Chapter 5 – An Unmissable Opportunity

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Two more days passed after that.

During those two days, I looted two convenience stores and a hardware store in the neighborhood.

At first, it took a full day to move everything, but once the number of Worker Bugs exceeded 30, looting two convenience stores in a single night became an easy task.

Of course, I summoned a few more Observation Probes as well.

And right now, I was monitoring those probes.

While they sent notifications on their own according to my instructions, it was important for me to check directly to grasp the exact situation.

‘Should I start by checking around the Main Base…’

I thought to myself, popping a new flavor of potato chip into my mouth. It was something I had picked up from the convenience store this time.

Crunch—

“Oh, this is tastier than I thought.”

The potato chip with its unfamiliar texture exploded in my mouth.

Human genius sometimes manifests in the most unexpected places. Savoring the taste of the new potato chips, I scanned the surroundings by switching between the Observation Probes one by one.

‘Nothing special seems to be happening… Now then—’

Finally, I checked the Observation Probe I had attached to Seo Gwangjin.

He was currently screaming at the top of his lungs at his subordinates.

“Heh, I guess he’s pissed that the shops are getting looted.”

Setting aside their own desire to loot the stores, those bastards had spent the last two days patrolling the neighborhood relentlessly to catch me.

However, all their positions were being tracked by my Observation Probes. Thus, it was easy to target the gaps in their patrol.

‘And… is that all of his subordinates?’

Furthermore, I didn’t stop analyzing his combat power. There were eight subordinates in total. Even among them, two seemed to have irregular Vital Energy, appearing and disappearing from sight.

Most of their abilities were unknown. However, the world was still in a period where the connection between abilities and mana was not well understood, and as long as their Maximum Mana was low, it was certain they couldn’t display exceptionally strong power.

On the other hand, something occurred to me.

‘Come to think of it, it’s about time I start releasing some information.’

For the first few days, it was a situation where the fire was right under my feet. I wasn’t in a position to worry about others.

But now, my foundation was starting to take shape, and the snowballing was progressing stably. I wanted to release information to increase the survival rate of other people.

“I can’t just survive all by myself…”

It was something I had felt poignantly in the past, while enduring and surviving alone.

The more people survived, the better.

“Hmm… I’ll deal with that later for now.”

For the moment, focusing on Seo Gwangjin was the priority.

Meanwhile, while I was lost in thought, his performance seemed to have ended, and his subordinates began heading back to the streets in small groups.

‘I should attach more Observation Probes.’

Naturally, I began monitoring every single one of those gangs.

* * *

“Dammit! How the hell did it happen again!”

Seo Gwangjin was absolutely furious. In a world where monsters roamed, everyone had acquired abilities.

He instinctively knew the world was changing rapidly, which was why he had tried to loot the General Store he had been eyeing.

However, from the first day, he had been continuously toyed with by an unknown entity. To avoid being looked down upon by his subordinates, he couldn’t just leave the bastard alone.

That was why he had put all his effort into catching the guy, even pushing aside the thought of looting shops. But the bastard, as if knowing everything, looted goods by targeting only the gaps in the patrol.

The night before last was the hardware store. Yesterday, it was convenience stores—two of them, at that.

At this rate, his subordinates might start seeing him as a joke.

So, he had used all his power to have his subordinates form a seamless patrol. It seemed like this night would pass quietly.

No… it should have.

Then the next day came.

A place no one could have imagined had been looted.

‘How on earth did he loot that…’

Various beds, desks, chairs, and so on.

It was a furniture store!

Furniture that would have been difficult to move in a single night even with a truck had vanished without a trace overnight. It was truly baffling.

‘Is this possible with an ability…?’

Moreover, seeing how the culprit evaded the patrol he had organized, Seo Gwangjin had assumed it was one person at most, or perhaps two or three.

But now, he was starting to think that at least ten people would be needed to loot a furniture store.

‘How on earth is he leading that many people…’

The difference in level was too great. Seo Gwangjin began to feel as if he had been playing right in the palm of the bastard’s hand from the very beginning.

‘That can’t be!’

He strongly denied his own thoughts.

‘I can’t go on like this.’

Meanwhile, he was also feeling a sense of crisis.

Yesterday, he had seen a few of his subordinates smoking and talking while excluding him. When Seo Gwangjin had stepped in, asking what they were talking about, the subordinates had acted shifty, as if trying to hush the conversation.

‘It’s unsettling.’

It might have been nothing.

But the fact that they hushed when he appeared was the problem. He felt the need to dominate his subordinates more strongly.

‘Do you think I’m a pushover?’

He decided to show more violence. Then, the subordinates would be terrified of him and wouldn’t dare act recklessly.

* * *

Lying on the fluffy queen-sized bed I stole yesterday, I scrolled through the Observation Probes and checked the bastards’ movements once more.

“What, it’s quiet today?”

A pattern slightly different from usual.

Well, I stole four queen-sized beds last night alone. Not to mention, I looted all the miscellaneous furniture as well.

Generally, they were bulky items, but there was more than enough space within the Shopping Mall anyway.

Since eight Worker Bugs had to cling to a single bed, it wasn’t particularly efficient, but I was curious about what would happen if I let the complaints of Seo Gwangjin’s subordinates build up and then triggered them properly.

For instance, I often heard conversations like this:

‘Ah, that bastard Seo Gwangjin, seriously.’

‘Tell me about it. What’s the point of doing this patrol when there’s nothing there.’

‘Hey, should we just take him out while we’re at it?’

Unlike Seo Gwangjin, who seemed to vaguely realize the importance of these supplies, his subordinates didn’t even seem to feel the necessity of the patrol in the first place.

Thus, it was only natural for their dissatisfaction to peak.

Especially since a whole furniture store had been looted this time.

I expected something to change around today. However, even so, their movements felt a bit ominous.

‘What is it…?’

Each of them was carrying a wooden plank or a steel pipe on their shoulder. They were heading somewhere together, rather than splitting into small groups to form a patrol.

I quietly monitored them.

* * *

Although it was a Redevelopment Zone and there weren’t many people, the social infrastructure hadn’t completely collapsed yet. Streetlights stood here and there, illuminating the road they walked upon.

That wasn’t all.

There were still a few households that hadn’t left the area. One of Seo Gwangjin’s subordinates pointed toward a house with lights on using a wooden plank and spoke.

“Looks like someone still lives there, Hyung.”

“Right, let’s go.”

A clearly suspicious movement.

‘What are they trying to do…’

My first thought was whether they had identified my identity or location through some kind of ability. For example, an ability like Clairvoyance.

But no matter how I looked at it, that wasn’t the case.

The house they were heading toward was in the opposite direction from me and had nothing to do with me. In fact, it was so far away that I usually couldn’t even pay attention to it because I lacked enough Observation Probes.

So…

It just seemed like ‘gangsters being gangsters.’

I decided to keep watching them for now.

* * *

The house Seo Gwangjin’s gang was heading toward was the only house in the vicinity with the lights on. Although it was in a Redevelopment Zone, it was a house where the owner’s affection could be felt to some extent.

For example, the walls freshly painted in white, or the neatly trimmed branches of the persimmon tree planted in the yard—it was a place where one could clearly feel that someone was ‘living’ there.

In particular, there was a small vegetable garden in the yard, and a young woman, who appeared to live in the house, was spraying water on the garden by emitting water from her hands.

Watching this through the Observation Probe, I was shocked.

“What is that, she’s a Water Ability User?!”

Water Ability Users are useful.

Especially after the water supply is cut off later, they can be considered essential. In other words, she was one of the top priorities for recruitment into my group.

Of course, there was still a problem.

‘Is she acquainted with Seo Gwangjin…?’

My eyes narrowed. If she was close to Seo Gwangjin, there was a high possibility she held values opposite to mine.

And when recruiting someone into a group, it was more important than anything that their values aligned. For example, a Police Officer couldn’t live together with a gang of gangsters.

‘Still, it’s worth watching more…’

I thought.

After all, she was a Water Ability User.

* * *

Meanwhile, Seo Gwangjin stood in front of the house and signaled his subordinates with a glance.

“Start.”

“Yes, Hyung.”

Bang bang bang!

A gangster stood before the steel front door and knocked violently.

“W-who is it?”

The woman who had been watering the garden asked, sounding startled by the noise. Hearing her voice, the gangster began to speak nonchalantly.

“Delivery’s here. Open the door.”

“Delivery? I didn’t order anything.”

As soon as the woman finished speaking, the gangster shouted harshly.

“I told you to just open the door first!”

“…Just leave it in front of the door.”

With an anxious tone, the woman refused to open the door.

“Open it when I tell you to open it!”

“Who on earth are you! I-I’m calling the police!”

The situation grew increasingly heated.

“What’s with them? They don’t seem to know each other.”

Watching through the Observation Probe, I revised my judgment.

“In that case…?”

At that moment, I realized Seo Gwangjin’s objective.

Since my identity wouldn’t be revealed no matter how long he waited, he clearly intended to harass unrelated people in the vicinity indiscriminately.

In the process, by demonstrating his violence, he could instill fear in his subordinates, making it a kill two birds with one stone situation for him.

“Oho?”

My eyes gleamed.

“It might be okay for me to help out.”

This was the perfect opportunity to recruit the Water Ability User.

In other words, it was a sudden quest!

* * *

“As expected, summoning that would be the most appropriate, right?”

I immediately checked my mana quantity.

“It’ll be a bit insufficient…”

But still, I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

The value of a Water Ability User was that important, and it was certain that an opportunity to recruit one this early would be rare.

“What can I do, I have to do it.”

Sighing, I instructed the Worker Bugs to gather steel. Since looting the hardware store, there were more than enough steel items in the Shopping Mall.

“Ding!”

And once the Worker Bugs had gathered a certain amount of steel.

I immediately began to draw up my mana.

“Hmm… as expected, it’s not enough.”

To summon the machine I wanted, I was slightly short even after consuming all the mana I had gathered over the past few days. Of course, it wasn’t that there was no way.

“Tsk, I didn’t want to use this method.”

I immediately grabbed two low-grade mana stones and popped them into my mouth.

Crunch!

As I chewed hard, the mana stones shattered and began to be absorbed into my body. The foul taste was the same.

“Urgh.”

As the wriggling energy flowed through my veins, a strong sense of nausea rose. But I had to endure it. Fortunately, thanks to my Maximum Mana, which had grown sufficiently over the past few days, I could withstand this much.

‘At this rate, it’ll take about a week for the strain on my body to disappear.’

Of course, it would be difficult for now, but it was necessary.

“Sigh… if she wasn’t a Water Ability User.”

Having gathered all the mana, including that absorbed from the mana stones, I immediately began pouring all of it into the steel.

‘Summon [Magitech Armor].’

Screeech— clank—

The steel began to transform, making a terrible sound that scratched the ears.

Transforming steel requires far more mana than aluminum or plastic. Not only that, but because it is heavy, a considerable amount of maintenance cost was spent just to move it.

However, it had powerful advantages to match. Not only its sturdy durability but also the fact that it could be obtained relatively easily in modern society.

“To think the day would come when I summon something like Magitech Armor.”

I muttered, looking at the completed Magitech Armor.

Its appearance was like a knight’s full plate armor; standing still, it looked similar to the decorative suits of armor found in medieval castles.

The difference was that this one moved.

“Come here.”

Clank— clank— clank—

As the saying goes, empty vessels make the most noise; a loud clatter echoed with every single step. It was a problem that could be solved later, but for now, with insufficient mana, it was an unavoidable drawback.

“Sigh, in the end, it’s just Magitech Armor.”

I sighed.

Magitech Armor had its own utility, but it had many drawbacks in various ways, making it a piece of magitech machinery I wouldn’t use once I grew a bit more.

If it weren’t for an urgent matter like this, I might never have summoned it in my life. And there was one more drawback.

“Hmm… I feel somewhat uneasy.”

Right now, in the very early stages, the Magitech Armor was certainly strong.

But in the end, it was nothing more than a machine. In other words, it was difficult for it to exercise flexibility in detailed judgments.

In particular, if that gang of gangsters entered the building, there was a possibility they would move into a blind spot outside the view of my Observation Probes.

Of course, the magitech machinery wasn’t stupid, so nothing major might happen. But as I said, I just ‘didn’t know.’

Considering that the goal this time was not simply to deal with the gangsters but to recruit the Water Ability User, the fact that I ‘didn’t know’ what might happen was dangerous.

Therefore, I had no choice but to make up my mind.

‘I should go myself after all.’

And I began giving instructions to the Magitech Armor.

‘Magitech Armor. Boarding mode.’

At my command, the Magitech Armor reacted with a flinch.

Click— clank— whirrr—

Like the sci-fi machines in movies, the armor’s plating opened in a complex manner, revealing the empty space inside.

‘Good.’

And the moment I walked toward the Magitech Armor.

Click— clank— clank— clunk!

Making various mechanical sounds once more, the Magitech Armor transformed itself to fit my body shape and accepted me inside.

“Shall we get started?”

It was time to run wild in person after a long time.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that time.

The woman inside the steel front door and the gang of gangsters were still arguing. Seo Gwangjin, watching everything from behind, had a sullen expression, as if he was dissatisfied with the situation.

On the other hand, the woman didn’t seem to be the type to give in easily.

“Hello? Is this the police?”

The moment she called the police loudly, as if to make sure they heard her.

Fwooooom—!

A strong blue light erupted from one of the gangsters, and all the surrounding electric lights went out. Not only that, but all electronic devices, including cellphones, became dead!

Of course, my Observation Probe, which was a piece of magitech machinery and not a standard electronic device, could still monitor the entire situation.

“W-what! Why is the phone—!”

Bang bang bang!

“Still not going to open it?!”

The gangster who had manifested his ability.

It seemed he intended to intimidate her, but it appeared to have the opposite effect. The woman, seemingly terrified, moved away from the steel door and headed further into the house.

Tap tap tap—

She seemed to have no intention of opening the firmly closed front door.

Hearing that, Seo Gwangjin spoke as if frustrated.

“Move aside. I’ll do it myself.”

“Yes, Hyung.”

And Seo Gwangjin stood before the steel door.

He reached out his hand and concentrated.

Whirrrrr—

A white light began to gather in front of his hand. The light, which had initially spread out, condensed calmly again and grew brighter and brighter.

And the moment the light condensed to its limit, when it seemed it could no longer gather any more—

BOOM!

It exploded with a powerful blast.

Sssss—

Clatter clatter—

Along with the sound of something subsiding, the remnants of the explosion fell in various places with a clattering sound. They were pieces of metal, chunks of brick, and so on.

Immense explosive power. In the place where the steel front door had been, there was now only a wide-open space.

“…!!”

The gang of gangsters could only stand there awkwardly, surprised by Seo Gwangjin’s power. Seo Gwangjin looked at his subordinates and let out a mocking sneer.

“Hey, what are you guys doing? Get inside.”

Seo Gwangjin nodded his head toward the entrance.

“Y-yes, sir!”

“We’re going in right now!”

His subordinates, faces filled with terror, began to scramble hurriedly into the building.

* * *

At that same moment, I was running at full speed toward Seo Gwangjin’s Gang, my body reinforced by the Magitech Armor.

I had, of course, checked the footage sent by the Observation Probe. The explosions echoing from afar were loud enough to be heard with my own ears.

BOOM—!

“A subordinate with EMP abilities, and the boss himself is an Explosion Ability user.”

I grinned.

Knowing the opponent’s abilities was incredibly helpful. As I decided I needed to hurry, the Magitech Armor responded.

Krr-krrr!

The Magitech Armor demanded a higher maintenance cost in exchange for further enhancing my leg strength.

Thanks to that, I was able to increase my speed even more.

Tatatatatata—

With every single step I took, grooves were carved into the asphalt.