Chapter 28 – Taboo

For a while after the battle in the Adamantite Mountain Range.

I had to suffer because of the “instruments.”

Moreover, immediately after that battle.

I had pushed myself a bit too far by summoning two more units of Magitech Armor on the spot, ordering them to make a stretcher and move me back to the Main Base. I had even summoned one Assault Cannon to prepare for any potential ambush.

The fact that I only ended up bedridden was a relief.

“Phew…”

“Are you feeling any better?”

Sua had escorted me back to the Main Base.

And once we arrived, she was doing her absolute best to nurse me back to health.

“You really don’t have to do all this…”

“No, this is only natural.”

Every time I said that, she would smile and tell me not to worry about it.

I felt grateful to her, but also apologetic.

Of course, the harvest was certainly substantial.

‘Special Entity Mana Stone!’

Just like the first one, it had almost no Essence, but it served as a stepping stone for summoning facilities.

Aside from that, the Worker Bugs were steadily mining and bringing back Adamantite, and the amount of stored Mana Stones was gradually increasing.

Furthermore, the upgrade was nearly complete.

[Worker Bug: Researching Inertial Movement System… 87%]

‘Everything is going smoothly.’

However, pure Adamantite, while hard, tended to shatter. For example, I heard that even diamonds, the hardest material, shatter if hit with a hammer.

I hadn’t tried it myself; Seongjae from my previous life had told me.

Therefore, in order to use Adamantite properly, that guy had experimented with various alloys, and the most successful one was ‘Black Iron,’ created by alloying it with iron.

The ratio was 71.2 parts iron to 28.8 parts Adamantite.

It was something the version of him from my previous life had developed.

To create this alloy, a powerful amount of heat was needed to melt the heat-resistant Adamantite…

Of course, Seongjae was capable of all of that.

“So, we just need to alloy this with iron… You even know the exact ratio?”

Seongjae looked completely dumbfounded.

“Yeah, a Precog told me everything.”

That was my excuse.

“Who on earth is this person?”

“Someone I met in Apoin. You don’t need to know. Can you do it?”

“Yeah. It is certainly intriguing.”

Seongjae’s eyes sparkled. I felt bad for robbing him of the joy of experimenting to find that ratio, but it couldn’t be helped.

Either way, he wasn’t the type to avoid experimenting, and he would surely build something more upon his own achievements from his previous life.

* * *

Thanks to that, Seongjae became quite busy.

He had mostly finished the power generation equipment, but now he was doing electrical work for the entire Shopping Mall. I had added more work to his plate.

Additionally, after the battle in the Adamantite Mountain Range, Sua seemed even more devoted to her training.

In particular, seeing her forcibly drag Seongjae up to train him made even me shake my head in amazement.

“Siwoo… please, stop Ms. Sua.”

Seongjae had an incredible talent for combat due to his unique intuition, but he didn’t particularly enjoy fighting. For someone like him, this was pure torture.

“Sorry, Seongjae…”

I felt genuinely sorry for the guy being put through the wringer.

“Since you’re already doing it, just give it your all.”

But I wasn’t sorry enough to tell her to stop.

Meanwhile, I spent my time lying down, chuckling while reading posts on Apoin, and occasionally listening to Minju’s complaints via text.

It was the night of the third day of my peaceful rest.

Zzzzzzt— Click-clack!

Along with an electrical hum, the Shopping Mall lit up brightly.

“Kyahahaha-hoooo!”

And from afar, Seongjae’s cheer could be heard.

* * *

To celebrate the electricity coming on, we all sat together in the central hall of the Sixth Floor and enjoyed the brightened Shopping Mall.

“Hahahaha, this is all thanks to the Elder!”

“Well, what did I even do to deserve that, huhuhu!”

Seongjae and Deokchan sat side by side, exchanging praises. Of course, they weren’t just exchanging compliments; they were also opening and mixing various types of hard liquor.

“Kyah, this is great. Sua, can’t you make ice?”

“Oh, Father, really. You can just use the refrigerator now!”

“Hahaha, is that so! Ha, right!”

Deokchan saw me smiling at them and said,

“Here, Siwoo, have a drink too!”

He began pouring the liquor generously.

“Yes, I’ll take some then.”

“Oh, me too!”

Sua shouted excitedly.

Pour—

It was just as I received the glass from Deokchan.

[Worker Bug: Inertial Movement System Research – Complete.]

“Oho.”

The research happened to be finished.

“What is it, young man?”

“Huh? Hahaha, do you want to see?”

I immediately applied the research to the Worker Bugs. The creatures crawled over, ate some Adamantite, and soon lined up in front of us.

“What are you trying to show us now…”

Deokchan’s expression was serious.

“Oh… I’m somehow looking forward to this.”

Sua’s eyes were wide with curiosity.

“I’m actually starting to get scared.”

Seongjae slowly shook his head.

“Now… let me show you.”

I replied with a smile at their varied reactions.

‘Worker Bug. Inertial Movement Form.’

The moment I gave the command.

Clank— Shhh-clink!

The Worker Bugs curled up into balls, much like a defensive form.

And then…

Rattle-rattle—

In that state, they began to roll like balls!

Using the Adamantite weights inside, they shifted their center of gravity, swaying freely left and right as they rolled smoothly.

“My goodness…”

“Wow, it actually fits the image perfectly! And they’re fast!”

“Hmm… is it something like a gyroscope? What is it?”

Actually, contrary to Seongjae’s thought, it was like rolling the shell inside a hamster ball. However, as long as the road was well-maintained, their movement speed could increase tremendously.

Especially on downhill slopes.

“My, good things really do come in clusters!”

“That’s why, Siwoo, just keep the drinks flowing!”

It seemed tonight was going to be a long one.

* * *

The next day. Waking up late in the afternoon, I used the Composite Upgrade to make a few more modifications to the Worker Bugs.

The biggest change was adding rubber to the steel shells to absorb shock when rolling and to reduce noise.

“Good.”

Lately, since I had already gathered everything available near the Outposts or the Main Base, travel time had taken up a significant portion of the Worker Bugs’ working hours. Now, that time was expected to be greatly reduced.

‘The supply of Mana Stones and resources will increase further.’

I smiled happily.

Not only that, but it was also good for escaping…

And… it was suitable for other purposes.

‘Shall I try upgrading that now?’

With a sinister smile, I checked the research list.

“Hehehehe…”

[Worker Bug: Self-Destruct Researching… 1%]

* * *

And having finally purified the “instruments” in my body, I explained the current situation to everyone to decide on the next course of action.

“Now, there are a few things I need to do immediately.”

They all waited for my words.

“First, regarding these things called Artifacts.”

Vaguely explaining that a Precog had taught me, I described them as items that function like equipment. I added that since these had to be retrieved from Dungeons, I would likely be acting with Sua.

“Also, with these Mana Stones, I can create new facilities.”

I added that securing Mana was essential to increase the number of Worker Bugs and machines, and that this was the purpose.

I also mentioned that if I built this facility, all the Monsters in the vicinity would flock here, meaning we would have to fight a Defense Battle.

“Then it would be best to build walls around the perimeter.”

“Traps might be even better, Elder.”

Deokchan and Seongjae immediately began discussing the fortification of the Shopping Mall.

It was a desirable phenomenon.

“Then Ms. Sua can prepare for the Expedition, and Elder Deokchan and Seongjae, shall we plan the fortification with me?”

Just as I was about to wrap things up.

“Hmm… I feel bad for asking this.”

Deokchan spoke up.

“!”

Sua seemed to know something; she shook her head vigorously at Deokchan with a look that told him not to, but Deokchan’s expression was resolute.

“I might be making a huge mistake here. I’m sorry, but I must ask this. Siwoo… and Seongjae. By any chance, are your parents no longer with you?”

“!”

Both my and Seongjae’s expressions froze.

* * *

“No, Father, I told you not to ask!”

Sua was angry with her father.

“Now, Sua, regardless, I have to check these things.”

“I’m sorry, both of you. I apologize on his behalf. You don’t have to answer my father. Now… so—”

Seongjae seemed to think for a moment, then spoke.

“No. I understand, Elder.”

“Mr. Seongjae, you really don’t have to answer.”

“Both of my parents passed away. To the Looters, in the early days. I had a younger brother, and he’s probably dead too.”

“…”

It was a moment where we all froze.

* * *

It was a fact I hadn’t even known.

In the past, we met in the Last City.

By that time, cases where families were all alive were actually rare. Unless the other person brought it up first, talking about family was considered taboo.

It was only natural. No one wanted to talk about how their family had died.

So we didn’t ask each other. Of course, since I had been a public figure, the fact that I was an orphan was an open secret, but still, no one ever brought it up to me.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

It seemed Deokchan had realized that point as well.

“I wondered if perhaps you had family somewhere but couldn’t speak because it was too dangerous to go find them… No, that’s just my excuse. I’ve really been overstepping. I am truly sorry.”

“Haha… it’s fine. Come to think of it, it would have been a great help if my brother were here. His ability was a Contract ability—”

“?”

“?”

Sua and I looked at each other.

“Wait, just a moment, Mr. Seongjae. Your brother was a Contract Ability User?”

“Seongjae. When you mentioned Looters, are you talking about the area around that neighborhood?”

Seongjae nodded. Only then did I remember when I had sent a text warning him to be careful of the Looters.

‘Is that why his reply felt a bit off back then?’

It felt like puzzle pieces were falling into place.

However, Seongjae had just said he ‘probably’ died.

If so, could it be?

“Listen, Seongjae. The day I went to find you…”

I told him about meeting the group of six Marauders and how, upon interrogating one of them, I was told a Contract Ability User had been captured.

“Could that possibly be my brother…?”

“It probably is, right?”

I nodded seriously.

“I can’t just stay here. I have to go!”

“Ms. Sua. Shall we prepare as well?”

“Yes!”

“Seongjae. Ms. Sua. Let’s gather here in 30 minutes.”

Something I hadn’t even considered…

The operation to rescue the Contract Ability User had begun.

* * *

Unlike the two who were hurriedly packing their bags, I knew exactly what to bring, and the Worker Bugs were already scheduled to bring the necessary items for this operation.

‘A rescue operation…’

But the problem was the strategy.

‘I need a way to deal with the enemy without making a commotion.’

If our objective were discovered, there was no telling what they might do, such as taking Seongjae’s younger brother hostage. In other words, this time, I needed machines proficient in assassination, stealth, and infiltration.

After thinking for a moment, I made up my mind.

“Should I summon those?”

There were units that had served as the front line alongside the Magitech Armor. They seemed perfect for the job.

Whoosh—

I immediately surged my Mana.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kim Cheonsu, a Physically Enhanced Ability User who had unified the Plunderer Group near where Seongjae originally lived, was gritting his teeth.

“Did you find any traces of firearms?”

“I’m sorry. Not today either…”

Boom—!

‘Where on earth did they disappear to…’

The firearms that had split into several directions and vanished that day.

Perhaps his pride had been wounded significantly, as Cheonsu had shown considerable interest in firearms since then. As a result, he had managed to obtain revolvers and such from the corpses of dead Police Officers.

But… this was not what he wanted.

‘Looking at those gunshot wounds… it was definitely something capable of rapid fire.’

It was difficult to deal with Monsters with something like a revolver. At best, it was only useful for threatening survivors.

Even then, as survivors gradually grew stronger these days, there were many who were no longer intimidated by a mere revolver.

‘And we’re short on bullets…’

“Tsk.”

He clicked his tongue and downed his liquor.

Unaware of what was about to descend upon his group.