Chapter 88

Episode 88. The Siege of Jeju Naval Base (1)

Nanami’s strategy was a bit different. Nanami isn’t a scientist from the Foundation. Nor is she a bureaucrat. She had no reason to hold back.

Nanami headed straight down the main road.

Where the tank was waiting.

The tank’s 30mm autocannon swept the direction Nanami appeared from, but it was already a bit late. The hundred-meter distance was closed in just a couple of steps—

Nanami’s greatsword slammed into the tank’s hatch.

“Hey, get that thing off!”

“Use the autocannon to sweep it! Get it off the tank!”

The infantry guarding the area opened fire, but Nanami immediately hid behind the tank. It would have been better to gather momentum and slash the tank in one strike, but the autocannon made that impossible.

“Suppress with firepower to keep her from getting close—”

“That’s still a person! If she gets shot—”

But she didn’t get hit.

Boom!

This time, the greatsword cleaved an armored vehicle in half. A human face flashed through the gap of the torn vehicle, and some soldiers began to flee.

“Hey, let’s retreat for now!”

“We’re all gonna die at this rate!”

Nanami charged toward the infantry escorting the tank. One strike, two strikes, three strikes. Nanami’s greatsword flashed again, and this time, the corpses of the Recovery Department were scattered everywhere.

‘Let the ones running away go.’

Nanami intended to break through head-on.

Well, even if Nanami killed the admiral, there’d be no one to care. In the end, she needed to get the Director inside that facility to finish this.

Nanami held a pistol in her left hand and dealt with the remaining enemies. One team was already gone, and who knows how many enemy facilities were left.

Helicopters flew overhead, but Nanami paid them no mind. This level of force couldn’t subdue her.

***

Two Special Forces members were caught.

The rest won’t be easy to capture.

Many of the Popo are combat ineffective. Supernatural phenomena should be used sparingly, and the helicopters have pinpointed my location. Others will swarm in soon.

“Hey! Over here!”

Behind the Special Forces, Recovery Department staff seem to be heading this way. I need to take out six of them before they arrive……

I can’t think of a way.

Bang!

Useless stealth cloak.

The enemies fired again, and I had to hide once more. They don’t seem to be shooting at me directly. They just know the general direction I’m in.

Not a big deal. One shot could take me out of the fight anyway. I sprinted through the trees as fast as I could.

I need to catch up.

I attached a grenade launcher under my rifle. Holding my breath, I looked at the enemy again. Through the trees, I should be able to see at least one……

One.

The grenade launched, and smoke and debris filled the space between the trees. I don’t know if they’re dead, but there’s no time to check.

[Dr. Kim. Please answer the call.]

My tactical headset rang. Judging by the voice, it’s probably Dr. Chae, but the timing couldn’t be worse.

“Dr. Chae. I’m in the middle of combat—”

[Director. The enemy is targeting you with magical means. I will cast a protective spell immediately.]

“Do it.”

[We’ve brought 3,000 pigs for culling due to foot-and-mouth disease. I will now grind one pig per second, and the direct effect of the protective spell will last for 50 minutes.]

“Can’t you just—”

Gunfire again. I ducked.

“—handle it yourself?”

[Explaining this is part of the ritual. Then, I will proceed with the ritual assuming your consent. Please say it.]

“I agree— Ugh. I agree!”

I ducked under the hail of bullets.

***

Dr. Chae held up a staff.

“Stand by! Once my incantation is complete, throw one pig at a time onto the conveyor belt. There’s a timer next to it, one pig per second! Don’t rush or delay!”

“Understood!”

“Once we run out of pigs, we’ll move on to goats and chickens. Keep bringing in the animals!”

Same-Type Magic.

Originally, we planned to create a doll resembling Director Kim for the ritual, but making a voodoo doll in the Director’s likeness was deemed too risky.

In the end, Dr. Chae decided to wear a bizarre-looking Dr. Kim mask and conduct the ritual. That was a much more sensible approach.

Though there was a price to pay.

The goal was a simple luck spell. Luck spells usually require sacrificing one or two pigs and grant good luck for about a day.

Dr. Chae brought thousands of pigs.

The plan was to cram decades’ worth of luck into one hour. We’ve never tried it before, so the results are unknown.

“Ia, Ia! Gods of Chaos.”

“This humble servant has prepared a small offering. I humbly beg for a moment of luck, bowing my head in supplication.”

Dr. Chae danced. I don’t know why this is necessary, but it’s part of the incantation. The temperature around Dr. Chae began to drop rapidly.

“Ia, Ia! Lords of Causality, Creators of the Future, Builders of Stars!”

“Please grant this humble servant a moment of luck to spread your light for even a day longer!”

A red aura appeared around Dr. Chae. The conveyor belt and grinder started moving. The screams of pigs filled the air, loud enough to tear one’s ears.

This is with proper anesthesia.

Dr. Chae removed the mask.

“Let’s proceed! Bring the communication equipment back, I need to talk to the Director again! Everyone else, prepare the sensory deprivation room!”

This is just phase one of the plan.

Phase two involves creating a doppelganger and sending it to where Dr. Kim is. But Dr. Chae can’t control two bodies at once, so she needs to close her eyes.

The doppelganger needs to be sent to Dr. Kim……

***

The weather was getting worse. Moving while hiding was becoming easier.

With this, all members of ‘Gangchi’ are dead. I trudged toward the enemy facility. If it’s this tough already……

“Director!”

“Damn, you scared me.”

A black figure appeared out of thin air. I aimed my gun at the black figure but then changed my mind. This is a bit strange.

I’ve seen this figure somewhere before.

A black coat resembling a robe, a black hat, a black mask-like gas mask, and a tactical staff. Plus short hair and uneasy eyes.

It’s Dr. Chae.

Thinking about it now.

Dr. Chae’s uneasy eyes and demeanor might not be because of anything else but her worship of the Chaos Gods. Maybe she sees them even with her eyes closed, walking around half-squinting.

More importantly, how did she get here?

“This is Dr. Chae. I’ve activated the pig grinder at the Seoul Branch and sent my doppelganger to your side, Director.”

I frowned. What’s a pig grinder? Tch. I can imagine.

“Ah, okay.”

“I’ll support you with all my strength.”

Dr. Chae raised her staff, and a faint wind wrapped around me. The red aura surrounding Dr. Chae transferred to me.

“I’ll assist with movement. Let’s charge now.”

“Okay.”

“By the way, the pig grinder works really well. We should do this more often.”

“Dr. Chae, if a helicopter spots us—”

She didn’t seem worried at all.

“Appear.”

A black pillar shot up into the sky around Dr. Chae, and soon black fog began to cover the area. Honestly, it’s terrifying.

However, whether Dr. Chae used some magical means or not, I could still see clearly despite the fog. Probably the enemies only see black fog.

Dr. Chae handed me a rifle.

“Foundation bulletproof vests can’t be subdued with 5.56 rounds. You’d probably empty a whole magazine just to knock them down.”

“That’s what it seemed like.”

“This is a 12.7mm Gauss Musket. It’s powerful, but it’s single-shot only.”

I nodded.

As Dr. Chae said.

I fought for a while with the Foundation-Made Rifle earlier, but even emptying a magazine into bulletproof gear only barely knocked them down.

I needed a different gun.

“I’ll handle this area. I’ll draw the enemy’s attention and advance slowly. You, Director, head into the facility quickly.”

I looked at Dr. Chae—or rather, Dr. Chae’s doppelganger. The figure saluted me, and I sprinted toward the facility as fast as I could.

“Good luck.”

The equipment and training are different. The Special Forces are combat ineffective. The Recovery Department members don’t have the skills or equipment to chase me on a rainy day.

Bang!

The Recovery Department members don’t even seem to see me. Well, without anti-hallucinogen pills, they can’t see the stealth cloak. That’s normal.

Bang!

Another one went down.

Getting shot doesn’t mean you die.

Most are just lying down with fractures or bruises. If they get up injured, they’ll be finished off, so they stay down.

Now the target is in sight.

***

Blue Rose-12 looked at the forest.

“Little brother. When are you coming?”