Chapter 19: Episode 19 – Item Making, Part I
Chapter 7. Item Making, Part I
Translator: Khan
Editor: RED
1.
“How about that? Is it worth it?”
“Yes, this is enough for driving.”
“Okay.”
At the words of the driver of the dump truck, a soldier in the passenger’s seat pulled his head over the window and shouted. “No problem for driving!”
There was Kim Su-ji, who the words were meant for. She immediately told the soldiers waiting,
“Clean the cargo bed of the dump truck!”
At her order, the soldiers climbed up the loading dock of the dump truck.
—
In the meantime, in the other place, Ahn Sun-mi checked the condition of the wounded.
“The reaction of the pupil of your eye is normal. Do you feel dizziness or vomiting?”
“I’m fine.”
“What about the wound?”
“It is itching a little.”
“Itchy… is it hard to bear?”
“No, not that much.”
“He should have been crippled for life, even if he had the right surgery quickly. But his condition was treated in just one hour and the aftereffect is just itching… If this recovery effect is also effective in the internal organs … Wait a minute, if the effect of the Mud Troll and the treatment from a Glass of Therapy are overlapped, wouldn’t it be possible to expect an even higher recovery? I’ll have to study this, as soon as the conditions are met.”
The injured were in excellent condition. The flesh effect of the Mud Troll was so effective that it left her speechless.
—
Bang Hyun-wook was shoveling against the body of the Mud Troll, which was only seen as a heap of mud.
It was not an easy task. The Mud Troll’s flesh was much heavier than ordinary soil, and it was thick enough to remind him of a mudflat. It was not easy to put the shovel in the mud without using great force, and it was also not easy to dig out. Already the average soldiers shoveling were injured from a slight twist of the wrist.
So it became Bang Hyun-wook’s job. After Kim Tae-hoon, Bang Hyun-wook was the one with the highest level of Strength.
“Oh, God, look at that shoveling.”
“It’s amazing.”
“If a quartermaster saw that shoveling, he would be startled. He could dig the whole mountain out.”
Such shovel work from Bang Hyun-wook was technically excellent, apart from his power. Even the soldiers who were veterans at shoveling looked at him with surprise.
‘I didn’t know I would be shoveling here to make the mound.’
However, Bang Hyun-wook’s feeling at his shoveling was not so good.
He was not unaware of the importance of shoveling; the Mud Troll’s flesh was literally life in situations where there was no right medical service at the moment.
But it was a completely different story when things were important and were worthwhile to do.
So Bang Hyun-wook shoveled.
Vitality began to bloom in the military base, where there was thought to be only death, despair, and nightmares.
———-
Kim Tae-hoon was savoring the coffee he had used with the coffee dripper. In front of him was Jang Sung-hoon, sipping coffee in a paper cup.
“Oh, it smells good. Is it from Colombia?”
At the words of Jang Sung-hoon, Kim Tae-hoon looked at him gently as he savored his coffee.
“Or Ethiopia? You have a good talent for coffee. You look like a barista.”
Kim Tae-hoon still had coffee in his mouth. Jang Sung-hoon swallowed what he was about to say.
Kim Tae-hoon swallowed the coffee that he had been drinking, before asking, “What do you want?”
There was an awkward smile on Jang Sung-hoon’s lips.
“Haha… you’re not a normal person either.”
At those words, Kim Tae-hoon drank coffee instead of answering again.
It was a signal.
As he savored the coffee, he would keep his mouth shut, signaling that the other should say what he wanted to say.
A signal to imagine what will happen if he says something wrong. Jang Sung-hoon did not make any more ass-kissing noises about Kim Tae-hoon.
“First, the reason why I talked about my criminal record is that what I have to say is related to it.”
Jang Sung-hoon had told him that there was a museum in the nearby Bucheon Stadium.
So far, there was no problem. Anyone could have told him that. The information that there was a museum there was not strictly confidential.
However, after that, Jang Sung-hoon revealed that he was a criminal and had a criminal career.
That was a problem.
Even if society had broken down, it is not good to confess to a crime. Moreover, Jang Sung-hoon’s was likely not to have confessed sins already punished.
He was twenty-two years old.
If he had done all the art forging, stolen goods, and smuggling, and been punished for it, he would have been in and out of prison once or twice. If he had spent a long time in prison, he wouldn’t be in the army.
His colleagues didn’t know he was a criminal!
When Jang Sung-hoon confessed, the reactions of his colleagues could be inferred easily.
In other words, he had made his first confession!
So why did he do it? Why did he reveal at this moment that he was a criminal had not been caught?
“I think a lot of people know the location of the museum. Frankly, that isn’t very helpful. But you know what? I know a few rich people who know where and how to smuggle, donate counterfeit goods and keep their genuine works, or keep their art for investing and bribery.”
The reason was simple. If a criminal spits it out, he has information that is reliable!
“There are two things I want. One is life. If you think I’m useful, the boss will protect me before anyone else. For your protection, I have a lot of good information.”
Instead of answering, Kim Tae-hoon exhaled. The aroma of strong coffee came out.
“The second reason is that I want to take a share.”
While savoring the scent, he watched Jang Sung-hoon’s eyes as the man continued to speak.
A fierce beast’s eyes, which did not match the appearance of the mouse, showed the glitter of the eyes of an eagle.
“I won’t hide it. Now that society has become a mess, it will eventually create a new society. After the Korean War, the world improved in the end. Instead, a new order will be established. You said ‘hunter’? Perhaps the hunter will be the power of the new order.”
While speaking, Jang Sung-hoon tapped on his right hand with his left index finger.
“But unfortunately, I can’t be a hunter. And I don’t think I can be a great hunter like the boss, if possible. So I have to stick to you. I can be a fox… if I am stuck on the back of a tiger.”
He could hear Kim Tae-hoon swallowing.
“My first priority is survival. It is my first priority to eat monster stones and build up my strength and to increase the power of the army that can not do the job I do. I do not intend to take my share right away.”
At his words, Jung Sung-hoon swallowed.
‘Shit, is he really doing this to save the world? Is he going to be a warrior of justice?’
He thought that he had uselessly exposed his personal greed and touched the other person’s wrath.
Kim Tae-hoon was thinking about whether humans really wanted to become heroes of justice, who acted out of the desire to save the world.
“So if you want to get your share, take it yourself. Don’t think I’ll take care of it,” Kim Tae-hoon answered shortly.
“Hooooooo…” Jang Sung-hoon gave a long sigh instead of an answer.
Kim Su-ji came in. “We’ve completed the remodeling of the dump truck!”
“We’ll start the operation in half an hour!”
With that word, Kim Tae-hoon took something out of the bag next to him, which contained coffee, a portable pot, and coffee drawer.
“Before then, we’ll take a rest. Divide and smoke.”
It was nothing other than a carton of cigarettes.
2.
The 1121 unit was a monster den, and there were so many monsters that it was not an exaggeration to say that.
Most of them were brown Goblins.
Those were so strong that they couldn’t be compared with Goblins with green skin. They had aggressiveness and the will to fight, and it was more difficult to deal with them than ordinary Goblins.
Unless the heart and head were destroyed, soldiers had to consume dozens of shots to kill the monsters which were rushing into their bullets.
Kim Tae-hoon knew the fact well, so he brought it along.
A dump truck, a giant monster!
Of course, it was not simply to break the Mud Troll that he brought the dump truck.
Making the dump truck’s back end into a mobile shooting board was the decisive reason why Kim Tae-hoon brought a dump truck.
The presence of the dump truck was really absolute.
The brown Goblins’ aggressive behavior towards the running dump truck had not diminished at all, but the battle was totally different from when there were no dump trucks.
The clinging brown Goblins fell so helplessly that the madness of the past was erased.
Also, there was a completely different sense of stability for a soldier who pulled the trigger from the back end made of steel on the dump truck.
“Take your time and shoot it right! Save your ammunition!”
“Yes!”
The overwhelming tactical advantage made it possible. The psychological stability of that advantage had increased the accuracy of the soldiers to an unmatched level.
The soldiers who pulled the trigger decisively, now Kim Tae-hoon’s soldiers, were full of wrath to vent.
“I’ll kill you, you bastards!”
“Let’s dry the seeds!”
The body of the brown Goblins piled up on the roads the dump truck ran past, victims of righteous anger.
However, there was no Kim Tae-hoon and Bang Hyun-wook in the scene.
3.
Tututu!
Kim Tae-hoon and Bang Hyun-wook were moving far away from the place where the shooting sounded faintly. They were alert and careful
They could see the brown Goblins running toward the dump truck and the commotion it was causing.
“They’re not just moving randomly, as big brother said,” Bang murmured to himself.
It was clear that there was a purpose in the actions of those who moved toward the dump truck, exactly as if they were ordered. It was a completely different movement from the monsters that had focused on visible targets so far.
It was why Kim Tae-hoon and Bang Hyun-wook moved separately.
‘There’s something behind them, as big brother said. It’s great. How does he know this?’
Kim Tae-hoon immediately had a hunch when he saw a system in the fight with the brown Goblins.
That there is a leader.
If there was a system in the fighting, it meant that there was something to give orders and command.
Of course, Kim Tae-hoon was looking for the leader, tracking back the brown Goblins running towards the dump truck.
“Stop.”
He found the Goblin pack outside the base.
“About 400 meters ahead.”
“… yeah, I see it.”
The view was dim, but there was no shortage of weirdness at the sight.
Carcia Shausnia!
A tall, six-foot-tall, horned brown Goblin with orange eyes, was exhaling like a magic spell. Red breath flowed out of the Goblin’s mouth in serpentine streams, and it was sucked into the mouths of the Goblins around it.
The eyes of the brown Goblin who had inhaled the red breath went wild, and they immediately began to run in the direction of the dump truck.
‘Now I’ve seen all kinds of things, damn it …’
Bang Hyun-wook, who looked at the scene, swallowed without knowing it.
“Even big brother can’t kill it.”
Strange as it was, it seemed impossible to say that even Kim Tae-hoon would be able to deal with such a large group with only the two of them.
Even with a gun, it seemed impossible to hit an enemy more than four hundred meters away with an automatic rifle, not a sniper rifle. Even if it were hit, it would just be a warning informing it of the location of the two of them.
It seemed wise to come back with those who he was in charge of, after retreating safely.
However, Kim Tae-hoon’s choice was different.
Bang!
A sudden shot.
“Uhhh!”
Kim Tae-hoon said to Bang Hyun-wook, who was startled by the gunshot, “Let’s go back.”
In the eyes of Bang Hyun-wook, there was no more sign of a Goblin with horns doing strange things. He could only see a pack of Goblins who seemed to be confused…