Chapter 82 – Terracorp (3)
In fact, this expedition was almost aborted due to Artemis’ opposition.
[There is a large colony nearby. It’s already a long distance car trip, but it’s too dangerous.]
She was negative about me going here.
On the other hand, my thoughts were different.
‘You can’t drive a car forever, right? Among the land, sea, and air, the only thing that is open is the sky. ‘Aerial transportation will definitely be needed for future external exploration.’
To embark on a full-fledged exploration, we must leave our region.
You may need to pass through densely populated areas or infiltrate facilities located in the city center.
Doing that with a land vehicle would be nothing short of suicidal.
However, if you have a helicopter, you can bypass all threats and infiltrate from the rooftop. If the situation arises, it is easy to run away.
Even though I persuaded her with various advantages, Artemis remained steadfast, and it turned out that my persuasion method was wrong.
The key to moving her heart was not the benefits that would be gained if the operation was successful.
It was my safety.
‘War is not just about visible danger. As long as the retreat is clear, there is no problem even if there are tens of thousands, not thousands, of troops right next to you.’
A hundred enemies to fight in a situation where the path is blocked is more dangerous than 10,000 enemies to face when the escape route is clear.
It was only when I explained my underwater infiltration and escape plan to Artemis and convinced her that it was safe that I was able to get her consent.
It was an amazing experience for me.
Naturally, the operational briefing given to superiors during active duty focused on mission success. The risk that I and my subordinates take is probably a good thing.
I’ve never experienced anything like this where 80% of the entire briefing was filled with an escape plan.
And this was a more pleasant experience than I expected. It feels like someone cares about me this much.
It was just funny that she was asking for permission even though I was her superior in the chain of command.
So we executed the operation, it was quite successful, and now we are on our way to collect the reward.
“Is this the right road?”
[Go straight ahead. At the second block, turn right, then left again, and cross the bulkhead to reach your destination.]
Pick! Pick!
With suppressed gunfire, the encountered walkers fell.
Recheck your PDA while moving.
A drone photo taken from above showed the entire factory.
Normally, camouflage tents are used for concealment, but this war is against infectious agents, not the North Korean military.
Disguise is meaningless.
Thanks to this, I was able to easily figure out what kind of vehicles were docked at the factory and discovered something that I had no choice but to keep an eye on.
Just looking at the image taken from the sky is impressive.
A large black object in the photo.
UH-60 Black Hawk.
A luxury multipurpose helicopter that appears frequently in numerous media.
It is the key target of this operation.
If I’m not mistaken, this is the last model that was finally upgraded to the UH-60X model.
When I was deployed, I got tired of it and rode it a few times. It is an all-purpose helicopter that has all the options an infantry soldier wants.
Before the war, the U.S. Military was developing a next-generation multipurpose helicopter to replace the Black Hawk, but now that will never happen.
No.
It will come true.
Giyiing.
I looked at the shoulder camera that was looking around from my shoulder.
[Why?]
“No, nothing.”
Under the guidance of the scientist, gongsun, and goddess on my shoulder. Thank you, Uncle Sam.
[Beyond this door.]
The entrance to the repair shop was already open.
The two teams that entered first are on standby after clearing out the internal infections.
[Suppression complete.]
A healthy robot reported as the representative.
However, it seems that it was not an easy battle. The other two are in bad condition.
In one case, half of the lower part of the face and chest had melted. Even though it is a material with considerable chemical resistance.
Probably attacked by an infectious agent spitting out a strong acid solution.
The other was carrying a spare firearm because his gun was damaged during the fight. In addition, all the eyeballs have exploded, and the robot is moving while sharing the field of view with other robots.
The maintenance shop here is divided into a total of 9 maintenance buildings.
I activated the computer near the entrance to check the operating status.
2 places are empty.
4 are military vehicles.
Two are half-dismantled Surion helicopters.
And at the very end is the Black Hawk.
Unusually, the maintenance building where the Black Hawk is located is isolated with a transparent quarantine container.
[I found the Surion blueprint.]
Artemis searched through the repair shop’s computer and copied all the blueprints for vehicles with maintenance records.
I was able to easily disable the security system on my computer with my permission, but the problem was Blackhawk.
Since it was a US military aircraft, only the last maintenance building was assigned an independent computer, and I cannot unlock the security of this with my authority.
But the problem was easily solved.
Poop!
The back of one walker’s head burst open, and the contents poured out.
“Khi-?”
Out of nowhere, the walker in the back, whose face was covered in brain fluid, looked puzzled.
“Kkii-!”
The moment he spots us, his face quickly distorts.
Puck!
Before the distorted expression was complete, a hole appeared in his forehead and he collapsed.
All the surrounding walkers, including him, were wearing US military uniforms.
That’s right, everyone in quarantined Maintenance Building 9 was American. Whether it’s a walker or a corpse.
Among them were corpses wearing Level A protective suits reminiscent of space suits.
Looking at the name tag around his neck, he was a scientist. Thanks to the protective clothing, he didn’t get infected, but that made him die an even more horrible death.
What were they doing here?
“Officers, don’t shoot. Defeat it in close combat.”
[Lager.]
At my word, the robots killed only the soldiers and non-commissioned officers and then approached the remaining two walkers.
Kklik.
While taking out the knife and attaching it to the bayonet.
“Keeeeek-!”
Two walkers wearing officer rank insignia rushed in, howling.
One man was killed instantly by a bayonet that pierced his eyeball and penetrated his brain.
The other one lunged with his mouth open like a crocodile, and the butt of a gun was stuck in his snout, shattering all his teeth.
As he struggled, blood dripping from his mouth, his cervical spine was cut by another robot that came back from behind.
[Found.]
The robot that retrieved the card key from the officer’s corpse handed it to me.
Beep.
I swiped the card key to unlock the computer in Maintenance Building 9, and Artemis immediately went inside.
[UH-60X Black Hawk blueprint secured.]
Artemis’ voice is excited.
Her desire for the sky she embraces. It would have been much more intense than me as a human.
Likewise, I am also very excited.
“It won’t work with Surion. As for Surion.”
There are limits to being viewed favorably with patriotism in the name of domestically produced helicopters.
There are more than one or two problems with the Surion, but what really bothers me right now is the payload.
The soldiers who will be on the expedition with me are robots that are much heavier than humans. The weapons they will carry will also become heavier.
The Black Hawk, which has a maximum payload of nearly 2 tons, is much more suitable.
[Unfortunately, there are only helicopter blueprints, but no blueprints for installation equipment.]
“Take it off and take it with you. “It’s not something I should lift.”
I looked at the chain gun installed at the bottom of the front of the helicopter. That thing alone weighs over 70 kg.
When I pointed at the nearby robots, they immediately ran over and started dismantling them.
In addition, I packed all the equipment that had been removed for repairs.
There was one more harvest.
“I see this here.”
M27 IAR A5 in my hand.
It is the standard rifle of the U.S. Military.
It was lying next to the body of a dead American soldier. The condition is fine.
Once everything was packed, the robots suddenly started carrying heavy luggage on their backs as if they were fully armed.
“This is enough.”
I decided to retreat like this.
However, one problem arose.
I discovered something late from Blackhawk.
The reason why the U.S. Military left its own maintenance depot and brought helicopters to a maintenance depot in Korea.
Why there were scientists wearing level A protective suits.
The reason why sealed containers were installed only here, unlike other repair shops.
It was a parasite.
An entity that tried to infect the security robot when the shelter was recaptured in the past.
A guy that looked similar to it was stuck in the Black Hawk cockpit.
It was fixed to the cockpit with gray synthetic resin, probably the work of American scientists, and when we found it, it also discovered us.
The guy who was as skinny as a mummy suddenly woke up.
At the same time, the siren from the helicopter began to sound. Her high-pitched voice is deafening.
“Keeeeek!”
“Keueeeeek!”
Most of the infectious agents in the factory were attracted to the loud sound and reacted.
Nearby robots open fire on the parasite and tear it to shreds, but the siren does not stop.
[Escape now! The colonies outside the building are also turning their heads this way!]
Suddenly, he became an industrial spy who set off the alarm. I don’t think it’s a particularly wrong analogy.
I just went back the way I came.
Drone footage shows a large swarm of walkers flocking to the factory site. There is even one Juggernaut among them.
This guy can break through any barricade or wall and enter a straight line, so it would be dangerous if left unattended.
[I will install a barrier.]
Reconnaissance drones waiting in the sky simultaneously dropped tear gas.
These are no longer useful as new crowd control gas bombs have been developed through Artemis’ research.
I brought it all with the intention of using up my inventory for this operation, but it ended up being a good choice.
Puhwaaaaak!
The generously poured tear gas canisters smoked as soon as they hit the ground.
In an instant, the factory site and some buildings were filled with gas fog.
Bah!
Some infected organisms even crossed the Jordan River after receiving a direct hit to the head.
After a while, strange coughing and crying were heard from all directions.
This is such a strange feeling.
In movies and games, it’s common for monsters to cry out ‘Kaaaaa!’, But it’s rare to see them gurgling in pain.
That’s how we were able to delay their advance, and we escaped the factory and jumped into the river.
These robots are already heavy, but when you add the equipment they are carrying, they sink to the bottom of the river in an instant.
Biiiiing-!
Meanwhile, the helicopter continued to sound its siren, and it finally stopped when it reached the bank of the canal on the other side.
[Why did they leave their base and do maintenance in a requisition facility with a poor environment? That was the reason.]
If something goes wrong while researching parasites, it seems like the intention was to just leave it as is and run away.
“If you look like a quiet person, you can call yourself a quiet person, but that’s not the case in life. “It was beneficial in the end, right?”
The list of equipment, blueprints, and loot recorded on the PDA was so jaw-dropping.
[Loading completed.]
When the last load was loaded onto the APC, a robot came and reported.
[Let’s go back quickly. There are only three hours left until sunset. It’s still tight to get to the safety course.]
I boarded right away.
However, because so much equipment was captured, the space became cramped, so one robot had to remain outside.
Of course, this does not mean that you are throwing it away.
“Hold on tight.”
[Lager.]
The robot responded with a heavy voice and lay face down on the ceiling of the APC.
He must hang in the frog position until we return to the shelter.
“It’s a good harvest.”
I was able to gain a lot from this expedition.
Thanks to this, I couldn’t help but smile even as I was surrounded by all the equipment inside the car.
Buuuuung-.
The APC we rode walked away from the factory, leaving behind a trail of dust.
Multiple drones follow and escort them.
Helicopter.
A branch extending from the tree of war history. The great fruit that was borne at the end.
It began thousands of years ago in the dreams of ancient people who looked at birds in the sky and envied them.
Today, the last seed was handed over to us.
