, I could tell the other two sites had failed.

```