Chapter 60 – The Opponent Is Poor

Chapter 60 – The Opponent Is Poor

In 2005, when the Yeouido Transfer Center was under construction,

a subterranean bunker was accidentally discovered beneath The Man.

This underground bunker, also known as the Yeouido Secret Bunker, surprisingly showed traces of having been managed until the 1980s.

It is now open to the public and used for tourist purposes, such as an art gallery.

However… contrary to popular belief,

there wasn’t just one Yeouido Underground Bunker.

There was another top-secret nuclear fallout shelter that is still in use today, capable of providing protection from attacks by North Korea and others in an emergency.

Another top-secret Nuclear Fallout Shelter existed.

Perhaps it was natural. Yeouido was one of the core areas of the Republic of Korea, where the National Assembly and other important institutions were located.

And today, with the Apocalypse currently ongoing,

all the Assemblymen, regardless of party affiliation, were stationed inside such a Nuclear Fallout Shelter.

It was a luxurious bunker, with each Assemblyman having private quarters, but the atmosphere was somehow not good.

In particular, many people were thin, as if they hadn’t eaten properly. And there was an atmosphere where many people were as on edge as The Man.

That wasn’t all.

It was chilly inside the bunker. As it was underground, the temperature didn’t drop as sharply as on the surface, but this winter was unusually cold.

There was no way there wouldn’t be negative effects.

As a result, the Assemblymen were gathered in the conference room in the middle of the bunker, rather than in their cold private quarters. They were trying to warm each other with their body heat.

Since there was still Electricity, fluorescent lights were sparsely lit in the conference room ceiling, with three or four skipped in between.

In the middle of such a conference room, an Assemblyman, who was hugging himself against the cold, asked the Assemblyman next to him.

“By the way, what happened to that guy from Incheon?”

“Oh dear, Assemblyman Park. Why is your information so late?”

“Stop being sarcastic and just tell me quickly.”

“That guy died over two months ago. Really, there’s a limit to how incompetent one can be, Assemblyman Park. What exactly do your Aides do?”

“It must be nice to have capable Aides.”

Assemblyman Park, seemingly embarrassed, grumbled.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Kim, who had been scolding The Man with a mix of informal and formal speech, narrowed his eyes and asked back, “And why The Man again?”

“And why The Man again?”

“Well, Incheon is close to Geumhwa. I was thinking maybe he could keep The Man Lord in check, so I’m bringing him up.”

“Oh, Assemblyman Park… you frustrating man. Even if The Man was alive, he was someone who advocated for the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. If The Man had grown stronger, he might have been even more dangerous to us than the Lord!”

It was at that moment that Assemblyman Kim raised his voice.

“Hey, let’s keep the noise down!”

“Oh, come on, Assemblyman Kim, even if you can’t eat, your voice is still really loud. Do you have some hidden food or something?”

The people from the opposing party, located on the other side of the conference room, responded with even louder voices.

It was while they were engaging in their occupational hazard of politicking.

Clunk-! Screech!

The heavy iron door of the Bunker began to open.

“Looks like someone’s back?”

“Who is it?”

“Did something happen?”

At that moment, a tense atmosphere filled the conference room in the Bunker.

It was because it was rare for people to enter or exit from outside, unless it was a truly important matter.

Their predictions were not wrong-

“Assemblyman Kim!”

A man with a sturdy build was carefully carrying something with both hands and walking quickly towards the conference room.

He was Assemblyman Kim’s Chief Aide, the reason Assemblyman Kim was somewhat knowledgeable about external affairs. He had a brightly lit expression.

“This, this thing! We finally rescued it!”

“Ohh! Is it true!”

Assemblyman Kim’s expression brightened accordingly.

Assemblyman Kim examined the wrapped bundle the Chief Aide was holding with expectant and intrigued eyes.

“Assemblyman Kim, what on earth is The Man?”

“I don’t know what it is, but let’s see it quickly.”

With people who had approached and were nagging him by his side, Assemblyman Kim pointed at the wrapping cloth to his Chief Aide with an expression of impatience.

“Alright, let’s take a look!”

The Chief Aide nodded with a solemn expression, then.

Slowly, very carefully, he began to unfold the wrapping cloth.

“Ding!?”

Inside The Man, a Worker Bug was struggling.

***

“Hey Aide. You said it was The Man, so what’s its name?”

“It’s called The Man, Worker Bug.”

“Is it a new type of Monster?”

Everyone looked at Assemblyman Park with frustrated expressions.

“No, how can Assemblyman Park not know about Worker Bugs?”

“There’s a limit to how much you can not know… tsk.”

“There might be other Capital Cities that don’t know about The Man.”

“This is something you absolutely must know!”

At everyone’s scolding, Assemblyman Park hung his head.

Meanwhile, the other Assemblymen began to question Assemblyman Kim.

“A genuine Worker Bug… how much did it cost?”

“I spent 1,211 Worker Bug Coins.”

“1,211? Didn’t they say it was one for every 100 originally?”

“Oh, come on, that’s ancient history!”

Assemblyman Kim shook his head.

“It’s been a while since they started using a fluctuating exchange rate based on demand. Moreover, with the addition of new features recently, supply can’t keep up with demand.”

“But 1,211? How much is that, like tens of thousands of won?”

It was a question far behind the times. The other Assemblymen stared at Assemblyman Park as if he were frustrating.

“To think that even someone like this was an Assemblyman…”

“It truly is the end of days…”

“No, so how much is it?!”

Assemblyman Park shouted, seemingly embarrassed.

Assemblyman Kim, perhaps out of some lingering affection for Assemblyman Park from being in the same party, began to explain kindly, even with a hint of annoyance.

“Goodness, Assemblyman Park. I’ll tell you just once, so listen carefully. For every 3 Worker Bug Coins, you can buy at least 2 Combat Rations.”

“What?!”

“In other words, one of these is worth far more than eight hundred Combat Rations. And that’s in this day and age. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Assemblyman Park’s eyes changed after hearing the value of it.

“Th-this kind of thing, what exactly is it worth…”

“This kind of thing?”

Assemblyman Kim looked at Assemblyman Park with an exasperated expression.

“Then how about this? Even if you give eight hundred Combat Rations to bring one of these things, you have to return it after a month. Once the contract time is over, this fellow won’t listen and will just go back on its own!”

“Such absurd conditions… Couldn’t we just keep it locked up?”

“Its biting power is so strong that it rips off most door latches. And if that doesn’t work, it’s said to self-destruct.”

“S-self-destruct?!”

Assemblyman Park now looked at the Worker Bug with fearful eyes.

“I-is there a bomb inside?”

“Well… they say it’s safe. Probably.”

This time, even Assemblyman Kim had an uncertain expression.

“So why exactly is it so expensive?”

Assemblyman Kim shook his head in frustration.

“Assemblyman Park, this isn’t the National Assembly, and our lives are on the line. Please, listen this time, don’t doze off.”

“Who, who said I was dozing off, Mr. Man!”

“Because your constant dozing off is on the news every day, those opposition party guys are always laughing… Oh, no. Just listen carefully, Mr. Man.”

Assemblyman Kim slowly began to explain.

“This thing, it can spew lava. That’s why it can also be used as a substitute for concrete. Do you understand?”

“A substitute for concrete?”

“Assemblyman Park, since you’re always schmoozing with construction companies, you know how amazing this is, don’t you?”

“No, Assemblyman Kim!”

Assemblyman Kim ignored Assemblyman Park’s protest and continued to explain.

“But that’s not all. There’s another feature that was recently added.”

“What, what is it?”

“The plants this fellow cultivates grow strangely fast. With this one thing, potatoes, rice, sweet potatoes, and beans can be harvested in just two weeks.”

“T-two weeks?!”

“That’s right. So even if you give it eight hundred combat rations, it can produce a certain amount of food and return it. Plus, it extracts concrete, and takes care of odd jobs. There’s really nothing it can’t do!”

“Odd jobs, like what?”

“At the very least, it could clean your room.”

Just how dirty was Assemblyman Park’s room…? At Assemblyman Kim’s explanation, Assemblyman Park began to look at the Worker Bug with an expression of reverence.

“W-well, certainly… if it’s that good, it would be valuable.”

“Well, it’s good that you understand now. Even to those opposition party guys-“

It was at that moment that Assemblyman Kim was about to speak.

“But, Assemblyman Kim. Is this, by any chance…”

Assemblyman Park began to ask with a serious expression.

“What is it?”

“By any chance… do you know how many of these CEO Gwak has?”

Assemblyman Park began to speak in a low voice.

“President Gwak Sangyong, huh… I heard he always has about 20 of them.”

“Hmm… That Man Gwak Sangyong, you say.”

Assemblyman Park quietly began to ponder.

Gwak Sangyong was a Third-Generation Chaebol who firmly controlled the Jamsil Area.

Not just capital, but also a vast amount of tangible assets.

And an executive team comprised of the nation’s top talent.

As a Man who originally possessed much, Gwak Sangyong had now succeeded in accumulating national power on the scale of a City-state.

Hearing that even such a Man had only secured 20 Worker Bugs, Assemblyman Park looked at the Worker Bugs with greedy eyes.

“Is there any way to get more of these?”

***

Meanwhile, I was adjusting the figures while looking at the Small Production Facility.

[Repeat Production Order: Worker Bug]

[Materials Used: Adamantite, Mithril Alloy, Steel, Aluminum, Rubber, and 4 other types]

[Target Quantity: 1,100]

I looked at the number of 1,100 Worker Bugs and thought.

“Worker Bugs have been a bit scarce lately…”

Even though Worker Bug Coins had begun to spread nationwide, causing their price to soar, Worker Bugs were consistently in short supply.

Demand simply couldn’t keep up with supply.

Especially after completing [Worker Bug: Rapid Plant Growth Research]. Even after significantly increasing the number of Worker Bugs to 1,100 to try and catch up, it wasn’t enough.

“Let’s increase them further for now.”

[Target Quantity: 1,100 -> 1,300]

Fortunately, as they were small Worker Bugs, they didn’t put a significant strain on mana. However, the Production Facility, which produced and maintained such a massive quantity, was indeed under strain.

“Should I start building a Worker Bug Specialized Production Facility soon…?”

I had originally planned to postpone it a bit longer, but with the situation unfolding this way, it was indeed a concern.

And for good reason, there are only a handful of Ability Users with Plant Growth Ability in the entire world. Even then, their personalities are generally difficult, and their abilities have many limitations.

It wasn’t for nothing that I struggled with food in my Previous Life. Furthermore, to my knowledge, it was an ability completely absent in Korea.

He managed to secure Water Essence, and the Worker Bugs could do this for him, and even better. The value of Worker Bugs and thus the value of Worker Bug Coins had skyrocketed.

Therefore, a Production Facility specialized in Worker Bugs was clearly a valuable investment.

However, not right now, even if it was a good leader.

I was already in a state of Mana Deficit.

The insufficient mana was being covered by the huge amount of Mana Stones flowing into the Castle from all over the country.

This was possible thanks to the financial power of Worker Bug Coins, whose value was increasing day by day.

‘I’m already struggling with just this.’

I smiled broadly, looking at the four Super-Large Production Facilities, which were busily assembling the parts of the [Aerial Mothership], which was also the main culprit for my mana shortage.

I smiled broadly, looking at the four Super-Large Production Facilities, which were busily assembling the parts of the [Aerial Mothership], which was also the main culprit for my mana shortage.

Of course, the [Anti-Gravity Staff] was located in the center.