Chapter 237 – Final Mission – Assembly (1)
This is the weapons laboratory of the Central Region Research Institute.
[I’m glad I was able to complete the new weapon in time.]
Artemis spoke through the indoor speakers.
She is looking down at me on the first floor through the tempered glass on the second floor.
The pure white scientist gown that suits her better than anyone else in the world is in perfect harmony with her lightly falling silver hair.
A miniskirt that hugs the rapidly growing hips below the narrow waist. Black stockings that further highlight the alluring legs.
That appearance, where intelligence and sexiness coexist, is the shape of a guardian who has always been watching me through the monitor since the infection broke out.
[It can have a variety of effects with just one weapon, but it is a weapon that requires quick on-the-spot judgment. If your hands get messy, your efficiency drops drastically. It could easily cause a friendly accident.]
“Even taking that into account, I guess it’s recommended because it’s powerful enough to warrant use, right?”
“Yes.”
She nodded, wrapping her arms around her as if she was feeling a chill.
That beautiful face showed a strange mixture of confidence in the weapon and anxiety about myself.
This is a place where prototypes of new weapons are tested, so the area is overflowing with destroyed debris.
On the floor, puddles are spread out like a back alley after rain.
No matter how neatly you try to manage it, it is an area that even Artemis gave up on because it is bound to be ruined after a few shots.
“It’s a strange smell.”
The smell of gunpowder, burnt smoke, ozone, asphalt after rain, and all kinds of ionized smells entered my nostrils.
If you bring your dog here, he won’t be able to last even 10 seconds and will start to fuss.
At the end of the road, various pieces of debris that are melted, burned, broken, torn, and even disintegrated roll around.
[Isn’t the air thick? Even if I turn the ventilation to maximum, it doesn’t cover it. It won’t be harmful to your current body at all. If you feel uncomfortable, wear the gas mask hanging next to you.]
“It’s okay as long as it’s not harmful.”
A security robot with lab paint approached me and handed me a newly developed weapon.
“This is unexpected.”
I expected a rugged battle weapon, but what I got in my hands was an assault rifle.
Of course, it is smaller than expected, but it is heavier and has a more futuristic design than any existing rifle.
A magazine twice as thick as a normal banana magazine is inserted vertically, and a thick magazine is inserted horizontally under the barrel.
In this way, it is heavy, but it is difficult to handle because the center of gravity is distorted.
If you are an ordinary human being.
[Some of the next-generation weapons you imagined are ready, but there are still stability issues. There are prototypes that operated without failure for up to 13 days, but that is not enough to give you peace of mind.]
“Of course.”
The most important thing for soldiers who roll in actual combat is not performance.
The first is reliability and the second is weight.
Since the weight is meaningless to me after undergoing strengthening procedures, what remains is reliability.
[This is an operation in a completely different environment, an alien planet. The atmospheric pressure and humidity are different, so you can’t bring unstable weapons even on Earth, right?]
“So, let’s just improve the weapon we’re using and go further?”
[No. Take out the magazine.]
Kirik.
When I took out the magazine inserted vertically, its weight was unusual. Even considering the large amount of bullets loaded, it was abnormally heavy. As if it were a bullet of extremely compressed mass.
“5.56 mm?”
The first time I saw it, I was about to ask what to do with such a small diameter, but I just swallowed it.
“No, it’s different.”
The material and structure of the shell and even the shape of the warhead are completely different.
It looked closer to a micro-rocket than to a conventional sharp metal bullet. If you look closely, you can see that it has two short wings.
[Maximum number of portable ammunition, reliability, response to various combat environments. A weapon that satisfies these three requirements is not something that can be completed in a short time. But if it’s ammunition, it’s probably possible. Do you remember the past US military standard weapon replacement scandal?]
“You know.”
I threw the magazine in the air in my hand and caught it.
“I already know what you want to say.”
[As expected, a former officer. It’s easy to understand.]
In the past, there was an uproar over the issue of the US military standard rifle bullets moving from 5.56 mm to 6.8 mm.
A mess ensued as several research institutes and gun companies were involved in conflict of interest, lobbies intervened, and candidates from both parties ahead of the presidential election each pledged to ‘maintain 5.56 mm!’ And ‘move to 6.8 mm!’.
The ultimate winner was 5.56 mm.
As the U.S. Military’s combat doctrine becomes more advanced and unmanned, it was analyzed that it would be more effective to maintain the current 5.56 mm, but develop powerful special bullets and issue them to elite soldiers.
A project that was not completed until the infection war because the prohibitive cost of ammunition, over $200 per shot, was an obstacle.
However, it seems that America’s daughter Artemis finally completed it.
[The magazine that sticks vertically is an explosive shell. It is an effective ammunition type in all situations. Whether the target is big or small, whether the leather is tough or weak, it will be torn apart equally.]
Crash.
I engaged the magazine and shoulder-mounted it, then glanced at Artemis. She nodded her head as if she could shoot.
The target is a piece of meat the size of a boar hanging on a hook at the end of the firing line.
Whoosh!
A silencer filled with foam that captures gunpowder smoke drastically lowered the sound of gunfire.
Kwaang!
With an explosion sound similar to a grenade, a hole the size of a watermelon was created.
“Hwiyu.”
The power of only 5.56 m surpasses the 12.7 mm, the current shelter standard rifle.
[It’s not just gunpowder inside the shell. It is a combination of an explosive liquid compound and a trace amount of nanobots that control the reaction.]
“It must be really expensive, right?”
I took out a piece of ammunition and twirled it between my fingers.
[That’s right. Mass production or formalization is impossible. It was really just made for an emergency situation.]
“What if that situation?”
[It is used to protect one’s life when the upper area of the shelter is breached by an invasion by a foreign enemy, or when some stubborn idiot does something crazy.]
“Aha.”
I put the ammunition back in the magazine and fired a few more times.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The hanging chunks of meat turned into scrambled eggs.
The shattered pieces of flesh pour out onto the puddle of water, making a loud noise.
With this, you can instantly destroy Bloodtech’s vampire sea anemones or Zino Plan’s limb colonies.
[The magazine inserted horizontally at the bottom of the barrel contains auxiliary ammunition to respond to various situations.]
“Like the shotguns we use?”
[Correct.]
The Selter shotgun is equipped with an ammunition supply system that replaces special ammunition such as slug bullets, high explosive bullets, and dragon breath depending on the situation.
Kirik.
When I separated the magazine, I saw large ammunition smaller than grenades gathered together.
[It consists of incendiary bombs, gas bombs, shrapnel bombs, and electrocution bombs. The number of rounds is limited, so use them carefully.]
“Electric shock?”
[You will know when you shoot.]
“Hmm.”
There were two methods of switching ammunition. The analog method is to press a button next to the magazine, and the non-touch method is to exchange it through a brain implant.
I held on and connected the gun’s control system to the brain implant.
– Switching Incendiary.
– Switching GVX.
– Switching Canister.
– Switching Thunderbolt.
Every time a dry mechanical voice sounded in my head, a small vibration occurred inside the gun.
I aimed the gun at the target board.
[If you are going to shoot an electric shock, aim at a puddle of water, not a target.]
As she said, I lowered the muzzle slightly and pulled the trigger.
The moment the bullet flies through the silencer and touches a puddle of water.
Flash!
The testing site was suddenly engulfed in a bright flash of light.
Is this what happens when a flock of sparrows hit a high-voltage transmission line on a rainy day?
For a few seconds, sparks flew throughout the pool, creating a dazzling explosion of sparks and flashes.
Cheeeeek!
When the electrocution bomb stopped working, steam like a steam room hovered at the end of the shaft. The fragrant smell of cooked pieces of meat wafts in.
“It’s perfect. It’s absolutely perfect.”
[Are you sure it’s okay?]
“Even if you go with a completely new weapon in this urgent situation, it will be difficult to achieve proper performance. As you said, the problem of reliability is also big.”
I adjusted my senses by alternating between aiming shooting posture, aiming shooting posture, mobile shooting posture, and hiding/covering posture.
“As this is the most dangerous battlefield, it is better to carry the weapon you are most familiar with.”
If something like an infantry rail gun was waiting for me out of nowhere, I would have been anxious.
“That was an excellent choice, Artemis. After all, you are the only one I can entrust my life to.”
[Ugh.]
Despite the praise, Artemis was not pleased at all. Rather, it feels like my voice is getting wet.
“Anyway, I’m worried too much. “I have such an awesome weapon, but nothing will happen.”
I looked up at Artemis and grinned somewhat exaggeratedly.
“Right?”
Instead of answering, Artemis disappeared from the observation room on the second floor. A faint sound of steps being kicked can be heard.
I wanted to practice shooting more, but as mentioned before, it was produced in limited quantities, so I had to save as much as possible.
I have to hug and pat Artemis who runs towards me right away.
I looked down at the weapon in my hand.
“In the end, it turns around and becomes 5.56 mm again? Well, please take care of me. “An old friend.”
He left the test site with his gun on his left shoulder and Artemis wrapped around his right arm.
* * *
Even if you have weapons, if you don’t have soldiers to handle them, they’re just tin cans.
The preparation time that special forces soldiers have before dispatching for a very dangerous mission.
Maintain personal weapons and heavy weapons, wear body armor and equipment, and update military communication and PDA tactical link systems.
This is eye candy that is treated like a cliche in various mass media. It is being reproduced to me now.
Although it was very different from the general cliche due to the special nature of our unit members and situation.
‘Who are we?’
‘Marines crazy about slaughter!’
‘Who are we?’
‘Marines full of poison!’
‘Who are we?’
‘A marine came out of his mother’s womb after chewing on the umbilical cord!’
‘That’s it, you damn bastards! Let’s destroy them all! In action! In action! Everyone get moving! ‘The soles of your feet are going to burn!’
There are no passionate sergeants and soldiers yelling before dispatch.
‘Now is the last time. Anyone who has something to say, please do so now.’
There are no officers with cold faces who speak emotionlessly.
Neither of them are far from my style and there is no need for them.
[Ready to dispatch.]
Silence and devotion. Four robot soldiers pursuing only two virtues were standing by in an immobile posture.
The fear of being left behind on a planet farther than the stars in the night sky, the pressure of a mission somewhere between crazy and impossible.
I can’t find anything.
Myeonggyeong index. The strongest soldiers, which cannot be expressed any better than these words, will be with me.
These are 3.5 generation Stalker models that have been modified with more advanced materials for this mission.
More powerful muscles.
Normal activity is possible even at temperatures as high as 175 degrees Celsius.
Limbs that can be driven to any angle.
Able to maintain unlimited sprint speed of 55 km/h.
Rapid conversion skin capable of camouflage equivalent to that of a mimic octopus.
A joint composed of self-repairing semi-organic tissue.
Combat artificial intelligence with all kinds of close combat and shooting skills installed.
This mission is a takeover mission based on infiltration and assassination. They are elite soldiers of 100 per day optimized for that. Should we say that they were raised to be assassins?
They were given code names for quick identification in the field.
Alpha.
Charlie.
Tango.
And echo.
Each name is engraved on the chest like a nametag.
I slowly passed by the robots inspecting them and stopped in front of Echo.
No matter how elite it is, it is ultimately just a robot with no individual characteristics, but that one nameplate makes it special.
The sight of Squad Leader Echo sacrificing himself during the maritime prison rescue operation was just as impressive.
“I will take good care of my life.”
Just a meaningless word given with a wish for safety.
[I take orders.]
However, the sight of the robot responding was truly reassuring.
“Artemis, what combat uniform should I wear?”
[Fine-tuning will be completed soon.]
The PDA screen showed a biological combat suit with various needles and plugs attached.
The closed nano combat suit, which is a harmonious combination of organic and inorganic substances, is a living entity.
It cannot be worn right out of the cabinet like an ordinary body armor. However, it will perfectly protect me in a hostile environment.
With this, the preparation of weapons, equipment, and troops was completed. All that remains is Solaver’s briefing.
[Large colony of infectious agents, 13 hours before arrival.]
Just in the nick of time, the manual’s emotionless notification sound was played.
It seems as if the cries of monsters are heard in the distance, with their black maws open and running full of malice and murderous instinct.
“Just run to Amman and take a look. They will never catch up with us.”
I muttered while looking beyond the wall.
